Chapter 50: All Pie in the Sky with Not a Single Perk—You, Stern, Are a Vicious Capitalist!

"Future development? What future development? I'm not running for a model citizen or a moral paragon award, why should I pay attention to this kind of nonsense?"

"Of course there are benefits!" Stern's voice grew shrewd once again. "We are preparing to build you into the NBA's very first Asian superstar! How about that? Is that worth making a few changes for?"

"Then can I take as many steps as I want during the game, and have the referees turn a blind eye and not call traveling on me?" Lin Tian asked sincerely.

"No, we are a strictly fair league! We do not give special favors to players!" Stern's reply was equally righteous.

"Then can I just flail my arms and let out a couple of miserable screams to get a whistle? Or as long as there is physical contact, even if my opponent merely brushes against my body hair, can I march right up to the free-throw line?"

"What are you even thinking, Lin? What I'm talking to you about is a brand-new superstar cultivation program! We hope to push you onto the global stage! To make you a brand-new basketball giant and opinion leader. We are preparing to make you a massive, highly popular superstar in your homeland and across the entire continent of Asia!"

"Yet here you are, asking me for some kind of bizarre preferential treatment?"

"If there's not a single benefit in it for me, why should I wrong myself? Wouldn't that just be helping you make money for nothing? I'm not doing it, no way! Once my suspension is up, whoever I want to fight, I'll go fight! There are plenty of people looking forward to me beating up Malone!" Lin Tian leaned back comfortably against the sofa cushion and said casually.

He was testing Stern's bottom line.

He wanted to see just what Stern was willing to pay!

"Do you even know the benefits of becoming a superstar? All kinds of endorsements, exposure, immense commercial value, having people look up to you as a hero wherever you go—and of course, more importantly: a massive amount of money!"

"David, I think you should look into my family background, like checking out the Forbes list or something."

"Your family is on the Forbes list?" Stern was taken aback.

"Uh... actually not quite, but my family is indeed very wealthy. I play basketball purely for fun. If you try to lure me in with money or anything like that, I'm sorry, I'm not very interested." Lin Tian continued to probe Stern's bottom line.

It was true that he played basketball for fun, but any idiot would love hard US dollars. He was determined to make Stern bleed some value!

Otherwise, this old man would just keep painting big pictures in the sky and feeding him chicken soup without bringing out anything practical, purely trying to get a free ride.

Where on earth was there such a good deal?

Even the infamous stingy landlord Zhou Peipi wouldn't bully people like this!

"Lin! I am being completely serious!"

Stern also realized he was being played by Lin Tian. After inwardly cursing him as a little fox, he continued in a sincere and earnest tone: "As far as I know, your country is a basketball desert with a relatively low standard of the game. It is precisely in need of a brand-new idol to drive the development of basketball across the entire nation!"

"You can make countless Chinese children fall in love with playing basketball, you can make countless people treat you as a hero, and you can guide countless families onto the right track, onto the path truly suited for them! Lin, I truly hope to cooperate with you and jointly accomplish such a great cause!"

"David, I also have a project. You only need to invest 10,000 US dollars, and one year later I will return 10.24 million US dollars to you! Moreover, for every person you introduce to participate in our project, I will give you an extra commission of 2 million US dollars! In just one year, 10,000 US dollars multiplies a thousandfold, allowing you to achieve financial freedom!"

"How about it? Do you want to change your life together?"

"Lin? What are you talking about? What kind of project can possibly make that much money?" Stern paused for a moment. With his level of experience, he had genuinely never seen such a basic and completely devoid of technical content pyramid scheme.

"Don't ask what the project is, and don't care how the money is made—just hand the money over to me and that's it!" Lin Tian slapped his thigh, getting more and more enthusiastic as he spoke. "One tells ten, ten tells a hundred! We can establish a brand-new order for a new world! We can make the whole world listen to us! We can become the new Rothschild family!"

"This world will be called by the two of us! We can become kings of the world! And for all of this, you only need to pay 10,000 US dollars!"

"Lin, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?" Stern had figured it out long ago: this brat was messing with him!

"Yeah, David, then what kind of nonsense are you spouting? Without any benefits, just expecting me to watch my words and deeds and become a sunshine leader—aren't you just talking nonsense too?" Lin Tian fired back at Stern over the phone. "This is moral kidnapping! This is naked fraud!"

"Enough! Lin, stop the nonsense! Neither of us is a fool. Let's bring the topic back to the main point! What on earth do you want?" Stern suppressed the rising anger in his chest. At that moment, he finally understood why Payton wanted to beat Lin Tian up so badly!

Even he wanted to throw punches now! This guy was genuinely punchable!

Do psychology majors always have hearts this filthy?

"I get an extra step when driving to the basket, and a guaranteed minimum of 10 free throws per game! Those are my conditions." Lin Tian stated his terms without even thinking.

"If you talk nonsense again, I am hanging up!" Stern's anger flared up as well by now. He even started wondering why he had bothered talking nonsense with a guy like this for so long. "I am talking to you about serious business! The things you want—it's not that I can't give them to you, but you have to show matching strength first!"

"I can cooperate to build a second-tier star into a top-tier star; that's just a matter of a few whistles per game. But turning an ordinary role player into a superstar? I'm sorry, we have our bottom line too! Indiscriminate whistle-blowing and forced hype will only cause resentment!"

"So, Lin, state what you actually want, and let me see how we can cooperate to push the NBA into China and across the entirety of Asia!"

By this point, Lin Tian stopped messing around. He knew that jokes had their limits and Stern was starting to get angry; if he kept messing around, there was a good chance this old man really would hang up directly.

After all, Lin Tian's objective had already been achieved!

The dynamic between him and Stern had unknowingly undergone a complete reversal!

It went from the league commissioner calling a problematic player to tell him to watch his words and deeds while purely feeding him empty promises, to Stern initiating equal negotiations with Lin Tian and asking Lin Tian to state his demands!

Although Stern might not necessarily agree to Lin Tian's demands, at the very least, the initiative of the phone call had been completely seized by Lin Tian!

During his four years of psychology courses in his past life, Lin Tian had never skipped a single class!

"My request is actually quite simple." Lin Tian smiled; it was time for him to go on the offensive!