Chapter Three: A Goal Made by Seven

In the sixty-eighth minute, Zhao went down with cramp. While he received treatment, Qingzhou scored from a corner. Three-one. Twenty-two minutes remained. Shen looked at Gu. “Six minutes. When?” “The eighty-fifth.” “It may be four-one by then.” “Then don't let them score a fourth.” He calmly returned the hardest task to the team. Cape City survived until the eighty-fifth. Gu entered, and the golden Echo ignited. The entire stadium chanted “washed up.” With his first touch, thirty meters from goal, Gu swung his foot. The ball did not fly toward the net. It cleared the defense and landed precisely before Luo. Luo crossed, and Qiu scored. Three-two.