CHAPTER 116: [GO LIVE!] (2)

The message from GridironGuru was a shark fin cutting through the calm waters of Ethan’s pre-match focus.

The viewer count exploded, the chat window a frantic, scrolling waterfall of hype and speculation.

Thousands of people, Guru’s entire "Gurunation," had just descended upon his little, one-subscriber stream.

They weren’t here to see Apex United.

They were here to see the "minnow" that their king had pointed a finger at.

Ethan felt a surge of adrenaline so pure and so powerful it was almost overwhelming.

He looked across the tunnel at the Lincoln City players, who looked completely oblivious to the virtual drama unfolding.

He looked at his own players, their faces a mask of quiet, steely focus.

They didn’t know they were a-list celebrities in a high-stakes online drama. They just knew they had a football match to win.

The signal was given. They walked out into the roar of the home crowd at The Apex.

"WELCOME, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, to what has suddenly become the most-watched match in League One history!" a new voice boomed through the stadium, a voice that was familiar to every single one of the 6,000 people now watching Ethan’s stream. It was ’Tactics Tim’, the pundit, who had clearly been roped into an impromptu co-commentary by his famous colleague. "The ’Gaffer’s Office’ is live, and it seems the whole world is tuning in to see if Apex United can bounce back from their Burton disaster!"

The whistle blew.

And from the first second, Apex United played like a team possessed.

They played with a furious, beautiful, and utterly defiant energy.

The first twenty minutes were a blur of blue and white.

They were a whirlwind of one-touch passing, of intelligent movement, of relentless, suffocating pressure. Lincoln City, a decent mid-table side, didn’t know what hit them. They couldn’t get out of their own half.

"Don’t give ’em a second!" Kenny McLean’s voice was a constant, driving force in the midfield.

"Win it back! Go again!"

In the 14th minute, they created their first clear chance.

A beautiful, twenty-pass move ended with Emre Demir slipping a perfect through-ball to Viktor Kristensen.

The Danish striker, one-on-one with the keeper, tried a clever, dinked finish, but the Lincoln keeper made a brilliant, sprawling save with his legs.

The chat window was a frantic scroll.

GuruNation_Fan1: Ooooh, close one! Kid looks decent.

TactiTim_Official: A classic ’low-driven shot’ would have been the higher percentage option there. The chip was unnecessarily flashy.

Maya: Unlucky, Vik! Keep making the runs!

Ethan just smiled. The pressure was immense, but it was also... fun. He was in his element.

The breakthrough came in the 22nd minute, and it was a goal of pure, unadulterated Apex United chaos.

The ball was with James McCarthy, the S-Rank defender, who, after his calamitous own goal, was playing with the quiet, focused intensity of a man on a mission of redemption.

He strode out of defense with the ball and, seeing no obvious pass, he just kept going. He bundled his way past one midfielder, then another, a rampaging, out-of-control center-back on a mission.

He was finally brought down, a clumsy, desperate foul thirty-five yards from goal.

The players gathered.

The whole stadium, and the 6,000 people watching online, expected Emre Demir to step up.

But as the Lincoln wall was being organized, Emre and Kenny McLean stood over the ball, having a quiet, intense conversation.

Then, in a move of pure, playground genius, McLean just tapped the ball a few inches to the side. And Emre, with the entire defense expecting a shot, just ran past it.

The wall was confused. The keeper was frozen.

And arriving like a freight train, having made a completely untracked run from his defensive midfield position, was Jacob

He met the rolling ball with a thunderous, first-time shot that flew like a tracer bullet into the bottom corner of the net.

1-0 to Apex!

"A TRAINING GROUND ROUTINE! A STROKE OF PURE, UNEXPECTED GENIUS!" Tactics Tim screamed, his professional, analytical calm completely gone. "No one saw that coming! A brilliant, clever free-kick, and the defensive midfielder Sørensen has smashed it home! The Gaffer’s Office is officially in business!"

The chat exploded.

LeoTheHunter: GET IN! WHAT A GOAL! I taught him that! (I did not teach him that).

GridironGuru: A decent set-piece. Lucky deflection. My boys would have saved it.

Ethan was just laughing, a pure, joyous sound.

The rest of the half was a masterclass. Apex, their confidence soaring, were untouchable.

But as the game ticked towards halftime, a moment of brilliance from the opposition reminded them that they were in a fight.

A Lincoln midfielder, their best player, picked up the ball.

He jinked past two challenges and, from forty yards out, unleashed a blistering, swerving long shot that was destined for the top corner.

It was a moment of individual magic. But Angus Gunn, who had been a spectator, moved with incredible speed, flying through the air to tip the ball over the bar. It was a world-class save.

The first half ended 1-0.

The second half began, and Apex continued to dominate.

In the 65th minute, Emre Demir, who had been a quiet, controlling presence, decided to take center stage.

He received the ball in the center circle, did a perfect ’Zidane turn’ to leave his marker for dead, and then just glided forward. He drifted past one player, then another, a ghost in a sea of red and white. He was now on the edge of the box. He looked up, feinted to shoot, sending a defender sliding past him, and then, with a touch as delicate as a feather, he chipped the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper.

2-0.

It was a goal of such breathtaking, arrogant, and sublime quality that the entire stadium, home and away fans alike, rose to their feet to applaud.

"OH! MY! WORD!" Tactics Tim’s voice was a hoarse, ecstatic shriek. "STOP IT! JUST STOP IT RIGHT NOW! EMRE DEMIR IS NOT A HUMAN BEING! HE IS A FOOTBALLING ALIEN SENT FROM ANOTHER GALAXY TO MAKE US ALL WEEP WITH JOY! That is one of the greatest solo goals you will ever, ever see!"

The chat window simply broke.

It was a waterfall of fire emojis, goat emojis, and a thousand different languages all saying the same thing: genius.

Ethan just stood there, a slow, proud smile on his face.

He glanced at the viewer count.

It was now over 6,000.

He looked at his team, his brilliant, beautiful, chaotic team, playing the football of their lives on the biggest stage they had ever known.

He looked at the chat, at the thousands of people from around the world who were now watching, who were now a part of his story.

But then, his eyes fell on a single, simple message in the middle of the chaotic scroll.

A message that made his blood run cold and the joy of the moment vanish in a puff of smoke.

It was from the same unknown number that had messaged him before.

They’re watching. Not just Guru. Everyone.

A second message came through a moment later, a chilling, cryptic warning that changed everything.