Chapter 955: United as One

"You said, victory?"

"I said, victory!"

For the first time in his career, Randy Moss placed all his trust on the shoulders of this young and naive second-year quarterback. They weren’t just teammates on a football team; they were comrades fighting side by side. This trust and bond was something he had never felt even with the New England Patriots.

Because for Belichick, it was a game, but for Lu Ke, it was a war.

A game is about winning, and a war is about life and death. A game is about numbers and profit, while a war is about dreams and passion. A game has a way out, but a war must be fought head-on. This kind of passion, life, excitement, and warmth was so foreign yet so intense to Randy Moss.

He finally found the reason why he made a comeback!

Moss firmly placed his right hand on top of Lu Ke’s.

Then, Logan Newman and Marcus Lynch also stood up and walked toward Lu Ke with determination, placing their right hands on top of theirs. No extra words were needed. The eye contact and the warmth of their hands said more than a thousand words. The three musketeers from UCLA were standing together again, fighting for victory!

Mike Iupati, Joe Staley, Jonathan Goodwin, Anthony Davis, and Alex Boone, the starters and backups of the offensive line, all stood up and walked toward Lu Ke. They surrounded him, forming a circle. As the quarterback’s protectors, they had never questioned Lu Ke and would never question him.

Then came Patrick Willis, Ahmad Brooks, and David Akers.

Then came the other players from the offense.

Then came the backup players from the special teams.

Finally, all the players from the defense.

Three layers, and then three more layers, and then three more layers. All 53 players, with Lu Ke and Moss at the center, gathered in circles. Not a single person was missing. The players in the middle put their hands on top of each other, and the players behind them put their hands on each other’s shoulders. The entire team was truly united as one.

Once again, Lu Ke spoke.

"If you have any curse words, say them now. If you have any dissatisfaction, vent it now. This is your last chance!" It wasn’t an emotional, inspirational speech, or a touching, sentimental speech, but... a cuss word?

Lu Ke once again did the unexpected, and he was the first to do it. "F*ck! Aldon! If you don’t learn to control your temper and get another yellow flag, your training will be increased by 50%! And all of our teammates will be watching!"

"F*ck! That’s not fair!" Aldon immediately protested. "Randy was the one who provoked me, okay? Get out of here, Randy Moss! Don’t tell me what to do! You know nothing about defense!"

"F*ck! With your terrible skills, I can’t even say anything?" Moss didn’t back down.

One after another, one word after another, all the anger and dissatisfaction erupted and were released at this moment. More and more came out. Everyone couldn’t help but vent. The emotions that had been building up in the locker room for three weeks, and the pressure that had been building up for even longer, finally found an outlet.

Finally, Lu Ke yelled again, "We want!"

The first time, no one heard him because they were too invested and too carried away. Everyone was venting, their faces were red, and their eyes were glaring, but the emotions deep in their eyes were getting brighter and clearer. Without them realizing it, a smile quietly appeared on their faces. But Lu Ke still didn’t give up.

Once, and then again.

"We want!"

Logan, Marcus, and the guys from the offensive line immediately understood what Lu Ke meant, so they followed his lead. "Victory!"

Then came Moss. After a moment of confusion, he suddenly understood and followed Lu Ke’s rhythm and started to chant.

Gradually, the ripple turned into a wave.

"We want!"

"Victory!"

"We want!"

"Victory!"

Finally, they all yelled the same word in unison. "Victory! Victory! Victory!"

So what if they were down by 27 points? So what if they had no advantage playing on the road? So what if their opponent was the New England Patriots?

They will fight for this victory until the end!

This seemed to be the best moment for the entire team since the 2012 season. After going through a storm and overcoming setbacks, all the impatience and anxiety had settled down. It was as if they had returned to their energetic and youthful state of last season, starting from scratch and going for the top goal again.

But their opponent in this game was the New England Patriots. The 49ers would never be able to win by just using mental tricks.

Uniting and improving their form were just the first steps. Now, the team needed to find more tactical breakthroughs. After that, the team still needed to go onto the field and defeat the weather and the home fans, and execute the plan to get a glimmer of hope—a very faint glimmer of hope.

"Bambi, what do we do now?"

After the cheering and roaring, they all looked at each other, still a little lost, not knowing what to do next. All eyes were on Lu Ke.

Lu Ke shrugged without any burden. "Open the locker room door, call in the coaches. The offense goes to the offense, and the defense goes to the defense. There’s not much time left in the halftime break. We need to quickly figure out our strategy. We didn’t get any tactical advantage in the first half."

It was no secret in the team that Jim Harbaugh was not good at handling locker room issues and often ran away. Sometimes, when faced with chaos in the locker room, the coaches would just stand outside the door and smoke, leaving everything to the three captains to resolve. This was not the first or second time this had happened.

Justin Smith, who was standing closer to the door, turned around and opened it. As expected, he saw the coaches pretending to have a temporary meeting. It was as if they had no idea what was happening in the locker room. They just happened to be in a meeting, so they didn’t come into the locker room right away.

"Oh, Justin. We’ll be right there, 10 seconds, just 10 more seconds," Jim Harbaugh said, pretending to be calm after realizing his whereabouts had been exposed.

But he was really not a good actor.

His awkward acting was so bad that even the Golden Raspberry Awards would feel bad giving him one. His fellow coaches couldn’t stand it and started to secretly laugh, but Harbaugh still went through with his act. "Alright, that’s it. Let’s go in and plan our strategy now." Then he turned and walked into the locker room.

Everyone burst out laughing!

The halftime break seemed incredibly long, but in reality, it was over in a flash.

The 49ers’ tactical meeting had not even ended yet when the team staff came over to remind them that the second half was about to begin and they needed to get ready.

"Game tasks:

Complete a passing touchdown in the game; Requirements: none; Rewards: base points +1 for each touchdown.Complete specified tactical usage rate in the game; Requirements: complete two or more passes each in short, medium, and long passes from the shotgun formation; Rewards: base points +1.Effectively control the pass-run balance in the game; Requirements: run-play ratio must be equal to or greater than 25%; Rewards: base points +1.Complete tactical layout in the game; Requirements: complete a connection with at least five different receivers; Rewards: base points +1.Win the game; Requirements: none; Rewards: base points +3."

Before the game started, Lu Ke could only get limited information from the game tasks. But after the turmoil of the first half, everything gradually became clear.

To put it simply, he needed to show a variety of tactical plays, combining long and short passes, balancing passes and runs, and spreading the ball around. He not only needed to change the pace of the offense but also had to be firm in his approach and firmly control the game.

To be honest, Lu Ke was a little nervous in the first half. The team’s form and locker room issues were part of the reason, and the weather in Foxborough was another part. Lu Ke felt that his weapons were failing. That feeling of insecurity inevitably led to mistakes in his defensive judgments and passing choices, further magnifying the team’s instability.

In the second half, Lu Ke needed to be 200% focused.

Just before he was about to go on the field, a special task also appeared.

"Special Task: Challenge Gillette Stadium.

Task description: Facing the New England Patriots, facing Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, facing the most stable team of the past decade, and facing the strongest team of the new century with a deep foundation and outstanding strength, the matchup at Gillette Stadium can be said to be the biggest challenge of this season. From the weather to their strength, and from their form to their mentality, the San Francisco 49ers are at a complete disadvantage.

A loss will not affect their playoff prospects, but a victory can give them a complete transformation of confidence, making them a truly strong team, like a fish leaping over a dragon’s gate. So, how should the host choose? Fight for victory with all your might? Or save your strength?

Task requirements: Defeat the New England Patriots on the road; defeat quarterback Tom Brady in at least three of the following categories: passing yards, completion percentage, touchdowns, interceptions, quarterback rating, and PFF rating.

Task rewards: specified special skills +2; special points +3; base points +9.

Penalty for failure: none.

Note: This is not a mandatory task."

For the first time, a special task had no penalty for failure. As the task description said, a loss would not mean the season was completely ruined, but a victory would be a great opportunity for the team to transform. No penalty for failure meant that the system was also in an open state.

But for Lu Ke, there was no other answer. He was going to get this victory!

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