Chapter 799: Soaring
Guided by "Absolute footwork," Lu Ke rose onto his toes, making an incredible move. By a hair, he dodged both Tryon and Jacquian, causing both of them to miss and creating a powerful gust of wind that blew on his skin like a tornado.
This was the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre, and he was a ballerina performing "Swan Lake." His elegant and graceful movements showcased the beauty of line and control to the extreme. Amidst the surging waves, he danced like a nimble dragon. The seemingly simple two small steps effortlessly completed the most difficult evasion.
But this was still not the end.
The third second!
Lu Ke could feel a huge push from behind. Jacquian used his body's momentum to make one last defensive attempt, trying to use the collision to push Lu Ke out of bounds. That powerful force completely disrupted Lu Ke's balance, and his feet and body completely lost control.
Retract.
Retract.
Retract.
Lu Ke continuously used small steps to control his feet and posture, trying to unload the forward momentum, but Jacquian's momentum was truly too strong. Lu Ke's whole body's muscles were tense to the extreme, but his staggering steps still couldn't completely stop. The sideline was already within reach. Just two more small steps, and he would be out of bounds.
He was unwilling to give up.
Was this how the two-point conversion was going to end?
Lu Ke's mind was clear. There was no thought, no hesitation. That belief in victory was tougher and stronger than ever before, and his gaze never wavered. He would not give up easily, absolutely not!
Lu Ke didn't know which part of his body a surge of powerful energy came from. Maybe it was Absolute Footwork, maybe it was his soul's toughness, or maybe it was his self-forgetful state. But he gritted his teeth, with no other thoughts in his mind. He tightly held the football in his right hand, and before his body completely lost its balance, he suddenly used the strength in his calves, and his whole body jumped high, high into the air.
No one expected it.
Terrence and Tryon both thought that this two-point conversion was over. Both of them had stopped and stood there, not reacting at all.
Jacquian stumbled and fell to the ground, about to stand up and cheer, to celebrate that he had completed a crucial defensive play. Then he saw all his teammates in front of him running over with panicked looks on their faces. Jacquian looked up and back, and a figure appeared in his sight—
A figure jumping high, a figure with arms and legs spread out, a figure like an eagle. He just... flew. He even cast a shadow under the sun, gliding over Jacquian's head. He instinctively wanted to reach out and touch it, just like a child trying to touch a cloud. But in the end, he couldn't touch it.
Jacquian was completely stunned, and his pupils slowly dilated.
The sound of the wind rushing by was clear in his ears. It was as if he could clearly hear the sounds of blue waves, green forests, golden rice fields, and red heat waves, all rolling and surging, mixing into a colorful gust of air that rushed toward him. The entire world just slowed down, ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times. For a moment, Lu Ke genuinely thought he was soaring under a clear blue sky. He was so free.
With his arms spread out, he could have the whole world.
But Lu Ke remained unmoved. His eyes were fixed on the orange pylon. When his muscles were tense to the extreme, it was as if every part of his body was under his control. His control reached its peak. He held the football firmly in his right hand, stretched to the maximum, and charged toward the pylon.
The next second, the world started to speed up. Everything blurred together and rushed toward him. The roaring sounds were so mighty that his soul started to surge. The force of the impact, the sound of the roar, and the chaotic colors all swarmed in. Then, Lu Ke curled his head in and rolled forward smoothly, protecting himself from injury.
But now, Lu Ke had only one thought in his mind: Did I make it?
"Snap!"
"Wow! The New York Giants' defense suddenly launched a fierce attack. They strengthened the defense on the left flank, completely cutting off the San Francisco 49ers' offensive possibilities on this side!"
"Lu Ke is trying to break through. It's dangerous! The pocket has been breached. Lu Ke is cleverly moving to the opposite side, looking for a passing lane on the other side! Jacquian Williams is trying to assist! Number 57! Number 57! Beautiful, this is truly beautiful! Lu Ke's graceful movements allowed him to evade Jacquian Williams's tackle!"
"Lu Ke's feet are like a ballerina's! My God, this evasion and movement are as beautiful as a textbook, as if they are composing a symphony! This is definitely the most impressive display of footwork in the game this week!"
"Lu Ke passes! Ted Ginn! The target is Ginn... Wait, Terrence Frederick has intercepted it! My God, in a crucial moment, rookie safety Terrence Frederick has made an incredible mid-air interception! But the football has flown back. Lu Ke! Lu Ke has caught the ball again! Lu Ke has actually caught the football again! This... this..."
"Lu Ke! Lu Ke is controlling his feet! Jacquian Williams has made contact! Lu Ke has lost his balance, but Lu Ke still hasn't given up! He's still adjusting his feet! Lu Ke has jumped! Lu Ke is flying! My God, oh, my God!"
"The pylon! The pylon! The pylon!"
"Lu Ke has hit the pylon with the football! Lu Ke has successfully hit the pylon!"
"What on earth is going on? What are we witnessing! My God, what is happening in this game! I thought the zero-second offense and the Hail Mary were the limits! The game absolutely couldn't get any more exciting! But it happened. It just happened!"
"We witnessed Lu Ke completing a receiving touchdown as a quarterback, deceiving all the players on the defense! And now we've witnessed Lu Ke passing, Lu Ke catching, and Lu Ke hitting the pylon! A quarterback throwing the ball to himself! This is simply too unbelievable! Unbelievable!"
"Oh, my God! I need a moment. I'm sorry, I really need a moment to process this!"
"How did this happen? How did that unbelievable drive just now happen? What are we witnessing now? History? Are we witnessing the birth of another piece of history? Unbelievable! My God, I really want to curse right now, but... please forgive my excitement. This is truly too unbelievable!"
"Let's see the referee's call! Was this drive completed, or was it not?"
"In the final moment, when Lu Ke hit the pylon, did he have control of the football? And before that, did his feet go out of bounds? Did the two-point conversion count as a success? Who would have thought that the outcome of this game would be decided in such a way?"
"Jesus Christ! I'm about to suffocate!"
In the studio, even Kirk and Teddy were completely dumbfounded. They simply couldn't believe their eyes. They had commentated on hundreds and thousands of games, but they had never seen a scene like this. It completely surpassed their imagination. It was so spectacular that all words lost their meaning.
This was not just history! It was also a heroic feat!
Who would have thought that a quarterback would score a receiving touchdown? Who would have thought that a quarterback would throw a pass to himself and complete a two-point conversion? Who would have thought that a quarterback, all by himself, would win the game in the final moments? It was a literal one-man show!
And inside Candlestick Park, they had completely lost their minds.
"Ahhh!"
"Ahhh!"
"Ahhh!"
Crazy screams. Everyone was crying with joy, hugging each other in a state of ecstasy. The deafening roar completely became the only sound in the entire stadium. Even the commentators' voices on TV, the referees' conversations on the field, and the shouts of the viewers in front of their TVs were all relegated to background noise.
The San Francisco 49ers and the New York Giants were still calm because the referee's decision had not yet been announced. They didn't know what the outcome was.
All eyes were on the officiating crew, but for the referees, this was also an incredibly difficult decision. They had to watch the replay over and over again, analyzing and interpreting it from different angles to ensure that this call was not wrong. Time began to drag on.
The fans were still screaming and shouting, as if their energy had no end.
The players and coaches were still watching closely, as if a second was a century.
The air in the entire Candlestick Park seemed to have solidified. That gurgling, boiling wave of emotion was slowly consuming all thoughts and feelings.
Finally, after a full two minutes, the referees finally finished their discussion. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the head referee, who was under immense pressure, returned to the field. He faced the cameras and the stands, turned on his microphone, and announced the result loudly, "After video replay and a review, this is a successful hit on the pylon. The two-point conversion is confirmed..."
The rest of his words were completely lost, drowned out by the thunderous cheers and shouts in Candlestick Park. The entire roar rose by two levels, rolling and surging with a hot and crazy energy. Even the commentators' voices in the studio had completely disappeared. Everyone, truly everyone, had gone mad:
They did it. They really did it!
Not only did they score an unbelievable touchdown in the final moments in the simplest and most astonishing way, but they also completed an unbelievable two-point conversion in the final moments in an even more astonishing way. They took the lead again, turned the game around, and firmly held the victory in their hands!
Unbelievable!
This was completely unbelievable!
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