There are quite a few people here who are parents of the children participating in the final championship.

The parents’ cheers for their sons rose and fell, never stopping.

Although it was lively, the noise was chaotic.

The playing on the field was chaotic too.

This was the final, and only one person would successfully make it into the reality show. With an elimination rate of twenty-three to one, it was extremely high, so everyone on the field wanted to show off as much as possible.

Matthew Reed’s performance just now was partly because of this, and he wasn’t the only one.

Except for the defenders, as long as they were attacking players, once they got the ball, it was almost impossible to get them to pass it again.

Everyone hoped to decide the outcome of the match single-handedly, just like a world-class superstar.

Although they were nominally a team, there was absolutely no cooperation to speak of.

The attacking players desperately showed off their individual skills, and the defenders weren’t just relegated to supporting roles either—they had their own ways to show their abilities.

That was through fierce defense!

The match wasn’t exactly exciting, but it was intense, with both sides playing very hard.

The head referee had to blow the whistle frequently, pausing the game to protect the players, which made the match fragmented and not enjoyable to watch at all.

If it weren’t for the fact that many people in the stands were parents of the young contestants, and were just here to watch the game, most of them probably would have left by now...

...

Just twenty minutes into the match, something unexpected happened on the field.

A midfielder from the red team, while turning to chase a blue team attacker, slipped, lost his balance, and fell to the ground—and... sprained his ankle!

The doctor from the medical support team came to check, then made the substitution gesture.

“Substitution?”

Many people were stunned when they saw this gesture, as if they weren’t prepared for a substitution at all.

Some even had the first thought: Do we even have substitutes?

Many people looked toward the bench and saw the figure who had almost been forgotten.

He was resting his hands on his thighs, supporting his chin, staring intently at the field, completely motionless.

...

After seeing the team doctor make the substitution gesture, John Carter suddenly stood up from his seat. He knew what this meant—it meant his son had a chance!

At the same time, not far from him, a pair of parents let out a long sigh of regret. Clearly, they were the parents of the injured child.

Sorry...

John Carter silently apologized to them in his heart.

It would be hard for anyone to accept if this happened to them, but after all, this gave his son an opportunity...

...

The match was getting a bit dull, but as a judge who couldn’t just leave, Eric Grant was also jolted awake by this sudden turn of events. He turned his gaze to the boy sitting on the bench.

If he remembered correctly, that was David Carter, who had the lowest score among the twenty-three contestants, because the other twenty-two had all received some degree of professional training in various football club youth teams.

Only David Carter had never even attended a sports school, let alone a professional football club’s youth team—he probably didn’t even know which way the door opened. He had only received brief training in a summer football interest class at the youth center, and according to his registration form, he was currently the main striker for his school team.

For someone like that to make it to the final was really not easy.

And because he was weaker, he became the only substitute.

Now, it looked like this weakest kid was about to get a chance to play.

But Eric Grant didn’t have any expectations for his performance.

Just as he had always believed, a child who had never received professional football training couldn’t possibly perform better than the other twenty-two on the field.

...

After receiving the message from the team doctor, Mr. Cooper also turned to look at the bench.

“David Carter, get ready to go on!”

He shouted toward the bench.

No one responded.

David Carter maintained a pose similar to Commander Ikari from EVA, unmoving.

John Carter watched his son’s back from the stands. Whether there was an injury on the field or the coach was calling him, he didn’t respond at all.

As his father, John Carter suddenly had a bad feeling...

...

Mr. Cooper didn’t get a response. He thought maybe he was standing too far away, and with all the noise, David Carter hadn’t heard him. So he simply walked over to call him.

But when he got in front of David Carter, he realized something was off...

Because David Carter, with his chin resting on his hands... had his eyes closed!

“David Carter?” The team leader tried calling him.

No response—not even an eyelid twitch.

“David Carter!” The team leader raised his voice.

But the person in front of him was as still as a mountain, sitting firmly on the sun-baked bench, completely unresponsive.

Now Mr. Cooper could be sure, even though it was hard to believe...

That was, this kid had actually fallen asleep on the bench during such a crucial and important final!