Lin Xi opened her mouth, but did not explain, because she could not speak. However, her teammates were not having it. They stepped forward one after another, protesting that Lin Xi had pushed someone and deserved a yellow card. That guy who tripped someone earlier should have gotten a red card!
The referee was professional. He gestured and explained the reasonableness of the young opponent's move. It was a good play, not a foul, just a slightly overly aggressive action that did not warrant a yellow card warning.
I walked over and pushed aside the teammates surrounding the referee. We didn't want to get any more yellow cards, especially since the opponents now had several more experts. If we were one man down, even with Lin Xi, we wouldn't be able to continue playing. After all, football is a team sport. With opponents defending all three lines, and only Lin Xi on our side, no matter which line she was assigned to, she would be spread too thin.
Throughout the dispute, Song Wenzhi stood far on the periphery, not participating, just watching us with a smile.
Barking dogs don't bite. Biting dogs don't show their teeth.
Very good, I decided to do the same.
The referee awarded us a throw-in. I beckoned Lin Xi over and whispered a few words to her.
"Damn, so it was him," Lin Xi pouted.
"Find a way to take him down," I said.
"Why don't you do it yourself? Wouldn't that be more satisfying?" Lin Xi chuckled.
"I'm afraid I'll mess up. My football skills are mediocre," I admitted honestly. There was no point in boasting now.
Lin Xi thought for a moment, then suddenly wrapped her arms around me from behind, hugging me tightly. Then, she snatched the ball from my hand and pushed me back onto the field.
From an outsider's perspective, it might have looked like we had a verbal argument, and Lin Xi, unhappy with me, had shoved me.
But as the person involved, I knew very well that during the hug, Lin Xi had transferred a surge of immense energy to me through her body. However, this energy did not permeate my entire body or settle in my dantian. Instead, it sank directly down, flowing into my right calf.
The sensation was strange, like when you're too lazy at night and take off your underwear and pants together, then in the morning, groggily put them on without your underwear, and end up wearing your pants directly, with your underwear stuck in the pant leg, jammed in your right calf. Yes, it felt exactly like that, and my leg instantly became much thicker!
I understood. Lin Xi wanted me to use this leg to go head-to-head with Song Wenzhi, and she could ensure I wouldn't get hurt.
But I worried that the opponents might have experts similar to Lin Xi, secretly helping Song Wenzhi. So, I activated my qi observation technique to check.
There was no one on the field, but off to the side, by their substitute bench, a human expert with purple qi was hidden. He was likely a bodyguard Song Wenzhi brought from Mohe. It was too far to see his face clearly, and I didn't know if I had met him before. It didn't matter, as he wouldn't recognize my face either.
Lin Xi threw the ball in, passing it to me. But my first touch was too heavy, and the young opponent immediately intercepted it and charged towards our goal with the ball.
I quickly chased after him. Even without Lin Xi's boost, my current speed was incredible. I was steadily closing the distance between us. By the time he reached the edge of our penalty area, I was already right behind him. My teammates immediately shouted indignantly, "Brother! Tackle him! Tackle him!"
This young guy was unsportsmanlike. He deserved a lesson.
So, I slid in. The young guy never expected me to catch up so quickly. Caught off guard, I brought him down with the ball – I had originally intended to mimic his move and only tackle the ball, not the player, but I didn't manage it. While tackling the ball, I also made contact with his foot.
The young guy was good at falling. After hitting the ground, he immediately rolled around, confirmed he wasn't injured, and then lay on the ground feigning injury.
*Beep*, the referee ran over and showed me a yellow card.
I accepted that, as my move wasn't perfect. However, the referee's next action astonished me. He pointed to the penalty spot, indicating a penalty kick!
"Are you blind?" I shouted. "We're both inside the penalty area now, but where I tackled him was still two meters away from the penalty area. How can that be a penalty kick!"
The referee was polite. He just shook his head at me. "Please trust my professional judgment! And watch your language!"
I glanced at Song Wenzhi in the distance. He was slowly jogging over, a wicked grin plastered on his face.
I understood. During the halftime break, this referee had been bought off by him.
Forget it. The match was far from over; there was still a chance.
Song Wenzhi ran over, picked up the ball, and placed it on the penalty spot. Our goalkeeper was a complete amateur and didn't dare to dive. Song Wenzhi easily scored the penalty.
After scoring, Song Wenzhi ran up to me, cupped his hand over his mouth with a smile, and whispered, "Motherfucker, who the hell are you, running so fast, daring to ruin my plans? I bet a hundred million on this game! If you dare to win, I'll fucking kill your whole family! My name is Song Wenzhi, and I keep my word!"
I nodded deeply. So that's how it was. No wonder he was investing so much, hiring professional players and bribing the referee.
Since this was a hundred-million-dollar game, I certainly couldn't hold back...