Chapter 313: SS Evolution And A Western Showdown
After the war, the battlefield was the living room.
Chen Yan and Taylor lay side by side on the sofa, breathing slowly, eyes on the ceiling.
Considering they had started upstairs and ended up downstairs, anyone could guess how intense the "battle" had been.
At least it was a team off day.
After eliminating the Spurs, D Antoni had given the entire roster 1 full day to rest. No practice, no film, just recovery.
After resting for a while, Chen Yan finally lifted his hand and opened the system.
From Games 5 and 6 combined, he had earned 116 Honor Points. With the 61 he had saved up before, he had more than enough to splurge.
He started with free throws.
His free throws had always been decent, never a real weakness. Before, he had not felt any urgency to upgrade them. Now, after going deeper into the playoffs, his perspective had changed.
The further you go, the more details decide everything.
Just like in Game 5. If Ginobili had hit both free throws, there would have been no 13 points in 33 seconds, no game winner.
In big games, it is often 1 or 2 points that flip an entire series.
Chen spent 15 Honor Points to raise his Free Throws from 82 to 85.
Then he went for an all around tune up. Strength. Rebounding. Vision. Blocks. Steals.
He used 10 Honor Points to bump Stealing from 89 to 90, and 20 more to lift Vision to 88.
Next, 15 Honor Points pushed Strength to 86.
Another 5 took Rebounding to 85.
Finally, 14 Honor Points raised Blocks to 80.
By the time he finished those adjustments, he had burned through 79 points.
He glanced at the bottom of the panel.
Honor Points remaining. 98.
Chen smiled.
In this life, he had never had this much to play with at once.
Time to keep going.
After thinking for a moment, he pointed directly at the Three point Shooting attribute.
He had tasted what deep range could do to an opponent's soul in the Spurs series. Once he held a lead in points, his first instinct was now always the same. Strengthen the three.
He poured 50 Honor Points into Three point Shooting.
The attribute ticked up from 96 to 97.
As usual, he kept a small reserve for injuries and unexpected situations.
Just as he finished, the system's mechanical voice sounded in his head.
Ding.
"Congratulations, Host. Your overall rating has been upgraded to SS. You have gained 1 opportunity to evolve a skill."
Another evolution.
He had been expecting attribute growth, but not this. It hit him like a surprise bonus.
An evolution meant his physical ceiling climbed to a new level, and on top of that, he got to upgrade 1 skill of his choice.
He did not hesitate.
If he wanted to become a truly revolutionary perimeter player, the three ball was his primary weapon.
He selected the Shooting skill tab and hit the glowing plus sign.
A silver flash swept across the panel.
Skill evolution complete.
A new icon appeared.
Divine Shot Baptism.
In front of this skill, the traditional three point line is almost right under the rim. The Host's three point percentage from inside 11 meters is unaffected by distance. Beyond 11 meters, for every extra meter, the three point attempt is affected by an additional 15 percent distance penalty on top of this base.
The distance threshold where decay disappeared had moved even farther out. Beyond 11 meters, the drop off from distance was now much lighter than before.
If his touch was rolling, he could pull from beyond half court and still make it look reasonable.
Of course, this skill was not free. Every evolution came with a price, and this one ate stamina even faster than before. He had already learned that lesson when he had upgraded Godly Pull Up Jumper.
Chen backed out of the skill page and opened his full status panel.
Name. Chen Yan
Height. 198 cm
Weight. 94 kg
Wingspan. 218 cm
Standing Vertical Leap. 105 cm
Running Vertical Leap. 117 cm
Ball Handling. 91
Speed. 96
Stamina. 91
Vision. 86
Driving. 91
Layup. 91
Mid Range Shot. 93
Three point Shooting. 97
Free Throws. 85
Passing. 86
Off Ball Movement. 91
Stealing. 89
Strength. 86
Rebounding. 85
Defense. 86
Blocks. 80
Mentality. 98
Skills. God Tier Steal, The Answer Crossover, Magic Shadow Maze, Hot Start, Perfect Hand Shape, Juggling Finish, Godly Pull Up Jumper, Passing Master LV3, Sam Good, Iron Will, Mamba Footwork LV1, Post Up Skills LV1, Fingertip Floater, Divine Shot Baptism
Honor Points. 48
Overall Rating. SS
His eyes paused on the numbers for his vertical.
Both his standing and running vertical jumps had jumped significantly. And that was just what the panel showed directly. Hidden under that were tweaks to explosiveness, coordination, body control, and more.
With the Western Conference Finals coming up, this was the definition of perfect timing.
Chen felt his pulse quicken again. His body felt light, full of stored energy. He glanced over at Taylor beside him, still fast asleep, and felt a fresh rush of strength build up all over again.
...
"What time is it?"
When Taylor finally woke, the living room was dark and the only light came from the television. Every joint in her body felt loose, as if it had been taken apart and put back together.
Chen had been a little too fired up today.
This version of him was a bit different from the usual, but to her, it was a new experience, not a problem.
"It is almost 9," Chen said, eyes still on the screen.
He was watching Game 6 of the Lakers versus Hornets series.
"I slept that long?" Taylor blinked in surprise.
After a quick wash in the bathroom, she came back carrying a big bag of snacks and dropped onto the sofa again, curling up next to him.
On the screen, the third quarter had just ended.
The score was 69 to 60. Lakers up by 9.
The series stood at 3 to 2 for Los Angeles. This game was their first chance to close it out.
"The Lakers are probably taking this one, right?" Taylor asked, opening a bag and popping a chip into her mouth.
"It looks like it," Chen answered.
"Who do you want to win?" she asked again.
"Honestly, the Hornets," Chen said with a grin. "If they push it to Game 7, we get 2 extra days of rest."
At this point in the playoffs, 1 extra rest day was an advantage. 2 was a luxury.
"What about you?" Chen turned his head to look at her.
"I want the Lakers," Taylor said without hesitation.
"Because you are a Los Angeles fan?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No," she laughed. "If the Lakers win, your next round starts on the road in Los Angeles. That makes it a lot easier for me to watch you play."
Chen smiled.
His mind went back to the start of the season, that night at Staples Center.
Back then, they had not started dating yet. It was still the ambiguous phase. Taylor had worn his jersey under a Kobe jersey, hiding it like a secret.
Then he hit a game winner.
She had ripped Kobe's jersey up to reveal the number 0 underneath and got booed by a whole arena full of Lakers fans for it.
Now, that same building might be the stage for their next showdown.
The game on screen moved quickly into the fourth quarter.
Just as Taylor had predicted, the Lakers held their nerve and closed it out.
They won Game 6, wrapped up the series, and claimed the other spot in the Western Conference Finals.
This had been the Hornets' best shot in years. Chris Paul was right at the peak of his powers, the roster around him was balanced, and the chemistry was sharp.
But they had run headfirst into a monster.
Kobe plus Garnett.
That duo could choke you on both ends. They could close a game with jumpers and post ups, then smother you on the next possession with length and intensity.
In the post game interview, Kobe stood in front of the microphones, expression calm, words measured.
"The Western Conference Finals is a process for us, not the destination," he said. "I cannot wait to see the Suns."
His voice was flat, but underneath that, there was a clear edge.
Kobe Bryant had never hidden his competitive fire.
2 straight years of failure had been a deep cut in his pride.
There was no way he was as calm as he pretended to be.
Chen watched the clip in silence for a moment, then picked up his phone.
He opened his messages, found Kobe's number, and typed a single line.
See you in the Western Conference Finals. I am ready.
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