Chapter 167 Japan Preseason

The NBA preseason had already started on this day, and he asked Xia Song to book a flight for the 5th.

At around 4: p.m. on the th, He Zhongqiu had just come out of Donglaishun Restaurant after attending the farewell dinner arranged by Yang Xue. When he was about to get in the car, he saw an acquaintance.

"Hey, Captain Guo." He waved and shouted quickly.

It was a lean middle-aged man, about fifty years old, in casual clothes. He looked over when he heard his shout and said in surprise, "He Zhongqiu, is that you?"

"Long time no see, Captain Guo, where are you going?" He Zhongqiu asked warmly.

"Go home."

Captain Guo looked at He Zhongqiu from two steps away and said with emotion: "You have made great progress, He Zhongqiu. I watched the Asian Championship final a few days ago, and your performance was like this."

He gave He Zhongqiu a thumbs up and said, "Being an actor is not bad, but playing basketball is even better and bringing glory to the country."

"hey-hey!"

He Zhongqiu smiled a little proudly, stretched out his hand and shook hands with Captain Guo, and asked, "Shall I take you there?"

"No need, there are only a few steps left."

Captain Guo shook his head, chatted for a few words on the side of the road, and then left.

He Zhongqiu watched Captain Guo go away before driving away.

Captain Guo was the squadron leader of the juvenile detention center. He was a good person, but he was later punished for the fire and was demoted to the lowest position, almost being fired.

When he saw Captain Guo, he couldn't help but think of the fire that changed his destiny.

If there hadn't been that fire, even if he had received a commutation of sentence, he would probably still be in juvenile detention. No, he should have been transferred to an adult prison after he became an adult in 01.

As soon as he arrived at the hotel, Dayao called and invited He Zhongqiu to return to the United States together.

"Yao, are you stupid? I am the spokesperson for China Southern Airlines, and you are the spokesperson for China Eastern Airlines. Besides, I am going to Japan to play preseason games, and we are on different paths." He said.

"Oh, I forgot about this. Never mind." Dayao said with a smile.

After hanging up the phone, he picked up the sword and went to the rooftop to practice dragon-shaped sword for two hours.

"Xingyi Dragon Xingyi proficiency accumulated to 1000 points, level +1."

"It's finally complete. Will there be any reward?"

He was somewhat expectant and excited because this was the first martial art he had mastered to perfection.

I waited for a while with my mouth wide open, but there was no reward at all. It was as if the system was dead.

"Forget it. After all, it's not an internal martial art. It's just a set of moves. Practicing too much will hurt your body. What reward can you get?"

In his disappointment, he comforted himself.

Next, he planned to practice other routines, first practicing the several routines that his father had taught him to perfection, and maybe then he could pass the examination and obtain a Wuying-level title.

……

Before leaving for his flight at noon the next day, He Zhongqiu went back to Hongluo Mountain early in the morning to pay tribute to his father.

I can only come back next summer, and I won’t have time to come back for my father’s death anniversary or Qingming Festival.

At noon on the 5th, He Zhongqiu boarded the plane with the farewell of Yang Xue and others.

Traveling with him were Greenfeld and Wellington Philip, Xia Song flew directly to the United States.

At 3 pm, 4 pm Tokyo time, the plane arrived in Tokyo.

NBA preseason games are generally played in many locations, some in Europe, some in Japan, and more in the United States.

This year, the New York Knicks' preseason games are scheduled in Tokyo. Preseason games are usually played against opponents in the same division. The Knicks' opponent this time is the Nets. They will play three games and then return to New York to play three games against the Green Team.

We have played one match now, and there are only two left in Tokyo.

When he was going through security check, a large number of Japanese fans came to greet him, at least three or four hundred people, even crazier than the fans of Yanjing.

As we all know, Wolverine hates South Korea, and Japan, which is at odds with South Korea, naturally loves him, the strongest basketball player in East Asia, more.

I received envelopes or cards from many girls to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, as well as a large number of gifts.

There were too many gifts for three people to carry, but luckily Raiden arranged a car, a group of Japanese fans helped to get to the car, and three more taxis were called to drop off all the gifts.

After getting in the car, He Zhongqiu said to Philip, "Wellington, I heard that Tyson suffered a Waterloo in Tokyo that year?"

Phillip rolled his eyes a few times, and immediately understood what He Zhongqiu meant, and said unhappily: “Zhongqiu, I’m not your agent, you can ask Mike Johnson to come and help you arrange it.”

"Haha." He Zhongqiu laughed.

Felton also said with great interest: "I've heard about Tokyo's red-light district a long time ago. Why don't we find some time to go shopping there?"

"That's a very good idea." Philip praised immediately.

He Zhongqiu said with disdain: "That kind of place is too low-class. If you want to have fun, you should go to Ginza, right?"

"I'll call Mike and ask him to come over and arrange some big Japanese stars for you." Philip immediately took out his cell phone.

"Forget it, there's no point in him coming over."

He Zhongqiu was a little depressed because Yao Ming rejected the endorsement from Japan, which made it difficult for him to agree and he lost a lot of money.

What’s more important is that without the arrangement of Japanese sponsors, he would have no chance to meet those Japanese female stars!

Compared with those female stars in Europe and the United States, women in Japan and South Korea are more in line with his aesthetic.

He took out the envelopes and cards he had just received. There were dozens of envelopes and dozens of cards. He looked at the cards first.

The cards were filled with names and contact information, some with addresses, and were no different from the little notes he had received in the United States.

But there are differences, because almost all the cards have some words of admiration written on them.

This didn't appeal to him, so he put the card aside, picked up the envelope and opened it.

"WC!"

There were several photos and a pink piece of letter paper inside. He took out a photo and looked at it, and immediately burst into swearing.

“Oh my god, Japanese girls are so crazy!”

Philip, who was sitting next to him, tilted his head and his eyes almost popped out.

The photo was a nude photo. He took a look at it and thought the woman’s figure wasn’t that good, her face wasn’t that good, and her temperament was average, so he wasn’t interested.

I took out the letter again and looked at it. It contained the contact information and name.

He opened other envelopes and found similar results.

Looking at these photos, he couldn't help but tremble. There are so many Japanese women who are greedy for his body?

"Japanese fans are so enthusiastic. If I reject them all, wouldn't that just chill their hearts?" he lamented.

"So you'd better pick a few reluctantly." Philip chuckled.

"But, fucking fans is still too despicable and crosses my moral bottom line." He said with regret.

"It seems that your moral level is indeed very high." Philip said with admiration.

"Yeah." Felton nodded in agreement.

"I am the Lord of Dao and Morality." He Zhongqiu said with a sacred look on his face.

Not long after, the group arrived at the Hilton Hotel where the Knicks were staying.

Raiden came down and said as soon as he met us: "Wolverine, we have been here for four days and we have received a lot of gifts from Japanese fans every day. We have already installed two standard double rooms. Please take some time to check them out and deal with them."

He Zhongqiu pointed to the three taxis behind and said, "It's the same here, Mr. Leiden, please arrange for someone to help."

"OK." Leiden said helplessly.

As the new core and boss of the team, his treatment was improved and he was assigned a single room.

Before we had finished packing our luggage, a group of team members came over after hearing the news.

"Boss, long time no see."

As soon as my younger brother Harrington came in, he greeted me in a flattering manner.

He was lucky that after provoking the Wolverines, he stayed because the team couldn't find a suitable inside player.

"Hey guys, hello," he responded with a fist pump.

Four newcomers, namely Mutombo, Nash, Bonzi Wells, and Josh Howard, were in the crowd.
Alan Houston was among them, and said at this time: "Wolverine, management has talked to me about this season."

Having said this, he was a little unable to continue.

After all, he was still at his peak, but his core identity was taken away, which really made him uncomfortable.

He Zhongqiu didn't say anything, just said: "Alan, you will always be one of the leaders of this team."

Alan Houston nodded. Although Wolverine liked to do some stupid things in the locker room to promote the five virtues, four beauties and three loves, he never offended him, which was pretty good as it prevented him from losing face.

Then Mutombo stepped forward and took the initiative to greet him: "Hey, Wolverine."

"Dukembe, how is your recovery from injury?" He Zhongqiu asked with concern.

Mutombo said: "Averaging 20 minutes per game is no problem. I played as the main center in the preseason game the day before yesterday, and it was not bad."

"We can play with twin towers." He Zhongqiu nodded and said. After playing with Yao Ming, he really felt that it was good. He had always preferred the power forward position. With Mutombo as his partner, his position would definitely be biased towards the fourth position.

After shaking hands with Mutombo, he looked at Nash.

Nash immediately said, "Hello, Wolverine, I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation."

He was not valued in the Suns team, and he was still not valued after being traded to the Mavericks. He had no confidence or intention to compete for the core position or the top position.

With a very strong boss like Wolverine, he actually has a sense of security. As long as he can get a big contract with the Knicks next year, he wants to continue playing in the Big Apple.

"Steve, I hope we can make New York the city of alley-oops," said He Zhongqiu.

"I think so for sure." Nash said excitedly immediately.

"Bunchy Wells, what are you doing hiding back there?"

After chatting for a while, He Zhongqiu looked at the short and fat man standing behind Doriac.

Bunchwells smiled awkwardly and squeezed out.

"I heard you're a troublemaker?"

He Zhongqiu clenched his paws and asked with a strange expression.

When he saw the hook-like hand, Bunchwells' scalp suddenly exploded and his eyelids twitched.

His desire to survive was very strong, and he quickly argued, "NO, this is a rumor, absolutely a rumor, Wolverine, don't believe these rumors, I am definitely the most obedient child in the locker room."

"child?"

He Zhongqiu just wanted to laugh.

"Haha."

Others were already laughing.

"I, I was wrong. I am the most obedient player." Wells smiled awkwardly.

"Ah."

He Zhongqiu nodded and looked at rookie Josh Howard standing at the back.

As a rookie, Howard was still a little shy, especially when facing Wolverine, the powerful and domineering NBA destructive force. He seemed very shy. When He Zhongqiu looked over, he immediately lowered his head.

"Rookie, in our Knicks, there are no rookie unspoken rules. If there are, tell me and I will help you." He Zhongqiu said.

"Thank you, boss." Josh Howard said quickly.

Nodding, He Zhongqiu continued, "You are a newcomer, you should work harder on defense. Our defense was very poor last season. The harder you work on defense, the more opportunities you will get."

Josh Howard nodded quickly and said, "I know, Boss."

He Zhongqiu said to the four newcomers: "Guys, we Knicks are the most civilized team in the league. We have very strict rules in the locker room. You are newcomers, so I will tell you now."

"Ok."

The four of them hurriedly said that even the veteran Mutombo did not dare to neglect them.

He Zhongqiu coughed twice, then said seriously: "First, bullying is prohibited."

"This is great, I like this rule." Mutombo said happily.

He Zhongqiu said: "I despise Garnett the most. He actually beat up the rookie in the team. He is such a jerk."

"Boss, how about playing a few rounds later? I haven't played cards for a long time."

At this moment, Doriac's brain suddenly cramped and he shouted, holding up the mahjong box in his hand.

"Snapped!"

He Zhongqiu slapped Doriak on the top of his head and scolded, "What are you touching? Can't you see I'm explaining the rules to the newcomers?"

"I know, boss."

Doriak quickly put his head in his hands and squatted on the floor.

Mutombo's mouth dropped open.

"This, this means bullying is not allowed?" Nash's eyelids twitched.

"Bullying is not allowed. Wolverine must have got it the wrong way around."

Bonzi Wells felt bitter and decided to behave better in the Knicks locker room in the future.

As for Josh Howard, he was too scared to even breathe.

"Second, no drugs. Anyone who dares touch it, get out of here!"

“Third, alcoholism is prohibited.”

“Fourth, no guns allowed in locker rooms.”

"Fifth, disrespecting the boss is prohibited."

"sixth……"

A little later, after his teammates left, Redden came in with new head coach Rick Carlisle.

"Hey, Wolverine. You can call me Rick." Rick Carlisle smiled and stretched out his right hand.

The Knicks eliminated the Pistons in the second round. The Wolverines can be said to have blown up Ben on the offensive end. He is very happy to be coaching the Wolverines now.

"Hello, Rick." He Zhongqiu smiled and shook hands.

The three chatted for a few minutes before heading off to have dinner together.

After dinner, He Zhongqiu went to see the gifts given to him by Japanese fans. He opened a few of them casually and stopped opening the rest.

He had a headache. What should he do with these things?
Or, give it to fans as gifts during games?

He found Leiden and told him about this idea, and Leiden agreed, but the prerequisite was that all the gifts had to be opened first before they could be given.

He Zhongqiu didn't care and left the matter to the team to handle.

Then, at 5:30, the Knicks took a bus to the Saitama Super Arena, 20 kilometers away.

This is a new stadium completed in 00. It is the only venue in Japan that can host American football games. Its maximum capacity is people, but for sports such as basketball and tennis, it can accommodate a maximum of people.

The team arrived at the arena at a quarter past six.

In the evening, there were so many fans outside the arena that it was packed with people, which shows that the promotion of NBA in Japan is indeed very successful.

"Wolverine! Wolverine."

When the Knicks bus entered the stadium, loud cheers were heard, and they were spoken in broken Mandarin.

He Zhongqiu waved his hand toward the outside, and immediately a tsunami-like shouting swept up.

"Nimma, am I so popular in Japan?"

He was a little curious and wondered how they would treat him if he went to Korea to play games. Would any Korean girls send him nude photos?

At this time, he discovered something else. There were many posters of him posted in the Saitama Arena. Was this done by the alliance?

"Well, Mr. Leighton, can I get some kind of portrait rights fee for these posters?" he asked, as he came up to Leighton.

Layden laughed helplessly and said, "Wolverine, forget it. In order to promote the game during the season, the league has the right to use the portrait rights of all players."

"Haha."

Everyone in the car who heard it laughed.

"Okay, just pretend I didn't ask." He Zhongqiu quickly turned around and left.

The game started at eight o'clock, and the arena was already packed, accommodating 23,000 people.

At 7:30, both teams came out together, the Nets first, followed by the Knicks.

As the eldest, He Zhongqiu should have been the last to perform, and the host called out his name last.

When he came on the court, the whole stadium was filled with cheers of Wolverine.

Like Madison Square Garden and Staples Center, many Japanese movie, TV and music stars, supermodels and fashion people also came to support the event.

Takuya Kimura, Masaharu Fukuyama, Akina Nakamori, Yuki Amami, Kyoko Fukayama and so on.

Some of them are well-known Japanese film and television stars and singers, and some are rising stars. Anyway, he doesn't know any of them. Among the Japanese stars, he only knows Aoi Sora and Akiho Yoshizawa.

"They are all too short. They feel to be at most 1.6 meters tall, or even just over 1.5 meters tall. The little girl Lao Liu is 1.7 meters tall. Isn't that too short?" He muttered to himself.

"Hello, first time we meet."

The more famous stars among these celebrities were certainly not like the ordinary fans. They were all very reserved and when they saw him approaching, they bent slightly and bowed, being very polite.

Some smaller stars at the back, such as Kitagawa Keiko, bowed 90 degrees with a very respectful attitude.

"Hello."

He didn't understand either, and thought it was a greeting, so he waved back.

(End of this chapter)