Sports Medicine Master System

"Morning!"

Chen Yu greeted everyone he passed as he walked into the VIP hospital room.

After surgery, patients recuperated in a private villa, but before the procedure, they would first stay in the medical center to wait.

Pushing the door open, he saw that Pires was already awake in the spacious room. He was lying on his side, talking to Teylon Hill in the other bed.

The TV was also on, playing an ESPN program.

It wasn’t for a lack of private rooms that he put the VIP clients in a double. Chen Yu had arranged it this way intentionally.

If a player came to the United States with their family and needed a private space, Chen Yu would arrange a single room.

But for those who came alone, like Pires, Chen Yu would arrange a double room.

To be honest, Chen Yu was worried that if he stayed alone, his mind would wander.

When people recover from an injury alone, it’s inevitable that their thoughts will run wild, which then affects their mood.

That’s why he put them in a double room. It was also best to mix them up, putting a soccer player and a basketball player together. This prevented two soccer players from getting together, with one saying, "I was injured by some bastard’s slide tackle," and the other replying, "He kicked me once, too!" and then they’d both start cursing and wallowing in misery.

Just like now, Pires could brag with impunity about how he could dribble past eleven players to score a goal, and Teylon Hill might even humor him by saying, "Wow, you’re amazing."

Of course, Teylon Hill could also smugly claim he could dunk on O’Neal’s head, and Pires wouldn’t even know who O’Neal was.

So, when Chen Yu entered, the atmosphere between the two was harmonious. They were in the middle of a heated discussion about the National Football League game on TV.

When he saw the players piled on top of each other like a human pyramid, Pires grimaced and sucked in a sharp breath.

Beside him, Teylon Hill curled his lip. "That’s nothing. I almost went to play in the NFL back in the day. The head coach of my hometown’s Cincinnati Bengals even came to my house begging me to join the team, but I turned him down. Thinking about it now, if I had gone to the NFL, I probably would’ve been a top star by now."

Pires, playing along, gave him a thumbs-up.

Chen Yu chuckled to himself. ’Does he not blush when he brags like that?’

After greeting the two of them, Chen Yu first checked on Teylon Hill’s recovery.

After Hill was traded from the Knight, Chen Yu had performed another meniscus repair surgery on him. The goal now was clear: to get him back on the court before the playoffs began.

Judging by his current recovery progress, there shouldn’t be any major issues.

He had a nurse bring the medicine, used a Bronze Level medicinal effect, and watched as Hill took it. Only then did Chen Yu turn to deal with Pires.

He had only been injured for a few days and was now waiting for his surgery.

"The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow." After finishing the physical examination, Chen Yu sat down and took out his acupuncture needles.

Even though he hadn’t had the surgery yet, the swelling in his knee and other issues could be treated in advance. His recovery period was only three and a half months, so they had to make every second count.

"What is that?" Seeing the long, thin steel needles, Pires’s expression changed, and he blurted out in his native tongue.

Before Chen Yu could explain, Teylon Hill leaned over from the opposite bed and said, "It’s acupuncture. They stick that needle into your body to treat you. It goes about this deep."

He even used his fingers to show the depth, then said with a grin, "Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt at all."

Pires’s face turned pale. ’That deep? Are you sure it doesn’t hurt?’

He was about to subconsciously refuse this treatment when Teylon Hill spoke again, "Robert, you’re not scared, are you?"

Those words made Pires’s expression change. He stiffened his neck and said, "How could I be? Forget being stuck with a needle, I wouldn’t even blink if my leg broke. By the way, Chen, he was probably pretty calm his first time, right?"

"Him?"

Chen Yu turned to glance at Teylon Hill.

The corner of Teylon Hill’s eye twitched unnaturally as he looked nervously at Chen Yu.

"Yes, he was quite calm." Chen Yu smiled, lifted Pires’s pant leg, and swiftly, accurately, and decisively inserted a needle into an acupoint.

HISS!

Pires sucked in a sharp breath. His muscles tensed, and his hands gripped the bedsheets tightly.

"See? I told you it wouldn’t hurt," Teylon Hill said with a wide grin.

Pires nodded stiffly. As he said it didn’t hurt, his voice wavered.

Chen Yu silently applied a Bronze Level recovery effect.

His Middle Level acupuncture skill gave a fifteen percent bonus, so a single Bronze Level effect was equivalent to a Silver Level one.

’This is so convenient,’ Chen Yu thought. ’Relatively speaking, Bronze Level effects are much easier to accumulate.’

Quickly applying the needles, Chen Yu only stopped after Pires’s thigh looked like a porcupine.

The Floating Needle and Small Needle Knife techniques he had learned in China had specific applications and were not suitable for Pires’s condition.

"Get some good rest," Chen Yu said with a final reminder, then left with a smile.

He first went next door to check on Alessandro Nesta, who had arrived in the United States yesterday. He had a grade two tear of his right medial collateral ligament. The problem wasn’t too serious and was still quite manageable.

After the examination, Chen Yu went to the private villa to finish the daytime rehabilitation for Batty and the other players.

For these VIP clients, Chen Yu would typically do one rehabilitation session in the morning, applying one recovery effect, and then another in the evening.

If he had enough recovery effects, he would use two a day to treat them as effectively as possible.

There were only a few players, so for now, he had enough recovery effects to keep up.

After finishing all this and arranging the daytime rehabilitation plans for the players, Chen Yu drove to the US Airways Center.

When he arrived, the members of the medical team were already there.

"Oh, Melissa." After assigning the day’s tasks, Chen Yu turned, picked up a case of drinks from under the table, and placed it on the tabletop.

A case of 24 glass bottles, 250ml each. The plastic wrap featured the lightning and flame logo of "Super No. 1" and also bore the Eli Lilly Company’s logo.

Melissa’s eyes lit up. "Boss, has Eli Lilly already produced it?"

She knew that Chen Yu was working with the Eli Lilly Company to bring Physical Fitness No.1 to the market.

Chen Yu nodded.

It took Eli Lilly nearly a full year to get Physical Fitness No.1 through all the procedures and obtain market approval.

And that was considered fast, since it was categorized as a health supplement. If it had been processed as a pharmaceutical drug, it might not have been approved even in ten years.

They had only officially received the license last month, and now the samples were already made. A large batch had been sent to Chen Yu.

Melissa stood up, opened the packaging, and handed bottles to everyone present. "If this goes on the market, it’ll be so much more convenient," she said. "You guys have no idea. I always feel like I smell like Chinese medicine, and even perfume can’t cover it up."

The Suns had been using Physical Fitness No.1 for a year, and Melissa was usually the one responsible for brewing it.

Nelson twisted off a cap, took a sip, and his eyes lit up in surprise. "It’s actually sweet."

"For real?" Across from him, Greg Davis quickly unscrewed his bottle and took a gulp.

On the Suns, it wasn’t just the players using it; even the trainers like them, and even staff members like Brian, were taking it.

It replenished vital energy and conditioned the body, so there was no harm in using it. If nothing else, it had cured several people’s insomnia.

The only problem was that it was bitter and hard to drink.

Nelson looked at Chen Yu. "Chen, can you add sugar to this stuff?"

They had wanted to add sugar to it for a long time, but Chen Yu had said no.

Seeing Chen Yu’s silent smile, Nelson instantly understood. "So, you’re saying we could have been adding sugar this whole time? Chen, you tricked us!"

The others present also realized it, looking at Chen Yu with resentful gazes.

Chen Yu said, "Technically, you can add sugar to the Physical Fitness No.1 formula. But as a Chinese saying goes, good medicine tastes bitter. For better results, you really shouldn’t add sugar."

For formulas that are primarily for nourishment, you can generally add brown sugar to improve the taste.

But for formulas with specific therapeutic effects, you definitely can’t.

Of course, it’s always best not to add any.

For the sake of better marketing, Eli Lilly chose to add sugar.

The group immediately felt a pang of regret. ’If they had known, would they have had to suffer for a whole year?’

"Alright, let’s get ready for work." Chen Yu clapped his hands and left the conference room.

Chen Yu headed to the sports psychology room first.

After he finished watering the flowers with a spray bottle, there was a knock on the door behind him.

"Come in."

Mario Elie walked in and sat down familiarly.

After a bit of simple small talk, Chen Yu asked him a question: how was his confidence in the team?

The season was past its halfway point, and now the team had only one goal: make a push for the playoffs, and then strive for the championship.

So, Chen Yu had also adjusted the content of their chats, focusing on the players’ confidence.

After half a season’s journey, players often start to slack off mentally. This was a time when it was even more important to pay attention to their psychological state, identify problems, and make adjustments early, ensuring everyone was aligned on the same goal and working hard for the team’s record.

"Confidence?" Mario Elie thought for a moment, then said, "Chen, I feel like we have a really good shot this year."

For Olajuwon and Ewing, along with a bunch of other veterans, to maintain their form and play through half a season healthy without any injuries was a miracle in itself.

Most importantly, Hardaway had returned and was in fiery form.

The team’s roster was well-balanced, the record was good—everything was going great.

"For someone like me, who’s already won three championships with a team, my career is pretty complete for a role player," Mario Elie said with a grin. "But when it comes to championships, who would ever say they have too many?"

Chen Yu laughed too, jokingly reminding him not to say that in front of Ewing.

Some people are just lucky. There’s nothing you can do about it.

After seeing Mario Elie out, he welcomed the next player.

Chen Yu asked the same question.

Everyone’s answers were more or less the same.

This year, the Suns had the makings of a championship team. In the officially released team power rankings, the Suns had consistently remained in the top five and were highly competitive.

So, whether it was the young players or the veterans, everyone was quite optimistic about the Suns this year.

To use a Chinese phrase, the morale of the troops was high.

However, when it was Ewing’s turn and Chen Yu asked the question, he frowned. The frown disappeared as quickly as it came, but he didn’t answer right away.

Chen Yu noticed this and silently used a Bronze Level Sports Psychology effect.

Sure enough, as soon as the effect was active, a flicker passed through Ewing’s eyes, and he felt the desire to speak his mind.

"Chen, we’re friends, so there are a lot of things I’m willing to tell you." Ewing looked up, rubbing his face with his large hands, and said with some frustration, "I just feel like the team is wasting my abilities. Our record shouldn’t be sixth in the West. We should be third, or even second."

Chen Yu nodded while silently opening his notebook.