Chapter 110 — If I Hesitate Even a Little, I Would Betray Myself
"Wow! It's a goal!"
"Two ounces bring a thousand gold coins — one shot through both posts!"
"Xia Qi made a lone-mile run at Camp Nou."
"Even if Lionel Messi fouled maliciously, he still couldn't stop Xia Qi's attack."
"Tonight Xia Qi excelled at both ends. He has redefined the forward's role."
In the broadcast, Zhang Lu's commentary was hysterical and full of passion.
Fans on the internet felt their hearts surge.
"Holy shit! It's getting intense! Position blurring on future pitches — if you don't have top fitness you can't make it in this game anymore."
"This is freaking awesome. Not only is he faster than Messi, he even rattled Messi and left him injured."
"That goal was so satisfying: blocking the shooting lane with his body, rattling Messi, and finally scoring through the tiny gap — just pure catharsis."
"Speed, strength, stamina, defense, technique, attack… My god, I can't find a weakness in Xia Qi. He's a perfect hexagonal warrior."
"Don't be surprised. I'll be honest: Xia Qi's protagonist aura — it's the Gullit template at the start."
"Can't wait for the World Cup tomorrow. Even without China, I'll root for the Chinese elements and watch a European China team thrash Messi and Ronaldo…"
After the goal that went through both posts, an excited Xia Qi exchanged for a jersey-showing celebration.
He ran toward the Barcelona fan stand. The Barcelona fans drew a deep breath, ready to erupt at that moment.
Xia Qi took off his shirt as he ran and, standing under the Barcelona fans, their carefully prepared boos became uneven and failed to intimidate.
They actually became the ones intimidated.
The 18-year-old Xia Qi, having stripped his shirt, revealed an explosive physique under the stand — masculine hormones blasted outward.
Those chiseled abs and raised pectorals all told the crowd that this young man's success was no accident.
In an instant, the Barcelona fans split. First, some fangirls surrendered; they forced down the "boo" that had reached their throats.
Then some genuine fans hesitated — these were people who loved the game and judged the player, not the colors.
If you ignored the shirt color, Xia Qi's attitude, technique and spirit on the pitch were exemplary for any player.
A player like that, putting aside allegiances, would be widely admired.
But Xia Qi's next move angered them.
Xia Qi held up his No. 9 jersey toward the stands!
"Boo, boo, boo…" the jeers rose!
But Xia Qi's celebration fired up the Arsenal fans — this kind of dominance was something the genteel Arsenal had lacked.
Arsenal supporters used every ounce of their lung capacity to shout Xia Qi's name in support!
For a while both sets of fans engaged in a deadly duel of sound at the touchline!
Don't underestimate the Arsenal fans' volume — though smaller in number, they were loud enough that Barcelona's boos couldn't immediately overpower them.
…
On the pitch, Lionel Messi writhed in pain and, assisted by the team physio, headed toward the sideline for treatment. The referee blew his whistle and ran over to Messi, showing him a yellow card.
Clearly the referee had seen Messi's malicious tackle earlier but had allowed play to continue because Xia Qi's attack was in a promising phase.
Messi snarled angrily, then lowered his head and left the pitch.
He knew he would be tomorrow's headline in every media outlet, and many would mock him — the persona he had painstakingly built over the years would be shaken.
"From slow-motion replay you can clearly see Messi lunged for Xia Qi's legs and did not retract his foot."
"That was a nasty tackle. If he weren't Messi, he'd be roasted alive."
"Lucky Xia Qi is tough; otherwise he'd be seriously injured."
…
After booking Messi, the referee ran up to Xia Qi, but his face no longer wore the stern look he had used when disciplining Messi — instead he was smiling and, while taking out a card, apologizing.
He understood Xia Qi's anger and the jersey-showing gesture.
Messi's action had an obvious injurious intent. If it weren't Messi, he wouldn't have received only a yellow.
…
When play resumed, Barcelona — down a man — were reluctant to attack and recycled the ball in their own half.
(Messi remained off the pitch receiving treatment for the moment.)
Barcelona were not in a hurry, and Arsenal, holding a two-goal lead, weren't either. Both sides tacitly preserved the 0–2 scoreline until half-time.
During the interval, the internet exploded. Because Messi hadn't re-entered in the final minutes of the first half, Messi supporters swarmed Arsenal's website and Xia Qi's social accounts.
They hurled abuse at Xia Qi without hearing both sides, demanding Xia Qi return their healthy Messi. As if the tackler were Xia Qi.
Fifteen minutes later, "Leo" — having been treated by a Japanese miracle doctor at the sideline — began warming up and, to the crowd's cheer, returned to the pitch.
The second half kicked off; Arsenal started with the ball.
Mario Balotelli passed back to Kevin De Bruyne, and Arsenal's attacking trio immediately surged forward.
Andrés Iniesta darted toward De Bruyne; De Bruyne shelled the ball back.
Attack? No rush — let the forwards run for a bit.
From an aerial perspective, Arsenal's three lines committed a tactical sin: their back/central block and frontline were disconnected.
Tito Vilanova certainly wasn't naïve enough to think Arsène Wenger would make such a basic mistake; he paced anxiously at the touchline, urging his defenders to stay alert.
Arsenal were recycling at the back intentionally. Xavi led Messi and others to press into Arsenal's back third.
Meanwhile Kevin De Bruyne put his hand behind his back and signaled to fullback Kieran Gibbs.
Gibbs suddenly ignored Messi, abandoned marking him, and sprinted forward. As he crossed the halfway line, De Bruyne's pass landed right ahead of him.
Gibbs took the ball and burst forward, quickly reaching the byline.
Against Dani Alves' challenge he feinted twice, created an angle, and sent the ball into Barcelona's penalty area.
Mario Balotelli at the near post leapt and glanced a header, sending the ball to the far post.
With the broadcast camera cutting in, commentator Zhang Lu screamed hoarsely: "Xia… Qi… Qi!"
Facing the aerial delivery, Xia Qi drew his bow and waited for the ball to drop.
Víctor Valdés quickly shifted his position on the goal line, but it was of no use.
The ball skimmed the turf and zipped under his armpit into the net.
0–3!
Aggregate 2–8!
Arsenal very kindly sent Barcelona a bottle of Château Lafite 1982.
After that goal, with a six-goal lead Arsenal were sure to advance. The whole team ran to the corner flag and jumped into the "Driving Test Three" dance.
This was a celebration Xia Qi had earlier redeemed from the system and taught his teammates before the match in anticipation of qualifying.
The "Driving Test Three" rhythm is cheerful, the moves simple and fun — especially the slow-motion braking move, which elevates the dance.
When the song finished, fans were intrigued and asked what that dance was.
An alleged Arsenal club staffer later revealed online that the dance was inspired by the third subject of China's driving test.
They said that if you learn this "Driving Test Three" dance, passing the driving exam would be easy.
After the Arsenal staff description, many people memorized the dance; later it unified the world and completed Qin Shi Huang's (the First Emperor's) wish.
That's a story for another time.
At Camp Nou:
"Shit! This is Camp Nou — if you want to dance go back to London."
"Damn it, if you can't qualify fine, but at least score one bloody goal!"
Barcelona fans had lost hope of advancing but still wanted their team to score.
Their calls reached onto the pitch; once play restarted, Barcelona intensified the attack.
After a few passes the ball again came to Lionel Messi.
Messi took short, quick steps to penetrate forward. Wingers Alexis Sánchez and Pedro charged into Arsenal's box.
Xia Qi!
It was still Xia Qi who reacted first.
He firmly positioned himself in the pocket between Messi and Sánchez, effectively locking down one side.
This is veteran defending; rookies often try to cover both sides and end up defending neither.
Locking off one side, like Xia Qi did, is the right move.
Messi faced two choices:
One, pass to the right toward Pedro and combine as the defenders want.
Two, forcibly "get past" the defender.
Having had a clash with Xia Qi in the first half, Messi was proud — he wouldn't pass.
He first tried to move toward Pedro to create space and peel away from Xia Qi.
When two players are stuck together many moves are impossible.
But Xia Qi's marking was very polished; he followed and left Messi no chance.
Of course Messi had more tricks.
He anticipated Xia Qi's tracking.
When Xia Qi shadowed him, Messi suddenly accelerated and changed direction left; Xia Qi immediately lunged right.
AI is great at calculation, but it doesn't understand scheming.
This lunge was exactly what Messi had planned.
Prepared, Messi twisted his left ankle in a "cross turn," suddenly flipping it outward and using the ankle's force to send the ball between Xia Qi's legs.
A nutmeg!
At that moment Xia Qi's right lunge was a stepping motion; the gap between his legs was more than enough for a single ball to pass through, let alone two.
Seeing the nutmeg — the hardest dribbling move — executed so perfectly, Messi felt pleased.
He immediately wanted to slip past Xia Qi's side.
But…
Again: AI doesn't grasp scheming, but it understands calculation.
Messi's plotting couldn't be computed by the AI, but his dribble was within the AI's expected parameters.
Messi, in a rush, crashed into the "south wall."
Here "head" is literal — the impact of bodies hitting each other was transmitted by the microphones around the stadium to every corner.
From the sound you could tell Messi was sprinting at close to "eighty miles" (borrowing a lyric — don't be pedantic).
From that sound you could tell how painful the collision was!
Whether he'd swollen a lump on his head, nobody knew!
After all, Xia Qi's body is not the South Wall.
But after the clang, Messi fell backward and sat heavily on the turf.
He couldn't feel the pain in his backside; he looked up at Xia Qi in astonishment and saw Xia Qi's face wearing that same "imperial disdain."
"Fuck! That guy deliberately let me nutmeg him!"
A flood of indignation and humiliation rose and he nearly choked.
"Xia Qi's marking on Messi!"
"He got nutmegged!"
"Danger!"
"Beautiful!"
"Textbook-level dribbling denial."
"Xia Qi's defending is so seasoned."
"Arsenal win possession and start a counterattack."
On the pitch, Santi Cazorla, collecting the ball behind Xia Qi, immediately launched a long-distance pass. Balotelli received at the near post and drove forward but was ferociously tripped by Piqué.
A tactical foul!
Arsenal were awarded a free kick on the left of the attacking third.
Kevin De Bruyne and Mikel Arteta moved up; Cazorla stayed back.
Xia Qi and his teammates lined up on the edge of the penalty area.
Barcelona's tactic was interesting.
Their defenders all stood on that same line.
The idea was to create an offside trap at the split second of the cross, keeping all Arsenal's attackers outside the penalty area.
This defensive strategy is a double-edged sword. Its benefit is that it nullifies Arsenal's attack in one go.
Its flaw is also obvious: if Arsenal can beat the offside trap, it becomes a one-on-one chance.
On the pitch,
Xia Qi stood among the crowd, surrounded by teammates and opponents. Wait — why was Messi in there defending as well?
Isn't he supposed to be outside? Why squeeze in here — seeking trouble?
By Barcelona's defensive code, Messi should have been on the outside.
But after being embarrassed by Xia Qi earlier, Messi was desperate to regain face. He could have his fans spin the incident after the match and find PR salvation, but he wanted to win it back by his own effort.
He judged that Arsenal's first attacking point would definitely be Xia Qi, so…
De Bruyne stood over the ball, raised his arm and signaled.
This spot was somewhat far from goal; he wanted to combine with teammates.
De Bruyne signaled and Messi quietly shifted to a position behind Xia Qi.
That way when De Bruyne lofted the ball into the box, Messi could surge from the back post, use the "runway" to take off, and make up for the height difference between him and Xia Qi as much as possible.
Also, hiding behind Xia Qi let Messi observe him while remaining unseen.
Small man, big "wisdom"!
This adjustment made sense on paper and, theoretically, could be perfect.
"Arsenal's free-kick position isn't great; I doubt they'll shoot directly. It's probably a set-piece routine…"
Beep!
The referee whistled!
De Bruyne unexpectedly struck the ball without a run-up.
The ball didn't fall into the pack but arced like a rainbow toward the penalty spot.
At the instant De Bruyne struck, the players on the box line split clearly: Arsenal players burst in, Barcelona players stepped out.
The battle of offside trap vs. the counter trap began at that moment.
The linesman didn't raise the flag.
Arsenal's run-behind succeeded!
Xia Qi flew toward the landing point like an arrow released from a bow.
Hidden behind him, Messi beamed; this time he could be the one to snatch victory back for Barcelona.
The ball descended; Xia Qi leapt, coiling to strike…
In that split second, Messi — executing his premeditated overtake — surged forward from behind and swept around to get in front of Xia Qi, intending to clear the ball before him.
On paper it looked like Messi's sneak attack might work.
Messi was closer to the ball, had a better view of the drop point, and his leap was fresh energy while Xia Qi's aerial force was used energy…
It seemed Messi would win.
But the leaping Messi once again met a clang — and this time he fell backward, dizzy and unable to find his balance.
With a smack, his face hit the turf and he tasted grass.
"Where am I?"
"Is the pitch spinning?"
Beep!
Beep!
The referee rushed over to Messi and held up two fingers, asking: "How many is this?"
Messi didn't answer right away. He struggled to his feet, still dazed, taking in his surroundings and only slowly coming back to himself.
He looked toward Xia Qi with a bit of fear in his eyes!
It was terrifying!
This man was a "human beast!"
He bullied you without a moment's hesitation.
"Can we really call Xia Qi's challenge a foul? Messi ran into him."
"Home bias, you know how it is."
"Messi, man — learning only from hits, not the lesson. He bumped his head and still comes back?"
"Messi: If I hesitate even a little, I'd be betraying myself.
Xia Qi: Sorry, my nickname is South Wall."
"Pray for Messi's mental shadow."
(END CHAPTER)
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