"I look forward to it," Lu Ke replied with a smile. "But I firmly believe that victory still belongs to the 49ers."
Alex chuckled softly. "Then let's wait and see."
Lu Ke hesitated for a moment and let out a soft sigh. A sense of sadness about the farewell was unavoidable. It was because of Alex, and more so because they had fought side by side for the entire season. As the regular season came to an end, Alex chose to say goodbye. Even if a guy like Parys Haralson left, he would still feel a little strange. Oh, no. Not Parys Haralson. He would celebrate his departure with both hands and feet.
"Have you decided on a team to transfer to?" Lu Ke asked, but then added, "If it's not convenient to say, then don't worry about it. I'm just a little curious." Their conversation was still full of courtesy and politeness, and they couldn't truly relax and joke around.
"No, no, it's fine. Several teams are discussing it right now. My agent is trying to get me a good contract, but I'm hoping for a more competitive team." After opening up, Alex felt a little more relaxed. For the past two weeks, he had been keeping it a secret, and the psychological burden had been a little heavy.
Alex let out a soft sigh. "Right now, I'm personally more inclined towards the Chiefs. They're very sincere, and I've talked to the general manager, Scott. Their tactical system is also more suitable for me. However, my agent is more inclined towards the Dolphins because their offense has a good strength, and all they're missing is a quarterback."
Two teams from the AFC, one from the AFC West and one from the AFC East.
"Is your agent serious? Are you sure it's not because his office is in Miami?" Lu Ke deliberately frowned in an exaggerated manner and complained with a look of disdain. "Or, does he have a special agreement with Bill?"
Alex tilted his head and replied with a feigned serious expression, "What, you don't believe I can defeat the Patriots?" But the smile on his lips and in his eyes couldn't be hidden.
"No, of course not. How could I think that?" Lu Ke quickly raised his hands to show his innocence and joked seriously, "I just think that Bill Belichick is an old fox, and we all need to be careful, right?"
The Miami Dolphins belonged to the AFC East. Since the turn of the millennium, the New England Patriots have been the dominant force in this division, and the Dolphins have only made it to the playoffs three times in 2000, 2001, and 2008. In addition, Miami, with its year-round sunshine, is a famous resort and sanatorium in the United States. Countless players have bought mansions here and come here to vacation during the offseason, so many talent agencies and wealth management companies are also stationed here.
"So, your suggestion is to choose the Chiefs?" Alex summarized bluntly.
Lu Ke was caught off guard and was slightly stunned. "Huh, are we friends? Why are we talking about such a serious topic now? This shouldn't be happening, right? What if your agent sends someone to break my legs? What then? How about you go take a shower first? We can just pretend this conversation never happened?"
That feigned clueless expression was so unexpected that Alex was stunned. He had no idea that Lu Ke was such a prankster outside of the field, but when he thought about it, it seemed to make sense. In the end, he broke down and laughed out loud.
Choosing a team to transfer to was a player's own choice. As a friend, you could give advice, but as just a teammate, it was best not to get involved.
"Have you talked to Jim and Trent?" Lu Ke then asked. One was the head coach, and the other was the general manager. Their plans for the team would determine the overall competitiveness for next season.
"I've met with Trent, and Jim has also been informed. However, the specific details will have to wait until after the playoffs. There's still some time before the free-agent market opens," Alex said simply. "But maybe we'll win the Super Bowl, and then I'll choose to stay and compete with you for the starting position. Who knows?"
"I'm always ready," Lu Ke said, puffing out his chest confidently.
Alex snapped his fingers and replied, "Then let's wait and see." Then, he stopped joking and walked straight into the bathroom. After turning on the shower, the crisp sound of water broke the silence of the locker room. Alex then remembered that he had forgotten to remind Lu Ke that no one on the team knew about this yet, and it was best not to reveal it to others for now. Everything would have to wait until after the playoffs.
But on second thought, Lu Ke's personality wasn't one for gossiping, so Alex was relieved and didn't bother to turn around and explain. His mood slowly relaxed.
Whoosh, whoosh... The sound of the shower water echoed in the locker room, making it a little livelier. Lu Ke couldn't help but let out a soft sigh. He began to wonder who else would leave the team after this season, besides Alex.
To be precise, excluding the rookies who were bound by a contract, every other player could leave. After the San Francisco 49ers had such an excellent record this season, the players in key positions would definitely attract more attention. If a team offered a higher salary and better terms, and the 49ers couldn't match the offer due to the salary cap, a trade would be inevitable.
This was the nature of professional sports. Some people would meet again after a long time apart. Some people would face each other on opposing fields after a separation, reuniting in a different way. And some people would never see each other again. Their paths would cross and then end.
But in the end, they were all in their own positions, fighting for their own dreams and future. They all did their best to make a name for themselves and have a place in history. They were all living a passionate and crazy life, trying to prove that they once existed. The same was true for professional sports and life.
Turning his head towards the bathroom, Lu Ke shouted, "Good luck!"
The sound of the water still echoed, and there was no reply. Lu Ke turned his eyes away, and then a faint answer came from behind him, "Thank you," echoing in the sound of the water.
Good luck to Alex! And good luck to Lu Ke!
After the season, the future was full of countless possibilities. The first season, the second season, the third season... The beginning of every season was a new chapter, a blank page waiting to be filled. But that was a relatively distant future. Right now, they had a more urgent future to look forward to: the playoffs.
This was true for Lu Ke and Alex. It was not only for having more leverage in negotiations for a trade and striving for more self-worth, but also for their own and the players' honor! In every playoff game, they had to be like moths to a flame, burning all their abilities to the fullest. The slightest slack could lead to a disaster and ruin the efforts of the entire season.
What's more, they had no reason to be proud or complacent. Although the San Francisco 49ers had a great regular season and made it to the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the NFC, in the eyes of all the experts, among the six NFC playoff teams, the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions were still just dark horses and were still not favored.
It was related to their strength, but it was also unrelated to their strength. Because both teams had been weak for a long time and were returning to the playoffs after many years, they lacked experience. And because their main lineup was made up of young players, their performance fluctuated a lot, and they lacked depth. In the fierce competition of the playoffs, where one game determines everything, there are too many variables. These two factors can often become the deciding factor in the outcome of the game.
The 49ers and the Lions only had one choice if they wanted to go further: fight!
So, the topic of trades and goodbyes could be put aside for now. Lu Ke needed to take stock of his gains and complete the final skill point allocation before the playoffs officially began, arming himself to fight for victory and for the Super Bowl.
Why was this the last time? Obviously, the playoffs hadn't ended yet, and Lu Ke still had a chance to gain skill points, but why was it the last time? Because the playoffs were a knockout tournament. There was only one chance each week. If they missed it, it was over.
He had to treat every game opportunity as the last one of the season. Only then could he go all-in and unleash all his energy without holding back, striving for the chance to continue moving forward and to continue growing. Therefore, every game could indeed be the last chance to add skill points this season.
His scattered thoughts came together again. Lu Ke sat on the bench with his legs crossed and summoned the system. Before reading the unread messages, he first opened the attribute panel and took a comprehensive look at his various attribute points. Then, Lu Ke showed a look of surprise. He couldn't help but look at it carefully from beginning to end again. He didn't miss any sub-items, carefully checked them again, and compared them with the attributes from the previous week. In the end, he came to a conclusion: The intensive strength training in his daily routine had finally lost its effect!
According to the normal pattern, after this week's daily training, the strength training had completed another cycle, and now it was time to reap the rewards. But in the past few cycles, the gains had been gradually decreasing, and this week, there was no change at all. From his weight to his strength, from his explosive power to his acceleration, everything showed no growth or change. This also meant that Lu Ke's physical growth had once again reached a bottleneck. It was no longer possible to improve by simply relying on daily training. He could only improve by adding base skill points.
The bottleneck came so fast, it was truly unexpected.
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