Chapter 116: Another Nonhuman-Minded Goal — Manchester United Feel Humiliated
After the goal, Robin van Persie spread his arms and ran toward the touchline to embrace Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ferguson couldn't — and didn't want to — refuse that celebration.
Amid deafening boos around the stadium, the two shared a big bear hug.
The image sent Manchester United fans into a frenzy and stabbed Arsenal fans like a knife at the heart.
It was like seeing an ex-girlfriend getting intimate with someone else right in front of you.
Van Persie did it because at that moment he was like Duan Yu's mother, Dao Baifeng.
You have a new king, then I'll be someone else's king.
Come on! Hurt each other!
The photographers immediately cut to Arsène Wenger, who was smiling and saying something to Pat Rice.
On camera Wenger looked calm and untroubled; what he actually thought remains unknown.
Anyway, Arsenal players and fans were furious.
Play resumed.
Arsenal kicked off, passed a few times, then Michael Carrick intercepted and fed the ball to Robin van Persie.
Xia Qi charged at van Persie; van Persie waited until Xia Qi was almost upon him and then passed the ball to Wayne Rooney.
Xia Qi immediately spun and dashed toward Rooney.
Rooney, receiving the ball and seeing Xia Qi coming at him like the wind, bore a grimace and started his counter-charge with the ball.
On the Premier League stage Rooney's nickname is "The Tank" — and he has the right to be proud.
Even the famously physical Didier Drogba couldn't take advantage of Rooney in duels back then. Could Xia Qi's strength surpass that of the old Drogba?
Manchester United fans in the stands couldn't help cheering in advance.
In the VIP box Emma Watson squeezed Cheryl's hand until it went pale...
"Ding-dong: the 'Sovereign' attribute has been activated — the host's attributes increase by 30% while opponents' attributes are reduced by 20%."
Rooney deliberately threw much of his body into the collision with Xia Qi, but before he could enjoy the crunch of the hit he suddenly felt his chest smashed by an oncoming heavy truck.
This is impossible!
Where did my strength go?
In slow motion you can clearly see Rooney's pupils widen, his face registering disbelief…
Amid the screams of timid female fans, the so-called little tank Rooney flew away in a graceful arc.
"Nice one! Xia Qi!"
After the professor was humiliated by van Persie, this crash from Xia Qi felt so satisfying and relieving…
Arsenal fans boiled over; ignoring their vocal cords, they shouted with all their might: "Xia Qi, real man!" "Yes! Do it! Crush those bastards."
On the Penguin broadcast:
"Tonight's theme: Don't be arrogant. Martínez got cocky and got taught a lesson; Rooney was too proud and got knocked down. Tonight is all about settling scores!"
After Rooney was sent flying, Xia Qi brought the ball under control and was about to start a charging dribble, but the referee's whistle sounded.
The referee bent over to ask Rooney, who was sitting on the turf, if he was okay.
Rooney didn't answer and instead shouted at Xia Qi: "How are you so strong? This is impossible."
Xia Qi in AI mode could not reply.
Rooney took Xia Qi's silence as disdain and swallowed his pride.
Fuck! I'm your national team senior!
Van Persie reached out and pulled Rooney up. "Wayne, you alright?"
"Just kidding — I slipped and that bloke took advantage. I'm fine," Rooney said. Then, to prove it, he thumped his chest hard and his features comically scrunched up.
"Are you really okay?"
Seeing van Persie's doubtful look, Rooney mentally groused: he's terrible at small talk.
He slightly missed Cristiano Ronaldo — if it'd been Ronaldo he'd have coldly stared at Xia Qi and, once the whistle blew, collided with him.
As for van Persie — well… his stick is for dealing with his own men.
The referee, seeing Rooney was not badly hurt, called both Rooney and Xia Qi over and gave them a joint verbal warning.
Play resumed with possession for Manchester United.
Rooney said he was fine, but he was affected; van Persie became the lone forward, the panda of the United attack.
Whenever United had a chance, they fed the ball to van Persie.
Within three minutes he had two shots, both striking the frame.
They didn't go in, but United fans felt there was more to come.
United supporters kept chanting: "Robin! Robin! Robin!"
Arsenal fans felt a complex mix of emotions, remembering the days when they used to shout for that man on the pitch — and now…
"Xia Qi!"
A youthful voice pierced the stands. Kids aren't complicated like adults; their purity often snaps people back to reality.
The South Stand awakened in response: "Xia Qi! Xia Qi! Xia Qi!"
"When Arsenal were 0–1 down, Arsenal fans called for their king…"
"This is a test for Xia Qi — can he explode like Cristiano Ronaldo in adversity? We'll see."
On the pitch, van Persie had another shot from the left side of the box; Martínez caught it with both knees on the ground.
"Van Persie chested it and shot!"
"Ay! Didn't have enough power, Martínez held it."
"It seems van Persie stops after the control and can't finish."
Zhan Jun joked, and Martínez quickly got back up.
Quick restart.
Martínez threw the ball to Jack Wilshere, who didn't take a touch and played it to Xia Qi.
The live camera then cut to a close-up of van Persie, who looked frustrated.
The broadcast director immediately realized the mistake and switched angles.
Viewers at home were left puzzled: how did the ball suddenly get to the front?
Carrick had been instructed by Ferguson to mark Xia Qi. Seeing the ball head toward him, Carrick closed in to contest and try to block Xia Qi's best route, but tonight Xia Qi had the "Sovereign" attribute and Carrick, a mere royal servant, couldn't contest him.
So Carrick decided to wait until Xia Qi controlled the ball and then deliver a nasty blow from behind to make Xia Qi lose possession.
Settling in, Carrick shifted position slightly to hide his intent from the referee.
When Xia Qi jumped, Carrick jumped too, but not to contest the header — the leap was to disguise his small, wicked hand.
He meant to ambush Xia Qi in midair.
As the ball fell, Carrick opened up his body so that his elbow, under the pretext of keeping balance, would "accidentally" land on Xia Qi's waist.
It wasn't accidental — it was deliberate.
Xia Qi planned to cushion the ball with his head to flick it to Balotelli.
As always: AI can calculate but it can't scheme in the human sense!
So the elbow on his waist caught AI-Xia Qi unawares.
The so-called flick was contact between the ball's edge and his body. With an elbow to the waist, Xia Qi lost balance in midair and failed to flick the ball; it continued to drop.
"Ding-dong — host 'Sovereign' attribute activated!"
Just as Xia Qi was about to "crash," he forcibly dragged back his leg, straightened his chest, and used his chest to head the ball away.
Chest-headed the ball!
Holy shit!
That hang-time!
Not playing in the NBA would be a crime!
Balotelli had been preparing to drop back to receive Xia Qi's pass, but before he could move, Xia Qi recovered and completed the pass.
"Xia Qi, do something!"
"Damn! Carrick's so sneaky!"
"Xia… Xia Qi is insane — he managed to pass after losing balance."
"Look at Arsenal's counterattack."
On camera, Balotelli received the pass and quickly played the ball into the space behind Manchester United center-backs Phil Jones and Jonny Evans.
"One-two wall pass!"
A common combination, but could the ambushed Xia Qi be stopped?
Fans in the stands turned their eyes to Xia Qi.
He landed and darted forward like a hare; Carrick's reaction was half a beat slow.
This was a rapid counter. Previously it had been United on the attack, and between United's back line and goalkeeper there was a vast open green expanse.
If Xia Qi pierced that defense, it would be a one-on-one with the keeper.
Sir Alex Ferguson could no longer sit still; he rose from his seat and walked to the touchline, nervously watching Xia Qi.
On the pitch Xia Qi was like lightning, racing forward amid Arsenal cheers.
Phil Jones lunged at Xia Qi — he knew he couldn't let Xia Qi through.
But he quickly realized ordinary defending wouldn't stop a "one-dribble-a-game" runner.
What Ferdinand could not do, neither could he.
So he spread his arms and wrapped around Xia Qi.
A tactical foul was the safest option.
Ferguson on the touchline could finally chew his gum in peace — Phil Jones was reliable.
Arsenal fans booed loudly to show their disgust.
The referee put the whistle to his mouth, ready to blow.
Xia Qi's speed was so great that Jones' first grab didn't hold; luckily one hand caught the hem of Xia Qi's shirt in a flash.
So he clutched on and intended to add the other hand.
As he reached to grab with his other hand, Xia Qi exploded.
Jones' second hand missed, and his body lost balance completely.
At the crucial instant the hand gripping Xia Qi's shirt tightened even more.
It was his only option now.
But that grip was hard work — Jones felt he wasn't holding a boy but a frightened, galloping horse.
Xia Qi accelerated and was nearly pulled to a stop by Jones.
Then — "Ding-dong…!"
Xia Qi spun 360 degrees like a carousel, but at enormous speed; the centrifugal force flung Phil Jones away.
"Phil Jones committed a tactical foul — ah! He failed to stop Xia Qi."
"The referee signaled advantage — Xia Qi was not guilty of a foul!"
"Mighty as a mountain! Heroic spirit!"
"Xia Qi tonight is the overpowering Xiang Yu."
It was breathtaking!
The spectacle was on fire.
After half a beat of stunned silence, the Emirates erupted into a massive cheer.
Though Jones had lost face, he had bought time for Evans to track back.
Evans slid in to challenge the ball in front of Xia Qi.
But Xia Qi's right foot was quicker.
He nudged the ball away a step ahead and jumped clear of Evans' sliding tackle.
It looked dangerous, but under AI calculation it was perfectly safe.
"Xia Qi! Another one beaten!"
"Through the defense!"
The cheers grew even louder!
Phil Jones got up from the ground and saw Xia Qi leap over Evans.
In a panic Jones threw everything into his chase.
As long as the whistle hadn't sounded his defensive duty wasn't over — even if hope was slim, he had to pursue; that's a defender's professional code.
David de Gea came off his line as Xia Qi rose.
For a goalkeeper facing a one-on-one, there are two options:
A: Come off the line
B: Stay on the line
In practice keepers almost always choose A; option B is too risky.
"De Gea has come out!"
The Emirates air grew tense.
Xia Qi dribbled into the box; De Gea saw he had passed the most dangerous point and that the distance made a chip impossible.
So he lowered his center of gravity, spread his arms to make himself bigger, compressing like a spring ready to explode forward.
Arsenal fans didn't feel disappointed at Xia Qi's missed lob; many famous one-on-one scenes weren't chipped — think of Ronaldo's pendulum dribble, Torres' tempo to wrong-foot a keeper, Cristiano's shave-and-shimmy then blast.
Then everyone's jaws dropped in disbelief!
On the pitch, seeing a lob was impossible, De Gea crouched down.
Xia Qi at that moment used the toe to flick the ball up, then nudged it with his knee — and just as everyone puzzled, he struck the ball with his shoulder.
The ball hopped like a flea over De Gea's head and bounced into the net.
De Gea was stunned; behind him the goal was empty — if someone had covered, Xia Qi might've been burned…
He reacted immediately, furious!
Xia Qi had brazenly humiliated them!
The Emirates stands fell quiet!
No one expected Xia Qi to lob the ball with his shoulder and score.
The goal did little damage but was hugely insulting!
United fans were the first to snap back to reality, unleashing a barrage of curses and hurling abuse at Xia Qi and his ancestors.
The referee glanced at Xia Qi and then blew his whistle to signal the goal was valid.
"Tonight's theme: don't be arrogant. Martínez got cocky and learned his lesson; Rooney was too proud and got bowled over — now Xia Qi has returned van Persie's humiliation."
On the touchline Pat Rice smiled at Wenger: "This kid is taking it out for you!"
Almost everyone believed Xia Qi had intentionally humiliated them to get revenge on van Persie.
Only Xia Qi knew he was innocent — AI has no malice and doesn't humiliate. He simply calculated De Gea's lowered center of gravity and chose a shoulder touch as the optimal move.
Who would believe that?
Phil Jones lunged forward and shoved Xia Qi. Xia Qi's good mate Mario Balotelli shoved Jones back with the other hand.
Players streamed in and fans on both sides began hurling objects from the stands…
Chaos.
The Manchester derby finally had the elements it deserved.
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Bankai10