012 Newbie Gift Pack

Burns was somewhat embarrassed, having just boasted a second ago that Li Wei could choose any number he wanted, and now he was stuck; the authority of the coach was completely gone.

Ahem.

Burns cleared his throat tactically and revealed a broad smile, "You see, in football, different positions have their own duties, from offense to defense. We've got nearly twenty different positions and seventy to eighty players. To make it easy for referees to identify players, there are regulations for jersey numbers."

"For running backs, cornerbacks, and safeties, your jersey number must be between 20 and 49."

Burns rubbed his hands together, looking cautiously towards Li Wei.

"Li Wei, how about you pick from these?"

No wonder.

However, Li Wei's attention had shifted onto another matter, "Cornerbacks and safeties?"

Burns quickly and eagerly explained, "Humphrey is a cornerback; they usually stand near the front line of the defensive group, close to the sidelines at the two corners. Jackson is a safety; they usually stand at the back near the end zone, and they are the last line of defense for the defensive group."

Li Wei blinked—

He wasn't good at remembering names.

It wasn't a joke, but a fact. He often couldn't match names with faces; his mind appeared to have an eraser that specifically wiped out all the names.

Truly, a big problem.

Just when Li Wei was about to ask who Humphrey was, Burns explained the positions, and that made it much more vivid for him.

So Humphrey was the one who missed two tackles in a row and almost fell flat on his face.

Humphrey: ??? I didn't offend you!

After some thought, a number popped up in Li Wei's mind, "Then, number 23."

Not because of the basketball superstar Michael Jordan, but because Li Wei's seat number in both middle school and high school was 23.

Burns exhaled a long breath, "No problem, 23 it is." He quickly scanned the roster and revealed a pleased smile, "Good, no other player is using that number."

Thus, Burns filled in the jersey number on the team application form—

Number 23.

The moment Burns finished, a notification sound echoed in Li Wei's mind, like a computer booting up. Was this the activation signal for the system?

So having a number also meant having a player identity, indicating that Li Wei's admittance to the team was complete, and he officially became a member of the Crimson Tide Storm.

He was a bit excited—

What exactly was the system like?

What surprises would the newbie gift pack bring?

It was only now that the reality of starting a new life across time and space became totally clear.

But Li Wei wasn't in a hurry. He contained his excitement and inquired carefully about some matters to watch out for and the training schedule, making sure there were no oversights, before he turned to leave the coach's office.

With a full three weeks of spring training camp ahead, Burns asked Li Wei to return to the dormitory for today. The team still had some procedures to complete. Li Wei would officially join the team the next day and then start training.

Burns also shared an important piece of information with Li Wei— at the end of the spring training camp, the team would hold two games:

One was an intrasquad game, first team against the reserves.

Even though it was an intrasquad game, it was one of the University of Alabama's annual big events, not only open for ticket sales but also broadcast nationwide on ESPN.

The fact that a mere intrasquad game could be broadcast nationwide showed just how popular college football was, and of course, this was also because it involved the traditional powerhouse, the University of Alabama; Saban's influence in the NCAA was evident.

The other was an exhibition game.

Although Saban was still in the process of selecting an opponent for the exhibition game, this match would also be open for ticket sales, and ESPN would broadcast it nationwide.

Broadcasting and ticket sales meant attention, and with the name of the University of Alabama, every year there were plenty of schools willing to challenge Saban's team; Saban wasn't in a hurry to decide because this year, Alabama faced quite a few challenges and he needed to organize his thoughts.

"We will focus our training on these two games, and I hope you'll be able to represent the Crimson Tide Storm on the field," Burns shared his current plan.

The challenge certainly existed, as there were only three weeks and many hurdles to overcome, but Burns had confidence, brimming with energy and vigor.

Li Wei felt the same—

Challenge?

Always welcome.

However, before setting off on his official challenge journey, Li Wei had a cross-world bonus benefit to confirm as if the eagerly awaited package had finally arrived, and next came the much-anticipated unboxing moment.

Returning to his dormitory, empty with no one around and his mysterious roommate nowhere to be seen, Li Wei still locked the door before summoning the system in his mind.

"Football Training System" —

Based in deep blue, with other various shades like light blue and sky blue marking the interface, it was clean and simple, seamlessly integrated, free of any unnecessary elements, finally no longer the unclear, foggy display of before, but clearly presented before his eyes.

The whole interface was very simple, consisting of just three areas.

On the left, a horizontal rectangular area labeled "Template".

On the right, a vertical rectangular area labeled "Card Slot".

At the bottom, a progress bar.

That was it, the entirety of it. It was so simple and clean that Li Wei was somewhat taken aback, filled with questions. Was this the so-called system?

After a meticulous study, he noticed some small buttons.

The button in the upper left was personal information.

Name: Li Wei

Date of Birth: November 11, 1995

Height: 6.1 feet (185 cm)

Weight: 216 pounds (98 kg)

Position on Field: Running Back

Jersey Number: 23

Team: Alabama Crimson Tide Storm

That was all.

Differing slightly from what he envisioned, there were no personal attributes, nor were any physical or ability stats quantified. This was unlike any system Li Wei knew of.

The button in the upper right was the message box, which reminded him that there was a rookie gift pack still unclaimed.

Then... there was no more.

Without another moment's hesitation, Li Wei clicked on the rookie gift pack. A ripple of blue light gently spread, and right in the center of the interface, three cards appeared, all covered, waiting to be revealed. Each card had a small question mark in the top right corner, with a consistent explanation upon clicking.

"System Reward, may contain player templates, function cards, etc., with random probabilities."

So, it was time to test his luck as a "chosen one."

Li Wei leaped to his feet, heading to the bathroom to wash his face and hands. He turned on the speakers and played Beethoven's "Symphony of Destiny". Its majestic melody swirled throughout the dorm, calming his mood completely.

Time to spend some money!

Without stopping, he flipped all three cards at once. The blue light shimmered again, revealing the true form of the three cards.

"Card: Training Effect Doubling Card (Two Times)"

"Card: Injury Impact Reduction Card (10%)"

"Template: Adrian Peterson (S-class)"

Jackpot!

The moment he saw the word "S-class", Li Wei clenched his fists.

Even a rookie like Li Wei, who rarely played games and knew little about them, recognized that "S-class" usually signifies high quality, possibly even the highest quality.

Without a doubt, this was a top-quality player template.

Setting aside that Li Wei didn't yet know how to use the template or whether the other rewards were of good quality, just this one template alone was worth it.

But what exactly was the level of this Adrian Peterson, and was there anyone who could explain?