Chapter Six: Mission Accomplished and Rewards Granted

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The unexpected scene unfolded: after catching the ball, Huashi Er dribbled fiercely toward the three-point line, seemingly ready to break through. The 76ers’ power forward, Tyronn Hill, quickly positioned himself to block. Just as everyone thought Shaq was about to barrel through, Huashi Er suddenly clasped the ball with both hands and took a step to the left, bypassing Tyronn Hill and crashing directly into the onrushing 76ers small forward, Jumaine Jones.

Shaq’s momentum and sheer force were immense and unstoppable.

With a loud “thud,” Jumaine Jones was sent flying—indeed airborne, as both his feet left the ground.

Huashi Er didn’t stop; he took a large step diagonally forward to the right, crossing into the paint. Launching himself upward, he elbowed Mutombo—the towering African defender who rushed in to block—out of bounds with his right arm, then slammed the ball heavily through the hoop.

A Euro step!

The signature move of the “Magician” Ginobili.

Of course, when Ginobili executed the Euro step, his body moved with elegance and fluidity, twisting left and right with a snake-like grace that fans called the serpentine drive.

But Huashi Er’s version was different—more akin to the “Ghost Step” used by Dwyane Wade before he entered the league, who would later be called the Flash.

Only Huashi Er himself knew this wasn’t an ordinary Ghost Step, but a variant of the Euro step popularized by a later basketball internet celebrity. If one were to describe it precisely, it could be called the “Euro-Elbow Step.”

The Euro step relies on broad lateral shifts to evade defenders, something particularly challenging for a giant like Shaq.

So Huashi Er adapted it, adding an offensive edge—while swaying left and right, he covertly delivered an elbow when the defender was off balance. Even smaller players using this move could inflict pain, creating openings to score easily.

For a colossal presence like Shaq, employing such a sneaky tactic made him virtually unstoppable.

When he collided with Jumaine Jones, he hadn’t yet used the elbow—just his shoulder leveraging his momentum—but that was enough to send Jones flying.

Some later compared LeBron rushing forward to a bulldozer, unstoppable in his path.

But compared to LeBron, Shaq at his peak, charging full force, was more like an armored vehicle—no one would argue otherwise.

Thus, poor Jumaine Jones was little more than a praying mantis trying to stop a tank; he hadn’t planted his feet firmly when he came to help, so Huashi Er’s contact wasn’t a foul. Truly unfortunate.

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As Huashi Er took his second step into the paint and launched himself upward, he targeted the 76ers’ defensive anchor, the towering African Mutombo, delivering a concealed elbow.

Though called the African Mountain, Mutombo couldn’t withstand the raw power of this “diesel engine” Shaq’s charge—especially with that fierce blow.

After the slam dunk, the referee blew the whistle—not calling a foul on Huashi Er, but instead on Mutombo for defensive interference, awarding Shaq a free throw.

The decision was partly because the referees didn’t see the secret elbow and partly because there was legitimate body contact between the two players while airborne.

The crowd erupted, energized by the play, the home fans’ cheers deafening.

As Huashi Er prepared for the free throw, Mutombo remained on the floor, clutching his ribs and groaning in pain.

The referees quickly summoned the 76ers’ medical staff, who suspected that Mutombo’s ribs might be fractured.

The 76ers’ players looked grim—if their defensive mountain was down, who could stop Shaq?

Watching Mutombo being helped off, Huashi Er thought to himself, “It’s not my fault—you threw the first elbow. Who knew you were so fragile?”

He didn’t realize that right now, he was wielding Shaq’s body—a force few in the league could withstand, perhaps none at all.

Especially since he had used the elbow.

Larry Brown, the 76ers’ head coach, furiously shouted at Huashi Er, calling him a murderer, but Huashi Er ignored him with a disdainful snort—just impotent rage.

Brown demanded a video review, but after watching the replay, the referees couldn’t confirm any elbow from Huashi Er and reluctantly let it go.

Without Mutombo as the defensive anchor, Huashi Er rampaged through the paint at will, slamming everything that came his way.

This was what it meant to power through unimpeded.

After a series of forceful dunks, the 76ers defenders guarding him were left bewildered and demoralized.

Even as Allen Iverson erupted, slicing through defenses and raining shots, he could only watch helplessly as the rampaging Shaq dominated.

Huashi Er witnessed Iverson in his prime—a dazzling display of butterfly steps that left even the Lakers’ interior defenders disoriented.

The game also featured the classic moment when Iverson stepped over Tyronn Lue after a shot.

By the end of the game, Huashi Er had amassed an astonishing 50 points, 23 rebounds, 15 blocks, and 10 assists—becoming the first and only player to record a quadruple-double in the finals, a miraculous feat.

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Of course, this miracle was made possible by using the Euro-Elbow Step to take down the star center Mutombo—somewhat an unorthodox victory.

Kobe Bryant was off his game, shooting 7 for 22 and managing only a meager 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Iverson scored 48 points with 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals, yet still suffered defeat in the first game of the finals.

As the final buzzer sounded and the Lakers fans erupted in a tidal wave of cheers, a system notification echoed in Huashi Er’s mind: “Trial mission complete. Rewards issued.”

Huashi Er was somewhat surprised—how could the mission be completed after just one game?

Then he understood and shook his head with a wry smile.

Mutombo’s collapse had sealed everything; the 76ers no longer posed a threat to the Lakers. The sweep was inevitable, so completing the mission made sense.

“Ding, system reward issued. System successfully bonded with host, repairing host’s body. Lottery mode activated. Trial reward lottery ×2. Prize range: items and abilities belonging to Shaquille O’Neal himself.”

Huashi Er sighed in frustration, trying to interrupt, wanting to say something, but the system seemed deaf to his protests.

He was frustrated because if he drew Shaq’s basketball skills, at under 1.8 meters tall, where could he even apply those center techniques? It felt like a cruel joke.

“Ding, event one reward lottery begins. Ding, host has drawn Shaquille O’Neal’s 00-01 regular season single-game salary: $240,000, redeemable at any time.”

Huashi Er couldn’t help but laugh—240,000 dollars! Was the system just converting the reward to cash? Not bad.

Before he could fully enjoy the moment, another system alert sounded in his mind.

“Ding, event two reward lottery begins. Ding, host has drawn peak Shaquille O’Neal’s strength, redeemable at any time.”

“Oh my...!!!”

Huashi Er’s mind raced with shock—peak Shaq’s power...

Before he could even laugh out loud, the system voice returned:

“Trial mission complete. Consciousness will now be extracted. Relevant memories of Shaquille O’Neal will be erased. 10...5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Extraction commencing...”