“Luck, luck!” David Foster hurriedly pretended to be modest and shook his head, but the expression on his face became even more smug.

Brian Carter was almost laughing himself to tears at this point. This David Foster really is thick-skinned—he can’t even score a goal, yet he claims he can do a banana kick. Fine, I’ll let you banana kick every time, let your whole family banana kick...

Chapter 12 Simulation

“I shoot!”

“I shoot!”

“I shoot again!”

Banana! Banana! Banana again!

After playing for a while longer, David Foster took a few more shots at the goal, and every single one was a bizarre banana kick. Even if David Foster really was kicking banana shots, it shouldn’t be so ridiculous that not a single one goes in. Besides, a real banana kick curves from the outside in, and the school’s goal is a standard design—7.32 meters wide and 2.44 meters high, such a big goal, yet David Foster’s shots always curve from the inside out.

Such eye-catching shots made everyone lose interest in continuing the match. They all gathered around to watch David Foster shoot. Henry Scott, the PE monitor, looked especially surprised and asked, “David Foster, how did you practice your banana kick? Why do they always fly outside the goal?”

David Foster gave an awkward smile and said, “I just found a bit of a trick, you know. You think banana kicks are easy to master? Even Beckham practiced for years to get it right. I’ve only just started to get the hang of it. If I want to really master it, it’ll take some time.”

He was feeling pretty frustrated inside. He wanted to say he was doing banana kicks, but the power and direction of his shots were no different from usual. So why did every shot turn into a banana kick? He couldn’t even manage a normal shot.

Henry Scott grinned and said, “Then keep practicing. We’ll all learn how to do banana kicks from you. No one in our school can do a banana kick. If you get good at it, maybe you’ll make it to the Chinese Super League someday. Then we can brag that we played soccer with you and bask in your glory.”

“Forget it, I’m done for today. I’m not feeling well.” David Foster waved his hand, then pretended to frown, and quickly walked toward the teaching building.

Brian Carter was in a great mood now. David Foster was always so arrogant, but today, with just a little trick, he’d managed to make him so frustrated.

As soon as David Foster left, the other team was short one player, so Brian Carter used it as an excuse to quit and slipped off to the small garden next to the school.

Although he’d just tossed all of David Foster’s balls away, he realized this method wasn’t a long-term solution. If someone with a sharp eye noticed something was off, it would look really strange. As for the magical storage ring, Brian Carter definitely didn’t want anyone to discover its amazing function. That would only bring trouble.

But Brian Carter was quick-witted. He thought that if he could simulate the soccer ball’s trajectory and speed, and control it as he wished, then no one would notice anything. Of course, it was easier said than done, so he didn’t try it right away, but came here to practice alone.

He found a small pebble about the size of a fingertip and placed it a meter away from himself. Then, using the storage ring’s function, he first put the pebble away, then took it out again, but this time placed it a little bit farther forward. This tiny movement was hard to spot with the naked eye, but Brian Carter knew exactly what he was doing.

Then he put it away and took it out again, each time moving the pebble a little farther forward.

Just like that, Brian Carter’s thoughts of storing and retrieving became faster and faster. If anyone saw the pebble at this moment, they’d be shocked, because it looked as if the pebble had grown legs and was slowly moving toward Brian Carter.

Actually, the principle behind Brian Carter’s method was simple: he was using the phenomenon of visual persistence. It’s like playing a movie—scientific experiments have shown that after an image disappears, the human eye retains it on the retina for about 0.1 to 0.4 seconds. Movie film runs at 24 frames per second, and a series of static images creates a continuous visual impression due to visual persistence, producing a realistic sense of motion.

Brian Carter was clearly not very skilled at this yet. Each time he moved the pebble, it took about half a second, so the naked eye could still see the pebble suddenly disappear and reappear. Also, the distance he moved the pebble each time wasn’t very even, so the pebble’s movement looked a bit awkward.

These were all shortcomings, but Brian Carter believed that as long as he kept practicing, he’d get better and eventually master this ability.

Brian Carter was quite excited at this point. His method really worked. If he could truly master it, it would have plenty of practical uses. Most importantly, he’d always worried that someone would discover the power of his storage ring, but with this method, he could cover it up completely and no one would notice any tricks. Everything he did in the future would be much more convenient.