Dragging his suitcase out of Phoenix International Airport, Chen Yu was hit by a wave of heat that felt surprisingly nostalgic.

It was hot in Japan and South Korea, too, but being by the sea, it was a humid, muggy heat.

In Phoenix’s desert climate, however, one deep breath was enough to feel the dryness in your nostrils.

"Over here." Not far away, a sunglasses-wearing Brian was already waving.

Then, as always, he bustled forward to take the suitcase.

Chen Yu joked, "You’re practically my full-time chauffeur at this point."

Brian rolled his eyes, then said with a serious expression, "I’m showing you respect. Look at all 29 teams in the league—no, it’ll be 30 teams soon. Out of all of them, which team doctor gets this kind of treatment from their general manager?"

Back in early May, the league had officially approved the Hornets’ application to move from Charlotte to New Orleans.

At the same time, Stern promised Charlotte City that a brand-new team would be established there.

So, in less than two years, the league would have 30 teams.

Chen Yu studied Brian, asking quizzically, "Did something good happen? You seem happy."

"Nah," Brian said, motioning for Chen Yu to get in the car. As he started the engine, he added, "What good news could I have? You’re the one I should be asking. I heard you made a lot of money during the World Cup?"

The United States Team had gone home early, and Brian didn’t care who won the World Cup. As far as he was concerned, the only reason Chen Yu had stayed in Japan was to make money.

"It was alright," Chen Yu said with a slight shrug.

Chen Yu had some regrets about this World Cup trip, but he felt okay about it overall.

At least he’d gotten to see the final matches of his friends like Batty, Baggio, and Redondo with his own eyes.

Once the car was on the road, Brian naturally brought up O’Neal. He said with a pleading look, "Chen, we managed to trade for O’Neal, and we paid such a huge price. So you have to help me fix his toe."

"A huge price?" Chen Yu scoffed. "You got that number one pick for basically nothing. What price did you pay?"

’Winning the championship and getting the number one pick in the same year? You’re only the second team in history to do that.’

’And when you think about it, the Knight are just unbelievably unlucky. For the same tragedy to happen to them twice...’

The number one pick the Lakers unexpectedly got in ’82 came from a trade with the Knight.

"Don’t worry, I know what to do." To be honest, Chen Yu was more concerned about O’Neal’s weight than his toe.

’What’s the best way to get him to lose weight?’

When the Lakers had asked him to treat O’Neal before, he had tried to scare him by warning that his obesity would lead to health problems. It turned out that, in the face of laziness and gluttony, the threat of disease had very little deterrent effect.

"By the way, you haven’t held a welcome ceremony for Shaq yet, have you?" Chen Yu asked suddenly, looking at the billboards lining the highway.

Brian nodded. "I’m in the middle of discussing the contract extension details with his agent. We’re planning to announce it once everything’s settled. It should be done by around the 5th."

Extending Gugliotta’s contract had become a black mark on Brian’s career as a GM.

But extending O’Neal’s contract early was something any team would gladly do.

So an extension was a must, and he had to get the max salary, not a penny less.

Today was the 1st, so three or four days sounded about right.

Chen Yu hadn’t stayed in Japan for long. He had too much to do in the United States, so he had set off to return the day after the finals.

"Brian, find a way to make it a grander affair. Look at these billboards," Chen Yu said, pointing out the window. "You could replace all of them with posters welcoming Shaq. And in the city, too. It would be best if they were everywhere. It wouldn’t take much time and probably wouldn’t cost that much, either."

"You could also organize some fans for a welcome ceremony to show how happy everyone is that Shaq’s here. In short, the grander, the better. He’s a guy who cares a lot about ’face’ and respect. Spending a little money like this can quickly make him feel a sense of belonging, which will be good for the team."

He left the Magic because of money and because the Magic’s management didn’t respect him.

Now, he was leaving the Lakers for a similar reason: not getting the respect he deserved in Los Angeles.

So, Chen Yu felt they shouldn’t repeat the kind of stupid mistake the Magic made when they were recruiting Duncan and refused to let his fiancée fly on the team plane. Putting on a bit of a show didn’t cost much, so why not do it?

Brian nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. I’ll get it done."

As he spoke, he started to talk about his plans for the new season.

"Don’t. I’m not interested," Chen Yu said, waving his hand to silence Brian. "I’ve been on a plane for hours. I’m tired."

’Until those trade plans of his actually happen, they’re just fantasies.’

’Besides, why should I get involved in trades? I’m a doctor. No matter who they trade for, my job is just to keep him healthy.’

Right now, the thing Chen Yu was most concerned about was his own sports laboratory.

It targeted top athletes and high-end clients, allowing him to use what he’d learned. Most importantly, he held the largest share of the company, and it was poised to become a very significant part of his career.

The rest of the drive home was smooth.

Lexi knew Chen Yu was coming back today, so she had deliberately stayed home from the clinic.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, so naturally, they had a passionate reunion.

The next day, Chen Yu didn’t rush to the clinic. Instead, he drove to the sports laboratory first.

"Morning."

Nelson was already there when he arrived. He said hello and handed Chen Yu a cup of coffee.

The two of them walked toward the sports laboratory together.

The sports laboratory wasn’t far from the clinic, only about a kilometer away. It was originally a huge warehouse with a main area of nearly 5,000 square meters, plus an adjacent two-story office building of a few hundred square meters.

Now completely renovated, the blocky building looked a lot like a basketball arena from the outside.

The surrounding landscaping and grounds had been completely redone, and a parking lot had been laid out.

Chen Yu looked up and saw the huge sign directly facing the entrance.

Pioneer Sports Science Laboratory.

It was huge and eye-catching. Chen Yu had even designed the logo himself.

"By the way, Chen, you went to the World Cup. Did you manage to line up any new clients?" Nelson asked.

Nelson didn’t care about the World Cup or who won. He was more concerned about whether Chen Yu had recruited any clients.

The players at the World Cup were all top-tier athletes—exactly their target clientele.

"Don’t worry, we won’t be short on clients," Chen Yu said, patting Nelson on the shoulder.

’With my reputation, how could I possibly have to worry about finding clients?’

"Morning, Freddy," Chen Yu said, greeting a middle-aged man in a pinstripe shirt with neatly slicked-back hair.

Freddie Jacques.

He was responsible for the daily operations of the sports laboratory, things like purchasing supplies, janitorial services, and logistics.

"Thanks for all your hard work. You’ve done a great job," Chen Yu added as a compliment.

The renovations and such had basically been completed in early May.

But all the miscellaneous tasks that followed—procuring materials, coordinating with various companies, ordering custom equipment—were basically handled by Freddy.

Especially during the World Cup, while Chen Yu was gone for a month, Freddy was his main point of contact. Every workday, he would punctually compile the work plan and progress into a report and send it to Chen Yu.

He had put in a lot of effort to ensure the sports laboratory could open on schedule.

Just as they were speaking, the roar of a sports car’s engine echoed from the entrance not far away.

"Jason’s here," Nelson said.

Chen Yu saw it too. It was J Kidd’s Lamborghini.

A moment later, J Kidd walked over, holding his son TJ’s hand.

"Chen, you’re finally back! You have no idea how much I’ve missed you." J Kidd stepped forward and hugged Chen Yu, a little too tightly.

Chen Yu pushed him away, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. ’I was only gone for a month,’ he thought, ’and I even came back once for the Finals. He’s acting like this is some life-or-death reunion.’

He ruffled TJ’s hair. The little guy was four years old now and looked a lot like J Kidd—sturdy and full of life. He looked up at Chen Yu with big, hopeful eyes and asked if there was any ice cream.

Chen Yu asked Freddy to find someone to take him to play.

Since their clientele consisted of top athletes and star players, they had borrowed from the clinic’s experience and included many amenities, one of which was a dedicated children’s play area for the players’ families.

"What’s wrong? Fighting with Joumana again?" Chen Yu asked casually as the three of them walked toward the laboratory.

Ever since the domestic violence incident, J Kidd had practically started treating Chen Yu as his personal therapist. He was always opening up to him, rambling on about all the trivial little things going on at home.

’Now that I’ve been gone for a month, he probably had no one to vent to and has been bottling it all up.’

"Chen, you know me too well." J Kidd gave him a thumbs-up, then with a troubled expression, began to complain to Chen Yu about Joumana.

She had quit her job as a reporter and was now pregnant and at home, but she’d started getting ideas about breaking into the film industry and becoming a movie star.

Chen Yu patted his back reassuringly. "It’s just for a few more months. Just hang in there. If you really don’t want to be at home, you can always come here more often. It’s not just about practicing your shot; you can work on other things, too."

They had agreed long ago that he would work on his shot.

But if he could practice his shot, he could practice other things as well.

It was the off-season, the perfect time to improve his skills.

J Kidd shrugged, not committing to an answer, and stepped curiously into the laboratory.

It was his first time here, too.

Lighting rigs hung from the ceiling, leaving the original steel frame of the warehouse fully exposed.

The interior was divided into multiple zones, giving it the overall appearance of a large training facility.

"Chen, what’s the difference between this place and the team’s facility?" J Kidd asked curiously.

He had seen a lot of the equipment before.

The ubiquitous high-definition cameras were probably for data analysis, just like the ones the team used.

"There are a few differences. Since you’re here, why don’t you try it out?" Chen Yu said with a smile. He had put a great deal of effort into this laboratory.

J Kidd nodded, then asked if this would count as part of his training program.

The fees for Chen Yu’s sports laboratory weren’t cheap, starting at twenty thousand US dollars a day.

"This one’s on the house," Chen Yu said, shaking his head with a smile, then signaled for Nelson to get things ready.

A basketball hoop was rolled out, and Nelson’s six-person training team got to work, helping J Kidd put on the equipment.

"What is this? Why do I feel like I’m in a movie shoot?"

J Kidd looked bewildered. He was now wearing a black, one-piece bodysuit densely covered with small, red, glowing patches.

Chen Yu was taken aback. "How did you know?" he asked, surprised.

This whole setup was, in fact, borrowed from filmmaking. It was motion capture technology from Hollywood.