Chapter Three: Michael, Run!

“Oh!”
Wu Rui once again executed a chase-down block, sending shockwaves through the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland as the announcer exclaimed in surprise.
The entire stadium erupted! The fans could scarcely believe their eyes—a defender standing nearly two meters away from the shooter managed to block a three-point shot, and did so twice in succession!
Moreover, the one performing these two incredible blocks was a newcomer whom the fans had never seen before.
“Hey, Kyrie, who is that kid?”
It wasn’t just the fans; even LeBron James, the Cavaliers’ star sitting on the bench, was drawn to Wu Rui’s performance. Smiling, he turned to the team’s star guard, Kyrie Irving, and asked.
With the Cavaliers leading by twenty-one points and a third consecutive victory within reach, LeBron was in high spirits.
“LeBron, I don’t know this rookie. Why, are you interested in him?” Kyrie Irving chuckled. With the team ahead and his own stats looking good, Kyrie was relaxed.
“Haha, he’s just a player lucky enough to get minutes during garbage time, nothing worth my attention,” LeBron laughed at Kyrie’s remark. Wu Rui was an unknown rookie who only got playing time when the outcome was already decided, nowhere near the level that warranted LeBron’s notice.
While the two Cavaliers stars joked on the sidelines, Iman Shumpert, the Cavaliers player on the court, looked anything but pleased.
He had just been blocked twice in a row on three-point attempts by this rookie, and now, with only two seconds left on the shot clock, the team’s possession was wasted—all because of his own failure.
Such a situation was hardly something Shumpert could be happy about.
Sure enough, with so little time left, the Cavaliers could only scramble for a shot, and Richard Jefferson hurriedly attempted one, only to miss.
The rebound was snatched by the Magic’s Bismack Biyombo, giving the Magic a rare opportunity to push for a fast break.
“Bismack, give me the ball!”
At the other end, seeing his teammate secure the rebound, Magic substitute guard CJ Wilcox raced ahead, shouting to Biyombo.
As the eleventh man off the bench, Wilcox treasured every second of his playing time, and a fast break was the perfect chance to prove himself—he would not let it slip by.

“Look, what’s that kid doing!”
But meanwhile, the fans’ attention shifted to another player behaving oddly.
Wu Rui, the Magic forward who had just stunned them with his blocks, stood motionless while the other nine players dashed across the court.
“Michael, run!”
Though the Magic had a rare fast break, Coach Vogel’s expression was sour.
In front of him, Wu Rui, who had just pulled off two spectacular blocks, wasn’t charging down the court like his teammates; instead, he stood in place, watching them as if rooted to the spot.
Vogel felt his scalp tingle at this rookie’s antics. Every time he tried to reassess Wu Rui, the kid responded with something baffling.
“Run… run?”
On the court, Wu Rui heard Vogel’s command clearly, but his movements were instinctively slow: “Can I… can I really run?”
“Though I just completed another block, can I truly run this distance?”
Lifting his head, his sharp eyes focused on the basket at the far end, but in his mind, the stretch of court seemed as long as ten thousand meters.
“What are you mumbling about? Start running!”
Vogel watched Wu Rui mutter and hesitate, unwilling to move, and felt exasperated. He found it hard to believe this was the same Michael Wu who had just blocked two shots.
“I’ll… I’ll try!”
Wu Rui steadied himself. If he could jump, then in this dream, he truly had legs that could walk. Why not try running?
With that thought, he no longer hesitated, adopting a runner’s stance and sprinting forward.
The more he ran, the less he worried. He even reached the opposing half-court before Biyombo, who had been ahead.
Finally, Wu Rui shed his doubts—he really could run and jump, and his abilities were by no means inferior!
Meanwhile, CJ Wilcox had already driven to the basket, forcing a layup against the Cavaliers’ retreating defenders, his contorted body clearly aiming for a foul.
But unfortunately, Wilcox’s clumsy acting failed to earn the referee’s whistle. It was a fine defensive play; the ball slammed into the backboard, bounced off the rim, and came loose.

“Sigh!”
On the sidelines, Coach Vogel covered his face. Having a troublesome rookie was bad enough, but the bench players’ performance left him embarrassed.
“Bang!”
Just as Vogel turned away, unwilling to watch, a blue-clad figure soared from the free throw line, snatching the rebound above the heads of three Cavaliers players.
That player was none other than the rookie who had lagged behind everyone—Wu Rui!
As Wilcox forced his layup, Wu Rui happened to charge into the three-point line, and the ball’s trajectory matched his running direction perfectly.
Seeing the ball high in the air, Wu Rui heard only one voice in his mind: “Jump and grab it!”
In the next instant, he leapt from the free throw line, raised his hands, and seized the ball tightly.
Yet, in the blink of an eye, Wu Rui failed to secure it. Landing with the ball, it slipped from his grasp and rolled to Biyombo, who instinctively picked it up and put it back up.
The ball arced through the air and dropped neatly into the net.
“Swish!”
As the ball went in, the Quicken Loans Arena was abuzz.
“Can anyone tell me what just happened?”
“My God, that kid is like a high jumper! Is he really just a rookie?”
No matter how incredulous the fans were, the scoreboard made clear that it had all really happened.
Magic 77, Cavaliers 96—down by nineteen points.