He Kicked the Soccer Ball into a Basketball

There were twenty minutes left in the match.

The Palermo players launched a frantic counter-offensive.

They had held the advantage for the entire match, yet they were currently trailing.

They would never accept such a result in football.

Besides... today was supposed to be the day they climbed to the top of the league!

As long as they won this match, they would be the leaders of the points table.

Why should they lose?

Bang!

A powerful shot from an opposing player was blocked by Lu Yang's body and sent flying high into the air.

Beep!

A threatening attack by the Palermo players was halted by a foul from Moric, who received a yellow card.

Beep!

Another excellent opening for the Palermo players was destroyed by a sliding tackle from Lu Yang, who also received a yellow card.

Beep!

Vedian also dropped back to the midfield and defensive line to participate in the defense, picking up a yellow card as well.

The San Remo defensive line was teetering on the brink of collapse.

But their efforts were rewarded.

Right up until the eighty-second minute of the match, San Remo still had not conceded a goal.

Meanwhile, Palermo was already burning with anxiety, having completely lost their composure.

Bang!

Lu Yang executed a bold and clean tackle to win the ball; the opponent never expected that Lu Yang, already carrying a yellow card, would dare to slide in.

But Lu Yang's defensive experience told him he would not commit a foul.

Iron Wall was a skill that comprehensively improved his defensive abilities, covering tackles, interceptions, sliding tackles, aerial duels, and clearances—everything.

He had truly turned into a wall today.

The commentator was also shocked by Lu Yang's defense: "My god, I must be seeing things. Not only did Lu Yang score a brilliant Panenka penalty today, but his defensive stats are even more unbelievable."

"He has completely dominated the match! He's playing football like it's basketball!"

"So far, Lu Yang has 11 tackles, 10 interceptions, and 15 successful aerial duels; he is simply an Iron Wall!"

"Stats like these are rare even in a basketball game! After this match, Lu Yang's tackle stats will reach the top three in Serie D, and his interception stats will rank second!"

"He is not a center-back, but in this match, he is better than any center-back!"

Two minutes later.

Bang!

The tall San Remo center-back made a mistake, and the Palermo striker broke past him, gaining a prime shooting opportunity.

He unleashed a powerful shot.

At the critical moment, the San Remo substitute center-back Nagy threw himself toward the right, blocking the ball with his head.

The ball flew high into the air.

Nagy collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.

Three seconds later, Lu Yang won his sixteenth aerial duel of the match and headed the ball to the dropping Vedian.

Then, he launched into a sprint!

The opposition had pushed everyone up into San Remo's half; with possession now in San Remo's hands, they could counter-attack!

Vedian passed the ball back to Moric.

Moric once again used his hit-or-miss trump card.

With his back to the Palermo half, he faced the incoming ball and, without taking a touch, turned and fired a volley!

A super-fast Rocket Pass-Shot!

The ball took flight instantly, soaring toward the Palermo half.

The Palermo defenders scrambled to retreat.

However, a red-and-white lightning bolt streaked past them.

"It's Lu Yang! My god!"

"How is he so fast!"

"The Palermo defenders can't keep up with Lu Yang at all; Lu Yang is all alone! If he catches the ball, it's a one-on-one!"

"In the eighty-fifth minute of the match, Lu Yang is still able to run this fast; his speed has been vastly underestimated by everyone!"

"This might not be as fast as Vedian or Arnold, but it's no slower than your average Serie C speedster!"

"Especially after Lu Yang picked up speed, he bypassed three players! This almost perfectly replicated the scene where Vedian won the penalty earlier!"

"Today, Palermo is dying by speed!"

"The Palermo goalkeeper is rushing out; he's positioned too far forward, and at this point, staying committed is better than retreating."

"Both are closing in on the ball, and Lu Yang is slightly ahead! But Lu Yang has no time to settle the ball; even if he reaches it, the opposing keeper will be right on top of him!"

"A top-tier striker might have many ways to handle this, perhaps even drawing a foul from the keeper, but Lu Yang clearly lacks that kind of dribbling finesse."

"Never mind dribbling; even bringing this ball under control is difficult."

The commentator was right; the goalkeeper's timely rush likely prevented a goal that would have killed the game.

Theoretically, Palermo still had time for a counterattack.

However...

Lu Yang extended his right foot, and the ball landed on his instep, never bouncing once from start to finish.

Until...

Lu Yang used his instep to flick the ball back up.

A first-time shot!

And it was a...

Panenka Chip!

The opposing keeper had already begun to crouch to block a low shot, but the ball soared into the air.

He stretched out his hands, missing the ball by less than ten centimeters, completely helpless.

An arc of a rainbow sailed right over his head.

Then, it dropped steadily into the back of the net.

San Remo leads two-nil!

Five minutes left in the match!

"GOAL! GOAL! GOAL!"

"He scored! Lu Yang has scored again!"

"A Panenka Chip filled with imagination!"

"It's a chip again, it's a chip again!"

"He truly is a player with nerves of steel!"

"His right foot was like a black hole, perfectly absorbing the ball without a ripple. The follow-up first-time chip had an absurdly exaggerated angle, almost recreating his previous penalty kick."

"Sheer brilliance! This is a flash of inspiration that belongs only to a genius!"

The Palermo goalkeeper stood frozen in place, his expression numb.

In this match, he had only faced three shots in total.

Vedian had sent his shot flying, so he didn't even have to make a save.

In other words, he had been forced to make two saves, and Lu Yang had beaten him both times with the exact same Panenka Chip.

He...

There was no time left.

After the San Remo celebrations, there were only three minutes of regulation time left, plus three minutes of stoppage time.

Six minutes was nowhere near enough for Palermo to breach the San Remo goal twice. After all, they had spent eighty minutes failing to do it even once.

Lu Yang, having sealed the game by changing the scoreline, continued to pad his stats during the remaining six minutes.

With the referee's three final whistles.

Lu Yang's stats were locked in.

Twenty successful aerial duels.

Thirteen tackles.

Fourteen interceptions.

Five clearances.

Two goals.

He had achieved a super triple-double!

Such stats would be eye-catching in basketball, let alone in football.

After the match, Lu Yang, having scored a brace, was undoubtedly named Man of the Match.

He accepted an interview with the media.

Reporter: "Why were you the one to take that penalty? We know you aren't the team's designated penalty taker, your technique isn't the best, and... this match was so important."

Lu Yang: "Someone always needs to shoulder that responsibility, especially when the teammates aren't in good form."

Reporter: "Why did you pull off a Panenka Chip penalty like that? Were you worried about it being saved?"

Lu Yang: "I felt it, so I kicked it. The outcome of any shot is unpredictable."

Reporter: "So you were gambling? You used such a crucial penalty to showboat—did you give any thought to the consequences the team would face if you failed?"

Lu Yang: "I don't like the way you put that. I think I just said it: the outcome of any shot is unpredictable. No one is being irresponsible to the team, and besides... I scored."

Reporter: "Fine. Let's talk about that other Panenka Chip. You actually had other options at the time. Such a reckless shot—if it hadn't gone over the goalkeeper's head, then..."

Lu Yang: "But it did. You're a reporter from Palermo, right? I understand your frustration at losing the top spot in the standings, but please don't assume we're supposed to lose. We, San Remo, are now only two points away from third place!"

"If we could qualify directly, why would we need to play the playoffs? This is our determination, understand!"

Lu Yang's final words brought San Remo's determination to the surface.

After Lu Yang left, the reporters whispered among themselves: "They want to get into the top three?"

"My god, San Remo actually has a chance. They have 63 points, while Bisceglie in second and Francavilla in third both have 65. One match is enough to change the situation!"

"Arrogant guy! Palermo is ahead of them with 64 points!"

"Even Catania has 60 points. If Catania catches up, then based on the head-to-head record and goal difference, Catania could still rank ahead of San Remo!"

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

They hadn't realized that, in fact, San Remo was only four points away from the top of the table.

With five rounds left, anything could happen. Why couldn't four points be bridged?

Serie D hadn't been this lively in a long time.

This season, the teams in the relegation zone were determined early on, with only one spot left to escape the abyss.

However, the promotion zone was a bloodbath, and nothing had been settled yet.

Even Turris, sitting in first place, couldn't guarantee they would finish in the top five by the end of the season.

Likewise, not only was the top six race intense, but Potenza Football Club, sitting in seventh, theoretically still had a chance to break into the top five.

But the prerequisite was that starting from the next match, they couldn't lose a single game, with at most one draw.

This was a daunting task.

But Borges, the captain of Potenza, believed they could do it.

And to prove it, he posted a video of himself on social media.

It wasn't a video of him playing football, but of him kicking tree stumps.

In the video, Borges repeatedly kicked an arm-thick tree trunk with his shin, eventually snapping two trunks in a row, which made him look exceptionally fierce.

At the same time, he specifically tagged the San Remo star player Moric.

Because Potenza's next opponent was none other than San Remo, who were currently unstoppable, having achieved seven consecutive league victories!

Undoubtedly, this was a threat.

Although he didn't say it explicitly, Borges would definitely focus his defense on Moric in the next match; he might even use unconventional means, affecting Moric's health to change the game.

This went against the original intent of competitive sports.

But in lower-tier leagues, it was a common occurrence.

One reason was that regulations in lower-tier leagues weren't strict enough.

Second, because there wasn't much money to be made in lower-tier leagues, even if one did something truly outrageous, the worst-case scenario was just quitting football.

Third, it was easier for bookmakers to manipulate such matches.

In top-tier matches, there were too many deciding factors; even a substitute player for a giant club could change the situation in an instant. It was too difficult for so-called bookmakers to control such games—not necessarily impossible, but usually not feasible.

But lower-tier leagues didn't have that level of scrutiny, so they could do whatever they wanted.

Therefore, experienced gamblers rarely touched lower-tier leagues; they would lose everything down to their underwear. It was essentially a harvest ground.

Given this situation, Lu Yang called Hans.

"Hey, Lu, what can I do for you?" Hans had been keeping a close eye on the direction of Serie D.

"Someone is threatening my teammate. In the next match, he wants to break Moric's leg." Lu Yang was very angry.

"So..." Hans asked.

"I want the next match to have high visibility—visibility beyond the level of Serie D!" Lu Yang said.

Hans thought for a moment and then said: "I need a gimmick, one that can attract fans from other levels. How about this... we'll hold a video conference tonight. Maniero, Arthas, Soto—we'll all be there."

Lu Yang thought about it: "Okay."

After hanging up, Lu Yang dialed Soto's number.

"Lu Yang, what's up?" Soto was a bit surprised. Lu Yang wasn't a troublemaker, but he never caused problems for Soto off the pitch; he was obsessed with training.

It was worth noting that Moric had already reported to the coaching staff that Lu Yang had recently turned down an invitation from Sophia. With the season nearing its end, he knew what was more important.

Good heavens, what the hell.

That's Sophia!

"We might have a problem, Coach." Lu Yang's tone was heavy.

"You mean Borges from Potenza?" Soto was a competent coach and had already grasped some of the off-field factors.

"It's him, but it's not just him." Lu Yang was concise.

Soto was taken aback.

The latter half of that sentence exceeded his expectations, but he reacted quickly.

If Potenza could target San Remo's core players, why couldn't others?

San Remo's current success was a credit to the entire squad.

But there were always those who acted as the catalyst for the team's transformation.

Rondo went without saying; he was already a handful without anyone needing to target him. He had felt uncomfortable and was subbed off during the previous match. The results showed nothing serious, but the doctor still recommended that Rondo rest for a game.

Vedian—honestly, as San Remo's finisher, if he were sidelined, the loss to San Remo would be catastrophic.

However, Vedian had already caught the eye of several Serie B clubs. If anyone were to target him now, they would become notorious throughout the football world. San Remo would even demand an investigation under the intense spotlight, and how many lower-league teams could withstand such scrutiny?

Especially a team like Potenza, which was filled with thugs and hooligans.

Once the authorities started digging, at least four of their starting players would be unable to play for a long time.

That left Lu Yang and Moric.

In terms of functionality, while Lu Yang's stats seemed superior to Moric's, Moric was the true brain of the team!

Lu Yang was the special forces operative, capable of charging into the dragon's den alone to play the superhero and decapitate the enemy.

But Moric was the team leader who could gather a group of mortals and lead them to fight against the enemy.

The loss of the latter would paralyze San Remo in an instant.

Look at it from another angle.

Consider the ease of success.

One is 1.81 meters tall, known for his defense, possesses immense physical strength, and plays with a tough, ferocious style.

The other is 1.72 meters tall, looks like an easy target, plays as a creative midfielder, and is the brain.

Who do you think is easier to deal with?

Borges' vocal threats were highly unethical.

But if San Remo didn't show a tough stance, another Borges might appear in the next few matches!

That was the most lethal part.

How could The Butcher not know the consequences of being targeted by thugs?