---
"Rusty, make sure to give that clueless kid a good lesson!"
"Rusty, I've bet a week's worth of meals on you winning, so don't mess this up for me!"
"Rusty, this is your chance to get your revenge!"
The school team members on the side were cheering and jokingly encouraging Rusty.
Rusty proudly said, "Don't worry, I absolutely won't lose! As long as I win against this kid today, I'll confess to Susan, Sophie's best friend, after school, and it'll definitely be a success! Hahaha!"
Gunnard couldn't help but laugh to himself: What kind of elementary school logic is this? What does winning a one-on-one match have to do with confessing to Susan? Is this some kind of superstition?
Rusty shouted with rough breath, "Hey, kid, are you ready? Let me know when you are, so you can't say I didn't give you time to prepare!"
Gunnard stretched his ankle, took a deep breath of the natural grass, and said, "I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
"Alright! Here I go! Feel the crushing power of a human tank!"
With a roar, Rusty started running with the ball from the center circle.
To be honest, his start was slow, and his speed wasn't that fast, but with his 1.88-meter height and 93-kilogram weight, he was indeed quite intimidating when he ran.
With his experience in street soccer, Gunnard could easily predict Rusty's advancing route.
Rusty made no effort to conceal or change his direction; he just pushed straight through the middle.
This was pure body collision, with no regard for technique.
This kind of rough playing style is also one of the characteristics of British football.
Initially, British football and rugby were essentially the same, sharing the same set of rules.
It wasn't until the Freemasons' Tavern meeting in 1863 that football and rugby were formally distinguished from each other.
However, the playing style of British amateur football teams still has that rugged, rugby-like aggression ingrained in its bones.
Facing Rusty's direct charge, Gunnard didn't back down at all and confronted him head-on!
This was exactly the kind of clash Coach Carter wanted to see.
If you want to play football in the UK, it's hard to get noticed if you can't adapt to this rough culture.
Seeing Gunnard charge straight at him, Rusty was overjoyed. He then turned slightly to shield the ball while using his strong shoulder to collide with Gunnard.
This move might seem simple, but it's actually very practical.
If Gunnard chose to dodge, Rusty would immediately break away and dribble in the opposite direction.
And if Gunnard didn't dodge, then... Hahaha!
In Rusty's mind, there was no way Gunnard, with his seemingly thin and weak frame, would dare to collide with him.
Not only did Rusty think this way, but so did the other players, and even Coach Carter, who was sitting on the bench with pursed lips.
But then something happened that shocked everyone—
Gunnard didn't hesitate at all, nor did he slow down or change direction; he sped up and collided directly with Rusty!
"Is he looking to die?!"
Rusty yelled fiercely, transforming his thick arm into an elbow strike!
In an official match, this would be a definite foul!
But in this test environment, no one would care!
Just as Rusty threw his elbow, Gunnard first locked his position with one foot, slightly lowered his center of gravity to avoid Rusty's elbow, and at the same time, used his shoulder to hit Rusty's exposed side ribs!
Bang!
The two collided heavily and then bounced off each other!
Rusty, completely unprepared, was knocked five steps back by Gunnard.
Gunnard was also knocked three steps back by the impact from Rusty!
This guy... is really damn strong!
Gunnard marveled inwardly.
Gunnard's collision just now was boosted not only by his "Reasonable Collision +1" skill but also by the 60 points of Strength, the inertia of his high-speed start, and his experience in street soccer from his previous life!
Moreover, in terms of the contact points, Rusty suffered more than Gunnard.
---
More importantly, Rusty only used about 70-80% of his strength in the collision because he completely underestimated Gunnard.
But Gunnard went all out!
Even with his full strength, he only managed to push Rusty back two steps!
The level of youth football training in England is truly impressive.
However... this kind of head-to-head confrontation is truly exhilarating!
Gunnard felt as if all the blood in his body was on fire!
While Rusty was still stunned, Gunnard quickly regained his balance, caught up with the ball that was still rolling towards the penalty area, and kicked it back to midfield with a powerful shot.
He won!
Gunnard let out a long, satisfying sigh of relief!
The long-awaited dopamine rush was back!
The school team players at the scene all exclaimed in disbelief.
Who would have thought that this one-on-one duel would end like this?
Everyone thought that kid would use close-marking techniques to stick to Rusty, forcing him to slow down, and then seize the opportunity to steal the ball or tackle when Rusty made a mistake while dribbling. However, kid didn't use close-marking at all, nor did he use any conventional tackling techniques. Instead, he directly engaged in a physical confrontation with Rusty!
This was simply... humiliating!
Rusty was a 1.88-meter tall, 93-kilogram human tank!
And that kid?
He looked to be about 1.8 meters tall and weighed no more than 75 kilograms!
In a head-to-head confrontation, Rusty, with his physique, was actually overpowered?
What the hell was going on?
The school team players started cursing:
"F*ck! Rusty, what the hell are you doing?"
"Damn it, I knew I couldn't trust you! You always choke at critical moments! You're just a rusty spring!"
"Rusty, are you acting? Just to cost me a week's worth of food, right?"
"Rusty, don't even bother confessing to Susanna! You'll never succeed!"
"Rusty, if you love acting so much, why are you still playing football? Why not go act in adult films?"
"F*ck! Shut the f*ck up!" Rusty rubbed his ribs and shouted with a red face, "That doesn't count! I still have a chance with Susanna!"
"Ding~"
"Detected 58 points of negative emotions from Chris Dick, system bubble generating..."
A white ordinary bubble formed at Rusty's feet.
Gunnard's eyebrows twitched: Here it comes!
Gunnard walked up to Rusty, touched the white bubble with his toe, and said seriously, "Rusty, thank you. So this is what real football is."
"F*ck..." Rusty was so angry that his nose was almost crooked!
The white bubble burst into a dazzling light and merged into Gunnard's body as he touched it.
"Ding~"
"The host has obtained the following achievement from the ordinary bubble: Stamina Training +10 hours, today's progress 4/10."
Gunnard instantly felt a sense of relief throughout his body. The stamina he had consumed during the intense collision was also slightly recovered due to the increase in training achievements.
These were all the fruits of Rusty's hard work and sweat!
It was only right to thank him.
Gunnard chuckled inwardly.
Rusty said angrily, "That didn't count! kid, don't get too cocky! I was careless just now! I didn't even use my full strength! Coach! I request another chance! If I lose again, I'll do two hundred... no, three hundred frog jumps!"
Rusty was raising the stakes for himself!
...
end