LeBron James, your house got robbed.

The original owner rented a high-end apartment in a renovated old building near a public square in downtown Cleveland, one of the few remaining residences in downtown Cleveland.

It's not because land here is extremely valuable.

In fact, while there are still office workers coming and going in the city center during the day, there are hardly any people at night, making it feel like a ghost town. Therefore, there have never been many residential projects in this area.

It wasn't until the economy recovered in recent years that real estate developers started to set up shop in the city center.

The rent here isn't expensive; a two-bedroom luxury apartment costs less than $2000 a month and comes with a variety of convenient concierge services.

Of course, the original owner chose this location because the public square is only a ten-minute walk from the team's home stadium, Quicken Loans Arena.

Following the route he remembered, Chen Shuo strolled along the street, observing the surrounding environment.

There are few high-rise buildings in this public square area, and almost all the houses and shops retain the post-war modernist style from around the 60s.

With its boxy shape, curtain wall or concrete facade, extreme functionalism, and almost no decoration, it exudes a strong steampunk vibe.

It's as if time has frozen in Cleveland since that time, since that most glorious era.

This city, known for its iron ore mines, trains, and docks, came to a complete standstill as American industry hollowed out and became financialized.

It seems that heavy industrial bases around the world can hardly escape this fate, leaving behind only the steel shells of industrial cities, quietly left behind in time by the rolling wheels of time.

Compared to a completely dilapidated and decadent city like Detroit, Cleveland still retains some vitality, but it can't breathe properly, like a lost land sealed by magic.

Cleveland's sports were also cursed.

As early as before and after World War II, Cleveland, as a shipping hub in the Great Lakes region and possessing a railway network connecting the East Coast and the Midwest, experienced rapid development in heavy industry.

Iron ore, auto parts, and oil refining once made Cleveland the sixth largest city in the United States.

During this period, Cleveland was flooded with blue-collar workers who enjoyed the most comfortable life.

This refers to the golden age that older white men and rednecks in the United States have been talking about and never forgetting.

"With just one person working, you can afford a big house, drive a Ford, and still send three or four kids to school. After work, you can even have an ice-cold beer at a dockside bar."

This affluent lifestyle became a breeding ground for the sports industry, making Cleveland the city with teams from all four major leagues.

The Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA, the Cleveland Browns of the NFL, the Cleveland Indians of the MLB, and the Barron's of the NHL.

However, since the Browns won the Super Bowl in 1964, no team in Cleveland has been able to win the championship in any competition.

More than forty years have passed since then, and the lack of a crown has gradually evolved into a city curse for Cleveland.

James, born in Akron, was once highly regarded by the people of Cleveland, who saw him as a savior to help the city break the curse.

This narrative aligns well with American values ​​of individual heroism, except that the protagonist escapes halfway through and chooses a relatively easier shortcut, resulting in a completely different style.

As Chen Shuo emerged from Eighth Street, he immediately spotted the sign above the arena: [Quick Loan Arena].

The main entrance of the Quicken Loans Arena has been upgraded in the last two years to a large glass curtain wall that is more in line with contemporary aesthetics, but the oval-shaped main body of the arena inside is still the stone frame from when it was built in the 90s.

This arena, which was built in the 90s, has been the home of the Cavaliers since it was completed. After Danelbert took over the Cavaliers, he renamed it after Quicken Loans, the company he founded.

When Chen Shuo arrived at the entrance of the stadium, he noticed a group of fans who were taking turns throwing Cavaliers jerseys with the number 23 on them into the fire. The jerseys also had black words written on them with markers.

He didn't even need to look closely; it was nothing more than words like "traitor," "coward," and "softie." It has to be said that the English vocabulary is quite barren when it comes to insults.

This game is of great significance to Cleveland, which is why fans gathered at the arena entrance three or four hours in advance.

Standing in the middle was a young Black man with a large iron chain around his neck, wearing James' number 23 jersey, white with burgundy lettering and gold trim.

This jersey was the official jersey worn by the Cavaliers after drafting LeBron James, marking the beginning of the James era and once symbolizing hope.

The young Black man took off his jersey and threw it into the fire. Only then did Chen Shuo realize that the next jersey was also from the Cavaliers.

The colors are also burgundy, gold, and white, except that the away jersey has a burgundy base with white lettering and gold trim.

Next up is a retro style in navy blue, followed by a 10-year-old modified burgundy color scheme.

This guy was wearing at least seven or eight jerseys, each with LeBron James' name printed on it, and many of them even had his autograph.

One piece, two pieces, three pieces... they were taken off and thrown on the ground, left to be licked by the raging flames.

The crowd seemed to suddenly switch on, falling into an eerie silence, so much so that Chen Shuo could clearly hear the sound of hope being utterly shattered.

There is reason to believe that they were once die-hard fans of LeBron James, firmly believing that Akron's prodigy would lead the team to the championship, break the Cleveland curse, and let the sunlight pierce through the year-round smog over the city.

Thinking of this, Chen Shuo waved vigorously at them and said loudly:

"Hey guys, everything'll be alright, starting with this game."

The expression on the face of the person who looked in the direction of the sound was numb, devoid of hope, and even their anger seemed somewhat powerless.

A few people recognized him; after all, as the team's mascot, Chen Shuo's exposure this season has exceeded that of anyone else on the team.

The public relations department arranges for Chen Shuo to attend almost every press conference before and after a match.

Looking at the confidence on Chen Shuo's face, Andrew felt that this man simply did not understand. As a foreigner, he could not comprehend the mindset of Cleveland residents who were so close to success but could not bear to watch others fail.

Moreover, after this bastard took over, the team suffered its longest losing streak in franchise history, a 26-game losing streak, making things even worse.

In the three revenge games against the Heat, all were predictable and decisive defeats, and Andrew did not make any impressive plays.

This guy just talks nonsense into the microphone every day, and then lets the team continue to tank.

He has to occasionally jump out and criticize LeBron to keep his position with Gilbert.

Although LeBron's defection broke the hearts of all fans, Chen Shuo's behavior was more like that of a clown.

Andrew clenched his fists, wanting to go up and teach him a lesson.

Suddenly noticing the ashes of the burned jersey being swept into the air by the wind, I instantly lost all interest in punching someone.

Following his memory, Chen Shuo arrived at his office.

Generally speaking, the basketball operations department spends most of its time at the team's training base, while only the ticketing department and some public relations staff remain at the venue.

In fact, it differs from what domestic fans imagined.

Most NBA teams have separate home arenas and training facilities. Home arenas are usually located in the city center or in easily accessible areas, while training facilities are usually located in the suburbs.

For NBA teams, the training facility is their base, while the home arena is just where they play games.

After all, arenas are usually multi-purpose venues. In North America, it is common for local basketball and ice hockey teams to share a home arena.

In addition, they also organize concerts, exhibitions, and the like.

In short, it was not suitable for player training, so the basketball operations department stayed at the training base.

The original owner stayed at the stadium to work, supposedly Gilbert's idea, to help him better adapt to the job.

However, everyone in the team basically understands that this is just to limit the original owner's power, so that Chris Grant can stay at the training base and manage team affairs as the assistant general manager.

Chen Shuo recalled the employees he had encountered on his way here, all of whom had been very friendly.

This is not hard to understand. The original owner had no real work to do and was just a nobody who came to coast along, so naturally there was no conflict of interest with the other employees.

With a friendly, sunny face and a generous manner of speaking, she makes it easy for others to feel comfortable and maintain good relationships with everyone.

Moreover, most people believe that since this person is about to leave, every meeting will be one less, so they are naturally on friendly terms.

Chen Shuo unconsciously rubbed his fingers together.

This job is good, you can just coast along, collect a salary, and there are no villains to provoke you.

They present an image of tranquility and peace, but in reality, they completely ignore themselves.

Anyone who has ever worked knows that if you don't have any work to do, it's difficult to generate results, and you're the easiest person to be laid off by the company.

Given the current situation, even if Chen Shuo has various ideas, he can only worry helplessly without any means or entry points.

"Thump, thump"

The familiar knocking rhythm.

Thanks to the original owner's memories, Chen Shuo instantly knew the identity of the person who came.

"Amy, come in."

As the door opened, Amy, with her blonde hair neatly tied back, was seen holding a document in front of her chest.

Chen Shuo subconsciously fixed his gaze on the fair skin, firm, plump and shapely, accentuated by the professional attire.

Even when Amy stood in front of the table, Chen Shuo still hadn't had time to look away.

"Is it pretty?"

Damn!

Influenced by the original owner's instincts, it's all that old lecher's fault.

Chen Shuo did not look away in a panic, but took another look carefully, then spread his hands out, giving full affirmation.

Amy remained expressionless, but she wasn't angry either. To be honest, she didn't dislike this behavior.

After all, taking a few more glances won't hurt her, but recent events have been causing her a lot of trouble.

Amy is a Cleveland native, and her whole family are die-hard Cavaliers fans.

Like many young Americans, Amy graduated from a community college.

When I saw that the Cavaliers were hiring an administrative assistant, I submitted my resume on a whim, and to my surprise, I was actually hired.

For her, this job was like a windfall.

Amy cherished this opportunity and put in her best effort.

However, she soon discovered that even her boss, Chen Shuo, didn't have much to do, and she herself had even less to do.

At the time, Amy was glad that she had found the perfect job: high pay, easy work, close to home, and on her favorite team.

Everything felt like a dream.

Unfortunately, she recently realized that this beautiful dream was about to end.

As the rumors spread, almost all the colleagues reached a consensus.

Chen Shuo will be dismissed at the end of this season.

Amy didn't think she could stay; every general manager had their own team.

Thinking of this, Amy looked at Chen Shuo, who was intently reading the documents. The curve of his profile, along with his sharp jawline and Adam's apple, was distinct.

If only this person could work a little harder and keep their job, they'd be great; they're quite capable.

Amy instinctively straightened her chest, just as Chen Shuo turned his gaze over, and their eyes met.

Indeed, he is wealthy and generous.