Chapter 23: 023 Charge straight in
Twisting and twirling, dancing gracefully—
Light and nimble footsteps move freely amid the chaotic battle, the elegant dance unstoppable even amidst the fiercest flames.
A leap, a confrontation, a change in direction.
All of it happens in just a few seconds, the oxygen barely processed in the lungs before the blade is drawn.
Sharp as a dagger.
Number twenty-three breaks out from the disarray, leaving the surging heat waves far behind, and then, Li Wei fully accelerates.
Stomp.
Power up.
Take off.
Only now is the speed completely unleashed without any reservations.
But!
Having encountered too many impacts and obstructions in the dense formation, with a shaky center of gravity and disordered breathing, the start is slightly slower, and two red figures loom like a storm, rapidly closing in from both sides.
What to do?
In the midst of the tumult, Li Wei makes a snap decision and pushes off with his left leg, pivoting to the right.
Amid the chaos and jolting impacts, he continues to push off the ground, the power from the depths of his Dantian erupting from below, casting off the red figure to the left and cutting to the outside of the red figure to the right—that is, the narrow passage between him and the sidelines—accelerating all out.
Stomp.
With a burst, Li Wei can see Jackson's face enlarging in his pupils, the cost of shaking off another player is a head-on collision with Jackson.
But Li Wei doesn't panic.
Stomp.
As Li Wei is about to use his speed to forcefully overtake, Jackson makes his move, lunging forward a step earlier—
Arms outstretched, attempting a grab,
And secures a solid embrace, "Got him," Jackson thinks with joy.
However, before the joy can rise to his heart, Jackson feels a force smash down upon him.
Li Wei is moving forward.
Not just charging, but the instantly erupting force hits Jackson head-on, continuously driving him back and forcing him into a panicked retreat. Jackson tries to plant his legs to brake urgently, but Li Wei's sudden burst of power prevails.
Ah!
Like a bulldozer.
Even though strength is not Li Wei's forte, it isn't Jackson's either. They are similar in height and build, and Li Wei takes the lead with speed and positioning. He catches Jackson off-guard in the moment of his tackle, counteracting with a frontal collision that sends Jackson staggering from his own force.
Ah, ah, ah!
Li Wei seizes the opportunity and continues to push forward.
Jackson is pushed back step by step.
Then.
Stomp.
With another surge, Li Wei catches Jackson off-balance, breaks free, accelerates, and sprints, unbelievably achieving a second burst of acceleration.
"Jesus Christ!"
ESPN's official commentator Dave Pasch is completely stunned, hardly able to believe his eyes. What are they witnessing?
It was just a practice game after all, and it was the starters against the substitutes—a time to relax and enjoy the festival atmosphere, all very laid-back.
One second before, he had been leafing through the substitute offensive group's roster, his attention mostly on the starting defensive group, taking his time to notice these players.
The next second, Pasch is dumbfounded by what he's seeing, throwing out words.
"Jump. Hurdle."
"Straight Arm Block. Oh, another Straight Arm Block."
"Cut."
"Another cut."
"Incredible!"
"Tackle, and Jackson finally manages to grab hold of this number twenty-three."
That was when the exclamation to God occurred, as Pasch's eyes widen, watching intently as the running back in the number twenty-three white jersey—
As everyone knows, you watch the Crimson Tide Storm for the running back.
But Derrick Henry's brilliance last season was such that all other running backs were overshadowed. Now that Henry has gone professional, even if the Crimson Tide Storm were to train another top running back, it would take at least one or two seasons. Therefore, this season, expectations for the Crimson Tide Storm should be adjusted slightly.
But unexpectedly!
"Oh, no!"
"Number twenty-three didn't stop his feet, he continued to sprint, to break through."
"Shedding tackles!"
"Jesus Christ!"
"Number twenty-three sheds Jackson's tackle; that's the third tackle he's avoided in this drive alone, unbelievable, he's moving forward, he's accelerating."
"Fifteen yards!"
"Twenty yards!"
"Number twenty-three is not only running the first offense, but also continuing to break through. The aggressive press forward by the Red Team's defense has left the entire backfield vacant. Now all Red Team defenders are chasing White Team's number twenty-three, a scene reminiscent of a pack of wolves hunting down a gazelle."
"Harrison is charging over!"
Ronnie Harrison, another safety from the Crimson Tide Storm, he is the strong safety.
According to the plan, Harrison should have intercepted Li Wei first, as he was the best choice to match the running back, but Li Wei noticed Harrison approaching and immediately changed direction, opting to break through from Jackson's side.
In the midst of the melee, Harrison's lateral cut required him to move mountains, so he couldn't get there in time, and the whole situation was completely different.
"A race for speed!"
"Number twenty-three and Harrison are side by side in a race for speed, Harrison is closing in strongly, showing an excellent burst of energy, visibly narrowing the gap between them."
"Thirty yards!"
"Harrison, oh, Harrison! Humphrey is also closing in!"
"Thirty-five yards!"
"What? What!"
"Number twenty-three is accelerating, he's reached his top speed, Harrison can't keep up, he's falling behind, unable to close the distance that hadn't been completely narrowed, now only Humphrey is left."
"Humphrey just got tangled up, but after breaking free, he's chasing with all his might."
"God!"
"Forty-five yards! Fifty yards!"
"Number twenty-three is running faster and faster, Humphrey can only barely keep up, unable to close the gap, with only an arm's length space between them."
"Humphrey is accelerating, Humphrey is pushing hard to speed up, closer now, even closer."
"Opportunity!"
"This is the opportunity!"
"Humphrey goes for a diving tackle, putting all his eggs in one basket."
"Beautiful!"
"Number twenty-three high-steps, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, noticing Humphrey's desperate lunge, he evades the tackle with a high step."
"Eluding!"
"Humphrey was so close, just a hair away, but a hair's breadth away from success, he came up short."
"No one can stop him now, no one! Dusting the competition! Breaking away!"
"End zone!"
"Touchdown!"
"A seventy-five-yard rushing touchdown, unbelievable! Incredible! An entire seventy-five yards, having shed a total of five tackles, breaking through the encirclement."
"The White Team scores the first points with a seventy-five-yard ground rush into the end zone, wow! Unbelievable!"
Pash was just tingling with excitement, unable to control himself any longer, he stood up from his seat, erupting with joy like a volcano.
"Who is he, number twenty-three, who is he really?"
In the end zone, Li Wei finally stopped running, panting heavily, his face flushed, but turning around to see the chaos and devastation he left behind, a smile crept across his lips—
That wreckage was his accomplishment.
Then, raising his hands high, he shot straight up into the sky.
It is the official touchdown gesture in football, mimicking the goalpost's forks, arms straight out and facing up to the sky, signaling a successful touchdown.
The Bryant Denny Stadium went mad, completely insane; without any mental preparation, the first climax set off the Crimson Tide Storm.