Chapter 15: The Golden Boot Mission

What can a goalkeeper do with a gap of just over a meter? Zhang Lu was no deity descended from the heavens; all he could do was stand helplessly as the ball rocketed into the net.

“Gooooooooooooooooal!”

“Dai Zhiwei scores! Haha, it’s a rare shot from Dai Zhiwei right at the edge of the penalty area—a thunderbolt that blazes into the net like a cannonball. The Liaoning Hongyuan goalkeeper is utterly powerless, left to gawk as the ball flies behind him!”

Ecstatic after the goal, Dai Zhiwei dashed to the sideline, thrusting his right fist high into the air, shouting something unintelligible in his exhilaration.

But mid-celebration, Dai Zhiwei suddenly froze for a moment. Though he quickly rejoined his teammates in their jubilation, there was a hint of bewilderment. Just then, as he celebrated alone, he’d heard the system task notification sound that he hadn’t heard in quite some time, which caught him off guard. After the celebration, as he jogged back to his own half, he began to check the newly issued system task—

“Task: Win the Golden Boot as the top scorer in the 2015 Chinese Super League season. Reward: The trainer will be granted one opportunity to freely select a skill worth up to 30 points. This mission is hereby referred to as the ‘Golden Boot Task.’”

“The ‘Golden Boot Task,’” Dai Zhiwei mused. “So far, I’ve scored five league goals. If I recall correctly, the top scorer in the Super League rarely breaks the 30-goal mark. It shouldn’t be that hard for me to win the Golden Boot this season!”

“A 30-point skill!” At that thought, Dai Zhiwei clenched his fist with renewed determination, brimming with confidence. “This Golden Boot is as good as mine!”

On the touchline, Cannavaro was visibly moved to see Dai Zhiwei, the player he’d pinned such hopes upon, open the scoring within just five minutes. Though Cannavaro had feigned nonchalance in front of the media lately, the pressure weighed heavily on him.

After all, no matter how brilliant a playing career one may have had, the role of coach carries its own burdens and limited advantages.

Now that his team was ahead, it was Liaoning Hongyuan who faced the headache. They would have to press forward even more aggressively.

Confronted with an early deficit, the Liaoning Hongyuan manager could no longer sit still. He signaled his players to surge forward en masse and summoned the team captain to the sideline, plotting to equalize before halftime.

Clearly, in the remainder of the first half, Liaoning Hongyuan were set to throw themselves fully into attack.

Noticing their tactical shift, Cannavaro stood on the touchline, bellowing, “Elkeson! Dai! You two stay up front! Push into Liaoning’s penalty area! Defense is none of your concern!”

Standing at the center circle, Elkeson and Dai Zhiwei nodded in acknowledgment.

With the referee’s whistle, Liaoning Hongyuan unleashed a furious offensive. Of course, the eight-million-yuan victory bonus was the real driving force behind their fervor.

Fortunately, Guangzhou Evergrande had anticipated such an assault. With Zheng Zhi marshalling the midfield and Feng Xiaoting commanding the back line, Liaoning’s attacks amounted to little more than thunder without rain—plenty of noise but little real threat.

Though Liaoning’s offense looked impressive, they posed little danger to Evergrande’s defense. Aside from a few long-range efforts that sent a chill through Li Shuai, the goalkeeper, there were no real chances that forced him into desperate saves.

Evergrande’s counterattacks fared no better. Liaoning always kept at least three defenders at the back, so Dai Zhiwei and Elkeson could only create enough pressure to prevent Liaoning from committing too many men forward.

The minutes ticked by, and by now it was the forty-second minute of the first half. With little time left, the Liaoning manager reckoned that, since Evergrande were unlikely to counterattack, they might as well gamble everything for an equalizer. With that, he waved his arm, signaling Mitchell and Yang Shanping to press forward.

The two center backs surged up the field, pushing into midfield until they were nearly playing as defensive midfielders.

Dai Zhiwei watched with some frustration as both Yang Shanping and Mitchell advanced repeatedly, leaving only Ding Jie to mark him along the entire right side of Liaoning’s defense.

“Really? They’re just going to leave me unmarked like this?” Dai Zhiwei muttered. “How’s that for disrespect?”

As the match edged into the forty-fourth minute, Liaoning seized a golden chance, but Yang Yu botched his shot from point-blank range.

Li Shuai leapt to his left, stretching out to smother Yang Yu’s effort.

Wasting no time, Li Shuai sprang upright, surveyed the pitch, and without hesitation, launched a throw straight to Feng Xiaoting. Feng relayed the ball immediately to Zheng Zhi.

Zheng Zhi didn’t even wait for the ball to settle. With a single, sweeping pass, he lofted it over the top toward Liaoning’s penalty area. He’d been watching closely, and with Mitchell and Yang Shanping pushing up, he saw Dai Zhiwei marked only by Ding Jie. The opportunity was there.

The ball soared rapidly through the air toward Liaoning’s box, and Dai Zhiwei, who’d been ready as soon as Zheng Zhi drew back his leg, glanced up just once to judge the trajectory and dashed to the drop point, quietly waiting for the ball.

Ding Jie stuck to Dai Zhiwei’s back, trying to muscle him aside, but no matter how hard he pushed, he couldn’t budge this seemingly unremarkable figure.

Dai Zhiwei stood rooted like a stake, immovable.

He fixed his gaze on the ball, bracing both arms to keep Ding Jie from advancing a single step.

As the ball descended, both Dai Zhiwei and Ding Jie leapt to contest it. But Dai Zhiwei’s positioning was flawless; Ding Jie couldn’t even get near the ball. As it came down, Dai Zhiwei subtly inclined his head forward, letting the ball glance off his shoulder and roll deeper into Liaoning’s penalty area.

As both players landed, Dai Zhiwei spun around and sprinted after the ball.

At the same time, Ding Jie clutched Dai Zhiwei’s shirt with his left hand to stop him from breaking free, while raising his right hand and shouting, “Handball! Handball!”

“Let go!”

Sensing Ding Jie’s antics, Dai Zhiwei roared, swinging his right hand hard to smack Ding Jie’s wrist away and suddenly bursting with strength to break free, charging after the ball.

This little trick was something Dai Zhiwei had picked up recently from Zheng Zhi, Zhao Xuyang, and other wily veterans—a maneuver that skirted the line between a foul and fair play, but referees usually let play continue in favor of the attacking side.

Having shaken off Ding Jie, Dai Zhiwei found himself one-on-one with the keeper. As the goalkeeper rushed out, Dai Zhiwei simply chipped the ball delicately over him and, without even watching the shot, began celebrating wildly.

He knew he’d scored—his finishing was that reliable.

“Gooooooooooooooooal!”

With the commentator’s ecstatic shout and the fans’ thunderous cheers, Dai Zhiwei’s goal went in just as expected.

The first half ended immediately after his goal, without even another kickoff. Evergrande entered the break with a two-goal lead.

“That’s six now—am I top of the scoring chart yet?” Since players weren’t allowed their phones during matches, Dai Zhiwei had no way of knowing the up-to-date standings.

“Well, since I’m in such good form tonight, I’d better bang in a few more, just in case—who knows what might happen later!” Dai Zhiwei resolved to slaughter his opponents.

So, as the second half began, Dai Zhiwei maintained his “hungry and relentless” state.

Trailing by two, Liaoning Hongyuan had no choice but to push forward with all they had. Yet, with Evergrande’s full squad defending, breaking through their lines proved impossible. Instead, Liaoning’s exposed back line quickly led to another goal conceded.

Evergrande launched a counter from midfield. Zheng Zhi charged forward towards the Liaoning penalty area, all the while scanning the field.

Seeing Zheng Zhi in possession, Liaoning’s James hurriedly closed him down. Without a moment’s hesitation, Zheng Zhi played the ball.

With Liaoning’s defense shifting right toward Zheng Zhi, his pass swept left, finding Elkeson.

The ball flashed across most of the pitch, from right to left, landing at Elkeson’s feet. With Liaoning’s defenders clustered right, Elkeson found himself in acres of space. He calmly brought the ball down and surged forward with it.

Opportunity!

Dai Zhiwei instantly saw it and darted diagonally from the right into the box.