Chapter One: After the Retirement Bell

The lights of Obsidian Arena went dark one by one. Lu Chenzhou sat behind the press-conference table with his black number-zero jersey before him. Seventeen professional seasons, four championships, three Most Valuable Player awards—and in the end, it all came down to one sentence captured by a hundred cameras. “As of today, I am officially retiring.” Silence came first. Then applause broke like a tidal wave. Some people cried. Others shouted his nickname, the Black Tide King. Reporters were already publishing their headlines: LEGEND DEFEATED BY HIS HEART. THE LAST MAN OF AN ERA BOWS OUT. Only Lu knew how suddenly the diagnosis had appeared.