American Football: King of the Bay Area

The quarterbacks on the field were all wearing their own jerseys. Of the three currently practicing their passes, the one in the bottom right was wearing a New York Jets jersey, the one on the right-hand side wore the uniform of the Denver Broncos, and the one in the top left was wearing a number eleven San Francisco 49ers jersey—

Number eleven for the San Francisco 49ers was Alex Smith.

Obviously, the person training on the field right now was definitely not Alex. So, who was he? The distance was a bit too great, his helmet obscured his face, and the jersey’s shoulder pads bulked up his frame, making it impossible to discern his original build or identify him.

”Lu Ke, the Chinese-American quarterback.” Kip’s addition left both Jim and Craig slightly stunned.

They had just been wondering which quarterback among this year’s free agents and Undrafted Players was named ”Luke,” but in the next second, Kip’s answer exploded in their minds.

Their first reaction was, ’Impossible.’ Their second reaction was still, ’Impossible.’ Their third reaction was, ’What’s going on?’

If he were just the only player of Chinese Descent in the Rookie Training Camp, he might not have left a strong impression. After all, once the helmet was on, it was hard to tell people apart, and no one would pay special attention. But this player of Chinese Descent was different.

First, he aced the Fonderick test, then he was the first to score a Touchdown in a scrimmage. The skill he displayed at the quarterback position was truly eye-catching, even stirring up some interest. But in the end, those high expectations went unfulfilled.

It’s no exaggeration to say that during the draft, almost no one remembered this Chinese-American quarterback—the ingrained mindset that ’players of Chinese or even Asian descent can’t handle major responsibilities’ played a decisive role.

But now, just hearing the words ”Chinese-American quarterback” was enough to awaken the memories in Jim’s mind. The passing accuracy, the decisive judgment, and the reading of the defense had indeed left a deep impression. Back then, the 49ers had held meetings to discuss him, seriously considering the player, but ultimately chose to pass—

Because the sample size of reference data was just too small. No one was willing to take a risk based solely on a brief, outstanding performance in Rookie Training Camp. During his college years, Lu Ke had played in far too few games and hadn’t even played a single one from start to finish.

If Lu Ke had played a full year in college—at least one year—and still had his performance from the training camp, then there would have been plenty of teams willing to use a later-round pick on him. He definitely wouldn’t have gone undrafted. But alas, there are no ’what ifs’.

Snapping back to his senses, Jim paused, feeling hesitant.

First, Lu Ke was a rookie. Given the 49ers’ current situation, the last thing they needed was another rookie to add to their burden. Colin hadn’t even gotten a handle on the playbook yet; bringing in another rookie would probably do more harm than good.

Second, Lu Ke was of Chinese Descent. This was 2011, not the conservative, closed-minded era of half a century ago when any team that used a black player might face protests from fans. But there was no denying that becoming the first coach in the Alliance to use a Chinese-American quarterback required courage—and not just at any position, but at quarterback.

Third, Lu Ke’s physical stats. If he remembered correctly, Lu Ke’s physical attributes were merely average. For a black or white player, average was good enough, but for an Asian player…

The three quarterbacks on the field continued to diligently practice their passes. Jim stood where he was, a million thoughts racing through his mind, and then Kip’s voice reached his ears:

”He doesn’t look like a rookie quarterback at all. Jim, have you forgotten? The first two games of his career—his only two games—he was put in under pressure and managed to pull off incredible comebacks. A quarterback with that much heart reminds me of Eli Manning.”

Jim quietly clenched his jaw. He knew this small step could very well be a history-making one. But he had to temporarily push aside those thoughts and focus entirely on ”skill.” So, he spoke up. ”Bring me Lu Ke’s physical test data from today. I want to see it.”

Utterly focused, completely absorbed, with no distracting thoughts—that was Lu Ke’s current state. He wasn’t thinking about his tryout situation, the difficulties of the future, or the competition from his rivals. He hadn’t even noticed the changes on the sidelines. He was just single-mindedly immersed in his passing drills.

This wasn’t his first tryout. And it very likely wouldn’t be his last.

A long time ago, Lu Ke had come to understand that for white or black quarterbacks, they only needed to show a level of sixty out of a hundred. In a dire situation like the one the 49ers were in, that might be enough to become a backup, just like how the New York Jets had chosen Greg McElroy in the seventh round.

But for a Chinese-American quarterback, he had to show a level of one hundred and twenty, or even two hundred, just to have a sliver of a chance. After three months of tryouts, he was more certain of this than ever.

Holding the Rugby Superstar System in his hands gave him confidence. But over the past few months, he still hadn’t relaxed in the slightest, nor did he dare let his guard down.

In a daze, it was as if he had returned to his junior year as a practice player. After two consecutive years of failure, he had finally made the team and cherished the hard-won opportunity. He treated every practice like it was the Super Bowl, every training day like it was his last. He gave it his all, held nothing back, and just focused on pushing forward, pushing forward, and pushing forward again.

It wasn’t an easy thing to do, but it was something that brought him happiness.

From the end of the Rookie Training Camp, through the draft, through countless tryouts, up until today, Lu Ke had not missed a single day of his daily training routine. Not even during the drive to Washington. He always found a way to complete all his training on time and in full. And so, over five and a half long months, he had accumulated a total of eleven basic points.

All eleven basic points were spent where they mattered most.

First, Lu Ke added six points to his Observation Field of View, bringing that skill up to seventy in one go. He had passed the threshold and entered the lowest tier of excellence. This meant that in this skill alone, Lu Ke had already reached the Alliance’s average level, or perhaps even surpassed it.

Second, Lu Ke added one point to Tactical Awareness, raising that skill from sixty-nine to seventy. Combining Tactical Awareness with Observation Field of View, plus his three passing accuracy skills, Lu Ke had shed the rookie phase in terms of basic quarterback abilities and had truly entered the ranks of the average.

However, a quarterback needs more than just passing. Excellent passing technique didn’t mean Lu Ke was an outstanding quarterback, because there was still a huge gap to close in his running and physical confrontation abilities.

So, third, Lu Ke put the remaining four basic points entirely into Ball-Carrying Run, bringing that stat up to sixty-nine in one go, just one step away from seventy.

Before this, Lu Ke’s Running Pass skill had already reached seventy. Now, combined with the increase in his Ball-Carrying Run ability, it meant that Lu Ke was no longer a sitting duck waiting to be captured when facing an opponent’s blitz.

Of course, among the four skills of Evasion, blocking ability, dribbling ability, and illusionary ability, only Evasion had reached sixty points. The other three were still at fifty-three. Therefore, he was still a true pocket quarterback, and his running ability was genuinely terrible, far from presentable.

Although this was a clearly unbalanced way of allocating points, making his strengths exceptionally strong and his weaknesses exceptionally weak, in the blink of an eye, nearly a year had passed since Lu Ke obtained the system. He had already transformed from a practice player into a competent backup quarterback. Such a growth rate was truly terrifying, and this was the greatest source of his confidence.

But more importantly, after more than half a year of relentless and persistent training, his physical fitness had improved again. Beyond the addition of basic points, his body’s physical attributes in real life had also improved.

Strength rose from forty-eight to forty-nine. Speed increased from sixty-six to sixty-seven. Acceleration went from sixty-two to sixty-three. All three stats had automatically increased by one point.

In addition to that, his overall physical fitness, which was originally sixty-three, also rose by another point to become sixty-four. This was a fundamental change in his entire physique. At the same time, these were not increases from adding basic points, but natural growth from arduous training.

Over the course of nearly a year, through relentless training, every aspect of his basic physical fitness had grown. Although the growth rate was indeed a bit slow compared to directly adding basic points, this was the result of hard work. Countless beads of sweat, accumulated and refined day after day, had transformed into that seemingly insignificant ”one point.”

Although it was only a meager four points in total, Lu Ke knew just how hard-earned they were. After entering college, he had felt the constraints of his physical ceiling. No matter how he trained, his innate talents like strength, explosiveness, and speed saw very limited improvement, almost remaining stagnant as if he had hit his natural limit. The existence of the Rugby Superstar System created the possibility of breaking through those shackles. Now, these accumulated results were genuinely showing in Lu Ke’s training.

Even if the improvement was limited, Lu Ke could still feel his progress, real and tangible, as if he had returned to his high school days.

Although to outsiders, it had only been a short five and a half months from the Rookie Training Camp until today, the effort Lu Ke had put in to go from quantitative to qualitative change was far more than a simple matter of adding the system’s basic points.

Pass, pass, pass. With every throw, Lu Ke was meticulous, completing it with total focus, refining and re-refining every single step.

He was waiting for someone to recognize his talent. But when that person finally appeared, he hoped he would be ready.

Jim stared at the physical test data in his hand, his mouth agape, nearly losing his composure. He looked up at Bobby Engram, his eyes wide, and blurted out in a slightly strained voice, ”Are these numbers correct? Has he been drug tested?”

Seeing Jim’s utterly shocked expression, both Kip and Craig grew curious and cast questioning glances at Bobby.

Bobby met Jim’s gaze and nodded. ”Yes, the initial drug test is complete. No issues. The report for the more detailed test won’t be out until tomorrow.” Feeling the gazes of Kip and Craig, Bobby shrugged and gestured with his eyes. ”See for yourselves.” His expression and gesture suggested he was just as baffled.

Then, Kip and Craig both leaned in to look at the physical test data in Jim’s hands.

”Damn,” Craig couldn’t help but blurt out, a stunned curse. Kip’s eyes also lit up, and after a flicker of surprise, a smile began to form in his eyes.