The Attacking Defender

Having scored two goals, Luo Kai was the center of attention on the field. Even the players on the opposing team had no choice but to be thoroughly convinced by him.

In truth, they could hardly be considered competitors. After all, who could compete with Luo Kai?

Luo Kai was in a league of his own.

Many people even felt that Luo Kai should not have come to a trial match like this at all. He should have been recruited directly into the school team. This trial was supposedly for the sake of fairness, but now it looked more like a stage prepared for Luo Kai to show off.

Just listen to the deafening cheers throughout the stadium. Those who knew understood that the school team was holding tryouts; those who did not might have thought some trendy young idol had come to Dongchuan Middle School for an event...

But Luo Kai did not care about those screams and cheers. He turned his gaze toward the stands.

Amid the crowded sea of people, he spotted that tall, beautiful figure at a glance.

Even if countless hands waved for me, you are the only one I care about.

He gazed lovingly at that graceful figure.

But she did not wave her arms for him, which left Luo Kai somewhat disappointed.

Hu Lai was feeling miserable. This damned system's mission was far too difficult.

It was downright ridiculous!

It required a left back to complete a hat trick in a match. Hu Lai thought about it, and even in professional leagues, such a thing was exceedingly rare.

Many forwards found it difficult enough to score three goals in a game, let alone a fullback who was not even a forward.

He had even considered exploiting a loophole in the system. The mission only said to score three goals; it did not specify which side's goal... Would scoring three own goals count as completing the mission?

But the thought only lingered briefly before disappearing. He felt that if he really did that, even if he fooled the system, he would probably lose any chance of joining the school team altogether.

So he still had to honestly figure out how to complete a proper hat trick.

His repeated charges into the attacking half had, in essence, already made him practically a forward. Of course, he knew that this kind of "abandoning his post" would certainly not leave a very good impression on the head coach responsible for evaluating them on the sidelines.

But he had no choice.

Even if he stayed obediently in the left-back position, with his current abilities, he probably would not be able to produce anything outstanding enough to impress the head coach.

He wanted to complete this mission. He wanted to obtain this reward.

He had already experienced how powerful the [Marrow-Cleansing Potion] was, but one bottle of [Marrow-Cleansing Potion] only "slightly improved all physical attributes." How could one bottle possibly be enough?

Now that he had a chance to obtain more [Marrow-Cleansing Potion], he absolutely did not want to let it slip away so easily.

And there was also a [Mystery Gift Pack] waiting for him. It made Hu Lai's heart itch with curiosity. He really wanted to know what exactly could be obtained from this mystery gift pack.

But to learn the answer, he first had to earn the reward.

One [Marrow-Cleansing Potion] with proven effects, plus one [Mystery Gift Pack] full of unknown possibilities—such a reward could definitely be considered generous.

It was just that the mission difficulty for such a reward was a little too high...

Forget three goals—he would have trouble scoring even one.

After Luo Kai scored his second goal, Hu Lai stopped charging forward to join the attack and instead honestly remained in his left-back position.

It was not that he no longer wanted to score. It was simply that his spirit was willing, but his body was not—after sprinting back and forth like that several times, his stamina could no longer keep up, and he could not continue making those runs.

He was not the kind of player with boundless stamina and three lungs, capable of racing all over the field without tiring.

But he had no intention of giving up on the mission. This brief period of lying low was for a better burst later.

He still had to go forward. He still wanted to score.

"Has Hu Lai accepted his fate?" Song Jiajia asked happily when he saw that Hu Lai had stopped running around recklessly. He was getting closer and closer to his goal of getting a chicken dinner with Hu Lai.

He had always believed that Hu Lai's love of football had led him astray.

"I don't know..." Li Qingqing shook her head. She stared at Hu Lai in the distance, unable to make out his expression clearly. She did not know whether Hu Lai had truly given up, which was why he was no longer going forward.

After watching nearly ten minutes of the match, Li Qingqing also understood that with his teammates all distrusting him, Hu Lai going forward would only be wasted effort. He might even be misunderstood by people like Song Jiajia as simply running around blindly.

So not going forward was actually the right choice. Otherwise, he would only waste his stamina for nothing.

But whenever Li Qingqing thought of Hu Lai's serious expression during special training, she always felt that he would not give up so easily.

If he were going to give up, he should have done so long ago. Why wait until now?

She looked at Hu Lai's small figure and silently cheered him on in her heart.

Luo Kai scored another goal, completing his hat trick. Only ten minutes had passed in the match.

Team Two now led Team One 3–0.

Someone in the stands began leading a chant: "Luo Kai, score another! Luo Kai, score another!"

Clearly, although Luo Kai had already scored three goals, his fans were still not satisfied. They wanted him to score even more, preferably turning this match into Luo Kai's personal showcase.

The other players on the field all heard those shouts, but aside from helplessness, there was nothing else they could do.

As long as Luo Kai was there, everyone else was destined to be supporting characters.

Every member of the second team was just a tool there to serve Luo Kai; every member of the first team was merely background scenery meant to make Luo Kai stand out.

If this were a stage, then the entire stage would be pitch-black, with only Luo Kai visible. No matter where he went, a spotlight would descend from above and shine on him, illuminating him and everything within half a meter around him. If anyone was lucky enough to appear in that light, it would only be because they were basking in Luo Kai's glow.

The audience only needed to watch Luo Kai perform. He was the protagonist of this stage, the core of this grand show.

The first team won a free kick in the attacking third down the flank. It was one of their rare attacking opportunities.

Hu Lai had rested enough and ran forward again.

Li Zhiqun felt annoyed as soon as he saw him. "What are you coming up here for again?"

"To join the attack," Hu Lai said matter-of-factly.

"Join what attack?"

"Isn't it perfectly normal for defenders to join set-piece attacks?" Hu Lai retorted.

"Then could you not stand next to me? What if you block my shot when the time comes?" Li Zhiqun pushed Hu Lai farther away.

Hu Lai looked around. Two second-team players had already noticed Li Zhiqun and were closing in on him. By then, with them crowding around him, he probably would not even be able to receive the ball.

"Try getting a shot off first."

With that, Hu Lai ran away.

Li Zhiqun was left fuming—Hu Lai had actually looked down on him!

He stared fiercely at Hu Lai's back. I'll score one in a moment and show you, brat! Maybe I can't compare to Brother Kai, but I'm still better than you, aren't I?!

He raised an arm high, signaling for his teammates to send the ball his way.

"Why isn't Hu Lai squeezing into the goalmouth this time?" Song Jiajia asked curiously.

"It's right that he isn't going into the goalmouth," Li Qingqing explained for him. "It's packed with people in there right now. There'd be no point in him going in. He might as well come out and look for space again."

In their eyes, Hu Lai was standing on the edge of the penalty area, as though this set-piece attack had nothing to do with him.

"How can he find space out there?" Song Jiajia still did not understand. "If it's crowded inside, where would the space come from?"

"Once the ball is sent in, there'll be space," Li Qingqing said with certainty.

Song Jiajia turned to look at Li Qingqing in puzzlement. He did not understand why this girl defended Hu Lai so much. Today, she had been completely on Hu Lai's side—speaking up for him and believing in him... She could be called Hu Lai's only supporter.

At school, he had never thought the two of them were particularly close. It even seemed like he had never seen them talking together.

Just as Song Jiajia was racking his brains over it, a sudden cry of alarm rose from the stands, and his attention was swiftly drawn back to the field.

In front of the second team's goal, the football hung high in the air. It sailed over Li Zhiqun and two second-team defenders, then dropped toward the far post—and there, he saw Hu Lai!

"This is..." He did not have time to voice all his questions, such as how Hu Lai, who had just been outside the penalty area, had suddenly appeared there.

Beside him, Li Qingqing's eyes widened, her gaze locked tightly onto Hu Lai.

At the near post, Li Zhiqun looked up with some frustration at the football flying over his head.

His teammate had sent in a low cross, and he had intended to attack the near post, only for an opponent to clear the ball before he could reach it.

A clearance was one thing, but who would have thought the player clearing it would mishit it? The football traced a bizarre arc and flew behind the clearing player, passing right over Li Zhiqun's head.

It was not very high. If he had jumped with all his strength, he could have headed it. But it had all happened too suddenly, and he had no time to react.

His head turned after the football like a signal-tracking radar. Then, at the far post, he saw a figure in a red bib—and not a single yellow bib, the color worn by the second team, around him!

Who was that lucky? It was an open goal!

Then his eyes widened, and Hu Lai was reflected in them!

It was actually... that brat!

The Hu Lai reflected in Li Zhiqun's eyes looked up at the incoming football. When he had run here, he had not thought the ball would definitely come to him, but he had still come. It was a bodily instinct that never passed through his brain, driving him to this spot.

Just as Hu Lai arrived, the football flew over the heads of Li Zhiqun and those two second-team defenders.

Just as God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

Meanwhile, the second team's goalkeeper was still at the near post, wary of Li Zhiqun. Nearly half the goal stood empty, opening its arms to Hu Lai.

What Hu Lai needed to do was simple: just lift his foot and kick the football into the net.

In the stands, Li Qingqing watched Hu Lai's every movement with rapt attention. At that moment, she vaguely heard Song Jiajia mutter through clenched teeth beside her, "Don't use your hand..."

She could not help clenching her fists as well.

If this chance had fallen to her, it would have been food delivered right to her mouth—there was absolutely no way she could miss it.

But with Hu Lai, she was nervous...

She saw Hu Lai spread his arms to keep his balance, then raise his right foot.

Don't flick your ankle—keep it firm!

She cried out in her heart.

Lifting his ankle would most likely send it too high... Keeping it locked ensured stability at the moment of the shot, and thus the stability of the ball's flight path.

Hu Lai's right foot never touched the ball. His raised right knee struck the incoming ball first, and the powerful knee smash sent it bending toward the goal like a cannonball fired from the barrel!

Faced with such a ferocious shot, the reserve team's goalkeeper, who had turned and dived back, could only watch in despair—the ball had already slammed into the net by the time he was halfway through his dive.

Hu Lai pulled one back for the first team!

This "left back" had scored!

Watching this after turning around, Li Zhiqun suddenly recalled what Hu Lai had told him before:

"I'm a defender with a blade!"

He stood there, dumbfounded.