The game was soon underway.

The Chinese Team’s starting lineup for tonight was: Su Xi, Zhu Fangyu, Li Nan, Wang Zhizhi, and Yao Ming.

Spain’s starting lineup was: Gasol, Liangai, Gonzalez, Navarro, and Rodriguez.

The whistle blew.

Yao Ming beat Gasol in the jump ball, and the ball went to Su Xi.

Rodriguez was a young Point Guard, hailed as the star of Spain’s backcourt. Spain brought him here to get some experience in a major tournament.

They started him in the very first group stage game, hoping he could learn something from matching up against Su Xi.

They even had the experienced Navarro positioned nearby to support him.

Su Xi calmly dribbled the ball past half-court. He didn’t bother trying to test Rodriguez’s limits. He had seen the Spanish players’ files, and how should he put it? They weren’t worth his time to test.

To use the words of Duan Shuiliu: "I’m not targeting any specific guard from Spain. What I mean is... all of you are trash."

Yao Ming established position in the paint. Su Xi passed the ball in. Yao Ming caught it, backed his man down, exerted his strength to create space, turned, and let loose a semi-hook shot... SWISH!

It was all one smooth motion.

Like a veteran assembly line worker.

Yao Ming’s game lacked aesthetic beauty, but it possessed an extreme sense of control.

When he was full of energy, he could methodically break you down. There was no way to stop him one-on-one. Once he securely received the ball and started his routine, the only thing you could do was pray he was having an off night shooting.

Especially under FIBA rules.

Spain inbounded the ball, and Su Xi immediately locked onto Rodriguez.

Rodriguez’s eyes were filled with ambition and impulse.

Over the past year, Su Xi’s story had inspired every young basketball player. They all wanted to be like Su Xi... make endless amounts of money, sleep with the most beautiful women in Hollywood, and pluck the crown jewel from the NBA’s highest stage.

Rodriguez wanted that life too, and so he had to defeat Su Xi.

’Very good, very spirited!’

Su Xi saw his fired-up expression. He liked young players like this.

So, after pressing him for about five meters, he suddenly went for the kill at the half-court line. He forcefully blocked Rodriguez’s path. Just as Rodriguez was reacting, Su Xi’s immense strength surged down on him.

Rodriguez’s lower body strength wasn’t weak, but compared to Su Xi, it was like a stream trying to fight the ocean.

He was completely overwhelmed.

Navarro rushed over to help.

But it was too late.

SMACK!

Su Xi’s hand was fast and fierce. With a single slap, he knocked the ball loose, then squeezed past and shoved Rodriguez aside.

He was like a duckweed in a storm, completely at its mercy.

He could only watch helplessly as Su Xi steamrolled past him and sprinted toward the frontcourt.

He spread his arms, trying to pressure the head referee.

Before he could, his coach, Javier, was already doing it.

But the referee had no interest in listening to the Spaniards’ complaints.

BOOM!

Su Xi finished with a powerful, thunderous dunk in the frontcourt.

The Chinese fans in the arena erupted.

And thousands of miles away in China, a basketball commentator roared on TV: "It’s finally our turn!!!"

The fans were also ecstatic.

It used to be Chinese guards cautiously bringing the ball past half-court; now, it was the Chinese Team’s opponents who had to be careful.

Su Xi’s defense was terrifying. Not only was he immensely strong, but his ability to smother an opponent was unparalleled, his timing was the best in the world, and on top of that, he had superhuman explosiveness and speed.

"Even Gary Payton would have to bow down and call him ’master’."

Isaiah Thomas remarked from the bench.

In fact, Su Xi’s current defensive ability had certainly surpassed Gary Payton’s. In terms of natural gifts like explosiveness, strength, speed, and flexibility, Payton couldn’t compare to Su Xi; he was leagues behind.

All of these were closely related to defense.

’If there had been a player like Su Xi to guard Jordan back in the day, would Jordan have won two three-peats?’ Isaiah Thomas muttered to himself.

Su Xi was, without a doubt, perfectly suited for the gritty, physical defensive rhythm of the ’90s.

It was hard to find an answer to that kind of ’hypothetical question’.

However, the Chinese fans were now getting the answer they wanted.

After Su Xi’s dunk, Spain became extremely cautious. Their big men had to follow Rodriguez everywhere, setting screens for him.

Su Xi stalked him quietly from the side, like a cheetah eyeing a lone antelope.

After getting the ball stolen, Rodriguez quickly passed it to Navarro and ran to the side.

Navarro went one-on-one against Zhu Fangyu. He was much shorter than Zhu Fangyu, but his dribbling rhythm was excellent.

Zhu Fangyu played the small forward position in China, and his defensive skills were considered quite good domestically.

But on the international stage, he was a step behind.

Navarro successfully drove inside the free-throw line, but he didn’t dare challenge Yao Ming’s defense in the restricted area.

So, he opted for a pull-up jumper.

But at the very moment he jumped, Su Xi shot out from the side and viciously slapped down on the ball as Navarro was about to release it, smothering the shot completely.

He snatched it away.

Navarro was devastated.

He felt like Su Xi was everywhere.

Su Xi was displaying the skills that got him quadruple-doubles. If basketball were a fill-in-the-blanks test, then no one in the world was better at filling in the blanks than Su Xi.

The Dream Team had no game today, so they were sitting in front of a TV watching this match. In their eyes, Spain was their second-biggest rival this year, after their primary rival, Argentina.

The Chinese Team, however, was the team they most wanted to beat, as it had the player they most detested.

In the vast conference room, someone let out a sigh.

Then, Carmeron Anthony’s voice was heard: "Jack’s improvement is insane. He never had this kind of super speed back at Syracuse University."

On the court, Su Xi seemed to be moving at a different tempo. He was always one step ahead of everyone else.

"That’s nothing to brag about. I can do that too," Lamar Odom said from the back.

He was very confident.

He was once the epitome of immense talent, considered capable of playing all five positions.

But when he said that, why did no one seem to believe him?

Dwyane Wade tried to pull Odom back, but Odom clearly didn’t think much of it. He continued, "We NBA stars are supposed to be on a completely different level in a competition like this. When it comes to talent, who here can compare to us? Hahahaha."

Odom didn’t want to watch anymore. He had a date with a few beautiful Greek girls.

He strode out of the conference room.

Everyone fell silent.

Larry Brown stared at the big screen without speaking. He knew just how formidable Su Xi was.

What Odom said wasn’t entirely wrong. In terms of overall talent, no team could truly compare to this Dream Six Team.

However, the NBA and FIBA were two different games with different rules. And basketball wasn’t just a contest of talent.

In the frontcourt, Su Xi assisted Wang Zhizhi on a jump shot from beyond the three-point line.

On the other end, Spain used more frequent movement and screens to help Navarro hit a 3-pointer.

Su Xi’s presence forced Spain to complicate their tactics, essentially forcing them to get better.

"Watch the game seriously."

Larry Brown demanded his players pay more attention. This game was very important for the Dream Team.

LeBron James was extremely focused. He stared intently at the screen, not missing a single detail.

If not for Su Xi, James would truly be the supreme paragon of the new generation of basketball. Despite all the media hype, he still trained hard and kept a clear head. Every day, he worked on improving his skills and the flexible application of his physical gifts. He also did his utmost to absorb tactical knowledge.

Larry Brown genuinely liked James.

But in his heart, he still felt Su Xi was more terrifying.

Su Xi was a man-eating demon; no one knew just how strong he truly was.

In the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pistons, Su Xi would switch to a stronger form in every game, until the Pistons themselves simply collapsed. The final game marked one of the few devastating defeats in Larry Brown’s career.