Chapter 277: 276 Playing Tricks on the Opponent
Hayward, down.
Watt, down.
The whole world spun around, and amidst the chaos and jolting, two men eagerly searched ahead for a figure. Then, to their astonishment, they both saw the unthinkable— the figure in the red number twenty-three jersey was still moving forward. Though his steps were staggered, he was refusing to fall.
Dammit!
Li Wei, holding his breath—
His muscles were tensed to the limit, invoking every muscle in his body as if he were a ballet dancer, spinning and leaping in a confined space, relying solely on determination to fight against the pull of gravity and the collision of inertia.
After a full three hundred and sixty-degree spin, his field of vision suddenly opened up.
There, a path appeared, small but straight, leading toward the far side of the sea.
He pushed off the ground, adjusted, his stumbling steps seemingly floating in mid-air, relying just on his toes to desperately grasp at the ground, pushing his body forward as if stepping on cotton, unable to seize any real strength.
Left side, in the corner of Li Wei's eye, he caught a glimpse of a white figure in a Pittsburgh Steelers away jersey, streaking by like a flash of light. Although he couldn't see the face or number, it must be one of the linemen—
A dive.
The white figure went all-in, attempting to tackle Li Wei before his steps could recover their center of gravity.
Danger, danger, danger!
Every cell in his body sounded an alarm, but Li Wei couldn't control his balance, making it impossible to dodge or resist. He knew that a hit or tackle would likely end this offensive push.
So, should he just give in?
After all, the down was already converted with four yards to go, and going down now wouldn't matter, right?
Li Wei, refused.
The game wasn't over, the fight wasn't over, that breath was still stuck in his throat—
The fat lady's singing, wasn't over.
Wobbling, wavering, and staggering, Li Wei's steps were like the last dry leaf on a branch in autumn, clinging to the bare twig, refusing the call of winter.
So, Li Wei simply came to a stop.
Brake, halt, adjust.
Then, it was possible to see the white figure overtake Li Wei, as the two figures shifted places. Li Wei could make out the incredulous expression on the man's face inside the helmet, his hands fluttering in a last-ditch effort to struggle; but they posed no threat to Li Wei's body.
And Li Wei, having used that pause to find his balance, took a small lateral step to the left and continued his advance as the path opened up completely before him.
Bart: Damn it! Stop him, stop that guy, what's wrong with the defense?
"Jesus Christ."
"One tackle, two tackles, three tackles—Li Wei incredibly evaded three in less than five yards of space, breaking through a dense defense in a dizzying dance of evasion."
"Now, the field opens up before him."
"Opportunity!"
"Li Wei is gearing up, Li Wei is picking up speed, the forty-five-yard line, the midfield line, Li Wei has crossed midfield while still unsteady."
"Watt is catching up again."
"Hilton and Hayden are trying to chase from behind."
"The entire Pittsburgh Steelers defense realizes the crisis and quickly chases back."
"But—"
"Li Wei! Li Wei!"
"Oh, God, we are witnessing this scene once again!"
"Li Wei had completely accelerated his speed, Li Wei was sprinting for all he was worth, the defensive players behind him couldn't catch up at all."
"Absolute speed!"
"Now, the only thing left for the Pittsburgh Steelers is the last gate."
Surpassing the midfield line, the forty-yard line and thirty-yard line in the Steelers' territory were quickly left behind, and two safeties from different directions closed in. Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire
Arrowhead Stadium could no longer contain itself, the heartbeat climbed bit by bit—
"Soaring!"
The Edgerunner once again took the stage, playing the Defensive group with his speed and agility, sketching out a glimmer of dawn, leading the Kansas City Chiefs out of the long night.
Ahead, Safety Sean Davis cut in horizontally from the left, Safety Mike Mitchell pressured from the front, forming a circle of containment, ready to cut off Li Wei's ground advance. They were the Steelers' last hope.
This season, the Steelers' safeties had been plagued by injuries, so much so that they had no Strong safety, with all the safeties being Free safeties, but Tomlin still found a solution by having the Free safeties fill in as Strong safeties, choosing different tactics at different times, which made them unpredictable.
Because of this, the two safeties unexpectedly appeared in different positions throughout the game, indeed causing the Chiefs' offense a lot of problems.
Among them, Mitchell shone—
In a contemptible way.
Since being selected by the Oakland Raiders as the 47th pick in the second round of the 2009 draft, Mitchell's performance on the field was never notable, but his dirty style of play was infamous far and wide.
This game was no exception.
Mitchell first caused Chiefs' third running back, Charcandrick West, to leave the field with a concussion due to a helmet-to-helmet hit during a malicious tackle, and then later attempted to cause an injury by tackling below the knees after Quarterback Smith had already completed a pass—
Both the tackle below the knees and the tackle after the quarterback had thrown the ball were unnecessary and full of malice.
Mitchell's actions not only earned a yellow flag but also a chorus of boos from all over Arrowhead Stadium and post-game fines and severe punishment from the League.
But Mitchell didn't care, he considered all of it as praise:
This is called intensity. This is called Football. If you can't handle it, then you'd better switch to another sport or simply cheer from the sidelines.
Right now, another opportunity had come.
Mitchell looked at Li Wei as a big bad wolf eyeing Little Red Riding Hood, all ready to let this hothouse flower experience real Football.
His gaze dropped, and Mitchell glanced at Li Wei's knees: Heh heh.
Just right, Li Wei was walking into the lion's den, and to avoid Safety Davis's hit, he decided to face off against Mitchell head-on.
Mitchell: That's the way.
Bending his knees, lowering his center of gravity, Mitchell adjusted while advancing. He closed in at full speed like an eagle swooping on a chick, glancing at Li Wei's running trajectory and body center of gravity.
Without hesitation, he made a split-second decision.
Pushing off, stepping forward, lunging.
Mitchell aimed directly for the lower body attack, his 221-pound body hurling like a high-speed train straight toward Li Wei's knees.
Closer and closer, those vulnerable and slender knees were almost within reach.
However.
At that moment, Li Wei went up on his tiptoes, spun around, light and agile, dancing with a 360-degree clockwise rotation that slipped past Mitchell's dive from the left side.
Mitchell completely missed, his surefire lunge easily evaded, his body suspended in mid-air like a fish out of water landing in a desert, flailing fruitlessly.
Mitchell, with a baffled and bewildered look on his face, watched as Li Wei who had just evaded him closely, could feel the temperature of his skin and the tension of his muscles, yet was completely powerless. The mockery and derision rendered Mitchell like a fool.
With just one misdirection, he had shaken him off.
Li Wei: Was someone just trying to defend against me?