บท 150: **Chapter 148: Revenge of the Big Shark**
Huff~ Huff~
In the early morning, with the sun shining brightly, Richard was jogging along the road at the foot of Beverly Hills, dressed in a blue and white sports T-shirt and shorts, listening to music through his earphones.
This road leads down to Beverly Street and Rodeo Drive and up to the luxurious residential area at the top of the hill. The road is wide, shaded by trees on both sides, providing a pleasant environment.
Richard ran from his home halfway up the hill to the foot and then back up to the top, covering more than ten kilometers in total, leaving him a bit out of breath.
Since coming to Los Angeles, he hasn't given up on his training. Every morning, he goes for a run, jumps rope, lifts weights, and practices for about two and a half hours.
If he has no work scheduled in the morning, he continues with boxing training in the gym of his villa. If he's short on time, he trains at noon or in the afternoon, also for two and a half hours.
His boxing skills have reached a high level, and further breakthroughs are difficult. Currently, he focuses on maintaining his form and building strength, hoping for another breakthrough. After his last breakthrough, his skills reached the level of a top heavyweight champion, comparable to Holyfield. He's curious to see how much stronger he could become with another breakthrough, though he's just excited about the possibility.
"Hey-oh~ Hey-oh~ Hey-oh~"
While listening to Liszt's piano piece, he suddenly heard some noise, like someone was intentionally adding accompaniment to the piano piece, repeatedly shouting 'Hey-oh~ Hey-oh~'.
He took off his earphones, and the 'Hey-oh' sound stopped.
Bang!
Suddenly, a black shadow flew through the air—it was a basketball, landing more than ten meters in front of him, bouncing on the ground and rolling towards him.
"Hey~ man, are you the new neighbor?"
There was a mansion on the road, and on its roof stood a huge gorilla-like figure, waving its arms and shouting loudly, "Hey-oh." It was hard to see clearly from a distance.
From his real estate agent, he had learned about the various property owners in the area, including movie stars, bankers, sports stars, famous directors, and architects. The guy dancing on the roof should be a basketball player.
Richard grabbed the ball and walked up the steps towards the mansion. From the road to the back door of the mansion, there were more than ten terraces of greenery and flowerbeds, layer upon layer, with two workers trimming the greenery. The scent of sap filled the air.
"Haha, Richard, it really is you."
The large iron gate opened, revealing a tall, burly black man with a broad smile, showing a set of white teeth.
"And you are?"
Richard blinked, looking puzzled.
"Uh~~"
The big guy's expression froze, his wide grin slowly closing, and the smile on his face stiffened as if he had a heart attack.
"Haha, Mr. O'Neal, hello. I'm a fan of yours. That was just a joke."
Richard extended his hand with a smile.
"Hehe~"
Shaquille O'Neal rolled his eyes, feeling awkward about the joke.
Reluctantly, he extended his hand for a handshake, but suddenly tightened his grip with his broad hand, squeezing Richard's hand tightly.
"Hey hey, Richard, just a joke. You don't mind, right?"
O'Neal grinned.
"Not at all, of course not!"
Richard smiled lightly and slowly exerted more force. Although his hand wasn't as big as O'Neal's, he had been training for over ten years, focusing mainly on his hands, making his strength much greater.
"…"
O'Neal's expression changed, gritting his teeth and trying harder, but soon, sweat began to appear on his forehead.
"Hey, Shaq, what's wrong?"
Richard patted him on the shoulder, discreetly withdrawing his hand.
"Hehe, nothing!"
O'Neal glanced at his hand, with four fingers pressed together almost like a chicken claw, and a deep indent visible on the back of his hand.
Ouch, that really hurt~ He grinned, hiding his hand behind his back to shake it off.
"Richard, do you play basketball? How about we play a game together?"
"Sure, Shaq. You're my idol. It's an honor to play with you."
Richard smiled lightly.
O'Neal didn't believe him. A fan who bullies his idol on their first meeting is not a fan he wants.
"Hehe, Richard, your boxing is amazing. I'm also a fan of yours."
Hmph, who can't engage in some mutual flattery?
"Thank you!"
Richard smiled, following the big guy into the backyard.
O'Neal was tall and sturdy, and his mansion was also very large, with a big pool, garden, and lawn, covering more than 1.5 hectares, much larger than Richard's hillside villa.
Inside the mansion, there was an indoor basketball training court, where two young black men were practicing. Both were about 1.9 meters tall, and they were O'Neal's teammates and basketball sparring partners, James and Rick.
"Richard, you team up with James, and I'll team up with Rick. How about we have a game?"
O'Neal grabbed the basketball with a smile.
"Alright!"
Richard smiled. Playing basketball is also good training, and playing with Shaq should be fun.
"Haha, you guys start!"
O'Neal tossed the basketball over.
Richard's teammate James served the ball. Richard received it and drove straight towards the inside. O'Neal closely followed him all the way but did not attempt to block him.
When Richard got to the basket, he passed the ball to James, hoping James would take the shot. However, James, being modest, passed the ball back to Richard.
Richard had no choice but to jump up for a layup. Thanks to his regular jump rope practice, his jumping ability was decent, allowing him to place the ball into the hoop when he jumped up.
This time, as usual, he jumped up high and prepared to reverse layup the ball into the basket. Just then, O'Neal suddenly rushed over and swatted the ball away with a powerful block.
Boom!!!
The basketball was slammed onto the floor with a force like a cannonball.
"Wow~~, roar roar roar!!!"
O'Neal yelled excitedly, pounding his chest with his fist, and wiggling his big butt, almost overwhelmed with joy. His two companions laughed along with him.
Richard shook his head and smiled. This guy was too petty, seeking revenge just because Richard had pinched his fingers.
"Heh heh, Richard, don't you know my head is a no-fly zone?" O'Neal grinned.
"I forgot. I'll be more careful next time," Richard replied with a smile, taking the basketball and driving inside again, battling hard against O'Neal. However, O'Neal was too strong.
Standing at 216 cm and weighing 140 kg, O'Neal was too massive to be moved. During the game, all O'Neal focused on was blocking Richard's shots.
Richard disliked taking shots from the outside, always charging in for close battles. After half an hour, he was blocked seven or eight times.
"Ha ha, Richard, how was that?" O'Neal raised his eyebrows and smiled.
"You're very good!" Richard wiped the sweat off his face.
"Ha ha, of course! I'm the number one center in the NBA. My area under the basket is off-limits. The fact that you managed to score a few is quite impressive," O'Neal laughed.
Richard laughed and bumped fists with him, then they both sat down on the sidelines to rest.
"Richard, you're good at boxing. Can you beat Tyson?" O'Neal asked.
"If I fought him, I wouldn't lose," Richard smiled confidently.
"Really? I practiced with Tyson before. Why don't we practice and see who's stronger?" O'Neal suggested with a wink.
"You want to practice boxing with me?" Richard shook his head slightly. "My punches are quite strong, and ordinary people can easily get hurt."
"What?! I'm an ordinary person?!!" O'Neal shouted discontentedly, waving his massive fists.
"Okay, okay, let's practice!" Richard agreed.
The two went to the nearby gym, put on boxing gloves, and started sparring. O'Neal was also a boxing enthusiast; the gym had punching bags, and his boxing skills weren't bad.
Bang bang!
They exchanged a few moves.
"Hey, Richard, put some strength into it, will you? I've practiced too. Last year when I sparred with Tyson, I wasn't much worse than him," O'Neal complained.
"Alright, I'll use some strength!" Richard raised his fists and added some power.
"Ha ha, now this is exciting. Watch my Shark Punch," O'Neal yelled, swinging his giant fists towards Richard's face.
Richard calmly crossed his arms to block, firmly stopping his punches.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three consecutive punches, each stronger than the last.
Richard blocked all three, his arms numb, and his body involuntarily stepped back a few paces.
"Ha ha, Richard, how was the power of my punch?" O'Neal laughed.
"Very impressive, you have the strength of a top boxer," Richard acknowledged.
"Hey, Richard, punch me with your full strength. Let's see if your punch is stronger than Tyson's," O'Neal said, pounding his chest.
"Really hit you?"
"Hurry up, stop hesitating!" O'Neal demanded impatiently.
"Alright! Be careful, this time I'll use half my strength. It's dangerous!" Richard warned.
"Haha, you made me laugh," O'Neal raised his arms, still chuckling.
"KO!" Richard shouted, suddenly leaping up, faking with one fist and striking with the other, breaking through O'Neal's guard and landing a punch on his forehead.
Bang!
O'Neal's expression froze, his eyes rolled back, and he became cross-eyed, his body swaying.
Thud~
He fell heavily onto the mat, raising a cloud of dust.
"Sigh, he couldn't even withstand half my strength, yet he claims he's not an ordinary person," Richard muttered, blowing the dust off his gloves.
Around ten in the morning, Richard left O'Neal's mansion and returned to his hillside villa. He had some breakfast prepared by Mrs. Fatima and then called Mrs. Bundchen.
"Darling, I just went to the Big Shark's place and came back late. Yes, O'Neal lives not far from the hillside villa. He insisted on practicing boxing and said he's not an ordinary person, very resilient. I didn't believe it and tried it out. One punch, and he passed out. He lay there for over ten minutes before waking up, almost asking me for medical expenses."
He briefly recounted their training session, making Mrs. Bundchen laugh heartily.
"Darling, are you done with your work? It's quite lonely living in such a big house alone. What? I can bring women home? Really?!
I'm not happy, I wasn't thinking of bringing anyone over, just joking. You mentioned it first. Okay, okay, let's change the topic. When will you come over?
I just finished filming 'Girl Interrupted,' and I'll be going to the 20th Century Fox studio to shoot some costume tests soon. I'll be staying in the film studio for a while and won't have time to go back to New York. Alright, come over soon."
After a chat that lasted through lunch, around eleven, he left the villa in a Mercedes sedan.
The sedan came with the villa, one of two cars, the other being a Mercedes business van. His original Cadillac was too flashy and inconvenient to drive, so he left it in the garage to gather dust.
"Hey, Richard, what brings you to the company?" Stephen, another old agent, greeted him at the company entrance.
"I have some matters to discuss with Old Hall."
"Really? I heard you want to win an Oscar?" Stephen laughed.
"What?" Richard frowned.
"Heh heh, didn't you read the papers? Someone said you want to win an Oscar. Is that true?" Stephen spread out a tabloid and laughed.
"Oh, fuck!"
It had only been a few days, and this news was already out? Richard shook his head, feeling tricked by Julie.
(End of this chapter)
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