66: Chapter 66: Director's Decisive Move + Locking in the Victory! The System Offers a Choice Between Two Rewards – How Do You Solve This Problem?

"Throw it over!"

Yu Bai waved outside the sideline. Left-back Jeffrey Schlupp didn't dare to delay, throwing a powerful throw-in toward Yu Bai.

Receive the ball? No!

Just as the ball was about to arrive, Yu Bai tilted his body slightly to the right, while his left foot cleverly cushioned it forward—a touch that controlled and bypassed the defender! A move that looked forced but was actually full of adventurous spirit!

Carlos Sanchez, who had come over to provide cover, stuck out a leg to trip him! He made contact, but didn't completely stop him! Yu Bai stumbled, but his feet seemed magnetized, and he managed to protect the ball while staggering, completing the escape!

"How is he not falling?!"

Sanchez looked at that blue back, feeling like he had just been cursed. If he didn't commit a foul, he couldn't stop him? Was he defending against Yu Bai or goddamn Messi?! A deep sense of powerlessness and absurdity welled up in his heart.

Escaping Sanchez, Yu Bai dribbled inside, instantly turning the left flank into his own private garden path. The defense of Aston Villa was like a frightened bird, and two more people immediately surrounded him!

Triple team!

Yu Bai didn't panic, nor did he pass the ball immediately. He lowered his center of gravity, his footwork frequency dazzlingly fast, protecting the ball in an extremely small space, as if dancing on the tip of a knife.

He was waiting.

Waiting for a key run.

He kept glancing at the back right—Ritchie De Laet, you blockhead, hurry up and charge!

Ritchie De Laet finally seemed to wake up from the rigid mindset of "I am a defender." Seeing Yu Bai firmly controlling the ball amidst the triple team, he gritted his teeth and started sprinting along the right flank!

Because he was two beats slow, Yu Bai took two more black kicks from who knows who in the encirclement, his ankles aching.

That's it!

Just as Ritchie De Laet was about to rush past the offside line, and the Aston Villa left-rib defense loosened slightly because of his forward insertion, and everyone's attention was drawn to Yu Bai—

Yu Bai, in the encirclement, flicked his right ankle as if playing the piano, even though he could barely see the Passing lane!

It wasn't a ground through ball, nor a lobbed long pass.

It was a chip pass as light as a feather and as precise as a missile! The ball drew a beautiful parabola, crossed over the heads of all the defensive players, and fell straight into the deadly vacuum zone on the left rib of the Aston Villa defense!

And there, arriving in time, was the sprinting Ritchie De Laet!

"Beautiful! Chip pass!"

"Ritchie De Laet! Unmarked!"

Ritchie De Laet didn't even need to stop the ball to adjust! Facing the falling ball, he swung his right foot directly while running, using his instep to deliver a cross with excellent power and curve!

The ball speed wasn't fast, but the landing point was extremely tricky, just bypassing the goalkeeper Guzan and flying toward the front post of the small penalty area!

Smell! The instinct of a top striker!

Vardy, like a shark smelling blood, dashed out from between the two center-backs, getting there before everyone else with a standard flying header!

"Bang!"

"Swish—!!!"

3:2!!! Leicester City! Coming from two goals down to score three! 89th minute, a dramatic turnaround!

"From 0:2 to 3:2! The miracle of King Power Stadium!"

"This coordination! This Passing! This movement! A work of art!"

Vardy rushed madly to the corner flag, performing a passionate long-distance knee slide! All the Leicester City players rushed toward him, piling up into a mountain!

Only one person was the exception.

Yu Bai.

He didn't rush to the corner flag to celebrate. He turned around, with a smile mixed with huge excitement and pure joy on his face, and rushed straight toward the head coach, Claudio Ranieri, on the sidelines!

Under the gaze of tens of thousands of fans, Yu Bai opened his arms and gave the old Italian coach a solid, powerful hug, shouting excitedly in his ear:

"Boss! Did you see that?!"

"The tactic! It worked! We did it!"

He was truly happy. This happiness was completely different from the refreshing feeling of scoring a world-class goal or completing a solo run by personal ability. This was a deeper level of joy, full of a sense of achievement.

During the "lonely" extra training period of the international break, Claudio Ranieri had called him to the office more than once to watch Messi's videos together, repeatedly explaining "how to observe in a multi-person encirclement, how to use personal containment to create space for teammates, and the timing and technique of Passing diagonal lines after cutting inside"...

Yu Bai listened to it all, kept it in his heart, and pondered it repeatedly in training.

And now, at the most anxious moment of the game, when a hero was needed to stand up, the tactic he designed with Claudio Ranieri was perfectly presented!

He attracted almost all the defensive firepower, found the gap with a millimeter-precise chip pass, and finally, his teammate completed the fatal blow.

This feeling... it was great.

It was like using wisdom, not just brute force, to solve the world's most difficult puzzle.

It was the feeling of really playing football with his brain.

...

The game entered the 5-minute stoppage time. Aston Villa launched a final, desperate counterattack.

In the 94th minute of stoppage time, the last attack.

Aston Villa won a corner kick, and goalkeeper Brad Guzan also rushed into the Leicester City penalty area for a final gamble.

However, the corner kick taken by Grealish was headed out of the penalty area by Leicester City captain Wes Morgan, who overpowered everyone!

"Clearance! Counterattack opportunity!"

Second drop point! A tireless blue figure arrived like lightning! It was Kante! He always seemed to be in the most critical position! He controlled the ball before everyone else, without even looking up, relying on his almost instinctive feel for the field, facing the incoming ball, he directly volleyed it toward the empty midfield area!

And there, another blue lightning had already started simultaneously!

It was Yu Bai! He and Kante seemed to be sharing one brain!

The pass was a bit high, a half-volley, not easy to handle. Yu Bai didn't try to stop the ball; running at high speed, he jumped lightly and tapped the ball forward with his forehead!

Heading to control and bypass!

Passing the ball and the man! Extremely stylish!

The chasing Sanchez reached out to pull him, but only grabbed a handful of air! Westwood slid to tackle, but Yu Bai seemed to have anticipated it, jumping lightly like a nimble antelope, leaping over the studs of the slide tackle!

In front of him was a sixty-meter stretch of flat green grassland! And the empty Villa goal!

"It's a one-on-one! Yu Bai! Sealed the victory!"

Yu Bai knocked the ball forward and started sprinting at full speed! He could hear the wind whistling behind him and the roaring cheers in the stands.

However, as he ran, he felt something was wrong... Glancing out of the corner of his eye, there seemed to be an orange figure approaching crazily from the side and back?

Yu Bai was shocked, holy crap? Who is so fast? He gritted his teeth and accelerated again! He didn't dare to relax!

But that orange figure was actually still getting closer?! Even... almost neck and neck?

Yu Bai couldn't help but look back—

Brad Guzan!

He was swinging his two long legs, running for his life, his facial expression distorted by extreme speed and despair, but the speed... was actually damn fast!

Yu Bai: "..."

Embarrassing! Too embarrassing!

I, a proper shadow striker, can't outrun a goalkeeper?! If I get caught, how can I hang out in the Premier League in the future? Won't I be made into a meme and laughed at for a lifetime?!

"Not running anymore!" Yu Bai decided immediately.

Just after stepping over the center circle arc, more than forty meters away from the goal, Yu Bai caught up with the ball. Without any adjustment, while running, he used the inside of his right foot to give the ball in front of him a light push.

It was just a simple, unadorned push, like shooting into an empty net during training.

The ball skimmed across the grass, drew a straight line, rolled over a long distance, and under the gaze of tens of thousands of eyes, slowly but unstoppably, rolled across the empty Villa half, rolled over the unguarded penalty area line, and finally... silently, rolled into the goal.

4:2! Sealed the victory!

"Goooooooooooooal!!!"

"Yu Bai!!!"

"From 0:2 to 4:2! An epic comeback!"

"King Power Stadium, sleepless tonight!"

Yu Bai watched the ball go in, stopped, put his hands on his hips, panting slightly, with a helpless yet funny expression on his face.

Damn, almost got caught by the goalkeeper. Who would believe that if I told them?

...

The whole game is over! Leicester City 4:2 Aston Villa! Completed a stunning comeback!

Yu Bai, two assists and one goal, directed all the goals from 0:2 to 4:2! But the Man of the Match was awarded to Vardy, who scored a Hat-trick!

When Yu Bai and his teammates circled the field, applauding and thanking the King Power Stadium fans who were still immersed in ecstasy and unwilling to leave, as expected—

"Ding!"

A crisp and familiar prompt sounded in the deepest part of his mind.

[At 32 years old, under the spotlight, you played a long-awaited, classic battle that can be called a representative work. The attention peak broke through ten million, and you became famous, resounding throughout the football world.]

[Reward package, issued.]

[Package 1:]

Composure +5

Free Definition Point +5

[Package 2:]

[Please choose one from the following two items:]

[Option A: Superstar Moment]

Effect: Significantly improve your personal performance at critical moments of the game, facing high-pressure defense, or when you need to make a decisive blow. Your superstar shots will be more stable and decisive. (Note: This effect will be triggered with significantly increased probability and effect during anxious moments of the game, stoppage time, or when your personal state is boiling.)

[Option B: Superstar Treatment]

Effect: You will begin to gradually receive "Superstar Treatment" that matches your performance and reputation. The referee's judgment will tend toward you in fouls that may or may not be called, especially regarding malicious infringements and dangerous actions against you. At the same time, your right to speak when communicating and appealing to the referee will be subtly improved. (Note: This effect is a passive aura, and the effect will slowly increase with your reputation and performance. It won't give you non-existent penalties, but it will make those fouls that should have belonged to you be seen more often.)

Yu Bai: "..."

How to choose this?