Chapter 4

Just as Hao Dong was reflecting on whether he was setting his standards too high, Xiao Wang, who was sitting next to him, seemed to have a target in mind.

"Hey, this Huang Zhihua is pretty good. His individual skills are outstanding, he's fast and technical. Apart from being a bit skinny, there's not much to criticize. And he's still young, he'll definitely grow taller... Look at how well he controlled the ball just now, Brother Dong!"

Hao Dong also nodded in agreement. After fifteen minutes of the game, it seemed that among the twenty-two players on the field, this No. 9 of the red team was the most outstanding. If there were no better choices, he might just be the one selected.

After controlling the ball, the No. 9 of the red team, Huang Zhihua, did not choose to pass but instead dribbled towards the penalty area. However, this move almost cost him the ball, and he ended the red team's attack with a long-range shot from outside the penalty area.

The shot went high over the crossbar and posed no threat to the blue team's goal.

Xiao Wang beside him exclaimed, "Oh, what a pity!"

Hao Dong shook his head inwardly: His technique looks good, but his ability to read the game is really poor. When he controlled the ball just now, if he had chosen to pass to a teammate, it might have been better. He insisted on dribbling himself, ended up in a dead end, almost lost the ball, and then, in a panic, took a hurried long-range shot, completely ruining the team's attack. If this were a professional team, the coach would have scolded him to the point of tears.

If they ultimately chose this person, Hao Dong felt a sense of "In the absence of great generals, Liao Hua leads the charge."

***

Huang Zhihua's shot caused a lot of commotion in the stands.

Many of the people there were parents of the children participating in the final.

The parents' cheers for their sons never stopped.

Although it was lively, the noise was chaotic.

The game itself was also chaotic.

This was the final, and only one person would ultimately succeed in entering the reality show. With a 23-to-1 elimination rate, everyone on the field wanted to show off as much as possible.

Huang Zhihua's performance just now was partly due to this, and he was not the only one.

Except for the defenders, once the attackers got the ball, it was hard to get them to pass it.

They all hoped to be like world-class superstars, deciding the outcome of the game with their individual efforts.

Although they were nominally on the same team, there was no coordination at all.

The attackers were desperately showing off their individual skills, and the defenders were not just supporting roles; they also had their way of showing off their skills.

That was fierce defense!

The game was not particularly exciting but was very intense, with both teams playing fiercely.

The referee had to frequently blow the whistle to pause the game to protect the players, which made the game fragmented and not particularly enjoyable to watch.

If it weren't for the fact that many of the people in the stands were parents of the participants, most of them would have probably left already...

***

Twenty minutes into the game, an unexpected situation arose on the field.

A midfielder of the red team, while chasing a blue team attacker, slipped and fell, twisting his ankle!

After the medical team checked, they signaled that a substitution was needed.

"Substitution?"

Many people, seeing this gesture, were taken aback, seemingly unprepared for a substitution.

Some even thought, "Do we have substitutes?"

Many people looked at the substitute bench, where they saw a figure that had almost been forgotten.

He was propped up on his thighs, chin in hand, staring intently at the field, motionless.

***

Seeing the team doctor signal for a substitution, Zhou Jianliang stood up from his seat, knowing what it meant: his son had a chance!

At the same time, a pair of parents nearby sighed regretfully; they were clearly the parents of the injured player.

Sorry...

Zhou Jianliang silently apologized to them.

It's hard for anyone to accept this, but it does give my son a chance...

***

The game had become somewhat dull, but as a judge, Hao Dong couldn't leave. The sudden situation made him more alert, and he turned his gaze to the young man on the substitute bench.

If he remembered correctly, that was Zhou Yi, the one with the lowest score among the twenty-three participants, as the other twenty-two had all received professional training in various football club youth teams.

Only Zhou Yi had never even attended a sports school, let alone a professional football club's youth team. He had only received brief training in a summer football interest class at the youth palace and was listed as the main striker on his school team.

For such a person to make it to the final was indeed quite an achievement.

Because of his weakness, he became the only substitute.

Now, it seemed that this weakest player would get a chance to play.

However, Hao Dong didn't have high expectations for his performance.

As he had always believed, a child who had never received professional football training couldn't possibly perform better than the other twenty-two players on the field.

***

After receiving the message from the team doctor, Coach Wu also turned to the substitute bench.

"Zhou Yi, get ready to play!"

No one responded.

Zhou Yi remained in a position similar to Commander Ikari from Evangelion, unmoving.

Zhou Jianliang, watching his son's back from the stands, noticed that he didn't react to the injury on the field or the coach's call.

As his father, Zhou Jianliang suddenly had a bad feeling...

***

Coach Wu, not getting a response, thought he might be too far away and that the noise was drowning out his voice. So he walked over to call again.

But when he reached Zhou Yi, he realized something was off...

Because Zhou Yi, with his chin resting on his hands... had his eyes closed!

"Zhou Yi?" the coach tried calling.

No response, not even a blink.

"Zhou Yi!" the coach raised his voice.

But the person in front of him was as immovable as a mountain, sitting on the scorching bench, still unresponsive.

At this point, Coach Wu confirmed, though it was hard to believe...

This kid was actually sleeping on the substitute bench during such a crucial and important final!

Amused and exasperated, Coach Wu had to push Zhou Yi's shoulder directly, "Wake up, it's time to get up!"

***

Zhou Yi had a dream. In the dream, he was back in the training ground surrounded by green trees, with people wearing the same color training vests as him, their faces blurred.

Zhou Yi had been having this dream frequently over the past month, not every day, but at least two or three times a week.

So Zhou Yi had already guessed that these people were his teammates.

He just didn't know their names or backgrounds.

In front of him was still the short-haired beauty with a beautiful face, smiling and saying, "Welcome to the FIFAOL football world..."

But after saying this, she stopped, still smiling at Zhou Yi, making him feel uneasy.

Zhou Yi found it hard to say whether this was a good dream or a nightmare.

Logically, a dream with a beautiful woman should be a good dream, but if the woman was a bit crazy, smiling without speaking... even the most beautiful woman would be categorized as "crazy" in Zhou Yi's mind, and being with a crazy person was definitely not a good dream.

At this moment, the training ground where Zhou Yi was suddenly trembled, and the scene in front of him distorted. The woman also flickered, with static appearing on her, as if the signal was poor.

Then, Zhou Yi suddenly woke up.

He found himself in a stadium, not the training ground in his dream, but a real stadium with a football field, a track, and stands... how familiar it was?

Oh, right, I'm at the national selection final...

Final?

Final!

Zhou Yi was startled, realizing where he was and seeing the person in front of him.

"Ah, Coach, I didn't sleep for long..." Zhou Yi wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, trying to explain.

Coach Wu was amused by his appearance and pointed to the field, "It's your turn to play!"

"Ah?" Zhou Yi still looked half-asleep.

"Someone on the red team is injured, you'll replace him," Coach Wu explained briefly.

"Oh, oh, oh!" Zhou Yi jumped up from the bench, ready to rush to the field.

"Wait!" the coach stopped him. "Do you know what position you'll play?"

"Striker..." Zhou Yi said without hesitation.

"You'll play midfield," the coach said.

"Coach, I'm... a striker..." Zhou Yi pointed to himself.

"The injured player is a midfielder, so you'll play midfield," the coach said firmly. He looked at the somewhat stunned Zhou Yi and asked, "Any problems?"

"Uh, no!" Zhou Yi immediately turned and ran to the field.

The coach shook his head behind him.

As the weakest player among the twenty-three, he actually fell asleep on the substitute bench during such an important final!

This guy doesn't seem reliable at all...

The coach looked back at the bench. The smooth stainless steel surface was reflecting the sunlight, scorching hot in the early August sun. That's why the coach himself preferred to stand by the field, pretending to be a coach watching the game, rather than sit on that bench.

And that kid managed to sleep in such an environment...

Should he say the kid was a heavy sleeper or had a thick skin?