Chapter 980: An Advanced Mission
"I know."
Candice Swanepoel held her phone, reading the text ssage on the screen over and over again. It was only two simple words and a punctuation mark, but she read it again and again, as if she could see the confident, sunny smile of Lu Ke standing in the locker room at Candlestick Park through the lifeless text.
Wait, it wasn’t Candlestick Park, it was Gillette Stadium!
How could she have forgotten? This huge coback was completed at Gillette Stadium. That was the New England Patriots’ ho field. Only the players who were actually there could understand how much hardship, twists, and turns were hidden behind this victory.
Even though Candice was just standing by and watching quietly, she could feel the turbulent waves, not to ntion Lu Ke and his teammates who were facing all the difficulties head-on.
The past few weeks had undoubtedly been a tornt for Candice.
After learning about the locker room conflict, Candice was completely at a loss. She didn’t know how to solve the problem, let alone give Lu Ke advice. Although she had always believed in Lu Ke’s ability and that all problems would surely be solved, her helplessness as a bystander made her suffer.
To prepare for the new Victoria’s Secret fashion show season, Candice had to stay in New York and rehearse day after day. She had seriously considered abandoning her work and going to San Francisco to be with Lu Ke, but after thinking it over, she decided against it.
It wasn’t because she couldn’t bear to leave, but because it was unnecessary. Over the years, she and Lu Ke’s relationship had always been this way. They focused on their own work, gave each other enough space, and respected each other’s professions. Then, they found their own unique bond and comfort in their daily lives.
If she went to San Francisco on impulse, she would not be herself. What’s more, her arrival might disrupt Lu Ke’s rhythm of life, and she would still be helpless and unable to help. She might even do more harm than good.
So, although she could clearly and truly feel Lu Ke’s irritability and distress, the only thing she could do was not make a big fuss. Instead, she quietly stayed by Lu Ke’s side, welcod all the storms, and firmly believed that Lu Ke would eventually find a way to break the deadlock.
The daily emails beca a small window between her and Lu Ke. Occasionally, she would get a reply from Lu Ke, who would report on his "boring day," and Candice would read it over and over again with great interest, as if she could see the figure of him pouring his heart and soul into training, sweating under the scorching sun.
Until today.
She knew that Lu Ke could definitely do it. That’s just what she believed.
"I know." This was Lu Ke’s reply. Just two simple words, but it made the corners of Candice’s mouth curve up.
"Aha, gotcha!" Suddenly, soone reached out, grabbed the phone from Candice’s hand, and started to cause a commotion. "What kind of text ssage is that? Your face is so happy and sweet. Candy, you can’t be like this. We’re lonely old spinsters, and we’ll be jealous."
She turned around and saw the mischievous and playful expression of Karlie Kloss, who had just joined the modeling world this year, proudly showing off her prize.
On the other side, Adriana Lima ran over, snatched the phone from Karlie’s hand, aid at the screen, and excitedly read out loud, "I know."
After reading it, Adriana was completely dumbfounded. She thought she had read it wrong and rubbed her eyes to look again, but the answer was the sa. Then she looked at the one above it, "You did it."
Then she looked at the one above that, "Just do it!"
Adriana was full of question marks. "Candy, is this a sponsorship text from Nike?"
"What, what? What’s going on?" Karlie rushed over, unable to believe her ears. The other models also flocked over. "No way? Is that it? Candy, this doesn’t feel right! The text you were just reading shouldn’t have been this one."
Candice spread her hands, with an innocent look on her face. "Are you sure Karlie isn’t just imagining things?"
"..." Instantly, Karlie beca the center of attention. Karlie waved her hands repeatedly but found herself unable to defend herself. What... what was going on?
anwhile, at Foxboro, only three and a half hours away from New York, Lu Ke was still in the visiting team’s locker room at Gillette Stadium. He vaguely felt his ears itching, as if soone was talking bad about him behind his back.
But after thinking about it, the only answer was the ho team’s locker room. He had no idea that a single text ssage from him had caused a huge stir among the Victoria’s Secret Angels.
If it was the ho team’s locker room, then Lu Ke didn’t need to worry about it. He completed a series of post-ga procedures in an orderly manner. It wasn’t until he got into the ice bath that he summoned the system and began to check his gains from this ga.
First, the ga mission.
Completed touchdown passes: five. Base points added: five. Designated play usage: completed two or more short, dium, and long passes from the shotgun formation. Completed. Base points added: one. Controlled pass-run balance: run play ratio must be equal to or greater than 25%. Completed. Base points added: one. Tactical layout: connected with at least five different receiving targets. Completed. Base points added: one. Won the victory: completed. Base points added: three.
A total of eleven base points were earned.
Next, the special mission.
"Special Mission: Challenge Gillette Stadium."
During halfti, this special mission appeared, but it had a special note. This was a non-mandatory special mission with no failure penalty, because even if he failed, it would not have a crucial impact on the playoff outlook. But there was no doubt that victory was a huge turning point for the team. As long as they jumped over it, the team’s character could undergo a huge transformation.
Accordingly, the completion requirents for the special mission were also very strict. "Defeat the New England Patriots on the road; defeat quarterback Tom Brady on the road, winning at least three of the following categories: passing yards, completion rate, touchdowns, interceptions, quarterback rating, and PFF rating."
In the end, Lu Ke ca back to win the ga and defeated Brady in four categories: passing yards, touchdowns, quarterback rating, and PFF rating. While his completion rate and number of interceptions were not as good as Brady’s, he still successfully completed the "Challenge Gillette Stadium" special mission.
This also ant that Lu Ke had a huge harvest—two designated special skills, three special points, and nine base points.
High risk and high reward. This was always a double-edged sword. All of this made this ga the most rewarding one for Lu Ke in the entire season.
And this was not all.
Next was the hidden mission.
"Rectify the Locker Room, Level 3."
Mission description: After a heartbreaking loss in the NFC Championship Ga in his rookie season and a 14-ga winning streak in his sophomore season, the host has gradually beco an indispensable part of the locker room. But to grow into a true leader, you still need to prove yourself. Not just on the field or on the training ground, but even in the locker room, you must have absolute authority and dominance, and beco soone that every player looks up to and follows.
The locker room issues of a football team with a 53-man roster are complex and unpredictable, far more so than any other team sport. The team belongs to the players, and the players are precisely the most uncontrollable subjects. Every year, every season, and even every ga, the players’ mindset can change differently. Only a true team leader can minimize the negative impact of these changes.
Mission requirents: Establish yourself in the locker room and earn the respect and following of your teammates.
Mission rewards: Ultimate idle video-watching function, with regular summaries.
Failure penalty: None. This is a passively triggered mission.
Lu Ke had almost forgotten about the "Rectify the Locker Room" hidden mission.
This was undoubtedly one of the most important series of missions in the system. The first one was after the road loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, which was a Level 1 mission. The second one was the "Chicken Soup Battle" at ho against the Pittsburgh Steelers, which was a Level 2 mission.
In the blink of an eye, a year had passed.
This was not the most direct hidden mission that affected Lu Ke, but there was no denying that this was the most important mission in the unseen part of the ga. Whether it was the integration of the locker room or the idle video-watching function of the mission reward, these hidden additions were all indispensable components of victory.
The fact that Lu Ke could make such great progress in less than two seasons was due not only to his own efforts but also to the undeniable credit of the idle video-watching function.
He didn’t expect that just when he had forgotten about this hidden mission, it appeared again.
Just like the "Forge a King’s Heart" mission after the road win against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 8 of the regular season, that was also a series of missions that helped Lu Ke grow into the soul of the team step by step. And the "Rectify the Locker Room" mission helped Lu Ke grow into the core of the team step by step.
Now, the path to building a superstar quarterback in the system was gradually becoming clear. Lu Ke couldn’t help but sigh that the road of competitive sports was indeed full of difficulties. After climbing one big mountain, there was always another one waiting ahead, just like sailing against the current. You either move forward or you fall back.
Although the process was bumpy and full of thorns, in the end, the Level 3 mission of "Rectify the Locker Room" was successfully completed. This was undoubtedly the most difficult and most dangerous one. Everything that had happened in the past few weeks was still vivid in his mory. Fortunately, the result was ultimately a joyful one.
So, the next step should be "Forge a King’s Heart."
Support on Patreon: spatreon/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!
User Comments
0 comments from readers