Eight Gold Medals**

In the fourth week after the release of "I'm the One," T.I. released his single "Dead and Gone," which received endorsements from rappers like Kanye, Jay-Z, and Lil Wayne. The single's first-week downloads totaled 168,000, placing it third on the Billboard Rap Chart. Link's "I'm the One" was pushed out of the top three, falling to eighth place, while singles from 50 Cent, Drake, and others re-entered the top five.

As the East Coast rap crew celebrated with champagne in the studio, the AP reported news from Eastern Europe, Serbia.

The 25th Summer Universiade was held in Serbia in mid-May.

Link Beck, a student from New York University, represented his school in eight swimming events: Men's 100m/200m Freestyle, 100m/200m Breaststroke, 200m/400m Individual Medley, 4x200m Freestyle Relay, and 4x100m Medley Relay.

After seven days of competition, Link won gold in all eight events, earning eight gold medals and breaking three world records, including two set by the famous swimmer Michael Phelps at the 2008 Olympics.

The news quickly caused a stir when it reached the U.S.

Major newspapers like *The New York Times*, *The Los Angeles Times*, and *The Washington Post*, as well as TV networks such as CBS, ABC, NBC, and FOX, covered the story.

Due to the small scale and lower level of competition at the Universiade, the media initially paid little attention. However, the announcement of Link Beck's achievements made headlines.

Firstly, Link Beck was a well-known figure: a world boxing champion, Olympic gold medalist, popular singer, and a controversial personality. Secondly, his performance—winning six individual gold medals and two team gold medals, and breaking three world records—was spectacular, even surpassing Phelps.

The combination of fame and extraordinary achievements made it a significant news story.

American media outlets eagerly reported and publicized Link's eight gold medals.

HBO spent $2.3 million to acquire exclusive broadcasting rights for the Universiade from the Serbian organizers, focusing on Link's eight events, and began airing the coverage on May 20 at 6 PM.

According to Nielsen data, the broadcast attracted 18 to 25 million viewers, comparable to the previous year's Olympics.

Americans watched Link, dressed in a shark skin swimsuit similar to Phelps', swiftly outpace other competitors.

In the two team events, Link created miracles by leading three mediocre teammates to the finals and helping them win a gold medal.

"Oh! Amazing, Link is like a male mermaid in the water," Katie Perry exclaimed, watching TV in her Los Angeles villa.

"Move, Katie, can't you stand away from the screen?" Blake Lively shouted.

Katie Perry shrugged and turned to ask, "What do you think it's like to sleep with a male mermaid?"

Lively covered her face, not wanting to answer, "Katie, Link is Taylor's boyfriend, and Taylor is our friend."

"Are you suggesting I should call Taylor and ask her what it's like? That sounds like a good idea," Katie Perry replied.

Lively was momentarily stunned and quickly clarified, "I meant that you shouldn't flirt with a friend's boyfriend, not to ask Taylor that question."

"Okay, I was just joking," Katie Perry said with a laugh, turning back to watch Link on TV.

Lively shook her head and was about to suggest they continue playing tarot cards when she noticed Kristen and Emma were also glued to the TV, clearly captivated by Link's physique.

---

"Damn, he's faster than last time," Michael Phelps said, watching the swimming competition on TV from a swimming club in Baltimore.

"How does a boxer have such swimming speed?" Coach Bob Bowman marveled.

"He must have come from a family of fishermen; he's born to swim," Phelps said with envy.

"That's not possible. Even with natural talent, long-term training is required to push physical limits and achieve faster speeds," Bob Bowman said, focusing on the TV. "His swimming technique is average; what's impressive is his physical condition—his strength, speed, and body coordination must be exceptional."

Phelps looked at his coach, "So if he received professional training, he could swim even faster?"

Bob Bowman pondered for a moment and nodded heavily.

"Damn! How can this guy be faster than me? No way, I absolutely cannot lose to him."

Phelps cursed and put on his goggles, jumping into the pool.

Coach Bob Bowman nodded. At the 2008 Olympics, Phelps won eight gold medals and became a sports star, leading to a more relaxed training regimen. In February of this year, he publicly smoked marijuana, which stirred significant controversy in the media.

With a strong competitor like Link, Phelps would train more diligently.

---

After the Universiade broadcast, Link became a major sensation in America, with even greater popularity than when he became the world boxing champion. The media focused on his swimming skills.

Previously, people only heard that he swam faster than Phelps and exchanged gold medals with him, but without precise data, many did not believe it.

Now that he had broken three world records at the Universiade, his swimming prowess was proven.

People eagerly anticipated his performance at the 2012 London Olympics to see who was stronger: Link or Phelps.

After the competition, many media outlets wanted to interview Link about the Universiade.

However, his manager, Mandy, held a press conference stating that Link was in closed training for the upcoming boxing championship and was unavailable for interviews.

The media then recalled that on May 25, there was a boxing match at Madison Square Garden in New York, where WBA North American Intercontinental Champion Andre Bell would challenge WBA World Champion Link Beck.

Although Link was busy training and couldn't deal with the media, he tweeted "I'm the One, Number One" on the day of the Universiade's end.

Within 24 hours, the tweet garnered 1.218 million likes and 80,000 comments. The comments were overwhelmingly positive, praising his swimming skills and affirming him as the genuine No.1.

That day, the single "I'm the One" also saw a surge, with downloads reaching 82,000.

Link Music released a music video on YouTube featuring footage from the swimming competition, with "I'm the One" as the background music.

The video amassed over 2 million views in three days.

In the fifth week of "I'm the One's" release, downloads reached 314,000, propelling it to 5th on the Billboard Hot 100 and 1st on the Rap Songs chart, overtaking songs by Kanye, T.I., 50 Cent, and Drake.

*Billboard* published a news article praising "I'm the One" for topping the rap chart and setting several records.

These records included Link being the first artist to reach number one on the rap chart with his debut rap single, the second non-African American artist to achieve this with a self-written rap song, and the first rapper from Florida to achieve such a feat.

*Billboard* magazine lauded Link's musical talent, calling him a talented and daring artist whom the music industry needed.

Other media outlets also praised Link, calling him a dual-threat star with both athletic and musical talents.

"How did this happen?" Lil Wayne and others were stunned, seeing the rankings on *Billboard*.

After Kanye and T.I. released new songs, Link's new single had been pushed far behind.

The trend showed that sales were best in the initial weeks and decreased over time.

Link's new song was expected to drop out of the top 20 of the rap chart after being suppressed for four weeks.

They thought they had won this round.

However, no one expected that Link would quietly go abroad for a sports event and win eight gold medals, becoming a swimming star.

With media coverage, he gained enormous popularity, and "I'm the One" surged, reaching 4th on the Billboard Hot 100 and 1st on the rap chart, leaving their singles firmly behind.

An outsider successfully crossed over to rap and reached number one with a song called "I'm the One"—this was undoubtedly a blow to their pride.

"Ha! What are you guys going to do now?" Eminem, lounging on the sofa, teased the depressed Kanye, Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, and others. "Are you going to participate in a sports event too? If one of you wins a gold medal, there might be a chance for a comeback."

They glared at him. If they had that capability, they would have already competed in the Olympics without needing his advice.

"Kanye, stop joking. Don't forget your song was also overshadowed by Link. You should join us in finding a solution," Lil Wayne said.

"No need. I don't have a problem with Link, nor do I care about this song's ranking. Besides, have you considered that your attempt to suppress Link's single while trying to reconcile with him might make Michael Jackson disappointed if he finds out? Michael is our icon, like Ali."

Eminem, puffing on a cigarette, looked at the others with a smirk.

Kanye's face darkened, and his mood became even more depressed.

Lil Wayne and the others also changed their expressions. Michael was not only a superstar but also an idol and spiritual symbol for them, like Ali.

In March, after their conflict with Link at the Grammys, Michael had intervened through his agent, hoping they wouldn't cause more trouble and create issues with Washington.

When Michael reached out, they naturally gave him face, stopped their fans from causing trouble, and even publicly apologized in the media.

When Michael visited New York, he invited them over and met with Link, showing a desire for reconciliation

. Kanye had also expressed willingness to reconcile at that time.

It seemed like the matter had passed.

But after Link released his rap single and saw its success, they joined forces to release singles suppressing Link's new song, and their fans began attacking Link.

Would Michael find out about this?

Michael, having been in the music industry for decades, surely knew about their actions and recognized that they hadn't genuinely reconciled with Link, and were merely paying lip service.

The most embarrassing part was that despite their combined efforts, they were outperformed by Link, an outsider.

"Ah!"

Thinking about this, Kanye suddenly shouted loudly, kicked over a table, and picked up a folding chair, smashing it on the table, sofa, and liquor cabinet.

Eminem and the others quickly got up and ran away.

Kanye had bipolar disorder; when depressed, he would appear gloomy, as if everyone owed him a million dollars. When agitated, he would destroy things and might accidentally hurt someone.

"Kanye, calm down. This isn't our fault. It's Link's fault. He's a pop singer encroaching on our rap territory with his rap songs. He's challenging us and competing for our livelihood. It's not wrong for us to suppress him," Lil Wayne shouted.

"Yes, it's Link's fault, not ours. We're just competing normally," 50 Cent, Drake, and others added in support.

Eminem, arms crossed, stroked his chin and said, "I seem to remember Link informing you before he released his rap single, and you said you didn't mind."

Everyone paused. Indeed, Link had mentioned this in the Lincoln Center parking lot.

He had expressed interest in collaborating with Eminem, which could be seen as provocative. At the time, Kanye had said, "Do whatever you want," and they had all laughed, including the usually depressed Kanye.

But in the end, they had gone back on their word.

From any angle, Link was not at fault; the fault lay with them.

If Michael knew that Link had given advance notice and was still suppressed, what would he think of them?

Even Lil Wayne and 50 Cent, who had thick skins, felt embarrassed and furious at this moment.

"Ah!!"

Hearing Eminem's words, Kanye became even more enraged, wielding a metal baseball bat and smashing everything in the room.

Eminem shook his head, about to speak again when he suddenly saw Kanye grab a dark object from an overturned cabinet, cursing loudly, "Damn, who brought a gun in here? Run!"

Eminem shouted as he ran outside.

Others, seeing the gun in Kanye's hand, ducked their heads and quickly fled.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

(End of Chapter)