As night fell, Zack had an incredibly vivid dream.
In the dream, he was in Ga 7 of the NBA Finals, sinking a ga-winning "Reaper Crescent Slash" shot at the buzzer to defeat LeBron Jas and the Cleveland Cavaliers, ultimately leading his team to hoist the championship trophy.
The dream felt so real that even as he washed up the next morning, Zack couldn’t stop replaying it in his mind.
Truth be told, this wasn’t the first ti he’d had this dream.
But unlike before, as he wiped his face with a towel in the bathroom, Zack realized that in this life, he might actually have a shot at turning those dreams into reality soday.
And just thinking about it filled him with boundless motivation!
Being the kind of guy who acts fast, Zack finished washing up and imdiately set out to create a detailed weight-loss plan.
Well, "detailed" might be a stretch.
In the end, Zack’s weight-loss plan boiled down to just six words:
*"Control your mouth, move your legs."*
Zack knew that to lose weight, he needed to create a calorie deficit.
So, a sensible diet would undoubtedly be the cornerstone of his upcoming weight-loss journey.
As for moving his legs...
"After completing the system’s first phase task, it’ll provide with an injury-prevention monitoring band during my weight-loss period.
So, I’d better start by tackling the first phase task through a scientific diet, then gradually ramp up my daily training."
Gotta say, the system’s phased reward setup was pretty reasonable.
For soone with a high body weight, diving into intense workouts right at the start of a weight-loss journey isn’t ideal.
In Zack’s view, even though his body had so athletic foundation, he still needed to tailor the most scientific weight-loss plan based on his current condition.
Otherwise, forget making it to the NBA and achieving greatness—he’d probably end up in a wheelchair before that.
---
After finalizing his plan, Zack quickly whipped up a hearty breakfast using ingredients from the fridge:
Two boiled eggs, two boiled potatoes, and a bowl of veggie salad with a splash of oil and vinegar dressing.
In his previous life, after starting work, Zack had gone through a phase of getting out of shape, so he was no stranger to making diet-friendly als.
But unlike what he’d expected...
This breakfast, which he thought would be filling, left him *still hungry* no matter how much he ate.
No way around it—the original "Zack" had an insane appetite, consuming way more calories daily than imaginable. So, a bland breakfast like this naturally sparked a loud protest from his stomach.
But even though Zack knew weight loss couldn’t be rushed, he wasn’t about to cave to his stomach’s demands.
After all, with sothing like weight loss, if you give in once, there’ll be countless more slip-ups.
Hungry? Tough it out. What, you think I’m gonna coddle you?
In Zack’s eyes, his stomach was being a total drama queen!
---
After breakfast, ignoring his stomach’s complaints, Zack sifted through his mories to analyze his current situation.
First, so good news:
To keep his family off his back, even though he’d given up on himself toward the end of high school, the "Zack" who graduated from West Forsyth High School and enrolled at Wake Forest University still joined the basketball team after starting college.
As the alma mater of legends like Tim Duncan—the prehistoric beast—and Chris Paul, the god of point guards, Zack knew full well the prestige of Wake Forest University in the college basketball world during this era.
In his mind, if he could earn a key role on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, he’d have a solid stepping stone to the NBA.
But along with the good news ca so bad news.
Naly...
As the original owner of this body completely gave up, "Zack" managed to earn himself a notorious nickna by the end of his freshman year:
*"The Sha of Wake Forest."*
Recalling this, Zack couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the sa ti.
After sorting through those mories, it was clear that the original owner totally brought this nickna on himself.
Sure, after high school, "Zack" couldn’t hold a candle to the basketball prodigies who got full-ride scholarships to college. But through mories the original "Zack" had deliberately buried, Zack discovered that early in his freshman year, Wake Forest Demon Deacons coach Skip Prosser had actually hoped to convince him to lose weight and groom him as a future reserve for the team.
And even after "Zack’s" subsequent spiral into giving up, the coaching staff didn’t completely write him off.
Even by the end of his freshman year, when they’d lost all hope in him, the coaches still wished he’d pull himself together, at least enough to stop self-destructing and complete his college education with a normal mindset.
But what’s truly heartbreaking is...
The "Zack" who tanked harder than the Minnesota Timberwolves in a few years was already too far gone down the path of giving up.
---
In his dorm, after letting out a long sigh, Zack’s gaze landed on the calendar on the wall:
*June 25, 2003.*
As soone who’d lived through this era, Zack knew that in two days, the 2003 NBA Draft would take place.
At that ti, the golden generation of ’03—led by LeBron Jas and Carlo Anthony—would kick off their NBA careers.
And if he wanted to one day make those dreams of his co true, Zack knew he had to ticulously plan every single day—heck, every single minute!
Plus, over the upcoming sumr break, besides shedding so initial weight, Zack had to train hard to regain the trust of the team’s coaches in his sophomore year.
Sure, achieving all this would be like climbing a mountain.
But after setting these goals, Zack felt more fired up than ever.
---
By noon, it was ti for lunch.
Besides the usual veggie salad and boiled potatoes, Zack also pan-seared a steak.
After all, weight loss has to be tailored to the individual.
Since the original owner of this body used to consu a staggering amount of calories daily, creating a calorie deficit through diet was actually the easiest part of Zack’s weight-loss plan.
But even after scarfing down the steak...
After lunch, his stomach was still wailing in protest:
*"What, just this little bit? You disrespecting or what?"*
Too bad for his stomach—today, no matter how much it complained, Zack powered through with his unbelievable willpower and ignored it.
Hungry?
Sorry, no such thing!
Also, after lunch, Zack checked the fridge’s supplies and decided to head out in the afternoon to a nearby outdoor court from his mories to practice shooting, then swing by the supermarket to stock up.
Oh, and while he was at it, he’d toss out all the high-calorie snacks the original owner had hoarded!
Even with all his willpower, Zack wasn’t a saint.
He knew that with those snacks tempting him, staying level-headed during his weight-loss journey would be a tall order.
---
In the afternoon, Zack followed his mories to an outdoor court not far from the dorm.
But as soon as he started practicing, he was hit with a harsh reality:
At 180 kilograms, even sothing as simple as shooting a basketball felt like a grueling task.
I an, when you miss a shot, you’ve gotta go pick up the ball, right?
Luckily, once he stepped onto the court and held a basketball, the physical exhaustion was overshadowed by the joy in his heart. So, despite the harsh reality, Zack was still happy to keep going.
And as he got into the groove, he started to feel the perks of this body.
Back in his old life, he needed both hands to securely hold a basketball. Now, Zack could grip it firmly with just one hand.
The only thing that bumd him out was that, probably because he wasn’t used to this body yet and had to account for its weight, he couldn’t use his signature jump shot. So, his shooting accuracy was pretty abysmal all afternoon.
But even after clanking shots all day, Zack didn’t mind.
Because compared to shooting touch, which he could regain through practice, this body’s natural athletic gifts were, in his eyes, a priceless asset that no amount of hard work could match.
In his previous life, after training his vertical for ages, Zack could barely graze the rim with his fingertips.
But in this life, staring at the hoop so close above him, if it weren’t for worrying about his knees, Zack would’ve grabbed the ball and slamd it down with gusto!
Sure, basketball is a sport anyone—young or old, male or female—can enjoy. But at the sa ti, it’s a brutal ga where the professional level demands a certain level of natural talent to even get a foot in the door.
No matter how slick your skills or solid your fundantals, if your talent doesn’t cut it, you don’t even get to *touch* that professional threshold.
In this life, as long as he could activate the Pinnacle System and pair it with this body’s natural gifts, Zack was growing more confident that he’d one day smash through that brutal threshold and chase the dream he’d been obsessed with day and night!
But what Zack, brimming with confidence, didn’t know was that the real test...
Was only just beginning.
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