Chapter 25 Soccer 25 The Forward Who Couldn't Shoot

Suoh Hyo-hee sat on the ground, performing intense and focused warm-up exercises. His face was taut, and his eyes, sharp as a hawk's, swept over Jee-se-il from bottom to top like a knife, revealing a ruthless determination that could not be underestimated.

His gaze was so intense it seemed to penetrate everything, forcing Jie Shiyi to lower her head and avoid it, trying her best to maintain a calm and composed demeanor.

With barely suppressed excitement, Feng Lehui darted out from the side, nimbly circled behind Suoh Kōki, bent down, and mischievously grabbed his neck, grinning, "Suoh, I'm the right winger!"

Suoh Hyo-hee ignored Bee-Ra-kai's teasing. His green eyes were now blackened by the flames of fighting spirit, with fine black halos around the edges, as he stared intently at Je-se-il.

"If you dare to let a single ball slip by, I'll take your position."

At this moment, he cast aside all distracting thoughts and doubts, his mind filled only with the desire for victory and the need to prove his own strength.

With all the players in position, the match officially began with a crisp whistle from the electronic referee.

Feng Lehui launched the first attack with a precise pass that cut through the air and found Jie Shiyi accurately.

Jie Shiyi dribbled steadily and broke through, quickly penetrating into the heart of Y team's midfield.

The path leading to the goal was unusually empty. The players of Team Y seemed to have lost their sharpness, and their interception actions appeared lazy and lacked urgency. It was as if even their basic fighting spirit had been worn down by this game, which had nothing to do with the outcome of the knockout stage.

For Team Y, this match was the final chapter of Blue Prison; neither victory nor defeat could change their fate of failing to advance.

In Team Y, only numbers 11 and 10 retain their motivation. The former is Team Y's top scorer, while the latter is one goal behind him.

Team Y's number 11, Bingzhiyang, appeared silently beside Jieshiyi, her lifeless blue eyes fixed on the ball at Jieshiyi's feet. Jieshiyi flicked her ankle and cleverly sent the ball to Suoh Hyoki on the left wing.

Just when everyone thought Team Z would take this opportunity to launch an attack, Team Y's number 10 appeared on the passing lane, intercepted Jie Shiyi's pass, and firmly controlled the ball at his feet.

Seeing this, the players of Team Y all moved closer together, intending to use teamwork to push Team Z into a corner.

A sly glint flashed in Feng Le's eyes as he keenly spotted a weakness in the opponent's defense. He decisively stepped forward to steal the ball and then easily dribbled past a defender with a series of smooth stepovers.

However, Team Y's defense did not collapse. Team Y's number 10 player seemed to be able to see through Feng Lehui's every thought, following him like a shadow, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.

Just as Feng Lehui was about to break through the encirclement and prepare to accurately pass the ball to Suoh Koki in the open space on the left, Bingzhi Yang, like a ghost leaping out of the shadows, accelerated instantly with amazing speed and judgment, and jumped up almost at the same time as Feng Lehui.

In mid-air, with his extraordinary jumping ability and accurate anticipation, he intercepted the ball, steadily bringing the situation back to balance.

Ice Goat's interception was successful, and the atmosphere on the entire court suddenly tensed up, as if even the air itself froze for a moment. Suoh Hyoki turned around and skillfully snatched the ball back from Ice Goat's crosshairs, then charged towards the opponent's penalty area like an arrow released from a bow.

"Now it's my turn to be the striker."

Raishi Jingo, along with Gaigamaru Gin and Kunishin Rensuke, launched a fierce attack on Suoh Koki, who was holding the ball, like an unstoppable torrent.

Although the tactic of "taking turns as strikers" was rejected in the pre-match discussion, every player on the field at this moment made a tacit decision to adapt flexibly and execute the strategy directly in the actual game.

No matter how strong Suoh Hyo-ki is, he can't go far by relying on others. He can't guarantee that Team Z will keep winning until all members advance to the next round.

Rather than entrusting your fate to others, it's better to hold onto the ball firmly in your own hands and pave a safe path for yourself by scoring goals.

In this "battle royale" game called Blue Prison, the rules are simple yet brutal: scoring goals is the only rule for "survival."

Three players from Team Y followed closely behind, closing in on Suoh Hyo-hee, intending to stifle this penetrator outside the penalty area.

Suoh Koki froze. Team Y's Hyoori Yo was poised to intercept the ball as it was about to slip out of control. Suoh Koki turned his left foot and, with an almost imperceptible movement, used the subtle touch of his heel to cleverly flick the ball away, accurately passing it to Gaigamaru Gin, who was silently waiting for his chance behind him.

"oh--"

This ball feels really strange.

Upon receiving the ball, I let out a soft shout and continued forward.

Seeing this brilliant pass from behind, Kiyoshi was shocked by Suoh Hyoki's outstanding ability.

Passing the ball without any vision!

This guy is just too good!

Soon he was also preoccupied with his own problems, because I, Yawanin, passed the ball to him.

only……

This is very bad.

Jie Shiyi held the ball and remained in a stalemate with the opposing defender just outside the penalty area.

He then realized that the Y team players had surrounded him silently, like ghosts.

Jie Shiyi was unable to pass the ball out. The strongest player, Suoh Koki, had been tightly surrounded since the beginning, while his other teammates were kept far away, leaving him alone to face the enemy's goal.

If it's a direct shot...

His brain was working frantically.

what to do?

If we lose, my football career will be over.

Suddenly, Jie Shiyi felt a chill run down her spine and kicked the ball away at the last second.

This was the first time Suoh Hyo-ki had witnessed such a chaotic situation.

When teammates are vying for the ball from the opponent, they don't even let go of the ball at their own teammates' feet, and they tackle without hesitation, just to become the striker. They even forget that this is a game that requires teamwork and fall into a crazy selfishness.

This is a desecration of the spirit of football.

As Suoh Hyo-hee watched the stalemate between Kiek-il and the person opposite her, she silently imagined how her best friend would treat him.

What would they do if Naka or Ryosuke encountered various situations?

If it were Tenno Minaka, he would definitely put the team in a desperate situation first, and even subtly feed the ball to the opponent to increase the pressure on his teammates. Then he would enter the game as the "savior" so that he could take control of the team.

As for Kira Ryosuke, he would try his best to ease the tension if possible, but if it was impossible to ease the tension, he would have no objection as long as the result of the match was victory.

But this is just a hypothetical scenario; it's unrealistic.

Because they would never allow the team to get to that point.

Suoh Koki could not be as nonchalant as Amano Minaka, nor could he be as indifferent to the course of the match as Kira Ryosuke.

Their approach was completely irrelevant to Suoh Hyo-hee.

We can only solve it in our own way.

Suoh Hyo-hee broke through the encirclement and received the ball from Kiek-il.

The opposing team quickly followed up with Suoh Hyo-hee, and the two defenders immediately tackled him the moment he raised his foot.

"How is that possible?"

The opponents looked at Suoh Hyoki in shock.

Suoh Hyogi slowed down at this moment. They didn't manage to tackle the ball, but watched helplessly as Suoh Hyogi dribbled past their defense and went straight into the penalty area.

With his shot, Team Z scored the first point.

1:0

"Football is not a one-man sport."

Just as the shot was about to go, Suoh Hyo-hee appeared next to Kiyoshi, a hint of confusion flashing in her green eyes. "You had a chance to shoot just now, why did you choose to pass?"

Jie Shi stared blankly at her feet, "...I don't know."

Subconsciously... subconsciously I passed the ball out.

"Maybe they think you're more... more likely to score."

Upon realizing this, Jie Shiyi's face instantly turned extremely ugly, and cold sweat kept pouring down her forehead.

Why don't you shoot? If I can't even shoot on my own, how can I become the world's best striker?

He questioned himself in his heart.

“Although we’re on the same team, it doesn’t matter who shoots, but if you keep going like this, you’ll only become a weakness for Team Z.” Suoh Koki noticed his increasingly pale face and asked with concern, “Are you tired? Why don’t you take a rest?”

Then he turned and ran towards his own penalty area, issuing commands to Team Z like a king to his subjects.

"There's no need to pass the ball to Jie anymore. Her inability to shoot is too obvious a weakness."

Jie Shi raised her head, her clenched fist trembling.

"ha?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Raishi Jingo's fierce expression. His eyes widened. "If he's not going to pass the ball to Kiyo, what kind of striker is he?"

His words expressed the sentiments of everyone present, including Jie Shiyi.

Jie Shiyi strode up to Suoh Hyo-hee, looked up at his cold green eyes, and assured him, "Suoh, I can kick, I can shoot."

“If you could actually shoot, that goal would have been yours.” Suoh Koki turned to Raichi Jingo, seemingly expressing his dissatisfaction with his earlier action.

"Jie was chosen as the forward fairly and impartially, and the tactics have been established. It might not be a good idea to change the player now, would it?"

"Although no one has stuck with any tactics for long."

Suoh Hyo-ki leaned forward slightly, exuding an air of arrogance, and gave the order, "But from now on, I expect you to continue playing according to the tactics. After all, I don't want to lose the game because of this kind of 'selfish' thinking."

"It would be ridiculous to lose the game like this."

Suoh Kōki turned and left, ignoring Raichi Jin'go who was shouting behind him.