The entire locker room was filled with joy, and no one was an exception. They knew this was just a playoff victory, and they knew the next game would be even more difficult. But they also knew the season was not over, so they celebrated to their heart's content. After today, they would start preparing for the next game again.
The offensive and defensive players teamed up and made Lu Ke pay, completely drenching him in champagne. He was soaked from head to toe, and even his shoes felt like two small boats, making him walk with a clumsy, wobbly gait. Then, Patrick Willis, being incredibly sly, kept shouting, "Be careful with our quarterback!" while also cheering them on. He even brought over ice buckets to escalate the battle, completely abandoning his usual low-key and steady demeanor, which led to a total mess.
The coaching staff didn't dare to enter the locker room. As soon as they opened the door, they quickly closed it and ran away. But a few players saw the coaches' sneaky behavior and started a chase with small buckets of ice, chasing the coaches down. It was a magnificent sight.
When all the players finally finished celebrating and started their post-game recovery, 40 minutes had already passed. Lu Ke sat in the ice bath, with thick ice packs strapped to his arm muscles. He slowly relaxed. After his tense nerves loosened up, he almost fell asleep. It seemed he had completely adapted to the rhythm of the ice bath, but just before he drifted off to sleep, a bone-chilling cold shot up his spine, and he woke up again.
He let out a long breath and pulled himself together, starting to review the rewards he had received from this game. After putting in all that hard work, it was now time to reap the rewards.
This was Lu Ke's first playoff game in his career, and the game tasks had a rare surge. There were eight task options, which was far more than usual for the regular season. It was a challenge, but also an opportunity. Fortunately, Lu Ke seized the opportunity and successfully redeemed the task rewards. High risk naturally came with high rewards.
First pass, complete, special points plus one. First touchdown, complete, special points plus one. Five touchdowns, complete, special points plus five. Improve passing success rate in the first half, at least 60% completion rate, complete, special points plus one. Avoid interception in the first half, two or less interceptions, complete, special points plus one.
Complete passes in designated areas in the second half, at least two passes of 30+ yards, at least three sideline passes, complete, special points plus one. Complete passes in a designated formation in the second half, at least 80 yards gained from shotgun formation, complete, special points plus one.
Additionally, winning the first playoff game, complete, gold points plus two. After checking everything, he had received a total of 11 special points and 2 gold points.
Besides the game tasks, there was also a special task, "Challenge and Confrontation of an Elite Quarterback."
This task had appeared early, even before the game officially began, and the course of the game proved it. His full attention had to be on the game at all times. Although no special task appeared during the game, Drew Brees's presence alone meant that every part of the game had to be taken seriously.
"Task requirement: Surpass Drew Brees in any two of the following five stats: passing completion rate, passing yards, passing touchdowns, interceptions, and quarterback rating."
This was clearly a one-on-one battle between Lu Ke and Brees. This season, Brees's passing skills and game performance had reached an incredible peak. He had set new career highs in all his stats. Even though the New Orleans Saints lost the game, it was mostly due to the poor performance of their defense. Brees was still a difficult quarterback to beat. Two weeks ago, at the end of the regular season, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees were the two front-runners for this season's MVP. Of course, Lu Ke was one of the contenders as well, but the attention was mostly on the two elite quarterbacks. The difficulty of completing such a special task was self-evident.
But in reality, Lu Ke, who was on fire in this game, not only wasn't intimidated but also completely dominated. Among the five stats, the only exception was the number of passing touchdowns. Lu Ke had five, while Brees had six, so Brees was ahead. In the other four stats, Lu Ke had the advantage:
Passing completion rate: 78.4% vs 69.8%. Passing yards: 565 yards vs 557 yards. Interceptions: zero vs one. Quarterback rating: 152.8 vs 133.9. The former was Lu Ke, and the latter was Brees. You could see that his overall performance advantage was very obvious.
Although stats don't mean everything, just like in a soccer game where possession time doesn't guarantee a win, it's even more true in football. But in a head-to-head confrontation between quarterbacks, Lu Ke didn't show any fear or nervousness and delivered a perfect performance. This was undoubtedly the biggest reward of the special task.
On the live broadcast stage of the playoffs, Lu Ke's outstanding performance once again gained him a large number of fans.
"Additional task description: Since the host overachieved and showed excellent skills on a big stage, the task reward has been upgraded. Integrated training package upgrade count +1; a random single item +15."
An unexpected surprise! According to the special task requirements, Lu Ke only needed to surpass Brees in two of the five technical stats to complete the task. But in reality, Lu Ke had surpassed Brees in four of them, and his overall performance was far ahead. So, this was considered another overachievement, and the reward was upgraded.
Fifteen base points. A single random item could undergo a change from quantity to quality in one go. Just for this alone, completing this special task was worth it!
But, that wasn't all. While checking his unread messages, Lu Ke noticed that besides the game tasks and special tasks, there was an important hidden task in this Divisional Playoff game.
"Hidden task: Advancing Chinese Quarterback.
Task description: As the first Chinese quarterback in league history, every step and every game is making history, creating a new history that belongs to undrafted rookies and Chinese players. But the league and the audience will not be easily satisfied. They want more and expect more. Now, after historically entering the playoffs, all eyes are on you. Will you be a one-and-done, ending your rookie season with regret, or will you continue to advance confidently and further establish your place in the league? This is a tough question!
Task requirement: In the game against the New Orleans Saints, break a rookie quarterback postseason record.
Task reward: Choose one of two: or an upgraded points lottery ticket; or special points +3.
Failure penalty: None. This is a passive triggered task."
Without a doubt, quarterbacks who led their teams to the playoffs in their rookie season were few and far between. Quarterbacks who performed well in the playoffs in their rookie season were even rarer. At least the four elite quarterbacks in the league right now hadn't been able to do it, and even Ben Roethlisberger, who had held many rookie season records, also hadn't been able to do it.
Because of this, the requirements for this hidden task were lowered. As long as Lu Ke could break one record, it would be passively triggered. In turn, the task reward was also weakened, far from being as rich as before, but the hidden task was still a valuable and positive supplement.
According to the system, in his first postseason journey, Lu Ke had completely broken many rookie quarterback records: five passing touchdowns in a single game, a 78.4% passing completion rate, 556 passing yards, a 152.8 quarterback rating, and even the number of pass attempts and completions. All of these stats had written new history. Even without the labels of "Chinese" and "undrafted," and even when compared to Drew Brees, Lu Ke's performance was amazing!
So, the hidden task was successfully completed. Not only that, but there was also an additional description.
"Additional task description: Since the host overachieved, the final task reward is doubled: an upgraded points lottery ticket and special points +3."
Just like the special task, the hidden task also gave a notification for overachieving. All aspects showed Lu Ke's excellent performance in this game, and he received corresponding recognition even in the system's judgment.
Fourteen special points, two gold points, one upgraded points lottery ticket, one integrated training package upgrade, and a random single item with an additional 15 base points. This was the total reward.
At first glance, it seemed that the rewards from the playoffs were much less than from the regular season, but this was just an illusion created by a simple literal interpretation. In fact, just the two gold points were priceless, far exceeding what he got from any regular season game. What's more, the special points also brought a complete harvest. By using the points exchange system, he could easily improve his skills. The total reward was even more substantial than what he earned in the week after the regular season ended.
So, Lu Ke was satisfied and began the counting phase. The first thing he opened was the upgraded points lottery ticket. He opened it easily, and the clear voice of the system sounded in his mind, "Congratulations, you have opened an upgraded points lottery ticket and won five base points and one special point."
It was clear that Lu Ke's luck was not great today. The points he won from the lottery ticket were far from exciting, not to mention that it was an upgraded points lottery ticket. It could only be considered a basic reward. If he thought back to the game, it seemed to prove this point. He was a little unlucky in several key plays, which made the battle between the two sides so difficult.
However, a points lottery ticket was all about luck, and as long as he won something, it was a good thing.
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