On the track next to the clinic’s medical center.
Liu Xiang, fresh off a high-intensity session, lay face down on a soft mat, receiving a massage from Chen Yu.
He hummed in comfort.
Meanwhile, Sun Haiping was in the equipment room on the other side, operating a computer and reviewing the video of Liu Xiang’s run, frame by frame.
After spending so much time with Chen Yu, he had actually gotten surprisingly good with computers.
"Liu Xiang, your technique is basically fine now. The main thing is body control, especially over the last three hurdles. That’s the key to victory. You absolutely must maintain your body’s rhythm."
He walked over, his expression serious as he gave the reminder.
Liu Xiang grunted an "oh" and quickly said he understood.
He was still quite afraid of Sun Haiping.
"Honestly, more than any further adjustments to your form, your biggest issue right now is your mindset. You need to build up your confidence and truly believe you can consistently run under 13 seconds. Only then will you be able to actually do it in a real race," Chen Yu said with a smile.
They had been training for so long, using all sorts of high-tech equipment, and Chen Yu had applied the full effects of his system’s training regimen on him.
You could say his technique between the hurdles had reached its apex, and with Chen Yu’s maintenance, his body was in peak condition.
Right now, his technique and body were ready to produce results.
The only thing left was his mentality.
"You need to have a bit of that ’if not me, then who?’ attitude, that ’I’m the greatest in the world’ swagger. Otherwise, how are you going to break the world record?" Chen Yu patted Liu Xiang on the butt, signaling he was done.
Nearby, Sun Haiping couldn’t help but clear his throat. "It’s better to be a little more humble, especially with reporters. If you don’t end up breaking the world record, it’ll be troublesome."
People would just call Liu Xiang arrogant.
Chen Yu retorted, "Humble about what? Don’t pay any attention to the media. They’re all talk. If they’ve got the guts, let them try running on the track themselves."
Liu Xiang looked at Chen Yu, then at Sun Haiping, before giving Chen Yu a firm nod.
He was in his early twenties; at his age, who wouldn’t want to be a little more flamboyant?
Sun Haiping gave a wry smile and said no more. In any case, Liu Xiang’s personality had changed quite a bit after coming to the United States and training with Chen Yu for so long.
"Go get ready. One more run. The wind is decent right now. The target this time is 12.90 seconds," Chen Yu said, glancing at the wind vane by the track.
Liu Xiang was stunned. His best time recently was only 12.92 seconds.
Sun Haiping coughed again. He felt Chen Yu was setting goals on a whim, without considering the actual situation.
"What’s wrong? I just told you to be more confident, and you’ve already lost it? Go on, get ready." Chen Yu chuckled and urged Liu Xiang to prepare.
Just as he was speaking, a large group of people suddenly appeared behind them.
"Chen!"
From a good distance away, J Kidd was already waving a greeting.
Beside him, Nuggets head coach Jeff Bzdelik was already striding forward with a broad smile.
Chen Yu was silent. ’I figured they’d show up today.’
In the first game of the first round of the playoffs yesterday, the Phoenix Suns had routed the Nuggets 97-84, a 13-point victory.
Carmelo Anthony, who had been unstoppable in the regular season, lost his magic in the playoffs. He was guarded so tightly by Marion that he started questioning his life, going 7 for 20 from the field and scoring only 19 points.
When it came to the playoffs, you still had to rely on the old veterans.
J Kidd’s hard work over the past two years had paid off. His shot was now a real weapon, especially his three-pointer.
In yesterday’s game, J Kidd went 4 for 5 from three-point range. He carried the team, exploding for 31 points and 12 assists, while also contributing 4 steals and 7 rebounds, nearly filling up the entire stat sheet.
You could only say that Anthony was still too green; J Kidd was the true core of the Nuggets.
"Say no more. I knew you guys would come," Chen Yu said, cutting off Jeff Bzdelik’s polite preamble.
When J Kidd played the entire game yesterday, Chen Yu knew they would definitely come over today.
Jeff Bzdelik gave an awkward laugh, though he wasn’t particularly embarrassed. He even asked if Chen Yu would travel with the Phoenix Suns to Denver for their away games.
Chen Yu shot him a helpless glare. ’What, taking advantage of me during away games isn’t enough? You want to do it at your home court too, huh?’
"I’m not going," Chen Yu said, flatly dashing his hopes.
Jeff Bzdelik just said, "Oh," and smiled.
As they were talking, J Kidd had already plopped face down on the mat Liu Xiang had been using. Holding his lower back, he said, "Chen, stop talking. My back is killing me."
Chen Yu silently rolled his eyes. ’This guy certainly doesn’t stand on ceremony.’
’But what can I do? We go way back.’
"You need to take it easy, too. You’ve had surgery, after all," Chen Yu reminded him as he squatted down and began to work.
A massage and physical therapy session could be done anywhere. Besides, the air here was better.
J Kidd sighed and turned his head to look at Jeff Bzdelik.
That sigh was meant for him.
A 31-year-old veteran playing a full 48 minutes... He had given it his all.
Jeff Bzdelik just kept smiling, not taking the bait.
The others gathered around, but their attention wasn’t on Chen Yu. There were few players in the entire league who didn’t know about Chen Yu’s extraordinary massage techniques. Everyone who tried it raved about it.
"He’s incredible," Anthony exclaimed.
It was Liu Xiang. As the starting gun fired, he shot out like a bolt of lightning, his high-speed sprint instantly capturing everyone’s attention.
His speed was so fast it made their scalps tingle.
"Earl, do you think you’re as fast as him?" Anthony asked, leaning over to Earl Boykins.
As the shortest player in the league, speed was Boykins’s advantage.
"Are you kidding? No way!"
As Liu Xiang whizzed past the finish line, the electronic timer on the other side immediately flashed a time of 13.07 seconds. Earl Boykins grimaced.
’Is he even human?’
"Keep going," Sun Haiping called out from the side, clapping his hands.
This was just a warm-up run before the real attempt at a record. He would run twice first to get a feel for it.
"Chen, he’s getting faster and faster," J Kidd said, turning his head to size up Liu Xiang. "He must be a world champion, right?"
Before Chen Yu could speak, Anthony and the others let out a collective gasp.
In the world of sports, being a world champion was no simple matter.
"That’s right. With his current times, he is at a world champion level," Chen Yu nodded.
Liu Xiang’s current ability was that of a world champion.
What he needed to do now was produce results and break records.
J Kidd was speechless and said no more.
"Oh my god, the Olympic record is 12.95 seconds," Rodney White cried out, having pulled out his phone to check. "He’s just over a tenth of a second away!"
The players all shouted in excitement. As they talked, Camby brought up the Olympics, asking Anthony if he was really planning to go to the Athens Olympic Games this year.
The media had previously reported that the Dream Team wanted to recruit the two super-rookies, Anthony and James, for the National Team.
"It’d be best if I could go, and even better if I could go with Jason," Anthony said, looking at J Kidd on the mat.
J Kidd shook his head decisively. "Count me out. I’m not interested."
Nearby, Sun Haiping was once again secretly stunned. He had long heard that these NBA stars were reluctant to join the Dream Team and play for their country, and now he was seeing it firsthand.
’If this were in China, it would be simply unimaginable.’
Just then, Liu Xiang began his second run.
In just over ten seconds, he stormed across the finish line.
The time immediately flashed on the board.
12.94!
"FUCK! What just happened?!"
"Did he just break the world record?"
"That’s insane!"
Anthony and the others present screamed and gasped, completely dumbfounded.
They had just mentioned that the Olympic record was 12.95 seconds, and Liu Xiang had gone and broken it.
Seeing their amazed reactions, Sun Haiping couldn’t help but say smugly, "This is just training. It’s different from a real competition. His times are usually a bit worse in a race."
His English was also quite fluent now.
Anthony and the others shook their heads, still giving him a thumbs-up.
Anthony even asked if he could get Liu Xiang’s autograph later, noting that it would be the signature of a world champion.
"Liu Xiang, last one! Like I said, try to break 12.9!" Chen Yu shouted to him.
Two runs to get fully adjusted, the third was the one to go for a record.
Liu Xiang nodded firmly, then turned and went to the starting line to relax, rest, and prepare.
Meanwhile, Chen Yu had efficiently finished with J Kidd and was just telling Anthony to lie down when another group of people suddenly approached from a distance.
"Chen!"
Someone was calling Chen Yu’s name from afar.
The voice was somewhat familiar.
Chen Yu turned his head toward the sound and froze when he saw who it was.
Donnie Nelson.
Most importantly, he had a group of people behind him.
The towering Nowitzki was particularly conspicuous.
Chen Yu was a bit stunned, but the players present, especially Jeff Bzdelik, were completely bewildered.
If he remembered correctly, the Mavericks had also played a game yesterday, an away game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, all the way in Minnesota. How had they shown up in Phoenix this morning?
Amid the surprise, Donnie Nelson and his group had already walked up.
Finley was already smiling, hugging J Kidd in greeting.
"Chen, we’ll have to trouble you again," Donnie Nelson said, stepping forward.
Chen Yu still hadn’t processed it. He pointed at Nowitzki and the others and said, "Donnie, what’s going on with you guys? Don’t you have a game tomorrow?"
Game two was tomorrow.
Donnie Nelson said, "We just came to get your help with some physical maintenance."
Chen Yu blinked. "No, isn’t this a bit of an exaggeration? Rushing back and forth like this... will you even make it in time?"
Chen Yu had anticipated this. Especially during the playoffs, when teams were desperate, any team coming to Phoenix for an away game would surely seek him out for maintenance.
And look, the Nuggets were here.
But for the Mavericks, who were playing an away game thousands of miles away, to fly over specifically... wasn’t that an exaggeration?
Donnie Nelson smiled. "Chen, we’ve thought it over carefully. We feel we have enough time, and that it’s worth doing."
"Look, our game ended at eleven last night. We went straight back to the hotel to rest, then left at seven this morning. Mark arranged a private jet for us. We arrived in Phoenix at ten, and we got here before it was even eleven."
"After you’re done with us, we’ll stay and rest here in Phoenix. Then tomorrow morning, we’ll take the private jet back to Minnesota for the evening game. This way, the travel schedule is just like playing a back-to-back, but their physical condition can be adjusted to its absolute peak."
"Oh, by the way, we won yesterday."
The Mavericks, having planned to do this, had run their starters into the ground in yesterday’s game. Both Nowitzki and Nash played the entire game. In the end, they managed to grind out a 97-94 win against a tough Timberwolves team.
And the immense fatigue from playing a full game could be recovered here with Chen Yu, allowing them to go all out in the second game in perfect condition.
Chen Yu stared at Donnie Nelson, utterly dumbfounded.
’Then after tomorrow’s game against the Timberwolves, with a two-day break before Game 3, they’ll definitely come back to Phoenix.’
’And they’ll probably even come before Game 4.’
Minnesota is two thousand kilometers from Phoenix. Dallas is even closer, only fourteen hundred kilometers.
Chen Yu fell silent. Donnie Nelson just chuckled, but next to them, Jeff Bzdelik’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.
’The Mavericks have just set an example for all the teams in the league... no, for all the teams in the West.’
The East was too far away; all that travel just wouldn’t be worth it.
In fact, even Minnesota was a bit of a stretch at two thousand kilometers.
But Denver was different. It was only a thousand kilometers from Phoenix. A private jet could make the trip in an hour.

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