Chapter 475: With Fan Xi Around, What

"What do you think of the name Troy Name?"

The text of the message read as follows.

Fan Xi's mind was instantly filled with a hundred thoughts; he stared blankly for a long, long time, then, pretending to be calm, replied, "Very good. Why do you ask?"

Fan Xi feigned confusion; he wanted an answer.

But no further information came back, which made Fan Xi uneasy; countless fantasies fluttered in his mind. So when Lu Yuan discussed the business plan with him, he seemed absent‑minded.

Chen Ye planned to develop his career in New York. After the three of them talked, Chen Ye revealed his real purpose. He and Dr. Lace's sports rehabilitation center will also set up a headquarters in an Eastern central city; they are ambitiously building the world's most reputable sports rehab center. Many talented people are willing to follow them.

Today Chen Ye is no longer the little bodyguard who used to "catch the wind"; here he completed his initial accumulation, recovered in Derek Rose, and after becoming the league's strongest athletic point guard, his career flourished, forming a golden brand. He now hardly needs to do anything himself; many elite talents work under him and his spouse.

Lu Yuan offered them strategies within it.

Seeing his friends doing better, Fan Xi felt happy.

Though he felt a bit melancholy.

"Chen Ye, maybe I'll come to New York to hang out this summer; I keep feeling I should make a trip to New York," Fan Xi said, patting Chen Ye's shoulder.

"I hope you clinch this year's championship, and then the New York Knicks or the Brooklyn Nets pick you in the draft lottery. That way, we can be together again."

Chen Ye said with a smile.

They embraced and said goodbye.

Fan Xi suddenly felt hollow.

Even though he now owns a huge house and countless riches, his parents are back home, his girlfriend is far away, and he's always a media sensation. Yet… he feels he's lost a kind of familial happiness.

Even though he has some friends, they each have their own lives, intersecting only occasionally; back home he still has to face many things alone.

Whew!

Fan Xi skipped training that afternoon; his mind kept replaying Jennifer's message, and he scoured the internet for clues, repeatedly typing keywords into a search engine… Jennifer, pregnancy; Jennifer, giving birth; gestation period…

As piece after piece of information unfolded before him.

Including Jennifer's 'pregnancy photos', private‑doctor 'prenatal checks'… and so on, as well as the frequency of Jennifer's public appearances… After sorting this tangled data, Fan Xi's mind formed an increasingly clear conclusion.

Could that night…?

Could Jennifer's investment in the Kuaisuan funds really be for…?

Even the name called Troy made Fan Xi think of the Trojan horse…

…

These questions plagued Fan Xi until the second championship game arrived.

The Clippers hosted the Miami Heat in a very tough match. The eyes of basketball fans worldwide were fixed on it.

Its ratings filled TV networks with profit; they were eager for the finals to run more games, preferably up to a seventh, which would be thrilling.

Of course, for both teams' players and fans, the sooner it ends, the better.

Miami is an extremely adaptable team; they quickly studied Huaiti Seda in detail and made corresponding adjustments for this game. In the previous match, Huaiti Seda's special impact was waning, and Nowitzki was also being targeted defensively.

That's the quality a strong team should have.

However, the Kuaisuan, also a strong team, made dynamic corrections when Huaiti Seda's effect faded and Nowitzki was targeted. Leonard and Mili Xiqi stepped up in succession.

If you press one, the other will inevitably break through.

The Kuaisuan possess a powerful Update Ability; they can effortlessly break through defenses.

But tonight the Miami Heat played ferociously; James and Wade both unleashed, and LeBron found his three‑point rhythm.

During halftime, the Heat at one point extended their lead to ten points.

Just as ESPN commentators applauded, convinced Miami had the game, the third quarter saw the Kuaisuan launch a counter‑attack; Fan Xi first struck with a raid, and while he hesitated about using a Stop‑and‑Go Jump Shot, Butler went full‑throttle from beyond the three‑point line.

He knocked down three consecutive three‑pointers.

Directly forcing the Heat to call a timeout.

Miami called a timeout, shifting their defense toward the sideline. Then Mili Xiqi punished Kenyon Martin in the paint, and Nowitzki followed, steadying the team's morale.

The Kuaisuan clawed back points in the third quarter, and the teams entered the fourth tied.

In the fourth quarter, James went on a killing spree.

But the Kuaisuan played very evenly, with all five positions continuously producing.

The Heat's defense was like whacking at moles, unable to contain them.

Thus, with two minutes left in the fourth, the Heat switched tactics and unleashed a killer move.

James moved from the point guard spot to the power forward spot.

Although James had played power forward before, this time was completely different. Wade took control of the ball. The Heat entered a rampage mode.

LeBron, as a shooter, nailed a deadly three‑pointer.

James fought in the paint like Rodman, his positioning ferocious… No one expected that while expanding his offensive arsenal, James also broadened his blue‑collar skills. Moreover, at power forward he used a slick back‑to‑the‑basket one‑on‑one to nullify Nowitzki's height advantage.

Fan Xi had to marvel at how terrifying James had become; his physical development had reached the extreme.

With 1 minute 18 seconds left, the Heat led by five points and held possession.

At that moment, everyone thought the Heat were certain to win at that pace.

But fate is that magical.

After the timeout, Fan Xi stole the ball from Wade, shoving Wade aside.

The referee didn't blow the whistle, a point the Heat later repeatedly protested, claiming unfair officiating. Yet at the moment, no one deemed it a foul, despite the aggressive look of the play.

But Wade didn't actually get the ball then.

Fan Xi used his powerful burst to shove the fatigued, sprinting Wade aside.

The scene had a touch of dark humor… When Fan Xi first entered the league, he feared Wade's hulking body; now he can bully Wade with his own physique.

After stealing the ball, Fan Xi sprinted forward, and James raced over to help on defense.

James defended well.

He even anticipated Fan Xi's sudden stop; it was the first time he made Fan Xi's feint ineffective.

At that moment, he locked all of Fan Xi's space.

But God was not on his side.

With his space locked, Fan Xi executed a massive backward lean, forcibly throwing the basketball out despite having no shooting room.

He himself admitted that the shot had a luck factor.

Fan Xi thought that if it missed, the paint area would be advantageous, since they had only one Ke Li Si Bo Shen in the post.

But… Swish!

The Three-Point Shot went in.

The point gap instantly shrank to two points.

The entire Staples Center boiled over, the noise like an explosion site.

The whole audience shouted a unified MVP chant.

James was speechless and said to Fan Xi, "You actually made that?"

"Sometimes you need luck, but also courage. Would you dare to shoot that kind of ball?" Fan Xi teased James, enjoying the Heaven's Chosen Son attitude.

James said nothing.

But soon he bravely entered the paint, taking a step‑back jump shot under Nowitzki's top defense… even as Mili Xiqi flew in, he still shot. His thinking matched Fan Xi's: even if his shot missed, drawing two post players would let Ke Li Si Bo Shen grab the rebound.

Bang!

The sound of the rim hitting the ball shattered his plan.

Ke Li Si Bo Shen did jump, but a flyer was already above him.

Fan Xi sprinted into the paint and leapt, snatching the ball over Ke Li Si Bo Shen's head as if pulling a radish.

Kuaisuan, after gaining possession, instantly turned danger into safety, shifting from disadvantage to advantage.

The basketball, under Fan Xi's control, reached the frontcourt.

Wei De came up to defend.

The Flash's gaze remained sharp.

Although he once held the record for most buzzer‑beater kills in a series, against Fan Xi he was extremely aggressive.

Fan Xi swung the ball back and forth before him as if lifting weights lightly, the basketball bouncing like a driven sprite.

Wei De realized Fan Xi was even scarier, moving more freely.

Fan Xi kept the rhythm.

With eight seconds left on the shot clock, Fan Xi suddenly used a Probe Step; Wei De hurried backward, and as Wei De retreated, Fan Xi also stepped back.

The move looked unremarkable, but it tested internal skill.

After Fan Xi's step back, he quickly rose and released.

He used a One-stage jump shot; the two‑step distance was enough for him to complete it.

Wei De's lunge was to no avail.

He could only watch helplessly as the ball flew over his head.

Swish!

It goes in.

109–108.

Kuaisuan turned the lead and won, with Fan Xi scoring six consecutive points.

The Heat called a timeout, using the final 18 seconds to halt the last attack.

But under Kuaisuan's wolf‑like team defense, James drove into the paint, forcefully shoving past Leonard, yet his layup was knocked away by Huaiti Seda… even though he insisted he was fouled.

The ball missed the rim.

Fan Xi grabbed the rebound, sprinted beyond the three‑point line, the whistle blew, and he tossed the ball toward the frontcourt.

Swish!

It goes in.

That score ignited the passion of Staples Center.

Although it wasn't counted as a score, it was a perfect Easter egg… Kuaisuan secured two home wins, leaving them just two victories away from the championship.

The MVP roar in the arena persisted, everyone shouting and cheering for Fan Xi.

Fan Xi raised his hands high, basking in the audience's reverent worship.

He is the king of the City of Angels.

A basketball emperor towering above all beings.

The ESPN host said helplessly, "Tonight Miami reached the ultimate they could achieve; they didn't lose to basketball but to luck and a lousy home‑court whistle. Of course, Jieke Fan's final‑moment three‑pointer was also despair‑inducing."

Later, McBlin said, "Clippers are at the end of a strong bow; they have no advantage over the Heat. They won the last game easily, yet this match relies only on luck and whistles. What does that show? That the Heat's comeback is imminent; teams overturning a 0‑2 deficit are common, and Miami did it in 2006."

McBlin is a staunch Heat supporter.

Reggie Miller, an ESPN basketball analyst, originally wanted to discuss Fan Xi's final two three‑pointers, but seeing his partner uninterested and the network itself not favoring Fan Xi, he stayed silent.

So he simply said nothing.

In his view, Fan Xi's last two shots were constructive. Because he knows Fan Xi extremely well, he could be said to understand Fan Xi's three‑point shooting best… the skill stems from him.

But Fan Xi's final two three‑pointers made Reggie Miller take notice.

Fan Xi employed a completely different One-stage jump shot, using a Probe Step to force the shot after Wei De's step back, as well as a cross‑court shot. Both were released with extreme steadiness and astonishing speed.

Reggie Miller already smelled danger.

During the commentary, his partners focused on Le Bu Lang Zhang Si's improvement, saying he seemed like a different player offensively and showed warrior‑like defense. While praising James, they also disparaged Fan Xi, claiming that this season he only increased the number of Fan girls and showed no technical progress.

But Reggie Miller thought that was wrong.

Fan Xi's ability to shoot off the dribble improved by leaps and bounds; last season his dribble jump shot ability was practically nonexistent, but this season he already has an average level.

What amazed Reggie Miller the most were the last two three-pointers.

If Fan Xi really possesses this dribble shooting ability, then… the Heat can at most win two home games in this series. Although James is excellent, although the Heat are strong, fate has pitted them against an opponent like Fan Xi, and moreover, after Kuaisuan's 76 wins, their roster's error correction and Update Ability are truly terrifying…

They are like having a group of elite players; no one can predict which player will break out. Even they themselves don't know, as if God threw dice, each face corresponding to a Kuaisuan player.

Fan Xi did not accept interviews after the game; he left the arena early.

His teammates all felt a bit strange.

Arenas mocked the Heat after the game, saying: "The strength of the Eastern champion is roughly between the Rockets and the Thunder. I don't mean to look down on the Rockets, but they really need to strengthen their roster."

Arenas has always been extremely trash-talking, extremely enjoyable.

He doesn't care at all how this comment will ignite the fighting spirit of the Heat players, or how it will make Miami fans feel united against a common enemy.

In his view, everything is there with Fan Xi.

What's there to fear?

…