Chapter 15 — One Sword Freezes Nine Provinces, One Kick Decides the World
Amid the crowd's exclamations,
Xia Qi shot like an arrow into the empty space!
Škrtel was also sprinting desperately toward the ball; he knew he would likely be a fraction slower than Xia Qi, but Xia Qi would need to control the ball and adjust, so Škrtel still had a chance.
Goalkeeper Pepe Reina didn't rush out; calm, he shifted his feet along the goal line, preparing to avert disaster.
He absolutely could not allow a rookie to beat him for the third time in the same game.
No way!
Reina clenched his fists to psych himself up!
Xia Qi watched as his body was controlled from the front line to the back line — he had just put out a fire in his own box and now was at the opposition's penalty area,
becoming the match's focal point.
His B2B, box-to-box, all-around performance had him fired up, veins popping!
For the first time he and the system were perfectly in tune; for the first time he cooperated wholeheartedly with the system. He spread his arms to the sides, leaned slightly left, and swung his right leg back.
Then he tucked, pulled and snapped his body out like an eagle spreading wings, while the swung-right leg described a rapid arc in the air. The movement was so swift that it left an afterimage, and the right boot struck the left side of the ball with a heavy thwack.
The ball wasn't struck perfectly,
yet everyone present could hear the explosive contact, and they watched it trace an English letter "S" through the air from one post to the other.
My friends and I were stunned!
It was Frederico Quaresma's outside-of-the-foot curve!
Let us mourn for Reina for three seconds!
Even the most picky Liverpool fan club "LGBT" chose to forgive.
Forgive Reina for standing still and failing to react.
Such obscene striking technique makes one question life — Reina, you, me, and everyone else…
This was not an ordinary shot that could be beaten by human effort!
"Xia Qi! Amazing!"
"Damn, skillful and daring — an outside-of-the-foot volley!"
Oh my… I'm actually applauding the opponent?
Many Liverpool fans in the stands secretly hid in corners, embarrassed!
This moment became an eternal memory for the "Ice fans" — they'd recount it to younger fans for years.
Zhan Jun roared with excitement:
"The ball's in — Reina motionless, a face of existential despair!"
"One sword chills nine provinces, one kick decides the world! Arsenal take the lead, 3–2, and there are five minutes left. No matter the final score, Xia Qi is the night's victor."
Xia Qi watched the ball nestle in the net; he wanted to roar, to run down to the Liverpool stands and, like Cristiano Ronaldo, put a finger to his lips to silence the crowd!
But he couldn't!
The system's only flaw was the experience!
However, Anfield seemed to sense his intended "shush" — at the instant the ball hit the net, the stadium fell into silence!
For about three or four seconds!
Then Anfield exploded anew, a mixture of cheers, curses, boos and applause in chaotic chorus…
Surprisingly, the maker of the chaos remained serene, as if detached from the world…
This peculiarity stirred controversy; where there's controversy people hunt for answers, and some began digging into Xia Qi's past.
Suddenly a female fan in the Liverpool stand covered her mouth and sobbed.
One of the London Daily's reporters, John, had rushed to publish a piece titled "I won't be lonely: I have football!" to grab the scoop.
The article painted Xia Qi as socially anxious, depressed, with football the light in his darkness — and it even linked to the song "Haidi."
That girl had once been depressed; she resonated deeply with the lyrics and chose to believe the article — only someone who had suffered could write such lyrics…
Recalling her own passage through darkness, she suddenly felt ashamed for not supporting fellow sufferers and realized Xia Qi was still struggling while she had recovered.
"My dear, what's wrong?"
"He's stronger than I am…"
"What?"
"He is…"
In Britain, calling reporters "paparazzi" is not without reason — they chase sensationalism, often taking hearsay for news. The most notorious is The Times, sometimes called a gossip paper.
Xia Qi, a one-click auto player, is certainly unlike most people, which led to misunderstandings — John collected those misunderstandings, added his own thoughts, and published while Xia Qi was hot.
The news spread among fans; the refusal to celebrate became less glaring, and the boos at Anfield began to quiet…
On the pitch, Liverpool's players were dumbfounded by Xia Qi's box-to-box presence!
They couldn't understand how he had appeared there.
Reina repeatedly watched the goal replay on the big screen, hands on hips.
Sprint, leap, unfold, swing the leg — everything was perfect with no fault to find. The only flaw: his expression. Cold, but lacking the killer instinct.
Not heartfelt enough!
To lose to such a shot left him speechless.
"He's more useful against us than van Persie ever was."
Pat Rice told Wenger decisively.
"Isn't that a conclusion we knew already?"
They shared a laugh and a glance.
Who says Arsenal can only fight for fourth?
We have a "captain"!
Liverpool kicked off again.
Gerrard and the Reds couldn't accept a half-time champagne finish.
They attacked ferociously in the remaining time.
The one-goal leading Arsenal didn't sit back either; they pressed hard.
Fast exchanges made the match even more exciting.
Often after only a few passes there'd be another shot, but none went in.
They played like that for several cycles,
and time quickly reached the final minute.
Sterling danced past a defender and assisted Luis Suárez; the ball was cleared first by Carragher.
The referee awarded Liverpool a corner.
"Time's running out — this is Liverpool's last chance."
Suárez, Škrtel, Carragher and others jostled for position in the box; Sterling and Gerrard waited outside the area…
Arsenal's captain Thomas Vermaelen had Xia Qi mark Suárez — who else had been so impressive defensively for him?
Suárez still held a grudge about being thrown aside by Xia Qi; even before the whistle they were pushing and shoving in the box, arms entwined.
The whistle blew. Henderson swung the ball into the area. Suárez broke away from Xia Qi and charged to the near post.
Under the system's mechanical prompt, Xia Qi burst out of the box toward Gerrard, who was poised outside for a world-class equalizer.
Martin Škrtel leapt, confused: "I passed it to Xia Qi?"
Gerrard didn't have time to think about how Xia Qi read the corner routine; he immediately pressed to win the ball back.
But Xia Qi was slick — he nudged the ball, executed a marseille turn.
Then like a rider leaping on a white horse, he flew like a shooting star!
And galloped off!
Though he had the ball, Sterling couldn't catch up.
If Sterling couldn't, forget Liverpool's others.
Xia Qi soon burst into Liverpool's box. With a big stride he carried the ball too far ahead of himself.
Reina, thinking it a mistake, darted out without hesitation.
But the next second Xia Qi pulled and dragged and executed another marseille turn, slotting the ball into the empty net.
"Haha, if you're already in the box just shoot — why so many tricks? You must lack confidence in your finishing."
A friend nearby added softly: "Wasn't Ronaldo poor at finishing too?"
Damn!
Who the hell are you?
Hasn't anyone told you Arsenal fans are in the opposite stand?
Friendship over!
I'll smack you!
(END CHAPTER)
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