Chapter 162: An Assassin and an Assassin Are Not the Same
"Ding-dong."
"Please choose 'Training' or 'Match' mode."
"Match."
"Please choose pitch position: A Striker, B …"
"A."
"Please choose striker type: A Centre-forward, B Winger, C False nine …"
"Detected current team difficulty. Matching host with the [Assassin Jing Ke] attribute."
"The wind sighs, the Yi River cold… a brave man departs and does not return…"
"Please choose 'Autonomous Mode' or 'One-Click AFK Mode'."
"Friendly reminder: during AFK the system will automatically complete metric actions."
"One-Click AFK!"
...
Xia Qi felt cold inside — he'd been boasting he'd call it a half-day and now the system had assigned him this attribute.
Xia Qi didn't doubt the power of the attribute, but the previous match had shown that this attribute relied heavily on teammates...
The match kicked off quickly!
Shinji Kagawa played the ball to Robin van Persie.
Arsenal fans had complicated feelings toward van Persie — he'd left for United for "honour not money," and betrayal during a dark period left them unable to just cheer him.
Hate? In those dim times, having your beloved player stab you in the back naturally provokes hate.
But seeing van Persie's barren trophy history at Arsenal reverse into goals for United made that hatred ease into a rarer pleasure.
(For the record: van Persie had eight years at Arsenal and won the 2004 Community Shield and the 2004–05 FA Cup.)
So the complicated emotions toward van Persie were expressed in boos.
On the pitch,
as soon as the whistle sounded Xia Qi shot toward van Persie like an arrow from a bow.
Human Xia Qi sensed the AI behaving differently this match.
The AI matched to [Assassin Jing Ke] seemed more proactive than it had in the previous game.
Are assassins not all the same?
Receiving the ball amid boos, van Persie barely calmed himself and looked up to control the ball and plan his next move.
But that glance spooked him — in front of him, the Chinese youngster who had inherited his place and talent at Arsenal flew at him.
Yes — the right word is "flew"!!!
Xia Qi launched a ferocious flying tackle.
Van Persie rushed the ball to the right trying to take the outside lane past Xia Qi,
but he misjudged Xia Qi's speed.
Van Persie's right-footed flick was only half-completed when Xia Qi slid in, nicked the ball away and brought van Persie down as well.
At Wembley, cheers and boos mixed.
"Beautiful!"
"Tonight Xia Qi's in top form — far from the half-invisible performance last game."
"No foul — Xia Qi rolled and hooked the ball back to Kevin."
"Kevin (De Bruyne) caught it and fed it to Theo (Walcott)."
"Wow!"
"The dribble past Carrick was gorgeous."
"Arsenal's players are all exploding with form tonight!"
Thierry Henry was on fire praising Arsenal from the start; Solskjær felt uncomfortable at Henry's constant praise and shot back with a thinly veiled barb.
Michael Carrick, who'd been nutmegged by Walcott, stood dazed.
Walcott's quick change of direction had been so fast Carrick momentarily thought it had been Xia Qi.
Walcott, after beating Carrick, surged down the right.
At this moment Xia Qi had cut inside from the left and penetrated the box.
Before Patrice Evra could close him down Walcott squared the ball,
Balotelli in the center of the box didn't control — he struck it first time with power.
Boom!
Like a meteor the ball sped toward Manchester United's goal.
Many Arsenal fans rose to celebrate, sure it was a goal.
But just before the ball crossed the line a pair of brown-gloved hands appeared.
David de Gea pushed it out.
"World-class save!"
"De Gea — the Premier League's number one keeper!"
Solskjær exploded with praise for De Gea, rousing the Old Trafford crowd.
Balotelli shook his head in frustration.
However, as the Arsenal players and fans marveled at how close they'd come, the ball De Gea had parried was headed on by Michael Carrick to Shinji Kagawa; he didn't control and the ball then returned to van Persie.
At that moment only Xia Qi had tracked back among Arsenal's front players — the AI had no emotional lapses; it was better than human reaction in that single respect.
Arsenal's players belatedly followed Xia Qi in the chase.
Xia Qi quickly closed van Persie; this time van Persie didn't try to think ahead — he whipped a cross with his left.
The ball arced like a rainbow into Arsenal's penalty area.
Inside the box Wayne Rooney was readying himself; he leapt before the ball dropped.
Rooney's jump wasn't about heading, he aimed to volley mid-air — van Persie's specialty!
Previously it had been Rooney supplying crosses and van Persie volleying — tonight the roles seemed swapped.
Time froze for a moment; everyone held their breath for the spectacle,
except Thomas Vermaelen!!!
Arsenal's captain charged forward to disrupt Rooney's shot.
In mid-air Rooney braced, spread his arms and at the instant the ball dropped he stretched his body and smashed his right foot under the ball.
Boom!
A thunderous, instantaneous roar — the distance and the strike were perfect.
Emiliano Martínez only saw a blur and then the ball in the back of the net.
Damn!
A repeat of the last match!
How can football's history be so similar?
Beep!
The referee pointed to the center circle — goal confirmed.
Wembley was rapidly claimed by the Manchester United fans who roared wildly.
"Goal!"
"Rooney again! He's struck it in van Persie's style."
"That goal was beautiful."
"Three minutes in and United lead. Arsenal haven't shown the top-of-the-table form."
"Such a result shocks those who had written United off. Sir Alex is a real puzzle for Wenger."
The big screen replayed Rooney's goal repeatedly.
Xia Qi stood at the center circle watching, displeased but forced to admit the strike was exquisite, it hit the under-side of the bar and bounced in — even the best keeper might have been beaten.
United players celebrated crazily; Arsenal didn't rush to stop them — the match had just begun and there was plenty of time.
At the VIP balcony Emma Watson clapped and cheered for Arsenal, and the national sweetheart's pull was unmistakable — the gloomy air around Arsenal's players lifted.
Ferguson instantly sensed the mood shift at Arsenal. He stood on the touchline, calling his players to drop back and hit on the counter.
1–0 was not secure, but it offered tactical possibilities: drawing the opponent out was one such plan.
"Mark the Chinese kid!"
"Double up when needed!"
Wenger only furrowed his brow and watched the field — was he displeased with someone, or himself?
Arsenal and United had a long-standing rivalry, and when the live-screen showed both managers, Henry couldn't resist taunting Solskjær.
"You're ahead on the scoreboard, but the Professor (Wenger) has more composure than the Fergie, look how nervous you all are…"
Henry's gibe left Solskjær bitter; historically United had dominated Arsenal in almost every area, and it stung that things had changed since the arrival of the Chinese youngster.
That youngster had been a Manchester local — many local youngsters first choose United; being rejected then picked up by City or other clubs was common. Xia Qi had been a United reject and never told his school-time story; Solskjær, as United's youth coach, knew more about the ugly side of youth development than Ferguson.
Thinking that Xia Qi might have been passed over due to skin color or nationality made Solskjær even more resentful.
Henry, thinking he'd silenced Solskjær, continued parading his superiority: "Tactically we still outclass you…"
...
Ten minutes after Rooney's goal the score was still 1–0 to United, but Arsenal dominated possession.
They surrounded United in their own half. Arsenal's front three — Xia Qi, Mario Balotelli, and Theo Walcott — made repeated forays.
They threatened but did not score.
In the 15th minute United launched an attack that failed; Kagawa's pass was intercepted by Gustavo.
Gustavo looked immediately for Xia Qi in the back.
His pass gave Xia Qi a generous head start.
This was Xia Qi's favorite method.
Xia Qi made a high-speed run down the left!
No one on United's right could match his pace.
He quickly tore through United's midfield and reached Rafael. He didn't attempt to bulldoze Rafael like Kagawa had been barged through earlier.
Instead he slammed on the brakes and stopped.
At that instant he used the outside of his right foot to push the ball slightly inside, feinting to cut in.
Rafael immediately lunged left — in his mind Xia Qi was the sort to "eat" him up; why would such a player need a feint?
Reality: he did.
At the moment Rafael shifted his weight, Xia Qi used the tip of his right foot to pull the ball back.
"Cow-tail!"
"Like Ronaldinho's long tail."
The ball then went outward and his body twisted to change direction, leaving a crestfallen Rafael behind.
Rafael: you might as well have eaten me straight up — at least it wouldn't make me look a fool.
"Xia Qi! Xia Qi just cut past Rafael — United's defense looks defenseless against him! He's burst into the box like it's paper."
Thierry Henry, Arsenal's all-time top scorer, knew better than anyone what letting Xia Qi into the box meant, and his voice rose with excitement. Solskjær's voice trembled:
"How could Rafael let Xia Qi cut through so easily? That tail feint is so commonplace!"
In United's box,
David de Gea chose to rush out quickly to clear the danger.
But his opponent was AI.
Facing de Gea's sortie, AI-Xia Qi adjusted his body and swung his right foot toward the goal.
De Gea slid forward on his knees.
He slid, legs tucked, arms spread to protect both sides and held his torso upright to enlarge his defending area.
This was a classic rush-down single-chance save — a sweep of the keeper to stop a near-post shot or a low finish.
But the AI gave him no chance to perform.
AI-Xia Qi's right foot struck the ball, but the shot didn't head left or right. Instead, it popped up directly in front of de Gea, flew over his upright body and then began to descend.
It skidded into the net with a chip — a delicate lofted scoop from very close range. The ball sense required for such a finish is exceptional and not something most could execute.
"Xia Qi!"
"A light, artful chip — like Francesco Totti with the flair of a painter — no, even Totti isn't as lyrical."
"An exquisite Arsenal counter, Xia Qi blending speed and technique perfectly. Before him United's defense looked nonexistent — that little chip was poetry.
"If Rooney's strike is the warrior fighting, Xia Qi's shot is the artist painting; one uses force, the other a feather touch…"
All the Arsenal fans leapt to their feet and roared with everything they had: "Xia Qi!!!"
Just like before, and again when trailing, Xia Qi stood up and stubbornly equalized.
Xia Qi slid a celebratory track toward Emma Watson's box, leaving three long streaks behind him...
On the VIP balcony Emma Watson pumped her fist and shouted…
At that moment the single people in the stadium felt a pang of envy.
On the touchline,
"Christ!"
"Fuck!"
Ferguson fell back in his chair at the sight of Xia Qi's goal, slamming his back into the seat as if shot.
He rushed to the touchline and unleashed his famous "hairdryer" treatment on the United players.
The worst scolding fell on Rafael.
He had been wrong-footed by Xia Qi's feint and was the scapegoat for many viewers.
Moments later the Arsenal players finished their celebration and the match continued.
(END CHAPTER)
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