Chapter Two: The Infuriating System That Makes You Want to Retire From the NBA the Moment You Enter
In his previous life, Lin Tian relied on the wealth accumulated by his parents to grow the family business ever larger and more prosperous. Before he was even forty-five, he successfully led the family enterprise through a round of financing and onto the A-share market.
Yet in his relentless pursuit of work and wealth, Lin Tian’s lifestyle and habits had deteriorated beyond repair. Especially in his younger years, he was so caught up in endless social drinking that he ended nearly every night in a drunken stupor. By thirty, he was already overweight and in terrible shape, and after forty, his health problems only intensified.
In the end, just as he turned fifty, Lin Tian succumbed to a host of complications and passed away.
But what Lin Tian thought was the end of his life turned out to be a new beginning. The moment he opened his eyes, he discovered that he had returned to his youth!
He had been reborn.
Everything was as it had been in his previous life—except for the memories residing in his soul.
After the initial shock and joy, Lin Tian quickly accepted his new reality and resolved that, in this lifetime, he would live entirely differently.
The first thing he abandoned was the business world. In his previous life, he had never relaxed a single day for the sake of his commercial empire. Stress, drinking, endless social obligations—these were the factors that led to his early death.
This time, Lin Tian wanted to live comfortably.
He wanted to live with joy.
He wanted to reclaim those “lowly pleasures” he had neglected in his previous life.
This was, in fact, one of the main reasons he chose psychology: it was easy!
In his past life, Lin Tian had studied for a master’s degree in psychology at Penn, so he could dominate the business world. Which meant that these four years weren’t about learning—they were about reviewing!
At the same time, Lin Tian picked up his favorite sport from his past life: basketball.
Compared to his previous life, where he had left his peak behind early and only shone in company games—sometimes scoring a hundred points in a single match, but only against his young subordinates—this time, he started training hard at a young age and eventually fought his way into the madness of March in the NCAA.
Everything was wonderful, save for one thing that left Lin Tian both frustrated and miserable.
It wasn’t until his senior year, one morning when he woke up, that he finally saw a floating message before his eyes.
“Basketball Talent and Emotion System has been loaded! Complete the initial task to activate!”
“Initial task: Enter the NBA!”
“Task reward: The strongest talents of three elite athletes!”
Lin Tian’s first reaction upon seeing the cheat system was wild joy and excitement!
The strongest talents of three elite athletes!
And it was clearly stated: elite athletes!
So—Jordan’s mid-range shot, Miller’s three-pointer, Olajuwon’s footwork, Barkley’s strength, Chamberlain’s stats... any of them could be his!
If fortune favored him, Lin Tian might even get Iverson’s speed and O’Neal’s destructive power! Wouldn’t that make him invincible?
The legendary two-meter Iverson, tireless O’Neal, rational Kobe, Curry plus Jordan...
Tsk, tsk...
Though he was a boss in his past life, Lin Tian’s hobbies had always included reading fantasy novels!
He’d read plenty of those popular novels about cheat systems in later generations.
He was no stranger to golden fingers and cheats!
A reborn man, the chosen one—luck and lotteries always favored the best!
But after the initial thrill faded, Lin Tian was cursing up a storm.
Why hadn’t the system appeared sooner?
If it had, he would have done anything—even pulled strings—to get into a powerhouse basketball college like Duke, North Carolina, or Kansas. In those schools, the players, coaches, facilities, and exposure were all ten times greater than at the little-watched Penn!
But now, he was already a senior. Even if he tried to transfer to a school like UCLA, it was too late! With Penn’s current record and exposure, Lin Tian would be lucky to be drafted by the NBA—he might not even make it into the CBA back home, and would have to start from the youth or second-tier teams.
At this rate, who knew when the system would awaken?
But Lin Tian couldn’t very well kill himself and hope for another rebirth, could he?
Left with no choice, Lin Tian doubled down in his senior year, training like mad and pushing his teammates to do the same.
At last, they made it into the NCAA’s March Madness, and Lin Tian himself, though only selected fifty-second in the second round, still entered the NBA!
When he was picked by the Bulls, it felt like a dream. Despite all the storms he’d weathered in his past life, Lin Tian still found himself dazed, only coming to his senses in time for the photo and interview session.
Back at the hotel, Lin Tian immediately opened his system.
“Basketball Talent and Emotion System initial task completed. Activate system and receive task reward?”
“Yes!”
With excitement, Lin Tian activated the system and received his reward—
And was instantly dumbfounded.
Right there and then, he wondered whether he should just retire from the NBA altogether!
Because the three talents he’d drawn weren’t basketball talents at all.
It was only then that Lin Tian realized... the system had said talents of three elite athletes—not three elite basketball players!
What a colossal misunderstanding!
The three athletes he’d drawn were world-famous, worthy of the title “elite athletes”:
“Tom Brady’s passing, playmaking, and game-reading ability: The All-Seeing Eye!”
“Floyd Mayweather’s fighting skills: Pretty Boy!”
“Usain Bolt’s physical speed: Lightning Speed!”
These three athletes and their talents were truly at the top of the world! Tom Brady and Bolt, in particular, were undisputed GOATs in their respective fields.
But the problem was, none of them were basketball players!
It wasn’t that Lin Tian couldn’t use these abilities—on the contrary, he could find ways to apply them in games, and they would be incredibly useful. But still...
Compared to playing basketball, wouldn’t it make more sense for Lin Tian to take these talents to the NFL, or the track, or the boxing ring? Why take the roundabout way?
So exhausting! So inefficient!
He might as well retire on the spot! Sure, Lin Tian loved basketball, but after years in America, the boxing ring and NFL fields had become his passions as well!
So be it!
He’d retire right now!
Just as Lin Tian was thinking he hadn’t signed with the team yet and could simply walk away for a new path, the system’s voice sounded again.
“If the host does not play in the NBA, the current talents cannot be fully activated!”
What the hell?
Lin Tian didn’t need a mirror to know his face must have turned green.
This damned system was a bottomless pit!
It even restricted his profession?
Other people’s systems let them do whatever they pleased, treating their hosts like their own fathers.
Heaven, how unfair you are to me!