During this year's China Games, the Knicks finally got a firsthand taste of just how overwhelming Lin Yi's popularity really was.
On the 9th, the moment the team's plane touched down in Shanghai, they were surrounded by fans who had come to greet them. Security did what it could, but there was no real hiding Lin Yi.
At seven feet tall, unless Yao Ming decided to dress up as him, sneaking away simply wasn't an option.
Of course, Lin Yi knew better than to test his luck too much.
The next night, on the 10th, the Knicks faced the Wizards, and the game drew just as much attention. Playing in front of a home crowd, Yao Ming received thunderous support from Shanghai fans, while Yi Jianlian and Lin Yi repeatedly set off the arena with powerful dunks.
The Wizards' roster for the new season was already starting to take shape. Vucevic looked better than Lin Yi remembered, and Bradley Beal—arguably the most polished pure shooter of his class—showed exactly why he was so highly regarded.
Beal finished with 14 points and said after the game that Klay Thompson was the player he wanted to measure himself against.
When Lin Yi saw the quote, he reached over and gave Klay a light pat on the head.
"Looks like you've got yourself a fanboy now," he said with a grin.
Klay didn't bother hiding his pride. This trip to China had completely won him over. Fans were already calling him Kèlái Shūshu (Uncle Klay), and if Paul hadn't been on the roster, you'd think Klay was the team's second star just from the attention alone.
After beating the Wizards, the Knicks flew straight back to New York to continue preseason preparations.
As soon as Lin Yi got home, something else caught his eye.
"What's Jiu Jiu up to now?" he muttered.
Scrolling through Twitter, he saw that Team WE had just won the League of Legends Season 2 World Championship.
As the quiet, behind-the-scenes boss of Riot, Lin Yi had completely forgotten about it. He'd even reminded Alexander Wang earlier to double-check the cables and equipment.
The result?
WE upset tournament favorites M5 in the semifinals, then swept TPA 3–0 in the finals to claim the title.
Seeing familiar IDs like WeiXiao, RuoFeng, Curly, and CaoMei, Lin Yi couldn't help but smile.
In this life, it was really congratulations, WE.
Then he frowned.
Wait.
Something wasn't right.
Where was Seven?
Lin Yi looked closer and noticed the jungler ID wasn't Clearlove at all.
It was XiFeng.
"Hold on…" he muttered.
After digging around, Lin Yi realized XiFeng wasn't Seven—he was someone else entirely. A Chinese international student named Lin XiFeng, who'd met RuoFeng on the North American server and later joined WE through him.
Seven was still part of the team, but for this Worlds run, WE had chosen XiFeng instead.
Watching the post-championship interview, Lin Yi noticed XiFeng was surprisingly calm—and good-looking.
XiFeng said on camera. "Thank you to WE and my teammates. I hope we meet again at Worlds next season."
Lin Yi leaned back and looked up at the ceiling.
The butterfly effect was getting out of hand.
NBA rosters, esports lineups—anything he touched seemed to shift reality just a little.
Still, WE's championship was undeniably good for League of Legends in China. Between endorsements for shampoo, suits, watches, and more, Lin Yi's annual endorsement income alone had reached nearly 190 million dollars after tax.
Under Lin Yi's instructions, Zhong Muchen also purchased three villas for him in New York's most affluent areas. The largest was over 1,100 square meters; even the smallest was more than 300 square meters.
Money, at least, was no longer something Lin Yi needed to worry about.
Even if he spent recklessly on games and investments, it would be hard to burn through it all.
Earlier that summer, during the Olympics, Lin Yi had casually mentioned in an interview that he was a lifelong Leicester City fan when a British reporter asked about his favourite British football club. Not long after, the club formally invited him to visit.
Lin Yi decided he'd quietly bet ten to twenty thousand pounds every year on Leicester City to win the league.
That way, when the absurd 1-to-5000 odds finally paid off in the future, no one would find it suspicious.
After all, having too much money was never the real problem.
Not having enough—that was.
. . .
After the Knicks arrived in New York, news broke on the 12th that the San Antonio Spurs had officially signed free agent Andrei Kirilenko. The former All-Star—better known as AK47—joined on a one-year veteran minimum deal.
Lin Yi knew immediately that this was another ripple caused by his presence. In the original timeline, Kirilenko would have signed a 1+1 deal with the Timberwolves, then later given up a multi-million-dollar salary to join the Nets under Mikhail Prokhorov.
This time, though, he went to San Antonio.
It was hard not to admit it—Popovich was starting to understand Lin Yi better than almost anyone outside his team.
During the London Olympics, Russia had given Lin Yi his most uncomfortable matchup of the entire tournament. That game had been a physical grind from start to finish, and Kirilenko was at the center of it.
AK47 had been assigned to guard Lin Yi almost exclusively.
Lin Yi didn't suffer the "four blocks in ninety seconds" treatment Kobe once did, but Kirilenko still managed to drag his efficiency down. Lin Yi finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds, respectable numbers, yet his usual bag of moves was noticeably limited. Against Kirilenko, it came down to strength, positioning, and the occasional tough fadeaway.
At 206 centimeters tall with a ridiculous 228-centimeter wingspan, Kirilenko looked lean, almost fragile. In reality, he played with grit and edge.
He was never a true superstar, but at his peak, Kirilenko was Utah's defensive backbone—and the first non-center in NBA history to win the blocks title, averaging two per game that season.
Back on January 9, 2006, he had recorded one of the most complete stat lines the league had ever seen: 14 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 7 blocks, and 6 steals. A rare 5×5 performance. He did it three times in his career.
Jerry Sloan once remarked—before the Stockton-Malone era fully unraveled—that if injuries hadn't robbed Kirilenko of his athleticism, AK47 would have been one of the best players in the league suited to defend someone like Lin Yi.
That wasn't an exaggeration.
Kirilenko couldn't shut Lin Yi down entirely, but at his peak, he could turn Lin Yi's game into something far less fluid and far less spectacular.
The good news was that this version of AK47 wasn't quite the same weapon anymore. Time and injuries had taken their toll. And Lin Yi's added muscle over the summer wasn't an accident—it was preparation for matchups exactly like this.
If skill got neutralized, power would do the talking.
Lin Yi joked to himself, half-smiling.
"Guess I'll just play like Shaq today."
Popovich's move was clever, calculated, and very on brand. Lin Yi knew the old coach was laying out every possible contingency to slow him down.
Other teams might underestimate the Knicks. Popovich never would.
As far as he was concerned, a healthy Knicks squad was still one of the Spurs' biggest obstacles on the road to a championship.
. . .
On the 14th and 17th, the Knicks picked up preseason wins against the Celtics and the Raptors.
Boston looked rough. Garnett barely talked on the court anymore, let alone trash-talk. Toronto, on the other hand, gave the Knicks some problems.
With DeRozan and Lowry running the show, it was clear they'd be dangerous in the regular season. As for the playoffs… that was a different conversation.
. . .
On the 20th and 22nd, the Knicks followed up by beating the Wizards on the road, then taking down the Celtics again at home.
The second Celtics game nearly turned ugly.
Late in the fourth quarter, after a whistle near midcourt, Rondo and Paul ended up face-to-face.
Rondo shook his head and laughed.
"Well, if it ain't the choker. Wanna fight?"
Paul stepped closer and said slowly.
"Say what you want. At least I show up every night."
Rondo stepped closer, voice cutting.
"Show up? In the postseason? Please. No ring, no Finals runs. When it matters, you disappear. Pu**y boi."
Paul's jaw tightened.
"That's rich coming from a guy who lives off box scores."
Rondo smirked.
"Box scores? I run games. You just pad assists and act like it's a trophy. Only banners matter."
Paul pointed at the floor.
"Pad assists? You hunt stats, Rondo. Yeah, I don't have a ring yet—but remember this: when you're watching from home, retired and regretful, I'll be out here hanging banners. And when that one ring stops carrying your name, nobody's gonna remember 'One-Ring Rondo.'"
Rondo's eyes hardened.
"Talk to me when you've got hardware. Until then, shut your bitch mouth up!"
Paul showed a gesture of talking too much with hands
"Yeah, yeah. Go back to your pops—Garnett, Pierce. Conversation's over."
That was enough.
Rondo took a step forward, shoulders tense, like he was about to swing.
Luckily, Garnett barreled in, yanking Paul back by the arm.
"CP, nah. Not tonight," KG growled.
At the same time, Lin Yi wrapped Rondo up and pushed him toward the sideline.
"Let it go," Lin Yi said calmly. "Preseason. You know better."
Rondo twisted free just enough to fire one last shot.
"Tell him playoff basketball isn't for everybody."
Paul snapped back as he was pulled away.
"And tell your boi to go drink his milk."
The referees rushed in, palms out, whistles raised, while the crowd roared.
The situation cooled, and no punches were thrown—but the message was clear.
This wasn't over.
before it crossed the line.
...
After the game, Lin Yi found Paul in the locker room.
"Chris," Lin Yi said calmly, "I know you want Rondo to know who the best point guard is. But if you get suspended over a preseason game, that's a headache for all of us."
Paul nodded sorrily, exhaling. "Yeah. I know."
They hadn't even unleashed their full pick-and-roll yet, but the chemistry between Lin Yi and Paul was already obvious. Paul felt confident. The assist title was well within reach.
He looked up at Lin Yi with a grin. "Relax. We're not here to argue."
Lin Yi raised an eyebrow. "Then what are we here for?"
Paul smiled. "To win. Simple as that."
Lin Yi gave his shoulder a firm pat with a sharp glint in his eyes.
"Good. And for the record—nobody messes with my brother. Nobody! I meant what I said when I talked you into coming to New York."
He paused, then added calmly,
"Let's win rings. The rest will take care of itself."
Paul nodded, eyes steady now.
"Sounds perfect."
. . .
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