Chapter 186: The Player Used a Red Card to Send the Referee Off
"Dan Heng, Dan Heng! The Technetium Ball match is about to start!"
March 7th bounced on her heels, her pink hair swaying as she called out to the Express's stoic guard. The two of them had slowly become veteran fans of the intense, high-speed sport, frequently tuning into the broadcasts whenever the Express had downtime.
"The Anvil Team is up against the Shield-Drill Team today! The Anvils are definitely taking the cup this time!" March 7th rubbed her hands together, her eyes sparkling with anticipation as she stared at the glowing screen in the lounge.
"I disagree. I think the Shield-Drill Team has a much better tactical advantage," Dan Heng replied calmly, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
"...Wait. Look at the screen, Dan Heng." March 7th leaned closer to the monitor, her brow furrowing in confusion.
"What is it?"
"That guy standing on the field... doesn't he look a bit like..."
The two of them stared intently at the live broadcast, their eyes tracking a very familiar figure standing right in the middle of the pitch. They exchanged a slow, horrified glance.
"Rekka?!"
Panic ensued. The two immediately dashed down the corridor to Rekka's room, throwing the door open only to find it completely empty. A quick sweep of the Astral Express yielded the exact same result, and Pom-Pom's only answer was a bewildered shrug.
"I have no clue where he went, in fact!"
"What Path is he even on today?!" March 7th grabbed her hair.
"I don't know," Dan Heng muttered, his calm facade cracking slightly.
March 7th bit her lip, genuine worry flashing across her face. The Technetium Ball Game was a notoriously violent and dangerous sport, heavily reliant on physical collisions and aggressive maneuvers.
Meanwhile, inside the massive arena, the stadium lights blazed like miniature suns. The tiered seats were packed to the brim with hoarse-voiced spectators, their faces painted in team colors. They screamed the names of their favorite stars, creating a deafening, tsunami-like wave of cheers that shook the very foundation of the building.
Down on the pitch, amidst the chaotic warm-up, a small rectangular object fluttered to the turf.
"Excuse me, referee, you dropped your red card."
Rekka casually bent down, picked up the glossy red card from the artificial grass, and politely handed it back to the official.
"Ah, thanks," the referee replied, reaching out to take it.
But up in the broadcasting booth, the commentator saw this exact sequence of events through a long-range camera lens and instantly lost his mind.
"The situation on the field has taken a truly unexpected turn! The Shield-Drill Team's mysterious guest player has actually pulled a red card to send the referee off the field!"
Referee:?
March 7th:?
Dan Heng:?
It was a completely absurd leap of logic, but in the world of heavy-contact arena sports, entertainment value was king. The various gimmicks, drama, and explosive moments of a match were what kept the ratings high. Whether the referee actually deserved to leave the field or not suddenly became entirely meaningless, because the crowd had already latched onto the narrative.
Rekka stood frozen in the center of the pitch, holding the red card out, utterly stunned.
The referee was equally paralyzed. In his decades of officiating, he had never once encountered a situation where a player tried to penalize him.
The cheers of the entire arena erupted, reaching an absolute fever pitch.
"Send him off! Send him off! Send him off!"
The audience in the stands chanted rhythmically, stomping their feet until the sound waves threatened to blow the roof off the stadium. They didn't care about the truth; they just wanted blood, drama, and pure entertainment.
However, although this veteran Technetium Ball referee was deeply confused, he was also a pragmatist. He looked at the screaming crowd, looked at the red card in his hand, and gracefully nodded. He took off his striped hat, turned on his heel, and marched off the field.
Why not? He would still get his full paycheck for the broadcast, and now he didn't even have to run around for two hours. It was a total win.
Up on the platform, the commentator's voice cracked as he completely let himself go.
"Unbelievable! This is definitively the most bizarre scene in the entire history of the Technetium Ball Game! The Shield-Drill Team's mysterious guest player—we haven't even had time to register his name on the roster—he just pulled out a red card! He didn't show it to an opposing player, no! He walked straight up to the official! A red card! The referee has been sent off! Let's watch the replay!"
On the giant holographic screen suspended above the pitch, the footage looped the scene from just a moment ago.
Rekka bending down. Rekka picking up the card. Rekka turning around and holding it up to the referee's face. The referee taking it, freezing for two seconds, and then—amidst the deafening chants of the arena—taking off his hat and walking away.
Throughout the entire high-definition replay, Rekka's facial expression visibly transitioned from mild helpfulness to bewilderment, and finally settled into a mask of deep, existential confusion.
Back on the Express, March 7th slowly covered her face with both hands.
Dan Heng stared at the monitor in absolute silence, his jaw tight. "I think... regarding this specific incident, he probably didn't do it on purpose."
"I know he didn't do it on purpose," March 7th groaned, peering at the screen through the gaps in her fingers. "But the result is that he just broke the entire game! I no longer believe there is any normal sportsmanship left in this universe. What even is this?!"
And then the match officially began.
Without a referee to blow the whistle on fouls, Rekka simply adapted. Embodying the unstoppable kinetic force of a runaway heavy-duty freight truck, he began chasing down the opposing team and violently ramming into them.
"The Shield-Drill Team's guest player—he has started hunting the opponents! He caught up to one! He rammed him into the wall! He rammed another one into the dirt! My god, he isn't even using any tactical maneuvers, he's just—running! He runs faster than the ball!"
It was a flawless strategy. If you simply bulldoze every single person on the opposing team into unconsciousness, you win by default.
"This isn't playing ball at all, this is just a one-sided street brawl! This is the most abstract Technetium Ball match I have ever witnessed in my life!" The commentator sounded like he was on the verge of tears.
Logically speaking, treating the opposing players like bowling pins was a massive violation of the rules. But who was going to stop him? Rekka had already used a red card to send the referee off before the timer even started. There was literally no official left in the building to manage the chaos.
"Is... is this compliant?" The captain of the Shield-Drill Team swallowed hard, turning to look at his bench. The head coach sitting on the sidelines was staring at the pitch with his mouth hanging open, equally bewildered.
Compliant or not? The referee was currently sitting in the locker room eating snacks. Who was going to throw a flag?
"Who cares!" One of the Shield-Drill members was the first to snap out of his daze. He snatched up the loose ball and sprinted down the empty field. "The ref is gone! As long as we score, it counts!"
"...He probably doesn't know the rules very well," Dan Heng muttered, watching Rekka casually shoulder-check a 250-pound defender into the stratosphere.
"He sent the referee off before the game started! Do you really think he cares about the rules?!" March 7th slapped her forehead, groaning loudly. "It's over... I think from now on, the entire sport of Technetium Ball is going to undergo a major structural reform just to prevent him from playing again."
The commentator was practically screaming into his microphone, his passion overriding his confusion.
"Dear audience friends! There are only five minutes left on the clock! The score is a staggering seventeen to three! The Shield-Drill Team is leading the Anvils by an absolute, crushing advantage! And this historic blowout is almost entirely due to that mysterious guest player! He alone has hospitalized at least half of the Anvil Team's defensive line, and incidentally scored an incredible half-court lob shot while he was at it!"
Down on the pitch, the final buzzer blared. Rekka stood in the center of the field, watching a group of massive, sweaty athletes excitedly circling around him and cheering his name. His expression was still completely lost.
He had held back his strength, of course. The Anvil players were just knocked unconscious; they would wake up with a mild headache after a good nap. The difference in base stats between a Pathstrider and an ordinary athlete was simply too massive to bridge.
He thought back to this morning. Sampo and Sparkle had practically dragged him out of bed, insisting they wanted to take him out for a "friendly game" of Technetium Ball, claiming that the children of Belobog would be watching and needed a role model.
But looking at the trail of unconscious bodies scattered across the turf... was this really right?
Did I go too far?
"I told you, my good brother is born to do big things, and his brain works faster than anyone else's. Look at how naturally and smoothly he pulled out that red card! It's like he practiced it in the mirror for weeks."
Sampo chuckled, leaning against the stadium railing as he spoke to Sparkle.
Rekka trudged up to the stands to meet them after escaping the locker room celebrations. He glared at the blue-haired mercenary.
"You told me this was a friendly match."
"That's right! We are passing on the spirit of friendship through physical contact," Sampo grinned, shamelessly spreading his hands.
"What matters is the result," Sparkle giggled, kicking her legs from where she sat on the railing. "Look at the score, seventeen to three! And that half-court lob shot of yours? I recorded the whole thing. I'll take it back to show the kids in the Underworld, they'll definitely worship you as a god."
"Alright, alright, don't overthink it." Sampo threw a heavy arm around Rekka's shoulder, pulling him close and pointing out toward the lower stands. "The kids are all cheering for you. Although I really didn't expect that red card stunt of yours, it was top-tier entertainment... And didn't you hold back your strength? Nobody actually got hurt."
Down below, a group of bundled-up Belobog children were waving frantically toward their section, their faces flushed with pure excitement.
"Look at that, you've become an idol to the youth." Sampo dramatically wiped a fake tear from the corner of his eye. "What pure, unadulterated emotions..."
"I really think there are very few normal people left in this universe."
Rekka let out a long, exhausted sigh, watching the stadium lights reflect off the polished floor.
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