American Football: King of the Bay Area

The ability to watch game film while offline—this was the reward for the hidden mission.

Strictly speaking, this was an indirect reward. Unlike Special Skills or base attribute points, it didn’t directly affect Lu Ke’s body or abilities. This feature allowed him to continuously watch game film while offline, but in the end, he still had to process all the experience and insights himself—summarizing, digesting, and understanding them. Its effectiveness ultimately depended on him.

But for Lu Ke, this feature was a godsend.

Experience—that was Lu Ke’s biggest weakness, and one that couldn’t be remedied in a short amount of time.

So far, Lu Ke’s professional career consisted of only four games, and his college record was unremarkable. This was the main reason so many teams had passed on him during the draft, and why the media still regarded him with skepticism.

But the problem was that there were no shortcuts to gaining experience. It had to be built up game by game, through tangible, on-the-field action. Only time and trial could solve it.

Now, the system had ”gifted” him time. While it wasn’t actual game experience, it was time to watch film and build up his knowledge. Even though this ”cheat” wasn’t as direct or tangible as a Special Skill or base attribute points, Lu Ke absolutely loved it. He was overjoyed.

The hidden mission was an absolute jackpot!

After reading the detailed description, Lu Ke noticed that the ”Offline Video-Watching Feature” had a prefix: ”Basic.” At the same time, the ”Hidden Mission” had an additional note: ”Level One.”

”Qi, does this mean the locker room mission will have Level Two and Level Three hidden missions in the future? And that the offline video-watching feature can be upgraded to Intermediate and Advanced?” Putting two and two together, Lu Ke immediately saw the potential progression path for these missions.

”Yes.” Without any further explanation, Qi gave a crisp confirmation. Lu Ke nodded, satisfied.

Without a doubt, managing the locker room was a long-term commitment, crucial throughout a player’s entire career. Even a legend like Brett Favre had to deal with locker room issues toward the end of his.

Every year, players left the team and new ones joined. The locker room environment was in constant flux. Furthermore, the atmosphere was always subject to change, shifting with every victory and defeat.

What’s more, Lu Ke was the only Chinese-American quarterback in the Alliance. Right now, they were on a winning streak, so racial discrimination hadn’t fully erupted. But who could say it wouldn’t in the future?

But looking at it from another angle, if the locker room atmosphere was a persistent hidden mission, it meant Lu Ke had a clear goal to strive for, which naturally gave him more motivation. The only pity was that the hidden mission didn’t come with detailed requirements. Even if he wanted to target his efforts, he had no direction for now. He would just have to play it by ear.

Shaking off those thoughts, Lu Ke opened the offline video-watching feature.

It was a brand-new page that looked like a film room. The entire wall was a massive screen, allowing for an immersive viewing experience of the game film—

Lu Ke had once toured the San Francisco 49ers’ film archive, which was basically a huge library, or perhaps more accurately, a museum.

A vast ocean of videotapes filled the room, mostly classic games from the past. Before computers, the only way to store them was as physical tapes. After the turn of the millennium and the dawn of the internet age, game film could be digitally archived. However, the team still exported important games to discs, organized by year and opponent, and added them to the film archive.

Finding a specific game film wasn’t difficult, but it wasn’t a walk in the park either, especially for the older tapes.

In the system, however, Lu Ke only needed to input the game date and the two teams involved. The system would automatically pull up the game film and could even pinpoint specific clips based on his request. It was convenient, fast, and incredibly efficient.

At the entrance to the film room, a countdown clock displayed ”04:00:00.” This meant that with the ”Basic Offline Video-Watching Feature,” Lu Ke could stay ”offline” for four hours.

He could activate the offline mode before going to sleep each night. After waking up in the morning, he would receive a four-hour report, which he would then need to read, analyze, digest, and understand, ultimately internalizing the knowledge.

This meant that compared to other rookies, Lu Ke had an extra four hours of study time every day. But that didn’t guarantee success; the effectiveness of those four hours was what truly mattered. Some people could study for four hours and learn nothing, while others could study for one hour and have a wealth of takeaways. It was all about quality. Therefore, Lu Ke couldn’t afford to be complacent.

The basic-level ”cheat” was already this powerful. Lu Ke was itching to try it out and see the results.

However, before testing the basic-level ”cheat,” Lu Ke noticed an unread message in his inbox. When he opened it, a second, unexpected message popped up.

”Congratulations on completing the hidden mission: Tying Kurt Warner’s historical record.”

’They’re coming in pairs?’

’Another hidden mission!’ He had lost the first game of his career today, and Lu Ke couldn’t help but feel a little dejected. But now, it seemed every game came with its own reward. ’Effort doesn’t always pay off, but without it, you’ll certainly never reap any rewards.’ At least, it seemed his efforts were now earning him his due.

”Hidden Mission: Tying Kurt Warner’s historical record.

Mission Description: The greatest undrafted quarterback in NFL history, Kurt Warner, threw three touchdowns in each of his first three career games. In his fourth career game, he threw five touchdowns, setting a historical record that remains unbroken to this day and leaving his mark on the Alliance.

Mission Requirement: Tie or break Kurt Warner’s record.

Mission Reward: Choose one of two: Unlock the Hidden Attribute ’Luck’ and receive five special attribute points to apply to it; or an upgraded Point Lottery Ticket.

Failure Penalty: None. This is a passively triggered mission.”

It was another hidden mission, but this one seemed much simpler and clearer.

In the first four games of his career, Kurt Warner threw for a total of fourteen touchdowns, setting a historical record for a rookie quarterback. In fact, it’s a record that no quarterback, rookie or veteran, has been able to break to this day. Today, against the Philadelphia Eagles, Lu Ke had thrown three touchdowns. This meant his total for the first four games of his career also reached fourteen, tying Warner’s record.

And so, the hidden mission was completed.

It was pretty straightforward, but Lu Ke was more curious about something else. ”This isn’t the first time I’ve broken an Alliance record. Why did I only get a hidden mission for it today?”

First, he was the first starting Chinese-American quarterback in the Alliance. Second, his five touchdowns in his first career game set a new historical record for a rookie quarterback. Third, his quarterback rating through his first three career games also broke a historical record. And the list went on.

If he were to take a closer look, as a Chinese-American quarterback, Lu Ke was making history in every single game. But no hidden missions had ever appeared before. Today was the very first time.

”Hidden missions are passively triggered. The trigger conditions can neither be predicted nor disclosed.” Qi’s reply was as flat as ever, which made Lu Ke not know whether to laugh or cry. ”Isn’t that just being arbitrary? So if you’re in a good mood, there’s a hidden mission, and if you’re not, there isn’t? Is that what you’re saying?”

”...Please remain calm.” Qi’s reply seemed to trail off. It felt like there was more to say, but the AI just stopped, revealing a strange hint of panic that was hard not to find amusing.

Lu Ke, on the other hand, calmed down. He seriously recalled that for the first hidden mission, Qi had mentioned that hidden missions had no fixed pattern, which was completely different from the other three types of missions.

’But that’s not logical.’

’Is it because I lost today? Because I fought to the very last second? Because my opponent played out of their minds? Or is it because Kurt Warner’s record is especially difficult, one that no one has been able to break? Or maybe because it’s an old record, from more than ten years ago?’

’Wait, could it really just depend on its mood?’

”Qi, be honest. It’s because I lost today, and not because I played poorly, so the system set up a hidden mission to make up for my loss, right?” Lu Ke said with a knowing expression, narrowing his eyes as if he had uncovered a profound secret. But there was no response in his mind, which left him with the feeling of having thrown a punch at thin air.

After waiting for a while with no response, Lu Ke could only throw his hands up in resignation. ”What’s this? Does the host have no rights? I don’t think this is fair.” But as soon as the words were out, he felt a bit sheepish—’most people don’t even have a system’. So he decided to put aside the mystery of the hidden missions and figure it out later.

His gaze fell upon the mission rewards. Unlike the usual, today’s reward was a ”choice of one of two.” This was a first.

He’d already experienced the Point Lottery Ticket last week. It was a bit of a rip-off; you could easily draw a ”0,” and all your effort would be for naught. As for Hidden Attributes, he already possessed ”Anticipation.” The most special part about today’s reward was that the system revealed the specific Hidden Attribute—”Luck”—and even designated five special points to be added to it.

He gave the options a quick glance, but his eyes were immediately fixed on ”Luck,” unable to look away. His imagination was already running wild:

’With Luck, will I be unstoppable? Will my luck just explode at critical moments? Like in today’s game, when that field goal hit the post, would it have bounced out instead of in? And what about in real life? If I buy a lottery ticket or go to a casino, will my luck be like a cheat code?’

’If that’s the case, wouldn’t my life be set? Luck... let’s start with a lottery ticket!’