What the Hell Does It Mean to Carry Two People for a Touchdown?!

Li Wei looked at Travis's confident expression and, noncommittally, took a bite of the fried chicken, which felt overwhelmingly floury.

Damn, this bite feels like it's half breadcrumbs! Li Wei silently complained to himself, quickly swallowing the chicken.

"Trust me, I played in the amateur youth league in Brooklyn before," Travis lowered his voice and pointed toward the area of the cafeteria where the athletes were laughing the loudest and acting the most boisterous. "Those guys are jerks. They love bullying newcomers, especially Asians like you. When we go for the tryouts later, just stay behind me, and I'll protect you."

Li Wei smiled and didn't argue.

At 2:00 PM, the scorching sun of late August in New York was still blistering, and the air was filled with the scent of dry dust mixed with freshly mown grass.

The walls surrounding the Franklin K. Lane High School field were covered in layers of graffiti, making the place look more like a prison than a high school.

[You have arrived at the "Duel Court"]

[This is a place for upholding the honor of knights and resolving disputes. To defend the glory of the knights, conflicts often erupt here.]

"Bang!"

Li Wei and Travis watched the center of the field, where two black teenagers, built like iron towers, slammed into each other. The sound of their helmets colliding was piercingly sharp in the empty field.

Li Wei recognized one of the fully armored teenagers; it was Manu, the defensive tackle he had bumped into at the gym earlier.

"Hey! You two! What are you doing?"

From under a sun umbrella, amidst a group of football players, a middle-aged black man wearing a gray athletic tank top and a whistle around his neck pushed his way out.

His skin was dark, his arms covered in bulging, weathered muscle, and his eyes behind his sunglasses swept over Li Wei and Travis with dissatisfaction.

"If you have nothing to do, don't disturb our training," he said with a harsh tone. "Or are you here for tryouts?"

"Travis Watson! I want to try out for running back or safety!" Travis said loudly. "I played in the Brooklyn youth league before."

"I remember you, I have a bit of an impression of you," Coach Miller looked Travis over. "You're exempt, you're on the team. Come for formal training after school starts."

"As for you..." He turned to look at Li Wei, then slapped his forehead. "Kid, this isn't the Olympic math competition team. I don't need a nerd who only knows how to wipe his nose with a tissue."

The group of football-armored athletes behind him burst into a roar of laughter.

"My name is Li Wei," Li Wei said calmly. "I want to try out for quarterback."

As soon as these words were spoken, not only did the athletes watching the show erupt into even louder laughter, but even Coach Miller couldn't help but let out a snort of amusement.

Simply put, football is divided into an offensive unit and a defensive unit. Both units compete for the ball, each hoping their players can carry it into the opponent's end zone to score.

Manu's position is called a defensive tackle, responsible for holding the line against the opponent's offense and preventing them from entering his half of the field; it is the position with the most strength and weight on the entire team.

Travis's position is called a running back, responsible for breaking through the defensive half when on offense; it is a position that requires higher demands for strength and running speed.

The core of the entire team is undoubtedly the quarterback. Their skill requirements are more comprehensive, responsible for directing who marks whom and who breaks through whom. They are the brain of the team and, when necessary, can carry the ball themselves to break through the opponent's defensive line.

Coach Miller laughed for a good while before stopping.

"Hmm... kid," he looked at the lean-bodied Li Wei. "Have you played football before?"

Li Wei shook his head.

"But you still need to try out for quarterback?"

Li Wei nodded.

"Listen, since you have no track record and haven't played quarterback before," Miller said, suppressing a laugh, "there is no way I'm letting you take charge."

"Then can you give me a chance?" Li Wei remained unmoved. "How should I prove myself?"

Coach Miller turned to look at the field, picked up the whistle hanging around his neck, and blew it sharply, calling over several defensive starters who looked like black iron towers. A cruel curve tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"On my team, a quarterback doesn't just need to throw the ball; he needs to survive in front of beasts weighing over 120 kilograms," Miller tucked his clipboard under his arm. "Since you think you can do it, let's play something simple. Red zone offense and defense, five yards to go. You carry the ball; as long as you can enter the end zone, I'll give you a chance."

[You have triggered a mission in the "Duel Court": Triumphant Return!]

[A knight must use true strength to shatter the doubts of others. Triumphant Return!]

[Mission Reward: Free Attribute Point +0.1]

[Hidden Reward: Depending on the level of strength displayed, you may receive an additional reward of up to 0.1 free attribute points.]

Travis, standing to the side, heard this outrageous demand, his eyes widening as he prepared to speak, but Li Wei stopped him.

"Is this racial discrimination against me?" Li Wei carefully looked at the few big guys, each two sizes larger than himself. "As far as I know, the ability of a quarterback doesn't require powerful breakthrough capabilities."

"Discrimination? No, as long as you can prove your strength, I treat every damn race the same. As long as you're a spineless coward, I'll kick your ass," Miller shrugged. "This is my team! I call the shots on my team; even if the principal came here, he couldn't change my decision."

"Fuck your mother, you stupid nigger."

Li Wei said calmly in Chinese.

"But is that what you said? As long as I can score a touchdown, I get on the team?"

He switched back to English.

"That's right," Miller knew Li Wei was cursing him, but he didn't care; instead, he gloated. "I keep my word."

"Wait, Coach, I have something!" Manu suddenly recognized Li Wei, his face changing drastically. He immediately raised his hand to signal. "Coach, I need to use the bathroom!"

"You idiot, you're the only one with so much shit and piss, get lost!" Miller was dissatisfied and picked another defensive tackle, slightly smaller than Manu. "Tony, you go!"

"Are there any communal pads?" Li Wei accepted readily. "You don't expect me to take the hits with my bare body, do you?"

Although Miller looked down on Li Wei from the bottom of his heart, he didn't dare let him go on the field without protection. He had an athlete bring a spare set of pads for Li Wei to wear and even gave him a brand-new mouthguard.

Then, he had the three defensive tackles take their positions, standing side-by-side on the five-yard line, blocking almost all the sunlight from Li Wei's line of sight.

The moment Miller put the whistle to his lips, Li Wei activated [Berserk]!

[Strength 1.8]--[Strength 3.6]

[Constitution 1.5]--[Constitution 3.0]

[Agility 1.6]--[Agility 3.2]

"Thump—thump—thump—"

Li Wei could clearly hear his own heartbeat. His entire body felt as if it had been ignited, and the sound of blood rushing through his vessels was like a great river.

"Start!"

With a blast of Coach Miller's whistle, Li Wei launched himself like an ignited cannonball. Holding the ball, he charged straight toward the center of the defensive line, following the simple principle that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

Tony, in the middle, felt a blur before his eyes. Before he could react, he felt as if he were flying, his body uncontrollably soaring to the side.

His weight of over 120 kilograms was like paper in front of Li Wei, mercilessly knocked aside to create an opening.

The two tackles on the sides saw this and lunged from the flanks like madmen. One wrapped his arms around Li Wei's waist, while the other jumped up and hung onto Li Wei's shoulders, trying to pin him to the ground.

This was a common tactic in football—using a pile-on to pin someone down and break the enemy's offense.

However, under the heavy pressure, Li Wei's footsteps only paused for less than half a second.

With the 3.6 strength boost, his power had completely transcended human limits. His legs moved frantically like hydraulic pistons, and he pushed forward like a bulldozer at full power, forcibly pushing the two "mountains of meat" backward!

No matter how the two tackles, with a combined weight of over 500 pounds, tried to resist—even with their cleats dug deep into the turf—they were like a mantis trying to stop a chariot in the face of Li Wei's strength.

Their weight was their wall, but today, in front of Li Wei, that so-called wall was as ridiculous as a mound of dirt washed away by a tsunami.

One step! Two steps! Three steps!

When Li Wei took his final step, leaning his center of gravity forward, and slammed down into the end zone with the two men still hanging off him, the entire field fell into a deathly silence.

[Mission Complete: Triumphant Return!]

[This was a perfect, crushing victory!]

[Reward: Free Attribute Point +0.2]