Volume One: Our Own League, Episode 096: So that’s where the mystery came from.

Too fast!

The counterattack from the Sixteenth Class team came at such speed that several players from the Tenth Class team had no time to react.

Xu He on the touchline had noticed it, but by the time he tried to warn them, it was already too late.

He could only watch helplessly as Song Xiang surged forward alone with the ball, bearing down on the penalty area.

Danger.

Wang Xu reacted quickly enough, but against Song Xiang he still faltered a little. Charging out in haste, he had not chosen his position well and left a gap.

Song Xiang seemed to spot that opening. In an instant he made his decision, turning his body and curling a shot.

The ball flew off at once, tracing a beautiful arc as it slipped past Wang Xu’s diving body and curled toward the far lower corner of the goal.

This was truly dangerous.

Xu He covered his mouth with both hands, staring in terror.

The players of the Tenth Class team wore disbelief on every face.

It was hard to imagine that the side they had been suppressing so completely could suddenly explode with such force. They even began to wonder whether the team they were facing was still the Sixteenth Class team.

What perfect timing on that counterattack.

And what a sharp one it was.

Zhu Ge frowned deeply at the sight. Had they underestimated their opponent too much before, becoming too reckless?

Regret.

He did feel a touch of regret.

Bang.

The ball struck the mineral water bottle pressed against the post and bounced straight beyond the byline.

Phew.

Every player of the Tenth Class team let out a breath at once. That had truly been a close escape. They were lucky, incredibly lucky.

That shot had missed by only the slightest margin. Had it curved a little further inward, it would have been a certain goal.

Zhu Ge took a deep breath, then shouted toward the back line, "Defend! Keep your minds on defense. Don't let the other side launch counterattacks that easily again."

Song Xiang’s knees went weak, and he dropped straight to his knees inside the penalty area.

Racked with remorse.

He truly regretted it bitterly. Why could he not have aimed a little further inward? Such a chance was far too precious for their Sixteenth Class team; it might very well have been their only chance in the entire match.

And yet, he had not seized it.

Song Xiang hated himself for it. He had no face to look at his teammates. He had wasted a golden opportunity, and even he could scarcely forgive himself.

He buried his face in the grass and could not lift it for a long time.

Standing on the sideline, Xu He could feel Song Xiang’s remorse and self-reproach, and could not help sighing, "That’s a man with a deep sense of responsibility."

That had been dangerous, truly dangerous just now.

Fortunately, the Sixteenth Class team had given them that chance, or else the goal would have been conceded for sure.

On the stands, Song Yu watched the attempt and gave a slight shake of his head. He was still very satisfied with that counterattack. But the players had limited ability, and the Tenth Class keeper was poor as well, panicking in the face of danger, misjudging his position, and lacking technique besides.

Indeed, this was the true level of school football.

Otherwise, if everyone were at the level of Zhu Jun and Mu Yang, would Jin Guan City Seventeenth Middle School not become a professional football academy?

Song Yu still offered applause to encourage them.

That attacking sequence had been quite good. The awareness was there, but their ability did not quite reach it.

For school football, that was already very decent.

Seeing this, Zhu Jun kept shaking his head. What a pity that chance was. Chances like that would not come often for them; perhaps there would be only this one in the entire match. If they failed to score now, then in the rest of the game they would have almost no hope of finding the net.

But he did not blame Song Xiang. Song Xiang had already worked very hard and done quite well. Missing that chance was no one’s fault; they could only blame their poor luck.

Zhu Jun immediately shouted, "Old Song, you did very well, excellent! Hurry back on defense and wait for the next chance!"

He gave Song Xiang encouragement and showed that the team could not do without him.

Clearly, Zhu Jun was trying to take the burden off Song Xiang’s shoulders.

This time, the Sixteenth Class team had indeed performed very well. They had brought great trouble to the Tenth Class team and made them far less reckless in their attacks.

Zhu Jun immediately signaled the two center backs not to push beyond the halfway line, but to stay back and defend properly.

Play resumed. The Tenth Class team attacked furiously, but with much more caution now.

Zhu Ge obviously would not give the Sixteenth Class team another chance to counterattack. The back line was set extremely firmly.

The Sixteenth Class players did not mind that at all. They threw themselves wholly into defense, as though they cared not in the least whether they had any chance to break forward.

Serious, focused, and active.

That was what the Sixteenth Class team showed in defense.

The Tenth Class attackers frowned slightly. Such a packed, ironclad defense was not easy to break down.

In midfield, Mu Yang once again showed Song Yu his precise long passing. The ball dropped in front of Lin Xuefeng, who had overlapped down the flank. As soon as Lin Xuefeng received it, the girls in the stands instantly burst into excitement, shouting his name so loudly that the whole stadium seemed filled with it.

Lin Xuefeng really was popular.

He paid no mind to it, putting all his focus on the match. Seeing the defender in front of him, he suddenly nudged the ball sideways with his left foot, as though he meant to break down the flank. But after drawing the defender toward him, he unexpectedly tapped the ball inward with the toe of his boot, sending it quickly through the gap between the defender’s legs.

Then he shifted sharply across, deceiving the defender completely and racing after the ball.

A beautiful dribble.

The technical movement was very skillful. The linking of the actions and the tempo were still slightly clumsy and slow, but for a school football player, that was already remarkable.

Song Yu kept applauding. If Lin Xuefeng were properly trained, he would truly have a bright future. Especially as a left-footer, he was all the more rare.

Song Yu genuinely wanted to train the young man himself.

After beating the first defender, Lin Xuefeng saw Zhang Zhen making a forward run. He immediately swung his leg as if to pass, fooling the second defender completely. Taking the chance, he drove the ball toward the penalty area and burst inside.

Lin Xuefeng was about to face the goalkeeper directly when Zhu Jun suddenly appeared from the side like a flash, sliding in and, with a bang, sending the ball out over the byline.

Zhu Jun’s defending was truly superb.

Song Yu clapped without pause. He admired Zhu Jun deeply, liking him more and more the longer he watched.

Corner kick. The Tenth Class team had won a corner.

Lin Xuefeng went to take it, glanced up at the box, then whipped a curving cross toward the far post. The ball shot straight toward Yang Xin, who jumped high at once. Unfortunately, Zhu Jun had wedged himself in front of him. Yang Xin rose magnificently, but Zhu Jun headed the ball clear and out over the byline.

Another corner for the Tenth Class team.

Seeing this, Xu He could not help exclaiming, "Damn, Zhu Jun really is amazing."

In this match, Yang Xin had been completely suppressed by Zhu Jun. He had barely shown anything at all, and his height advantage could not even be brought into play.

Xu He was anxious beyond measure.

If this continued, it would be very difficult for the Tenth Class team to break through the Sixteenth Class team’s goal.

Lin Xuefeng glanced once more at the penalty area of the Sixteenth Class team, then sent in another left-footed curving cross toward the center. There, Zhang Zhen used his body to shield off the defender behind him and swung through the ball with a side-foot volley.

Bang. Zhang Zhen struck the ball cleanly, meeting it in the sweet spot. The shot came off with perfect contact, tremendous speed, and great force.

At a glance, you could tell it was in.

The moment he hit it, Zhang Zhen knew the goal was secure, and he raised a fist in celebration.

On the stands, Song Yu’s eyes lit up at the strike. The technique, the timing, the way the shot was executed—it was all absolutely perfect. That finishing touch was astonishing. He had not expected a player with such ability to exist in an ordinary school like Jin Guan City Seventeenth Middle School.

Such finishing was difficult even to find in the youth ranks of professional clubs.

"Hiss. Jin Guan City Seventeenth Middle School has something special," Song Yu thought in admiration.

This goal was certain.

Song Yu believed it firmly.

The players of the Tenth Class team all thought the same, and raised their fists to cheer. Xu He on the sideline even leaped up, celebrating wildly.

Then, with a snap, a hand suddenly reached out and blocked the path between the ball and the goal.

At once the ball changed direction violently and flew out over the byline.

Everyone was stunned beyond speech.

He could save that?

Even Song Yu was a little dumbfounded. He had already decided that this was a certain goal, because the striker had done everything to perfection. But he had not expected the goalkeeper’s reaction to be so swift, to the point that he could actually save it.

He was astonished.

Zhang Zhen could hardly believe his own eyes. How could that not be a goal?

He stood with his mouth agape, staring fixedly at the goalkeeper in front of the net, Xu Donglai, his eyes full of shock, as if asking, "What on earth are you, a man or a ghost? You could save that?"

At this moment, everyone in the Tenth Class team truly began to take note of the Sixteenth Class keeper.

Zhu Ge stared at Xu Donglai in astonishment, as if seeing him for the first time.

"That goalkeeper is this good, and why did no one notice him before?" Zhu Ge exclaimed.

On the sideline, Xu He suddenly cried out, "Damn it, I finally know where the mystery of the Sixteenth Class team comes from. It’s this goalkeeper."

Before, this keeper had seemed unremarkable, low-profile and quiet, but he was in fact the keeper with the fewest goals conceded in the league. Everyone had always assumed that it was Zhu Jun’s defense that was outstanding, and so no one had paid attention to the goalkeeper. Now Xu He understood: a huge part of the credit for the Sixteenth Class team being the side that conceded the fewest goals belonged to this keeper, Xu Donglai.

Xu Donglai was formidable.

Xu He could not help looking at him a few more times, even thinking that if he himself were facing this goalkeeper, could he really break through his hands?

He studied Xu Donglai carefully and nodded repeatedly.

This Xu Donglai was tall, certainly over six feet. His frame was long and lean, with long arms too, a perfect goalkeeper’s build at first glance. How had he failed to notice him before? Xu He even felt somewhat annoyed with himself.

"Come on! Tenth Class team, come on!" Xu He shouted for his side.

With the end of the first half drawing near, he hoped his teammates would press hard and strive to score before halftime.

Another corner for the Tenth Class team.

Lin Xuefeng glanced at the Sixteenth Class penalty area, then curled another cross into the box with his left foot. Yang Xin was once more pinned behind Zhu Jun, making it difficult to get to the ball, though he did interfere with Zhu Jun, and Zhu Jun himself failed to make contact.

The ball flew directly toward the far post.

There, Zhang Zhen immediately swung a leg and swept at it, sending the ball toward the Sixteenth Class goal.

A shot!

The ball flew straight and fast toward the Sixteenth Class net.

The students of the Sixteenth Class were filled with despair.