Sports Medicine Master System-Chapter 98 - 79: Moratti (3)

Riley wanted Moning to make a comeback, but there was no way I was going to clear him.

Although he was selected, Moning wouldn’t be playing, so his spot was filled by the Digital People’s center, Theo Ratliff.

However, just in the last two days, he fractured his right wrist and was now out for the season.

So Antonio Davis had to be brought in as his replacement.

That was the East. Now for the West.

The West’s top vote-getter, O’Neal, was diagnosed with arthritis in his big toe. He was expected to be out for a month, so he definitely wouldn’t make it to the All-Star Game.

Then there was the other half of the OK Duo, Kobe. He had injuries to his right shoulder and hip, but the most troublesome was his sprained ankle.

Chen Yu had looked into this before and agreed to let the Lakers handle the treatment themselves. ’I can’t believe it still hasn’t healed.’

Worried these injuries would impact the second half of the season, Kobe also didn’t want to play in the All-Star Game.

Stern, however, had no intention of letting them off so easily.

This year’s All-Star Game was being held in Washington, and it was a highly anticipated event. For the top two vote-getters in the West to both sit out was a bit much.

So Stern contacted Chen Yu, hoping he could help ensure that both players would appear in the All-Star Game, no matter what.

The bottom line was to ensure at least one of them played.

So after today’s game, Chen Yu planned to head to Los Angeles to see what the deal was with those two and whether it was possible for them to play in the All-Star Game in two weeks.

At 4:00 PM, Chen Yu left home early and drove to the arena.

Chen Yu had asked Torrance to help him rent a house.

He had also bought a car for the time being. Chen Yu had already asked Lexi to sell his old clunker back in Miami.

Now that he had more cash on hand, Chen Yu bought one of his favorite cars, a Ford GT40.

When that car battled Ferrari at the Le Mans endurance race back in the day, it truly stunned the United States.

When he was a kid, the owner of a small tractor business next door had one. He was always out washing it in front of the garage, which had left a deep impression on Chen Yu.

The engine roaring, he soon arrived at the arena.

The arena’s parking garage was underground. The entrance, located on the north side, was restricted to authorized vehicles.

The players usually used this entrance to get to the arena as well.

As a result, reporters often staked out this spot to take pictures.

If a major story broke, these reporters would even block people to get a comment.

When J Kidd got into trouble, reporters had swarmed him here so relentlessly that he had to have Robinson drive him in.

The reporters were resourceful enough to know which car was Chen Yu’s, but none of them would ever ambush him. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

After all, team doctors weren’t supposed to give interviews.

If they really wanted to corner him, they’d be better off trying at the hospital.

But today, the area around the parking garage was swarming with reporters. As Chen Yu drove up, someone shouted—he couldn’t tell who—and suddenly, with a great RUSH, a whole crowd of people surged toward him.

Chen Yu slammed on the brakes, nearly hitting someone.

He was about to get out of the car in anger when he realized something wasn’t right.

There were at least twenty or thirty reporters. Some were blocking his path forward, while a large group crowded around the driver’s side window, their cameras flashing, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, as they snapped pictures of him.

Chen Yu was baffled. ’It was probably like this when the J Kidd domestic violence story broke,’ he thought.

’But it’s not like I’m in any major trouble, am I?’

’Or did something big happen to the team?’

Chen Yu had been about to honk his horn and drive straight through, but this thought made him pause, and he rolled down his window instead.

Immediately, a flood of digital recorders and microphones were shoved in his face.

A short distance away, a few other reporters stood still.

"What are they doing?" one of them, a reporter from Phoenix Television, asked in confusion.

"No idea. Why are they trying to interview Chen? He won’t answer any questions."

"Did a Phoenix Suns player get injured? I haven’t heard anything."

"I don’t think they’re American reporters. I heard them talking just now but couldn’t understand a word. They might be foreign."

"Foreign reporters? What’s that all about?"

Just then, Chen Yu started honking his horn repeatedly. The security guards at the garage entrance also noticed the commotion and rushed over to disperse the reporters, finally allowing Chen Yu to drive through the crowd.

The reporters who had been shooed away exchanged glances, their faces etched with disappointment.

The few local reporters exchanged a look and pushed their way forward.

After asking a few questions, they were even more baffled.

"A soccer star?"

"Chen is operating on some soccer star?"

The reporters looked utterly confused. They had just learned that the other journalists were all from Europe. Apparently, Chen Yu was going to operate on someone named Ronaldo.

"Who’s that? A hockey player?" one reporter asked uncertainly.

Soccer really didn’t have much of a market in the United States.

Fundamentally, Americans weren’t fans of that kind of team sport; they preferred superstars and displays of extreme individual heroism.

Combined with a "we’re the center of the world" attitude, who would pay attention to foreign sports over America’s own, even if it was the most popular sport on the planet?

One reporter said, "I know Beckham, but Ronaldo... that name rings a bell. Is he the one who plays in the United Kingdom?"

Another reporter from the Arizona Republic said, exasperated, "You guys really don’t follow soccer, do you? This Ronaldo is incredible. He’s a two-time World Player of the Year, even more famous than Beckham. It’s so weird, why would he be looking for Chen to perform surgery? Is he injured?"

The group exchanged a look. Just as they were about to ask for more details, their eyes lit up.

J Kidd’s car was arriving.

In an instant, they forgot all about Ronaldo and rushed forward.

In the parking garage, Chen Yu parked his car. He was in a good mood.

’Looks like that guy made the right choice in the end.’

’Next up is the surgery.’

’I have the ligament repair technique, but its effect is limited.’

’I’ll need an Efficacy for this, at least Gold Level or higher.’

’And Efficacies for rehabilitation and medication, too. With more and more patients coming, I’ll have to grind for all of them.’

’I need to find a way to farm more experience.’

’Just going to the hospital isn’t enough; there’s a limited number of patients.’

’I should do what I did back in Orlando and treat a large number of ordinary people.’

’It was exhausting, but the amount of experience I gained was real.’

As he was mulling this over, Chen Yu spotted Brian walking by in the distance.

"Brian."

Chen Yu called out to him, asking if there were any community outreach events coming up.

Brian paused for a moment, then shook his head. "No, the game schedule has been pretty packed. We haven’t had time to organize anything."

To hold community events, the players needed to have free time.

Chen Yu said, "In that case, how about we organize a free clinic for the general public in the city? It could also help improve our team’s negative image."

’With my reputation, a free clinic should draw a big crowd.’

’If I partner with a local hospital and perform a crazy number of surgeries, I’m sure I’ll be able to farm the Efficacies I want.’

"Chen, won’t that be too much work for you?"

Brian suddenly felt a lump in his throat. He knew the team had been getting a lot of negative press, yet here was Chen Yu, willingly sacrificing his own time and energy to build a good reputation for them. He was so moved he felt like he could cry.