American Adventure: My Uncle is Don Quixote

As soon as the whistle blew to end the second quarter, the lights at SoFi Stadium began to change.

While the players were trickling off the field, hundreds of grounds crew members in black work uniforms swarmed in from the tunnels at the four corners of the stadium like a colony of ants. They pushed modular stage components, sound equipment, and light rigs, expertly beginning to assemble the stage near the 50-yard line.

This was a Super Bowl halftime show tradition. The entire setup process had to be completed within eight minutes.

For the 170 million viewers watching on their TVs, phones, and computers, these eight minutes were for commercials.

For the 70,000 people in the stadium, watching the stage being built was a show in itself.

The players could get a short break, and the commentators could take a sip of water.

"Alright, folks, while we have this halftime break, let's recap the first half of the game," said Joe Buck. "The 49ers have 10 points, the Giants have 9. The 49ers are leading by a slim one-point margin."

"Troy, what's your assessment of Li Wei's first-half performance?"

Troy Aikman leaned back in his chair, his tone a little uncertain.

"To be honest, Joe, I feel like Li Wei is putting on an act," he said candidly. "I feel like my brain is about to melt."

"How so? Tell us more."

"Based on my read of Li Wei, he's deliberately controlling the pace of the game," Troy said. "He's like a race car driver who's only pressing the gas pedal a third of the way down. You know his engine can go full throttle, but he just won't do it."

After saying this, he shook his head in confusion. "But I don't get it. I mean... this is the Super Bowl. This is the biggest stage there is. How dare he hold back and put on a show?"

"It's very possible, Troy," Joe Buck pointed out. "Did you see what he did? He pulled out his own sports drink. He's building up the hype."

"Maybe," Troy said. "But I just can't figure out why he's so confident in himself. It's as if he's certain he can win the Super Bowl no matter what."

"Maybe he has his own plan?"

"Could be," Troy said. "If his plan is to give me a heart attack, he's getting pretty close to succeeding."

Up in Li Wei's exclusive VIP suite, it was a different scene from the stands below.

Don Quixote leaned against the bar with a glass of whiskey. He was ostensibly on the phone with Mark, laughing and chatting, but in reality, his peripheral vision was glued to the TV screen.

Jin Heon sat to the side, her laptop open with five windows displayed simultaneously: the backend of the LW official website, a social media monitoring page, the Super Bowl broadcast, the ad schedule, and the server status.

"Server load is normal at the moment," she reported to Don Quixote. "The ad will air in the first commercial slot after the halftime show. It's 90 seconds long. We're 20 minutes out."

Elizabeth stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, arms crossed over her chest, gazing down at the stage being assembled on the field with a focused expression.

Anya walked over to the window as well. She turned to look at Elizabeth, who had a faint, almost imperceptible smile on her lips. "Liz, you seem to be in a particularly good mood today."

"Am I?" Elizabeth turned her head. "It's probably just the nice weather."

"Come on, be honest," Anya said, suddenly poking her and teasing, "Spill it!"

"Hey! Haha," Elizabeth, having been poked in a ticklish spot, couldn't help but dodge away. "Don't tickle me—you'll find out soon enough, I promise, I promise."

On the field, the stage construction was nearly complete.

A massive, black, circular main stage stood right in the center of the 50-yard line. A T-shaped runway extended from it all the way toward the end zone.

The surrounding light rigs were all in position, the dry ice pipes were laid, and the sound arrays were calibrated.

The noisy chatter of 70,000 people began to merge into a rhythmic clapping.

The lights suddenly went out for a moment.

Suddenly, a purple aurora-like beam shot from the center of the stage toward the night sky, followed by a second, then a third. Countless lasers wove together into a giant web of light that covered the entire stadium.

On the circular megascreen, a giant diamond-shaped silhouette slowly rotated.

Everyone recognized that iconic symbol.

Rihanna! The nine-time Grammy-winning superstar singer with over 250 million records sold worldwide.

The intro to "Umbrella" began to play. Rihanna simply raised her right hand slightly, and all 70,000 people in the stadium screamed in unison.

She then scanned the crowd before slowly beginning to sing.

Fifteen minutes is a very short time, so she had compiled several of her greatest hits into a medley.

The fireworks, lasers, holographic projections, and hundreds of backup dancers on stage wove together an audio-visual feast.

As the final song ended, Rihanna stood center stage, her chest rising and falling gently.

Fireworks exploded behind her, golden confetti rained down from the sky, and the entire stadium gave her a standing ovation, the roar of applause unending.

Then—

According to convention, the performer should have waved to the audience at this point and then left the stage via a lift platform.

But Rihanna didn't leave.

She took a microphone from a staff member at the side of the stage and gestured for the backup dancers to exit first.

This was unusual. The 70,000 people in the stadium and the 170 million viewers behind their screens could all sense it.

Something that had never happened at the Super Bowl before was unfolding.

"That's the end of my performance tonight," Rihanna's voice boomed through the circular sound system, echoing throughout the stadium. "But before I leave, I want to do something that no one has ever done during a Super Bowl halftime show."

In the Fox commentary booth, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman glanced at each other, their eyes filled with confusion.

Rihanna turned around, facing the Giants' bench.

"There's a young man," she said. "He's 19 years old. He came from Brooklyn all the way to the Super Bowl field. Now, I want you to shout his name!"

She extended the microphone toward the fans.

The Giants fans went wild.

"King!"

"Li Wei!"

"The Yellow-Skinned God!"

"That's right, Li Wei, King," she said. "My job is done. Now I'm just another fan in the stadium. Let's go, Li Wei!"

It was an unprecedented event, completely shattering the tradition of halftime performers remaining neutral. The cheers of 70,000 people completely drowned out everything in the stadium.

In the stands.

When Craig heard Rihanna publicly declare her support for Li Wei, he felt like his soul was leaving his body.

"Did you hear that?" He turned his head and yelled at the burly white man, another Giants fan, sitting next to him. "Rihanna! That's Rihanna! Rihanna supports Li Wei! Did you hear that!"

The burly white man was being violently shaken by Craig, the burly Black man, a look of terror on his face.

"Bro, I heard you—"

"Rihanna supports Li Wei!" Craig wasn't listening to him at all. His dark face was flushed red with excitement. "That's my boy! Li Wei was my high school teammate! Rihanna is cheering for my boy!"

"Craig!" Travis finally grabbed hold of him. "Calm down, man! He's going to call the cops!"

Today was the Giants' moment to shine.

...

At the entrance to the Giants' player tunnel, Lawrence looked at Li Wei with an envious expression.

"I never would've guessed," he said, not even trying to hide the sourness in his tone. "Our Quarterback is actually on such good terms with Rihanna that she'd publicly endorse you like that. That's a first in Super Bowl history, isn't it?"

"Can I say that I don't know her?" Li Wei shrugged. "A friend of mine probably asked her for a favor."

"That's right," Elizabeth said, nodding in response to Anya's questioning gaze back in the suite. "It was a small request I made."

She explained, "Rihanna's management team needed to restructure some of their overseas assets through the Free Port. When I found out she was performing at the Super Bowl this year, I happened to make a small request."

Anya was a bit taken aback by Elizabeth's influence, but before she could fully process it, Jin Heon suddenly shot up from the sofa.

"It's on, it's on, it's on!" she said, jogging over to Don Quixote's side. "The commercial! The LW commercial!"

The commercial was simple. The first half of the 90-second ad featured highlights of Li Wei's game footage, then it cut to the mysterious drink he was drinking during halftime. The final shot froze on the LW logo and the official website link, appearing in front of 170 million people.

The commercial ended.

On Jin Heon's computer, every time the backend data panel refreshed, the numbers started shooting up like a rocket.

"Ten seconds... 30,000 bottles!"

"Thirty seconds... 80,000 bottles!"

"One minute... 200,000 bottles!"

The sudden influx of people was so massive that the server response time spiked from the normal 200 milliseconds to over 3,000 milliseconds. The webpage, which usually loaded instantly, was now taking several seconds to load, the loading icon spinning.

「Meanwhile, at Los Angeles Children's Hospital.」

Ethan Horton was also being wheeled into the operating room. His mother, Rachel, sat on a cold plastic chair, clutching her phone.

「Back at SoFi Stadium,」

The halftime show stage had been rapidly dismantled, and the field was restored to its game state.

The whistle blew for the third quarter kickoff.

It was the Giants' offense.

When Li Wei stepped back onto the field, everyone noticed something was different.

In the first two quarters, he had stayed in the pocket like a well-behaved, traditional Quarterback. But now, his center of gravity was shifted slightly forward, as if he were about to charge.

This posture undoubtedly lifted the spirits of the Giants fans. Even the commentator, Joe Buck, was getting excited.

"Troy, did you notice that?" his voice was full of eager anticipation.

"I saw it, Joe," Troy said, slapping the table. "Come on! Li Wei, let's see what you can really do in the Super Bowl!"

Snap.

The moment the ball was in his hands, Li Wei didn't drop back. Instead, he immediately sidestepped twice.

The 49ers' defensive line thought it was going to be a short pass and spread out to intercept the passing lanes.

But Li Wei's arm never came up.

He started to run.

He was on the move!

He started to accelerate, accelerate, accelerate!

A defensive tackle reached out an arm to stop him, but Li Wei's body slipped under his arm at a completely ridiculous angle.

"He's running!" Joe Buck's voice went to full volume. "Breaking through on the left side!"

A linebacker dove at him from the side, but Li Wei shoved his facemask hard with his left hand, sending the man stumbling back two steps. Li Wei kept moving forward.

The 30-yard line.

The 35.

The 40!

A safety came up to meet him head-on. Li Wei abruptly changed direction mid-sprint. The safety's fingers brushed the hem of his jersey, then grasped nothing but air.

Touchdown!

"Touchdown! Touchdown! Touchdown! A 42-yard rushing touchdown for Li Wei!" Joe Buck's voice was completely hoarse.

The extra point after the touchdown was good, adding another point.

16-10, the Giants took the lead.

"I get it now," Troy said, suddenly slapping his thigh. "Do you see it?"

"See what?"

"Li Wei was putting on an act for the first two quarters! He was coordinating with his own drink commercial! He played it safe at first, then took a sip of LW at halftime, and came back fully recharged for the second half!"

Meanwhile, following Li Wei's touchdown, sales of the LW drink surged again in just over 10 seconds. In less than 15 minutes, two million bottles had already been sold.

And this was only the beginning.

On the very next offensive drive, the 49ers' defense adjusted again, adding another defensive end to the line to block Li Wei's running lanes.

But Li Wei had anticipated their anticipation. This time, he chose not to run. Instead, he threw an incredible 55-yard bomb, precisely dropping the ball into the arms of a wide receiver at full sprint.

Another touchdown!

23-10.