Chapter 1446: Chapter 1445: Consecutive Fouls
Richard Sherman clenched his teeth tightly, mobilizing all his speed, power, and balance to free himself from Kelsey and vie for the best position. He neither stopped nor compromised, instead sprinting towards that red number twenty-three with inertia and explosiveness:
Speed? Explosive strength? He wasn’t lacking either!
One step!
Two steps!
In just two steps, Sherman was already staggering towards Li Wei, with no time to adjust his balance or steps, simply stumbling wholeheartedly to leap forward, attempting to pile his strength and inertia on top of his body weight, using himself as a weapon to complete the collision.
Imminent!
As Sherman and Li Wei were on the verge of a head-on collision, in that split second, without time to distinguish in detail, Li Wei straightened his knees and stood tall, switching the football to his left hand at some point, raising his right hand, and extending his arm towards Sherman’s position.
Straight Arm Block!
It turns out that Li Wei’s action to force a breakthrough at the gap in the encirclement with speed was actually a feint to lure Sherman into taking the bait.
When Sherman heedlessly let go of his center of gravity to throw his body, it also meant his feet left the ground, unable to gain support from it, leaving him unsteady and powerless.
Then, Li Wei revealed his true ace in the hole.
Everything happened in a flash, too fast, leaving Sherman stunned, unable to react in time as Li Wei’s right hand landed on his right shoulder.
A touch.
Sherman looked up at Li Wei, through the helmet seeing those eyes, with only one thought in his mind: Damn.
Power, erupted in an instant.
Sherman: Hmph.
With a muffled snort, Sherman couldn’t react in time, only feeling as if the whole world rotated three hundred and sixty degrees along the vertical axis, like a windmill.
"Straight Arm Block!"
"Ha!"
"Li Wei flipped Sherman face-up!"
"Sherman down. Sherman down! Li Wei regained advancing space!"
"God!"
Exclamations erupted in the live broadcast room, as no one expected such a high-quality showdown in the first wave of offensive and defensive standoff at the start of the game.
On the field, the lineman Warner, who was just shaken off by Li Wei, and the safety Ward and Tate diagonally ahead, didn’t have time to marvel:
The moment Sherman was flipped, a flood-like crisis loomed forward, engulfing and devouring them in an instant.
However, they couldn’t retreat.
In front, Ward stepped forward first, with a sideways bull rush, forcefully ramming towards Li Wei.
Behind, Warner seized the opportunity, as Li Wei completed the Straight Arm Block and was swept up in the storm of counteractive force, unable to steady his footing, thus encountering a frontal impact, causing him to stumble. Warner decisively pushed off from the ground from a slanting angle, pouncing forward with open arms to wrap Li Wei’s waist.
"Got it!"
Warner completed the tackle, accurately grabbing Li Wei’s waist, but couldn’t stop himself, like a space-time train crashing into Li Wei’s back, propelling Li Wei forward to dive out, just bumped away by Ward and once again crashing into Ward’s arms, all three collapsing in a tangled mess.
Stumble. Jolt. Chaos.
Li Wei held his breath, with only one thought in his mind: Push off.
His steps continuously colliding with the ground, trying to regain strength and balance amidst the disorienting swirl, forces and inertia from different directions swirling around, propelling Li Wei’s body forward, that sensation akin to being swept away by undercurrents in the ocean, losing control of his body.
Push off, the only way to regain control.
Behind, Warner’s grip loosened by the chaos; ahead, amidst the confusion, Ward couldn’t accurately complete the tackle, forced to tug on the jersey —
Like a lifeline.
Dizzying, overwhelming.
In the live broadcast room, there was a brief daze, as almost everyone believed the ground advance had ended, with Li Wei’s steps stopping near the forty-five yard line, securing a first down for the Kansas City Chiefs; but the three, struggling and stumbling together, neared midfield without falling.
Then, "Yellow Flag!"
"Ward fouled for jersey grabbing."
"Yellow Flag!"
"Warner fouled for jersey grabbing."
"...Li Wei, escape! Li Wei!"
The clash and interweaving of different forces, Li Wei miraculously shook off both Ward and Warner, stumbling forward in a "crawl-like" manner.
Knees, almost unable to straighten; soles, slipping.
Li Wei seemed on the brink of collapse, looking as if he might end the advance at any moment, expending all his energy to resist the entanglement from Ward, Warner, and the laws of gravity.
Hold your breath!
Supporting the ground with his right hand, forcefully stretching his balance, barely straightening his knees, relying on pushing off to regain body balance amidst the sway.
Looking up, Li Wei’s eyes locked with safety Tate’s eyes —
Face to face.
Tate’s expression in the helmet couldn’t hide his surprise and bewilderment: Is this the real-life "Terminator"?
Then, Tate could clearly see the slight upward curve of Li Wei’s lips, sketching a smile, even taking the initiative, his body turning into an afterimage.
Damn!
Tate didn’t have time to think, instinctively and reflexively rushing out.
With one big stride, Tate rushed out, fingers already touching Li Wei’s jersey, reflexively curling his fingers, trying to grab the jersey.
At this point, whether it was a foul or not no longer mattered.
Fingers curled, yet only found air, Tate could feel the texture of the jersey, but still couldn’t grasp control.
Push off, lunge forward.
Tate kept closely following Li Wei, about to sense that Li Wei temporarily hadn’t regained balance and couldn’t accelerate, this was the chance!
One step, a miss.
Second step, impact.
Third step, entanglement.
Tate and Li Wei ran side by side, hard to distinguish, since the two remained in a jostling state, balance unsteady, resulting in Tate’s intent to control falling short. He thought of simply tackling Li Wei but couldn’t muster the force, unable to ensure success in this strategy, in their intense deadlock, Tate subconsciously entangled Li Wei, continuing to advance step by step.
Midfield line!
Forty-five yard line!
Tate didn’t have to wait long, rescue approached, rookie lineman Greenlaw sprinting to assist Tate in forming a defensive clamp.
The gale howled.
Li Wei had no time to look back, couldn’t see the situation behind, but could sense Tate’s pressure, closing in little by little.
That feeling, like a noose tightening slowly around the neck, left him little time for escape.
What to do?
Steps chaotic, balance swaying, breath halted, Li Wei had neither time nor space to adjust, the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive group attacking wave after wave.
In the flicker of an instant, no time to hesitate, Li Wei glanced at Tate, realizing that if Tate hadn’t rushed to tackle him immediately, reinforcements would arrive soon, and he couldn’t wait any longer.
A sudden stop!
Li Wei halted, suddenly ceasing his run, hitting the pause button on the highly active world —
But, it was only for him alone.