Chapter 1 It's Time to Play

Just as Hao Dong was wondering if his standards were too high, Xiao Wang, sitting next to him, seemed to have found a target.

"Hey, this Huang Zhihua is good. His individual ability is very outstanding. He has speed and skill. Apart from being a little thin, I can't find any major flaws. And he's still young now, he'll definitely grow taller in the future... Dong-ge, look at how well he stopped that ball!"

Hao Dong nodded in agreement. The game had been going on for fifteen minutes, and right now, it seemed that this number nine from the red team was the most outstanding player out of the twenty-two on the field. If there wasn't a better option in the end, he might just choose him.

After Huang Zhihua, the red team's number nine, stopped the ball, he didn't choose to pass, but instead dribbled towards the penalty area. However, this move almost caused him to lose the ball. In the end, he could only end the red team's attack with a long shot from outside the penalty area.

This long shot went high over the crossbar and didn't pose any threat to the blue team's goal.

Xiao Wang next to him exclaimed, "Ah, what a pity!"

Hao Dong shook his head inwardly: The technique looks good, but the ability to read the game is really too poor. If he had chosen to pass to his teammate when he stopped the ball just now, it might have been better. Instead, he insisted on dribbling the ball himself, resulting in a dead end. After getting startled, he hurriedly took a long shot, completely burying the team's attack. If this were a professional team, he would have been scolded by the coach.

If he ultimately chose this person, Hao Dong would have a feeling of "Shu has no great generals, Liao Hua acts as the vanguard."

※※※

Huang Zhihua's shot caused an uproar in the stands.

Many of the people here were parents of the children participating in the final.

The parents cheered for their sons one after another, and they didn't stop.

Although it was lively, the sounds were very chaotic.

The play on the field was also chaotic.

This was the final. Only one person could successfully enter the reality show. The elimination rate of twenty-three to one was very high. Everyone on the field wanted to show themselves as much as possible.

Huang Zhihua's performance just now was also due to this reason, and he wasn't the only one.

Except for the defensive players, as long as the offensive players got the ball, it was difficult to get them to pass it again.

They always hoped to be like world-class superstars, deciding the outcome of the game with their own strength.

Although everyone was nominally a team, there was absolutely no cooperation.

The offensive players tried their best to show their individual abilities, and the defensive players weren't just reduced to supporting roles. They also had ways to show their abilities.

That was fierce defense!

The game wasn't brilliant, but it was very intense. Both sides fought fiercely.

The referee had to blow his whistle frequently, pausing the game to protect the participating players, which made the game fragmented and not good to watch at all.

If it weren't for the fact that many of the people in the stands were parents of the young players, and they were just watching the game, they probably would have left already...

※※※

Just as the game had been going on for twenty minutes, an unexpected event occurred on the field.

A midfielder from the red team slipped while chasing after a blue team offensive player, lost his balance and fell to the ground, and... twisted his ankle!

The doctor from the medical support team went up to check and immediately gestured for a substitution.

"Substitution?"

Many people were stunned when they saw this gesture, seemingly unprepared for the substitution.

Some even had the initial thought: Do we have a substitute?

Many people turned their attention to the bench and saw that figure that was almost forgotten.

He was holding his chin in his hands, resting his elbows on his thighs, intently staring at the field, without moving.

※※※

After seeing the team doctor make the gesture for a substitution, Zhou Jianliang stood up from his seat. He knew what this meant: it meant his son had a chance!

At the same time, not far from him, a pair of parents sighed regretfully. Obviously, they were the parents of the injured child.

I'm sorry...

Zhou Jianliang said silently in his heart.

No one would accept this easily, but this gave his son a chance after all...

※※※

Hao Dong, who was a bit bored by the game but couldn't leave as a judge, was also energized by this sudden situation. He turned his attention to the young man sitting on the bench.

If he remembered correctly, that was Zhou Yi, the one with the worst score among the twenty-three people, because the other twenty-two had all received professional training in the youth teams of various soccer clubs to varying degrees.

Only that Zhou Yi had never even been to a sports school, let alone a professional soccer club's youth team. He probably didn't even know which way the gate opened. He had only received brief training in a summer vacation soccer interest class at the Youth Palace. The information on the registration form stated that he was currently the main striker in the school team of his middle school.

It was indeed not easy for such a person to make it to the final.

Also, because of his weak strength, he became the only substitute.

Now, it seemed that this weakest kid was going to get a chance to play.

However, Hao Dong didn't have any expectations for his appearance.

As he had always believed, a child who had never received professional soccer training couldn't possibly perform better than the twenty-two on the field.

※※※

After receiving the team doctor's message, Team Leader Wu also turned to look at the bench.

"Zhou Yi, get ready to play!"

He shouted toward the bench.

No one answered him.

Zhou Yi remained in a pose similar to Commander Ikari Gendo from *Evangelion*, without moving.

Zhou Jianliang watched his son's back from the stands. Whether there was an injury on the field or the coach was calling him, he didn't respond at all.

As his father, Zhou Jianliang suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart...

※※※

Team Leader Wu didn't get a response, so he thought that maybe he was standing a little far away, and the scene was noisy, so Zhou Yi didn't hear him. So he simply walked over to call him.

But when he walked up to Zhou Yi, he realized that something was wrong...

Because Zhou Yi, who was resting his chin on his hands... had his eyes closed!

"Zhou Yi?" The team leader tried calling out.

No reaction, he didn't even lift his eyelids.

"Zhou Yi!" The team leader raised his voice.

But the person in front of him remained as still as a mountain, sitting steadily on the bench that had been heated by the sun, still without any reaction.

Now Team Leader Wu could confirm it, although this reality was quite incredible...

That was, this kid was actually sleeping on the bench during such a crucial and important final!

Team Leader Wu, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, had no choice but to reach out and push Zhou Yi's shoulder: "Daylight's here, wake up!"

※※※

Zhou Yi had a dream. In the dream, he was once again in that training field surrounded by green trees, and around him were still the same blurry-faced people wearing training vests of the same color as him.

Zhou Yi had been having this dream frequently in the past month. If not every day, he could still dream it two or three times a week.

So Zhou Yi could already guess that those people should be his teammates.

It's just that he didn't know the names of these teammates, nor did he know their origins.

In front of him was still the same beautiful short-haired woman with a good face, smiling at him and saying, "Welcome to the world of FIFA Online 3..."

But after saying this sentence, the beauty stopped moving, and didn't continue speaking. She just kept smiling and looking at Zhou Yi, making Zhou Yi feel a little uneasy.

Zhou Yi could no longer tell whether this was a good dream or a nightmare.

Logically speaking, a dream with a beautiful woman should be a good dream, but if this beautiful woman was a little neurotic, looking at herself and smiling without saying a word... then even the most beautiful woman would immediately be classified as "crazy" in Zhou Yi's heart. Being with a crazy person was definitely not a good dream.

At this moment, the training field where Zhou Yi was located suddenly trembled, and the scene in front of him was distorted, including the beauty, also flashing, and there were snowflakes on her body, as if the signal was not good.

Then, Zhou Yi suddenly woke up.

He found himself indeed in a stadium, but not the training field in his dream, but a real stadium, with a soccer field, a running track, and stands... Why does it look so familiar?

Oh, right, I'm at the national audition final...

The final?

The final!

Zhou Yi was shocked, and then he realized where he was, and saw clearly the person standing in front of him.

"Ah, Team Leader, I haven't been asleep for long..." Zhou Yi wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth and explained.

Team Leader Wu was amused by his appearance, pointed to the field and said, "It's your turn to play!"

"Ah?" Zhou Yi still looked like he hadn't woken up.

"Someone on the red team is injured, you're replacing him." Team Leader Wang briefly explained.

"Oh, oh, oh!" Zhou Yi, realizing what was happening, jumped up from the bench, ready to rush to the field.

"Wait!" Team Leader Wang stopped him. "Do you know what position to play when you go on the field?"

"Striker..." Zhou Yi said without thinking.

"You play midfield." Team Leader Wang said.

"Team Leader, I'm... a striker..." Zhou Yi said, pointing at himself.

"The injured one is a midfielder, so you go up to play midfield." Team Leader Wang said in an irrefutable tone. He looked at the somewhat dazed Zhou Yi and said, "Any problems?"

"Uh, no!" Zhou Yi immediately turned around and ran towards the field.

Behind him, the team leader shook his head.

As the weakest of the twenty-three, he actually fell asleep on the bench during such an important final!

This person doesn't seem reliable at all...

The team leader looked back at the bench, the smooth stainless steel surface reflecting light in the sun. In the scorching sun of early August, it had long been heated up. This was why the team leader himself preferred to stand on the sidelines, pretending to be a coach watching the game, rather than sitting on that bench.

And that kid could actually fall asleep in such an environment...

Should he say he's a heavy sleeper, or that he has thick skin?