Football: He suffered a broken leg at the start of the game, but partnered with Haaland!

As I walked out of the hospital with my health check report in hand, the afternoon sun was dazzling.

Diana glanced at her watch; the timing was perfect. The black Range Rover roared to life, turned around, and headed straight for the Thames.

At 2 p.m., the Thames River was sparkling.

Big Ben and the London Eye stand facing each other across the river, one classical and one modern, like guardians of time, silently standing on the banks of the ages.

A luxurious double-decker cruise ship painted in Puma's black and yellow color scheme is moored in its designated berth. The side of the hull is painted with a huge, wild "Monkey King" logo, exuding a mysterious oriental tension.

Security barriers were set up along the dock. The thirty invited core media outlets and dozens of hockey fans were already eagerly waiting on the deck, their cameras and microphones lined up in a row.

The car came to a stop, and Sun Yang quickly changed into the all-black fitted jacket that Puma had prepared in advance, with a flamboyant Monkey King pattern outlined in dark gold thread on the chest, and put on the latest custom-made sneakers. Diana led the way in high heels, while Catherine carefully stepped forward to straighten his slightly rolled-up collar.

As soon as he boarded the specially made gangway of the cruise ship, Sun Yang's eyes were fixed on the person on the deck covered with artificial turf.

Kevin De Bruyne.

This undisputed top assist provider in the Premier League is currently leaning lazily against the railing. He's wearing his signature Manchester City sky-blue casual jacket, his slightly wavy blond hair is tousled by the river breeze, and his fair face has the rosy glow typical of Europeans.

He ignored the cameras and microphones around him, casually flicking a brand-new Puma soccer ball back and forth between the insides of his feet. The ball seemed glued to the soles of his shoes.

Hearing footsteps, De Bruyne stopped what he was doing and slowly raised his head.

Those slightly deep-set eyes held no fake smiles of business dealings; instead, they were like a sophisticated scanning radar, scrutinizing Sun Yang from head to toe.

"I've watched your Champions League knockout match footage," De Bruyne said first, his straightforward Belgian English devoid of any politeness. "That 30-meter curve from the right flank, the lead was absolutely brilliant. It was perfectly timed to coincide with Haaland's most comfortable sprint point, and that monster didn't even need to slow down for half a second before taking off."

Sun Yang stopped two meters away from him.

Dealing with such a pure football fanatic is a waste of time when it comes to polite formalities.

"With Haaland's physique, sudden braking and then accelerating again would slow down the rhythm too much. Feeding him the ball along his pace is the easiest way." Sun Yang looked straight ahead and calmly retorted, "But when it comes to surgical through balls, the Premier League still belongs to you. That low shot against Chelsea last season completely shredded Kante's defensive radar."

Upon hearing the name "Kanté," De Bruyne's eyebrows involuntarily rose slightly.

In today's football world, you can count on one hand the number of players who can hide passing lanes outside Kanté's incredible interception network. This is the kind of mutual respect that only top midfielders understand, and it's the highest level of mutual admiration.

"I heard that Terzic has now handed over Dortmund's core to you?" De Bruyne flicked his toe down sharply, smoothly sending the ball soaring straight into the air.

Without even extending his hand, he casually lifted the instep of his right foot and smoothly deflected the ball. The ball seemed to have hit a ball of cotton, obediently coming to rest on the artificial turf.

"Twenty years old, an absolute core player for a Bundesliga powerhouse, not bad luck." De Bruyne stared at the ball at his feet, but his peripheral vision sharply locked onto Sun Yang. "Today, these 'Great Sage' boots are all about touch. The media are all saying your vision is like having a full-map cheat. To be honest, I don't believe anyone can actually pick the ball out of a crowd with their eyes closed."

The words had barely left his mouth!

There was no preparatory arm swing, not even a hint of shifting body weight!

De Bruyne's right ankle subtly jerked inward in a strange way.

"Bang!"

The ball, having absorbed all its strength, spun wildly inwards and suddenly accelerated along the artificial turf of the deck, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, heading straight for the gap between Sun Yang's legs!

The first move is a nutmeg test, the ultimate test of on-the-spot reaction! This kind of ground ball attack without any leg swing or pre-swing is so powerful that an average professional player wouldn't even have time to think of retracting their leg before the ball has already slipped through and been humiliated.

But Sun Yang didn't even lower his head.

Last night in the system's virtual tactics room, the muscle memory I developed from training with veteran players like Ibrahimovic and Kanté was working faster than my brain at this moment.

Instead of retreating even a step to defend, his right foot, seemingly effortlessly, lifted upwards, following the momentum of the ball's charge. He pressed his ankle down on the ball, using the momentum to his advantage with a light tap.

"Snapped!"

A crisp and pleasant sound of the ball being struck.

The ball, which had been hurtling towards him like a cannonball, struck the inside of Sun Yang's foot. The frenzied internal spin, combined with a slight twitch at his ankle, caused the ball to bounce obediently into the air.

This is Bergkamp's proudest skill. He uses minimal force to achieve maximum effect, transforming brute strength into a delicate touch on the pitch!

De Bruyne, who was about to take a step forward, suddenly froze in place, a look of astonishment flashing in his eyes.

But that's not all.

Sun Yang had no intention of letting the ball hit the ground. Just as the ball bounced to waist height, he smoothly pushed it up with his thigh. The ball flew vertically towards his head, and Sun Yang executed a Chinese martial arts move, tilting his forehead back to meet the falling ball, which stopped perfectly on his forehead.

The transitions between the three points of contact with the ball were so seamless that even slow-motion replays couldn't find a single flaw.

Then, Sun Yang's peripheral vision locked onto a small white promotional goal set up ten meters away at the end of the deck, and he straightened up.

As soon as the ball left his forehead and began to fall, Sun Yang swung his right foot in mid-air and unleashed a powerful volley without hesitation!

"Bang!"

A thunderous thud echoed across the Thames! The ball struck precisely and accurately against the center of the white goalpost. Using the terrifying rebound force, the ball flew back towards Sun Yang's face.

"Are you serious?" De Bruyne gasped.

The ball flew back rapidly, and Sun Yang straightened his chest, controlling the ball as steadily as a mountain. Just as the ball was about to fall, he met it with his right foot, suddenly exerting force from his waist and abdomen, and unleashed another powerful and heavy smash.

"Bang!"

The exact same landing point, the exact same explosion sound!

But this shot was even more powerful, and the ball bounced so high that it exceeded the observation railing on the second floor of the cruise ship.

The legendary "ultimate crossbeam challenge" that shocked the world, played by football legend Ronaldinho, was brought to life on this cruise ship on the Thames!

The thirty journalists from key media outlets holding cameras on the perimeter were practically speechless, their hands frozen in mid-air, forgetting even to press the shutter button. Dozens of die-hard fans outside the railing stared wide-eyed, their eyes bloodshot, at the football soaring into the sky.

Just then, the Thames was at high tide, and a sudden gust of wind swept across the river.

As the ball fell, a strong gust of wind caused it to drift erratically, its landing point deviating significantly from Sun Yang's original position, and it looked like it was about to land in a blind spot on the deck behind him.

If it were anyone else, this cool combo would have been a complete disaster by now.

But Sun Yang didn't even turn his head. He took a deep breath, his core abdominal muscles tensing up in half a second, his feet making rapid, high-frequency adjustments. Just as the ball reached diagonally above his head, Sun Yang bent his knees and leaped into the air like a spring rising from the ground!

While in mid-air, his body arched backward at an inhumanly exaggerated angle! His thighs and upper body were almost folded into a terrifying bow shape, a berserk mechanism that had been completely ingrained in his bones after incorporating Ibrahimovic's flexible shooting technique!

With a sharp whooshing sound, he swung his right foot, meeting the falling, bouncy ball mid-air, and cleaved it down like a giant axe!

A folded version of a celestial being descending from the sky!

"Bang!"

He exerted his full strength and thoroughly mastered the technique! It was like a muffled clap of thunder exploding from the ground in spring.

The ball transformed into a white cannonball hurtling forward at incredible speed, leaving no afterimage as it crashed into the white goal net ten meters away. The violent impact sent the display goal, which lacked a base for support, sliding backward more than half a meter across the artificial turf, stretching the net to its limit!

Sun Yang landed steadily on both feet, without even losing his breath.

He brushed off non-existent dust from his palms, glanced up at De Bruyne, who was staring in disbelief three meters away, and a smirk appeared on his lips:

"You know what, the upper of these new shoes is really sturdy, the fit is amazing."

There was a two-second silence. The wind on the Thames seemed to pick up, making the flags on the cruise ships flutter loudly.

Followed by.

"Click click click click click click!"

Reporters' cameras and microphones unleashed a deafening barrage of shutter clicks! Hundreds upon hundreds of blinding flashes instantly illuminated the deck as if it were daytime.

The fans in the fan section erupted in a roar that seemed to want to rip the roof off the cruise ship!

"Holy crap! Jesus above, is that something a human could do?!"

"Perfect ball control, hitting the crossbar twice, plus that incredible volley with a twist?! What kind of monster is this?!"