After the Week 2 game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys, Lu Ke and Tony Romo had a brief conversation. At that time, Romo said that entering the league as an undrafted free agent meant that he would have to bear the burden of proving himself throughout his entire career. Tony Romo was like this, and so was Kurt Warner.
It was clear that Lu Ke was no exception. His identity as an undrafted free agent and a Chinese-American player was his label, and it would definitely follow him throughout his entire career. Every time his performance on the field was not as good as expected, fluctuated, or was even terrible, people would always question him: Was his talent not enough after all? Was his skill not enough after all? Was his talent not enough after all? Did being undrafted and Chinese-American already foreshadow the result?
Every time he was questioned, Lu Ke had to work harder and fight harder to prove himself again and give an effective counterattack. The best way to fight back against the doubts was always with his performance on the field, with a good form, with excellent skills, with absolute strength, and with one championship after another to shut all the opposition up.
Lu Ke knew this clearly, because it had been this way all the way from middle school to college and now to the professional field, and it would continue to be this way. The verbal conflict that happened at the Phoenix University Stadium this time was just the beginning. Even if the league gave its official support, and even if the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times both cheered him on, this war had just begun. In the games to come, Lu Ke would truly become the target of all racist people. Both on and off the field.
This also meant that Lu Ke now needed to be more focused, more dedicated, more desperate, and more crazy. He not only needed to further steadily improve his strength, but he also needed to take every game seriously and never allow any slack. Whether he was willing or not, he had already begun to carry history on his back, writing a new record on the football field, and every step was as heavy as a thousand pounds!
It was precisely because of this that the news in the league was so boisterous, grand, and fiery. The entire league and even the entire internet were discussing it heatedly. But as the center of attention, Lu Ke was far away from all the attention and focus, and was wholeheartedly invested in his daily training. After defeating the Arizona Cardinals in the last game, Lu Ke had a comprehensive harvest of mission rewards. One game mission and two special missions, all the burdens fell on Lu Ke's shoulders, and it was absolutely the most difficult challenge since the beginning of the season. But after going against the current and gritting his teeth to complete the missions, he was rewarded with a downpour of rewards in direct proportion.
This was exactly the most charming and wonderful part of competitive sports: you always get what you put in. Sweat, tears, and blood are directly proportional to smiles. This was definitely a worthwhile transaction. Talent determined the starting point, while hard work and effort defined the endpoint.
First, the game mission. He completed three passing touchdowns for a total of 3 base points. He completed a pass-and-run balance, with the running back advancing at least 50 yards in the first half for 1 base point. He completed the passing yards mission, with at least 100 passing yards in the first half for 1 base point. He completed the specified formation passing, with at least 30 yards gained in the fourth quarter in a screen pass or a two-by-two formation for 1 base point. In addition, he won the game for 3 base points. After confirming all the mission checklists, he received a total of 9 base points.
Next, the special missions.
The first special mission was "Provocation from Patrick Peterson, Contempt from Darnell Dockett." The mission had three requirements. The first was to beat Peterson twice. The second was to beat Dockett three times. The third was to control the interceptions. In the end, all the missions were successfully completed. As a result, Lu Ke naturally received 5 special points and 3 unknown special skill packs. At the same time, Lu Ke also successfully avoided this week's punishment, which included "Twitter rebuttal skill cooldown for one week." Although Lu Ke thought that this skill would not be used this week because he needed to keep a low profile, let Leigh handle the off-field matters, and focus on his training, avoiding punishment was always a good thing. What's more, this was not all.
Because Lu Ke's final mission completion effect far exceeded expectations, Dockett completely collapsed and was eventually injured and left the field. Peterson's defensive stats were terrible throughout the game, and he couldn't even force a single incomplete pass. His performance was sluggish. It was no exaggeration to say that Lu Ke's performance completely dominated the two defensive players. The system gave an additional reward: 1 base point. Something is better than nothing.
The second special mission was "A Crucial Battle for Playoff Contention." As the mission description stated, this game had a certain decisive effect on the direction of the entire season and the subsequent seasons. If the San Francisco 49ers had lost this game, they would still have the initiative to secure a playoff spot, but the Arizona Cardinals, who were in hot pursuit, would have brought more pressure and created more variables. On the other hand, now that the 49ers had won, the playoff spot was directly in their hands. The two results were as different as fire and ice.
The mission also had three requirements. The first was for the offense to gain 250 yards. The second was for the defense to create at least one turnover. The third was to win by at least three points. The most difficult part was the turnover created by the defense, not just because a turnover was hard to come by, but also because it was completely out of Lu Ke's control. He could not interfere with the defense's work. Fortunately, everything was successfully completed in the end. So, Lu Ke also reaped the corresponding rewards: 5 special points, 1 unknown special skill pack, and 1 team training skill pack.
In addition, the completion index of this mission also far exceeded the system's requirements. The offense gained more than 500 yards in total, the defense created four turnovers—including three interceptions and one fumble—and they won the game with a large margin of 31 points. The system also gave an additional reward: 1 base point. It was better than nothing. After everything was tallied, Lu Ke's harvest was as follows: 11 base points, 10 special points, 4 unknown special skill packs, and 1 team training skill pack.
Without a doubt, this was the game with the biggest harvest for Lu Ke since the beginning of the regular season. He had a comprehensive harvest. Although the number of base points was not the most, the significant improvement in other aspects meant that Lu Ke could be more prepared for the upcoming playoffs. It was no longer a theoretical possibility. The San Francisco 49ers were 100% sure to make it to the playoffs, which also meant that they had to start preparing for the playoffs. They couldn't take the remaining three games lightly. They also needed to slowly adjust their form to adapt to the intensity of the playoffs.
Lu Ke had paid attention to tennis matches before. Top players like Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer had a game plan and a rhythm when they participated in Grand Slam tournaments. They would slowly adjust their form one match at a time, and when it came to a crucial battle, they would be able to improve their form in time to fight for the final championship. It was clear that the basketball and football leagues were the same. The regular season and playoff forms were completely different. But the problem was, how to adjust?
For Lu Ke, even the regular season was a first-time experience, not to mention the playoffs. How to adjust his form in the last few weeks of the regular season and how to get into the zone in the playoffs were all blank pages. He couldn't even simulate it in his mind. Should he be more conservative in the last few weeks of the regular season? Should he save more energy to prepare for the playoffs? After all, after a long season, his energy and stamina had already reached their limit. To prepare for more intense games, they had to recharge. But it was not that simple. What if he lowered the intensity of his form in the last three weeks, and then he was too relaxed when he entered the playoffs and couldn't get into a high-intensity state? And what if he lost the last three games because he was too relaxed and then couldn't find the rhythm of winning in the playoffs? What would he do then?
The playoffs were exciting and nerve-wracking. Now, the huge change brought about by defeating the Arizona Cardinals was slowly becoming real, and it was pressing down on his chest. What was even more frustrating was that the San Francisco 49ers hadn't made it to the playoffs in eight years. From Alex Smith to Patrick Willis to head coach Jim Harbaugh, the entire team had no playoff experience. Although some players who were transferred to the team this season had some playoff experience, it was still a drop in the ocean. In other words, even if Lu Ke wanted to ask for advice, he couldn't find anyone to ask.
So, things went back to the beginning. He had to focus on improving his own strength, and then give it his all in every game, continuing to move forward in a crazy sprint, and see where he could get in the end. Regardless of success or failure, this would become the most valuable experience for the future, and at the same time, by giving it his all, he would have no regrets. Once again, Lu Ke put away his scattered thoughts, opened his personal stats panel, and prepared to allocate his points. Before officially allocating the points, Lu Ke noticed again that his physical stats had improved again. It was only then that he realized that a month had passed since he added strength training to his daily routine, and it had been three months since he first started the enhanced strength training. This was the third improvement. He could clearly and simply see the whole process of the complete and drastic changes in Lu Ke's physical stats from the data.
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