Chapter 331: Chapter 278: Exploring Human Limits

Chen Yu’s sudden proposal left the young Bolt at a loss, unsure how to respond. He turned to look at his coach.

Mills thought for a moment before asking, "Dr. Chen, are you saying you want to be Usain’s coach?"

He knew Chen Yu understood training. Otherwise, why would stars like Ronaldo seek Chen Yu out to maintain their bodies and improve their performance?

But if that happened, he wouldn’t be able to be Bolt’s coach anymore.

"Not exactly." Chen Yu shook his head again. "I have a lot on my plate, so I won’t necessarily have the time to watch over him constantly. If you’re willing, you can come to the United States with Usain and continue to be in charge of his training."

Chen Yu understood Mills’ underlying concern, but that wasn’t an issue. Just as he had no desire to become an agent, Chen Yu had no interest in switching careers to become a coach. He simply had the resources and was purely curious about where the limits of humanity lay.

"However, I need to have the final say on the direction of his training and on whether or not he participates in competitions," Chen Yu added.

’Whether I’m the coach or not doesn’t matter, but I have to be the one directing his training. Otherwise, there’s no point in me spending this money.’

’And the competitions.’

’He should skip the minor ones if possible.’

’It’s not necessary.’

’Oftentimes, competing just for the money will only drain a person’s potential.’

Chen Yu knew that many universities in the United States scouted athletic prodigies from all over the world, but their development methods were too focused on short-term gains. They would schedule an excessive number of competitions, burning out these talents’ potential.

’Since I’m the one sponsoring him, he can just focus on training and only participate in major events.’

Mills frowned again and asked, "So, if we were to refuse, you would still perform the surgery for Usain, right?"

"Of course. I’m a doctor, after all," Chen Yu said with a smile.

’You pay, I treat. Nothing wrong with that.’

Mills heard the unspoken message and gave a wry smile. ’My only fear is that Dr. Chen’s fees will be too high.’

Glancing at Bolt, Mills said, "Dr. Chen, I think we need to discuss this thoroughly."

"No problem. This is a major decision, after all. How about this: don’t rush into a decision. I’ll have a contract drawn up, and you can have a lawyer review it before you decide," Chen Yu said.

Bolt’s condition didn’t require urgent surgery, so they could take their time to consider.

Mills nodded in agreement.

After discussing the surgery details a bit more, Chen Yu saw the two of them out.

Before they left, Chen Yu went to the gift area, found signed jerseys from Ronaldo and Jordan, and gave them to Bolt.

Bolt was thrilled and thanked him repeatedly. As he was about to leave, he suddenly stopped, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Dr. Chen, I’d like to know, why are you doing all this?"

He couldn’t understand at all why Chen Yu, a doctor, would go out of his way to make such a proposal.

’For money?’

’That can’t be it. Dr. Chen’s income is definitely not low. Why would he take an interest in a nobody like me?’

Chen Yu smiled and said, "Because I believe you might just become the fastest man in the world."

’To explore the limits of humanity, the limits of sports.’

Bolt was taken aback. He stared blankly at Chen Yu, said nothing, and turned to leave.

Watching him walk away, Chen Yu couldn’t help but glance at Nelson’s calves.

’A 42-centimeter-long Achilles tendon. That’s insane. Many ordinary people don’t even have calves that long.’

Chen Yu had the clinic’s lawyer draw up a contract for him.

After receiving the contract, Bolt didn’t keep him waiting long. Four days later, he made his decision.

He agreed!

The contract was for a four-year term. Chen Yu would receive a fifty-percent share of all of Bolt’s prize money from competitions.

This did not include commercial revenue, which was the larger share and something Bolt was not willing to give up.

However, the prize money for a top track and field athlete was substantial. Four years would be enough for Chen Yu to recoup his costs.

The contract also stipulated a cap. If Chen Yu’s earnings exceeded six million US dollars over the four years, Bolt would have the right to terminate the contract. If they did not, Chen Yu would have the right to renew, at which point they would negotiate the length of the new term.

Bolt needed a safeguard as well.

Chen Yu agreed. He wasn’t counting on making money off Bolt anyway.

As for the six-million-US-dollar earnings cap, Bolt’s family initially thought it was too high.

But when Chen Yu told them his daily fee for looking after Ronaldo during the World Cup, they were left speechless.

For the next four years, Chen Yu would cover all of Bolt’s training expenses in the United States.

During this period, the value of the system’s effects that needed to be invested to ensure his health and training results was simply incalculable.

So, six million over four years could only be considered breaking even.

"Dr. Chen, don’t you want to know why I agreed?" After signing the contract, Bolt asked on his own initiative when he saw that Chen Yu hadn’t.

Chen Yu smiled and put away the contract. "Are you going to say it’s because I said I thought you could become the fastest man in the world?"

Bolt was stunned. That was indeed the main reason he had made this decision. He hadn’t expected Chen Yu to guess it right away.

"So you really think so?" Bolt asked in return.

"Of course."

Chen Yu nodded, stood up, and patted Bolt’s shoulder. "Get ready. The surgery will be the day after tomorrow."

Bolt’s scoliosis surgery wasn’t complicated.

In fact, many surgeries aren’t complex. The tricky part is the post-operative prognosis—whether the desired results can be achieved. That’s why post-surgery rehabilitation and corrective training are more important.

But that was something to worry about three months from now.

The day after the surgery, Chen Yu finished his rounds and went to O’Neal’s room.

There was a speaker on the floor connected to a player by the head of the bed. Seeing Chen Yu enter, O’Neal turned to switch on the player.

But his hand hovered over the button without pressing it.

O’Neal pulled his hand back and looked at Chen Yu in defeat. He threw his hands up in a gesture of helplessness and said, "Chen, I give up. You win. Just tell me, how much weight do you want me to lose? I’m almost at 360 pounds now. Is that enough?"

Lying in bed recovering these past few days, combined with the controlled diet, had caused his weight to drop rapidly. He was already approaching 360 pounds.

Chen Yu sat down. Without answering right away, he first checked the recovery of O’Neal’s feet.

It had been five weeks since his surgery. The internal fixation K-wires had been removed the day before yesterday. Everything was going according to the recovery plan.

"350 pounds," Chen Yu said as he removed the needles, beginning the daily rehabilitation routine.

"How much?"

O’Neal’s eyes widened.

He had dropped from 376 to his current 363 pounds—a loss of 13 pounds, almost 6 kilograms. He already felt like he’d died and come back. Losing another 13 pounds would be the death of him.

"No way. Just kill me now. I haven’t lost any weight for three days straight. That proves I can’t lose any more." O’Neal flopped back onto the bed, looking as if he’d rather be put out of his misery.

Chen Yu knew that cutting carbs could lead to rapid weight loss, but after a certain point, one would hit a plateau.

At that point, the body needed to readjust before entering the next phase.

Moreover, it had to be supplemented with physical training. Since O’Neal was lying in bed all day, he couldn’t train even if he wanted to, so it was normal for his weight loss to stall.

Chen Yu said, "It’s fine. I’ll start adjusting your diet, focusing on maintaining your current weight. Once your feet have healed, we’ll start fat-loss training. Excluding training camp, you still have two and a half months before the regular season starts. You just need to get down to 350 pounds by then."

O’Neal clearly didn’t hear the last part. As soon as he heard Chen Yu say he was adjusting the diet, he shot up, his eyes gleaming. "Chen, can I have a hamburger? If you give me a hamburger right now, I’ll do whatever you tell me to do from now on."

His eyes were practically glowing green with desire.

"Fine." Chen Yu nodded. Since the main goal was now to maintain his current weight, they could relax the diet a little. An occasional indulgence wouldn’t be a big problem.

After all, at his size, his calorie expenditure was astounding.

He called a nurse and ordered a beef hamburger for O’Neal.

O’Neal practically inhaled the hamburger in two bites. After finishing it, he looked so blissful he was almost in tears, then said faintly, "Chen, you’re a demon."

Chen Yu, having finished his work, heard O’Neal’s complaint, chuckled, and prepared to leave.

’Demon or not, I would never take words like that seriously.’

’I did control O’Neal’s diet, but did he stick with it this long just because of my control?’

’Not at all.’

’The most important reason is that O’Neal himself wanted to lose weight.’

’He’s not stupid. He clearly knows that his obesity is the biggest reason for his decline in performance. He came to the Phoenix Suns enduring a lot of criticism, and he wants to prove himself next season.’

’But he can’t control his eating, so he’s cooperating with me, wanting me to force him, to give him a push.’

’He just doesn’t have the willpower on his own.’

’That’s why he complains every day, curses me every day. His "giving up" today is more like him reaching a compromise with himself.’

’Otherwise, this clinic isn’t a prison. If he really wanted to leave, who could stop him!’

"Oh, right."

Chen Yu suddenly remembered something. He stepped out and returned a moment later.

He placed a box in front of O’Neal.

"Huh, aren’t these the kind of balls that Jason and Tracy McGrady play with?" O’Neal opened the box and found three heavy iron balls inside.

Nowadays, J Kidd was almost never seen without them, constantly rotating them in his hand.

Besides him, players like Tracy McGrady and Hill were also using these iron balls to improve their finger dexterity and strength for their shooting.

Even the media had snapped pictures, joking that J Kidd had a strange hobby and liked to "play with his balls" for no reason.

Chen Yu nodded. "You’re just sitting around idle anyway. You might as well practice your hand strength."

O’Neal nodded, then gave Chen Yu a sly glance and asked, "Chen, you’re not trying to make me practice my free throws, are you?"

He immediately pointed to his right wrist. "I injured it when I was a kid. I can’t flex it properly, so I can’t practice them."

Chen Yu did indeed want O’Neal to practice his shooting, or more specifically, his free throws.

Last season, the Phoenix Suns had used the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy against O’Neal. Now they had to consider the possibility that opponents would use the same tactic against him.

As for O’Neal’s claim that his wrist problem made it impossible for him to practice, that was complete bullshit.

His wrist had indeed been injured, but the impact was nowhere near as significant as he claimed.

In the 99-00 season, the Lakers found a free-throw coach for O’Neal from Australia. At the beginning of the season, O’Neal had a laughable 0-for-11 streak from the free-throw line, and his free-throw percentage was a frighteningly low 37 percent.

But after being coached by this free-throw coach, a man named Benskas, O’Neal’s free-throw percentage approached seventy percent by the end of the season.

If he had actually stuck with it and continued to train O’Neal’s free throws, O’Neal definitely could have improved them.

But later, the old man’s asking price was too high, and O’Neal was too lazy, so they stopped.

This whole incident only proved that O’Neal could improve his free throws. The biggest reason for his poor performance wasn’t his wrist or the lack of a good coach—it was simply that he was lazy, didn’t care, and didn’t think it was necessary to practice.

’Now that he’s in my hands, I might as well improve his free-throw technique while he’s still willing to listen.’

Just like with Bolt, Chen Yu was also curious: just how strong could a healthy, fit O’Neal with no technical flaws be?

"Nah, they’re just for you to play with," Chen Yu said with a smile, turning to leave.

O’Neal pouted. ’Like I’d believe you,’ he thought.

But after a moment’s hesitation, O’Neal picked up the iron balls and started to play with them.

’Hey, these are actually kind of fun.’

’And just imagine walking down the street with a couple of iron balls in my hand. Wouldn’t that be unique?’