Lin Xian looked around and spotted a middle-aged man playing football with his child.
The man was dressed in football shoes and a jersey, indicating he was a fan. Lin Xian decided to take a chance.
"Hi there," Lin Xian approached and greeted warmly. "Excuse me, sir, do you happen to know a lot about football events? Especially tournaments like the World Cup?"
The man grinned and pointed to his jersey. "Well, you've come to the right person! I've been following football since I was a kid, and I haven't missed a single match of any World Cup since I can remember!"
"Ask away, young brother. Whatever you want to know about players, matches, or gossip stories, I can tell you!"
Reliable.
Lin Xian nodded and asked, "Thank you, sir. Do you happen to know who won the 2022 Qatar World Cup? Was it Argentina?"
The middle-aged man instantly froze, giving Lin Xian an unfriendly glare. "Are you trying to pick a fight, young man? How could I possibly know something from hundreds of years ago? You can't even find such distant information online!"
"Hey, calm down," Lin Xian tried to pacify politely. "I'm actually writing a paper on this topic, so I need to understand some of the matches from that time. If I wanted to find relevant records, where should I go?"
The middle-aged man shook his head. "That stuff is hard to find, especially matches from over 600 years ago. If you really want to find it, try the library."
With that, the middle-aged man left with his child.
The library...
Lin Xian looked up at the moon in the sky. At this hour, the library would definitely be closed. But maybe he could try his luck at a bookstore?
Since the dream was set in the year 2624, finding the result of a football match from 600 years ago would likely require searching through history books.
"A bookstore..."
Lin Xian closed his eyes, recalling.
He had explored most places in this city over the past twenty years. He naturally knew where the bookstores were, and he even knew the locations of many bookstores that stayed open all night.
But at this time, most bookstores would have closed already. If he wanted to find what he was looking for, he would have to find a convenience store that stayed open all night.
Scratching his head, Lin Xian thought, "There's one near Tian Street. I remember passing by it late at night before, and it was still open."
With his target confirmed, Lin Xian hurried to the bus stop—
Bang!
"Ouch!"
Running, Lin Xian collided with a chubby man.
"Watch where you're going!" the man, wearing a Rhine Cat mask on his face, glared at Lin Xian fiercely.
"Sorry," Lin Xian casually apologized.
Turning his head, Lin Xian realized it was someone he knew.
He patted the Rhine Cat's shoulder with a smile. "You should watch your back more often, you always get shot in the head."
"What!?" Rhine Cat exclaimed, panicked. He quickly turned around and reached for his waist.
But there was nothing behind him.
"Who the hell are you!"
Rhine Cat turned back, only to find Lin Xian already running away.
Rubbing his sore head, Rhine Cat's face twisted in frustration as he looked around. "Where's that damn password expert hiding? Can't find him..."
Lin Xian rarely took buses in his dreams.
When he needed to go somewhere far, he would just grab a car and play "Wild Racing".
But that usually triggered the "escape mode," and soon police cars would chase him. In the end, he'd either get caught or get shot due to causing too many accidents.
Today, he had something important to do and didn't want any trouble.
The bookstore was indeed quite far. After a long bus ride, Lin Xian finally arrived at his destination.
Entering the bookstore, Lin Xian was met with a dismissive glance from the clerk, who continued playing with his phone.
It didn't take much effort for Lin Xian to find several books on sports and football.
However, most of them were news and information, and he couldn't find any records of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. "Can't find anything..."
He searched for a long time, even flipping through history books. But trying to find a record of a football match from hundreds of years ago was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, a book on the shelf caught Lin Xian's attention—
"Fascinating Football Facts 7: History of the World Cup"
Lin Xian pulled out the book.
It was a children's book, using simple language and pictures to introduce the sport of football.
Flipping to the end, there was an appendix titled "List of World Cup Champions":
"Well, when all else fails, there's always a way."
The list of champions was in reverse order.
Lin Xian flipped to the last page and quickly found the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
There was only a short sentence— "Argentina defeated France in a penalty shootout to win the championship!"
"A penalty shootout? What does that mean?"
Lin Xian didn't understand football and didn't know what the sentence meant, but the fact remained that Argentina won the championship:
"Since Argentina ultimately won the championship... then, without a doubt, they must have also won against Croatia in the semifinals."
Closing the book, Lin Xian put the children's book back on the shelf.
He looked up at the clock on the wall, which showed 00:42 exactly.
Boom!!!!
A familiar white light arrived on time, consuming everything in its path.
...
...
Buzz...
Lin Xian opened his eyes.
Outside the bedroom door, he could hear the faint sound of the television and see the flickering light from under the door crack. It seemed Gao Yang was still watching TV in the living room.
Lin Xian rubbed his eyes, sat up on the bed, and changed into thick pajamas before pushing open the bedroom door.
"How did it go? Did you find it?" Gao Yang lifted his head from the coffee table, where there were beers, snacks, and fried chicken from takeout placed.
"It should be... Argentina winning," Lin Xian yawned.
"Don't 'should be' me! What was the score?"
"I don't know. I just know that Argentina won the final against France, and they became the champions."
"Hmm..."
Gao Yang closed his eyes, pondering for a moment. "Alright."
He stood up, put on the coat from the sofa, and said, "I'll go downstairs and buy some more lottery tickets."
"But didn't you already buy one for Argentina winning?"
"I only bought one for 100 yuan! Since you dreamed of Argentina winning, I have to buy more, right?"
"We agreed on a small bet for fun!"
"Take a chance! From a bicycle to a motorcycle!"
Gao Yang zipped up his coat and unlocked the door, walking outside.
"Hey! It's late. Where are you going to buy? Aren't the lottery shops closed?" Lin Xian called out to Gao Yang.
"The lottery shops have definitely stopped selling by now. But some bosses might print extra tickets in advance and sell them when the match starts; there are also people who specialize in this business, printing many tickets in advance and then selling them at a higher price just before the match starts."
"Don't buy too many, it's not necessarily reliable. Take it easy."
"I know, I know!"
Bang!
The door was slammed shut.
...
Not long after, Gao Yang, panting, pushed open the door with a stack of lottery tickets in his hand.
"5000 yuan! I've bet my monthly salary! If I win, I'll get a model at the club, if I lose, I'll go to the sea and work!"
Lin Xian smiled helplessly, "You've evolved too quickly from enjoying a little gamble to going all in, haven't you?"
Gao Yang sat down and turned on the TV with the remote control.
"Come on, Messi! The model is counting on you!"