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"Do you like basketball?"
Staring at himself in the mirror, this question suddenly flashed through Zack's mind, and his eyes instantly grew clearer.
Of course, Zack loved basketball.
Ever since he first touched a basketball at the age of seven, he had fallen deeply in love with the sport.
He loved running on the court, shooting hoops, and even, in his naive youth, dreamed of one day making it to the NBA and becoming a legend.
But no matter how beautiful a dream is, it can't withstand the cold harshness of reality.
As time passed, Zack, who never grew taller than 175 cm, had to face the truth, even if he didn't want to: his dream of making it to the NBA and becoming a star had quietly shattered.
Even so, his love for basketball never faded.
After graduating college and starting work, he still made time in his limited spare moments to hit the court, running freely and soaking in the joy that basketball brought him.
To Zack, this warm and peaceful life should've continued until the end of his days.
But who could've guessed?
Just a few days ago, fate played a massive joke on him.
One moment, he was on a forum debating with netizens about Bronny's true basketball skills. The next, he woke up in 2003 America, transformed into exchange student with the same name but a completely different life.
In front of the mirror, Zack briefly recalled his past—or rather, his "previous life." Still grappling with what he called "transmigration syndrome," he began to seriously examine his new body.
A height exceeding 205 cm, a wingspan close to 225 cm.
Zack had to admit, after the initial panic, confusion, and shock of the first few days post-transmigration, and as he gradually accepted his new identity and memories, a long-broken dream was quietly resurfacing in his mind.
But just as he let his imagination run wild about the future, the mirror reflected a harsh reality: the visible fat on his belly and the extra weight dragging down his once-handsome face hit him like a brutal wake-up call.
"With such top-tier physical gifts, why'd you give up on yourself?" Zack asked the "himself" in the mirror, genuinely puzzled.
In his new memories, this "Zack"—who shared his name, had both parents, and came from a well-off family—had been blessed with exceptional athletic and physical talents from a young age. As a result, he'd received professional basketball training early on.
Unfortunately, perhaps it was the constant praise of "You're born to play basketball" that got to his head.
When this "Zack" left for America to study at fifteen, the harsh reality quickly crushed the boy who, truth be told, never loved basketball all that much.
Back in Europe, even with flaws in his fundamentals, he never bothered to work hard to improve them. He could still rely on his far-superior talent to earn praise from family, teammates, and coaches.
But in America, a land overflowing with basketball prodigies?
It didn't take long for the reality check to break him.
And when his mentality collapsed, "Zack" resorted to escaping reality to cope.
To him, his inability to adapt to American basketball was because his high school team didn't build their strategies around him, or because his "low-basketball-IQ" guard teammates played too selfishly.
In short: *Even if I'm one percent at fault, aren't you guys ninety-nine percent to blame?*
And so, unable to face setbacks, "Zack" began his heartbreaking descent into self-destruction.
His weight ballooned from 100 kg to a staggering 180 kg, the result of day after day of giving up on himself.
180 kg—what kind of number was that?
Rubbing the fat on his belly, Zack knew full well that even the future Zion Williamson would have to call him "big bro" in the face of this body.
With this much extra weight, making it to the NBA and becoming a legend?
Get real. In Zack's eyes, even slightly intense basketball training might wreck this body in no time!
And what made him even sadder?
Though the original owner of this body had a handsome face that rivaled his own in his previous life, with the body's current condition, what kind of super-strong *kawaii* girl would be able to handle *this* without getting crushed?
Pfft!
Was *that* really what he should be thinking about right now?
After squeezing the fat on his belly, Zack quickly snapped into focus.
To him, since the heavens had given him a second chance, he was going to give it his all to chase his dream, no matter what.
Sure, making it to the NBA and becoming a star felt like a distant fantasy right now. But even so, he wasn't about to live the rest of his life lugging around all this extra weight.
The moment Zack clenched his fists and made up his mind, that question he'd answered countless times before surfaced in his mind again.
"Do you like basketball?"
Love it. Of course, he loved it!
Whether in his past life or this one, basketball was Zack's favorite sport.
But just as he instinctively answered the question in his head, his expression suddenly turned to panic.
Because in this dorm room, where he was all alone, the voice that had just asked him that question was unmistakably *not his own*.
"**Pinnacle System activated.**
Host, please complete the initial task to fully activate the system.
**Initial Task: The Fat Man's Ambition**
To make it to the NBA and become a legend, the excess weight on your body is currently your greatest obstacle.
Now, you must follow a proper weight-loss plan to pave the way to the NBA.
**Task Completion Condition**: Host must successfully reduce body weight to below 120 kg.
**Task Completion Reward**: Full activation of the Pinnacle System.
**Progressive Task Rewards**: For every 5 kg of weight lost, the host will receive a progressive reward.
**First Progressive Reward**: Upon successfully unlocking the Pinnacle System, the host's future vertical jump potential will increase by +3, speed potential by +2, and a temporary injury monitoring bar will be unlocked for the duration of the weight-loss period.
**Note 1**: The injury monitoring bar is only active during the host's weight-loss period and will automatically deactivate upon system activation.
**Note 2**: The injury monitoring bar is generated based on reasonable monitoring of the host's body and provides a report on potential injuries. However, due to various uncontrollable factors in reality, it should only be used as a reference during the weight-loss period."
Staring at the text and visuals that suddenly appeared in his mind, Zack froze, then blinked in shock. He felt like he had a million things to say but couldn't get a single word out.
Pinnacle System?
What did "pinnacle" mean?
*To stand at the peak, overlooking all else!*
In that moment, gazing at the layers of fat on his body in the mirror, an overwhelmed Zack couldn't help but recall the dream that had haunted his childhood.
Making it to the NBA and becoming a legend?
"Isn't this exactly what I've always wanted to do, what I'm willing to pour everything into?"
*(Chapter End)*