After graduating from high school, Lu Ke received acceptance letters from five universities due to his excellent grades and outstanding personal essays. He ultimately chose UCLA's Communication Studies program, one of the main reasons being the university's long-standing football tradition, which would allow him to continue his football dreams.
Los Angeles is an expensive city, and tuition plus living expenses was a significant burden. Although Lu Ke's parents were immigrants, they were not "investor immigrants" but rather "technical immigrants." His father was a programmer and his mother was an accountant. They had achieved immigration through their own abilities, and while their lives were stable, they were far from wealthy.
To save on living expenses and to experience American college life, Lu Ke chose to share an apartment. It was a three-bedroom apartment, and besides him and Logan, there was another guy, Jay Fox.
Jay was a classmate of Lu Ke's from the same major and year. They were assigned to the same group for a project in a freshman communication class, and over time, they became friends and then roommates.
When Lu Ke and Logan got back to the apartment, Jay was in the living room playing a video game, his eyes glued to the screen. He casually greeted them, "Practice over? Want to play a round? Relax a bit."
"I'm in!" Logan was the first to jump over to the tattered sofa, finding a comfortable spot. They had picked up the worn-out, yet very comfortable, sofa from the side of the road. It was a perfect place to curl up.
Normally, Lu Ke would have joined them to relax for a while. But today, he had more important things to do. He greeted his two roommates and went back to his room. Once he sat down, he eagerly summoned the system and immediately noticed the unread message in the top-left corner.
He thought for a moment, then opened the inbox. There was one unread message. When he opened it, it contained a single sentence: "Daily Training Task: Endurance run, 10,000 meters. Time Limit: None. Reward: Base Points +1."
Lu Ke's eyes lit up. His previous confusion was now answered. Base points could be earned by completing tasks. He took it a step further: "Little Seven? Besides daily training tasks, are there other types of tasks?"
"Yes. Task categories are divided into daily tasks, match tasks, and special tasks," Little Seven's professional voice dutifully explained. "Each task has a corresponding reward."
"Task interface." Lu Ke simply thought the words in his mind, and the system page switched. It was the same translucent blue interface with three tabs: Daily Tasks, Match Tasks, and Special Tasks.
Based on the previous pattern, the three-on-three challenge was a match task, and now he had a daily task. So, what about special tasks?
As if sensing Lu Ke's question, Little Seven explained, "The special tasks option is not currently available."
Lu Ke laughed wryly. "You can be honest. I'm not good enough yet, and I won't get my feelings hurt." He wasn't even a substitute player; the match task was a fluke. How could he possibly trigger a special task? So, he shouldn't rush. He needed to be practical and take it one step at a time. At least now he knew how to get base points.
Although Lu Ke was itching to start training right away, he knew that haste makes waste. After such a long and eventful day, what he needed most was a good rest to recharge. He would start his official training first thing tomorrow morning.
So, Lu Ke decided to relax. He opened his door and shouted at his two roommates on the sofa, "Guys, save a spot for me. Let me teach you a lesson and dominate this game!"
"Get lost." "Come on, I'll play you. I'll make you beg for mercy." "Come and try it. I'll beat you so badly you won't know what hit you."
The next morning, around 5:30, Lu Ke was already up. He changed into his workout clothes and left the apartment to start his jog.
Los Angeles is a sunny city with spring-like weather all year round. The wide streets, tall palm trees, and low-rise houses give the whole city a bright and open feel, a stark contrast to San Francisco's quaint and bustling style. Lu Ke's apartment was in West Hollywood, only a fifteen-minute drive from the UCLA campus. Every morning, he would see many joggers, all shedding sweat to start their new day.
Endurance running was a part of daily football training, but it wasn't the most critical component. Compared to endurance, short-distance sprinting, short bursts of power, and explosive acceleration were more important. So, their usual training mostly involved 1,000 or 2,000 meters, with two sets usually being enough.
He wasn't sure if it was a mental thing, but because he was thinking about completing the task, he constantly calculated the distance he had run. After only 1,500 meters, Lu Ke felt his breathing become a little erratic, and he seemed to be using up his energy faster than usual. Endurance was Lu Ke's most prominent physical stat, so he wasn't about to give up easily.
He decided to let go of the burden of the task for a while and focus entirely on the morning run. He stopped counting the distance and simply focused on running, going all the way from West Hollywood to the Santa Monica Pier. From a distance, he could see the clear blue sky above, and the pale pink sunlight was slowly turning to gold, reflecting off the endless ocean. The shimmering water created a beautiful, miraculous glow.
The tranquility of the early morning, the clamor of the ocean, the quiet of the sunrise, and the awakening of the pier—that vibrant energy, a mix of noise and quiet, came to him on the sea breeze. He couldn't help but spread his arms, letting the fierce wind pass through his hands, turning into wings that lifted him up to embrace the intoxicating beauty before him.
Completely immersed in the exercise, drenched in sweat, his mind became clear. It was a great feeling, so much so that Lu Ke couldn't help but cheer at the waves. "Ah!" The hot, stale air in his chest was released, and he felt refreshed in both mind and body.
His feet stopped at the end of the pier. Bathed in the sun and sea breeze, Lu Ke looked down at his watch and realized he had been running for a full hour. After stabilizing his breathing, he summoned the system again and noticed a new message in the inbox in the top-left corner. He opened it, and sure enough—
Task completed.
"Congratulations, you have completed your Daily Training Task and earned Base Points +1."
After confirming, the Base Points in the top-right corner changed from "0" to "1." Before Lu Ke could decide how to use the point, another task appeared with a "ding" sound. Without a doubt, a new daily training task had popped up.
He opened it to read, and the content was much more complex this time.
Daily Training Task:
Endurance run: 10,000 meters.Weighted squats: 3 sets, 10 reps per set.Sit-ups: 3 sets, 10 reps per set.Pull-ups: 3 sets, 10 reps per set.Bench presses: 3 sets, 15 reps per set.Footwork drills: 3 sets, 15 rounds per set.Quick single-arm throws: 5 sets, 20 reps per set.Kneeling throws: 5 sets, 20 reps per set.Uniform-speed throws on the run: 5 sets, 20 reps per set.40-yard shuttle run: 3 sets, 10 rounds per set.Time Limit: 3 consecutive days (0/3).Reward: Base Points +1.
The list of tasks was dizzying. Lu Ke saw that these were all basic quarterback training exercises; there was no special technical content, just basic skills training. But the first task was only one thing—an endurance run. Now it had become... ten things. This was a tenfold increase, and it was a bit overwhelming.
More importantly, "Little Seven, what does '3 consecutive days' mean?" Lu Ke noticed this key detail. He already had an idea, but he needed Little Seven to confirm it.
"The tasks must be completed for three consecutive days, with all exercises completed each day. If the task is interrupted, it will reset to zero, and you must start over," Little Seven's answer confirmed Lu Ke's suspicion. He couldn't help but rub his forehead and asked further, "So, will the next daily task have even more exercises? And not just basic ones, but technical ones too?"
"Yes," Little Seven answered simply.
The tasks would become more numerous, more difficult, and more specialized. This was no surprise. The effort and hardship required to become a top-tier quarterback were far beyond what most people could imagine. To be precise, reaching the pinnacle of any field is no easy feat.
He had persevered for all these years, from high school to college, turning his hobby into a dream and his amateur pursuit into a professional one—at least, he was trying to become a professional. Even when he became a practice player, he never gave up. So now, he had even less reason to quit. On the contrary, he would work even harder.
Right now, on the Santa Monica Pier, he couldn't do the drills that required a football, but he could try the basic exercises, like pull-ups.
Next to the pier, Lu Ke found a row of horizontal bars. He grabbed one, flexed his arms, and started doing pull-ups. Ten pull-ups for one set was not a difficult task. He finished the first set, rested for a bit, then did the second, followed by the third. Thirty pull-ups were done quickly.
He summoned the system again but found no unread messages. Was it because the whole task wasn't completed yet? But when he opened the task page and looked closely, he saw that the pull-ups option had a new set of numbers next to it: (6/30).
If he understood correctly, this set of numbers meant he had only completed six pull-ups. But the problem was, he had definitely done thirty pull-ups. His math was good, and he certainly hadn't miscounted, so why did it only show six?
"Little Seven? Little Seven?" Lu Ke frowned, calling for help.
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