Chapter 107 【Massacre?】

When the match had been going for twenty minutes, and that guy named Jin Zhengwei slammed the ball into the Zifeng Middle School net for the second time, the entire audience fell silent. Only a few young girls who were fans of Japanese and Korean culture screamed in excitement for Jin Zhengwei's outstanding skills!

Twenty minutes in, trailing 0-2. This wasn't a closely contested match; it was a slaughter, a one-sided slaughter.

Gu Feng had watched Ling Wei and the others in training and thought their technical skills were decent, but he never expected them to be defeated so badly!

Not only did Ling Wei and the others on the field look terrible, even Gu Feng couldn't sit still anymore.

On the field, Ling Wei had lost the drive he had when he first stepped onto the pitch. He looked completely deflated, like a frostbitten eggplant.

Ling Wei had always considered his football skills pretty good, but facing the fierce tackles from the opposing defenders, he was getting discouraged.

If even the captain, Ling Wei, was disheartened, how could the other players fare any better?

They all looked ashen-faced, with no fight left in them!

Even Big Shark, who had been pounding the drum on the sidelines, lost the courage to continue. He felt as if he were cheering for San Yuan Middle School instead.

For a moment, the field was filled with the cheers of San Yuan Middle School's players, a deafening roar.

Recalling the past twenty minutes carefully, Gu Feng keenly realized that the reason Ling Wei and the others conceded two goals in such a short time was entirely due to their fragile state of mind after taking the field. They were too eager to win, their defense was full of holes, and the opponents exploited them.

After thinking for a moment, Gu Feng stood up, walked to the sideline, clapped his hands, and yelled to Ling Wei and the others on the field, "Ling Wei, tell the players to get their heads in the game and focus more on defense!"

Hearing Gu Feng's words, Ling Wei took a deep breath, exhaling a mouthful of pent-up frustration, then shouted to his teammates, "Everyone, show some fight! Don't hang your heads! The game isn't over yet; we still have a chance!"

"Defenders, stay focused! Let us forwards worry about scoring!"

As he spoke, Ling Wei shook his fist fiercely, his expression fierce.

Opposite Ling Wei, that guy named Jin Zhengwei looked at him disdainfully and mocked, "I told you before, football is played with your feet, not your mouth!"

Ling Wei didn't retaliate. He just gave Jin Zhengwei a cold glance before turning his gaze to the referee.

With a whistle from the referee, the game restarted.

Watching the situation on the field, Gu Feng had to admit that San Yuan Middle School's players, whether in ball control or passing, were smooth and clearly at a professional level.

Although Ling Wei and the others weren't bad in terms of skill, they fell short compared to their opponents. Moreover, their overall teamwork was a notch below, which directly resulted in Zifeng Middle School being under constant pressure, barely able to cross the halfway line.

Just as the entire audience was feeling frustrated, a Zifeng Middle School defender made a long clearance, sending the ball toward Ling Wei's feet. At that moment, Ling Wei was near the center circle.

Since San Yuan Middle School's players were pressing high, only two defenders were marking Ling Wei on the backline.

Seeing the ball flying through the air, the two defenders without a word moved forward, one slightly behind the other, immediately converging on him.

Clearly, these two were experienced. They knew that rushing in together might allow Ling Wei to slip past them. By positioning themselves one in front and one behind, one could block his path while the other tackled for the ball—a clear and targeted approach.

Spotting the two defenders closing in on him from the corner of his eye, Ling Wei let out a roar, jumped up, and cushioned the ball with his chest.

As Ling Wei brought the ball under control, he managed to dummy the first defender who had rushed forward.

At that moment, the second defender charged in, stretching his leg to kick the ball.

Instinctively, Ling Wei poked the ball forward. The defender's kick missed, and the ball rolled out nearly ten meters away.

Seeing the ball kicked far away, the defender instinctively reached out to grab Ling Wei's jersey. But Ling Wei, already boiling with pent-up anger, wasn't someone who could be easily held back.

Ling Wei charged toward the distant ball like a man possessed.

Seeing this scene, the audience erupted in excited cheers. On the sidelines, Big Shark picked up his drumsticks and began pounding the drum fiercely!

Even Gu Feng on the coach's bench felt a thrill of excitement. At that moment, he was completely caught up in the game. Whether as the head coach or because of the South Korean coach's insulting remarks, he didn't want to lose this game to San Yuan Middle School's football team!

At that moment, Ling Wei couldn't hear the cheers from the audience. His mind held only one thought: to shoot the ball into the opponent's goal and give them a slap in the face with action!

Sprinting madly, Ling Wei quickly reached the ball. With a flick of his foot, he immediately dribbled toward the opponent's goal.

Ling Wei, who had practiced martial arts since childhood, possessed explosive power far beyond that of an ordinary student!

Despite the two defenders behind him chasing with all their might, Ling Wei was like a gust of wind—utterly uncatchable.

Soon, Ling Wei dribbled to the edge of the opponent's penalty area. There were no San Yuan Middle School defenders left in front of him, only the goalkeeper!

A breakaway!

At this moment, almost everyone in the stands held their breath, their eyes fixed intently on Ling Wei's figure.

Under their gaze, San Yuan Middle School's goalkeeper rushed out of the goal.

Seeing the goalkeeper charging toward him, Ling Wei feigned a shooting motion. The goalkeeper, instinctively thinking Ling Wei was about to shoot, immediately dove to the ground.

However, Ling Wei had never intended to shoot. Instead, he nudged the ball to the right-front, easily bypassing the goalkeeper.

An open goal!

Now, there was no one left to block Ling Wei's path. Under everyone's watchful eyes, Ling Wei carried the ball to the goalmouth, then suddenly drew back his leg and let fly with a powerful shot at the football!

"Bang!"

Ling Wei's foot connected with the ball with a loud thud, and the football slammed fiercely into the back of the net.

A roar!!!

Ling Wei turned around, glaring furiously at San Yuan Middle School's players, and let out a wild roar. He looked like an enraged lion!

Hearing Ling Wei's angry roar, the crowd went wild. They stood up and shouted loudly, "Let's go, Zifeng! Let's go, Zifeng!"

The unified cheers echoed throughout the entire stadium.

Ling Wei's goal greatly boosted the morale of Zifeng Middle School's players. They began actively pressing and tackling, momentarily matching San Yuan Middle School's football team blow for blow.

However, this situation lasted less than ten minutes before San Yuan Middle School's Jin Zhengwei scored with a magnificent free kick, putting San Yuan ahead 4-1.

In the end, Zifeng Middle School trailed 1-3 at halftime.

During the halftime break, all the players, including Gu Feng, looked deflated again. The momentum and confidence they had painstakingly gathered had vanished once more. Each of them resembled soldiers who had lost a battle.

Seeing the players looking so dejected, Gu Feng frowned and said, "What? Thinking of giving up?"

Hearing Gu Feng's words, the players' eyes reddened, but none of them spoke up to argue. Although they desperately wanted to win this match, the gap between the two teams was too large. They lacked confidence—truly, utterly, completely.

"All gone mute, huh? All of you, mute?" Seeing the players remain silent, Gu Feng raised his voice and shouted, "Weren't you all full of fighting spirit before the match? Why do you look like cowards now?"

"Coach Gu, they're just too good," one player said with reddened eyes. The others didn't speak, but their expressions showed agreement.

"They're just too good?" Gu Feng sneered. "So what if they're strong? Does that mean you should act like a bunch of cowards, like spineless weaklings, only knowing how to glare but not do anything else?"

"Remember, we are men, Chinese men! And they are clearly out to insult us!" Gu Feng shouted, his eyes red. "Even if our skills can't match theirs, we must lose with dignity! Even if we lose, we must make our opponents fear us!"

"They said we Chinese can't play football, didn't they? They said we Chinese don't fight hard enough, didn't they? Show some fire! If we can't outplay them technically, we can outfight them! If that's not enough, we can throw down like our lives depend on it!" Gu Feng hadn't been this agitated in a long time; he felt as if he had returned to the battlefield, commanding a group of soldiers in combat.

"Smash!"

Ling Wei suddenly slammed his water bottle onto the ground, his eyes red as he shouted, "In the second half, use every ounce of strength you have! Anyone who doesn't fight hard can get out of the team!"

"Smash!"

...

All the players slammed their water bottles onto the ground. Their eyes were red, they were panting heavily, and they wore expressions of total battle readiness.

P: Second update done. Also, out of 'essence' for this week's forum rewards; I'll make up for any missed ones next week.