"We...we won?"
"We beat the main team?"
After a brief moment of stunned silence, the substitute players erupted in a thunderous cheer.
They surged towards Luo Xiaoxiang like a tide, lifting him high into the air and tossing him up.
"Luo Xiaoxiang, you're awesome!"
"Xiang Ge! You're like a brother to me!"
"Damn, what was that last shot? It was incredible!"
Everyone's faces were filled with excitement and disbelief.
They won!
They beat the main team, who they had always considered invincible!
And all of this was because of Luo Xiaoxiang.
Their teammate, whom they had habitually overlooked until today.
Luo Xiaoxiang, being tossed in the air, looked at his teammates' excited faces and listened to their cheers, feeling a little dazed for a moment.
He felt like he was dreaming.
Just an hour ago, he was still the useless player who had been publicly yelled at by the coach for a misplayed pass.
And now, he had become the hero who helped the team win.
This transformation was too fast, too unreal.
"It's all because of you, unreliable basketball system."
Luo Xiaoxiang silently said in his heart.
He knew that all these changes stemmed from that absurd golden finger.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the hidden quest: Turn the Tide!"
"Quest requirements: In a situation where the team is trailing, turn the game around with your own strength."
"Quest reward: 100 System Points, 5 Free Attribute Points."
The system's prompt sounded in his mind at the opportune moment.
Luo Xiaoxiang's heart pounded again.
More rewards!
On the other side, the main team players were all dejected, like roosters that had lost a fight.
They couldn't accept this result.
They had actually lost to the substitute team, lost to Luo Xiaoxiang.
Zhang Hao stood outside the crowd, his face ashen.
His fists clenched, making a grinding sound.
He looked at Luo Xiaoxiang, who was being tossed high by his teammates, his eyes filled with resentment and confusion.
Why?
What on earth happened?
How could a useless player be reborn in just one game, transforming into a master even he couldn't defend against?
He couldn't understand!
He couldn't understand it at all!
It was like a poor relative you'd always looked down upon suddenly showing up in a Rolls-Royce, telling you he'd won five hundred million.
Absurd, and unacceptable... "Everyone, shut the hell up!"
Just then, a thunderous roar came from the sidelines.
It was Coach Li Tiejun.
His voice carried an undeniable authority.
The noisy field instantly fell silent.
Everyone looked at their coach.
Li Tiejun's face showed no discernible emotion.
He walked with steady steps through the crowd, heading straight for Luo Xiaoxiang.
Luo Xiaoxiang, who had just been put down, felt a sudden nervousness as he saw the coach approaching him.
"Co-coach..." He called out softly.
Li Tiejun didn't speak.
He just scrutinized Luo Xiaoxiang from head to toe with an extremely complex gaze.
That look was like seeing a monster, yet also like examining a priceless jade.
The surrounding players didn't even dare to breathe.
They didn't know what the coach was going to do.
Was he going to praise Luo Xiaoxiang, or... criticize him?
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
After a full half-minute, Li Tiejun slowly spoke, his voice hoarse and low.
"Luo Xiaoxiang."
"Here!" Luo Xiaoxiang subconsciously straightened his body.
"Tell me the truth," Li Tiejun's eyes, like an eagle's, stared intently into Luo Xiaoxiang's, as if trying to pierce his soul.
"How did you make that last goal?"
Here it comes!
Luo Xiaoxiang's heart skipped a beat.
He knew the coach would ask this question.
That shot was simply too astonishing, impossible to explain with common sense.
How should he answer?
Should he say he had a basketball system and used a "Formless Shot" from basketball?
He'd surely be taken for a lunatic.
Luo Xiaoxiang's brain began to spin rapidly.
He recalled the system's explanation of the "Formless Shot": disregarding conventional posture, when the body loses balance...
He's got it!
Luo Xiaoxiang took a deep breath, feigning a somewhat bewildered and embarrassed look, and scratched his head.
"Coach... actually, I don't know either."
"You don't know?" Li Tiejun's brows furrowed even deeper.
"Mm-hmm." Luo Xiaoxiang nodded, beginning his "performance."
"At that time, I was double-teamed by three people, and there was no space or time to shoot. My mind was blank then, I just thought, no matter what, I had to kick the ball towards the goal."
"And then?" Li Tiejun pressed.
"Then... then my body lost balance, and I felt like I was about to fall. In a panic, I didn't think much and just relied on instinct, kicking the ball out in the most awkward posture... I just thought it would be enough to hit the goal; I never expected it to go in. Who knew... it just went in like that."
Luo Xiaoxiang's words were half-truths.
He attributed everything to "resourcefulness in a crisis" and "luck."
This was the most plausible explanation.
After hearing his words, the surrounding players all showed expressions of "I see."
"I knew it was a fluke!"
"His luck is too good!"
They were all inclined to believe that it was a miraculous goal born under extreme circumstances.
However, Li Tiejun didn't think so.
His eyes narrowed.
"By instinct?"
He chewed on these three words, his gaze growing deeper.
A person's "instinct" doesn't appear out of thin air.
It is often the accumulated muscle memory and subconscious reactions from long-term training and matches.
Luo Xiaoxiang, a player whose basic skills weren't even up to par, where did he get this "divine kick" instinct?
Li Tiejun looked at Luo Xiaoxiang, falling silent.
He didn't press further.
Because he knew, asking more wouldn't reveal anything else.
This kid was hiding a secret.
A huge secret.
However, that wasn't important.
What was important was that he saw Luo Xiaoxiang's unparalleled potential.
That ability to create miracles in desperate situations!
Such a player is what people often call... a genius!