Chapter 20

December 13, 2005, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

"Thud, thud, thud"

After several days of matches and training, Chen Mu's body, which had not yet fully developed to its peak, was struggling to keep up. Fortunately, Coach D'Antoni decided to give the players a day off to rest and adjust. Chen Mu took this rare opportunity to go for a walk and clear his mind.

Having signed a ten-day short-term contract, Chen Mu finally had some income. Unlike the star players who earn millions of dollars annually, Chen Mu's contract was one of the lowest in the NBA.

NBA salary contracts are generally divided into three main categories: maximum salary, mid-level salary, and minimum salary, each with different applicable clauses and varying income levels.

The salary for a ten-day short-term contract is based on the NBA minimum salary for that year, divided by the 170-day regular season, to determine the daily salary base, and then multiplied by ten to calculate the player's total salary.

In 2005, the minimum salary for a rookie like Chen Mu, with no professional basketball experience, was $385,277 per year. According to the conversion, the daily salary was about $2,266. Therefore, for this ten-day short-term contract, Chen Mu could earn a total of over $20,000.

After receiving an advance from the team's finance department, Chen Mu finally had the means to leave the routine of the gym and his residence to explore the famous city of Phoenix.

"Beep, beep, beep"

On the road, everything was not much different from back home. There were still crowds of people and the sound of car horns. Phoenix is the capital and the largest city in Arizona. It is said that in an ancient dialect, the original name of Phoenix translates to "hot land."

Indeed, this name is quite fitting. Phoenix can reach temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius during the hottest summer months, with little rainfall, making it a truly hot city.

If there were really phoenixes in this city, it wouldn't be too surprising.

It was December, the true winter, and the daytime temperature in Phoenix was still around 20 degrees Celsius. At night, it would drop to about 10 degrees Celsius.

Walking down the streets of this foreign land, Chen Mu felt a myriad of emotions.

He never imagined that just a few months ago, he was living a life of idleness in his original timeline. Now, a few months later, he had transformed into a power forward in the NBA and had performed quite well in several games.

"This week's top ten NBA plays, number one..."

At a nearby electronics store, a TV was showing a sports channel. Chen Mu stopped to watch, and the familiar top ten NBA plays were flashing on the screen. After the transition animation, a figure in an 8-numbered purple and gold jersey appeared.

"...Kobe Bryant, the most terrifying assassin in the league, has claimed another victim. Starting, dribbling, breaking free, and then a fadeaway jump shot over the defense, BOOM! A buzzer-beater!!!"

Chen Mu saw himself on the TV, fiercely lunging towards Kobe. In the slow-motion replay, his fingertips were just a centimeter away from the basketball.

But the fact remained that Kobe had hit the game-winning shot, once again becoming the savior of the Staples Center. The Suns, on the other hand, returned defeated, and the camera captured Chen Mu's dejected back.

"Click"

Halfway through, the TV channel changed. An elderly man in the store, looking like a middle-aged uncle, angrily said, "Damn! It was just luck!!!"

Chen Mu smiled, knowing that the store owner must be a Suns fan who couldn't let go of Kobe's game-winning shot.

However, just as Chen Mu was about to leave, he felt something was off.

"Hmm... The store owner just spoke... in Chinese!"

"Thud, thud"

Chen Mu quickly turned back to look inside the store and indeed saw the middle-aged man with an Asian face, dusting off the TV.

"Creak"

Since coming to the United States, Chen Mu hadn't seen any Chinese people outside the basketball court. He felt a surge of excitement and pushed the door open.

"Would you like to buy something?"

The store owner didn't look up, not knowing that the person who entered was Chinese, and asked in English, "American manufacturing is advanced, German products are sturdy and reliable, Chinese TVs are reasonably priced, but if you're looking for Japanese electronics, I'm sorry, please turn right and never come back...!"

"Ha ha..."

The store owner's words made Chen Mu laugh. It seemed the owner was not only a sports fan but also a patriot, with some animosity towards Japan.

Although Chen Mu wasn't interested in politics and had no prejudice against Japan, meeting someone with obvious hometown characteristics in a foreign land made him feel much more relaxed.

"What are you laughing at!"

The store owner, hearing Chen Mu's laughter, continued to sweep the floor without looking up, somewhat discontentedly, "You don't understand our Chinese people's animosity towards Japan. No matter how well their products sell, I won't sell them!"

"Ha ha." Chen Mu smiled and replied in standard Chinese, "Actually, I do understand."

"You understand my ass! You Americans just support Japan... Wait, what?!"

The store owner finally realized and quickly looked up, seeing Chen Mu smiling at him. Chen Mu pointed to a Chinese TV and said, "How much is this TV? My apartment needs a small TV to watch game replays."

"You, you, you...!" The store owner was taken aback, then suddenly reacted, pointing at Chen Mu and the TV, and then slapped his head, shouting, "You're that... that... Chinese kid! Chen! Yes, yes, you're Chen!!!"

Chen Mu's appearance instantly drew the attention of everyone in the store. Besides the store owner, a few customers also came over, all very excited. It seemed they were all die-hard fans who could recognize even a minor player like Chen Mu.

"Ha ha, thank you, thank you for your support."

Chen Mu smiled and said, "Owner, I didn't expect there to be so many fans in your store!"

"Ha ha, of course!"

The store owner excitedly shouted, "I'm a sports fan, a super sports fan, especially for basketball. Ha ha, I love watching Nash's flowing hair and his brilliant passes!"

"Before Nash, I've been watching Suns games since I came to Phoenix. Kevin Johnson, Charles Barkley, Jason Kidd, Penny Hardaway... I know all the Suns players and can recognize them with just one glance!"

"Ha ha, that's right. Su is the most famous die-hard Suns fan in our community. We often come to discuss games with him!"

A few American customers also smiled and nodded, showing that they had a good relationship with the store owner.

"Come, come, you're a distinguished guest in our store, please sit down!"

The store owner hurriedly invited Chen Mu to sit down and then called out to the back of the store, "Ying! Quickly make some tea, good tea! We have a distinguished guest!!"

"Coming right up, Dad~"

A pleasant female voice echoed in the store, and soon, light footsteps were heard. Chen Mu couldn't help but look up and saw a pair of long, white, and beautiful legs stepping out from behind the shelves.

"WOW..."

The appearance of the newcomer also excited a few young American men, who were all commenting and seemed to know the girl well.

"Here's the tea~"

The girl was dressed very casually, wearing a simple T-shirt and a very short hot pants, revealing her perfect figure.

"Clank, clank"

Putting down the tea set, the girl looked up and saw Chen Mu, showing a puzzled expression. Then, under the store owner's urging, she smiled and greeted, "Hello, my name is Su Ying, and he is my dad..."

The girl had delicate and beautiful features, with large, lively eyes, a slightly plump nose, and a cherry-like mouth, looking very pure and beautiful.

Looking down from her face, the slight protrusion of her chest was not exaggerated, but it trembled slightly with her movements, exuding a youthful aura.

Compared to the busty women commonly seen on American streets, Chen Mu preferred this more Chinese-style beauty, and he couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

What moved Chen Mu the most were the girl's long, beautiful legs. She was about 1.67 meters tall, with a well-proportioned body and astonishingly long legs. The edge of her hot pants hugged the tender flesh on her legs, which were full and vibrant, not bony but very elastic. Each step she took made the tender flesh on her legs tremble slightly, making Chen Mu stare in amazement.

"Hey, brother, how about it?"

After a dazed greeting to Su Ying, Chen Mu watched her walk away, still in a daze. The American guy next to him put his arm around Chen Mu's shoulder and said, "Su's daughter, pretty hot, right!"

"Uh... yeah..."

Chen Mu nodded slightly, admitting that seeing a beautiful Eastern girl in a place full of white people indeed made him very excited.

"Although her chest is a bit small, she's only 16, ha ha. I heard Chinese girls develop later, so she should grow a bit more, right?"

"You brats, no matter how much you talk, I won't marry my daughter to any of you!" The store owner, hearing this, became angry, grabbed a duster, and hit each of the foreigners, shouting, "I said it before, my daughter can only marry a Chinese person!"

After a bit of joking, Chen Mu was still thinking about Su Ying's graceful figure, while the store owner, as a fan, worriedly said, "Chen, if I'm not mistaken, tomorrow's game is your last one under your contract, right?"

"That's right," Chen Mu nodded.

"Can you stay?"

"Um..." Faced with the store owner's question, Chen Mu didn't know how to answer.

In fact, he himself was very curious about the answer.

After the game against the Lakers, the Suns' eight-game winning streak ended. However, back at home, the Suns regained their momentum and won the next two games, defeating the Bucks and the Hawks by large margins.

Chen Mu also performed well in these two games, coming off the bench and grabbing numerous rebounds amidst the crowd.

In four games, Chen Mu averaged 17 minutes of playing time but grabbed an astonishing 10.5 rebounds per game, including 5 offensive rebounds.

However, his performance on the offensive end was very poor, with a shooting percentage of only 20% and an average of less than 3 points per game.

Even so, in this era of a shortage of rebounders, Chen Mu became a hot topic among the media and fans.

"If the Chinese kid could play 30 minutes per game, how many rebounds would he grab?"

Everyone wanted to know the answer.

After chatting with a few fans for a while, Chen Mu left the store owner's contact information and Su Ying's phone number and returned to his rental place to rest and prepare for the upcoming game that would decide his future.

The next day, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the Target Center.

The pre-game performance was underway. The fans in this small market were very loyal, with a high attendance rate. Over 20,000 fans were cheering and supporting their team.

"Thud, thud, thud"

The referee brought the basketball to the center of the court, signaling both teams to start the jump ball.

Chen Mu, sitting on the bench, looked up and saw a tall, lean, and agile figure standing under the basket on the Timberwolves' half-court. He muttered something and then fiercely hit the basketball hoop with his head.

The figure was wearing a classic Timberwolves home jersey, with a large "21" on the back. Above the number, a name that struck fear into the hearts of all power forwards in the league was written horizontally.

G-A-R-N-E-T-T.

MVP player Kevin Garnett would be Chen Mu's opponent tonight...!