When “God” Decides To Start Over - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Left or Right?

Translator: CKtalon

“Have you played soccer before?” Zhao Lie did not shoot immediately. Instead, he looked at Li Xiu with interest.

“No.” Li Xiu shook his head. He had occasionally seen some soccer matches and knew some of the general rules, but he had never played soccer.

“What a pitiful fellow. Then I’ll give you some basic knowledge about soccer so that you can accept your loss and die in peace.” Zhao Lie pointed at the ball in front of him like a cat playing with a mouse and said, “Even if you don’t know how to play soccer, you should have seen a soccer match. The position of this ball and the goal is the distance from the penalty kick. In a soccer match, it’s easiest to score with a penalty kick. Even the best goalkeeper doesn’t have a high success rate of being able to catch a penalty kick. A penalty kick isn’t only about technique; you also need a little luck.”

“What luck?” Li Xiu wasn’t angry at Zhao Lie’s teasing attitude. Instead, he humbly asked for guidance.

“For a professional striker, it’s definitely too late for the goalkeeper to save the ball after seeing it fly out at such a distance. Therefore, before the striker kicks, he has to determine if the striker is going to kick to the left or to the right. Only by predictively jumping to the left or right at the same time as the striker kicks will he have a chance to hit the penalty shot.” Zhao Lie explained sincerely, as if he really thought nothing of Li Xiu.

Many of the spectators did not know soccer. After hearing Zhao Lie’s explanation, they felt enlightened.

“I see. I’ve learned a lot.” Li Xiu nodded.

“No need to thank me. I’m talking about a professional goalkeeper who has that kind of opportunity. An ordinary person like you can’t stop me no matter if I shoot left or right. There’s only death.” As Zhao Lie spoke, he suddenly did a run-up. With his left foot on the ground, he raised his right foot backward. His body tilted and his waist twisted like a mighty bow that was fully pulled back. The back of his foot struck the ball hard.

His series of motion was fluid and filled with explosive beauty.

Will he pounce left or right? The others looked at Li Xiu, waiting for his choice, even secretly deciding which way they would pounce.

BANG!

The soccer ball slammed into Li Xiu’s chest as he stood there motionless. The soccer ball seemed to have plunged into his chest, stunning everyone.

“The attacker gains zero points from a failed attack. The defender scores one point from a successful defense.” The electronic voice sounded, and their positions switched.

“Bro, did I give you a scare? I was just joking with you. The best outcome is for everyone to survive.” Zhao Lie was also stunned by the outcome, but he immediately wore a beaming smile. However, he thought to himself, Damn, I overestimated this kid. He actually didn’t react. If I had known, I wouldn’t have bothered so much. I should have just kicked. I became a victim of my own cleverness.

Zhao Lie was really afraid. If Li Xiu did not shoot at all and kicked the football elsewhere like the wife from before, then according to the rules of the trial, Zhao Lie would be dead. He didn’t stand a chance.

“Joking? Weren’t you trying to trick me into choosing left or right just now?” Li Xiu looked at Zhao Lie and said indifferently.

“How can that be… Bro, don’t misunderstand…” Zhao Lie’s expression was a little nasty after being seen through by Li Xiu. He was anxious to explain.

Now, his life was in Li Xiu’s hands.

“There’s no need to explain. You might be a professional player with decent skills, but you’re definitely not the league’s best striker because you don’t have confidence. Real top strikers won’t even bother to use such methods because there’s nothing more reliable than their own skills.” Li Xiu interrupted Zhao Lie and said indifferently, “However, I can give you another chance.”

“Brother, it’s good that you understand. We all have hard lives…” Zhao Lie completely lost his previous domineering appearance and said with a smile.

“You’re right. We all have hard lives, so I’m giving you a chance. I’ll kick the ball right in the middle like you did. You just have to stand there like me to get the ball,” Li Xiu said.

“Alright, alright, alright. I’ll take it from here. Bro, take it slow.” Zhao Lie nodded repeatedly, but he was cursing in his heart. What the hell? Are you trying to use the same trick on me? Aren’t you eyeing the two sets of rewards by giving me a chance? You want me to stand still? Dream on! Those little tricks can’t fool me, even if you really want to kick straight, you need the skills. Do you think soccer can be played by anyone? Without professional training, it’s impossible to be accurate.

The others had similar thoughts as Zhao Lie. The fate of the couple from before was still vivid in their minds. There was no trust between husband and wife, let alone Li Xiu and Zhao Lie.

Li Xiu didn’t say anything else. He took a few steps back and took a running start to the ball. With his left leg as his center of gravity, he tilted his body and swung his right leg up. He twisted his waist and slammed his right instep into the ball.

This set of movements was done in one go without any hesitation, exactly the same as Zhao Lie’s previous movements.

Left or right? People were guessing.

Damn it, I fell for it. This guy knows how to play soccer. Before Li Xiu took on his kicking position, Zhao Lie’s expression changed drastically.

Such a move would be difficult for a professional football player to grasp so perfectly.

Left or right? Or in the middle? Zhao Lie was hesitant. After knowing that Li Xiu was good at soccer, his thoughts were in an upheaval.

Previously, he thought that Li Xiu had never come into contact with soccer and was afraid that he would not be able to shoot accurately. Now that he knew that Li Xiu was also a professional, Zhao Lie suddenly thought of something. He stared at Li Xiu’s body movements and determined where his center of gravity was.

He had just used this move before. With his center of gravity already fixed on his left leg, if he wanted to unleash his full strength with such a move, he could only kick the ball to the left or in the middle. It was impossible to kick to the right again.

This left only the middle and left. Zhao Lie did not think that Li Xiu would kick the ball to the middle. Li Xiu’s previous words were just to interfere with his judgment.

Who would be stupid enough to give away their share in such a life-and-death battle?

Zhao Lie himself would not, much less believe that Li Xiu would do that.

And according to probability theory, left, right, and middle each accounted for one-third of the probability. Li Xiu had a higher chance of winning if he wanted him to be dead fix on the middle and non-middle choices, but in fact chose to kick left or right.

Yes, it’s left. It must be left. Zhao Lie’s eyes lit up and he pounced to the left.

However, when Zhao Lie was in mid-air, he was shocked to discover that the ball had already whistled towards where he was standing just now. It was exactly the same trajectory as the ball he previously kicked. Even the height of the ball was the same.

Zhao Lie, who was in the air, could only turn his head and watch as the ball flew past him and slammed into the net. His eyes went from surprise to confusion, then to regret, then to fear, and finally, all his fear turned to despair.

The ball and Zhao Lie landed on the ground almost at the same time, and then they heard the cold electronic synthesized voice above their heads.

“The attacker has successfully attacked and obtained one point; the defender failed to defend and obtained zero points. Point tabulation completed. Rewards distributed. Cleanup commencing…”

“No…”

BANG!

With an explosion, Zhao Lie’s heart-wrenching roar came to a sudden stop, and his flesh and bones splattered across the ground.

Li Xiu’s bracelet also lit up, emitting a faint bloody glow. Then Li Xiu felt the bracelet around his wrist tighten. He felt a needle-like pain, as if something had been injected into his blood vessels.