American Football: King of the Bay Area

Ten basic points. This was the most Lu Ke had ever received from the system in one go. But after seeing his personal information panel, a sea of glaring red, his joy began to subside. Forget ten basic points; even if he were given a hundred, he could spend them all in a flash.

Taking a deep breath, Lu Ke first carefully examined each of his individual technical skills, then began to think seriously. ’How should I prioritize these?’

He could either bring himself up to an average level first, raising the scores of all his skills above the passing line so they didn’t look so dismal. Or, based on his actual game experience, he could continue to sharpen the weapons in his arsenal and maximize the effectiveness of his individual strengths, like his 81-point long pass.

After a moment of thought, Lu Ke made his decision and chose the latter.

The reasoning was simple. Not to mention how many basic points it would take to get all his skills above the passing line, more importantly, even if he achieved that goal, he would only be an ”average” quarterback. Quarterbacks like that were a dime a dozen in the Alliance. The lucky ones would sit on the bench for a few seasons waiting for their chance; the unlucky ones might find their contracts terminated quickly, forced out of the Professional Alliance.

It was better to risk it all than to be conservatively mediocre. On the professional stage, no one was perfect. Those with an overall average skill level were mostly run-of-the-mill players. In contrast, those with a particular specialty, or those with clear strengths and weaknesses, could actually be useful.

For Lu Ke, the most effective choice was to first get into the Alliance and find his footing. Then, he could slowly look for opportunities to shore up his weaknesses one by one. Therefore, the decision wasn’t too difficult—at least not as difficult as he had imagined.

With his ten basic points, Lu Ke first added five to his Observation Field of View. The skill, originally at 55 points, shot up to 60, finally reaching a passing grade. During the last two offensive drives yesterday, he had made errors in both judging the positions of players on the field and anticipating the defenders. This highlighted the importance of his Observation Field of View.

Next, Lu Ke added the other five basic points to his Ball-Carrying Run, bringing that skill up to 65 in one go.

Purely as a skill, Ball-Carrying Run is somewhat similar to a running back’s run. The quarterback holds onto the football, constantly moving to find a better receiving target, and if necessary, the quarterback can run the ball himself to gain yardage. However, this single skill must be combined with evasion ability, blocking ability, dribbling ability, and illusionary ability to successfully advance the ball on a run.

Lu Ke wasn’t in a hurry to add points to the other skills. For one, his basic points were limited—a drop in the bucket. For another, he wanted to focus on his footwork within the pocket—side steps, backpedaling, and so on. Combined with his Observation Field of View, this would give him a clearer understanding of the entire field, allowing him to better leverage his 70-point short pass and 81-point long pass abilities.

One, two... The ten basic points were gone in a flash. Looking at his skill list again, the change was barely perceptible. The revolution was not yet won; Lu Ke still had to keep fighting!

After he finished reading all the information, the mission panel cleared up, leaving only the ”Daily Training Mission, 0/14” indicator hanging there. This also meant it was time to get on with today’s training!

After the Rose Bowl, the Brown Bear Team had a three-day break, which passed in the blink of an eye. Today, all the team members would gather again to formally bid farewell to the seniors and officially conclude the 2010 season.

For Lu Ke, the past three days of vacation hadn’t brought any earth-shattering changes. Every morning, he still persisted with his daily training mission before diving into his regular schoolwork. It wasn’t easy, but watching the mission completion counter tick up day by day—it was now at ”2/14”—filled Lu Ke with renewed motivation, spurring him on toward the end of another mission cycle. Today was the third day.

He jogged along the familiar streets toward the training facility. After turning onto a straight path, he took a deep breath and burst into a sprint. For the short 100-meter dash, the hidden power in his muscles erupted with exhilarating force. He got faster and faster, more and more ferocious. The whistling wind rushing past his ears let his adrenaline run wild. After the all-out sprint, he gradually slowed his pace, returning to his original rhythm and frequency. Then, he methodically regulated his breathing, letting his short, rapid breaths lengthen until he was back in the steady state of an endurance run.

He was slowly starting to adapt to the rhythm and explosive bursts of variable-speed running. Next, he should try to improve his efficiency—shorten his 10,000-meter completion time, increase his 100-meter sprint speed, and even reduce the interval between his 100-meter sprints to further challenge the limits of his endurance and explosive power.

After completing today’s 10,000-meter task, Lu Ke didn’t stop immediately. Instead, he took off again, sprinting toward the locker room at a 100-meter dash pace.

The buildup of lactic acid made his muscles begin to ache. The power in his push-offs weakened, his scorching breath felt like needles in his lungs, and he could almost taste bitterness in his burning throat. Even the swing of his arms grew heavy... But Lu Ke gritted his teeth, constantly challenging his absolute limit. Only by breaking through this barrier could he advance further.

Upon entering the players’ tunnel, he slowed his steps. His ankles and calves felt weak. His clothes were already soaked through with sweat, and the rivulets gathering on his cheeks dripped onto the ground. Every pore on his body was open, a feeling both exhausting and refreshing. But Lu Ke’s work still wasn’t finished. He placed his fingers on his left wrist and began to silently count his pulse—

This was to test his condition. ’Have I truly reached my limit? After this extra challenge, can my body handle it? Should I increase my training load? Or should I maintain my current state?’

CREAK. The sound of an office door opening and closing made Lu Ke stop in his tracks. He looked toward the source of the noise.

The season was over, and the team was officially on break. For the past three days, when Lu Ke did his daily training, the practice field had been completely empty. He had to wait until after class to do his drills with the ball, dragging Logan to a community sports field near their apartment. Today was the day the team was supposed to reassemble, but who would show up this early?

Then Lu Ke saw Kevin. Kevin Price.

He was a completely unexpected sight. Lu Ke paused, stunned for a moment. Kevin clearly hadn’t expected to see anyone either and hesitated. They looked at each other, neither knowing how to start or what to say.

Kevin didn’t like Lu Ke. He never had. He could list countless reasons why. For example, how a mere practice squad player treated every single daily practice like it was the Super Bowl, making a big deal out of nothing. Or how a mere backup coveted the starting position and seized it the moment he got injured.

And how he was always putting on an act, telling those unfunny jokes to curry favor with the other teammates. And how he was overreaching by aiming for the professional league when they all knew full well that ninety-nine percent of the players on the Brown Bear Team would never make it to the Professional Alliance. And his stupid dream, his stubborn, incorrigible attempt to become an outstanding football player—that hopelessly foolish persistence was even infuriating...

But, he couldn’t deny that it was Lu Ke who had led the team in an incredible comeback to defeat the Trojans Team. He couldn’t deny that it was Lu Ke who had turned the tide in the final two minutes to upset the Badger Team. And he certainly couldn’t deny that Lu Ke was far more hardworking, and far stronger, than he was.

Looking at the sweat-drenched Lu Ke before him, a flicker of something passed through Kevin’s eyes. A mix of complex emotions spread across his tongue, an unidentifiable taste. He hesitated for a moment before silently striding forward.

As he passed Lu Ke, he paused briefly and muttered, ”Good luck!” Without any further delay, he continued on his way. A ”Thanks” echoed in the tunnel behind him, but it only made Kevin quicken his pace, almost as if he were fleeing.

Pulling his gaze back, Lu Ke started walking again, preparing to head to the indoor gym for weight training. But before he could even reach the gym, another person appeared before him: Head Coach Rick Neuheisel.

Seeing the sweat-soaked Lu Ke, Rick wasn’t surprised at all. Instead, a hint of a pleased smile appeared in his eyes. The day after the Rose Bowl, Rick had come to the training facility to prepare some documents and had been surprised to see Lu Ke there, still training. That was when he had been truly stunned.

Rick then recalled something Anthony had mentioned to him before: that outside of the regular daily practices, Lu Ke was always putting in extra training, meticulously completing every exercise without missing a single day. When Anthony had brought it up, Rick had thought nothing of it. But after witnessing the final game of the season and the Rose Bowl, Rick finally understood what ”extra training every day” truly meant.

Thinking back more carefully, he remembered Lu Ke’s persistence for two straight years as a freshman and sophomore; how even after being cut in his junior year, he was thrilled just to be on the practice squad; and his diligent, unwavering hard work throughout that entire junior season. Even he had been deeply impressed by this kid of Chinese descent. That was why, during the training before the season started, when Kevin and Lu Ke had clashed, he had sided with Lu Ke without any hesitation.

Rick had once thought that Lu Ke had no talent, only diligence, which was far from enough for a professional athlete. Talent was the foundation of everything; without that one percent of inspiration, all the sweat in the world was for naught. But now, it seemed his thinking might need some correction.

”Lu Ke, do you have a minute? If your training isn’t too urgent, could you come into my office for a moment?” Rick said. He had originally planned to say this after the team gathering today, but since they’d run into each other now, he might as well do it early.

Lu Ke nodded in a daze. ”No problem!”