Chapter 5

Before Zhou Yi stepped onto the field, he turned his head to glance at the scoreboard by the side of the field. It clearly showed "0:0," meaning neither team had scored, and the game was still a tie. This was good news for him. He didn't find the score particularly surprising, as the game situation he had seen before falling asleep had already suggested this outcome. In fact, he wasn't lying; he had just fallen asleep. Before that, he had been sitting on the bench, watching the game, but it was so uninteresting that he couldn't help but yawn repeatedly. He had been too excited the night before, went to bed late, and got up early, leading to a lack of sleep. Despite the scorching sun overhead and the bench feeling like a hot iron plate, he couldn't resist falling asleep. Although it was a bit embarrassing to fall asleep on the sidelines, Zhou Yi didn't feel too awkward. After all, football is about performance on the field, not off it. As long as he could perform well on the field, what did it matter if he fell asleep on the bench? He ran onto the field with high hopes.

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After Zhou Yi was woken up, everyone realized that the kid had actually fallen asleep on the sidelines! This led to a burst of laughter from the stands. Zhou Jianliang was annoyed by this laughter—his son might be embarrassing, but he was still his son! It wasn't their place to mock him! So, he stood up, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted into the field, "Son, do your best! Play well! Dad supports you!" Zhou Yi, who had just stepped onto the field, heard his father's shout, turned around, and saluted him. Zhou Jianliang returned the salute. This was their usual way of communicating. After saluting, Zhou Jianliang looked provocatively at the people who had been laughing. The parents, realizing that this man was the father of the person they had been mocking and that he was just like them, felt awkward and looked away or lowered their heads. Zhou Jianliang waited until the last person had averted their gaze before sitting down with the air of a victor.

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Although Zhou Yi ran onto the field with high hopes, wanting to turn the tide with his own strength, the reality was far from his expectations. As a midfielder, he needed to handle the ball frequently on the field. However, after he stepped onto the field, no one passed the ball to him. This was understandable, as everyone wanted to keep the ball at their feet and wouldn't easily pass it to a competitor. No matter how much Zhou Yi raised his hand or shouted, no one passed the ball to him. After five minutes on the field, he had zero touches and zero performance.

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"Truly a disorganized mess..." Hao Dong, sitting in the stands, finally couldn't hold back and shook his head with a sigh. Xiao Wang, who was sitting next to him, could also see that the level of the game was low. He took this opportunity to ask his question: "Dong, I have a question... Why isn't the final like the previous selection rounds, where individual skills are tested, but instead a match? Everyone is a temporary team, and they are all competitors, so the game is bound to be uninteresting..." Hao Dong replied, "These people are not lacking in individual skills; otherwise, they wouldn't have made it to the final. There's no point in testing them further. I turned the final into a match because I want to see something beyond skills." "Something beyond skills?" Xiao Wang was puzzled. "Yes, something beyond football skills, which is football awareness," Hao Dong explained. "It's a deeper level of understanding. Skills can be trained, but awareness is mostly innate, and that's what talent is." "This..." Xiao Wang was even more confused after Hao Dong's explanation, "Isn't it a bit exaggerated to expect to see those things in this match, Dong?" "So, I only ask for one thing," Hao Dong said. "What?" "Teamwork awareness." Xiao Wang finally understood: "No wonder you mentioned at the end that football is a team sport." "Of course, do you think I was just talking nonsense? But unfortunately... I don't think these kids have taken it to heart," Hao Dong shook his head and fell silent.

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As a midfielder, Zhou Yi couldn't even get the ball near the blue team's goal, and the area was crowded with players from both the blue and red teams, leaving no space for him to play. Considering this, Zhou Yi didn't try to force his way into the penalty area to compete for space. Instead, he retreated to the defensive midfield position. His teammate, who was originally playing as a defensive midfielder, was surprised to see Zhou Yi retreat. But he didn't ask why; if someone was willing to retreat, it meant he had a chance to move forward. With this thought, he left Zhou Yi behind and charged forward. Zhou Yi saw his teammate's move but didn't pay much attention. His gaze extended beyond his teammate, and he saw a completely different scene from when he played as a forward. When he played as a forward in various school teams, his activity area was mainly in the attacking third, especially in the opponent's penalty area. There, he focused more on the goal and the situation in the penalty area, and he also needed to pay attention to other areas. Now, he could see the positions of almost all the players on the field, except for the two center-backs and the goalkeeper behind him. It was like a panoramic view, and when he played as a forward, Zhou Yi could only see a part of it. But now, forced to play as a midfielder and retreating to the defensive midfield position, this panoramic view was slowly unfolding before him, revealing its full glory for the first time. Every detail was clear to Zhou Yi. He turned his head to the left and saw the situation on the left flank. The red team's left-back had pushed forward, almost acting as a left-winger. Next to him was the blue team's right-back, who was blocking the red team's left-back from breaking through and receiving the ball. Then he turned his head back to the center. The situation in the center was more complex due to the concentration of players. The red and blue teams were intertwined, with players from both sides mixed together. When he looked to the right, the situation was similar to the left. The defensive midfielder who had charged forward exacerbated the chaotic and complex situation, and he couldn't get the ball either. But how could they win the game in such a situation? Zhou Yi frowned. After stepping onto the field and seeing this, his thoughts changed. He didn't know how many more chances he had to secure the one spot, but compared to joining the Western Expedition team, he now cared more about the team's victory. He didn't want to watch the team lose, even though it was a hastily assembled team. He had to do something.

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When the red team attacked, they all rushed forward, but due to their individual efforts, they didn't pose much of a threat to the blue team's goal. Instead, they lost possession and the blue team kicked the ball out to the midfield, where it flew to... Zhou Yi's front, landed, and bounced up, and Zhou Yi controlled it with his chest. Then he stepped on the ball with his foot, which surprised many people. Zhou Jianliang in the stands was excited; this was his son's first touch in the game. He stood up and shouted, "Go, son!!" Zhou Yi held the ball, not moving. It was as if he was frozen, but to many, it looked like he was at a loss after his first touch. While he was dazed, the blue team players rushed over, planning to steal the ball and counterattack. The red team players started running back, shouting and waving at Zhou Yi, "Pass! Pass!" Everyone hoped Zhou Yi would pass the ball to them, but he didn't. Faced with the swarm of red and blue players, he still didn't move. It was as if he was completely scared stiff. The fastest runner was the blue team's forward, number 9 Liu Yadong. He was the fastest among the 23 players and had absolute confidence in his speed. He believed that the newly substituted red team player wouldn't be able to react in time to his full-speed sprint. But just as he was about to reach Zhou Yi, Zhou Yi suddenly turned and kicked the ball backward, passing it to the center-back! Liu Yadong didn't think much about it; his eyes were only on the ball. Since the ball was passed back, he would just continue chasing it, and the red team's defenders would surely make a mistake under pressure! But as he rushed past Zhou Yi like the wind, he heard Zhou Yi shout, "Pass it back!" Liu Yadong caught a glimpse of Zhou Yi quickly moving to the side and pointing to his feet, indicating he wanted a ground pass. But his speed was faster than his brain, and Zhou Yi's figure quickly disappeared from his peripheral vision. He couldn't consider the significance of Zhou Yi's action and continued to rush toward the ball and the red team's number 5 center-back.

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When Li Haoran saw the ball suddenly passed to him by the substitute, he was initially devastated—how could he pass the ball to him with the opponent pressing so hard? But just as he was at a loss, he heard the substitute shout and saw him run toward the center, moving out from behind Liu Yadong. This meant he could see Zhou Yi clearly and pass the ball without worrying about Liu Yadong intercepting it, as they were not in a straight line. Seeing Zhou Yi's action, Li Haoran quickly kicked the ball back to Zhou Yi. As soon as he passed the ball, Liu Yadong lunged forward, but his kick missed! Li Haoran had temporarily escaped the crisis, but he had created a problem for Zhou Yi. To ensure the ball wasn't intercepted by Liu Yadong, Li Haoran's kick was powerful and rushed, more like a clearance than a pass. The ball bounced on the grass, speeding toward Zhou Yi. Stopping such a "pass" was not easy. If Zhou Yi failed to stop it, the blue team player rushing from behind could easily steal the ball and counterattack. At that moment, Zhou Yi lifted his right foot and stopped the ball steadily. Without hesitation, he passed it with his left foot to another center-back, the red team's number 4, Luo Wei. Just as he passed the ball, the blue team player rushed from behind, but his kick missed. This scene made the spectators in the stands break out in a cold sweat—had Zhou Yi not stopped the ball or adjusted slightly, the ball might not have been passed, and it could have been stolen by the blue team player. The parents of the blue team players sighed in disappointment, regretting that their team had missed the chance to counterattack. Hao Dong, who was sitting in the stands and had been somewhat bored, saw this and his eyes sparkled. Zhou Yi, seemingly unaware that he had just escaped a crisis, ignored the blue team player beside him and quickly ran to the flank, shouting to his teammate, "Pass to me!" Everything was the same as before. Luo Wei naturally passed the ball, and Zhou Yi, now on the flank, received it. This time, he didn't pass the ball back. He received the ball, turned, and saw the blue team's goal and the area around the penalty box, which was now much less crowded. "Hey, this is getting interesting..." Xiao Wang suddenly heard Hao Dong chuckle softly.