American Adventure: My Uncle is Don Quixote

More than a week had passed in the blink of an eye since the conference championship game.

During that time, all several hundred people in the Giants organization, from John Mara down to the janitors, went crazy. Everyone was immersed in a state of immense anxiety mixed with tremendous joy.

Although the intensity of physical training had decreased, it was replaced by tactical reviews, memorizing the playbook, watching game film, and longer sessions of psychological counseling and physical therapy... Everyone was giving it their all, determined to be in peak condition for the Super Bowl.

Even though they had made it to the Super Bowl entirely thanks to Li Wei, it was, after all, a massive spectacle watched by 150 million people across the United States of America. A-list celebrities, top-tier influencers, and even senators, the Vice President, or the President himself would be paying attention. If any sort of accident or unseemly incident occurred, they would be etched into the pillar of shame in history, even if they won.

After all, this was an unprecedented, history-making moment.

In this situation, Li Wei had become the sole outlier on the entire Giants team.

Morning of February 12th, four days before the Super Bowl.

Li Wei was in the kitchen, meticulously preparing ingredients.

He was working with ingredients sent over by Lin Daohang and from the Fortress City kitchen apartment, preparing to cook and show off his skills for the first time in nearly a year.

Using M7+ Wagyu to make braised beef short ribs was nothing short of extravagant.

As he trimmed the meat, his mind was on other things—just not the Super Bowl.

For Li Wei, the Super Bowl held little suspense. The San Francisco 49ers were a top-tier powerhouse, but with his physical stats, winning the game wouldn't be a very difficult task.

What he was really thinking about was what came after the Super Bowl.

He was very familiar with the NFL schedule. After the Super Bowl, from mid-February to early September—a full seven months—there were no games to be played, aside from training camp.

No games meant that his main source of attribute points from the "Knightly Jousting" path would be cut off for no good reason, dropping his income of attribute points to nearly zero.

But at his current rate, if he just played games season after season, it would take him a good seven or eight years to gather enough attribute points to advance to Golden Knight.

And to be honest, he was getting a little tired of having to train three days a week.

'I originally wanted to be a sports star to improve my life, become a big celebrity, and make a lot of money.'

'I've made some money now, but the growth of my system attributes has stagnated a bit.'

But did Li Wei truly enjoy being a big star? Well, he actually did.

A smile touched Li Wei's lips as he thought of this.

'Who doesn't like showing off? Especially in front of tens of millions, and soon to be over a hundred million, people in the United States of America.'

'But now there are no more games, which means no more chances to show off, and no attribute points to grind for. I'll have to wait at least half a year.'

'And during that half-year, I still have to guarantee I'll be at training three days a week.'

The cost-benefit ratio wasn't exactly low, but it wasn't as appealing to him anymore.

He recalled his previous idea.

This [Medieval Adventurer System] projected the real world into the Middle Ages. NFL games were knightly jousts, Anya was the daughter of the Northern Monarch, Elizabeth was the King's little Princess, and even the midnight screams at Yale University became the abyssal howls of a vampire army.

The system seemed to have misidentified him, treating him as if he were a Knight from the Middle Ages.

'But what if I do something that is, in the system's eyes, a medieval activity, but in reality, is a modern enterprise?'

'Like making a movie? Build a practical set and film an adventurer's story?'

'As long as this method can trick the system's projection mechanism, wouldn't my attribute points just shoot up like crazy in the future?'

This thought made his knife work a little faster, and the blade accidentally slid through the layer of fat and onto his finger.

If it had been an ordinary person, a slip like that would have likely taken off half a finger. But under the protection of Li Wei's passively activated [Silver Body], it only managed to leave a slight indent on the pad of his finger.

Li Wei continued trimming the fat from the Wagyu short ribs. Too much fat would ruin the braised beef.

However, it was a bit too early to be thinking about retiring or taking a sabbatical. Besides, he hadn't figured out how to bring it up with the people around him.

'Oh well, I'll think about it after the Super Bowl.'

"What are you making today?"

Don Quixote walked into the kitchen carrying a cup of tea and leaned against the doorframe.

The scene gave him a sense of déja vu, as if from another lifetime.

A little over a year ago, back in the basement apartment, Li Wei would cook while he smoked beside him. Back then, there was a leaky ceiling, a tattered mattress, and a window that was just a crack in the wall. Now, it was a high-end apartment of over 200 square meters, a 30 million USD mansion under renovation, and he was drinking Da Hong Pao tea sent by Lin Daohang.

Don Quixote didn't say anything sentimental, just stood by the doorframe for a few seconds before speaking.

"Braised beef short ribs, lobster with garlic and vermicelli, and stir-fried seasonal vegetables," Li Wei said without looking up. "Anya said she wants to show off her cooking too, so I'm getting the ingredients ready for her ahead of time."

"What's the special occasion? Why go all out like this?" Don Quixote asked, though he already knew the answer.

"It's my birthday."

"I know."

"Then why'd you ask? Where's my 19th birthday present?"

Don Quixote walked over, laughing heartily, and pulled a Mercedes-Benz car key from his pocket, stuffing it into Li Wei's.

"A Mercedes?" Li Wei paused for a moment. "Thanks, Uncle."

"Didn't cost me anything," Don Quixote said, blowing on his hot tea. "It's from the brand."

"The brand..." Li Wei's eyes lit up. "You landed the Mercedes endorsement deal?"

"It's pretty much a sure thing if you win the Super Bowl," Don Quixote said with a grin. "Four years, 50 million USD per year. What do you think?"

"Thanks," Li Wei said, turning to hug Don Quixote. "I love it."

"Actually, I got the letter of intent for this partnership a couple of days ago," Don Quixote said, sipping his tea. "But I couldn't figure out what to get you for your birthday, so just consider this Mercedes G65 my gift to you."

Li Wei laughed and flipped Don Quixote the middle finger. Don Quixote just chuckled.

"But there is something I wanted to discuss with you," Li Wei said.

"Go ahead."

"After the Super Bowl, I don't plan on being idle during the offseason."

"Are you talking about the LW sports drink?"

"Not exactly," Li Wei said, placing the trimmed meat into a food container and starting to clean the prawns. "I haven't finalized the exact direction yet, but it'll probably involve film, television, or maybe tech investments."

Don Quixote didn't respond immediately. It was risky for an athlete at the peak of their career to divert their energy to other ventures.

As a former mid-level executive on Wall Street and now an agent, he had seen plenty of such cases.

But as he looked at the young man before him, he wondered, 'When has this kid ever let me down?'

"Alright," he said. "I support you."

"Will you be the CEO?"

Li Wei just wanted to be a simple rich guy. As for business matters, it wasn't that he couldn't handle them; he just preferred to focus his energy on increasing his attributes.

Money was just a tool to increase his attributes.

Don Quixote was taken aback for a moment.

"You spent years at JPMorgan Chase doing corporate M&A and IPOs," Li Wei said. "You've spearheaded multi-billion USD projects. Besides, you're the one who knows me best. If we brought in any professional manager from the outside, they'd just think we're a couple of idiots with too much money."

Don Quixote picked up his teacup and set it back down, clearly giving the proposal serious thought.

"Are you sure you want me to be the CEO?" He was both hesitant and tempted. "I'm your agent and your guardian. If I become the CEO too, people on the outside will say, 'Have you run out of people in your family? Why is he doing every job?'"

"Keep the good stuff in the family. If there are benefits to be had, who else would I give them to but my own people?" Li Wei said as he deveined a shrimp. "If we need to set up a new company, what do you think about a 50/50 split on the shares?"

"No," Don Quixote said, shaking his head. "I can't take that much."

"I'm your elder; I can't take advantage of you," he said. "Besides, we can just use the existing structure of Horizon Holding Company Limited. If we form a new company and people see you only own 50%, they'll distrust the enterprise. After all, you're the core asset right now."

"If you're willing to trust me, give me 5% of the shares. Another 5% can be used for incentives for the original shareholders, and you can keep 90% for yourself." Don Quixote thought for a moment, then took a sip of his tea. "I'll take care of the rest."

"That's exactly what I was hoping for," Li Wei said, placing the shrimp into a bowl with satisfaction. "I can just wait to collect my dividends and spend the money every year."

"?"

At 3 p.m., Anya arrived.

She entered in her usual way—first, the sound of the lock turning, then the crisp rhythm of high heels clicking on the entryway floor, followed by the scent of perfume wafting in from a distance.

"Happy birthday!" She wrapped her arms around Li Wei's waist from behind as he was busy at the stove, nibbling on his back. Her mischievous little hands roamed all over him, restlessly trying to merge herself into his body. "You're 19 now. Getting old."

"You're a little bit older than me." Li Wei couldn't free his hands, so he could only nudge her forehead with his elbow.

"Suka!" Anya punched him lightly. "Don't you dare bring that up."

She took an exquisitely wrapped box from her bag, placed it nearby, then leaned in and whispered something in Li Wei's ear.

Judging from her expression and the slight arch of Li Wei's eyebrow, it was definitely something R-rated.

"You can unwrap the real present tonight," Anya said, stepping back. "Open this one first."

Li Wei dried his hands and opened the box.

It was a Patek Philippe Nautilus. Its original price was around 150,000 USD, but on the secondary market, the price had been driven up to double that, and it was a watch that money couldn't always buy.

"Do you like it?" Anya asked, propping her chin on her hands, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.

"I love it," Li Wei said, trying the watch on his wrist. "Thank you."

Anya nodded in satisfaction.

Then her attention turned to the steaming pot on the stove. "Are my ingredients ready? I'm planning to make a dish, too. Traditional Russian beef stew."

"Hmm..." Li Wei looked at the pampered Miss Anya, whose hands had likely never touched dishwater. "I have to ask again, are you sure?"

"Are you looking down on me?" Anya asked, annoyed, with her hands on her hips. "I've been learning from Auntie Kaja for a long time."

"Alright," Li Wei said, stepping aside. "I'll be your assistant."

"By the way," Anya said casually as she washed her hands, "I invited Liz to come over. She said she'll be here around five."

Li Wei was tending to the braised beef brisket. His hands didn't stop moving, and he didn't reply.

Anya glanced at him but didn't press the issue. She dried her hands and started prepping her ingredients.