Chapter 36: To the Beast! A Lone Desert Plume Stands Tall — Don't Hesitate on the Driven Shot
On the pitch,
Xia Qi was searching for an answer.
He saw the AI controlling his body run toward Frank Lampard.
Suddenly a flash of inspiration: if you can't solve the problem, solve the one asking the question — Captain Tong, am I right?
The AI, of course, didn't answer.
But Arsenal fans answered with applause.
Get up right where you fell!
That is a quality!
A fighting quality!
Arsenal's fighting spirit!
Xia Qi's actions satisfied the fans, who lavished him with applause.
If he'd behaved like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after being fouled at Southampton — hiding and refusing to play — he would have lost face.
Xia Qi's attitude raised the stadium's temperature to thirty-seven degrees.
This prince is cold, but very Arsenal!
…
Xia Qi was fouled by Frank Lampard; Arsenal were awarded a defensive free kick.
Mikel Arteta took the kick.
Before taking it he looked up and saw Xia Qi running toward Lampard.
Xia Qi did not shy from the fight — of course he had to support the play.
The ball flew toward Xia Qi.
Xia Qi had his back to goal and was holding Lampard off with his body.
There was still a moment before the ball dropped.
The Xia Qi inside his head was thinking: if it were me, how would I handle this ball?
Should I lean on Lampard and jump to head it on, or trap it with my foot and wait for an opening?
He thought the AI's choice wasn't far off; there probably wasn't a better option.
Suddenly!
He felt the AI manipulate his body and put all his weight onto Lampard.
Was it going to lock Lampard down so he could reach and trap the ball?
Xia Qi guessed the beginning right, but not the ending.
He saw "it" — the AI-controlled right foot tense, and just as the ball was about to land,
with…
the toe!
A delicate toe flick upward!
The Xia Qi in his head buzzed.
In a flash it became clear: the AI didn't want to waste a second — it wanted to combine the trap and the attack in one motion, so…
the toe gently flicked under the ball; the ball sailed over Xia Qi's head and dropped behind Lampard.
At the same time Xia Qi turned and beat his man.
A back-to-goal toe-flick plus a turn-and-beat.
It bore a kinship to Dennis Bergkamp's legendary turn.
"The century turn!! Xia Qi uses a move similar to the century turn — a salute to Bergkamp!"
At the Emirates Stadium came a gasp, then immediate applause.
Jack, watching with a friend, said: "I clapped so hard watching Xia Qi — my hands are bruised."
His friend: "We lost Robin van Persie and got Xia Qi. We scored."
Jack: "Who's van Persie?"
They looked at each other and laughed.
Lampard lost his defensive position; by the time he realized what happened, he could only see Xia Qi's retreating figure.
John Terry sprinted toward the landing point; Xia Qi sprinted too.
Neither slowed; both wore iron resolve on their faces, refusing to yield.
A crash looked inevitable.
Timid female fans covered their eyes.
In their minds, the collision would be won by Terry, whose physicality was the absolute domain.
Xia Qi accelerated!
Terry couldn't possibly slow down.
If he wasn't afraid to shoulder out his former teammate Didier Drogba, how would he fear Xia Qi?
As the ball approached the ground once more Xia Qi again toe-flicked it, sending it over Terry's head.
It turned out Xia Qi's acceleration wasn't to collide.
Terry felt schooled in football intelligence and could only hope to profit from the coming crash.
The collision was unavoidable!
Both men seemed to have no desire to avoid it.
"Boom!"
The muffled sound of bodies colliding rang out. Xia Qi showed no panic as before — having trained more, he was no less steady than Mario Balotelli, that muscle monster.
…
They were evenly matched.
Xia Qi stumbled slightly then immediately chased the ball.
Terry turned,
but against Xia Qi's absolute pace, anyone's turn was like an aircraft carrier trying to swing around.
Terry was no exception; by the time he spun and chased, he had already fallen several paces behind.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. When Xia Qi reached the ball and cut into the box,
the Emirates finally erupted in fervent cheers, a beat late.
Only David Luiz remained as a defender in the box.
He felt bittersweet and a little proud: once again it was him to defend the team's last shred of dignity.
David Luiz watched Xia Qi's shoulders and hips intently, judging the attacker's center of gravity.
Arsenal fans in the stadium imagined all kinds of take-on-and-eat scenarios and shouted reminders that Terry was closing.
But Xia Qi shielded the ball between his feet, rode it like a unicycle, and charged straight forward.
He went straight through!
David Luiz dared not put his weight fully on his base; he needed to avoid being beaten by Xia Qi's feint.
Unexpectedly, the technically gifted Xia Qi turned into a bull — he charged like a tank.
One had a solid center of gravity; the other was light on his feet.
The result was obvious.
But David Luiz was a seasoned defender; he wouldn't let Xia Qi off easily.
As he stumbled he grabbed one of Xia Qi's arms and twisted, attempting to use his bodyweight to hold Xia Qi back.
Xia Qi didn't stop.
He hauled David Luiz along and chased the ball down.
He glanced at Petr Čech, then raised his leg…
Anyone with at least eight years of match experience recognized what came next.
In the 2005 Community Shield, Didier Drogba hauled down a top Arsenal center-back and forced a powerful finish that crushed a 20-year-old wonderkid's confidence.
Now Xia Qi returned the favor in kind.
The Emirates fell utterly silent; everyone held their breath waiting for Xia Qi's shot.
This was no ordinary goal now — it was an arrow of revenge!
Čech rushed off his line as Xia Qi struck.
Not because Čech was early, but because when a bull beats defenders the shot is typically blistering; you must come out early.
But Xia Qi used the outside of his foot to curl the shot.
The ball arced around Čech and into the net.
"Goal!"
"A lone desert plume stands tall — a driven curl must not be delayed! After saluting Dennis Bergkamp with that century-turn-like move, Xia Qi again honored a predecessor — this time Didier Drogba."
Commentator Zhan Jun said Xia Qi was paying homage to predecessors, but in Chelsea and Arsenal eyes it was revenge!
Tooth for tooth.
An enormous morale boost!
Not only the Arsenal fans — even the usually genteel Arsène Wenger shed his jacket, loosened his tie, and celebrated like a child on the touchline.
2–0!
Some veteran fans with tears in their eyes pointed upward and shouted — that blond boy who was ruined by Drogba, can you see? Your successor has avenged you!
Arsenal players rushed to Xia Qi and threw him down in a pile, one upon another.
At the bottom Xia Qi had little expression, but his eyes smiled.
David Luiz looked on with mixed feelings.
He had gambled a red card and put his whole body into it, yet he had not prevented the shot.
He thought: if I'd known, better to have been eaten than this!
He turned to Terry: "Double up on him! It's not shameful."
Terry nodded; Xia Qi could no longer be treated like a junior.
"Double-team him! Either double up or drop back!"
"Captain, shall we not tackle him?"
"Knock our own men about if needed. If we face him, mark him down, Mikel come back."
"Coach, he…"
"Do you think that old man knows tactics? If we don't change now, our faces will stay here…"
…
(END CHAPTER)
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