Using a Sledgehammer to Crack a Nut

"Another ultra-long pass. Is that a tactic?"

"Our midfield organization is getting completely crushed. If we try passing combinations, we'll easily be pressed into losing the ball."

"That's several times in a row now—the goalkeeper has passed directly to the center forward."

The chubby guy was still commentating. From his perspective, those passes slicing across the pitch were a feast for the eyes.

One moment they were being pinned down, and the next, a white streak appeared, launching a deadly counterattack.

Some of the girls could not follow the ball and shouted, "Where's the ball? Where's the ball?"

The chubby guy hurriedly pointed toward the attacking half. "There, there, there..."

Everyone looked over just in time to see center forward Han Dang shake off his marker, leap high into the air, and control the incoming ball with his chest.

After securing the ball firmly, he turned with the momentum and charged into the penalty area.

At that moment, carrying the guilt of wasting a previous golden chance and fueled by the attention of everyone on the field, he decisively shot at the goalkeeper.

"Bang!" The ball went in.

"Wow!"

The stands erupted. The direct pass and equally direct finish were incredibly satisfying to watch.

Even the girls could not help screaming. After scoring, Han Dang ran wildly around the pitch, his face flushed red with excitement like roast duck.

"That was amazing!"

"He scored just like that."

This time, the girls had clearly seen how the goal was scored. To them, the person who actually scored was the most impressive.

Only a few people looked toward the goalkeeper who had made the assist.

Anyone who understood football knew the pass was what had truly been incredible. Every player on the sports school team could only watch as the ball dropped right into Han Dang's arms. It was simply impossible to defend.

At that moment, Mo Qiong also ran over to celebrate with Han Dang.

He had finally scored...

And this was only the beginning.

The more aggressively the sports school team pressed forward, the less pressure Han Dang faced.

At the same time, the more wild shots the sports school team took, the more chances Mo Qiong had to distribute the ball.

He was no longer polite with them, feeding Han Dang passes from dozens of meters away like crazy.

Every time he collected one of their shots, the opposing coach applauded and praised him. Every time he ignored the midfield and sent a pass straight through the back line, the opposing coach's eyes lit up.

By the end of the match, Mo Qiong had made a total of twenty-one long passes in the second half.

Every one of them threatened the opposing goal. Unfortunately, Han Dang only seized three chances and scored three goals.

On average, Mo Qiong needed seven passes to earn one assist.

Mo Qiong was rather helpless about that efficiency, but on second thought, it was just right. It was only a friendly, after all. Scoring too many would not have been good.

"I got a Hat Trick! Hahaha!" Han Dang ran all the way from the attacking half to Mo Qiong. It was now 4–0, and there was no longer any suspense in the match.

Wang Xiong was ecstatic as well. As captain, he had led the team to defeat a semi-professional side, and he had even gotten an assist himself. It was not as though he had simply coasted to victory... He could brag about this for ten years.

The others were not idiots either. They knew Mo Qiong deserved the most credit, and they all crowded around to boast together. Mo Qiong had truly been godlike today.

"Not bad, Magic Ball! Do you know what winning this match means? Fifty thousand... No, wait, it's fifty thousand per goal. We scored four, so that idiot Luo Qing has to give us two hundred thousand!" Wang Xiong roared, finally revealing why he had wanted to win so badly.

"Wait... what? Why would Luo Qing give us money?" Mo Qiong and the others were dumbfounded.

Two hundred thousand. Those words instantly stunned them.

Luo Qing was from the Basketball Club and had a terrible relationship with Wang Xiong. Wang Xiong's family was already considered wealthy, but Luo Qing was a hundred times richer than him.

There was no question that Luo Qing could afford two hundred thousand, but why would he give it to their school team?

Unless...

"You fucking bet this match against Luo Qing?" everyone demanded.

Wang Xiong chuckled. "Who told him to keep calling our school team trash? He wins honors playing basketball, then insists on constantly looking down on our football team. That really pisses me off. Besides, he proposed the bet himself. As long as we won by one goal, he'd sponsor our team with fifty thousand in club funds."

Mo Qiong frowned. "What if we lost?"

Wang Xiong said, "Fifty thousand for every goal we lost by. Don't worry, I'd pay it myself. I didn't tell you because I thought we'd lose. I never expected us to win... Hahaha, four goals! That idiot's face must be green by now. I don't want the money. You guys split it, hahaha..."

Naturally, the teachers could not be allowed to know about a private bet like this, especially one involving such a large amount.

And since Wang Xiong had not even told his own teammates, it could only mean that if they had lost, he really had planned to pay himself and never tell them about it.

Wang Xiong was a pain in the ass, but at least he was not a bastard. There was no way he would have used club funds to pay if they lost.

If they had lost, no one would have known anything. Since they had won, they could share the money. After thinking it over, everyone forgave Wang Xiong for making the bet behind their backs.

"No wonder! You've been desperately pumping us up to win since three days ago. So you didn't want to win the match—you wanted to beat Luo Qing!" Han Dang said with a laugh.

Since they had won, everything was fine. Everyone was in a great mood, saying that Wang Xiong had really screwed Luo Qing over this time.

Mo Qiong even regretted it inwardly. Why the fuck didn't you tell me sooner... If I'd known, I would've gotten us a few more goals!

If he had known each goal was worth fifty thousand, even if he did not dare score himself, he could have assisted Han Dang. By the final ten-plus minutes, Han Dang had already completed his Hat Trick. The rest had been garbage time, so Mo Qiong had stopped feeding him the ball.

If they had kept racking up points then and scored two more goals, they would have won another hundred thousand! Since Wang Xiong was not taking a share and no one had been substituted, ten people would split the money. Mo Qiong himself could have gotten another ten thousand.

To Mo Qiong, ten thousand was already an enormous sum.

His father was just a farmer, growing crops, raising chickens, ducks, and geese, and keeping loaches and frogs in the fields. Their annual income was only four or five thousand.

But Mo Qiong soon calmed down. Now that he had a superpower, there was no need to agonize over ten thousand.

If he properly studied his ability, he would surely find a way to get rich. Mo Qiong—never poor. His family's hopes for him, he would fulfill them a thousandfold, ten thousandfold.

As they walked out of the stadium, they were greeted by cheers from the entire venue, with no shortage of girls applauding for them.

Wang Xiong said excitedly, "To give you guys a buff, I practically begged everyone I knew to bring these two hundred girls here! There are more than ten clubs having a joint party tonight, and our club is paying the biggest share."

"What?" everyone exclaimed in shock.

Wang Xiong hurriedly said, "Don't worry, I'm covering the extra costs too. We won, so tonight, have fun however you want and brag your hearts out!"

"Hahaha, my plan was brilliant. Our midfield and back line deserve credit for holding under pressure, Mo Qiong kept a clean sheet, the long passes created chances, and Han Dang scored the goals. It was all thanks to those girls."

The "pressure-resistant players" all grinned and tacitly accepted that explanation.

"..." Mo Qiong was speechless.

Their midfield and back line had been torn apart, and somehow that counted as successfully holding under pressure... Fine. That worked too.

Wang Xiong continued, "That back pass of mine was simply a stroke of genius. One assist to open the scoring. Magic Ball is really intuitive—it understood what I meant."

"..." Mo Qiong did not know whether to laugh or cry. Can you stop bringing up that back pass?

It was one thing to brag outside. What was the point of bragging about it right in front of him?

Mo Qiong was not about to ruin the mood, so he could only let it slide.

Everyone chatted happily and wildly about the details of the match, each person boasting a little after the next. They had never felt this good before.

After all, winners were awesome. Winners were always right. Winners could brag however they pleased.

Before long, everyone went about their business. They settled on going to the beach party that evening, then dispersed.

"You were seriously on fire today." Han Dang returned to the dorm with Mo Qiong. Of course, he knew exactly how much Mo Qiong had done in that match. Four goals—one scored and three assisted—were all thanks to him.

"Yeah, I really did get buffed by the girls. Hahaha," Mo Qiong said.

"Yeah, right. Everyone knows you like that girl from the library. You even say her name in your dreams," Han Dang said with a laugh.

Mo Qiong's face reddened, then he snapped, "What the hell do you mean, everyone knows? You're the one spreading it everywhere."

"Come on, bro, this is university... You still don't dare confess?" Han Dang said.

Mo Qiong was embarrassed. Just then, someone called out to him from behind.

"Student Mo Qiong!"

The two turned around to see the sports school team's coach catching up to them.

The coach smiled. "Student Mo Qiong, my name is Li Ming. I'm the head coach of Dengzhou Sports School's football team. Could we talk?"

"Hello, Coach Li. You can say whatever it is here. I have something to do in a moment." Mo Qiong's heart stirred. He had roughly guessed what Li Ming wanted to say.

So I was still too high-profile after all? It seems he didn't spot any flaw—he just thinks I should attend a sports school?

For a moment, Mo Qiong had already prepared his refusal.

But Li Ming said, "Your talent is outstanding. You were born to be a goalkeeping god. Whether it's your reflexes or your physical qualities, you're first-rate. And your talent for creating scoring opportunities with precise long passes is even more astonishing! In all my years of coaching, I've never seen a kid as talented as you. You may not even realize how much potential is hidden inside you!"

Faced with such lavish praise, Mo Qiong remained calm. He was not about to think he was genuinely that talented. He had suddenly gained a superpower—how could his "talent" not be impressive?

"Sorry, I just want to focus on my studies. I don't want to give up my major, and I definitely don't want to transfer schools," Mo Qiong declined politely.

To his surprise, Li Ming said, "Transfer schools? No, no, no. Even attending our sports school would only bury your talent. You're already twenty. You need the most professional training possible so that your talent won't go to waste. My eye for talent is not wrong. I once worked on the coaching staff of an A-League Team. At your current level, you could already play directly in the A-League. With some time to adjust, you could soon become a starting goalkeeper."

Mo Qiong and Han Dang were both stunned. He had been playing as an amateur, yet he could go straight into an A-League starting lineup?

Li Ming was not finished. He continued, "I've only watched you play one match, so that's a conservative estimate. If possible, I would rather have you try out for the Chinese Super League. Let's see how much you can improve with professional training. If everything goes as expected, you could even become the finest goalkeeper in the Chinese Super League."

Listening from the side, Han Dang could not help asking in shock, "What if you weren't being conservative?"

Li Ming immediately looked a little wistful. "Training conditions overseas are better, actually. If you could train abroad, perhaps your stage would be the entire world... But even domestically, your future income would not be low. Believe me, I can take you to try out. As long as you show your talent, there will absolutely be no problem!"

World-class—that was what he hoped for when he was not being conservative.

Han Dang clicked his tongue. "You really are... really not conservative..."

As he spoke, he looked at Mo Qiong. He was genuinely happy for him. Professional players earned very well, especially in the A-League and the Chinese Super League, where the pay was exceptionally high.

Mo Qiong's expression shifted slightly. So it was not about transferring schools—Li Ming wanted to send him directly onto a real playing field.

After one match, he dared make such a huge judgment? He really does have a good eye... Mo Qiong thought.

He was not being conceited, because he knew Li Ming's judgment was not wrong. If he went professional, making a name for himself would be easy.

He could shoot wherever he wanted. For football, that ability was godlike.

Even setting everything else aside, with just his impossible-to-defend free kicks, even if he could not dribble and remained only a goalkeeper, he would be enough to become any team's nuclear weapon!

Even on a true professional stage, he might not be able to touch many shots at all. But he could train. He could refine his technique.

Step by step, he could gradually make a name for himself. If he eventually made it onto the national team, then if he went all out, he might even lead the China National Football Team to the World Cup...

The China National Football Team winning the championship would not be a dream.

But he did not dare...

My ability is passive. Professional football attracts too much attention. What if one day I let my mind wander, and subconsciously think of some point I don't even know the location of—my hometown, the moon, the sun...

After realizing he had a superpower, Mo Qiong already understood how that arrow at noon had gone missing. That huge sound of tearing through the air and the trail in the airflow had not been caused by a meteor falling.

Arrow Chasing the Sun... It had naturally gone looking for the sun... This meant that using his ability on a football field was merely using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, and it was utterly unsuitable for a profession under such intense scrutiny.

During the match just now, he had not wanted to shoot. Yet because his mind wandered, he had subconsciously still thought of the opposing goal, and the ball had stopped as a goal.

What if that happened again in the future, but he was not thinking about the goal?

Maybe under the gaze of tens of thousands in a match, he would kick the ball all the way to his hometown at Mount Tai...

Great. He really would become a world-class player—the kind who shocked the entire world...

Even if he stayed alert at all times and consciously set a reasonable target whenever he launched an object, the bigger the match, the denser the cameras would be.

Would his technique of catching every ball he touched, which was equivalent to making every save, really still work? It was fine in amateur matches, but professional games were surrounded by cameras. Once footage was replayed in slow motion, people would see how unnatural his way of collecting shots was.

Therefore, even though using this ability to play football and earn that kind of income truly tempted him, he could not do it.

Mo Qiong calmly refused. "Sorry, Coach Li, but how can someone studying mechanical design and manufacturing in the electromechanical department possibly be a goalkeeping god?"

"You should find someone else. Look at my classmate—he just got a Hat Trick and was unstoppable. Why not consider him instead?"

P.S. Please support the story. The plot may be developing a little slowly, but please add it to your collection.