[Ding! Since the host has gained the favor of multiple teams and is currently in a "restless stage of youth," the Super Training Ground System is unlocking the Mission System...]
[Mission System Loading... 10%... 50%... 100%!]
[Mission System Activated. Congratulations, Host, on triggering a special mission: The Unique Nightclub Prince.]
[Mission Requirements: Stay in a nightclub from 10:00 PM to 3:00 AM. During this time, you must NOT engage in any "deep" interaction with any females.]
[Mission Reward: 20x Training Multiplier (Lasts until the day of the NBA Draft).]
Luke stared at the screen in a daze.
Stay in a club for five hours and do absolutely nothing? No "deep" interactions? This system was definitely living up to its "Unique" name.
But when he saw that 20x Training Multiplier, his heart skipped a beat. 20 times! He had spent a year of back-breaking labor just to get his current multiplier to 8x. With a month and a half left until the June 25th draft, a 20x boost meant he could grind out nearly 10,000 skill points by training ten hours a day.
That was enough to buy another Grade B Skill!
The power of a Grade B skill was something Luke already understood intimately. For an opportunity like this, he'd sit in a nightclub and do homework if he had to. Five hours of boredom in exchange for elite talent? That was a steal.
It was only 12:30 PM, plenty of time before the mission started. He headed out to grab some food, and when he returned, Steph was sprawled across the bed looking blissfully happy.
"Food's here. Eat now or I'm eating your share," Luke said, tapping the coffee table.
Steph practically sprang off the bed. Just then, Luke's phone buzzed. Looking at the caller ID, a wave of warmth washed over him. It was his mother, Chen Lei, calling from China.
"Hey, Mom. It's 1:00 AM over there, why are you still up? I told you not to stay up late just to catch me during my lunch break."
"I'm just used to it," his mom's doting voice came through. "And you... why are you so obsessed with this basketball thing? Wouldn't it be better to just finish your four years and come home?"
Suddenly, the booming, irritable voice of his father, Arthur Thorne, erupted in the background. "Hmph! Stinking brat! I spent a fortune sending you abroad to study, and you go off to play ball? How much can you even make playing a game? You should've stayed in school so you could take over the business!"
Luke smiled. Even though he had transmigrated, his parents were the same as his previous life—only this time, they were actually wealthy. His father owned a successful company and had sent Luke to the U.S. to get a "overseas returnee" credential to legitimize his eventual takeover of the family firm. Instead, Luke had declared for the draft, effectively ending his college eligibility.
"Relax, Old Man. I might end up making more money playing ball than you do with your company. Do you know how much the top NBA players make a year?"
"How much?" his father asked skeptically.
"Kobe. You know Kobe, right?"
"I've heard the name. The kids at the office talk about him all the time."
"Kobe makes twenty million a year," Luke said, emphasizing every word. "And that's U.S. dollars. After taxes, that's over a hundred million in our currency. Add in the endorsements, and he's clearing two hundred million a year. Does your company even have a yearly revenue of two hundred million?"
The silence on the other end was deaf-defying. "They make that much?!"
"Exactly. And the season only runs from October to June. That's four months of vacation a year!"
"Holy cow!" Arthur Thorne shouted. "That's not a job, that's a stick-up!"
"See? So don't worry about me," Luke said, seizing the moment. "Give me three years, Dad. If I haven't made a name for myself by then, I'll pack my bags and come home to run the office."
"Fine, three years. It's a deal. Anyway, son... I bought some stocks recently. Take a look for me."
"Stocks? What did you buy?" Luke felt a shiver of fear. Knowing his father's impulsive personality, he was worried the old man was about to lose the family nest egg.
"Tencent (TX). I bought them at the start of the year. They've been trending up lately."
Luke's jaw dropped. "Wait... you bought Tencent? How many shares?"
"A hundred thousand shares. Cost me about six hundred thousand."
Luke did the math and nearly choked. 100,000 shares! By 2014, the stock would split 5-for-1, turning that into 500,000 shares. By the time he transmigrated from the future, those shares would be worth over two hundred million dollars.
"Dad! Do not sell! Hold onto those shares like your life depends on it!" Luke said urgently. "If you have extra cash, buy more. Honestly, sell that old company of ours and dump it all into TX. My professor at Davidson did a case study on them—they're going to be the kings of the domestic market."
"Really? You're not pulling my leg?"
"I'm dead serious. The company's been stagnant for years anyway. Sell it."
"Get out of here! You haven't even made the NBA and you're already trying to fire your own father?"
After chatting with his mother for a bit and making them promise to go to bed, Luke hung up. He repeatedly warned his father not to touch anything other than Tencent. He didn't want the old man "diversifying" them into poverty.
Luke collapsed onto the bed, watching Steph finish his burger. "Steph... I think I'm done struggling. I think... my family is about to be filthy rich."