16: Chapter 16 triggers the "One Goal to Fame" challenge (Level 100,000)

On the not-so-large grandstand, Jonathan Barnett had already met several acquaintances: scouts from other clubs, agents with whom he had good relations, and local sports reporters.

He nodded to each of them in greeting, exchanged a few pleasantries, and held himself with composure.

In his view, the pace of the first half was acceptable, but lacked surprises. However, the lady from the East beside him, Linda, kept him from feeling bored.

She possessed a unique aura mixed with nervousness and ambition, different from the common English roses or passionate Latin beauties; she was a fresh sight.

When the second half began and that unfamiliar white figure wearing number 21 stepped onto the pitch, Barnett narrowed his eyes slightly and leaned forward.

He pointed at the tall, thin figure running towards the left flank and asked, turning his head, "Is that the kid?"

Wen Wan nodded immediately, "Yes, Mr. Barnett. His name is Yu Bai."

Barnett shrugged, leaned back into his chair, his gaze following the number 21 on the field, his tone carrying the usual, calm evaluative manner of a top predator: "Miss Linda, I don't think there's any need for me to bother remembering his name just yet."

He paused, a faint yet confident smile pulling at the corner of his mouth, "When he truly catches my eye, believe me, I will know more about him than he does himself by then."

Wen Wan could only nod, not knowing how to respond to such a declaration full of absolute self-confidence.

Barnett's gaze lingered on Yu Bai for a few seconds, then added, more as if to himself: "His image is not bad. Clean, with a certain refined handsomeness unique to Easterners. But on the football pitch..." He shook his head slightly, leaving the second half of the sentence unsaid, but the meaning was clear: looking good can sometimes be like an ornament, or even an implication of being "flashy but without substance."

Wen Wan didn't respond, though she felt a bit unconvinced in her heart. She hadn't met Yu Yun and Shen Muwan in person, but she had searched for information online. It wasn't the dazzling kind of stardom, but a more settled quality belonging to a truly affluent class with good genes—composed and noble. How could the only son of such a couple not be good-looking? If it weren't for her cousin being with Yu Yun, and if Yu Bai weren't actually so young... Wen Wan might not have had other thoughts. Who would refuse a boy with top-tier family background, appearance, and potential?

...

China, 1:00 AM. When the news of Yu Bai coming on as a substitute was pinned and pushed on sports apps like Dongqiudi and Hupu, a large number of fans who were originally preparing to sleep or watching other matches instantly flooded into various live streaming channels.

On the Huanledou Live Stream, the streamer Streamer had just finished commentating on a low-tier match. In the last ten minutes, he had gone all-in on "Over," but the situation changed dramatically in stoppage time; both sides scored three goals in quick succession, forcefully breaking the handicap. He was beaming, spittle flying as he faced the camera, enjoying the crazy praise from the bullet comments: "Brother Streamer is a god!" "He actually hit it?!" "Cash in, cash in!" He felt like the brightest star in the night sky of the sports betting world, a walking prophet.

Just then, the backend administrator sent a message, and immediately after, the boss's call came through: "Streamer, work some overtime. Yu Bai has come on as a substitute for Tottenham U21!"

"Yu Bai?!" Streamer blurted out to the phone that hadn't been hung up yet, "Didn't he just dominate in the U18s the day before yesterday? You can't work a donkey in a production team like this?!" But complaints aside, the boss's words about "huge traffic" and "triple overtime pay" in the receiver quickly calmed him down. How could he, Streamer, fail to live up to this heaven-sent wealth and the boss's concern?

"It's here, it's here! Brothers, keep calm, the god is returning immediately!" He shouted into the microphone, quickly cut off the final screen of the match, found the signal source for Tottenham U21 vs. Everton U21, pushed the stream, and changed the title — "[Emergency Overtime] Chinese Lone Seed Yu Bai's Tottenham U21 Debut! Come quickly!"

The number of people in the live stream began to skyrocket like a rocket.

"Brothers, sorry for the wait, I am your old friend, Streamer!"

He drank a mouthful of strong tea, forcibly pulled himself together, and stared at the newly loaded match footage, "The match has been going on for a while, let's put the handicaps and such aside for now, no rush! Let me, the old man, first see if this Yu Bai can continue to be wild in the U21s!"

...

On the field.

Less than a minute after Yu Bai stepped onto the turf, Everton U21 took advantage of the beginning of the second half to launch a fierce attack, attempting to seize the initiative and narrow the score gap as soon as possible.

Following the coach's instructions, Yu Bai quickly retreated to a very deep position to participate in defense. While running, he could feel that the speed of attack and defense transitions at the U21 level was faster, and the opposing players' handling of the ball was more decisive, with pressure rushing toward him.

Just then, deep in his mind, that familiar notification sound rang out without warning:

"Ding!"

[At 32 years old, you have ushered in a focal point match. Over 100,000 viewers worldwide are watching your performance. Triggering "Fame with One Goal Challenge" (100,000-level). Scoring in this match will randomly grant a multiple-choice reward.]

100,000 viewers? Yu Bai felt a slight tremor in his heart, but his pace did not falter. A multiple-choice reward? And a random one at that? But the prerequisite of "scoring a goal" was like a spark thrown into his fighting spirit, which was already burning because of his first appearance for the U21s.

The opportunity seemed to have arrived. The Everton right winger was holding the ball near the sideline, appearing somewhat hesitant, seemingly looking at his teammates' movement in the middle, without Passing or breaking through immediately.

Yu Bai saw the timing and suddenly started his press! He lunged forward aggressively, carrying an impatience that said, "Don't you want to attack? Come on!" This press was somewhat reckless, and the more experienced Everton right winger used a nimble hook to change direction, shaking him off, and immediately crossed the ball!

Yu Bai was beaten cleanly, and the Tottenham left-back behind him couldn't cover in time; the ball was already crossed into the penalty area!

"Reckless!" On the sidelines, coach Ugo Ehiogu frowned.

But the Everton cross was high and drifting, with a poor landing spot. Tottenham U21's captain, center-back Cameron Carter-Vickers, overpowered the opposing forward and headed the ball away fiercely, clearing it!

Vickers wanted to scold this rash newcomer, but when he looked up and saw that there wasn't a single Everton player within five meters of Yu Bai, he couldn't think twice. He could only shout at the white figure and then rushed over, kicking a long diagonal pass toward the front of the left wing.

The ball flew in the air, and Yu Bai began to accelerate near the midfield line. He trapped it with his chest, and the ball obediently landed in front of him. Looking up, before him was an open space that made his heart race, and three Everton defensive players who were retreating while fighting.

Three on three! Shaquille Coulthirst in the middle and Alex Pritchard, who was trailing from the far side, were already following at full speed. Both raised their hands for the ball almost simultaneously, their voices coming vaguely through the noisy stadium:

"Pass it over! Kid!"

"Back post! Look at the back post!"

Yu Bai didn't pass. He lowered his center of gravity and pushed forward with the ball. His speed wasn't explosive, but his stride frequency was steady, and the ball was firmly controlled at his feet. Perhaps his clumsy being beaten earlier gave the Everton center-back defending him head-on a wrong signal—this guy's footwork doesn't seem that great? Just a reckless kid.

So, as the center-back retreated, seeing Yu Bai approaching with the ball, he suddenly pressed forward without warning! His stride was large, and his intention was obvious: strike while you're down!

The moment he stretched his foot to poke the ball, Yu Bai seemed to have expected it long ago. While running, he gently flicked the outside of his left foot naturally, and at the same time, his body had a slight sway, just enough to miss the direction of the opponent's lunge.

The person was passed, and the ball was passed too. Simple, nimble, without even slowing down much.

The center-back lunged into empty air, stumbled a step, and when he wanted to turn and chase back, he could only see the back of Yu Bai's white jersey and the ball getting closer and closer to the penalty area.

Three on two! The chances for Coulthirst and Pritchard were even better, and their shouts were even more urgent.

Yu Bai dribbled into the penalty area. Another Everton center-back was retreating while defending, blocking the inside-cutting route firmly, his eyes moving nervously between Yu Bai and the two supporting points.

Yu Bai looked up, glanced at Coulthirst on the right, seemingly observing the Passing route. Just at the moment when the opposing defender's attention was slightly drawn by this glance, Yu Bai's left foot suddenly drew a semicircle forward, making the starting movement of a Step-over!

Very realistic. The center-back immediately shifted his center of gravity to the right, blocking the possibility of him going on the outside.

But Yu Bai's right foot, almost at the same time his left foot landed, used the inside of his foot to gently flick the ball to the inside! It wasn't a run to the byline; it was an inside cut!

A feint! The center-back's heart went cold, and he forced his body to turn, but his footsteps were already a bit messy.

The Everton left-back, who had been protecting the far post, seeing that Yu Bai had gained a Shooting angle after cutting inside, couldn't care about Pritchard far away anymore. He let out a low roar, threw himself into a sliding tackle, like a sky-blue wall, attempting to use his body to block the shot!

The block was actually a feint. The right leg that Yu Bai swung after cutting inside, just before making contact with the ball, flicked his ankle gently, changing to use the outside of his foot to flick the ball to the right again!

The sliding left-back could only watch helplessly as Yu Bai, along with the ball, slid past his desperately extended leg.

At the corner of the small penalty area! Face-to-face with the goalkeeper!

The Everton U21 goalkeeper, Mateusz Hewelt, had his nerves stretched to the limit. He had been adjusting his position as Yu Bai moved, and seeing Yu Bai kill his way to such a close distance with successive dribbles, his heart was pounding wildly. Two meters! Maybe not even that!

He saw Yu Bai's right leg swing backward again, with a large amplitude, but that was the sign of exerting force before Shooting!

Swinging his thigh? So close? The thought "This is going to be a blast" flashed through Hewelt's mind instantly, and he could almost imagine the pain of the ball hitting his face. But the goalkeeper's instinct and courage overwhelmed everything. He let out a low roar from his throat, leaped forward regardless, his body fully extended, arms spread, expanding his defensive area as much as possible, like an eagle pouncing on its prey, attempting to use his entire body to block this close-range shot!

Yu Bai did swing his leg. But at the moment when Hewelt leaped, his body fully extended, and his old strength was spent while new strength had not yet been generated, the calf muscles of his backward-swinging leg suddenly relaxed, and there was an almost imperceptible, counter-intuitive pause in the leg-swinging motion.

Then, in the split second when Hewelt's body rose to its highest point and began to fall, Yu Bai's right instep gently pushed the ball, the contact point precise and soft.

It wasn't a blast.

It was a nimble push shot, skimming the turf.

The ball rolled silently beneath Hewelt's spread arms and torso, through that one remaining, narrow gap, moving at a constant speed, firmly, straight into the empty far corner of the goal.

4:1.

The net swayed gently.

Coulthirst stopped his sprint, standing on the line of the small penalty area, his mouth slightly open.

Pritchard also ran over from the back post, looking at the ball slowly rolling inside the goal line, then looking at Yu Bai who had just climbed up from the ground. The expression on his face was complex, like amazement, and also like a kind of helplessness of "I seem to have run for nothing."

The two of them became the front-row audience to this brilliant personal show, with a perfect perspective.

Yu Bai turned around, looking at the ball in the goal, seemingly stunned for a moment, then raised his arm. He didn't sprint, just clenched his fist hard. The thing that had been burning in his chest, with this goal, finally vented a part of itself satisfyingly.

He heard the cheers and applause from the home fans in the stands, and it seemed to be mixed with a particularly loud little trumpet sound.