บท 21: Chapter 18: The Fearful Battle with the Lizard
From Yu Fei's location in the State of Washington to New Jersey is a pretty long journey. The distance between the two states is about 2,800 miles (around 4,500 kilometers), a span across the entire United States.
On March 10, 2001, Yu Fei and Quentin DiMio took a flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to New Jersey.
As an invited player, Yu Fei received two tickets. One was for him, and the other for a guardian.
This turned out to be a favor for DiMio, as it saved him the cost of a plane ticket to New Jersey.
"You know, I've never flown business class in my life," DiMio said excitedly, "and I've never been to New Jersey."
Dragging his luggage, Yu Fei said indifferently, "Then I'm honored to have taken your business class and New Jersey virginity."
Yu Fei and DiMio settled into their seats with their luggage.
Just as the two were about to say something, the in-flight announcement came on:
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard XYZ Airline's flight from Seattle to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. I am your captain. First, on behalf of the entire crew, I would like to extend a sincere welcome and thanks to you... Our flight time is expected to be 5 hours, and the weather conditions are good..."
"Thank you again for choosing XYZ Airline for your flight. If you have any questions or need any assistance, please ask our crew for help. We wish you a pleasant journey."
DiMio composed himself, "I need to take a nap; this really feels like a dream."
Yu Fei didn't say anything.
He suddenly felt that if he were the main character in a movie, this trip would either end in the next frame or cut to a montage with a soundtrack, and if it were the latter, he hoped his soundtrack would be Kafe.Hu's "Economy Class." Despite sitting in business class, the lyrics were still applicable.
What, you ask who is Kafe.Hu? Why isn't the soundtrack Jay Chou's "Sunny Day" or Beyond's "Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies"? Hey, it's like this after all, and the fact that Yu Fei didn't recommend "The Solitary Brave" is already quite restrained. Besides, that song should belong to the post-2010s, let's leave it to the transmigrators from that decade.
After a five-hour flight, Yu Fei and DiMio arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport smoothly.
Yu Fei had just left the airport when he saw a group of media not far away interviewing a seemingly very famous superstar.
The most annoying part was the lackey; the person whose voice was as loud as a megaphone acted like an NBA team's PR officer, loudly indicating who could and who couldn't ask questions.
If he only had a loud voice that would be one thing, but he also had a face like a horse, a face that could make Lonzo Ball and Rajon Rondo bow down. If Benedict Cumberbatch proved that a horse-like face could be handsome, then this person was the counterexample.
He proved just how ugly a horse-like face could be.
Yu Fei found it difficult to describe the person's appearance with positive terms, but ugliness has its advantages too. Being as memorable as Ewing could also make you standout.
What puzzled Yu Fei was the main character behind the lackey.
Apart from the media's interest in him, his followers were also trying hard, with someone carrying a portable video camera filming everywhere and loudly babbling, "ABCD Camp, here comes Diop!"
"Who's that?" Yu Fei asked.
Ever since he joined Yu Fei's team, DiMio had intentionally kept up with information about high school stars. After careful recognition, he identified the person: "DeAngelo Collins (PF), the high schooler ranked fifth in the nation, reportedly the highest-ranked player attending the ABCD Camp."
"The top four aren't attending?" Yu Fei asked, surprised.
DiMio shook his head and said, "They attended last year and have already proven their abilities in the camp. For Kwame Brown, Eddie Curry, and Tyson Chandler, the most important thing now is to maintain their training regimen and avoid risks, because if they get injured in a game, it would be the end of them."
"So..."
"Exactly, compared to their peers of the same age, juniors typically have more impact, but with DeAngelo Collins attending this year, the seniors will also be strong contenders."
Yu Fei looked at the guy curiously.
If he was ranked fifth in the nation, he wouldn't have come to the ABCD Camp.
Because it wouldn't make sense.
Even if he became the camp's best, that was to be expected.
If you're ranked fifth in the nation, who else would be the best but you?
But if he was blown out by juniors, or even seniors attending the camp, that would be a real problem.
Collins was a big mouth, and when the media asked him what his goal for the ABCD Camp was, he blurted out without hesitation, "I will be ranked number one at the end of camp, I will take home the MVP, I'm not here to play, I'm here to show off my talent, I love competition, you know that's how I am, no one can stop me!"
Then his minions began to echo him, and the whole scene was bustling.
"If he's ranked fifth in the nation, what's he doing here?" Yu Fei asked.
DiMio laughed and said, "Actually, he's been around the top 30 in the nation until last month's state championship game. He directly took down Desagana Diop's team, ranked seventh in the nation, scoring 44 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. That's when his ranking shot up like a rocket."
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Those who rise through the ranks by defeating highly ranked players either think too highly of themselves, believing they're unmatched among their peers, or they have even greater ambitions.
For instance, dominating at the ABCD Camp to win MVP and then using the resulting fame to boost their draft prospects.
After all, players who suddenly climb the high school rankings tend to be placed too high. If they don't keep promoting themselves, even going into the draft as the nation's fifth-best high school player doesn't guarantee a high pick.
"Let's go," Yu Fei said with self-mockery, "there's not a bunch of media here just to interview me."
DiMio's eyes darted around: "If you need it, I can arrange that for you."
Yu Fei glanced at the media interviewing Collins with a corner of his eye. "Are those setups too?"
"Hard to say, but after all, he's the newly minted fifth in the nation. Maybe he is really that popular."
"Forget it, I don't want the media following me wherever I go."
Yu Fei and DiMio hailed a taxi and headed to the Marriott Hotel they had booked in advance.
Originally, Yu Fei's mother had chosen a different hotel for him, but Yu Fei and Roy decided to stay together after getting corporate sponsorship at an AAU tournament, which allowed them to afford a five-star hotel like Marriott.
Yu Fei checked in without a hitch and then went straight to find Brandon Roy.
Roy was staying at the same hotel, just one floor apart from Yu Fei's room.
To get used to New Jersey, Roy had arrived a day earlier.
Yu Fei commented on this: "I feel sorry for your parents; they had to pay an extra day's room charge for their prodigal son."
What was there to adjust to? He didn't understand; this wasn't a home or away game. This was a training camp, and if there were any spectators, they were friendly ones who spoke pleasantly.
"Hey, Fulai, do you know who the strongest player at this ABCD Camp is?"
Roy had a confident look on his face.
If Yu Fei hadn't seen DeAngelo Collins at the airport, he might not have known.
Now... rolling his eyes, he retorted, "DeAngelo Collins?"
"You know him?"
"Just found out today," Yu Fei replied. "I saw a big group of media crowding around him outside the airport."
"May God help me not to run into him in the camp's games," Roy turned into a shy lizard. "You know? He's called the 6-foot-9 Shaquille O'Neal."
"Huh?"
"He completely blew Desagana Diop away in the state championship game, and that guy is touted as the next Dikembe Mutombo!"
"Hm?"
Yu Fei wondered what he could do to snap Roy out of it. Hey, Chinese fans call you Contra, can't you be a bit tougher?
"No, I think we need to take action! How about this, we approach him tomorrow, make friends and invite him to join our team. I'm sure he won't refuse," Roy said excitedly, as if he'd struck upon a brilliant idea, "You're ranked 16th nationwide, and I'm ranked... well, I was 58th in the nation last year. Would he turn down two top 60 helpers? Even the real Shaquille O'Neal needed Kobe Bryant's help to win championships!"
Yu Fei looked at him with the pitying gaze reserved for the intellectually challenged.
Roy smugly countered, "Isn't my idea brilliant?"
"Brandon, the more I think about it, the more I understand why you might not make it into college," Yu Fei shook his head regretfully. "Did you spend all that money on plane tickets and a hotel stay just to kiss that jerk's feet? It's bad enough you went nuts, but to dare drag me into it? How could I, proudly ranked 16th nationwide, possibly go and latch onto that idiot? I tell you, it's not happening, and don't even think about clinging to his coattails—you should be clinging to mine!"
"But he's the so-called 6-foot-9 Shaq..."
"Then I'm the fucking 6-foot-9 Hakeem Olajuwon!"
The topic ended there, but Roy was still reluctant: "Wait till he knocks you down on the court, then you'll see how great my idea was!"
Yu Fei didn't understand what was wrong with the world. Why was Brandon Roy such a wimp? But then again, if he had transitioned to a world where Kobe was praised as the perfect team player, he could accept Roy being wimpy.
Moreover, compared to the reasons cited for Kobe being the perfect team player—watching movies with teammates occasionally and cracking jokes on planes and buses—the evidence for Roy being wimpy was more direct, more irrefutable.
Yu Fei really wanted to find a tape recorder and have Roy repeat what he'd just said. He was sure that this fool would regret having spoken such words one day.
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