The computer belongs to Zhang Hao. When he first came to study in the United States, his family still had money and bought him many things directly, including a computer and a pager. They bought almost everything except a cell phone. Most of the latest game software was purchased with the pocket money Pierce earned from cleaning hallways and moving things for his mom, and the two took turns playing.
In the past, Zhang Hao quite enjoyed playing games, but now he wasn't really interested in them. The graphics couldn't even be described by saying it looked like a screen full of pixelation... He would be interested when games like Red Alert, CS, StarCraft, Warcraft II, Diablo II, etc., came out as they could be said to have completely changed the entire gaming era.
Zhang Hao watched Pierce play the space exploration mech game "Elite II." It was Pierce talking to himself, as usual. Zhang Hao himself rarely spoke when he played; it was always Pierce chatting beside him. Pierce didn't find it odd at all and just wondered why he played for so long today. When there was no training, they would usually be competing to play.
Today, there was a match with the underclassmen against South California High School held at their school, and they used the training ground. Zhang Hao was also planning to take a day off.
Yet, watching Pierce play was quite interesting to Zhang Hao; the main thing was the game itself was intriguing. Although today's games didn't have as good graphics as those that would come later, they won out with high storylines and playability... Most importantly, games are fun when played with someone, even if one is playing and the other is watching.
By noon, feeling hungry, Zhang Hao and Pierce greeted each other and went out to buy three pizzas to eat together.
After coming to the United States, Zhang Hao discovered things like pizzas, hamburgers, and chicken nuggets were quite similar to the snacks back home in terms of concept.
But at the same time, he saw that in the United States, a bun was 5 US Dollars each... The taste was quite weird, but that's not important. The difference between American and domestic pizzas was considerable, but some cheap Chinese dishes from home turned incredibly expensive in the United States, and some looked quite different. He and Pierce had once eaten a huge bun priced at 12 US Dollars, which needed to be cut and shared using a knife and fork.
After buying pizza from the nearby district and returning, Zhang Hao noticed mail in his mailbox and his eyes lit up! Could there be replies from the new schools?
He took it out and felt a bit disappointed; they were reply letters from Adidas and McDonald's.
However, there was one reply letter from Adidas and two from McDonald's!
"Did that fatty really sign up for the slam dunk contest?"
Zhang Hao thought about the three dunks Pierce had done in high school... so loyal!
If Pierce dunked first, then Zhang Hao followed, who knows, maybe they could really achieve a perfect score dunk.
Just as Zhang Hao was opening the reply from the Adidas Training Camp, subtitle hints came up.
"Special Contract Player: Zhang Hao has successfully registered for the Adidas 1995 Summer High School Basketball Training Camp. Congratulations to the host for adding 15 days to his lifespan.
Special Contract Player: Zhang Hao has successfully registered for the McDonald's High School All-Star Dunk Contest. Congratulations to the host for adding 15 days to his remaining lifespan.
Remaining lifespan 404 days, usable lifespan 403 days."
Looking at the letter with specific competition times, locations, hotels to stay in... and other information, Zhang Hao was very excited—sure enough! A special contract player, meaning if he participated in a major event himself, he might get a reward!
His main purpose for participating in these two events was to get rewards. He wasn't very optimistic about the final results, but since participating earned rewards, why not?
Unexpectedly, even the active participation in the Adidas Training Camp brought rewards. This made Zhang Hao's backup plan more feasible—if nothing else worked, he could play in lower-level leagues or organized street events.
Pierce attended the ABCD Training Camp of Adidas last year; it was a public promotional event competition held by Adidas to compete with Nike in the basketball shoe market. However, the competition level was the highest among training camps of major sports brands.
Generally, no senior athletes took part in this competition as at that time most senior talented players were already divided up by various universities, so usually, sophomore and junior players who could be ranked among the top 100 high school players nationwide would participate. The players in the final high school All-Star roster mostly could enter Division I NCAA teams.
Zhang Hao was clearly an exception this year; he received this invitation largely because the venue had a significant number of Chinese people.
Zhang Hao felt he must work hard and try to see if he could earn recognition from any college coach, just like Coach Scott Collins from Inglewood High School, who saw his ability and talent and chose him.
College coaches have significant power, especially in the arrangement of scholarships and player selection. Head coaches have substantial say.
But when thinking about college... Zhang Hao was still worried. He sent his game videos and resume to 22 Division I universities, but only 9 universities responded so far.
The universities that replied mostly noticed his SAT scores. Zhang Hao figured if he applied for college purely based on academic scores instead of basketball scholarships, those schools would be much more enthusiastic.
With three letters in hand, Zhang Hao returned to the bedroom and handed Pierce's letter to him. He opened his own McDonald's High School All-Star Dunk Contest reply letter.