Chapter 66: Extended Hang Time, Soaring Through the Clouds
The match restarted,
Tottenham threw everything forward.
Scott Parker neatly dragged the ball back and fed a reverse triangle to Kyle Walker, thus escaping the double press from Xia Qi and Jack Wilshere.
Then Parker received the ball back behind Wilshere.
As soon as the ball arrived at his feet he played a diagonal pass to Gareth Bale.
Bale carried the ball forward at speed; Mikel Arteta chased hard behind him.
Arteta knew his backtracking was crucial — otherwise, with only Santi Cazorla trying to stop him up front, it wouldn't be enough.
Arsenal had studied Bale before the match; Wenger's idea was at worst to have Xia Qi drop back to defend.
But that's a tactic that hurts yourself almost as much as the opponent.
Arteta didn't want to do that yet.
"Bale's incredibly fast — once he turns on the jets he shakes off Arteta."
"Arteta is tracking back."
"Cazorla joins the double-team!"
"A two-man press — that's a good idea."
On the pitch,
Bale sprinted at speed with the ball. Seeing Cazorla lunging, and catching a glimpse of Arteta closing in, Bale — bold and skilled — decided not to pass before the double-team closed.
At the moment Cazorla closed in he slammed the brakes in high speed; Cazorla overcommitted and went past the ball.
However, Cazorla reacted quickly: he whipped his leg back and put his body in front of Bale.
If Cazorla could trip Bale, Arteta would arrive in time.
The two would clamp him from front and back…
In the stands Tottenham supporters suddenly held their breath; the cheers for Bale abruptly stopped.
This was a three-line push — if Arsenal launched a counter now… the memory of the earlier conceded goal was vivid… you could almost hear your own heartbeat over the noisy stadium.
Fans realized it wasn't that André Villas-Boas had out-researched Arsène Wenger; it was that both coaches had calculated each other's moves.
Each side played its plan; chances existed for both — the result hung on fine margins.
Cazorla flicked his leg back; Bale deftly pulled the ball inward, letting Cazorla's leg swipe air, then poked the ball past Cazorla's feet.
At the same moment Arteta burst up to face Bale; Cazorla righted his body and closed toward Arteta, forming a gate-like defensive posture — the classic "close the door" defense: the ball goes over, the man does not.
But Bale was waiting for exactly that — Cazorla righted himself so Bale could brush past on the outside as if Cazorla's movement had been designed to accommodate a "C" shaped run.
Cazorla — traitor!
Arteta and Cazorla spun to chase the ball, but Bale was faster; although his route looped around, he still beat the two who had to turn.
"Beautiful!"
"A classic fast-lane outside overtake!"
"Bale's dribbles are nimble; Xia Qi's are brutal—each has their style."
When Bale reached the ball, Tottenham fans' cheer could have lifted the stadium roof.
Arsenal supporters, of course, tried to drown them out with jeers.
On the pitch,
Bale reached the edge of Arsenal's penalty area in an instant; Bacary Sagna and Thomas Vermaelen rushed at him from left and right.
They preferred a yellow card to letting Bale cut inside.
Bale dared not attempt an outside overtake now — a misplaced pass might turn into "a meatbun thrown at a dog, never to return."
He tried a feint to open a shooting angle, but Vermaelen's experience gave him no chance.
At that moment, Emmanuel Adebayor raised a hand and shouted, "Here!"
Hearing his teammate, Bale did not hesitate and pushed the ball across.
Adebayor, like a beast, shoved Per Mertesacker behind him and spread his arms to block any recovery.
Meeting the rolling ball, he unleashed a driven volley.
The ball rocketed like a firework — but not straight; it was a diagonal shot, piercing toward the middle of the goal with no angle to the sides.
Only speed mattered!
Vito Mannone launched and only managed to see a blur of the ball.
The ball struck under the crossbar over Mannone's head and bounced into the net!
Beep!
Goal valid!
1:1!
"Shot!"
"Goal!"
"This strike was lightning-quick; Mannone had no answer. But the biggest credit goes to Bale."
"Tonight's derby is fierce! Two minutes after Xia Qi's goal, Adebayor's blast levels the score."
"Arsenal must still limit Bale — don't let him wreck the right flank."
On the pitch,
Adebayor roared, slid to his knees with arms wide toward the Tottenham end in celebration, the same way he celebrated scoring at Manchester City.
Arsenal fans were furious; they hurled curses and threw objects down from the stands…
But the more they did, the prouder looked Adebayor.
At the touchline, André Villas-Boas first raised his arms and then sprinted to the fourth official to complain about objects thrown by Arsenal fans.
He didn't learn much tactical nuance from José Mourinho, but he certainly learned how to complain like him.
Wenger shook his head helplessly; he felt the sting of being humiliated on the field — no wonder his former opponents always envied him for having a Xia Qi.
Now the match had reached a node; the teams would explode at each other and only the tougher one would hold out.
Play resumed,
Arsenal slowed the tempo to control the game.
But Tottenham refused; they spread out quickly and pressed for the ball.
Wenger's Arsenal possession style, though not as refined as Pep Guardiola's later teams, remained top-tier in the Premier League.
Tottenham's full-pitch sprints did not break Arsenal's rhythm.
Wilshere was frozen by Tottenham pressure, but Arteta stepped up and dragged the ball away from Lewis Holtby's charge.
He pushed forward composedly.
As Mousa Dembélé advanced to pin Holtby in a front-back clamp, Arteta found Xia Qi.
Xia Qi was standing inside Tottenham's penalty area, back to goal.
Seeing Arteta's glance, Xia Qi ran out of the box.
Arteta's mouth curved — he mentally gave Xia Qi a thumbs-up.
Who wouldn't love a forward who can receive and link play?
Arteta pushed the ball with the inside of his foot; it rolled precisely past Dembélé's legs, Xia Qi took two strides and stopped the ball with a touch.
"Ding-dong."
"Mino Raiola has reached a transfer agreement with Manchester City, allowing him to contact Arsenal privately; the system has marked the hidden task complete."
"Host, do you want to download a patch update?"
"Update!"
After Xia Qi said "update," he suddenly froze — he forgot to ask how long an update would take; without the system he felt afraid!
He saw Parker charging toward him and quickly passed the ball to Lukas Podolski.
Parker couldn't stop his momentum — perhaps he didn't intend to — and crashed into Xia Qi.
Although knocked off-balance, Xia Qi did not go sprawling as one might expect.
He paused and looked at his attributes board — an 85 rating calmed him somewhat.
He couldn't compare with AFK mode, but he could cope.
As Parker retreated he glanced at Xia Qi.
He felt oddly puzzled.
This guy doesn't seem so "tough," so how did he knock over Dawson and Vermaelen before?
Podolski drove the ball to the left edge of the box; seeing no obvious gap in Tottenham's defense he rolled the ball to Xia Qi.
Parker, Dawson and other Tottenham defenders were now panicked.
Parker turned his back and signaled for cover — he feared Xia Qi charging through.
Xia Qi, taking the ball, felt anxious too. He looked at his teammates; each of them was ready to trust his breakthrough.
Podolski had already darted into the box to draw defenders; Aaron Ramsey quietly sneaked to the far post…
A brute-force run wouldn't work!
Xia Qi had some self-knowledge.
Cough… cough… a reverse triangle, then.
The ball reached Arteta; after a one-two with Wilshere it returned to Xia Qi at the top of the box.
Xia Qi was Arsenal's powerful break point — in positional play if he didn't surge forward, he wouldn't find Tottenham's defensive seam.
Opportunities must be created by effort.
Arsenal needed Xia Qi to fight for this one.
Having practiced with the AI for so long, Xia Qi could read the pitch. Now it was either to dribble, shoot, or pass back — another triangle pass would be a coward's move.
Dribbling wouldn't get through.
Then… just take a speculative shot!
He pulled the ball wide to create space and at the top-right of the box nudged it forward, sprinting after it.
Left foot planted, body leaning left, he swung his right leg back then quickly brought it forward and struck the ball hard with the instep.
"Xia Qi!"
"Shot!"
Arsenal fans gave a preemptive cheer.
The ball struck cleanly, with no spin, blasting like a cannon toward the top-left corner.
Hugo Lloris extended fully in the air and stretched his arms; he just managed to parry the ball away before it crossed the line.
Although Lloris saved it, he was drenched in cold sweat.
He shouted to Scott Parker: "Don't let him shoot!"
Parker looked aggrieved — to stop Xia Qi shooting, you have to close down tight, which invites nutmegs.
Arsenal supporters sighed in unison — it was a close miss.
Then thunderous applause followed.
Xia Qi was delighted that his speculative strike was so good; he clenched his fist and yelled without meaning to.
This was his shot!
Awesome!
Superb!
His teammates thought he was upset the shot didn't go in and ran to console him.
Wilshere put an arm around him: "Corner, I'll do tactic three; you occupy the spot…"
"Xia Qi looks excited — this kid is really… interesting."
After Xia Qi scores he usually shows no expression; when he doesn't score he looks more like a normal person — Zhang Lu even fumbled through the dictionary to find "interesting."
From the corner, Xia Qi tangled with defenders in Tottenham's box.
"Ding-dong!"
"System update complete. Host, choose 'Manual Mode' or 'One-Click AFK Mode.'"
"Friendly reminder: during AFK mode the system will automatically perform required actions for the host."
"One-Click AFK!"
"Relax and AFK; the system will automatically complete tasks, freeing your feet and bringing an easy and joyful match experience! Match experience begins."
This update finished just in time.
Xia Qi was moved to tears.
In the box he felt powerless — surrounded like a stamen by petals.
Tottenham defenders surrounded him like flower petals: Dawson and Vertonghen ahead, Parker and Dembélé behind.
He was the stamen, they were the petals.
When the update finished, Xia Qi was truly, truly, genuinely moved to tears.
Wilshere used a corner-flag code and Xia Qi suddenly darted forward, then braked hard and ran back.
That in-and-out created the jumping space.
Xia Qi rose from the ground between the four petals.
Parker and Mousa Dembélé hadn't felt Xia Qi's power before; they lost balance on the jump and were knocked away mid-air by Xia Qi.
Dawson and Jan Vertonghen, having learned their lesson, didn't jump recklessly; by the time they regained balance and leapt, Xia Qi was a beat ahead.
And now,
Wilshere's delivery had already reached above Xia Qi's head.
Dawson saw Xia Qi out-leap him and, eager, tried to head the ball — but in the air he gave Xia Qi an elbow.
"Ding-dong!"
"The [Overwhelming Force] attribute has been activated."
Xia Qi was elbowed in the air; his body wobbled at first, but suddenly he braced his core, pulled his arms, and achieved a pronounced hang time.
Then, meeting the incoming ball, he leaned back and whipped his head.
"Extended hang time, soaring through clouds."
"Lion's shake of the head!"
Dawson realized how much force he'd used and was stunned to see Xia Qi remain so tenacious; he gaped, dumbstruck, forgetting to make a second challenge.
The ball flew in a level arc toward goal.
Lloris was prepared and pushed off with his legs, diving to the far corner.
But the ball was quicker; Lloris watched a white streak flash past his eyes.
He turned and saw the ball bounce in the net.
The referee's whistle and the stadium DJ's call sounded almost together.
The referee pointed to the center circle and signaled the goal.
The DJ's voice cracked as he bellowed: "Gooooooooal!"
"Xia… Xia… Xia… Xia Qi!"
Arsenal fans screamed hysterically: "Xia Qi!"
Just as they erupted in joy,
the usually expressionless Xia Qi slid to his knees toward the Tottenham stands and left three parallel marks on the turf!
Could it be???
Xia Qi was retaliating at Adebayor!
This was his answer!
Arsenal fans went even more hysterical.
Twelve seconds earlier:
"Ding-dong!"
"Goal celebration: yes or no?"
"Yes!"
"Original celebration or template?"
"Original!"
"Host has not recorded an original celebration."
"Other templates!"
Damn!
Wasting time!
"Template!"
Xia Qi's inner screen flashed a long list of celebration choices.
He quickly picked Didier Drogba's three-line slide-knee celebration.
Ten-thousand-area legendary points!
Money-grabbing!
Xia Qi hesitated but wanted to get it — especially after what Adebayor had done in the tunnel and after his celebration, no price was too high.
He glanced and saw options labeled "Messi" and "Cristiano Ronaldo." He thought Messi was reserved — not like Cristiano's overflowing swagger.
He opened Messi's option — it was Messi holding up his shirt to Real Madrid fans.
Ah!
That was a good one! Paired with Drogba's knee-slide, it had real bite and was apt.
One hundred thousand-area legendary points.
Why not grab it?
What? That was Messi's celebration three years later at the Bernabéu.
To copy Messi's path and later make him have nowhere to go — that could be done.
Fans were stunned.
The normally un-celebratory Xia Qi slid toward the away end and left the three parallel marks on the grass.
Tottenham fans were furious.
"You stole Adebayor's idea — what are you proud of?"
They hurled the most obscene insults at Xia Qi and made taunting umbrella gestures…
Xia Qi rose, removed his shirt, held it up to the stands and displayed his number.
Boom!
The Tottenham end erupted!
"Boom, boom, boom…"
Arsenal's stand erupted like a nuclear blast; fans spun dizzy with sudden joy.
After being humiliated by Adebayor, restrained Xia Qi struck back publicly.
"Xia Qi slides and kneels!"
"He's flashing his shirt at the Tottenham fans!"
"This is a reply to Adebayor — it wounds Tottenham fans deeply but fills Arsenal fans with joy."
"Many Arsenal female fans cried. When someone stands up to fight back for you after you were bullied, it truly is a happiness…"
"I understand Arsenal fans' emotion and Tottenham fans' anger; this is the North London Derby — a war without gunpowder…"
(END CHAPTER)
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