Chapter 1 The NBA's Summer Arms Race

July 1st marked the start of the NBA's annual summer arms race as the free agency market opened.

In Toronto, Su Feng, who usually went to bed early, stayed up until the early hours of June 30th.

Three years!

Three years ago, when the hitting iron system was upgraded to version 1.0, Su Feng noted down a particularly important date in his little notebook.

July 1st, 1999.

According to the system's settings, on this day, as long as Su Feng accumulated enough 1.5 billion hitting iron points, he could upgrade the system to version 2.0, and then...

...usher in an epic boost!

Only God knew how much sweat and effort Su Feng had put in behind the scenes for this day.

However...

Just like the feeling of holding up the O'Brien Cup not long ago, Su Feng felt that all of his efforts were worth it!

"Ding——!

It has been detected that the host's current hitting iron value is 2.95 billion points, which meets the system upgrade conditions.

This update requires 1.5 billion hitting iron points. In addition, after this upgrade is completed, the host can choose any ability to maximize its potential."

Finally, it was here!

After taking a few deep breaths, Su Feng, who clicked the confirm upgrade button on the system panel...

...was more excited than he was when downloading certain educational art films in his previous life.

Watching the upgrade progress bar on the system interface steadily climb, Su Feng had long forgotten the warnings from his biological clock about sleepiness.

But...

"Is this upgrade taking too long?"

After waiting for two hours, Su Feng, who found that the upgrade progress had only passed 20%, couldn't overcome his sleepiness.

So, after falling asleep, Su Feng, who woke up at noon the next day, saw the "brand new version" of the hitting iron system...

"[Prodigy] 2.0 has been updated.

Updating host's ability values."

After a loading screen, Su Feng discovered that when he opened the hitting iron system now, it would play a highlight reel of his best moments.

It had to be said that this was a very user-friendly setting.

Because, in Su Feng's view, it was the system reasonably telling him how strong he currently was.

After reviewing the new ability value interface, the first thing Su Feng did was naturally max out all the plus signs that appeared after the ability values after the system was upgraded to version 2.0.

"No wonder people say money makes you bold. Tsk, it's good to have a lot of hitting iron points."

Su Feng, who still had 1.45 billion hitting iron points left after upgrading the system, now felt like a billionaire, the kind who could eat a bowl of rice and throw one away.

Of course, that was just a joke. After all, wasting food was a very shameful act in Su Feng's view.

But...

After clicking all the plus signs, Su Feng found that his talent in organization, dribbling, and ball control...

"No way! Other ability value potentials can be clicked a dozen times!

But why do my passing, vision, ball control, and dribbling run out after only two clicks?"

As the Toronto Irving and Toronto Paul, Su Feng always felt that he had been cheated by this hitting iron system.

However, after secretly venting in his heart, Su Feng noticed that there were a few more attributes that he could view after this system upgrade.

For example, behind the ball control and dribbling attributes, there was a fancy dribbling attribute.

And in the list belonging to physical attributes, although Su Feng still couldn't view the details of the strength attribute like he could for jumping and speed, after this upgrade, a major attribute called agility was added to the physical attributes.

In addition, a new attribute for jumping was added to the jumping attribute details: jumping ability under confrontation.

Among them, the overall rating of 79 for agility also made Su Feng understand why his "frame-skipping Jordan" always "skipped frames."

"Although I still can't view the details of the agility attribute, if I'm not mistaken, in addition to flexibility and agility, this attribute should also include suppleness and balance."

Because Su Feng had seen his core strength rating through the Meteor Jam when he obtained it, it was easy for Su Feng to infer what details this agility attribute probably had.

To be fair, in Su Feng's view, this hitting iron system was not only set up very rigorously, but also the interlocked settings in these attribute details were very reasonable.

Because after entering the NBA, Su Feng had been working hard to improve his strength, so his agility attribute was obviously affected by this.

However, without being able to view the agility details, Su Feng now had no way to increase the potential of the agility attribute details using hitting iron points like other attributes.

Therefore, how to scientifically strengthen strength while improving agility was very mind-boggling in Su Feng's view.

Moreover, if he was also "naturally deficient" in the agility attribute, like he was in organization...

Then Su Feng could only use the potential maxing privilege he gained after each system upgrade to solve his "frame-skipping" problem the next time he upgraded the system.

In addition to the agility attribute, the newly added jumping ability under confrontation was not difficult to understand in Su Feng's view, but this fancy dribbling ability immediately caught Su Feng's eye...

"Fancy Dribbling: 70 [86].

Ability Introduction: This ability can be used for the host to equip fancy dribbling special skills."

"!!!"

"System, if I understand correctly, this should mean that if this ability reaches 86, then, for example, the Sam Cassell skill I obtained before requires a ball control of 86 and a dribbling of 86...

Then now, even if my dribbling and ball control don't reach 86, I can still equip it, right?"

After carefully reading the introduction of the fancy dribbling ability, Su Feng said excitedly to himself.

"Yes."

After unexpectedly receiving a positive answer from the system again, Su Feng felt that it was time to bring out the two divine skills in his arsenal!

First was the "Sam Cassell" skill he obtained when he went to New York with Kobe to visit Sam Cassell!

Second was the "Crossover" skill he conned from Iverson when he first met him!

Although equipping dribbling special skills would not affect Su Feng's dribbling skills in reality.

After all, for professional basketball players, especially NBA players, even Ben Wallace could show you a fancy dribble in training.

But, for the bonus provided by these two skills...

God knows how long Su Feng had been craving them!

And now, looking at his fancy dribbling with a potential as high as 86, Su Feng's depression when he couldn't upgrade his dribbling and ball control potential before...

...immediately vanished.

"As expected, even the system thinks I'm a dribbling master like Irving."

At this moment, Su Feng felt that it was time for him to loudly announce that next season, he was going to advance into the fancy dribbling circle!

Of course, after being excited for a while, Su Feng, who had sorted out his emotions, still turned his attention back to the potential maxing privilege he had obtained after this upgrade.

There were no surprises.

There was no suspense.

Su Feng decisively left this privilege to the jumping attribute.

In the past three years, after gradually figuring out the operating mode of the hitting iron system, Su Feng had also worked hard on jumping.

But compared to his talent in strength and defense, practice had proven that his jumping potential could only be considered average among the NBA's supermen.

Originally, Su Feng had even fantasized that after this system upgrade, there would be a few more plus signs behind the jumping attribute.

However, the cruel reality was that compared to his endless defensive talent, his jumping attribute seemed to be covered by something.

Therefore, although there were still many physical attributes that Su Feng needed to improve, this time, nothing could stop him from choosing jumping!

"Ding——!

Searching for matching template for the host...

Ding——!

The host's current jumping attribute is: 79 [118 (120)]."

A jumping potential of 118!

Unlike when Su Feng directly maxed out his speed potential to 120, because Su Feng was now developing into a heavy tank, Su Feng's jumping would also be affected by his weight.

Therefore, the (120) in Su Feng's view should refer to the maximum potential he should have obtained.

But because of his weight, the system re-planned it to 118.

"Reasonable, your dog system is still reasonable." Looking at the jumping attribute panel after maxing out the potential, Su Feng thought with emotion.

Undoubtedly, how to improve his jumping in the upcoming summer was Su Feng's most important task.

Because Grover and Mancias were both experts in this area, Su Feng didn't need to hire a professional sprint coach like he did when he trained his speed.

However, after secretly glancing at Carter's jumping attribute using the system, Su Feng felt that there wasn't much time left for him...

"It seems that if I want to participate in the dunk contest, I can only focus on the fancy aspects."

Su Feng thought to himself, knowing that he couldn't turn all of his jumping potential into immediate combat power in one summer.

There was no other way, because the kind of thing where you could directly increase your ability in the hitting iron system was impossible.

Therefore, whether this "epic boost" could really become a real epic boost depended on how much Su Feng could cultivate in the upcoming summer.

While appreciating his potential, Su Feng also silently paid attention to the requirements for the next system upgrade.

And then...

There was no then.

"One...

...ten billion hitting iron points!?

Why don't you just let me go rob someone?"

Unlike the time requirement for upgrading from 1.0 to 2.0, the requirement for Su Feng to upgrade the system to version 3.0 was very "simple."

That was to accumulate ten billion hitting iron points.

Su Feng was in pain.

Because he had spent three years, plus the usual consumption, to only hit about 4 billion hitting iron points.

But these ten billion...

"It's so strange. According to the system's nature, it shouldn't set such a difficult upgrade threshold.

After all, at my hitting iron point acquisition rate, I would have to wait at least six to seven years for the next upgrade.

Moreover, that's only if I can get a championship ring every year...

So, could it be?"

After calming down for a while, Su Feng felt that the task requirement of ten billion hitting iron points was probably not as simple as he imagined...

……

Although he hadn't figured out how to accumulate ten billion hitting iron points in a short time, time waits for no one.

On the afternoon of the 1st, while Kobe was dating Vanessa in Los Angeles, and the Carter cousins had already started their vacation...

The young LeBron James was impressed by Su Feng's dedication.

No vacation, no laughing and joking...

In James's view, if people like Su Feng who worked so hard couldn't succeed, then he really didn't know what kind of people could succeed.

On the side, Yao, who had already developed some disgust for the boring physical training, was completely shocked by Su Feng.

Because, Brother Feng not only paid attention to his diet, but was also so focused on his training!

Was this the NBA MVP?

"No, no, I think this training arrangement is too light. Guys, don't worry about my limits, because the sky is my limit!"

On the training ground, at this moment when Su Feng was still complaining that his training volume was not enough, Yao and James were stunned and couldn't say a word.

How could Su Feng, who was immersed in the Grover and Mancias whips, know the impact he had on the young hearts of Yao and James on this day?

While Su Feng was working hard to cultivate...

In Portland, Jermaine O'Neal, who had already packed his bags, was preparing to go to Toronto.

Looking back on his past three years of his career, believe it or not, O'Neal had almost forgotten the last time he dunked in a game.

Although in his Portland bench-warming career, coaches often told him that he was very talented and had a lot of potential, but...

O'Neal's unparalleled confidence when he entered the league had long turned into self-doubt.

Many times, looking at the classmates who were infinitely glorious on the court, O'Neal would ask himself:

"Where am I worse than them?"

It is said that character determines fate, and the environment affects growth.

Obviously, for this O'Neal, whose confidence was extremely frustrated, the thing he needed most was trust and confidence, rather than technical and strength improvements.

Therefore, on the 3rd, the day O'Neal arrived in Toronto, even though he was busy with training, Su Feng took half a day to go to the airport with head coach Davis to pick him up in person.

And O'Neal would never forget...

When he saw Su Feng again, when he went from being Su Feng's opponent to Su Feng's teammate, what Su Feng said to him:

"Welcome to Toronto, Jermaine. From now on, you are an important member of our team!"

He didn't know why...

When he heard Su Feng say that he was an important member of the Raptors, O'Neal had the urge to cry.

It is said that one should not overdo tonic. For Su Feng, who knew how decadent O'Neal was in history at this time, he knew that a large dose of chicken soup for the soul was likely to have the opposite effect. Therefore, after drinking a bowl of clear soup, Su Feng felt that the effect was just right.

"You will train with me this summer."

After waiting for O'Neal to recover, Su Feng added with a smile.

Heh...

What if the Carter cousins were on vacation and Kobe was dating his girlfriend?

Looking at O'Neal's hitting iron point setting in the system, although it was a little less, Su Feng felt that he had managed to secure his toolman for the upcoming summer.

For O'Neal, who could train with Su Feng, at this moment, he felt that his life was about to usher in a turning point!

If at this moment, O'Neal's inner voice was translated, it would probably be like this:

Your subordinate Jermaine is willing to fight the fat fish of Los Angeles for Brother Feng!

……

ps: I'll update first and revise later!

In addition, I will post a free chapter with Su Feng's ability values after the upgrade! As always, I won't use ability stuff to pad out the word count. Finally, I miscalculated the backlog of chapters yesterday. If you include the 13th, I do owe 3 more! Thanks to the readers for reminding me!