This was a mind game—
Farrell was calculating Li Wei’s move; Li Wei was also calculating Farrell’s.
In the blink of an eye, both players had shifted their centers of gravity several times and swayed, fake moves clashing against fake moves, each trying to dodge and capture the other. In an instant, they had exchanged the roles of aggressor and defender multiple times, the distance between them still closing, the air still heating up.
As the defensive player, Farrell had to strike first, to reverse his passive position and seize the initiative. A push off the ground, and his strong, hefty body was already thrown into motion.
In that fleeting moment, Li Wei’s figure flickered and stopped, braking abruptly without warning, completely controlling his body, hitting the pause button.
Farrell’s grasp misfired by just a fraction, brushing past Li Wei’s front, his target almost within reach yet blurring into an indistinct shadow as it brushed past.
Farrell was startled, his heart contracting sharply, no time for surprise, no time for panic. Just before his body’s center of gravity completely toppled, he forcibly shifted, sidestepping slightly to his right, a Thousand Pounds Drop descending toward the spot where Li Wei had braked, his excellent physical talent fully displaying in this secondary reaction, trying to cut off Li Wei’s path.
After all, whether Li Wei could shake off the tackle, or whether Farrell’s panicked secondary reaction could effectively capture him, Farrell, like a mountain of flesh, blocked the way forward, physically stopping any progress.
Farrell clenched his teeth, all his strength and speed focused in his body, fiercely pressing down.
Leaning forward, compressing, dominating.
Seeing Farrell physically intercept and successfully cut off the offense, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a sparkle in the helmet opposite him; he couldn’t tell if it was the eyes, a smile, or just a reflection, but with just a fleeting glance, he caught a hint of calmness, a grasp of control over the entire situation.
The next second, Farrell felt darkness flash before his eyes as a figure charged head-on at him.
Not dodging, not evading, but instead moving forward to meet it—
Head-on breakthrough.
Subconsciously, Farrell’s entire body tensed up, O’Daniel’s recent experience having prepared him mentally; he was not only fearless, but also burst with power.
Perfect, let them clash head-on to see who is superior, let him fully taste what it feels like to have 275 pounds (120 kilograms) bearing down on him, that reed-like running back had better be careful, or he might just break.
A sly smirk spread across Farrell’s lips.
Just as they were about to make contact, Farrell noticed a slight misalignment between their bodies, a subtle shift, their centers of gravity crossing paths.
Wait, why could number twenty-three still regain control of his body to create this misalignment at this moment, and what was the purpose of creating it?
His thoughts had hardly begun to form.
Farell already felt a fierce impact rushing towards his right shoulder.
An overwhelming force, a terrifying surge, all focused on the shoulder and released.
The solid collision of force against force, no fancy tricks, just a straightforward face-to-face confrontation, the power rising from below like a Meteor Fist fully charging towards Farrell’s shoulder.
Farell felt his shoulder was almost about to shatter, for the first time he felt his body was so fragile.
Boom, with a fierce impact.
An overwhelming force utterly disrupted Farrell’s balance as his 265-pound body, lacking agility, was completely exposed. He was unable to adjust, like a boxing bag, facing all the impacts head-on, and the fierce force started spinning Farrell around.
Allen: "I’ve seen this episode!"
Incredibly, the clumsy 265-pound body began to dance around gracefully, an unseen force twisting his awkward limbs clockwise, even more magical than magic, stunning every fan in the stadium.
On the field, Farrell spun slowly and clumsily like a fat swan dreaming of ballet; the whole world turned upside down. His center of gravity was thrown into a spin dryer, completely out of control. He had only turned ninety degrees and was already facing upwards, lacking the momentum to continue spinning.
Ferrell was in an awkward position neither here nor there, his balance completely overturned, totally losing control of his body, then felt gravity pulling him, his arms flailing in an attempt to grasp something, but in vain, sprawling out as he flipped over.
Ferrell’s peripheral vision just managed to catch a fleeting figure gracefully sweeping past him, then disappearing.
The world was collapsing—
Ferrell couldn’t figure it out.
Using the shoulder collision as the center, Li Wei also felt the oppression of weight and force with his whole body, the heavy impact pressing on his left shoulder. He didn’t simply endure it but let his shoulder sink with the force of the impact and then spun clockwise, successfully dissipating the remaining force.
Waiting for the 360-degree turn to complete, Li Wei didn’t pause. According to his own plan, he unconsciously pulled his body to the upper right side, continuing his breakthrough.
Only then did he have time to survey his surroundings. As expected, the defensive group’s main forces surged to the other side of the field, leaving the right half completely open.
The cornerback and safety were still on this side, not fully pulled away; but the previously dense crowd tactic had scattered, leaving an open path ahead.
All as Li Wei had just observed and judged, also approved by Burns, the Tigers’ defense piled heavily in the middle, both in numbers and in strength, creating immense pressure on the offensive line’s pocket and ground cover; but comparatively, the flanks were weaker.
As the cornerback and safety had to focus on the wide receiver, if Li Wei could use his speed to shake off the first tackle from the defensive line and divert the lineman’s attention, the gateway on the side would open up.
This was the situation now.
It was Number 99’s collision that, although Li Wei managed to escape the grasp, still delayed him slightly, and the defensive group was already reacting.
The passage, opening up in front of him, created an opportunity through the misalignment of offense and defense; but visibly, this corridor was now noisily closing again.
Opportunity knocks but once.
Making a snap decision, before continuing forward, his calves burst with strength, launching him in a sprinter’s starting stance and he dashed forward instantly.
Amidst the wobbling, Li Wei’s ground pushing power was solid and steady, and within just two or three steps, he had grabbed his center of gravity, quickly picking up speed.
The Tigers’ cornerback was closing in, about to complete a head-on interception, when just then, a figure emerged on the right side, directly crashing into the cornerback—
The wide receiver, number one from the Crimson Tide Storm, Foster, made a return after initially running ten yards out, coming back to block.
The passage had not yet managed to close, and the obstruction was already cleared, once again opening up the field of view ahead.