American Football: King of the Bay Area

A full thirty pull-ups, but the system only displayed six? ’Was there some kind of mistake?’

”Qi? Qizai?” Lu Ke called out urgently, looking for help. ”What’s going on? Is the system bugged? No way, I’ve only had it for two days and it’s already malfunctioning? Is this a defective product?”

”Only movements that meet the standard are counted. Otherwise, the system will not record them at all.” Qi’s unhurried reply served as an explanation, naturally ignoring Lu Ke’s suspicion that it was a ”knock-off.”

Lu Ke understood the meaning of the sentence, but he needed more proof. ”Standard? What counts as standard? So you’re saying that out of the thirty I did earlier, only six were up to standard? What’s the criteria?”

This time, Qi didn’t speak. Instead, a video played directly in Lu Ke’s mind. In the video, a computer-generated figure that looked like Lu Ke began to do pull-ups. Its legs were crossed and tucked, hands in an overhand grip, pulling up until the chin was over the bar, holding for three seconds, then slowly relaxing until the arms were fully extended back to the starting position.

Simply put, you had to start from the origin and return to the origin, with absolutely no slacking. Moreover, the upward pull had to be held for three seconds, not a second less.

Out of the thirty pull-ups from before, only six met the perfect standard. The others had flaws, more or less, and thus weren’t counted by the system. ’This... this is a good thing, right?’

If this were training at the university, or even at a gym, a coach could provide hands-on supervision and guidance. But they weren’t machines; they couldn’t possibly monitor every single movement, nor could they ensure every single rep was executed with precision. But under the system’s supervision, even the slightest carelessness would be detected. This meant there was no room to cut corners, and it also meant Lu Ke would be receiving the most orthodox and rigorous training.

In all the years past, Lu Ke had never received formal training. He was entirely self-taught. Forget fundamentals; even his passing form wasn’t quite right. Despite this, Lu Ke had relied on his own diligence to teach himself, bit by bit. Now, under the system’s supervision, he would have the chance to correct his form, piece by piece, and especially to rebuild his fundamentals.

After calming down, Lu Ke finally noticed a video icon next to each training task. He casually gestured to play the video for the 40-yard shuttle run. In the video, his digital likeness started running back and forth, and a narration explained which muscle groups to engage, the key points of the technique, and so on.

He let out a soft breath. He had finally figured things out. All his hard work just now had been for nothing, which was a bit frustrating, but looking at it from another perspective, this was the best opportunity to completely overhaul his technique. With that, his spirits lifted again.

He gripped the bar once more and started doing pull-ups from the beginning.

Lu Ke didn’t rush the count. Instead, he focused on the quality of each one, ensuring every movement met the system’s requirements. Without the continuous momentum, the burn hidden deep within his muscles gradually became more pronounced. After finishing thirty, Lu Ke could faintly feel the tightness in his muscles. This was a sensation he hadn’t experienced after the first thirty.

After calling up the system again, sure enough, the pull-up option in the daily training tasks had dimmed, indicating that this item was completed for the day.

”The Superstar System is not a fake, nor does it make mistakes.” Qi’s voice suddenly cut in. Lu Ke froze for a moment before realizing Qi was responding to his earlier complaint. This was the first time Qi had shown a different side. Was that... anger? ”No, I am not angry. I am simply correcting your statement and clarifying a misunderstanding.”

Qi’s rebuttal came again, huffy and obstinate.

The corners of Lu Ke’s mouth couldn’t help but lift. He nodded and said earnestly, ”Right, not angry.” This time, Qi was silent. Lu Ke’s smile grew wider. ”Qi, how do I get back now? Say, if I run back, can I complete tomorrow’s 10,000-meter task ahead of schedule?”

”You cannot,” Qi’s reply was categorical.

Lu Ke wasn’t surprised. ”Alright. Still, I think I’ll run back.” If he felt tired right now, he would have chosen another way back, like calling Logan to drive over to the pier. But he was feeling full of energy, so he might as well run back again. Starting tomorrow, he should set a fixed point so that a round trip would be exactly 10,000 meters. That way, he could have more time to complete his other training.

The next day was another ordinary one. He had classes in the morning, a group project discussion at noon, and team practice in the afternoon. However, after practice ended, Lu Ke didn’t hurry to leave. Instead, he stayed behind and called out to one of his practice squad teammates, ”John?”

John Ward. The same guy who had come up to him yesterday and accused him of ”training too seriously.” He was also a member of the practice squad. However, he and Lu Ke weren’t on the same level—or rather, they weren’t the same type of player.

John’s father had once been a star in the National University Association (NCAA). In the seventies, he was a star Wide Receiver for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), with a glorious record. But in American sports, people always say that high school performance doesn’t predict college success, and college success doesn’t predict a professional career. After graduating, John’s father entered the Professional Alliance but accomplished nothing. He played for just three years before announcing his retirement due to injury.

Even so, it was still an achievement to be proud of.

The father’s brilliance was passed on to John. In high school, John had been famous for a time. He could play Wide Receiver, quarterback, and linebacker, and could even fill in as a kicker. From the offense to the Defense Team to the special teams, he covered almost everything, a true all-around genius who attracted a lot of attention.

Before entering the Professional Alliance, during high school and college, a player’s style isn’t fully formed. Changing positions is a perfectly normal thing. Even after entering the Professional Alliance, it’s commonplace for players to change their position on the field for the team’s overall benefit and style. But players as versatile as John were truly rare.

However, the world of sports has never been short on geniuses. Football was no exception.

After entering college, John’s star dimmed dramatically. Whether receiving or on defense, he couldn’t create effective physical contact and would easily lose his position. As for the quarterback position, pure strength was no longer enough; it required accuracy, tactics, and coordination. Soon, John lost his starting spot and was relegated to the bench. Later, he couldn’t even hold onto that position amid the competition, ending up with just a spot on the practice squad.

Having experienced such a peak, his fall was faster than anyone could have imagined. Many players in the current starting lineup were John’s friends, some even friends who had once looked up to him. No one could imagine what kind of pain and torment that was, except for John himself.

Normally, John was actually a mild-mannered person. He didn’t talk much, didn’t socialize much, and generally seemed like a bit of a loner. But when Lu Ke joined the team’s practice squad, everyone else was watching from the sidelines, wondering about this yellow-skinned, black-haired face, as if still deciding whether they should truly accept the arrival of an ”outsider.” John was the first one to strike up a conversation with Lu Ke.

Not only did John take the initiative to explain some of the key points about being on the practice squad, but he also shared little tips on how to avoid injuries. Compared to the main players, the practice squad’s benefits were not as comprehensive. The practice players had to take good care of themselves, or else they wouldn’t last long under the daily high-intensity collisions.

To some extent, John was the teammate Lu Ke had the best relationship with on the entire practice squad. Friends? Maybe not. John always seemed to be a loner, refusing to interact much with anyone. His conversations with Lu Ke were strictly limited to training. But at least they were teammates.

Hearing Lu Ke’s call, John stopped in his tracks. He turned around, annoyed, and snapped back in an irritated voice, ”What?”

Lu Ke raised his voice. ”I want to do some extra training. I was wondering if you could join me?”

Quarterback training requires coordination; many drills are done in pairs. Lu Ke had originally thought of asking Logan, but Logan wasn’t the best choice. First, as a member of the first team, Logan’s daily training intensity was already very high. Adding extra practice in his spare time would be too much of a burden. Second, unlike the practice squad players, main roster players had to do specialized training and study tactics, so their time was limited.

The best option was to find a training partner from within the practice squad. And John was Lu Ke’s choice.

”Are you crazy?” John’s brow furrowed immediately. ”Yeah, you’re crazy! You psycho!”

Since the start of their senior year, John had been constantly irritable, as if he’d lost all his patience. Lu Ke guessed that John was also feeling lost. For guys like them on the practice squad, graduation meant the end of their athletic careers. They had no hope of making it to the Professional Alliance and would just have to return to ordinary life. That was true for John, and it would have been true for Lu Ke, too—if he hadn’t encountered the Superstar System.

”Do you even know what you’re doing? Did you mess up your brain?” John said, his expression contorted as he pointed to his own head. ”Is it from getting hit by the main team guys too many times? You’re a nobody. You’re nothing on the school’s football roster; no one even knows you were ever on this team. So what the hell are you doing? You look like an idiot with a screw loose.”

”If you hate it so much, then why don’t you leave?” Lu Ke wasn’t angry. Instead, he walked forward and retorted sharply.

John’s expression froze. ”I can’t.” It was an answer Lu Ke hadn’t expected. ”If I quit... my father will stop paying my tuition.”

Lu Ke froze as well. He hesitated for a moment. ”Is that the only reason you’re here?”

John had his back to Lu Ke, ready to leave, but his feet wouldn’t move. ”I guess, deep down, I’m also hoping that someday, I’ll be able to step onto the field again.”

”Then why not join me? Train with me,” Lu Ke pressed further.