People in America: My Uncle Don Quixote

Chapter 279 The King Has Arrived! (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

For a moment, Kim Ha-eun thought she had misheard.

She subconsciously looked up, and the next instant she realized: wasn't this clearly her eavesdropping on Anya and Elizabeth's conversation?

Fortunately, neither Anya nor Elizabeth were paying attention to her at the moment, which relieved her but also made her feel a little discouraged.

Anya didn't mishear; the smile on her face paused for a second.

She chuckled twice, then picked up her water glass: "Liz, your joke really scared me."

Elizabeth stared into Anya's eyes, then suddenly smiled. "Sorry, I misspoke for a moment," she said with a laugh. "I shouldn't have made that joke."

As they spoke, the two women laughed again.

Really? Kim Ha-eun thought to herself.

Because they were speaking the truth without any concealment, they spoke without thinking.

Anya wanted to say something more, but a sudden low-frequency rumble interrupted her.

"boom!!!"

The four cannons atop the stadium fired simultaneously with tremendous force, followed by a burst of dense fireworks erupting from the launch pads at the four corners of the stadium, exploding into huge blue-white orbs of light against the hazy winter sky.

JAY-Z's "Empire State of Mind" bursts forth from the sound array with an almost violent volume, New York—New York—the name of the city is shouted simultaneously by 82500 throats.

"Let's go," Anya stood up, "Let's see, the competition has started."

The conversation seemed to have never happened. Elizabeth followed, and the two walked side by side to the floor-to-ceiling window.

Don Quixote was already standing there, his hands resting on the glass frame, waiting for his most prized and proudest nephew to make his appearance.

Kim Ha-eun took off her headphones and was the last to walk to the glass, standing behind Anya and Elizabeth.

At that moment, all the stadium lights suddenly went out.

82500 people took out their phones and glow sticks, creating a blue-gold galaxy.

A well-produced entrance video began playing on the giant LED screen—the footage started with an aerial view of New York City, passing by the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and Central Park, before finally arriving at a panoramic view of the Metropolitan Life Stadium.

At the end of the short film, a line of bold white text appears in the center of the black screen:

[The King has arrived!]

The lights in the players' tunnel came on, and a blinding white light shone from the tunnel, illuminating a figure with a helmet tucked under his arm.

He walked at a moderate pace, as if taking a leisurely stroll while facing the giant screen camera.

Jersey number 1.

Li Wei.

The fans suddenly stood up in unison, everyone started clapping, and everyone was chanting the same name.

"King! King! King!"

"Li Wei! Li Wei! Li Wei!"

Clapping once for each shout.

It sounded like a war drum.

"Daaaaaah..." Park Soo-yeon held a glass of champagne, looking at the big screen, "I'd be willing to gain 20 pounds to work for a boss like that."

"That's true..." Jessie had to admit that at this moment she was a 10-year Levi fan.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the NFL Championship Game!" Joe Buck's voice rang out simultaneously on tens of millions of television and mobile phone screens. "I'm Joe Buck! Sitting next to me is my partner, Hall of Famer Troy Ackerman."

"Troy," he turned to his partner, "before we officially begin, I want to ask you a question—have you ever seen a team go an entire season, from the regular season to the playoffs, without losing a single game?"

Troy Ekman leaned back in his chair, twirling a pen in his hand.

"Joe, to be honest, I've never seen it," he said, slowly shaking his head as he looked at Levi on the screen. "Back in my day, even the most dominant Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers couldn't go undefeated all season. But the New York Giants—or more accurately, Levi—are making the impossible possible."

"If they beat the Chiefs and make it to the Super Bowl," Joe Buck chimed in, his eyes fixed intently on the camera, "they'll go into the Super Bowl with a perfect record. Troy, what does that mean?"

This means...

'

Troy paused for a moment. "This means Joe Buck is going to make a fortune again."

Joe Buck paused for a moment, then burst into laughter. "How did you know I bet on the Giants winning the Super Bowl if they went all out?"

"You really bought it?" Troy's eyes widened. "I should have bought it too!" He then said with a laugh, "Just kidding. If they win the Super Bowl, they will be the first, and possibly the last, team in NFL history to win the championship with a perfect record in a single season."

"The New England Patriots went 16-0 in the 2007 regular season, but lost in the Super Bowl to—coincidentally—the New York Giants!"

Troy Ackerman himself laughed, "And this year's Giants went further than that Patriots team. If they do, it will be a record that can never be replicated. Those who come after can only try to catch up."

It's unsurpassable. Because you can't be more perfect than "unbeatable."

"And at the heart of all this is that 19-year-old—Levy," Joe Buck took a deep breath. "Let's keep our eyes peeled and look forward to today's game. Can the Giants defeat the resurgent Kansas City Chiefs? What kind of challenge will they pose to the Giants? Will your old buddy Joe Buck hit the jackpot and become a millionaire? Let's wait and see!"

Chiefs head coach Andy Reed has certainly presented a challenge.

Moreover, this is the most targeted challenge among all opponents this season.

At the start of the match, the Chiefs abandoned their usual formation of 4 in front and 3 in back or 3 in front and 4 in back, and instead opted for a formation where all six players pushed forward to block Li Wei's path.

Their intention was very clear: to prevent Li Wei from having any room to maneuver.

After receiving the ball, Li Wei scanned the entire field and found that all the routes for the ball to run were blocked.

He tried to turn and pass, but the Chiefs' safety had already retreated to the back, tightly guarding the wide receiver O.

Dapol stood on the sidelines, looking rather grim.

Their tactical logic was very clear: they used six players to block Levi's best-kept ball-carrying attacks, while using the remaining players to specifically mark long passing routes. The intention behind this was to clearly tell the Giants: you don't need to specifically mark anyone except Levi.

Chief of Kansas City: Did you hear that? You're all trash except for Levi.

Giants: You're absolutely right.

Dapol stood on the sidelines, looking rather grim.

He noticed the way Li Wei was looking at him and silently shook his head.

At the end of the first quarter, the Chiefs trailed the Giants 14-3.

"What do you mean, Coach? Let me try a head-on confrontation?"

On the bench, Li Wei spoke to head coach Dapol.

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Dapol looked at Levi with some concern. "What if you get injured before the Super Bowl...? They're playing mind games, betting that you won't dare to take the plunge."

"It's alright," Li Wei said casually. "It looks like if I can't break through, I'll probably have to go straight home."

Sometimes playing basketball can be quite exhausting for Li Wei. Despite having the physique and strength of the Hulk, he can only use a tiny bit of power.

At the start of the second quarter, everyone noticed that the Giants' offensive style had changed.

Li Wei stopped trying to pass the ball and stopped trying to get around the wall of players.

Since there was no way to get around it and his teammates couldn't be relied on, Li Wei had no choice but to stick to his previous tactics.

Head-on clash!

On his first offensive possession, he received the ball and charged straight toward the center of the Chiefs' six-man front line.

"Bang!"

The 320-pound defensive tackle was knocked back a step, dragging his heel on the grass, while Levi used the gap created by that step to squeeze through sideways.

Although the six players quickly intercepted Li Wei, they still managed to push him forward by a full five yards.

There was no way around it; Li Wei could actually get up, but that would be too inhumane, and it definitely wouldn't work.

Even so, Li Wei's head-on approach yielded remarkable results.

Second gear, same position, same direction.

The Chiefs added a linebacker to cover, but Levi remained undeterred, charging through the gap between the two defenders like an angry bull.

5 yards!

"Holy crap!" Joe Buck slammed his fist on the table and yelled, "He went for the kill! He broke through a six-man front line! The Levi from the beginning of the season is back!"

"That's bravery, Joe," Troy remarked. "If he had been injured and unable to participate in the Super Bowl, the pressure and backlash would have been immense, but Levi withstood it."

"This is what the audience wants to see!" Joe Buck yelled. "That's why they call him King!"

'

The reaction in the stadium confirmed Troy's words.

Every time Li Wei stood up from the crowd, the stands would erupt in a cheer that was even more frenzied than the last time.

The Chiefs' defensive coordinator has started arguing with the coach.

The six-man front line formation was a gamble on trading defensive depth for offensive thickness, and on the belief that Li Wei and the coaching staff would be hesitant to attack aggressively for fear of Li Wei getting injured.

But Li Wei not only dared to do it, he also repeatedly crushed them head-on.

In the 9th minute of the second quarter, Kansas's defensive front line developed gaps due to fatigue.

On the next offensive possession, as soon as Li Wei made a feint, the forward reflexively lunged forward. They then saw Li Wei suddenly stop and lean back, his right arm drawing an arc.

A 50-yard pass! The ball arced perfectly through the air and landed precisely in the wide receiver's arms.

Touchdown!

"Beautiful!" Joe Buck slammed his fist on the table. "He spent an entire quarter wearing down the Chiefs, all for this moment! A 50-yard depth charge! Touchdown!"

In the second half, the Chiefs were forced to abandon the frontline tactics they had been studying for two whole weeks and revert to their regular defensive system.

He chose to bet everything on Mahomes.

And this former best quarterback since Tom Brady, who was once hailed as the greatest quarterback of his generation, seemed to unleash his full potential in this game.

He played everything he could.

Two incredible passes advanced the ball to the Giants' 30-yard line, and then a perfect fake run and pass fooled the Giants' safety, resulting in a touchdown.

In this match, Levi and Mahomes went back and forth, with the Giants often taking the lead, only for the Chiefs to catch up after a while.

Until the final quarter, with two minutes remaining in the game, the Chiefs and Giants were still locked in a tight battle.

38: 38.

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