Chapter Five: The Edge of Elimination

The league's independent examination ended three hours before Game Three. Shen Xinglan's knee was structurally sound, with a recommended limit of thirty-six minutes. The club's supposed insurance restriction had never been formally filed. Luo Qingchuan called it a communication error. Before he could finish explaining, the players' union lawyer had the original workload records, Game Two video, and Zhou Yan's recording. Xinglan still came off the bench. “You truly want them to think we can win without you?” Du Heng asked. “I want them to know they can play,” she said, watching Tang Li and Zhou warm up. For the first time, Zhou ignored the transaction's script. She gave the ball to Qiao Man and cut off screens instead of chasing statistics.