69novels Chapter 79 The Tyrant's Silence
Chapter 79 The Tyrant's Silence
23:00am.
Despite the loss, an untimely sense of ease filled the Knicks' locker room.
Nate was on the phone with the bar manager: "Hey manager, yeah, the biggest booth, we have over a dozen people... Losing? We're fourth in the East, losing one game doesn't matter, we're drinking until we drop tonight!"
In the center of the locker room, Randolph was eating a huge piece of original fried chicken, his mouth dripping with oil.
He seemed to have completely forgotten the fear and helplessness he felt a few days earlier when he almost got traded, and boasted casually to David Lee next to him:
"That game-winner? Jamison was just lucky. If I had two more minutes, I would have dominated them in the paint. Seriously, it was just the regular season. If it were the playoffs, I would have shut him down."
D'Antoni stood in front of the tactical board with a livid face.
He held a marker in his hand, wanting to get angry, but feeling somewhat powerless.
These guys just defeated the Cavaliers a few days ago, and they're in high spirits.
His easygoing nature led him to slam his tactical board down, only to be met with a brief moment of silence.
……
Just then, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped.
Li Xiangbei walked out of the shower room, his body still steaming.
He didn't say a word, nor did he even glance at his grinning teammates.
He walked straight to Nate's side.
Nate was still excitedly talking about the girls he was meeting that night when he suddenly felt his hand go empty.
Li Xiangbei snatched his phone, glanced at the name on the screen, sneered, pressed the hang-up button, and casually tossed it into Nate's locker.
"Thump."
The entire room fell silent instantly.
"Party canceled."
Nate opened his mouth, wanting to protest, but seeing Li Xiangbei's cold eyes, he immediately swallowed his words.
Li Xiangbei turned his head and looked at the team's equipment manager standing at the door.
"Lock the door. Lock it from the outside."
"Not even a fly is allowed to fly out without my permission."
The equipment manager was stunned and subconsciously looked at head coach D'Antoni in the corner.
This is a serious overstepping of authority.
D'Antoni looked up at Li Xiangbei, then at the group of players who had just been joking around.
The old coach took a deep breath.
He bent down to pick up the tactical board from the ground, then turned around without a word and walked into the coach's lounge inside the locker room.
Before closing the coach's office door, D'Antoni took one last deep look at Li Xiangbei's back through the crack in the door.
"Click".
That was the sound of the coach's room door being locked from the inside.
At that moment, everyone understood.
The coach handed over the decision-making authority to Li Xiangbei.
This was an action tacitly approved by the authorities.
……
Randolph felt a little embarrassed when he saw that the gate was indeed locked.
He wiped the grease from his mouth, stood up, and tried to ease the tense atmosphere.
"Hey, boss, don't do that."
Randolph walked over with a smile.
"Everyone's been exhausted this week, playing two games in a row, so losing one isn't a big deal..."
As he spoke, he reached out to pat Li Xiangbei on the shoulder, trying to smooth things over as usual.
Li Xiangbei simply stood there quietly, raising his head to look at Randolph.
That look made Randolph's hand awkwardly freeze in mid-air.
"Zack."
Li Xiangbei spoke, his voice very soft.
"Ten days ago, you were sitting in that chair crying, worried about being traded."
These words were like a sharp knife, precisely piercing the softest and most shameful part of Randolph's heart.
Randolph's smile froze on his face.
"The team kept you on so you could be a man-eating wolf, so you could help me tear the throats of our opponents."
"I'm not telling you to be a pig who only eats fried chicken and makes excuses."
Li Xiangbei stepped forward and stared intently at Randolph.
"Jamieson scored 30 points on you. Do you think you deserve the guarantee I made to Walsh the other day?"
Randolph blushed, overwhelmed with shame.
The feeling of being looked at with disappointment was more painful to him than any angry rebuke.
He didn't even dare to look Li Xiangbei in the eye; his usual "old hand" demeanor instantly crumbled.
A few seconds later.
"Fxxk!!"
Randolph cursed under his breath and slammed the half-eaten piece of fried chicken into the trash can.
He did not refute, nor did he fly into a rage.
Like a child who had done something wrong, he hung his head and plopped heavily back into the chair.
Even Randolph chickened out, and the other players didn't dare to breathe, obediently returning to their seats.
……
"Smack."
Li Xiangbei turned off the main light in the locker room.
Li Xiangbei sat at the front, holding a remote control, and turned on the projector.
He didn't roar or lecture.
He simply pressed play.
What appeared on the screen was not a highlight reel, but a carefully edited "shameful video".
The footage is full of shots of defenders leaving their man open, defenders playing poorly, and players losing rebounds due to a lack of positioning.
The image freezes on the first section.
Randolph stood like a wooden stake under the basket, watching Jamison grab the offensive rebound over his head and then score on the putback.
Li Xiangbei didn't say anything, but silently rewound and played it again.
Once again, Randolph was outmaneuvered in one move.
Once again, Chandler was out of position defensively.
Every frame was like a resounding slap in the face, striking everyone present hard.
Randolph, in particular, felt so ashamed looking at his lazy and foolish self on the screen that he wanted to disappear into the ground.
Time passed second by second.
This oppressive silence lasted until 2:00 AM.
The air was thick with the smells of sweat, the greasy smell of fried chicken that had cooled down, and an intense, overwhelming sense of regret.
Finally, Randolph couldn't take the psychological torment anymore.
"ah!!!"
He suddenly grabbed his hair:
"Turn it off! Please, boss! Turn it off! I'm an idiot! I defended it like a pile of shit! I was wrong, okay?! Stop letting it run!!"
Li Xiangbei's finger stopped on the pause button.
The image freezes.
The lights came on.
Li Xiangbei stood up and looked at his teammates, who were mentally broken and full of shame.
"Remember this disgusting feeling."
"The next time you guys try to slack off on defense and try to defend with your eyes, think about tonight's film."
……
4:00 AM.
The locker room door finally opened.
Washington, D.C. was still pitch black at this time, with only the streetlights casting a dim yellow light, and the wind was biting cold.
The entire Knicks team came out.
No one spoke, and no one mentioned nightclubs.
Everyone was pale and had empty eyes.
Li Xiangbei walked at the front.
He pulled up his black collar to cover his chin and ward off the cold wind.
Behind him, Randolph silently pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt, hiding his large face deep in the shadows.
Randolph, who was always laughing and joking, is dead.
From tonight onwards, this black bear has truly bared its fangs.
Li Xiangbei stopped in his tracks.
"It's not dawn yet."
"If you don't want to die in the darkness, then fight to the death in the next round."