Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom were the two other guests invited by Chris Bell. They did not bring gifts as they were themselves the best gifts.
The two wore sports clothes, which were specially made. The outside of the pants stuck together and could be removed when torn apart.
Bell had brought the two teams together, and Kobe and Odom had joined them separately. Both of them had come because of Bell, which showed Bell"s wide connections.
The people of the slum basketball team played basketball very often; they often didn"t go to work and didn"t go to school and played instead.
Basketball was almost their only pleasure.
As a result, the stronger Kobe Bryant joined the treasure collectors team, and Odom joined the slum team.
News of the arrival of Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom quickly spread throughout Salem Harbor, with many people outside entering the abandoned factory community hoping to catch a glimpse of the superstar.
The bodyguards brought by the two men were very professional. They had the usual metro-area checker on their car.
These street people, although defiant, admired Kobe and other sports stars.
Therefore, when they entered the factory, they took out their weapons.
Soon there were knives, daggers, baseball bats and chains on either side of the factory gate, like a gang meeting.
Kobe looked aloof, and the media cast him as a ruthless bigot, but Li Du actually chatted with him and found him personable.
The dense crowd gathered around the stadium and many children tried to squeeze in.
It was so crowded and rammed that it was easy to get into a conflict, and Bell, with his treasure collectors and people in the factory community, kept the peace, barely keeping the scene in order.
Li Du and the treasure collectors were so excited by the arrival of Kobe that they naturally thought of him as the core of their team, so they surround him to chat and ask about tactics.
"Play like an all-star," Kobe laughed. "There"s no need for a strategy, just have fun. But in the last ten minutes, you have to give it to me."
"You"re going to win, aren"t you?" asked a treasure collector named Carrey.
Kobe still laughed, but with a more serious smile. "I just stand on the court and want to win because somebody"s going to win, so why not me?"
At this moment, Li Du saw the black mamba from the media: cold, resolute, aggressive and compet.i.tive.
Lamar Odom was also a star, but he was far from Kobe, who had just left the Lakers, where he had been the team"s man.
Conrad, naturally, was unhappy because he"d wanted to play with Kobe, not with a second-line star who was about to retire.
He went to Bell and said, "Hey, Chris, I was in the Kobe team, right? I want to go back, can you change me back?"
"Conrad, I said that you"d regret that decision. We"re all adults and we make decisions that don"t change, don"t let people look down on you," said Bell.
Conrad stomped his foot and went to the others to swap lineups, but who would give up the chance to play with Kobe?
For treasure collectors, playing a game with Kobe could blow up their status for a decade!
Unable to do so, he had to find Li Du and tried to laugh with him. "Li, what I said just now was too rash. Can you forgive me?"
Li du knew what he was playing, but wanted to make fun of him. "Of course. I"m not a child."
This did not blow up Conrad"s lungs, but he begged Li Du not to lose his temper, then he continued to laugh, "So will you do me a favor? You"re Chinese. You don"t know what Kobe is like in the hearts of us American fans. Can we swap teams?"
"Sorry, no, I have to respect Kobe"s choice. Kobe said he wanted to be my teammate."
Conrad discontented, "That"s impossible. Li, help me, I can let bygones be bygones... "
Upon hearing this, Li Du had no mood to entertain him. "You can let bygones be bygones," he sneered," I cannot."
Conrad flew into a rage and said, "Are you really not going to switch?"
Li Du shrugged. "Unless you"re dreaming."
Conrad gritted his teeth and said, "Well, wait until I make you look bad!"
The referee stated that the game was about to begin. Kobe and Odom were the tallest, so they were going to jump for the ball.
Odom was less combative compared to Kobe, playing purely, throwing the ball on tiptoes, and not even fighting.
Kobe jumped up and slapped the ball back, just in time for Li Du to grab it.
Immediately, Conrad rushed over with opened arms and used his excellent speed to stop Li Du.
Li Du didn"t want to fight with him. Although he had a bad relations.h.i.+p with Conrad, he had to admit that this guy probably played basketball better than himself.
When he pa.s.sed the ball to a teammate, he was already under the basket. Seeing this guy rus.h.i.+ng the ball to the basket, he jumped up and slapped the hoop with one hand.
"Cool, Kobe!"
"Long live Kobe!"
"Black mamba!"
The slum side began to attack, and Conrad, who was about to take possession of the ball, came with a skillful crosscourt to the frontcourt, and his teammates came up to meet him.
Seeing this, he waved his hands and said, "You pull away, I"m going one-on-one with this Chinaman, see how I play him."
Li Du put on a playful smile and opened his arms in defense.
Conrad"s ball was so good that it seemed to stick to his hand and body; it danced like a b.u.t.terfly through his legs, behind his back, and between his hands.
With his body shaking, Li Du went for the defense—his strategy was to follow him while shaking, and prevent himself from being shaken off.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Conrad drove his arm forward with the force of his body, which struck Li Du stealthily in the stomach.
Li Du was in pain, then he was angry that the other side had played dirty. Now he also didn"t need to be polite.
Summoning the little bug, he used the slowing down time skill. Conrad pa.s.sed him to shoot from behind and they easily stole the ball!
Kobe was right in front. He pa.s.sed to his fast-break teammates, and the treasure collectors team scored another point.
Conrad, feeling humiliated after being cut off by Li Du, continued to confidently make excuses. "I"m not used to the ball."
He wanted to hit Li Du with a surprise, and he broke through before finis.h.i.+ng his sentence.
Li Du moved sideways to keep up, and with a quick hand he again stole the ball!