In the first quarter of the finals, Miller's sock slid down to his ankle during his third defensive possession.
"He's gonna pass!" Booker shouted, cutting off the panicked pass. As the bench erupted, Lin Mo looked up at the stands. The boy's wheelchair sat in the back row, his body angled forward despite Lin Mo's text, like he couldn't help leaning into the game. His T-shirt glowed under the lights: "The Timberwolves' wind can't blow out the light of 17," but his left hand was clamped around his right thigh—probably where the prosthetic met his leg, aching.
The system updated in real time: [Miller's sock remains slipped; pass error rate now 61%]. [Subject (boy) movement detected: Adjusting prosthetic alignment, 3 times in 2 minutes].
At the 7:23 mark of the fourth quarter, Towns bent to pick up the ball, his right knee jutting out 1 centimeter. As Lin Mo faked a shoulder shimmy, the system alerted: [Optimal breakthrough window: 0.8 seconds]. He pivoted, and by the time Towns stumbled, the ball was already in Booker's open hands.
In the stands, the boy's sweaty palm crumpled the tactical board sketch, the tiny wheelchair mark smudged with ink. He let out a breath that sounded more like a wince, and Lin Mo's chest tightened—he could almost feel the burn in the boy's thigh, the way the prosthetic dug in during sudden movements. He suddenly remembered the last message he'd sent Lin Mo that morning: "When the wind stops, wait for the next gust. Don't rush. For me?"
Now the wind had come. The Timberwolves' fast break hit like a downpour, Edwards grinding his left heel as he charged—yet paused halfway at the free-throw line, like the boy's sudden hesitation when first trying to stand from his wheelchair, that split second of "will it hold?" As Lin Mo reached to steal the ball, he heard a faint "Go!" mingled in the crowd's roar—strained, like it hurt to shout.
The system's screen lit up one last time: [Team detail response rate: 100%]. [Subject (Lin Mo) priority shift detected: Focus 30% on game, 70% on spectator section].