thefictionvixens Chapter 73 The Vanishing Magnesium Powder
Chapter 73 The Vanishing Magnesium Powder
Quicken Loans Arena.
Thousands of Cavaliers fans, dressed in burgundy jerseys, gathered in the plaza outside the arena.
They stood in a circle, the firelight flickering in the night, burning a homemade Knicks jersey with the name "LI" printed on it.
A huge sign was held high, with scarlet words written on it:
"AMVP THIEF (MVP Thief)"
"JUDGMENT DAY"
"Sh-!!!"
Even through the thick car windows, the overwhelming hissing was still clearly audible.
Randolph leaned against the window, watching the angry faces outside, and couldn't help but whistle: "Boss, looks like they really hate you. I bet if we get out of the car now, these guys will tear us to pieces."
"hatred?"
Li Xiangbei sat in the last row of the bus and took a picture of the scenery outside the window.
"This is a good thing."
He posted a new tweet.
The accompanying picture shows a pile of burning jerseys, the flames reflecting off his eyes through the car window.
The caption read: "Cleveland winters are really cold. Thanks to the fans here for lighting a fire for me to keep warm. What a hospitable city."
Less than a minute after the tweet was posted, the comment section was flooded with angry Cavaliers fans.
The number of reposts instantly exceeded 10,000, and the hatred level immediately reached its maximum.
……
One hour later.
When the DJ introduced the away team's entrance in an almost roaring tone, Li Xiangbei was greeted with boos at the highest decibel level of the season.
The sound was so loud it even drowned out the DJ's voice.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the court, LeBron was warming up.
He was wearing headphones and a Cavaliers training uniform, his face expressionless.
He didn't even glance in the direction of the Knicks.
This is a form of condescending disregard.
Li Xiangbei warms up by running a basketball.
After landing from a layup, instead of running back to the center line, he deliberately veered slightly off course and ended up near the scorer's table.
He crouched down and pretended to tie the shoelace that wasn't even loose.
This is where the competition-grade anti-slip magnesium powder is placed.
At this moment, the staff at the technical desk were busy debugging the computer, while the referee was communicating on the other side.
Li Xiangbei glanced at it and, with lightning speed, snatched the magnesium powder jar.
When he got up, the can had magically disappeared, replaced by being stuffed into the pocket of Randolph's warm-up suit as he passed by.
Randolph felt a sudden heaviness in his pocket and stared blankly at Li Xiangbei.
But when he touched the jar, a knowing, wicked smile immediately appeared on his chubby face.
……
7:30 PM.
The starting players for both sides took to the field.
The lights in the entire arena suddenly dimmed, leaving only a powerful spotlight shining on the technical table.
This is a Cleveland tradition and LeBron's most sacred coronation moment—the chalk-throwing ceremony.
All 20,000 audience members stood up in unison.
James strode confidently to the scorer's table, his expression solemn, like a king about to ascend the throne.
He took a deep breath, opened his arms, and basked in the cheers and adoration of the crowd.
Then, he skillfully reached for that familiar spot, ready to grab a handful of magnesium powder and complete that signature move.
They missed.
James's hand swept across the air, but he didn't grab anything.
He paused for a moment, then looked down.
The platform was completely empty.
The magnesium powder container that should have been there is gone.
James looked at the technicians at the next table with a puzzled expression.
The staff member was also bewildered, looking around: "It was just here... how did it suddenly disappear?"
At this moment, the rousing music was still playing, and the entire audience was still raising their hands in anticipation.
James's hand hung awkwardly in mid-air.
That sacred, majestic moment of "ruling the world" suddenly turned into a suffocating feeling of "being at a loss".
……
At this extremely awkward moment, a burst of laughter came from the Knicks' bench.
The director seemed to realize something, and the camera on the big screen suddenly switched to that direction.
In the scene, Li Xiangbei is standing on the sidelines, holding the missing white magnesium powder canister in his hand.
He looked at James, who was standing not far away with a blank expression, and a slight smile appeared on his lips, revealing a triumphant grin.
Then, in front of 20,000 people and countless cameras, he imitated James's movements—
He grabbed a handful of magnesium powder and threw it forcefully into the air!
"call--"
The white powder exploded in the air, forming a huge cloud of white mist.
Li Xiangbei opened his arms and tilted his head back in the white mist, making an extremely exaggerated "embracing the sky" gesture.
His mouth movements were extremely clear; although there was no sound, everyone could understand the word:
"King of Thieves?"
The whole place exploded!
The originally orderly cheers instantly turned into exclamations, curses, and incredulous screams.
This is a blatant slap in the face to the Emperor on Cleveland's own turf!
"beep--!!"
A whistle blew.
Referee Crawford, the famously bald and strict referee, rushed over angrily and made his famous gesture towards Li Xiangbei without hesitation—crossing his arms into a T shape.
Technical foul!
Li Xiangbei did not argue.
Instead, he smiled, raised his hands, and bowed deeply to the referee, as if taking his final bow.
Mo stepped up to the free-throw line and scored.
The score on the big screen became 1:0.
Li Xiangbei straightened his jersey and slowly walked onto the field.
He stopped as he passed James, whose face was ashen.
He pointed to the glaring "1" on the scoreboard.
"Did you see that, LeBron?"
"I gave you one cent. It was a little something to mark our meeting."
"Because I know that once the game starts, you won't have the chance to score so easily anymore."
James stared intently at Li Xiangbei, his gaze seeming as if he wanted to devour him whole.
His chest heaved violently, and his rationality was crumbling little by little.
My mentality has completely collapsed.
……
The referee tossed the ball into the air.
Filled with rage, James charged out before the jump ball was even over.
The Cavaliers' original strategy was to play steadily and combine inside and outside play.
But right now, James only has one thing on his mind: crush this damn New Yorker.
first round.
James receives the ball beyond the three-point line.
He ignored his teammate who had run to an open spot in the corner, and he also ignored Varejao who was positioning himself inside.
He buried his head in his arms and charged wildly toward the inside like a heavy tank that had lost its brakes.
"Bang!"
He collided violently with Randolph in mid-air, resulting in a foul, but it was a completely emotional "gambling ball" moment.
Li Xiangbei stood outside the three-point line, watching James angrily slap the ball at the free-throw line, and turned to Randolph beside him, saying:
"Look, Zack."
"The trap has taken effect."