As he watched, two more men got out of the car—one Black and one white. Both were tall as well.
The white man was around 195 centimeters, while the Black man was roughly 185 to 190 centimeters. He was also carrying a basketball.
Su Yang casually glanced at them, then his eyes widened. “Holy crap?”
“Isn’t that… what’s his name? Mozart… No, no, Morant?”
Although Su Yang didn’t usually play much basketball, he was still very interested in sports like basketball and soccer, and he recognized quite a few famous athletes.
Morant, who was standing not far away, had been incredibly popular in the NBA over the past two years. He was a professional basketball player from the United States who played point guard for the NBA Bears.
He wore long dreadlocks, a white Nike T-shirt, and numerous tattoos covering his arms. His lower half was clad in black athletic shorts, and he wore a pair of white Nike basketball shoes.
Although he wasn’t particularly tall—in fact, he was the shortest of the three—his athletic ability was exceptional. Even in a top-tier league like the NBA, he often delivered spectacular dunks over defenders.
The Black man who had gotten out of the car first, who was also around 195 centimeters tall, was likewise a professional basketball player from the United States. He played for the NBA Knicks and was named White.
At first, Su Yang had assumed he was the most famous of the three, but he hadn’t expected Morant to be there too.
He didn’t recognize the other white man, but judging by his appearance, he seemed to be a professional basketball player as well.
“Hey, they said they were just going to play some pickup ball with regular people, but three professionals showed up instead. I definitely have to play against them. The problem is, I don’t have any basketball-related skills. I wonder if I can compete with professional players using only my footwork.”
As he spoke, the black Range Rover sped away. The three men chatted and carried their basketballs into the park.
The NBA season usually began toward the end of October, so it was perfectly normal to run into basketball stars in Paris at this time of year. They were probably on vacation and had come to the pickup court to stay in shape.
Su Yang stopped watching and quickly went to a burger shop, where he bought two hamburgers to fill his stomach. He had originally planned to eat steak, but now he no longer had the patience. All he wanted was to get onto the court and test himself against Morant.
He wolfed down the burgers and washed them down with a cup of cola. Less than five minutes later, he left the restaurant and crossed the street toward the park.
It was an open park with three full-sized basketball courts. None of them were empty; people were playing on every court.
The closer he got, the more heated the atmosphere became. The sounds of bouncing basketballs, bodies colliding, and excited shouts rang out one after another.
Many of the men had taken off their shirts, revealing well-built muscles as they sweated through their games.
Su Yang’s casual outfit made him look somewhat out of place on the court, but no one paid him any attention for the time being. Everyone was focused on playing.
He turned his head and scanned the courts. On the middle one, he spotted Morant, White, and the other white man.
The appearance of two NBA stars at a pickup court—one of them currently among the very best—had attracted quite a few fans, who were asking them for autographs.
After signing the autographs, Morant and White warmed up on the sidelines, preparing to join a game with the locals.
Su Yang smiled and walked over.
“Hey, man!” A shirtless Black guy drenched in sweat was sitting on the sideline drinking water. When he saw Su Yang approaching, he called out to him.
“You talking to me?” Su Yang asked, puzzled.
“This place isn’t suitable for you. You should leave.”
“Not suitable for me? Isn’t this an open public park?”
“It is, but can’t you see that we’re playing basketball?”
“So? I’m not disturbing you, am I?” Su Yang replied with a smile.
“We don’t need celebrities on the basketball court.”
“Celebrities?”
The guy had seen Su Yang’s fashionable clothes and handsome face, so he assumed he was some kind of Asian celebrity.
Su Yang smiled and walked over to him. “Who told you I’m a celebrity? I’m just a tourist. I saw you guys playing and felt like joining in to see if I could get a spot.”
“You?” The Black man looked Su Yang up and down with obvious disdain.
“What? Is that not allowed?”
“You’re too short. Can you even play?”
“I’m short? You’re not exactly…” Su Yang hadn’t finished speaking when the guy suddenly sprang to his feet. Su Yang had to tilt his head up—the man was more than ten centimeters taller than him, at least 193 centimeters.
Su Yang scratched his head awkwardly and laughed. “Don’t let my height fool you. I’m pretty good at basketball.”
“I don’t think Asians are any good at basketball,” the guy sneered before sitting back down.
“Who says Asians can’t play basketball? Isn’t Yao Ming Asian? What do you have to say about that?”
“Yao’s an exception. Most Asians can’t play basketball.”
“Hey, I don’t like the sound of that. Since you’re so sure, why don’t we put it to the test?”
“You want to play me one-on-one?”
Su Yang blinked and smiled. “What, scared?”
“Hahaha! I could destroy you with one hand. Do you believe that?”
“I don’t. How about this? We play to eleven. If you beat me, I’ll admit that Asians can’t play basketball and leave immediately. But if I win, you have to apologize and let me join you for a three-on-three game.”
“Heh. You’re wearing long pants and a necklace. If I played you one-on-one, my brothers would laugh at me.”
“Can’t do it? Just say you’re scared. I’m embarrassed for you.” Su Yang deliberately provoked him.
“You!” The guy snapped to his feet again. “What do you mean, I can’t do it? I just don’t think you’re worth playing one-on-one against.”
“Whatever. As far as I’m concerned, you’re just afraid you’ll lose.”
Hearing that, the Black man stood up once more and glared at Su Yang through clenched teeth. “Fine, fine, fine! Let’s play to eleven. If you lose, get the hell out of here!”
Su Yang gave a faint smile and stood up. “Deal.”
Their entire exchange had been heard by Morant, who was several meters away. He stood to the side with a basketball tucked under one arm, watching the show.
None of the three courts had anyone playing a full-court game. Instead, each half-court had four or six people playing two-on-two or three-on-three.
The Black man walked toward the left half of the court in front of them and shouted, “Hey, guys, take a break for a minute and clear the court. Some clueless Asian guy wants to challenge me.”
“What?”
Su Yang stood at the sideline, removed his watch and necklace, and put them into his pants pocket. The moment he did so, however, he transferred the two items, along with his phone, into the system’s storage rack.
Afterward, he casually rotated his wrists, then shouted at the Black man on the court, “Hurry up! Clear the court already!”
“You see that guy over there?” the Black man said to the others.
Another Black man laughed. “An Asian?”
“Yeah.”
“Josh, you’re going one-on-one with an Asian?”
“He’s the one who provoked me, saying I was afraid to play him. So I’m going to show him what basketball really is,” Josh said with a grin.
“Haha, sure. But if you lose, don’t say you know me.”
“Do you really think that’s possible?” Josh turned toward Su Yang and shouted, “Kid! If you score even two points on me, I’ll count that as a win for you.”
Su Yang smiled and stepped onto the court. “I’ll say the same to you. If you can score even two points on me, I’ll count that as a win for you.”
“You saw that, right? An Asian guy actually had the nerve to act so cocky.”
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
