Dominate the Super Bowl

Kansas City, at first hearing, people often think that this city is located in Kansas, but that's not the case.

This small city is located at the border of Kansas and Missouri and falls under the jurisdiction of Missouri.

Like Tuscaloosa, it is a typical Midwestern city, with only Tennessee separating Missouri and Alabama — quiet, vast, remote, devoid of the hustle and bustle of the East and West coasts, primarily focused on agriculture and industry, and the entire city has only six hundred and fifty thousand people.

It's a very, very small city, more a town than a city really.

In terms of sports, Kansas City can't compete with top-tier metropolitan cities like New York and Los Angeles, nor can it compare with small sports-centric cities with rich histories and legends like Green Bay; in fact, even within Missouri, Kansas City isn't the first choice for professional teams—

All the professional leagues like NHL, MLB, MLS have chosen St. Louis for their teams, including the NFL's St. Louis Rams, which relocated from Los Angeles to St. Louis in 1995, and then moved back to Los Angeles in 2015, now known as the Los Angeles Rams.

The reason is clear, for the larger market in Los Angeles.

That's why the Chieftain, founded in Dallas in 1959 and moved to Kansas City in 1963, never leaving again, is all the more precious.

Since the subprime mortgage crisis erupted in 2008, Kansas City's economic industry has been severely hit, the city slowly sinking into quicksand, with a high unemployment rate, the Kansas City Chiefs became the only faith of the local residents, guiding them towards the light out of the darkness.

Indeed, there are only six hundred and fifty thousand permanent residents in the city, but every time there is a home game for the Chiefs, the entire city empties into festive mode, like Tuscaloosa, with genuine and earnest people becoming the backbone of the team with their enthusiasm and passion.

Tranquility.

This was Li Wei's first impression as he arrived in Kansas City.

Driving from Tuscaloosa to Kansas City, although Li Wei might have chosen to fly, the road trip had its own charm, dividing the true ten-hour journey into three days, taking in the sights along the way, saying goodbye to his college life, and starting a new chapter.

Low bungalows, wide-open vistas, wheat and corn infinitely stretching beside the road, the water-blue sky hanging low overhead, clouds like tufts of cotton candy seemingly within reach, and the golden sunlight sketching out a vibrant, colorful watercolor.

Then—

Uh.

Sputter, sputter, sputter, the engine protested, and Li Wei quickly pulled over. Before he could even turn off the ignition, a destructive bursting sound came from under the hood, but just when Li Wei was worried about what might happen next, the noise under the hood quieted down.

Absolute silence.

He got out to check, only to find the hood was extremely hot, clearly, something was wrong.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Li Wei went back inside the car to search for his phone to call roadside assistance, but after several taps on the screen, which remained unresponsive—

The battery was dead.

Li Wei stood dumbfounded by the roadside, laughing silently to himself. So, standing in an unfamiliar street in an unfamiliar city, what was he supposed to do?

Taxi?

No, in a small city like Kansas City where almost everyone owns a car, and often more than one, taxis are extremely rare. If you want a taxi, you must call a cab service, hailing one on the street is an impossible task.

Perhaps, he should hitch a ride to the Chiefs' training facility, and have someone come to tow his car later.

Looking around, Li Wei noticed a bar across the street—

The bar would surely have a phone, either landline or mobile, and perhaps even a charger. There would always be a way to solve this issue.

"Old Oak Tavern".

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Yiya.

Pushing open the deep red, weathered door, directly ahead was a bar, and in front of the door was the greasy back of a head, blurting out loudly in an indistinct voice.

"...yes, yes, yes, those smart old men always manage to see things we don't know about, they always have their own plans for the team, so choosing two running backs is their brilliant plan?"

"Who doesn't know that running backs are the least valuable in the league now, and yet they use the third pick on a rookie who's only played football for one year, ha, ha, what a clever strategy."

Full of complaints.

On the other side of the L-shaped bar, a man with a buzz cut spread his hands, "Please, Chris, shut up, at least that rookie won the Heisman Trophy."

"Yeah..." The greasy-haired man sneered sarcastically, "So, this season we're supposed to expect this rookie to lead us to win the Super Bowl, aren't we? I'd really love to see that happen." His mouth was full of sarcasm.

Li Wei felt a bit awkward—

As he pushed the door and entered the tavern, one could immediately tell that this was a base for Kansas City Chiefs fans, the entire bar was adorned with Chiefs emblems, and the walls even framed the jerseys neatly in a display tracing the changes over the last half-century.

He was seriously considering whether he should remind the greasy-haired man, "Hey, the person involved is right here, why not turn around and have a face-to-face conversation?"

But he decided against it, only to be interrupted.

"...so, did you ever love me?"

A piercing shout drew the entire bar's attention.

A man in a floral shirt was getting ready to leave, but a black-haired girl at the opposite booth stopped him, her face full of sadness, her voice heartbreakingly earnest as she focused unblinkingly on the back of the floral shirt man, trying her best to control herself, yet tears still swirled uncontrollably in her eyes.

"For three years, you never once said you loved me, so, do you love that woman? Have you ever told her 'I love you'?"

The floral shirt man finally turned back, facing the black-haired girl again.

Then, he strode forward, stopping right in front of the black-haired girl.

"I have loved."

"I loved the girl who dreamed of becoming a baker, loved the girl who visited every bakery in Kansas City to create the best cakes, loved the girl who smelled of flour and cream, but my love stops there..."

Slap.

A cup of water was splashed over the floral shirt, abruptly interrupting his heartfelt words.

Another blond girl sitting in the corner booth stepped up, protecting the black-haired girl behind her, her face cold as she looked at the man in the floral shirt.

"Bullshit."

"For three whole years, you did nothing but live off Jenny, using everything of Jenny's. Jenny scrimped and saved to start her own bakery, working day and night, while you were out spending Jenny's credit card on lavish parties and even using Jenny's money for motel rooms to meet other women."

"Ha, 'once loved', I think it's your love for Jenny's savings that has ended."

A direct hit.

The floral shirt clenched his fist in anger, too enraged to care for sweet talk, tearing off his mask, ready to throw a punch, on the verge of exploding—

Danger!