Dominate the Super Bowl

Chapter 71: 071 Iron-hearted

Block shedding task, cleared.

Advancement task, ready!

Amidst utter chaos, Li Wei calmly completed his block shedding task and used the momentum from a hit to spin, shouldering a new task.

A glance back—

Just as expected!

Li Wei saw the panic and terror in Hertz's eyes, revealing a sense of despair with nowhere to turn. In the moment their gazes intersected, Hertz desperately clung to a lifeline, subconsciously tossing the hot potato to Li Wei. The football had barely left his fingertips, and the tackle was already barreling down on him.

An overwhelming force!

Hertz, sandwiched by two defenders, had no chance, hit the ground hard, and the world plunged into chaos, with only one thought in his mind:

Li Wei!

Like a torrential wave stirred up by the Trojans, the Crimson Tide Storm was engulfed, disintegrated, everything teetering on the brink of collapse.

So, what about Li Wei?

Focused. Concentrated. Calm.

No time for fear, not even time for excitement, his attention remained 100% focused, his mind and body's responses pushed to the utmost.

Plant feet, spin.

Despite his center of gravity shifting and his steps faltering, this was undoubtedly the most dangerous and difficult situation Li Wei had encountered in his brief football career. He had thought the Trojan's defensive group was fragile, but now he truly understood the power of tactical coordination; however, his resolve did not waver.

Spinning with the momentum, he continued the rotational movement until he was fully-turned 360 degrees, facing forward once more, the disarray unraveling before his eyes.

Advance? Break through?

No.

Li Wei did the opposite, retreating as a way to advance.

He did not blindly charge forward into a wall, but instead, took two small backsteps.

Firstly, to adjust his center of gravity, maintain balance, and recharge his power.

Secondly, to calmly observe.

Without a doubt, the Trojans had disrupted the equilibrium, senselessly overturning all the Crimson Tide Storm's offensive strategies. After Hertz was thrown into disarray, the wide receivers and the tight end were equally confused. The current match-up of offense and defense was a convoluted mess with no discernible patterns or structure.

So, how to find victory in chaos?

In the blink of an eye, Li Wei's gaze quickly swept across, ready to capture the figures in white jerseys as well as the red figures trying to find direction. It was hard to accurately grasp the movements and patterns amid the chaos and disaster, but conversely, they could not anticipate Li Wei's movements either.

Counter every move, cover every angle.

All of this happened in the fleeting milliseconds, and then, Li Wei launched into action.

His feet felt the solid touch of the turf, his heels lifting, toes pushing off, his calf muscles explosively releasing their power.

Launch, accelerate.

However, in the brief moment Li Wei adjusted and observed, the Trojans' defensive group had also re-engaged, pouncing towards Li Wei with a ferocity akin to wolves and tigers.

Additionally, with the Crimson Tide Storm not far from the Red Zone, the backfield space shrank, and sightlines were jam-packed with people, every nook filled with figures.

To his right front, a force like a tiger bursting from its cage, a white figure lunged at him like a swift wind.

Hah.

Li Wei held his breath, his muscles tensed, countless nerves extending from his brain, controlling the muscles with precision and appropriateness.

A pause, a spin—

Whoosh.

Then, Li Wei planted his left leg, using his right leg as a pivot, spun clockwise, narrowly dodging the trajectory of the white storm, the two of them brushing past each other.

Wind howls, rain lashes.

In his peripheral vision, he could catch a glimpse of that distorted face generated by effort, body tilting to the right, using the body as a weapon, attempting to roll over Li Wei, trying to disrupt or even destroy Li Wei's balance.

A force, like a log rolling down the river, collided with, squeezed, and pushed against Li Wei's back.

Stride.

Li Wei took advantage of the momentum from the force on his back to change direction, breaking to the left, but after only taking one step, he saw the second wave of white surge towards him.

Pause, spin—

This time, his footsteps were more composed as he rotated counter-clockwise, waltzing through the dense and tumultuous crowd.

With a turn, he had left the storm behind him.

His side-to-side movements didn't stop, continuing to advance in a "Z" shape, and in the next second, he saw the third white figure coming straight at him—not from the left, nor the right, but directly head-on.

Wave after wave, over and over.

There was no time to catch his breath.

In the tiny five-yard space, packed with people, moving sideways or forward was extremely difficult.

Then one could see Li Wei's daring sudden stop, his steps inexplicably pausing, causing the white figure before him to hesitate, almost spilling questions out of his head, but before he could even blink, Li Wei had darted away.

Right side.

Sideline.

He tore a gap, a breath of fresh air, the fake moves completely deceived the white figure, whose steps wobbled. The misstep in startup during the sudden start and stop led to a failure in shifting balance, and he ended up standing rigidly in place like a stake.

"Hah."

In the studio, they sucked in a breath of cold air, eyes widened, not daring to blink and miss any detail.

In the chaos and the dire straits, the guts, courage, calm, and talent displayed by Li Wei quieted down the entire AT&T Stadium:

Including the Crimson Tide Storm fans.

"...Number twenty-three, in an impending sack, Hertz barely throws the football to his running back, player number twenty-three, Li Wei."

"However, Li Wei himself is in trouble now. He just helped the offensive line execute a block, then after a frontal collision, he could hardly stand steady, spinning like a top with high velocity. The desperate choice of Hertz is not wise, but at least it helped him dodge a sack…"

"Uh."

"Is this… the Marseille Turn?"

"Hah!"

"The second Marseille Turn!"

"The third!"

"God!"

"Li Wei shakes off tackles with three consecutive Marseille Turns within an impenetrable defensive matrix, showing off top-tier abilities of stopping and turning on a dime. Jesus Christ, what are we witnessing?"

"Sideline!"

"Li Wei is breaking down the sideline! Oh, the flying tackle, Trojans' safety McQuay is trying to make up for it; he was just shaken on the spot by Li Wei's emergency brake, like a stake, but his secondary reaction is timely, trying to push Li Wei out of bounds, but!"

"Li Wei!"

"Beautiful, an acceleration, a sprint, a stride, Li Wei barely dodges McQuay's tackle by a hair's breadth, shaking him off with sheer speed."

"Unbelievable!"

"Li Wei, Li Wei, Li Wei, Li Wei is moving forward."

"The twenty-five-yard line!"

"Danger, Li Wei's center of gravity is out of control; after multiple Marseille Turns and then a sudden burst of speed, Li Wei's balance is unhinged; and now Li Wei is walking a tightrope, his feet charging along the sideline, teetering on the edge, ready to fall out at any moment."

"The twenty-yard line!"

"But Li Wei hasn't given up, Li Wei is still sprinting, Li Wei is still advancing."

"Li Wei!"

"Whoa, severe lean, perfectly replicating Michael Jackson's 45-degree slant against gravity, but Li Wei maintains his body with speed and continues forward, running wildly on a tightrope, sprinting on the line between life and death."

"The fifteen-yard line!"

"Ten-yard line, oh, oh oh oh, God, the Trojans have finally caught up, the leap! The flying tackle!"