The Golden Age of Basketball

"Click click click click!"

The flashing cameras of the reporters at the door were like machine guns firing at him.

The massive noise from the stadium instantly drowned out the brief silence of the locker room.

Gan Guoyang tidied his jersey and ran towards the passage, towards that shining white corridor.

The cheers from the ear grew stronger and stronger, and as he rushed into that white light, the wave of sound crashed over everything like a tsunami.

The past sadness, pain, hesitation, and forgetfulness were washed away temporarily, swept to distant corners.

(Volume 10 "History" ends here.)

[P.S.: The first part "Golden Age" ends here. These two chapters were written rather hastily. The chapter yesterday was written and revised on the go. Many preconceived ideas were overturned, including many people talking about the order of deaths. Originally, it was planned to be written slowly, inserted into different times and events. But in the end, I changed to the current way of writing, primarily considering the structure issue, not wanting to have too many back-and-forth twists on this matter, so I just decisively cut through, leaving it bloody but straightforward. So, I accept everyone's criticism; indeed, there could be better padding and a smoother writing approach.

For today's chapter, I initially planned to write 20,000 words, going all the way to Ah Gan's fresh start, giving a more complete explanation for Petrović and Lewis's departure, forming a cycle. But as I wrote, I found it untenable; there was too much to explain in between, impossible to finish today, writing it would have been rushed again, so I could only leave it to the beginning of the next part "Silver Generation" (I didn't misspell, it is the Silver Generation) to explain. The Silver Generation won't open in another book, it will continue from here. Also, Ah Gan will not retire casually, there will be an explanation.

Regarding Ah Gan's father, I've been wrestling with it from the start of the rewrite until this volume began. My original plan was to have Gan Youwei pass away. But as I wrote, I found it impossible, his fate was beyond my casual control. If Gan Youwei unexpectedly passed away, the biggest issue would be, after facing such a series of blows, especially the final heavy blow, would Ah Gan still want to play ball? If he doesn't want to play, the book ends. In fact, putting myself in Ah Gan's shoes, with teammates leaving one after another, and his father's death, it's impossible for him to return to the court. Ah Gan's circumstances are very different from Jordan's. Jordan's father was a scoundrel, while Ah Gan's father was an ordinary, honest traditional good father of China, and Jordan still had his mother and siblings after losing his father, whereas Ah Gan has nothing but his father. Previously, when I conceived the scenes of how Gan Guoyang would cherish and reminisce about his father after Gan Youwei's death, I couldn't even start writing, just the thought made tears endlessly fall, it was really too sad. I thought of "The Deer and the Cauldron" where Wei Xiaobao considers Chen Jinnan as his father, who dies in his arms, and the book writes about Wei Xiaobao's psyche: "Originally, he was just a wild child without a father." Afterward, Wei Xiaobao's soul was missing a piece, and "The Deer and the Cauldron" also entered its conclusion. Once Ah Gan loses Gan Youwei, no matter his achievements, he would truly become a wild child, a child without a father, and I really couldn't bring myself to treat him like that.

So I handled it differently, hoping Ah Gan could have a relative with him all along, someone who remembers nothing yet never forgets him, allowing him to continue competing on the court and continue his legend. Lastly, thank you all for your support, and please look forward to the next part "Silver Generation," slowly starting with characters and basketball history stories more familiar to everyone, unlike the 80s which might not be too clear to everyone. You can point out opinions and issues at that time, my personal knowledge and ideas are ultimately limited, and thanks again for the constant support and subscriptions. See you in the second part tomorrow or the day after.]