American Football: King of the Bay Area

Short Pass Accuracy, 71; Mid-range Pass Accuracy, 65; Long Pass Accuracy, 82.

It was incredible, but Lu Ke’s best attribute was currently his long pass—the most difficult to control, the most demanding of muscle, and the most demanding of strength. Next was his short pass. Although the score was only 71, still a long way from 80, the difficulty of short passes mainly came from the pressure and interference of defensive players. Without those disruptive factors, Lu Ke’s performance was still at a very high level.

Mid-range passes were still Lu Ke’s biggest weakness. Judging the accuracy, controlling the power, mastering the trajectory—this was the area with the most variables and possibilities. Even without defenders interfering, Lu Ke’s passes were still showing signs of deviation.

What seemed like a simple character skill test had once again given Lu Ke a clearer understanding of his strengths and weaknesses. After six consecutive long passes, Lu Ke let out a long breath, controlled his breathing, and calmed himself down. But then, a ”DING” sound suddenly went off in his mind, interrupting his thoughts.

’Without any warning, why did the system make a sound?’

Lu Ke didn’t rush to check it. Instead, he left his spot, leaving the field open for the number twelve quarterback. As they passed each other, Lu Ke even gave the other guy a friendly nod. This amicable gesture earned him a nod in response. In his peripheral vision, Lu Ke could see Cam not far away.

Expressionless, his features stiff, his movements wooden, he radiated a ”stay away” aura. His gaze, fixed predatorily on Lu Ke, emanated a terrifying light. It was hard to imagine the immense agony Cam must be enduring to keep himself from swinging his fists and charging forward for a life-or-death brawl with Lu Ke.

Averting his gaze, he jogged back. Scott had his right hand raised high, and Lu Ke couldn’t help but smile as the two high-fived. Scott was number nineteen and hadn’t gone up for his test yet; his expression was still incredibly tense, but Lu Ke’s excellent performance had given him some encouragement.

Returning to where the quarterbacks were scattered, Lu Ke finally had a moment to quiet his mind and call up the system. On the unread messages page, a line of bright red text had appeared again: Special Mission!

’Another special mission? In the past six months, there hasn’t been a single one, but Rookie Training Camp has only been three days and this is already the second one? Are special missions a dime a dozen now? More importantly, what just happened? Why did another special mission appear?’

’If the special mission requires me to start doing the Crayon Shin-chan elephant dance on the spot, and without any music, what then? Should I do it? Or should I do it?’

He opened the special mission and quickly scanned it.

”Special Mission: Prove Yourself in the Face of Adversity.

Mission Description: During the character skill test, complete a temporary small-scale training match. In this training match, prove your ability to consistently lead the team downfield, even with relatively weak physical gifts! Take the first solid step on the path to becoming a top superstar!

Mission Requirements: Over 50 passing yards; 60% pass completion rate; connect with a specific special receiver for three or more successful passes; beat a specific special cornerback for two or more successful passes.

Mission Rewards: Speed +1, Strength +1, Acceleration +1, Agility +1, Jumping +1, Throwing Power +1, Unknown Quarterback Training Skill Package +1, Unknown Team Interview Opportunities +5.

Failure Penalty: Daily training duration tripled; perform 400 meters of frog jumps in public (at least 100 spectators required, or you must start over); shout ’Logan Newman is handsome’ ten times in public (at least 100 spectators required, or you must start over).”

”...” That was still Lu Ke’s first reaction. He was dumbstruck. He opened and closed his mouth, swallowed hard, and tried to speak again, but the result was still, ”...” He shifted his posture, but the state of speechlessness remained. After his brain stalled for three seconds, Lu Ke finally found his voice. ”Qi, be honest. Are you a spy sent by Logan?”

”Logan Newman is handsome”? What kind of penalty was that? What the hell kind of penalty was that! If the system wasn’t in cahoots with Logan, he... he’d eat his own fist! What the hell was this!

Lu Ke blinked, his eyes filled with disbelief. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but Qi’s diligent voice sounded in his mind, ”The content of the failure penalty is a conclusion reached after the system analyzes, arranges, and combines the host’s most unwilling and resistant thoughts, based on the host’s personal situation. Special missions are unique. They cannot be repeated, saved, or replayed. To urge the host to complete the mission, extreme measures must be taken.”

”...” As a reporter, Lu Ke was truly rendered speechless, backed into a corner by Qi. On the verge of tears, Lu Ke said, ”You don’t have to do it like this. The rewards, just make the rewards a bit more generous, and I’ll give it my all. Look at these rewards; I’ll definitely work hard to complete it. But the failure penalty... there’s no need for it to be like this. What if?”

”Then, you just have to not fail.” Why did Qi’s calm words carry a hint of schadenfreude?

Lu Ke choked, ultimately admitting defeat. It was a classic case of a scholar meeting a soldier—reason was useless. And he was the scholar. ’That must be it!’

Letting out a long breath, Lu Ke finally reread the entire mission carefully. Although this was his second special mission, all the contents and requirements were completely different. No wonder they said special missions were unique; miss it, and it’s gone forever.

The mission rewards were undoubtedly generous. All six basic physical stats would increase by one point. The system probably couldn’t stand it anymore. Lu Ke’s terrible physical gifts were seriously holding him back. Even if his passing ability was outstanding, so what? In a real game, he was like a paper doll, toppling over with a single bump. No one would dare to use a quarterback like that.

Therefore, the rewards for this second special mission were all focused on physical attributes, which happened to align perfectly with the direction and atmosphere of the Rookie Training Camp. ’Could it be that the mission rewards are also randomly generated based on the actual situation?’ Well, the special mission itself was like that, as was the failure penalty, so it wasn’t surprising that the mission rewards would have a unique matching attribute.

Beyond that, there was an unknown Quarterback Training Skill Package. Having just tasted the sweet benefits of a Skill Package the day before yesterday, Lu Ke was now feeling a bit expectant. What surprise would this Skill Package bring? Even if it was another passing Skill Package, that would be excellent. And there was one more reward... unknown team interview opportunities?

Seeing this, Lu Ke was completely stunned!

The Rookie Training Camp was like a military parade. Its ultimate purpose was to showcase the rookies’ abilities, giving the Alliance’s teams a more intuitive, direct, and comprehensive opportunity to evaluate them before making their draft decisions. So, on the last day of the training camp, after all the relevant tests were over, the thirty-two teams would select players for face-to-face interviews based on their scouting reports, camp test results, and other related data.

Each team was allowed to interview sixty players, with a time limit of fifteen minutes per interview, and the questions varied. Not only did they differ from person to person, but each team would even prepare its own set of interview questions. The New York Giants, for example, would spend two minutes on a short psychological test, having players choose between a series of two options to test their mental state and judgment.

Team interviews are crucial. A team manager’s and head coach’s first impression of a quarterback could very well determine their future draft trajectory. Personality, attitude, demeanor, cooperative spirit, and so on would all become supplementary evaluation factors.

Take 2005 for example. In his interviews, Aaron Rodgers was considered confident and arrogant, and difficult to get along with, by most teams. Coupled with scouting reports that considered him a system player with mediocre abilities, in the end, Rodgers, who had been a contender for the number one draft pick, slid all the way to the twenty-fourth spot, where he was picked up by the Green Bay Packers.

Since the number of players each team could interview was limited, and there were a whopping three hundred and thirty-two players in the entire training camp, popular players like Cam Newton were naturally in high demand. But for a player like Lu Ke, it was uncertain. What was certain, however, was that the more interview opportunities he got, the more chances he had to showcase himself, and the greater his prospects in the draft would be.

”Unknown Team Interview Opportunities +5.” This meant that as long as he completed the mission, Lu Ke could secure at least five team interviews. This was undoubtedly a golden opportunity. Lacking college career stats and any significant high school career achievements, Lu Ke desperately needed more opportunities to prove himself, hoping to secure a better position in the draft.

Crucial! This was absolutely crucial!

Now, Lu Ke was one hundred percent certain: special missions were tasks that appeared randomly, erratically, specifically, and uniquely, based on real-life situations.

The problem was, this special mission wasn’t a prank; it was a genuinely important task, and it was incredibly difficult!

The passing yardage and completion rate weren’t unusual. The key was passing to a specific receiver and beating a specific cornerback. This meant Lu Ke’s tactical options would be shackled. He would have to rely on his own ability to seize opportunities and read the defense, to tear open a gap and complete the mission according to the system’s assignments.

What if the designated receiver was completely locked down, with no opening at all? Or what if the designated cornerback read his passing route and covered it tightly? What was he supposed to do then?

Among all the missions so far, this special mission was undoubtedly the most difficult. At least for now, Lu Ke couldn’t see any solution. More importantly, a small-scale training match?

Why would there be a small-scale training match? Even if there was, how was he supposed to become the starting quarterback for it? He had twenty other competitors right beside him.