The straight line distance from Houston to Oklahoma is 665 kilometers. It takes one day to drive, but it takes less than a few hours to fly. After all, both places belong to the West.

But because the NBA game ended very late, and Link had some unpleasantness with his garbage manager in the rental house. Therefore, when Link arrived in Oklahoma City, it was already three in the morning.

Oklahoma City is not like New York or Los Angeles. There are not as many lights and wine in the early mornings here. As soon as Link gets off the plane, he feels quiet around him, and the whole city seems to be shrouded in silence.

Walking out of the airport, there was no one on the street, only my own shadow under the street lights.

It is December now, and the average temperature in Oklahoma is only 2.8c. Although the climate in Oklahoma is very comfortable than Minnesota and Toronto, which are less than ten degrees below zero, Oklahoma is very comfortable. But in this quiet early morning, looking at his lonely figure, Link standing on the street, still couldn't help but zip the jacket.

Tonight, perhaps the worst night he had since traveled through time.

"University of Oklahoma School of Medicine." Stopped a taxi and Link told the driver the destination in a low voice.

Taxi timing always looks at Link in the back row through the rearview mirror from time to time. If he remembers correctly, the driver saw the Chinese player fighting for the Houston Rockets on TV for a few hours earlier. Logically, he shouldn't have appeared in Oklahoma.

Originally, the driver wanted to talk to Link, but seeing that Link seemed to be in a bad mood, the driver was not easy to disturb him. He believed that Link's rush back must have something to do with that shocking thing.

At the same time, Link also picked up his phone and started to browse the news. The pages about basketball news were occupied by Zeke Upshaw. This may be the most famous night for the Blues and Upshaw, but this way of becoming famous is heartbreaking.

According to these news reports, Link probably figured out what happened.

Today, in the Oklahoma Blues' home game against the Long Island Nets, the last 40 seconds of the fourth quarter. Zick Upshaw was just as he had before, conscientiously chasing his own matchup.

At this moment, Upshaw suddenly covered his chest with his hands and fell to the ground with his face downwards, motionless.

At first, no one knew what happened. Some people thought Upshaw was injured, but it was impossible for any injury to make the player faint.

After the referee and the players called Upshaw many times but failed, Upshaw was immediately sent to the hospital for emergency treatment. Then, Link received a call from Upshaw's mother Martha.

After reading the news again, Link covered his head with heartache. He didn't know if there was a guy named Zike Upshaw who suddenly had a cardiac arrest on the basketball court before he traveled through.

Maybe there is, maybe not. But what Link is sure is that no matter whether Upshaw finally survives the difficulties, he is just a mist of the past of this world. Because as a time traveler, Link never remembers that he had heard of a player named Zeke Upshaw in December 2010.

No one knew that there was a 26-year-old professional player who worked hard for the NBA dream and fell on the basketball court. No one knew that Zeke Upshaw was such an excellent guy

Link turned off his phone screen and stopped watching the news about Upshaw. He didn't want his emotions to collapse at the moment when he saw Upshaw's family.

※※※

"Link, my child, I don't know what Zick did wrong, why he was punished like this."

The moment Link saw Upshaw's mother, the helpless black woman rushed into Link's arms.

Link was holding two big dark circles. He didn't sleep all night, and he had just been swept out by NBA and fired his manager.

But at this moment, looking at Upshaw, who was lying on the hospital bed wearing a ventilator, Link suddenly felt that his affairs were not worth mentioning at all.

"It's okay, Martha Zeke will be fine. The medical level is very developed now. You don't have to worry, I'm willing to bear all his medical expenses."

Upshaw had done a lot for Link, but at this time Link didn't know what he could do for Upshaw. The only thing he could do was to share some financial pressure for this already difficult family.

"Did Zick have had heart disease since he was a child?" Link asked carefully when he thought of the small medicine box that Upshaw had carried at any time.

"No, he just occasionally said that he felt uncomfortable in his chest, but he didn't tell us anything else. After the doctor's examination, he did not find out the cause of his cardiac arrest. Now Zick is still in rescue, and he is not even out of danger."

Facing Link's inquiry, Martha shed tears again.

Seeing this, Link did not ask again. The blow this kind lady suffered was already great enough.

In this way, Link kept waiting with Upshaw's family. They all believed that this strong guy would definitely wake up.

However, just like Link fantasizes that he can do something in the NBA, and that his manager must be wholeheartedly considering himself. He believes that Upshaw will definitely be free from danger and will also be shattered.

Ten hours, twelve hours, fifteen hours, twenty-four hours Upshaw was still lying there quietly without even blinking his eyes.

At 4:00 a.m. on December 13, 48 hours after Link rushed to the hospital, the doctor involved in the rescue walked out of the ward with sweat and looked at Link and the family of Upshaw beside him, and said the words that were already ruined in the TV series, but when he actually heard it, he was extremely heartbroken.

"Sorry, we tried our best."

After two days of continuous treatment, everyone tried to pull him back from the line of life and death. The god of death held a sickle on the other end and watched the young man's body pull in it.

It succeeded, and developed medicine was defeated in front of it. When cardiac arrest, Upshaw's life will not have another chapter.

I cried, fainted, and screamed. At that moment, there was only silence around Link.

It felt like the moment he returned to Oklahoma City in the early morning of the day before yesterday. Dark, helpless, lonely.

Upshaw's mother was stunned for a few minutes, then gradually looked up at Link. She took out an envelope from her handbag and handed it to the Chinese man in front of her. "This is what Zick wrote to you, and his teammates found it from his closet. I originally wanted him to hand it to you in person. But now."

Link hurriedly took the envelope, and in this era when the network was so developed, the communication method of writing letters was almost extinct. But it was obvious that Upshaw hoped that some words could be saved, not just a few strings of code in a huge database.

After handing the envelope to Link, Martha walked into the ward and cried bitterly. This strong woman could no longer hold on.

※※※

My brother Link,

I hope everything is fine in Houston. I am happy for you from the bottom of my heart when I can see you enter NBA. Why do I write a letter? At first I thought this idea was too stupid. But I could never express my inner joy through a few text messages. I still feel that writing something can express my joy and pride.

From the beginning, I knew that your efforts will definitely be rewarded. I also went to Europe to play a game a few years ago. To be honest, the salary there is much higher than the Development League. But I still came back, why? It’s not all for the NBA. Congratulations, you have achieved the achievements that all of us desire.

Of course, all this is just the beginning, and the days afterwards will be difficult. You may be fighting for the next ten-day contract, and may have to fight with your teammates on the training ground for playing time. Maybe, hahaha, you may worry about your rent. But no matter what happens, you cannot give up.

Because you are also my thoughts and spiritual pillar for entering NBA, when you fall down, my dream will be shattered.

That's it, the game is about to begin and I'm going to play. I hope tomorrow morning, I can see the news that you signed your second ten-day short contract.

Go forward bravely, man.
Chapter completed!