The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 4 Two Species
July in San Francisco is sunny, but the Tenderloin district under the bright sun exudes an air of decay and decay, with shacks made of cardboard boxes visible everywhere on the dirty and messy streets.

Homeless people, beggars, and people who look like drug addicts curl up and lie down, enjoying the free sunshine—this is one of the few free and heartwarming things in America.

Gan Guohui was already used to this. Seeing that Gan Guoyang seemed to have taken pity on a long-haired homeless man, he quickly pulled him away, saying, "Don't pity them. They have food and drink, they just have nowhere to live. Instead of pitying them, pity ourselves... Let's go, keep the money for the bus."

Gan Guoyang wasn't pitying the long-haired homeless man, but rather noticed that the man was wearing a green military jacket with several medals pinned to his chest. He suspected that the man might be a Vietnam War veteran who was now homeless.

This is completely different from Gan Guoyang's impression and understanding of the United States, and this is San Francisco, one of the largest cities on the West Coast.

The two boarded a bus and headed north to Chinatown. Gan Guoyang asked, puzzled, "Do we have to go this far to play ball?"

Gan Guohui said, "Other places are mostly inhabited by Black people, it's too dangerous. Like the day before yesterday, you don't want to cause trouble again, do you?"

Gan Guoyang recalled the experience from the day before yesterday. They were just passing by a basketball court when a ball flew over. He went over to pick it up and was about to throw it back when a black man yelled at him and then rushed over quickly. He was standing on the side of the road and almost got hit by a car.

After the black man got the ball back, he was still cursing. Gan Guoyang remembered that he was wearing a brown T-shirt with many holes, shorts, and a bandage on his left calf.

“I don’t want to cause trouble, but what if trouble comes knocking on my door? Yesterday I thought I heard someone come to my door demanding rent, and that they would close the shop if I didn’t pay.”

"Ha, the person who came to collect rent yesterday was the landlord, Chen Yaoming, who is the father of the friend I'm looking for today. His father doesn't let us have a good life, so I'm going to squeeze some money out of his son too."

Gan Guohui led Gan Guoyang through the streets and alleys to a non-profit community center in Joyce Lane, Chinatown—Cameron House.

Downstairs at the center, people were queuing to receive relief food; among them were Chinese, as well as Black, White, and Latino people.

San Francisco is a true melting pot of races, where people of all ethnicities can find their own faces.

The two bypassed the long queue and went up to the roof of the building. Gan Guoyang wondered to himself, why do we have to go upstairs to play basketball?
Is the stadium on the rooftop?

The stadium really is on the rooftop.

The top floor was surrounded by tall wire mesh, and the baskets were tied to the steel pipe supports of the wire mesh.

Standing on the court, you can overlook the skyscrapers of San Francisco's Chinatown.

There is also the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag standing in front of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association in San Francisco.

Looking at the stadium, the distant buildings, and the sky, Gan Guoyang felt a sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

"Wow, is this your cousin who's over two meters tall? Hello, I'm Tiny-Chen, Chen Xing, the fastest hand in Chinatown. Fatty Hui, did you bring your stuff? If not, I'm not letting you play here."

Gan Guohui's friend Chen Xing was thin and had the appearance of a southerner. He wore a pair of sunglasses and had a somewhat scholarly air about him.

Gan Guohui took out several small black plastic boxes with colorful pictures on them from his satchel and handed them to Chen Xing, saying, "Here are 'Ping Pong,' 'Ghost Catcher,' 'Mechanical Tank,' and the latest one, 'Yar's Adventure.' These are bestsellers; you can't buy them even if you want to lately. I managed to get them."

Chen Xing's eyes lit up as he took the small black boxes and examined them with great interest, saying, "I...I'll check them. I didn't settle the score with you for tricking me with a fake cassette tape last time."

Gan Guoyang asked, "What is this?"

Gan Guohui whispered back, "A game cartridge, for an Atari 2600, but I haven't played it in ages. It's just kids' stuff. This guy likes it though..."

"How's it going? Everything's alright, right? Last time it was an accident, I packed it in the wrong box. Four cassettes, $10 each, that's $40, but I'll give you a bargain, $35."

"Are you kidding me? Four cassette tapes for $35? You might as well rob a bank! $20! I'll even give you a court to play ball with!"

"This court isn't yours. If you don't want us to play, fine, we'll just leave!"

"Okay, okay, fine, 35 it is. But I don't have that much cash with me, can I pay you next time?"

"What? Next time? It's a 'pay-as-you-go' deal. You pay me next time, and I'll give you the cassette tape next time."

"Fatty Hui, everything can be discussed, right? When did you become so heartless and cold-blooded?"

Gan Guohui cursed inwardly, "If we're talking about being ruthless and cold-blooded, who can compare to your father, Chen Yaoming, who can turn on you in an instant?"

"How about this, you and my brother play two balls, $5 per ball. If you win enough, I'll give you this cartridge, how about that?"

Chen Xing glanced at Gan Guoyang, who was standing to the side, and said, "Oh~ so you brought help today. You look like a master. With a height of that, if I fought him, I would surely die. I'm not that stupid~ If it were you, Fatty Hui, I might be able to."

Gan Guoyang replied, "I've never played basketball before; this is my first time."

Gan Guohui chimed in, "I can vouch for him. As soon as he arrived, I asked him if he knew how to play ball, and he said no. It was his first time."

Chen Xing shook his head, repeatedly saying he didn't believe it; he was only willing to fight Gan Guohui one-on-one.

With no other option, seeing that the fish weren't biting, Gan Guohui had to take matters into his own hands. After warming up, the two of them played bullfighting on the rooftop.

Chen Xing was lean and wiry, while Gan Guohui was somewhat chubby. Although Gan Guohui had an advantage in weight and strength, he was at a great disadvantage in agility.

Chen Xing's claim of being "Chinatown's fastest hand" is not just boasting; he is incredibly quick and has a strong ability to steal the ball, repeatedly dispossessing Gan Guohui. When dribbling, he maintains a low center of gravity, moves quickly, and has light footwork, easily getting past Gan Guohui to score a layup.

In no time, he beat Gan Guohui 5-0. Chen Xing laughed and said, "Fatty Hui, a ball costs $5 or $25, but I can buy these cassettes for $10."

"My goodness, when did your dribbling become so good? And you're so fast too! What kind of medicine did you take?"

"Hehe, I didn't waste my summer vacation. Fatty Hui, let's play a few more rounds. If I score a few more goals, I can take the cassette tape home for free."

Seeing Chen Xing's arrogant demeanor, Gan Guohui was filled with resentment, but the kid had made great progress and had obviously received special training, so he was no match for him for the time being.

Seeing this, Gan Guoyang said, "You've improved so much, why don't you spar with a newbie like me? I've never played basketball before."

Gan Guoyang, who is exceptionally tall, was spotted by the local sports bureau during his middle school years. He went for a trial, but it was discovered that he was extremely uncoordinated and not cut out to be an athlete, so they had to give up on training him in basketball.

The soul that has traveled through time is particularly eager to find out if the character models from NBA 2K11 have been perfectly replicated in this body.

if so……

"That's right, that's right. My cousin is tall. He's been here for three weeks and I haven't seen him play any ball. He's just out having some fun today. I think you're just a bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong. You can only bully this fat guy like me."

Gan Guohui was fanning the flames from the sidelines, but he was actually a little suspicious.

When this cousin first came to San Francisco, he was genuinely pleasantly surprised. This guy was so tall and had such long arms; he was perfect for playing basketball.

After getting to know him, he found that his cousin was introverted, timid, and generally absent-minded. His uncle said that his cousin had fallen when he was a child and was not very agile.

A few days ago, I took him to Margaret Hayward Stadium, hoping to use his physique to my advantage, but I ended up getting a fever from being scared by a black guy.

Now that the fever has subsided, I feel quite different. My eyes are clear, I speak fluently, and most importantly, I've become more courageous.

Chen Xing, emboldened by the provocation and his recent improvement in basketball skills, declared, "Alright! Let's fight! Who's afraid of who? Watch out, big guy, don't let me fake you out."

He then tossed the ball to Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang caught the ball with one hand.

The texture on the ball made him feel at home.

His large hands made the basketball look much smaller. Gan Guoyang tossed the ball in his hands, glanced at the basket, and saw that it was about seven or eight meters away, quite far.

Gan Guoyang tried to shoot, but his posture was slightly stiff. The ball left his hand very quickly, hit the backboard, and bounced out.

Chen Xing picked up the ball and laughed, "Ha, it's definitely your first time playing, you're using too much force!"

Seeing this, Gan Guohui became anxious and stepped forward, saying, "Cousin, are you really not good at it, or are you just pretending?"

Gan Guoyang said, "Of course it's true, why would I lie to you?"

"Hey hey hey! You two are just messing around, it doesn't cost money, it doesn't cost money, it has nothing to do with my cartridge."

"You're talking nonsense. We just agreed that you couldn't go back on your word. Come on, let's attack. Stop talking nonsense."

Chen Xing threw the ball to Gan Guoyang. Gan Guoyang paused for a moment after receiving the ball, then suddenly accelerated and charged towards Chen Xing.

The moment Gan Guoyang charged at him, Chen Xing suddenly realized that he had underestimated the gap caused by the difference in height and body size.

One is 2 meters tall, and the other is 174 cm tall; they are practically two different species.

His plan was to take advantage of Gan Guoyang's unpreparedness and snatch the ball from his hand.

Then use your speed and dribbling skills to get past this big guy; if you can shake him off, that would be perfect.

Then, he executed another beautiful left-handed layup—a new move he had just learned.

But with his short arms and legs, he had no chance at all.

It was a ferocious beast, charging towards us with the wind at its back.

The moment their bodies made contact, Chen Xing felt as if he had lost his footing, and he fell backward uncontrollably, landing hard on his bottom.

A huge black shadow flew up from above and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand, causing the steel pipes and wire mesh to creak and groan.

The sunlight on the rooftop made Chen Xing dizzy. A dark figure looked down at him against the light and reached out a hand to him.

"Sorry, did I hurt you?"

(End of this chapter)