Volume 1: Our Own League 146: The First-Year B Team Is More Than Just Xu He

The number 9 forward of the Combined Team felt a surge of elation. Here it was, the chance that belonged to him had arrived!
You little brats of the First-Year Class B, prepare to meet your doom!
You Combined Team boys are not people you can afford to provoke. Today, I will teach you a lesson in humility and let you all know who truly rules supreme in Number 17 High School of Jinguancheng!
The team that wins today will undoubtedly be our Combined Team!
Jumping high into the air, the number 9 forward of the Combined Team kept his eyes locked on the incoming ball and violently smashed his head into it.
Get in there for me!
Thud!
A head struck the football dead center, and the sphere instantly zipped out of the penalty area of First-Year Class B.
Gasp!
An uproar erupted across the entire stadium!
Countless spectators in the stands widened their eyes in disbelief, unable to trust what they were seeing.
In this play, the number 9 forward of the Combined Team had clearly held an absolute advantage. He should have been the one to reach the ball first, smash it toward the goal of First-Year Class B, and score.
"Where on earth did that kid pop out from?" Luo Dongqing exclaimed from the sideline.
He had completely assumed that the goal was inevitable.
However, just as the number 9 forward of the Combined Team was about to make contact with the header, another head managed to snatch the ball away a split second earlier, directly clearing it out of danger.
When the owner of that head landed steadily on the turf, everyone realized that the player who made the clearance was Zhuo Jun, the number 5 central defender of First-Year Class B. Everyone was utterly shocked, never expecting it to be him.
Standing by the sideline, Yangtong Mingxiong narrowed his eyes, a flicker of astonishment washing over him.
Zhuo Jun's explosive leaping speed was exceptionally fast, and his jump reached a remarkable height. More importantly, his judgment of the ball's landing spot was incredibly precise, and his defensive positioning was flawless. He had calculated every single variable, leaving the Combined Team's number 9 forward absolutely zero chance.
This was a very mature and fiercely sharp defensive play.
His gaze remained fixed tightly on Zhuo Jun, as if he wanted to see right through the defender.
Upon landing, the number 9 forward of the Combined Team immediately spun around, staring at Zhuo Jun in utter shock, and demanded with a look of disbelief, "How on earth did you pull that off?"
Zhuo Jun completely ignored him and immediately jogged away.
This infuriated the Combined Team's number 9 forward, his complexion turning terribly dark.
This was supposed to be his golden opportunity to score, and it was all ruined by this damned kid.
The number 9 forward of the Combined Team glared coldly at Zhuo Jun’s retreating back, harboring a fierce resentment in his heart: "Kid, you have successfully angered me. I will definitely make you pay today! Just wait, I'm going to teach you a proper lesson!"
The number 9 forward of the Combined Team prepared himself to thoroughly punish Zhuo Jun.
At that moment, the football cleared out of the box by Zhuo Jun sailed straight toward the feet of Xu He, who was dropping back to defend.
Xu He did not linger on the ball; instead, he directly pushed a flat pass out to the flank.
The football rolled swiftly across the turf, arriving precisely at the feet of Chen An, who was surging forward at high speed.
Chen An, wearing a white headband, possessed decent pace. After receiving the ball, he knocked it far ahead of himself, then opened up his stride and chased after it like a madman.
He was like a gust of wind down the wing.
Xu He and Zhang Zhen, positioned in the center, also bolted forward at top speed, charging frantically toward the penalty area of the Combined Team.
Xu He was extremely fast, rapidly sprinting straight into the box of the Combined Team.
The defensive players of the Combined Team gritted their teeth and chased relentlessly after Xu He, pouring every ounce of their remaining strength into the pursuit. They had no intention of letting Xu He score another goal.
Through sheer grit and desperate running, they managed to barely keep pace with Xu He.
Although they were exhausted to the point of collapse, they felt immensely happy and relieved. They hadn't been shaken off by Xu He, and by double-teaming him, they would deny him any chance. They felt it was all worth it.
As long as Xu He failed to score, their efforts would not have been in vain.
They stared fixedly at Xu He, a cold sneer forming in their minds: "As long as we take this seriously, you kid won't be scoring another goal!"
They all believed that Xu He's first goal was purely a result of their own carelessness and lack of focus. Now that they were fully concentrated, Xu He wouldn't get a single sniff at goal.
These players glared coldly at Xu He with faces full of derision.
Thud!
Suddenly, Chen An on the flank delivered a cross directly. The football soared rapidly into the air and flashed straight into the penalty area of the Combined Team. Contrary to what the Combined Team's defenders had anticipated, the ball did not fly toward Xu He, but instead sailed toward Zhang Zhen, who was charging up rapidly right behind them.
Instantly, all the defensive players of the Combined Team turned pale with fright, shrieking in horror.
How shameless! How cunning!
Liars!
A bunch of utter swindlers!
The eyes of the Combined Team's defenders turned bloodshot, and they wished they could tear the boys of First-Year Class B to shreds.
Xu He had run so fast, charging desperately into the penalty area to draw attention, yet they didn't even pass to him, choosing instead to pass to this nobody named Zhang Zhen. What on earth were they trying to pull?!
The defenders of the Combined Team felt like crying without tears.
Because they had risked their lives to tightly mark Xu He, how could they possibly have spared any attention for what was happening behind their backs?
At that moment, they had been basking in the excitement and joy of shutting down Xu He, completely oblivious to the fact that Xu He was merely a decoy! Xu He had used his speed to push the Combined Team's defensive line extremely deep, almost pinning them against the edge of the small penalty area. Naturally, a vast vacuum of space had opened up inside the Combined Team's main box, and right then, Zhang Zhen, the second wave of First-Year Class B's attack, had slotted directly into that gaping void.
Chen An on the wing had naturally spotted this open space and dispatched the cross at the earliest opportunity. The ball landed precisely in front of Zhang Zhen, who effortlessly extended his leg to cushion and tame the sphere securely.
At this moment, there was not a single defender within yards of Zhang Zhen; he was completely unmarked.
The defensive midfielder and other defenders of the Combined Team panicked, rushing forward in a frantic chase, but it was evidently far too late!
Having controlled the ball, Zhang Zhen did not waste any time adjusting it; he simply swung his leg and unleashed a ferocious, point-blank shot.
With a resounding crack, the football shot forth toward the goal of the Combined Team like a cannonball leaving the barrel.
The ball traveled at blinding speed with immense power.
The defenders inside the box only saw a flash of white before their eyes lost the trajectory of the ball. At the same time, the goalkeeper’s line of sight had been completely obstructed by the bodies in front of him. He hadn't seen the ball's path at all, standing frozen like a wooden post in front of his goal until the ball had already flown past him into the net, at which point he finally turned his head to look.
Seeing this, all the players of the Combined Team despairingly closed their eyes.
They had truly made complete fools of themselves in this match today.
Only six or seven minutes into the game, they had been completely dazed by the onslaught. They were being utterly steamrolled by First-Year Class B, with virtually no ability to fight back. The gap in quality between the two teams appeared to be astronomical.
The expressions of the Combined Team's players naturally turned grim.
They knew deep down that the actual difference in strength between them and their opponents wasn't that large, and they possessed the capability to battle them evenly. But those two sudden early blows delivered by the opponents had left them completely disoriented, causing them to lose their bearings entirely.
On the sideline, Yangtong Mingxiong began to applaud, directing his cheers toward Zhang Zhen.
Zhang Zhen's speed wasn't blistering, and his physical attributes didn't look particularly imposing, but his timing in following up the play was excellent, and his finishing technique was exceptionally refined. He looked like quite a decent forward.
Given Zhang Zhen's stellar performance on this play, Yangtong Mingxiong naturally had to applaud.
Of course, this only made the expressions of the Combined Team's players on the pitch even uglier, considering Yangtong Mingxiong was technically their head coach. Their own manager was applauding the opponents, which signaled that their current performance was utterly abyssal. It felt as though their coach was about to defect—how much contempt did he hold for their display?
Every single player on the Combined Team harbored a surge of suppressed frustration, their faces dark with humiliation.
They felt deeply insulted, but they had no intention of giving up.
There was still plenty of time left in the match, and they refused to accept defeat just like this.
Just you wait, you little punks. We are going to fight you to the death! There's no way our Combined Team is inferior to you lot!
The players of the Combined Team immediately rallied their spirits and launched an offensive wave toward First-Year Class B.
The Combined Team's attacks were still primarily orchestrated through "Zidane" Qi Dan and "Beckham" Chen Wei. However, these two players were now receiving special, heavy defensive attention, making it very difficult for them to comfortably receive the ball. The Combined Team's offense appeared to be stifled, but Xu He and his teammates quickly realized that wasn't the case.
Even without those two heavily guarded players, the Combined Team's buildup remained remarkably swift, punching straight through to the edge of the penalty arc.
Xu He perceived it now: the Combined Team was relying on crisp passing and positional control to maneuver the ball right to the doorstep of their box.
Xu He felt a jolt of surprise, never expecting their opponents' tactical coordination and passing fluency to be this impressive.
It seemed the opposing team functioned much more like a cohesive unit.
After a rapid sequence of passes, the number 16 midfielder suddenly threaded a through-ball, slicing the sphere directly into the half-space of First-Year Class B's penalty area. Their number 11 forward made a sharp diagonal run into the box, chased down the ball, and unleashed a first-time curling shot.
The football skimmed tightly across the turf, flashing rapidly toward the lower near corner of the goal.
The players of the Combined Team instantly raised their arms and leaped in excitement—this shot was destined to score!
Thump!
Wearing a green baseball cap, Wang赫 (Wang He) made an instantaneous lateral dive, stretching his slender arms out completely straight. His broad palms easily intercepted the ball, slapping it out over the baseline.
A brilliant save!
Wang He's save was executed with absolute flair, prompting Xu Dongsheng on the sideline to break into applause.
Wang He's reaction speed was phenomenal. Although his diving technique didn't look entirely standard, the end result was magnificent, successfully palming the ball away from danger.
This was a breathtaking save!
It could even be called miraculous, as another goalkeeper might not have reached it.
The number 11 forward of the Combined Team had struck the shot without a single flaw; the execution was top-notch and carried immense threat. Unfortunately, he ran into Wang He's miraculous stop—they were simply lacking a bit of luck.
At that moment, everyone finally realized that First-Year Class B was not a one-man show relying solely on Xu He!
Aside from Xu He, First-Year Class B boasted several other formidable players, such as Li Bo, Chen An, Zhuo Jun, and this exceptional goalkeeper, Wang He. It was evident that this team was vastly superior in strength to the first-year squad from the morning. Furthermore, they played like a true collective, prioritizing the team's interests above all else. They were playing genuinely fantastic football.
This was better than the morning's team by more than just a little margin!
Yangtong Mingxiong sighed in admiration: "As expected, the overall caliber of the first-year students at Number 17 High School of Jinguancheng is much stronger!"
A corner kick was awarded to the Combined Team.
"Beckham" Chen Wei walked over to the corner arc, glanced into the penalty area, and then whipped in a curling delivery. The ball sailed directly toward the head of the Combined Team's number 9 forward.
The number 9 forward of the Combined Team had positioned himself brilliantly. He leaped into the air immediately, tracked the flight of the ball, and violently snapped his neck to direct a header toward the goal of First-Year Class B.
The number 9 forward of the Combined Team roared excitedly in his mind: "You brats, go to hell!"
Thump!
Once again, Zhuo Jun beat him to the ball and headed it clear.
Upon landing, the number 9 forward of the Combined Team was completely dumbfounded, staring blankly and in total confusion at Zhuo Jun, as if silently asking, "Why is it you again?!"
"Brilliant! That positional awareness and body blocking is simply too good!" Xu Dongqi exclaimed in pleasant surprise.
The football cleared by Zhuo Jun traveled swiftly toward Xu He, who was lurking near the edge of the penalty arc. The players of the Combined Team instantly shrieked in alarm: Danger!
Xu He immediately cushioned the ball with a diagonal pass to Chen Ping on the flank, then spun around with lightning speed and charged fiercely into the Combined Team's half. Chen Ping received the ball and drove forward at top speed, his eyes locked onto Xu He, waiting for the precise moment Xu He broke past the Combined Team's defensive line to slide a killer through-ball.
The opportunity arrived in a flash.
Just as Xu He was about to cross the halfway line and outpace the entire defensive block of the Combined Team—
With a resounding thud, Chen Ping released the ball without a moment's hesitation. The sphere zipped across the halfway line into the Combined Team's half, curving toward the space Xu He was sprinting into.
The players of the Combined Team screamed in absolute terror: "Danger!"
Xu He had already crossed the halfway line, leaving the entire defensive line of the Combined Team in his dust. He was charging toward the penalty area all alone, chasing down the pass from Chen Ping.
A breakaway!
Xu He was through on a one-on-one!