World Wave!

[World-Class Goal Experience Card]: After use, there is a chance that the user's shot will become a world-class goal within ten seconds.

Hu Lai stared at the orange card in the system for a long time.

He had never expected to draw something like this. He had originally thought the lottery system could only produce things like potions and elixirs—at best, perhaps training scrolls.

He had never imagined it could contain something like this.

Perhaps the streak of low-level items like [Stamina Potion] and "Thank You for Participating" had helped him accumulate enough luck to draw this item in one go.

Clearly, this was the key to breaking the deadlock tomorrow.

But Hu Lai also understood that using this thing would not simply put him into an invincible state for ten seconds.

After all, the description had made it perfectly clear: "There is a chance it will become a world-class goal."

There was a chance, not a certainty.

Hu Lai did not know exactly what counted as "a chance," but surely it could not mean he could randomly swing his foot at the ball from miles away and have it suddenly turn into a world-class goal that flew into the net, right?

It still had to be a proper shot.

The problem was that aside from the one decent shot he had taken at the very beginning, when Mao Xiao had not yet gotten serious, he had never had another opportunity like that.

It was not that he had not taken any shots at all. He simply had not taken another decent shot.

Those were two entirely different concepts.

Mao Xiao and Yan Yan marked him tightly. Most of the time, he was knocked away before he even had a chance to shoot. Only on rare occasions could he use his keen judgment of where the ball would land to create a shooting opportunity.

But whether it was Mao Xiao or Yan Yan, they could immediately use their physical advantage to make up for their weaker reading of the ball's trajectory. Often, just as he shot, their bodies would slam solidly into him, leaving him unable to generate any real power and with no time to worry about the accuracy of the shot.

For example, he might swing his leg for a powerful strike, but because Mao Xiao knocked him off balance as he shot, his toe might only brush the ball in the end, turning a thunderous shot into a weak poke.

How could a shot like that possibly threaten the goal guarded by Meng Xi?

So even if he had this card, was he supposed to use it on a shot like that?

This was his only trump card. Of course he had to cherish it and could not waste it carelessly.

If he used it rashly without a better opportunity, he would lose his final chance to turn things around.

He replayed the special training from the past two days in his mind, carefully recalling every detail of how Mao Xiao and Yan Yan had defended him.

Though the two of them were marking him together, it was still difficult for them to be perfectly synchronized. In other words, there would inevitably be some "delay" in their coordination. No matter how well they worked together, they could not move as one person.

So he had to turn a situation where he faced two people at once into one where he faced only one at a time.

As long as he could get a one-on-one matchup, his chances would be far greater than if he had to take on two defenders.

But how could he split the two apart while also creating a decent shooting opportunity?

Hu Lai repeatedly ran through possibilities in his head, including his own movements and how the two defenders might respond.

He kept thinking until he did not even know when he had fallen asleep.

Li Qingqing tossed and turned in bed. She had been lying there for a long time, but she simply could not fall asleep.

Whenever she closed her eyes, the image of Hu Lai lying motionless on the ground appeared in her mind, as if he were dead.

And the image was in black and white...

It frightened her so badly that she hurriedly opened her eyes and drove away the ominous vision.

Tomorrow was the last day of special training, and Hu Lai's final chance to pass the test.

She agreed with the arrangement to have Hu Lai spend a year on basic training, but every time she heard people laughing at him from the sidelines over the past two days, her conviction weakened a little.

Even if it was right for Hu Lai to spend a year on the basics, she still wanted him to use his actions to slap the faces of those waiting to laugh at him!

She did not know whether Hu Lai had reacted to those jeers, but she was upset—extremely upset. It was as though she, not Hu Lai, was the one being ridiculed.

That was why she was especially worried about Hu Lai's performance tomorrow.

If Hu Lai really could not score, would he not be laughed at for an entire year?

Especially that Li Zhiqun...

No matter what, Hu Lai had made the school team. You could not even make the school team yourself, so where did you get the nerve to laugh at Hu Lai all day?

Argh! This is infuriating!

Li Qingqing could not help but punch the bedboard hard.

The stadium stands were packed after school that afternoon, and quite a few people had gathered on the track beside the field as well.

If Li Qingqing had not been with Song Jiajia, using his bulky body as a shield to force their way through the crowd, she probably would not even have been able to see the pitch.

"Why are there even more people than before?" Li Qingqing asked curiously after they finally squeezed their way to the front row.

"Because everyone knows this is the last day of Hu Lai's special training. It's like a mystery drama reaching its finale—when the truth is about to be revealed, the ratings are bound to shoot up," Song Jiajia explained.

Li Qingqing looked around. Quite a few people wore excited expressions as they watched the players warming up on the field with anticipation, while others eagerly asked those around them, "Which one is Hu Lai? Which one is Hu Lai?"

Clearly, some people were here to watch the team play for the first time. They had probably been drawn in by the topic that had been buzzing around the school these past two days.

To Hu Lai, this was the most crucial training session of his football career, a life-or-death moment. But to the spectators, it was merely the grand finale of an entertaining drama.

Li Qingqing sighed.

Li Zhiqun stood amid the crowd, squeezed so tightly that he could only stand sideways, craning his neck to look toward the pitch. But it did nothing to dampen his mood.

As he watched that tiny figure, he sneered repeatedly.

Whether you like it or not, you've already become everyone's laughingstock! You can shut me up, but can you shut up everyone in the whole school?

The thought that he would soon witness Hu Lai being beaten into the mud made Li Zhiqun tremble with excitement.

He even regretted not going to Hu Lai earlier to make a bet—two hundred yuan that he wouldn't pass the special training. That way, not only would he no longer owe Hu Lai money, Hu Lai would end up owing him one hundred yuan instead. And he definitely wouldn't accept Hu Lai having Song Jiajia pay on his behalf.

That way, as long as Hu Lai couldn't pay him back, he could give him the nickname "Mutt" again. Then he'd see what right Hu Lai had to tell him to shut up.

The regular training ended, and it was time for everyone's favorite part.

The people watching from the sidelines visibly grew excited, and murmurs rippled through the crowd.

Those on the track pressed inward, and some people's feet even stepped onto the artificial turf.

Li Ziqiang paid no attention to the noise behind him. His eyes were fixed on Hu Lai.

That kid had already entered the penalty area, preparing to complete his final round of "special training."

Li Ziqiang did not explain the rules or precautions again. He believed there was no need to say anything more.

Mao Xiao stood in front of Hu Lai and spoke to him softly, apologetically. "Sorry, Hu Lai... Even if you have to spend a year practicing the basics, don't give up. Don't leave the team. Once you build a solid foundation, you'll definitely get a chance to play in matches in your second year..."

He couldn't go easy on Hu Lai during training. Judging from the previous two days, today's session would not change the outcome either. Everyone, including him, believed Hu Lai was one hundred percent doomed to lose.

Hu Lai looked at Mao Xiao, who was sincerely worrying about him, and smiled. "Thanks, Mao Xiao."

Though this big guy could be unbelievably stubborn at times, he truly counted as Hu Lai's friend.

Hu Lai did not have many friends. At this school, aside from his deskmate Song Fatty, there was only Mao Xiao.

At that moment, Li Qingqing's face suddenly appeared in Hu Lai's mind.

She... probably counted as a friend too, right?

Li Qingqing and Song Jiajia stood together watching Hu Lai's special training. It had already begun, and it seemed no different from the previous two days.

He still charged straight toward where the ball would land, only to be knocked flat on his back during physical clashes with Mao Xiao or Yan Yan.

There was no hope in sight at all.

A feeling of despair gradually spread through Li Qingqing's heart.

She suddenly thought that Song Jiajia might be happy to see this. Maybe if Hu Lai was crushed by the setback and gave up football, he could go play PUBG with him instead.

With that thought, she turned to glance at Song Jiajia beside her, only to find the fat boy staring solemnly at the pitch, with not a trace of joy on his face.

When Hu Lai got back up from the ground once again, Yan Yan gently shook his head. He wanted to tell Hu Lai that this was meaningless, that the special training had been unfair from the very beginning.

He did not know why, but he could tell that the head coach did not seem to like Hu Lai very much. His standards for Hu Lai were always higher than for everyone else.

He could not understand what the point of Hu Lai's persistence was. It was obvious that the kid was not having a good time on the team. He could not get into matches, training was dull and tedious, and there was no meaning or hope to be found in working hard.

Could he really be the kind of player driven purely by passion?

But even with nothing but burning passion and love for the game, very few people could keep walking this path.

Maybe he was simply stubborn. Maybe he had not truly hit a wall yet...

But unfortunately, that wall was coming today.

After getting up from the ground, Hu Lai confirmed something: whether it was Mao Xiao or Yan Yan, they seemed to think he only knew how to fight for the first ball. They had formed a fixed pattern of thinking—when they saw him make a run, they followed him, using his movement to judge where the ball would land.

And during the past two days of contests, Hu Lai had discovered that neither of them judged the ball's landing point as accurately as he did.

When defending against him, they relied more on their physicality or experience, along with the advantage of the rules—they only needed to mark him and did not have to worry about space opening up elsewhere and being exploited.

Though Hu Lai had been thrown around badly during these two days of special training, he had also gained confidence—perhaps that sounded unbelievable, but that was the reality.

Mao Xiao and Yan Yan were actually an excellent center-back pairing, as their match results proved. In the previous four qualifying matches, the two of them had conceded only one goal.

Yet Hu Lai had discovered that even such outstanding center-backs were worse than him at judging where the ball would land.

So even in front of such excellent defenders, Hu Lai had confidence of his own.

As long as he made proper use of his strengths, it was not as though he had no chance at all.

With that in mind, he began trying more complicated runs.

For example, he would pretend to run toward the middle, then suddenly pull back, turn, and sprint toward the near post.

Or he would initially run straight toward the middle, only to sharply change direction toward the far post just as he neared the goal.

He used moves like these to carve out some shooting space for himself.

After two attempts, he finally managed to get a touch on the ball.

But all he could do was hurriedly take a shot before Mao Xiao could dive back. The shot had no accuracy whatsoever and sailed high out of the pitch.

"Ah!" Li Qingqing couldn't help crying out in disappointment when she saw this from the stands.

She no longer cared what others thought about her cheering for Hu Lai, nor was she afraid that people would connect her to him.

Surrounded by people eagerly waiting to see Hu Lai make a fool of himself, she felt even more compelled to show her support for him.

Standing by the sidelines with his teammates, Luo Kai wasn't particularly concerned about how Hu Lai was doing. More than half his attention was fixed on Li Qingqing in the stands.

The moment Hu Lai sent the ball flying, Luo Kai immediately turned to look at Li Qingqing.

Sure enough, he saw her stamp her foot in disappointment.

Qingqing actually stamped her foot because she was worried about Hu Lai?!

He had scored nine goals in four qualifying matches, yet he had never managed to make her smile.

And now she was this worried over that rookie!

An uncontrollable emotion churned inside him, surged up into his nose, and finally burst out as a heavy snort.

He had thought that his performance in the matches would surely make Li Qingqing change her mind. But instead, she seemed to have sunk deep into a mire, unable to pull herself free.

What kind of magic did that bastard have? Or what sort of love potion had he fed Qingqing?

How was he inferior to that idiot?!

He stared fixedly at Li Qingqing. Within his line of sight, she had both hands clenched into fists, her arms pressed tightly against her sides, her fists held close to her chest. She stared intently at the pitch, and beneath her furrowed brows was a gaze filled with concern.

And Luo Kai remembered that such an emotional gaze had never once been directed at him...

He withdrew his gaze and looked back at Hu Lai, who had just climbed to his feet.

Challenging two starting center backs and a starting goalkeeper all by himself—Luo Kai believed it was completely impossible for him to succeed.

This was nothing more than a dying struggle.

Look at how pathetic he was, like a dog...

Could Qingqing's maternal instincts have suddenly overflowed?

Perhaps he had been going about this the wrong way?

Instead of showing Qingqing how strong he was, should he reveal a weakness he had never shown anyone before? Would that be enough to awaken her desire to protect him?

But that would be difficult. A man as powerful as me... Tch.

Luo Kai shook his head helplessly.

Hu Lai had no idea what Luo Kai was thinking while staring at him. Although he had sent that last shot flying, he had grasped something crucial.

In other words, he had taken another step closer to his goal of getting a "decent shooting opportunity."

That feint had really fooled Mao Xiao!

Good. He would keep doing it like this.

As Hu Lai thought that, he examined his inventory again in the system space. The card emitting a faint orange glow floated within one of the slots.

Hu Lai was also certain how to use it: as long as he wanted to use it, he could activate it immediately. Unlike those medicines and potions, he didn't need to take it out of the system space first, pull out the stopper, and drink it. So he didn't need to worry that activating the card in the system would make him miss a fleeting opportunity.

Once he was ready, Hu Lai returned to the starting point and raised his hand to signal Chu Yifan in the corner area that he could send the ball over.

Seeing Hu Lai's signal, Chu Yifan took two steps in his run-up before kicking the ball toward the goalmouth.

His kick did not require much precision. His only job was to send it into the goalmouth; how Hu Lai and the others made their runs was their own business.

This time, the moment Chu Yifan struck the ball, Hu Lai sprinted diagonally toward the near post of the six-yard box.

Mao Xiao, who had been sticking to him every step of the way, naturally followed tightly behind.

As he ran, Hu Lai could feel the pressure of Mao Xiao's body against him. Although Mao Xiao was not an especially burly center back, his strength still far exceeded Hu Lai's.

The onlookers had seen this scene far too many times already. Even with their eyes closed, they knew what would happen next—Hu Lai and Mao Xiao would charge toward the ball's landing spot together, then Mao Xiao would use his superior strength to knock Hu Lai away. Hu Lai would fall onto the grass, while Mao Xiao headed the ball out of the penalty area, ending the attack.

But just as the ball was about to arrive, Hu Lai suddenly slammed on the brakes and shifted slightly to the side.

Mao Xiao, who had been preparing to jump, instantly lost his balance—after all, he had been using his strength to wrestle with Hu Lai the whole time. When Hu Lai suddenly pulled away, all support for that force vanished, sending Mao Xiao's body tilting sideways.

Yet he was still contesting the header. An upward force and a downward force tore at his body. He barely managed to jump, but neither his height nor his posture was right.

Most defenders would have given up on the defensive play at that point, but Mao Xiao still forcibly straightened his body, trying to head the ball clear.

He did make contact with the ball, but instead of heading it out of the penalty area, he merely glanced it.

The ball bounced above his head, slowed down, rose into the air, traced an arc, and continued flying backward.

The moment Hu Lai stepped aside, he quickly turned and charged without hesitation toward the far post, glancing up at the ball in the air.

Only then did he realize that the ball was not flying straight toward the far post. After being touched by Mao Xiao, it had slowed slightly, and its landing spot had changed.

Hu Lai instantly judged where the ball would land. Rather than continuing to run backward, he suddenly slammed on the brakes again.

Just then, he saw Yan Yan assume the posture for a jumping header, intending to head the ball away.

He was the second layer of insurance in the two-man defense, there precisely to prevent something like this.

The ball Mao Xiao had headed went high but not far. It was falling from its apex as Yan Yan bent his knees and raised his arms, preparing to jump.

In an aerial contest, the five-foot-seven Hu Lai had no advantage whatsoever against the six-foot-one Yan Yan. Even without any physical contact, with his jumping ability and height, he could not beat Yan Yan to the header.

So should he give up this chance?

Wait for the next one?

No!

Mao Xiao could no longer catch up. All he had to face now was Yan Yan. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

There could be no better chance than this!

If I miss this, I might have to wait another year!

Hu Lai made his decision in an instant. An opportunity where the ball was positioned so that neither of them could reach it immediately was already exceedingly rare.

He might not be able to beat Yan Yan with his head, but what if he counted the length of his legs?

With that thought, Hu Lai knew exactly what he had to do.

[World-Class Goal Experience Card]!

Use!

Then the muscles in his left thigh rapidly swelled, as though an explosion had gone off inside them. The force it generated launched his entire body into the air!

Thanks to the two bottles of [Marrow-Cleansing Potion], his physical condition was much better than before!

Aerial duel?

Seeing this from the sidelines, Luo Kai snorted coldly.

That idiot actually thought he could out-header Yan Yan?

Who gave him that confidence?

Li Zhiqun pursed his lips and pressed his tongue against his teeth, ready to blow a loud whistle in celebration when Hu Lai hit the ground again.

For the past few days, he had watched Hu Lai fall to the ground like a punching bag every day. It was truly a delightful sight. Because of it, he had even eaten an extra bowl of rice at dinner, making his parents think he was finally starting to grow.

Li Qingqing bit her lower lip tightly, so hard that it turned white, yet she did not notice.

After watching from the sidelines for a while, she had already seen through Hu Lai's plan. He was using those fake runs to stretch out the defensive line and widen the gap between Mao Xiao and Yan Yan, allowing Hu Lai to gain a brief one-on-one opportunity.

This was probably the only thing Hu Lai could do.

And this time, he had successfully caused Mao Xiao to lose his balance. Mao Xiao had thrown himself into the aerial challenge but failed to clear the ball, and even staggered when he landed, unable to get back in time to double-team Hu Lai with Yan Yan.

That meant Hu Lai could now go one-on-one with Yan Yan.

This was the best opportunity they had had in three days of special training!

Li Qingqing realized it.

But that alone was not enough. The ball was in the air, and the air was where Yan Yan held the advantage—at six foot one, he was good at headers.

What about Hu Lai?

Li Qingqing did not think Hu Lai could beat Yan Yan in an aerial duel.

After finally earning such a perfect opportunity, was he going to fail at the last hurdle again?

Just then, she saw that Hu Lai, after jumping up, did not try to head the ball. Instead, he leaned backward and fell through the air. At the same time, his right leg rose with the motion, only to suddenly drive back down after reaching a certain height.

His upper body did not force itself to remain balanced in midair. Instead, it folded back downward, falling under the pull of gravity, inevitably falling.

But just as his body resembled a powerless airplane about to crash, one leg whipped upward! As though, just before plunging into the sea, it had dropped an aerial bomb onto the deck of its designated target...

It was his left leg!

Li Qingqing released her teeth from her bitten-white lip. Without realizing it, her mouth had already fallen open—and it kept opening wider!

Yan Yan tilted his head back and jumped. He saw the football growing larger and larger in his field of vision, crystal clear and perfectly positioned. All he needed to do next was use his waist and abdominal strength to head the ball as far away as possible, out of the penalty area, ending this attack...

In midair, he used his powerful core strength to lean back slightly, gathering force for the header.

Just then, a shadow suddenly swept across the corner of his eye...

Before he could make out what it was, it had already flashed before his eyes, as though it were coming straight for his face.

He reflexively blinked.

Then he heard a dull sound—Bang!

It exploded abruptly beside his ear.

At the same time, the skin on his face felt the faint sting of something slicing past it.

When he opened his eyes again, the football that had been inches above his head was gone.

And the shadow that had flashed before his eyes was now retreating and vanishing from the corner of his vision on the other side.

Yan Yan, vice-captain of Dongchuan Middle School's football team—a traditional powerhouse—an experienced second-year center-back, found a terrifying thought rising uncontrollably in his mind at that very moment:

That kid... that kid just... took a shot over my head?!

Li Qingqing, Song Jiajia, Li Zhiqun, Luo Kai... everyone, whether on or off the pitch, witnessed this scene that struck them to their very core:

Just as Yan Yan leaped up and was about to head the ball away, Hu Lai struck it right in front of him with an extremely strange posture—a bicycle kick that barely resembled a standard bicycle kick!

At that moment, Hu Lai's head was down and his feet were up, his body nearly completely inverted in midair. That was why his left foot had only just reached the same height as Yan Yan's head...

And now that he had completed the shot, he had completely lost his momentum, plunging headfirst toward the ground.

A wave of gasps and screams erupted from the stands and the crowd beside the pitch.

Others impatiently searched for the ball, wanting to know the result of Hu Lai's earth-shattering bicycle kick...

Their eyes immediately turned toward the goal.

The ball was in the net.

Meng Xi stood frozen in place with both hands raised, saying in a fluster, "Uh, Coach, I really wasn't holding back..."

Li Ziqiang did not answer him. At some point, his mouth had fallen open, and the whistle that had been in it slipped out, struck his chest, then swayed gently on its cord.

PS: While I have the chance, please vote with your recommendation tickets. It's Monday, after all.