Chapter 8

"Really, this place is in a terrible state. It seems like no one has lived here for a long time. Why can't they at least clean it up a bit?"

In a somewhat dilapidated apartment building not far from the Chicago United Training Camp, Lin Han looked at his dusty bed with a frown and complained.

He had given the camp supervisor ten thousand dollars to enter this training camp. In the end, not only was he assigned to Bowen's group during the physical test, where he was completely dominated by Bowen, but now he even had to stay in such a shabby apartment. From any perspective, this was a typical case of taking money without doing the job. So, Lin Han was now cursing the supervisor who had taken his money.

However, what Lin Han didn't know was that, in the supervisor's view, Bowen, in terms of physical fitness, was already one of the worst in the training camp. If Lin Han had been assigned to Penny Hardaway's group, that would have truly been a case of taking money without doing the job. As for being assigned to an apartment that seemed to have been unoccupied for a long time, there was no choice. Over the years, the players invited here were mostly talented players. These talented players usually already had their own agents, and even super rookies like Hardaway and Webber already had their own personal teams. Would players like them lack the money to stay in the shabby apartments provided by the camp? In the past, the camp had also provided some decent apartments, but in the end, no one stayed in them. It wasn't just that the players found the camp's apartments inadequate; they also wanted their own nightlife and didn't want to be managed like in college or high school. So, even if some rookies really didn't have much money, they still didn't want to stay in the dorms provided by the camp. Therefore, in recent years, they simply provided a worse option, which could also reduce costs. After all, no one was staying in them.

So, it wasn't the camp's fault that this place hadn't been cleaned for a long time. The camp didn't think Lin Han would really stay in the assigned apartment. To be honest, this apartment was just a decoration. Lin Han was the first person to stay here in the past three years.

"This place isn't bad. At least it's close to the training camp, and the surroundings are quiet, with no nightclubs or bars."

Of course, if Lin Han was the first person in the past three years to really stay in the apartment provided by the camp, then Bruce Bowen was the second. However, Bowen's mindset was much better than Lin Han's.

Unlike Lin Han, who, after tidying up his bed, just lay down and didn't want to move, Bowen, after tidying up his bed, cleaned the entire room inside and out. It seemed he had no objections to Lin Han's lazy behavior and even had a smile on his face the whole time.

Although Lin Han was really being lazy at this moment, it wasn't that he was unwilling to do the dirty and tiring work. It was just that he was really too tired today. He had rushed to Chicago from Utah overnight, only to find that the training camp had already opened. After finally getting through the back door, he was immediately required to participate in the physical test, which was both physically and mentally exhausting.

So, he just wanted to lie down and rest a bit. Lin Han was really surprised that Bowen would be so considerate. Before he had even rested enough, Bowen had already started cleaning, which deeply moved Lin Han. It was truly lucky to meet a friend while away from home.

"The water is here. Wash your feet before sleeping."

After cleaning the apartment, Bowen walked in with a bucket of water, looking quite cheerful.

"Thanks, wow, my feet really stink."

Lin Han took off his shoes a bit embarrassedly, and a strong odor immediately filled the air, which made Bowen laugh out loud.

"Lin, I can tell you haven't been playing basketball for very long, and you haven't received professional basketball training, right? Don't ask me how I know, but most players wouldn't wear shoes like yours on the court."

Looking at the much younger Asian boy, Bowen felt a sense of familiarity for some reason. Perhaps it was because his relationship with his family was getting worse, so he subconsciously wanted to take care of this somewhat naive young man. Or perhaps it was because this Asian boy, like him, was on the fringes of the basketball world, which was a kind of fate.

"Hehe, if I really count, I've only been playing basketball for about a year. A year ago, I didn't even know how to dribble, let alone how many teams there are in the NBA."

Lin Han rubbed the back of his head a bit embarrassedly and said. Translating for Ma Jian was the start of his involvement in basketball, and he only began to receive relatively formal basketball training about a month ago. After learning Kobe's back turn and fadeaway jump shot, he practiced this skill almost day and night under Ali's guidance. During this practice, Ali also taught him some professional basketball knowledge and skills. However, while Ali taught him a lot of professional things, she didn't teach him about professional equipment. At Utah Valley Community College, although he was on the school team and even played in every game, no one required him to reach a certain level of basketball skill. At that time, he just got by, as long as he did a good job translating for Ma Jian. Other things didn't matter, and he even wore leather shoes to play games sometimes. After all, Utah Valley Community College wasn't a formal school or team, and most of the games they played were casual, with no high standards.

This time, he came here wearing basketball shoes, which was a significant upgrade from wearing leather shoes. However, to an expert like Bowen, it was obvious that Lin Han was a novice.

"That's really bold. I think you might be the only person in NBA draft history to dare to participate in the draft after only one year of playing basketball. Are you very confident in yourself?"

Faced with the incredibly honest and sincere Lin Han, Bruce Bowen said with some emotion. A player who had only played basketball for a year and didn't even know how to use basketball equipment dared to challenge the highest stage of basketball. Whether Lin Han was truly ignorant or had absolute confidence in himself, Bowen found it incredible, especially when Lin Han's physical test results were much worse than his, who was already one of the worst.

Especially when Bowen himself had almost no confidence in being drafted, every time he saw the faint confidence and fearlessness on Lin Han's face, he was deeply moved.

"Of course, I will definitely make it to the NBA!"

After saying this with excitement, Lin Han looked at the somewhat stunned Bowen and continued.

"I know I'm very weak now, and I know that no one in the entire training camp is worse than me. But I still believe I can eventually become an NBA player. I have no room for failure. Whether it's for my life, for my family, or for my dreams, I absolutely cannot fail. I also want to challenge Jordan on the NBA stage. He is my idol and my goal."

For his life, for his American dream, and for his family, Lin Han knew this was his only chance to change everything. Even to realize his dream of challenging Jordan and becoming like Jordan on the NBA stage, he could not fail here, because Ali had said he only had one chance.

So, this wasn't just confidence in himself, but an absolute requirement for himself.

Since obtaining the Basketball Legend System, whether it was to change his height and wingspan by constantly practicing, or learning and refining Kobe's back turn and fadeaway jump shot, or leaving his family to come to Chicago alone to change his fate, all of this made Lin Han feel very pressured.

Whether it was facing Ali, who gave him the opportunity to change his fate, or his beloved elder sister, he had never shouted out his heart's voice like today. After finally shouting out his heart's voice to Bowen, he felt much lighter. When he lay down again, he didn't even have insomnia in the new environment and fell asleep immediately.

However, compared to the snoring Lin Han, Bruce Bowen was wide awake.

"For the dream, for the goal of challenging Jordan?"

Bruce Bowen hadn't thought about his basketball dream for a long time. Since he had a falling out with his family to continue his basketball career, he didn't know why he was playing anymore. His family didn't want him to play basketball because it had no future. As for dreams, they had long become a luxury. Since he entered college four years ago, he knew he couldn't achieve his basketball dream.

Like Lin Han, in fact, the dream of most young American players was the same: to stand in front of Jordan and defeat him!

Similarly, for most people, they didn't even have the qualifications to stand in front of Jordan, and Bowen was no different. When he entered college, he had already begun to doubt whether he had the qualifications to stand in front of Jordan.

In the end, until now, he didn't know why he was playing anymore. Perhaps continuing his basketball career had become an instinct for life, because if he didn't play basketball now, he wouldn't have money, and without money, he wouldn't have the means to live.

"Maybe he will succeed, and I will continue to fail?"

Looking at the sweetly sleeping Lin Han, who was currently much weaker than him, Bowen was completely lost.