Chapter 135: A Premeditated Killing Blow

Thump, thump...

Quicken Loans Arena fell into a bizarre silence for a split second, as if time itself had frozen. People could hear nothing but the sound of the basketball, having just been slammed through the hoop, bouncing against the hardwood floor.

"A buzzer-beater!"
"A true, literal buzzer-beater!"
"Lin, the guard from China, has just won the game at the buzzer!!"

After the brief silence, the first to erupt was television commentator Hassen. He jumped up from the broadcast table in excitement, tossed his headset aside, and pumped his fists. He had broadcast hundreds of games, but never had he seen one as tumultuous and heart-stopping as this. From trailing by 28 points to winning with a buzzer-beater—such a massive comeback was a once-in-a-century event! And he had the privilege of witnessing the miracle.

Quicken Loans Arena also began to boil over after Hassen’s outburst. The home fans still could not believe what had unfolded before their eyes.

"Damn it, this isn't real!"
"F***! That yellow pig just beat us at the buzzer!"
"I don't believe it, man! Weren't we leading by 28 points?"

On the court, after completing that final thunderous dunk, Lin Feng pumped his fist in excitement. He then turned directly toward the camera, clenched both fists, and made an angry expression. The cameraman initially thought Lin Feng was just trying to look cool, but the next second, the expression on Lin Feng's face suddenly shifted. The right corner of his mouth began to curl upward, and a mysterious, eerie smile bloomed across that previously furious face. This change in expression left the cameraman handling the lens completely stunned. Indeed, Lin Feng was mimicking the iconic "Pope" D'Angelo Dinero smile, determined to bring that meme—which had once taken another dimension by storm—into this world.

"Lin! Great job!"
"Lin, you must be possessed by God!"
"Lin, I f***ing love you!"

Lin Feng's teammates swarmed him, cheering with excitement and basking in the joy of the win. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers' players walked off the court with dejected and sullen expressions. The team's superstars, Thomas, Devin, and Comfort, headed straight for the players' tunnel.

"Devin, Comfort, you know what? That guy missed that last shot on purpose!" Thomas said angrily as they entered the tunnel.
"What?" Devin exclaimed in shock. "How is that possible? You mean he intentionally smashed the ball against the front rim just to set up the put-back dunk?"
Thomas nodded. "Maybe it shouldn't even be called a put-back. He was playing an alley-oop with himself!"
"F***! That guy is that arrogant?" Comfort was equally shocked and cursed, "Damn yellow pig, we have to teach him a lesson in the next game!"
"Hmph, but I actually like his arrogance. An opponent like that is interesting!" Thomas sneered. "I thought the first round of the playoffs would be boring, but now it looks like the fun has just begun. We need to step it up in the coming games, boys!"
"Don't worry, Thomas. In the next game, I'll shadow him the entire time. I’m going to crush that yellow pig and hold him to single digits!" Devin threatened viciously.

The defeated Cavaliers quickly left the arena, while Lin Feng, having led the massive comeback and secured the victory, was swarmed by reporters.

"Hey, Lin, can you tell us how you're feeling right now?"
"Lin, how did that final dunk taste?"
"Lin, what do you think about your explosive performance?"
"Lin, is it true you only signed a short-term contract?"

The reporters fired question after question.

"Sorry everyone, can we take these one at a time?" Lin Feng shrugged with a helpless expression.
"That’s fine, as long as you don't run away," one reporter said with a smile. The group exchanged glances; as peers, they had encountered this many times and knew how to handle it.
"I'll go first. Lin, describe your current mood. And before the game started, did you ever imagine you’d have such a miraculous performance?" a female reporter asked.
"Haha, I feel great! I'm thrilled!" Lin Feng smiled and continued, "As for today's performance, I don't think it's miraculous. If you had watched videos of my previous games, you would know—this is just who I am."
"You seem very confident," the female reporter frowned slightly. Although she wasn't a racist, she subconsciously held a certain disdain for Asians and certainly didn't believe Lin Feng's explosion was a regular occurrence.
"Confidence comes from strength," Lin Feng shrugged, laughing. "My confidence in my basketball skills is just like your confidence in your appearance."
"Uh, alright then." With that said, the reporter found it difficult to challenge him further.

"Next question," Lin Feng said, smiling at the reporter.
"Lin, you scored 31 points tonight. Do you want to say anything to the guy you made a bet with?" a male reporter asked.
Lin Feng scratched his head and said, "As for him, I’m actually quite grateful. His sarcasm served as motivation for me. So, I want to say: thank you! And thanks to everyone else who looked down on me!"
"Oh, and one more thing—gratitude aside, that guy still has to kiss a donkey's ass, because I won!" Lin Feng added with a laugh.
"Lin Feng, I heard you signed a non-guaranteed short-term contract. Do you think the team should give you a new contract now?" another reporter asked.
"Oh, you should ask Mills that," Lin Feng shrugged, laughing. "Though, I think he will."

While Lin Feng was giving his interview, the discussion online about the game and the guard from China had already exploded.

"Hey guys, did you watch the Knicks vs. Cavaliers game? It was absolutely brilliant, it was insane!"
"Of course! A 28-point comeback—I love that Chinese guard!"
"And that final buzzer-beating dunk! It was just too cool!"
"This was a crazy game. Lin's performance was godlike!"
"You're right, he was God wearing a jersey!"
"Maybe God was just playing a joke and only lent him five minutes, but regardless, I love him! He led the team to victory and pulled off such an amazing buzzer-beater!"
"This is definitely the coolest buzzer-beater in NBA history, bar none!"
"Guys, I made a fun discovery. Lin's final put-back might have been intentional. He meant to play an alley-oop to himself! If you watch the replay closely, the moment he released the shot, he started moving. He judged the rebound's landing spot before anyone else and beat everyone to the ball to finish the dunk..."
"That's right! He must have planned it all along!"