Chapter 796: Conquering Everyone in Just One Minute

Everything that had happened recently at the Second Affiliated Hospital echoed in Dr. Merz's mind, from the surgeries to several diagnoses, and finally to his own illness.

The performance of that young Great Demon King was as stable as ever, steadily crushing him.

For Dr. Merz, all of this could be described as a long story.

Better to focus on recovering; Dr. Merz had been terrified by the previous bouts of angina—although it wasn't necessarily a Myocardial Infarction, what if it was?

He didn't know how much time had passed; Dr. Merz had a hazy dream, and when he woke up, it was already dawn.

Focusing on his recovery and ignoring everything else, Dr. Merz didn't dare to dwell on things, fearing his condition would worsen, with a myocardial or cerebral infarction following his retinal infarction.

He was recovering quickly, but Dr. Merz noticed that Victor Wembanyama was recovering even faster than him.

Sixteen days after surgery, Wembanyama had his cast removed.

All examinations, including Magnetic Resonance Imaging, indicated that Victor Wembanyama's surgery was extremely successful and his recovery was smooth; Dr. Merz even felt in a daze that Wembanyama could fully return to his pre-injury state.

This was incredible, but it was the truth.

Under Ji Xiang's guidance, Wembanyama performed his initial Restorative Training, and at this time, news of the trade arrived.

The Lakers paid a heavy price, including draft picks for the next few years and half of their core roster, just to trade for Wembanyama.

He really went to the Lakers!

Whenever Dr. Merz thought about Dr. Ji Xiang calling Zhenni Basi an "old aunt," he couldn't help but want to nag a bit.

But he didn't dare to provoke that young Great Demon King anymore.

Having been rubbed into the ground so many times, did he really think it wasn't enough? The Great Demon King's background and strength were unfathomable; it was best not to provoke him, or else it would be courting death.

Three days later, Dr. Merz and Wembanyama returned to the country together.

He didn't go straight back to Massachusetts General Hospital, but stayed behind instead.

He wanted to witness Victor Wembanyama's miraculous recovery with his own eyes.

As an Expert in Sports Medicine, Dr. Merz had seen the post-operative rehabilitation process of at least over a hundred professional athletes.

But not a single one's recovery speed could compare to Wembanyama's.

Rather than calling it post-operative rehabilitation, Dr. Merz would rather believe that Wembanyama had never been injured at all, and that the cast on his foot before was just an April Fool's joke.

Together with the Lakers' medical team, everything Dr. Merz heard every day was surprise, confusion, and inquiries about the person who performed the surgery on Wembanyama.

To this, Dr. Merz basically gave no answer.

Even if he wanted to answer, there was nothing to say; Dr. Merz had watched the surgery from start to finish, but he hadn't understood it at all.

There was nothing to say about not understanding; talking too much was just embarrassing, especially when those Experts asked for details—the more he said, the more embarrassing it became.

As an Expert in Sports Medicine, Dr. Merz was simply too embarrassed to say he couldn't understand the surgery.

The recovery speed he once thought was just a stroke of luck was now appearing right before his eyes.

Victor Wembanyama soon threw himself into rehabilitation training, gradually increasing his exercise load and frequently undergoing various examinations.

Even when examining Wembanyama's recovery with the most critical eye, Dr. Merz couldn't find a single flaw.

At the same time, Zhao Dali transferred to Manchester City, causing a huge sensation in the football world.

Soccer wasn't popular in the United States, but Dr. Merz knew Wembanyama would bring an even greater sensational effect to this land.

The sky was about to change.

A month after returning to the country, under the cautious use of the coaching staff, although Wembanyama had long been cleared to play, he had yet to participate in a game.

Zhenni Basi didn't want the team cornerstone she had spent a fortune to trade for to be ruined because of one or two Regular Season games.

They were all willing to be more cautious, even if they failed the Regular Season this year and didn't even make the Play-in Tournament.

Because they had traded away so many players and the biggest star, Wembanyama, couldn't play yet, the team's record had watched itself fall into the Lottery Zone.

After another while, at Victor Wembanyama's strong request and due to the needs of their record, the front office and the medical team consulted and prepared to let Wembanyama play.

This was a home game, and the opponent wasn't strong; they had been carefully selected.

In fact, everyone, including Zhenni Basi, had given up on this season; only Victor Wembanyama had not given up.

Game day.

Dr. Merz sat in the arena with the Lakers' doctors; everyone was nervous, watching Wembanyama warm up.

Everyone knew Wembanyama's actual situation, but every time they saw him accelerate for a sprint or lift his arms to dunk, the hearts of the doctors present would hang in their throats.

"Merz, why aren't you going back to Boston?" Wembanyama's team doctor asked. "Did the Celtics' front office send you to observe Victor's situation? There's no point; the person has already been traded, for better or worse."

"How could that be! I'm not one of their team doctors," Dr. Merz said.

"How do you think Victor is recovering?"

Similar questions were asked every day, and the answers were certain, but without the test of actual combat, no one believed that unbelievable result.

Dr. Merz remained silent on this.

When the players entered the court and Victor Wembanyama's name was called over the loudspeaker, the whole arena erupted.

The deafening shouts left Dr. Merz somewhat dazed.

He was truly worried that if Wembanyama collapsed holding his leg, the fans would kill the team doctors.

The jump ball.

It was clear that Wembanyama was particularly focused on wearing the yellow jersey for the first time; he leaped high, and the basketball was accurately tipped away by Wembanyama.

In that instant, Dr. Merz even vaguely saw Wembanyama grab the basketball, pause in mid-air, turn his head to find the fastest teammate, and pass the ball steadily to him.

Dr. Merz felt that if it weren't for the fear of a jump ball violation, he could have grabbed the ball himself.

"Merz, why do I feel like Victor is jumping higher than before? And his hang time has changed too," the team doctor asked in a low, murmuring voice.

Dr. Merz just looked at Wembanyama's legs, staring blankly.

The two consecutive surgeries hadn't caused Wembanyama's leg muscles to atrophy or become uneven in thickness. The team doctor's feeling was right; having just leaped high, Wembanyama's standing vertical jump had already reached his peak.

Even, Wembanyama had surpassed his previous peak.

Before Dr. Merz could answer, the first offensive play of the game began.

After a few passes, the player at the 2-guard position shot from outside the three-point line, but the basketball bounced off the rim.

The cheers of the fans throughout the arena turned into sighs.

The basketball bounced toward the perimeter; Dr. Merz watched quietly, thinking that since the opponent was about to start a fast break, Victor's speed probably wouldn't be able to keep up.

But just as this thought appeared, a yellow figure appeared beside the basketball.

With a wingspan of 2.44 meters, lightning-fast speed, and astonishing leaping ability, the basketball was snatched into Wembanyama's hands.

Turning around, he used a Euro Step to shake off the defender and delivered a violent dunk.

Wembanyama poured all the anger, anxiety, and waiting he had accumulated during this time into the dunk, venting it on the court.

2 points scored.

Although it was a home game, the Luo Shan Ji fans did not cheer immediately.

Everyone was shocked by Wembanyama's astonishing athletic ability, including the team doctors who had spent the most time with him recently.

Has Wembanyama fully recovered?!

No!

A thought suddenly surfaced in Dr. Merz's mind: it wasn't just a full recovery; Wembanyama's athletic ability had even made significant progress.

On the court, Wembanyama signaled for his dazed teammates to get back on defense.

The teammates were also stunned by this scene.

The NBA is full of monsters with immense athletic talent, yet no one is more like a freak of nature than Wembanyama.

Even though they had been opponents before, and even though they had been practicing with Wembanyama for the past few days, no one knew this young man could reach such heights.

After a few seconds of silence, as the Lakers players returned to defense, the atmosphere in the home arena was ignited.

The rebound and the subsequent Euro Step dunk were replayed on the big screen, and the atmosphere at the scene erupted like a heatwave.

"My god! Victor actually used his full strength! Isn't he afraid of getting injured again?" the team doctor whispered.

Dr. Merz stared at the big screen, a strange thought in his mind—the freakish rebound Wembanyama just made wasn't even his limit!

Looking closely at the replay on the big screen, Dr. Merz suddenly seemed to catch something out of the corner of his eye.

He focused his gaze on the court.

The opponent drove to the basket for a high floater.

Originally, after a few tactical movements by the opponent, Wembanyama had switched to the vicinity of the three-point line and was out of reach for this floater.

But that yellow lightning appeared again.

The basketball was pinned firmly against the backboard!

Wembanyama didn't rush out; after pinning the ball to the backboard, he immediately secured it and threw it out with the force of a Quarterback.

A teammate running the fast break caught the ball, and a powerful dunk ignited the entire arena.

Although the dunk was fiery, Dr. Merz knew very well who the thunderous roar of the crowd was cheering for.

In this one and a half possessions, Wembanyama dominated both ends of the floor.

Two rebounds, one pin-against-the-backboard block, one assist, and one dunk.

Just after the start, Wembanyama had almost filled up the stat sheet.

Such god-tier performances rarely appear, especially since Wembanyama had just returned from injury, coming from the arch-rival Celtics to the Lakers, and delivering this level of energy in less than 30 seconds of play was enough to be astonishing.

The Lakers fans were almost crazy.

Even those who had previously insulted Zhenni Basi for trading for a "waste" were won over within less than a minute of the game starting.

Never mind half the team; even if they had to send away all the starters, it would be worth it if they could get Wembanyama in return.

The tsunami-like chants of "MVP" echoed through every corner of the arena.

Dr. Merz watched blankly as Wembanyama set a screen, took the ball, and jumped lightly; the opponent's 4-man he faced couldn't reach the ball at all, and the three-pointer went into the basket like a practice shot with almost no interference.

Holy shit!

Dr. Merz watched with a sense of bewilderment.

He knew Wembanyama's injury from beginning to end; who could have guessed he would recover to his current state?

The Celtics' front office and their owner must already be regretting it.

The Wembanyama before his eyes hadn't activated "god mode," but it was better than that.

However, everything was just the beginning.

If the first possession was Wembanyama dominating both ends of the floor, then the subsequent game was more like an exhibition match.

Standing 2.26 meters tall with a 2.44-meter wingspan, Wembanyama was like Spider-Man, flying and diving, capable of anything.

The opponent's shots could hardly clear Wembanyama's defense, and they could only blindly attempt long shots from outside the three-point line.

In just 10 minutes of the first quarter, Wembanyama had already recorded a comprehensive stat line of 18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 1 steal, blowing the game wide open.

Amidst the fans' "MVP" cheers, Wembanyama returned to the bench to rest.

He never played again.

It wasn't that his body wasn't suited for the intense competition of the NBA, but that Wembanyama had ended a 48-minute game in just 10 minutes.

Dr. Merz had thought Wembanyama would be strong and would recover to his original level, but he never expected that after one surgery, Wembanyama would be like a cyborg, with his abilities significantly enhanced!

This was simply a myth.

This was impossible!

At this moment, the big screen overhead was continuously replaying Wembanyama's various spectacular performances within those 10 minutes.

He dominated both ends of the floor,

He was capable of anything,

He was everywhere.

Just looking at the performance, everyone, including Dr. Merz, could not tell that this young man had just suffered a career-ending injury a few months ago.

As Wembanyama went to the bench to rest, the score began to tighten.

But the opponents had already been stunned by Wembanyama earlier; although he was not on the court, their gazes still involuntarily flickered toward the big man sitting on the bench.

The opponents made constant errors, and the Lakers took the opportunity to pull away the score again.

But this no longer mattered; Wembanyama used a dominant performance to tell everyone—that man, is back!

And he had become even stronger, to the point where a strange thought occurred in Dr. Merz's mind: Wembanyama could not be defeated at all.

This was very strange; Wembanyama's performance crushed Dr. Merz's years of Clinical experience, turning it into powder that scattered away.

One major injury,

two surgeries,

three months of recuperation.

Even the usually shrewd top brass of the Celtics had lost confidence in Wembanyama and traded away this cornerstone of their franchise.

It only took Wembanyama 1 minute to tell everyone in the world just how big of a mistake the Green Celtics' top brass had made. It took 10 minutes to end his first Regular Season game after coming to the Lakers.

The game was over, but the excited Luo Shan Ji fans were still reluctant to leave the Staples Center.

The chants of MVP were still deafening, even though Wembanyama had already left.

The 10-minute dominant performance gave all the fans hope.

Dr. Merz glanced at the Staples Center, which was not yet full, and thought to himself that the next game should be packed.

Even the league's dismal viewership ratings would improve because of this.

Because of involvement in Sports Betting and the aging of Kuri, the league's viewership ratings had plummeted.

But Wembanyama's appearance was like a shot of adrenaline, letting everyone see hope.

No! Dr. Merz reined in his thoughts and began to blame himself.

Just how strong is that young Great Demon King?!

If only this were a hallucination, if only none of it existed, if only it were all just a dream of his own.

The young Great Demon King could not possibly have fully recovered Wembanyama!

As he thought about it, Dr. Merz felt a vague pain coming from his stomach.

!!!

He turned to stone once again, wanting to cry but having no tears.

Is even thinking about it not allowed?

F***!!!

Why did his stomach start hurting just because he badmouthed that Great Demon King?

Dr. Merz felt he had been cursed.

Damn it! Why is it like this!!

Dr. Merz's mind was filled with Wembanyama's omnipresent figure on the court.

Running like that right after recovering, and even pushing your own potential—if you don't get injured, who will!

Next game... no, within three games... ten games, as opponents double-team and play physically, Wembanyama will definitely get injured again, Dr. Merz gave his own estimate.

Looking at the exceptionally excited fans in Staples who were reluctant to leave, Dr. Merz knew very well that if Wembanyama could maintain this competitive state, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Surgeries for top-tier athletes are the most profitable, bar none.

If this situation continued, let alone top-tier athletes, even mid-tier athletes would fly off to find that young Great Demon King for surgery.

Even if they had to wait in line!

It would definitely form a monopoly on the Sports Medicine treatment market, and by then, his own surgical volume would likely plummet.

At the thought of this, Dr. Merz's mood was exceptionally low; his eyes were a bit red, and he eagerly hoped for Wembanyama to get injured.

Zhao Dali had already signed with Manchester City and gone to the Blue Moon; he would likely become the largest, most conspicuous crater on the Blue Moon.

And Wembanyama's condition was surprisingly good.

Thinking of Wembanyama's performance dominating both ends of the court, Dr. Merz's nose felt a bit sour, and he almost cried.

Isn't this exactly the treatment effect he dreamed of!

Unfortunately, the surgery wasn't performed by him.

Wembanyama's recovery after his own surgery was not satisfactory.

With his mind in a mess, Dr. Merz left Staples and returned to his residence.

That night, he suffered from uncontrollable insomnia again.

Dr. Merz even dreamt of Wembanyama winning the championship in his daze.

It was truly terrifying; what top-tier athlete would come to him for surgery in the future?!

A lifetime of hard work, suddenly all gone; what a damn Great Demon King!

In the days that followed, Dr. Merz followed the Lakers around as if he were possessed.

Dr. Merz watched every game in person; he was crazier than the most loyal fans.

In the second game, Wembanyama once again achieved dominant stats—playing 22 minutes, scoring 32 points, 18 rebounds, and 4 blocks.

In the third game, Wembanyama played 27 minutes, scoring 38 points, 20 rebounds, and 6 blocks.

The fourth...

The fifth...

In the tenth game, Wembanyama played 32 minutes, scoring 52 points, 21 rebounds, 12 assists, and had a shocking 11 blocks.

An alternative Double-double!

A performance like a god descending to earth.

Previously, when Wembanyama was with the Celtics, he performed very well, but it was only at a superstar level.

After undergoing two surgeries, Wembanyama performed like a superstar, and in just ten games, he had vaguely become the future face of the league.

Dr. Merz was on the verge of tears.

He did not understand basketball, but he could understand what was hidden behind Wembanyama's god-like performances during intense physical confrontations.

Dr. Merz even suspected that the young Great Demon King had not just performed one surgery on Wembanyama, but had turned Wembanyama into a cyborg.

Damn it!

At the same time, the performances of Zhao Dali and Neymar were also extremely outstanding.

They seemed to have no connection, but that was the fans' perception; Dr. Merz, however, knew that behind these athletes existed a figure who connected them with strings.

Although it was only a short ten games, it was a brilliant ten-game winning streak, and Wembanyama had achieved two massive quadruple-doubles and led the Lakers into the Play-in Tournament zone.

It was impossible for Dr. Merz to follow the Lakers around like a team doctor, nor could he stay in Luo Shan Ji.

When he returned to Boston, to Massachusetts General Hospital, feeling uneasy, he could only continue to observe Wembanyama's performance through live game broadcasts.

Although not much time had passed, Dr. Merz discovered that the impact had already truly appeared.

There were still athletes contacting him, calling for consultations, or coming to Massachusetts to have their injuries looked at, but top-tier athletes were few and far between.

He knew very well that those people must also be observing Wembanyama, observing Zhao Dali, and observing Neymar.

They were using their own performances to convince other injured athletes time and time again.

This could not go on; Dr. Merz knew very well that once Wembanyama... he didn't even need to win the championship, as long as he led the crippled Lakers into the Playoffs, his own share in the field of Sports Medicine would be swallowed up by more than half by that Great Demon King.

However.

Wembanyama did not know about Dr. Merz's emotional fluctuations, and even if he did, he would absolutely not change himself because of a doctor's thoughts.

In the following games, Wembanyama continued to lead the Lakers in a triumphant advance.

Undefeated.

Some were even lamenting that there were only 22 games left after the All-Star Game, otherwise Wembanyama leading the crippled Lakers might have created history and broken the 33-game Regular Season winning streak record set by the Lakers themselves.

Finally, at the end of March, Dr. Merz watched with his own eyes as Wembanyama led the Lakers into the Play-in Tournament.

It had nothing to do with Wembanyama; it was only because the Lakers had been tanking for a top draft pick before he arrived.

One player changed a team, and one player also changed Dr. Merz's future.

For the Play-in Tournament, Dr. Merz did not watch the game.

He knew Wembanyama's current strength very well, and he also knew that if a team could stop Wembanyama, it would absolutely not be because he lacked strength or had decreased athletic ability post-surgery.

It was only because the Lakers had been tanking all along, and aside from Wembanyama, they were almost all a group of Undrafted Players.

Being able to make it this far with Undrafted Players, they had actually already succeeded.

Dr. Merz almost gave up struggling.

Whenever he recalled his days at the Second Affiliated Hospital, the figure of that detestable Great Demon King gradually became heavy, like a mountain.

"Merz! Did you watch today's game!!"

An Expert who was also in the field of Sports Medicine called out to Dr. Merz.

"Didn't watch, not interested."

"Wembanyama got foot-stepped, the injury is very serious!"

"!!!"

(End of chapter)