I glanced at the electronic scoreboard in the stadium. The score was three to two.
If the game continued with this score, Song Wenzhi would be quite pleased, and perhaps after the match, he would even give me some benefits for my "obedient cooperation."
Unfortunately, there are no ifs.
The game restarted. Lin Xi and I stood with the ball at the center circle. I didn't explain much to her, only whispering, "We have to win."
Lin Xi only asked, "Win by how much?"
That's a good question. I told her to wait a moment, and I'd go ask on the other side.
After the kickoff, I passed the ball back to a teammate and immediately surged forward, reaching Song Wenzhi's side and whispering, "What score do we need to reach to win?"
"...As long as we win, it's fine. What's wrong?" Song Wenzhi asked, puzzled, but quickly caught on and grinned, "You've got high awareness, kid. What is it, want me to share some benefits with you?"
"No, no, Mr. Song, you misunderstand," I chuckled. "I actually wanted to ask, if you guys lose, is there a difference between losing by one goal and losing by two?"
Song Wenzhi's face immediately darkened. "You're still not satisfied, are you?"
"I was just asking."
"Fine, then I'll tell you," Song Wenzhi stopped retreating and stood in front of me, pointing at my nose. He said gruffly, "If it's a draw, I'll kill you. If I lose by one goal, I'll kill your parents. If I lose by more than two, I'll wipe out your whole family. Understand?"
"No, no, Mr. Song, you still misunderstand," I explained. "I wasn't asking about my fate, but yours. Do you only lose a hundred million whether you lose by one goal or two?"
Song Wenzhi seemed to grasp something and narrowed his eyes. "You've got guts, kid. We'll see!"
"Then we'll see." I continued to shadow Song Wenzhi. His position was defensive midfielder, and mine was attacking midfielder, so our positions overlapped. He thought I was deliberately provoking him and kept shoving me.
I raised my hands to signal the referee. The referee gave me a brief glance and ignored me.
I refocused on the game. Our team was advancing, but before the ball could reach Lin Xi's feet, it was intercepted by one of their quasi-professional players. Song Wenzhi immediately joined the main group pushing forward, and I naturally followed. The opponent dribbled the ball all the way to the byline but didn't rush the pass. Instead, he circled around for a while, making our plump defender dance three times. Only when Song Wenzhi had reached our penalty box did he make a perfect cut-back pass, clearly intending to assist the financier for some reward money.
The pass was perfectly weighted and angled precisely. Song Wenzhi comfortably received the ball and unleashed a powerful shot. Fearing another foul and penalty, I didn't attempt a tackle. Instead, as he shot, I circled in front of him and extended a leg about half a meter away to block, thinking the referee wouldn't call me for a foul this way.
The ball was deflected by my block and flew out for a corner. The referee blew for a corner.
I let out a sigh of relief. It seemed Song Wenzhi hadn't paid the referee enough money, which meant we still had a chance.
The corner was taken. Utilizing my current superhuman jumping ability, and with a slight boost from my teammate's shoulder, I leaped over a meter high to win the first touch and headed the ball out of the penalty area. Lin Xi was positioned there, received the ball, and immediately launched a counterattack.
The opposing professional players all thought it was a sure goal, especially with the corner opportunity, so they had pushed up. Lin Xi was incredibly fast, and by the time the skilled opponents reacted, she had already left them thirty meters behind.
A football field is less than a hundred meters long. Even with their speed, they couldn't catch up to Lin Xi, who could run under twelve seconds for a hundred meters.
Captain Lin charged straight for the goal and successfully equalized the score.
The opposing team kicked off, and Song Wenzhi's face was ashen. He called the other players over, pointing at me and Lin Xi, presumably instructing the professional players to target us, especially Lin Xi, as my offensive attributes hadn't yet manifested. Well, actually, they had; I was just running fast and jumping high, that was all.
As expected, after the kickoff, the opposing team deliberately lost possession and passed the ball to Lin Xi. Lin Xi was momentarily taken aback, then immediately dribbled towards the opponent's half. The three professional players quickly converged on Lin Xi in a triangular formation, creating a human trap.