Inthenextissueof HighSchoolSoccer ,ChenHuafengwhocoveredthematchwrote:

"Averywonderfulmatchtowatch!Thegamestartedoffslowatfirst,butassoonasthesecondhalfbegan,ShuGuangHighsteamrolledthroughthegamewithgreatcooperationonthefrontlines.Suchlevelsofteamworkhaveneverbeenseenbeforeinthehistoryofthiscup!ShuGuang'spridedoffensivelineupdisplayedseamlessteamworkinthematch,showingtheworldwhatthestrongestoffensiveteaminLuoyangiscapableofwhentheygoallout.Theirscoringoffivegoalsinthematchisahugedeclarationtoeveryonethatthereisnodefensetoohardforthem!"

Afterallowingtheiropponentstoscorethefirstgoal,GuanLinHighdidnotattackShuGuangaggressivelyasmanythoughttheywould.Instead,theyplayeddefensively,waitingforanopportunitytostrike.Theirstrategywastoplayitslowandsteadysothattheycouldweardowntheiropponentsforacounter.

However,thatdidnotstopShuGuangfromsteppingupandmaintainingtheirtempo.Additionally,GuanLin'sdefensedidnotbecometoomuchtohandleforShuGuangHigh.Withtheirnewfoundsynergyonthefrontlines,allofGuanLinHigh'sdefensiveeffortsseemedliketheywerejustforshow.

Kakachallengedandstoletheballinthecenterofthefield,carryingitforwardwithoutanyhesitation.Ashedidthat,thethreeotherforwardscamerunningtothefront.Theywereattackingagain!

Seeinghisteammatesmakingtheirmove,Kakaspedupasadefendersteppedintochallengehimfortheball.Kakaraisedhisrightfootbehindhim,implyingthathewasabouttokicktheballfaraway.Adefenderthenquicklygotintoaslidetotrytostophim.Kakaswunghisfootforward,butdidnotkicktheball.Instead,hestoppedtheballwithhisrightfoot,andwithhisleft,hehookedtheballuptotherightasheleapedovertheslidingdefender!

Whatabeautifulfeint!Thecrowdwentwild,shouting,screamingandclappingatKaka'sbrilliantmove!

Assoonashisfeetgotbackontheground,Kakaflickedtheballwithhisrightfoot.Itsentithighup,overanotheroncomingdefenderandovertoZhangJun.

ZhangJunwasfacingawayfromthegoalatthatpoint.Whentheballcamedowntowardshim,hereactivelykickeditaway,passingitovertoYangPanbeforeturningaroundandsprintingtowardsthepenaltybox.

TheotherGuanLinHighdefendersallclosedinonYangPan,tryingtopressurehimintomakingamistakeandgivinguptheball.However,YangPandidnotpanic.Assoonastheballcameintohispossession,hekickedithard,sendingitflyingtothefarright.Theballflewtowardsthecornerofthepitchwheretherewerenodefenders.Onlyoneplayerwastheretoreceivetheball:RenYuDe!

Thegoalkeeperquicklymovedtothesideofthegoal.Afterlettinghimscorethefirsttime,heknewthatRenYuDewasgoodatscoringfromtightangles.So,hemovedinclosetothesidetomakesurethathecouldnotgetapropershot.

RenYuDeraisedhisleftleghighupbehindhim.Hewasmakinghisshot!Thekeeperreadiedhimselftoreceivetheball,but...theballdidnotcometowardshim.Instead,RenYuDekickedtheballfurtherouttohisright.Hewasnotplanningtoscore,hewaspassingtheballtoZhangJun!

TheballflewtothefrontofthegoalandZhangJun,whowasrunningtowards it managed tointercept it. As a defender sprinted towards him from behind, Zhang Jun suddenly stopped. He threw the defender off and instantly widened the distance between them. He was open!

ZhangJundrewhisfoottowardshisbackandhisbodybecamealockedcrossbow.Rightwhenthelandedinfrontofhim,hefired!Hislegswungforwardandconnectedsquarelywiththeball,sendingitflyingstraighttowardstheundefendedgoal.Avolley!

Theballflewinastraightline,hittingthegoallinebeforebouncingintothenetbehindacluelessgoalkeeper.Heturnedaroundjustintimetoseetheballpasshimbyandgointothenet.

2:0!

Andthatwasjust17minutesintothesecondhalf!

AbrilliantdisplayofteamworkfromthefourstarsofShuGuangHigh,whichendedwithZhangJun'svolley sealingthedeal.

ZhangJunwasthrilledafterscoring.Herantowardshisteamwithhisrighthandraised,celebratingthegoal.Histeammatesallcheeredandranalongwithhim.

ChenHuafengwatchedthewholethinghappenfromthestands.HewatchedasZhangJunranovertothisteammateswithhishandraisedandhowhisteammatesranalongbehindhim.ThatscenefelttohimlikeZhangJunwastheheadofavanguard,leadingthechargeandwavingaflagwithhisraisedhand.Thepeoplewhowerefollowinghimwerehiscomradeswhotrustedhimjustasmuchashetrustedthem.Theseboyswereallbrothersinarms,teammatesonthepitch,andfriendsinlife...

Sixminuteslater,ZhangJunheadedtheballandlikealeapingfishbreakingthesurfaceofthewater,hescoredhissecondgoal.Hedidhisvictoryrunagainwithhisrighthandraisedwhilehisteammatesranalongbehindhim.

Another10minuteslater,ZhangJunreceivedapassfromKaka.Heevadedthegoalkeeperwhocameforwardtotrytostophimandsenttheballflyingintothewideopengoal.A hat-trick!Onceagain,hedidhisvictoryrunwithhisrighthandraisedwhilehisteammatesfollowedsuit.

Thesamevictoryrun,happeningthreetimeswithinthespanof16minutes!ChenHuafengsmiled.

"So,that'swheretrustcomesfrom!"

ZhangJunscoringahat-trick in such a short period of time sent the Shu Guang High cheerleaders into a frenzy. They shouted, "Zhang Jun! Zhang Jun!" non-stop.

TheycheeredeverytimeZhangJuntookpossessionoftheballandeverytimeZhangJunshotorpassed.ThefreshmencheerleaderswhostillhadtheirdoubtsaboutZhangJun'sskillsfromthefirstmatch,werenowcheeringforhimpassionately.Thatday,theyfinallywitnessedwhatascoringchampionwas:Onewhomadeabreakthroughwhentheteamwasinadeadlock,onewhodidnotbackdownevenafterhisteamwasinthelead,onewhosteppeduptothetaskandandcarriedtheteam,onewho'scharismadrovethecrowdscrazy,onewhowouldalwaysbringhopeandassurancetotheteam,neverleavinganyonebehind;onewhokeptonscoring,keepingthedreamalive...

SuFeiwasamazedasshewatchedhowenthusiasticthespectatorshadbecome.Assheheard"ZhangJun!ZhangJun!"beingshoutedfromallsidesofthestadium,shewondered,sincewhendidZhangJunbecomesopopular?Sincewhendidhegainsomanyfollowers,somanyfans?Andsincewhendidhestopbeingasimplekidwithnodesiretodobetter;akidwhowasnotinterestingevenintheleastandonewhowasnevergoingtobecomeamaincharacter?

Wasitbecausehescoredafewgoals?

No!

SuFeididnotbelievethattobethereason.Lookingbackathisperformanceinthegame,hispersistenceinhisattacksandhiscalming,reassuringsmile;thesewerethethingsthatwonthepeople'shearts.Thesewerethethingsthatmadethenaysayersallturnaroundandplacetheirhopesaswellasdreamsonhimtoo.That'sright,shewaslookingatanewZhangJunrightnow.Aftergoingthroughsomuch,hehadgrownup.

SuFeisuddenlyfelttearsbuildingupinhereyes.Ifallthedisappointmentsandheartachestheywentthroughwereneededtoturnhimintothepersonhewastoday,thenalltheblood,sweatandtearsthey sacrificed was worth it. All that suffering they went through to get to this point was worth it.

"ZhangJun,Istartedlovingsoccerbecauseofyou.Andnow,becauseofsoccer,InowrealizejusthowmuchIloveyou..."

ThematchendedwithYangPan'ssignaturepowerfullong-ranged shot, giving Shu Guang High their fifth goal. It also gave an explosive ending to a wonderful match.

5:0!ShuGuangHigheliminatedGuanLinHighwithanimpressivescoreinthefinaleightround.Andassoonastherefereeblewthefinalwhistlebringingthematchtoanendthereporterspresentatthematchinstantlysurroundedthewinnerslikeapackofstarvingwolves,lockingontheirprey.Everymemberoftheteam,fromthecoachtotheplayerswereallbombardedbythepresswithoutmercy.

"CoachLiangKe,yourteam'sfrontlineshowedussomereallyscaryoffensivepowernottomention,excellentteamworkintoday'smatch.Canyoutellushowyoutrainedthem?"

Thiswasnodoubtthebiggestquestionplayinginmanypeople'sminds.Manyinterestedpartieswereeagertofindouthowtheygottosuchagreatlevelofteamwork.Atthispoint,alotofpeoplewerealreadyfamiliarwithhowstrongShuGuang'sfourstarplayerswereontheirown,butseeingthemallplaywithsuchfluidsynergyintoday'smatchwassomethingnewtothem.Whatkindoftrainingdidtheygothroughtobeabletomakeplayslikethat?

LiangKesimplylookedatalltheeagereyesstaringbackathim,andsmiled."Well,Iletthemfoolaroundduringtraining."

"Foolaround?"

Themembersofthepresswerealltakenabackbyhisresponse.Whatkindofcoachwouldallowhisplayersto"foolaround"duringtraining?Trainingwassupposedtopreparetheplayersforthematches.Itwasmeantfordrillingthemwithallthetacticalaswellastechnicalskillsrequiredoverandoveragainuntiltheyweregoodatthem,insteadofhavingfun!

ButLiangKewasnotjoking!Thetruthwas,theteamtrainedfivedaysaweek.Butinthefirstthreedaysoftraining,CoachLiangKewouldnotmakeZhangJun,YangPan,RenYuDeandKakadoanydrills.Hewouldthrowthemaballandsay,"Goplayonyourown!"Andthenhewoulddivertallhisattentionintotrainingtheothers,especiallythenewcomerslikeLinXiaofang,ChenBoandWangNing.Thewholeteamwouldonly get together for training on the other two days.

WhenKakafirstjoinedtheteam,LiangKealreadynoticedthattheboyhadanaturaltalentforimprovisingonthego.Notonlythat,hecouldalsobeverycreativeinhandlingtheball,aresultofgrowingupwhileplayingsocceronthebeachesofBrazil.Heutilizedalotofimprovisationinhisgameplay,whichwerenotboundbyanyrulesorconsistencywhatsoever.Thismadehimextremelyunpredictable.LiangKeknewthatifhetrieddrillingtheboywithrigidtacticsandstandardtechniques,Kakawouldonlybeabletoplayatonlyabout30%ofhisfullpotential.So,hedecidedthatthebestwaytobringoutthebestinKakawasnotinlimitinghim,butinlettinghimgowild.ButthatmeantthatwhoeverteamedupwithKakahadtobeabletoreadhisplays,getintopositionandprepareforhisrandompassesfromoutofnowhere.That'ssomethingregulartextbooktrainingcouldneverteach!Hence,LiangKefiguredthatthebestwayforthemtoachievethiswasnotthroughtrainingbutrather,lettingtheboysplayandhavefunbythemselves.Thatway,theycouldgetusedtoeachother'sstylesbetterandsomethinggoodmayjustcomeoutofit.

Despitealltherisksinvolved,LiangKewasgladhemadethatdecision.Today'sresultwasatestamenttojusthoweffectivethe"training"hadbeen,withallfivegoalsbeingnothingshortofsatisfying.Thefourplayerskeptpassingtheballaroundastheymovedinandoutofenemyterritory,cuttingthroughthedefensewithsuchfluidityandtempo.Itmadeitseemliketheywerealllinkedtogethertelepathically.

"Coach,ZhangJungaveyourteamahat-trick today; is there anything you can tell us about him?" Chen Huafeng finally got the chance to ask his question. He had prepared it in advance.

"He'saveryoutstandingforwardandhisabilitytoscoreiswayaboveaverage.Andseeinghowheperformedoverthelastthreematches,therecertainlyhasbeenagreatdealofimprovementinhisattitudeonthepitch."

"Then, howwouldyoudescribehisfuture?"

"Hmm..."LiangKegavethequestionsomethought,beforelookinguptotheclearblueskyandsaying,"Limitless..."

"Limitless!"LiangKe'sreplywasmorethanenoughforChanHuafeng.ThiswastheopinionofamanwhopersonallywitnessedZhangJun'sgrowth.

Limitless.

Sunday,inaquietalleysomewhere...

"Yoush*ttybrat!Haveyouforgottenwhatyoupromisedme?Yousaidyouwouldthrowthematch!Makeawrongpass!ButwhatdidIget?5:0!AhugewinforShuGuangHigh!Yousonofab*tch!"CleftiewasshoutingangrilyatRenYuDe,whohadhisbackupagainstthewall.

"You'retooloud.You'regonnaattractpeoplehere,"RenYuDerepliedashedughisear.

"Sowhat?Youliedtous!ShuGuangshouldhavelostthatgame!"

"Youcalledmeouthereforthissh*t?What'sthebigdeal?Howmuchdidyoulose?I'llgetyouthemoney,"RenYuDesaidnonchalantly.

"F*ckyou!Youthinkthisisaboutthemoney?Youjustpokedthehornet'snest!You'redead!"

"Alrightalready!Let'sstopwastingtime.Soallofyouatonceorone-on-one?" Ren Yu De asked the six other guys ganging up on him as he started to take his jacket off.

Cleftiewassurprised."You...Aren'tyouscaredofwhatthecommitteewoulddotoyourteamifyougetcaughtfighting?"

"Hah!Lookaround,there'snooneelse.Nowitnesses!"saidRenYuDewithanevilgrin.Butassoonashefinishedhissentence,anothergroupofpeopleenteredthealley.

"Well,nowthereare!"Cleftielaughed.However,assoonasheturnedtolookatthegroupofpeople,hefroze.

"What'sgoingonhere?"afiercelookingAhYuanaskedashesizedupthegroupsurroundingShuGuangHigh'sNo.9.

RenYuDealsoturnedandlookedatthegroup,afterwhichhefoundLiYongleaswellasZhangYangstandingnexttoAhYuan.

"Sothat'swhy."LiYonglenoddedincomprehension.HefinallyfiguredoutwhyRenYuDeperformedsobadlyinthefirsthalfofthematch."Didn'tyouwonderifthecassettereallyexists?"

RenYuDenodded.

"Andjudgingfromyourlastmatch,youfiguredthattherecordingdoesn'texist?"ZhangYangasked.HewasstaringatCleftie'spossewhilepoppinghisknuckles.

RenYuDenoddedagain.

"Oy!Oy!Whatdoyouthinkyou'redoing?Ifyougetcaughtfightinghere,you'regonnagetyourteamdisqualified!"Cleftieshouted.

Hearingthat,LiYongleputhishandsintohispocketsandsaid,"But,we'renottheonesfighting.Right,AhYuan?"

AhYuanalongwithhisothereightlackeyswereallglaringatCleftieandhisgang."Youbastardsthinkyoucanjustdoanythingyouwantonmyturf?"

Cleftieandhiscrewturnedpale.Theyhaddespairwrittenallovertheirfaces.

"AhYuan,pleasedon'tholdback."LiYonglewaved,thenleftthealleywithZhangYangandRenYuDe.

"Howdidyouguysgethere?"RenYuDeaskedLiYongleassoonastheyexitedthealley.

"Oh,wewerejustpassingby."

"Passingby?"

"Yup.Wejustheardsomeone'sannoyingloudvoicefromafar,sowecamebyjusttocheckitout,"ZhangYangreplied.

RenYuDelaughed.HemayhavebeencalmandcomposedinfrontofCleftieinthatalley,butthetruthis,hewasveryworriedaboutgettingtheteamdisqualified.NowthatAhYuanshowedupwithhiscrew,thewholesituationturnedoutmuchbetterthanhecouldaskfor.Buteveniftheydidnotshowup,hewasnotgoingbackoutiftheywantedafight.Atmost,hethought,hecouldjustquittheteam,claimfullresponsibilityforworkingwithasoccerbettingsyndicateandwithdrawfromschool.Thiswasnothingnewtohim.

"Youdon'thavetoworryaboutthemgivingShuGuangHighanytrouble.IleftmycamerawithAhYuan,"LiYonglesaid.

"Camera?"

"Lookatthisfineweather,wewerejustgoingtohangoutwithAhYuanandhisgangandgotakesomepictures.Ievengotanewfilm!Argh...That'sjustgivingthosea**holestoomuch!"LiYonglereplied,tiltinghisheadtothesideasifhewasannoyed.

RenYuDecaughthisdriftandthethoughtofthosepunksbeingphotographedaftergettingbeatenupmadehimlaugh.

"Thanks."

"Don'tgetmewrong,I'mdoingthisformyself.Ican'thaveyouguysdroppingoutofthecompetitionjustyet!I'llbetheonetodefeatyouguys!Nobodycanstopmefromgettingmyrevenge!"LiYonglespokethroughhisteeth.

RenYuDewasshocked!ButZhangYangjustlaughedandsaid,"Herewegoagain!He'salwayslikethat,don'tmindhim."

Lateron,inacertainluxuriousmansion...

"YoungMaster,theyhavefailed."

"Abunchofuselessdimwits!Theywastedsomuchofmymoney!Fine!Preparethecar,I'mgoingtoseemygodfather!"

"But,YoungMaster!Isn'tthatalittletooinappropriate?"

"Why?Can'tIaskmygodfatherforalittlefavor?"

"No,ofcourseyoucan,but...IfMasterfindsout..."

"Wellthen,who'sgoingtotellhim?Youidiot!Now,go!"

Thebutlerhadnochoicebuttofollowhisorders.Assoonasheclosedthedoorsuponleavingtheroom,MaNiutteredunderhisbreath,"ZhangJun!I'lldefinitelymakeyoukneelandbegfor mercy..."