American Adventure: My Uncle is Don Quixote

'It can't be that serious, old man.'

'I finally found the perfect excuse to retire and just focus on making money, and now you're going to say they'll have to step over your dead body?'

'It doesn't have to be like that. It really doesn't.'

Besides, both logically and emotionally, he didn't want anything to happen to John Mara.

It wasn't that he was being sentimental. He just couldn't stomach the idea of a man in his seventies—a man battling cancer and undergoing chemotherapy—going to war with the entire NFL's interest groups for a Superpower user like him.

Besides, John Mara had always been incredibly good to him.

He felt that, short of leaving him a trust fund or company shares, John Mara treated him almost as well as his own grandson.

Just as Li Wei was seriously pondering how to change John Mara's mind, the system popped up again.

[You have encountered a branching questline: The Lord's Dilemma]

[Path A: You insist on participating in the Knight's tournament. Your lord will sacrifice himself to protect you, and you will face the entire tournament's interest groups head-on. Despite their interference, you will achieve another perfect season and win the championship in 10 years, earning a reward of +1 attribute point and 1 silver treasure chest.]

[Path B: You choose to embody the virtues of a Knight, setting aside immediate glory to protect your lord. You will be rewarded with attribute points based on the virtues you embody during this event, capped at a maximum of 1 point.]

[Note: You may only choose one path.]

[Once chosen, the effect on the branching storyline will be irreversible. Please choose with caution.]

Li Wei chose Path B without a second thought.

It was just one silver chest, after all. He was only one step away from completing his "World-Renowned" quest, which would also grant him a silver chest.

Besides, choosing Path A would mean offending a whole lot of people, and more importantly, he just couldn't live with letting John Mara sacrifice himself for him.

After making his choice, Li Wei looked at John Mara.

"Is it that serious this time?" he asked after a moment. "Compared to last time? (See Chapter 229)"

John Mara sighed and set down his glass of water.

"Last time, they were just testing the waters," he said, his gaze fixed on the surface of the water in his glass. "Back then, they still thought you were a flash in the pan—that they could find a way to defeat you, or at least a way to control the score and contain you."

"But now," he said, looking up at Li Wei, "from the undefeated season to winning the Super Bowl... short of using dirty tricks, they can't think of any way to make you lose a single game next season."

"Last time, it was just a few representatives. This time, it's grown to eighteen teams—more than half the league," he said. "Add to that Las Vegas, the NFL management, and the sponsors... The vast majority of vested interests in the entire NFL Alliance have formed a consensus."

Li Wei nodded but didn't say anything more.

"Ultimately, your very existence has shattered the league's century-old rules. The 32 teams are supposed to share the profits and maintain a competitive balance—"

"But I'm too strong now. I've single-handedly destroyed that model," Li Wei nodded. "I'm so strong that the model can no longer function."

"What if I agree for now, then intentionally throw a game?" Li Wei suddenly suggested. "Would they accept that?"

"Do you think they would believe you?" John Mara retorted. "What if they assume you're not really on board and are just waiting to sabotage a game they've bet huge amounts of money on?"

"They're dead set on it this time," he sighed again. "They won't hesitate to use such dirty tactics to force you out."

Li Wei fell into a pensive silence.

"But don't you worry, kid," John Mara said, apparently noticing Li Wei's hesitation. "You're still young. Athletic competition should be pure; business should only operate outside the game."

He snorted. "They think they can force the Giants to make you retire? It's not that simple. There's plenty of dirt within the league. If it comes to that, we'll take everyone down with us."

Li Wei opened his mouth, staring at Mara, who was now bristling with renewed vigor, looking ready to take on the entire NFL Alliance.

'It really doesn't have to come to this.'

As John Mara was speaking, he suddenly broke into a violent coughing fit, hacking so hard it sounded like he might cough up a lung.

"How's your health been?" Li Wei hurried over to pat his back and handed him a tissue.

"Same as always," John Mara said, waving a hand dismissively. "I'm not dead yet."

"When was your last round of chemo?" Li Wei pressed.

"Two... two days ago?" John Mara hesitated.

"Mr. Mara," Li Wei said, seizing the opportunity to persuade him, "your health comes first."

"You said you were going to go head-to-head with them tonight," he said, looking Mara in the eye. "I'm grateful, I really am, but it doesn't sit right with me."

"Doesn't sit right with you?" Mara didn't understand. "What about it?"

"Watching you like this, *that's* what doesn't sit right with me," Li Wei said, laying it all out. "You're in this physical condition, yet you're still going to fight tooth and nail against those people for me. If your health takes a turn for the worse tonight because of this—"

He shook his head.

"*That's* what I wouldn't be able to live with," he said. "Besides, the reason I wanted to play football in the first place was to make money. Look at me—I've made my money now. It doesn't really matter whether I play or not."

"Besides," he said with a smile, "having to cross half of New York every day for practice and to clock in is pretty exhausting. Taking a few years off wouldn't be so bad."

"Also," he added with a smile, "to be perfectly honest, the games don't really interest me much anymore. Undefeated season, Super Bowl, MVP—I've gotten everything I was supposed to get. Truthfully, continuing to play would just be repeating the same thing all over again. I'm going to go set new records in other fields."

He was telling the absolute truth.

Don Quixote glanced at Li Wei.

He had already discussed this with Li Wei earlier and had no objections.

Jin Heon, however, was stunned.

'The boss is just too cool.'

Super Bowl, undefeated season, MVP... he spoke of them as if they were things he could get just by reaching out his hand. All those opponents, those geniuses and monsters who racked their brains trying to figure him out and counter him, were like stray dogs on the roadside in his presence—he could kick them all aside with a single, casual motion.

But those words sounded very different to John Mara's ears.

He didn't hear Li Wei's true feelings, but a lie told to persuade him.

A 19-year-old prodigy, possibly the greatest of all time, was willing to give up his career for an old man who didn't even know how many years he had left to live.

His Adam's apple bobbed.

"The Giants have failed you," he mumbled. "I promised you that as long as I was alive, you'd be a member of the New York Giants... But in the end, I couldn't protect you."

"Mr. Mara," Li Wei pressed, striking while the iron was hot, "it's not that the Giants can't protect me. No team can. This is the entire league coming after me. Even if I hid in a safe, they'd just pry it open."

"Good kid..." John Mara said, his voice thick with emotion.

Just then, Li Wei's system suddenly popped up again.

[Faced with your lord's dilemma, you stepped forward, perfectly embodying the code of conduct befitting a Knight.]

[You felt compassion for an elderly lord who would have fought and died for you, unable to bear seeing him risk danger with his failing body. This is Compassion.]

[Surrounded by powerful enemies, you chose to yield rather than let others shed blood for you, defending the dignity of a Knight through your actions. This is Honor.]

[You have forsaken the glory of the tournament, trading your own advancement for the peace of others. This is Sacrifice.]

[At the height of your fame and success, you did not covet praise, but chose to let go at your very peak. This is Humility.]

[You clearly recognized that this was not a matter of individual right or wrong, but a conflict within the established order, and you chose to face it with reason rather than anger. This is Justice.]

[Your decision stemmed from your own inner voice, not from external demands. From beginning to end, you made an active choice rather than passively accepting your fate. This is Soul.]

[You did not use false excuses to deceive others, but instead frankly expressed your own thoughts. This is Honesty.]

[True valor is not only found in charging onto the battlefield, but also in possessing the courage to optimistically explore other domains.]

[You have simultaneously embodied the 8 virtues of a Knight.]

[Reward: +1 Free attribute point (Maximum Reward)]

'Sweet.'

Li Wei was secretly delighted. In one fell swoop, he had received the maximum reward—more than he had earned in the entire last half of the season.

But it wasn't in Li Wei's nature to stop there.

'Make him retire quietly and without a fuss? It was never going to be that easy.'

"However," Li Wei said, "if they want me to stop playing, they can't expect me to do it for free, can they?"

John Mara stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing—a fierce, determined laugh.

"That's right," he repeated. "How could they not pay a price?"

When he finished laughing, his expression was more serious than ever.

"Are you sure you can make such a huge sacrifice?" he asked, looking at Li Wei. "Personally, I'm incredibly grateful, kid. Truly. But... I want you to be absolutely sure about this."

"I've thought it through, Mr. Mara," Li Wei said, shaking his head. "I don't want you to completely ruin your health over this. As long as they can come up with a good offer, I don't mind taking a few years off, or even retiring for good."

John Mara stared intently at Li Wei for a long moment, then finally let out a sigh.

"I owe you for this," he said. "The Giants owe you. The Maras owe you."

After saying that, he took a deep breath.

"If they think they can just run you out of the league for free and then sit back and enjoy the profits from your absence—they're dreaming."

His gaze grew sharp again, the look of a lion returning to his eyes.

"They used the power of half the NFL to force you out," he said. "So they're going to have to pay a price that's worth half the NFL."

"Exactly," Li Wei said matter-of-factly. "If I stop playing, who's going to pay the termination fees for my endorsement deals? I have a four-year, 200 million USD contract with Mercedes-Benz!"

John Mara suddenly roared with laughter.

"Of course they're going to pay for all of that," he said. "And not only that. There's a lot more they're going to have to cover."