Ronaldo's Rush

"Are you sure?" Old Bing asked mechanically.

Yang Yang nodded firmly. "Yes, I'm sure."

Old Bing said nothing more. The star player silhouettes that had stood around the pitch suddenly dimmed, as if all light converged onto Ronaldo, making the superstar in his red-and-blue jersey blaze brilliantly, until he was almost blinding.

Ronaldo's Rush!

This was a decision Yang Yang had made after careful deliberation.

Speed was his greatest asset right now. His hundred-meter time was roughly around eleven seconds, and with more professional training, breaking into the ten-second range wasn't out of reach. So he focused on how to maximize that advantage.

But anyone who's played football knows that under three conditions, a player's technique deteriorates badly.

One is under heavy pressure, another is when stamina is severely depleted, and the last is during a high-speed sprint.

Yang Yang chose Ronaldo's Rush not only because Ronaldo's high-speed dribbling, sudden changes of pace and direction, and ability to beat defenders all matched Yang Yang's current strengths, but also because Ronaldo's technique never broke down at full speed—critical for any speed-based player.

Besides Ronaldo's Rush, there was another Star Skill that suited Yang Yang: Henry's Left Cut.

As the name suggests, it was Arsenal superstar Henry's trademark scoring move—picking up the ball on the left flank, using his speed to cut inside, and finishing. But compared to Ronaldo's Rush, Henry's Left Cut was limited by pitch position.

As for Van Basten's Shot, while very practical, it wasn't Yang Yang's first choice for now. After all, he wasn't the team's striker; he'd be lucky to get a shot off, let alone near the goal.

Weighing everything, Yang Yang felt Ronaldo's Rush suited him best.

As all the surrounding player silhouettes melted into darkness, Ronaldo's figure grew blindingly bright, then seemed to explode into a beam of light that shot straight into the center of Yang Yang's forehead.

With a thought, every movement from Ronaldo's star silhouette—every high-speed rush he'd demonstrated—flashed vividly into Yang Yang's mind. Down to the smallest detail, even the muscle tension in each motion, it was all crystal clear.

In that instant, he understood.

When Yang Yang opened his eyes again, a defender stood before him, and a black-and-white ball rested at his feet. Clearly, tonight's special training session had begun.

"Given the limited time, I suggest you focus on practicing one move for now: the Pendulum Dribble," Old Bing advised.

"The Pendulum Dribble?" Yang Yang was surprised. That was Ronaldo's signature move.

"Ronaldo's Pendulum Dribble has a wide range of motion and demands high flexibility and balance. But I've modified it slightly—added some footwork changes and deceptive feints. The effect is no less than Ronaldo's original, and more importantly, it won't cause serious damage to your knees."

Star players' signature moves aren't impossible for others to try. Take Ronaldo's Pendulum Dribble—countless players have attempted it. So why do so few use it?

Besides the demands on flexibility and balance, a major reason is the severe strain on the knees. Ronaldo himself suffered from it, battling knee injuries his whole career. Others naturally aren't eager to take that risk.

If, as Old Bing claimed, the Super Training Ground's improved Pendulum Dribble reduced reliance on physical attributes and knee strain while matching Ronaldo's original effectiveness, it would be almost unbelievable.

With that thought, Yang Yang was already itching to try.

"The defender in front of you is set to the average level of a Dutch Fourth Division League fullback. I expect the defenders you face in tomorrow's match won't exceed that."

Omnibus's parent club was currently in the fourth division, so the youth team's defenders should be even weaker.

"Can I start?"

"Whenever you're ready."

Yang Yang eyed the dummy about twenty meters ahead, replaying in his mind the scene of Ronaldo sprinting at full speed, then suddenly changing pace and direction to execute the Pendulum Dribble. He wanted to try it himself.

He nudged the ball forward, pushed off with his right foot, and chased it at top speed.

Catching up to the ball, Yang Yang closed in on the defender. But just as he began the Pendulum Dribble motion, a shadow flashed—the defender stepped in and stuck out a leg, not only stealing the ball but also knocking Yang Yang flat onto the grass. He hit the ground hard, dizzy and queasy.

It seemed this defender not only had the skill of a fourth-division player but had also picked up the dirty tricks of the trade.

Lying on the ground, Yang Yang felt awful, but more than that, he was shocked.

Throughout the whole process, he'd given it his all—maximum speed, following the Pendulum Dribble motion in his mind. Yet before he could even pull it off, the defender had read him.

Before, his speed was good but his fundamentals were poor—his ball control and footwork were shaky. After weeks of training, his basics had improved, and he felt more in control of the ball and his movements. This was the best attempt at a dribble in his decade of playing.

But facing a fourth-division defender, he couldn't even get a chance to try the Pendulum Dribble. Were Dutch fourth-division players really that strong?

What was going on?

"Do you see the problem?" Old Bing asked coldly.

Yang Yang got up, shaking his head silently.

That failure had dealt a blow to his confidence.

"Try again."

Soon, Yang Yang stood twenty meters from the defender once more.

This time, he carefully studied the entire Pendulum Dribble process, slowing each movement down frame by frame. He noticed a detail he'd missed before.

At the start, Ronaldo's speed was steady, each stride roughly the same length—easy to predict his next step. But as he neared the defender, there was a clear change in pace, his stride frequency speeding up or slowing down, and his step length adjusting.

"Want to go again?" Old Bing asked flatly.

"Again."

Yang Yang stared at the defender ahead, then charged forward with the ball once more. This time, following the star silhouette's demonstration, he accelerated suddenly as he closed in, trying to disrupt the defender's rhythm. He dropped his right shoulder—but the defender stepped in close, stuck out a foot, and poked the ball away.

He didn't fall this time, but he lost the ball. The Pendulum Dribble failed again.

"What's going on?" Yang Yang asked, frustrated.

"I told you before—learning is easy, but using it is hard. And this is just training. In a real match, opponents will be tougher and more unpredictable," Old Bing reminded him calmly.

Yang Yang let out a heavy breath. He was beginning to realize that Old Bing was using facts to teach him a lesson: the Super Training Ground wasn't omnipotent—it was just a tool to assist him. But he must never think that having the Super Training Ground and learning Star Skills would let him dominate the field and sweep all before him.

"Let Ronaldo demonstrate it for you himself."

As soon as the words fell, Ronaldo's star projection appeared once again in the training ground.

He took the ball and charged straight at the defender, just as he had shown before. At first, his steps were steady, then suddenly he accelerated, followed by a Pendulum Dribble, effortlessly bypassing the defender.

The whole process was as concise and crisp as ever.

After that, Ronaldo's star projection demonstrated it several more times. Each time, he got past the defender cleanly, without any hesitation or wasted motion. The defender was utterly helpless against him, defending in a flustered and clumsy manner.

"I've also weakened Ronaldo's level here—basically the level of a fourth-division league player, with the same speed as you. But the effect... you've seen it."

Yang Yang nodded. He was indeed deeply shaken.

"Now, you defend against the same set of moves, and watch more closely."

As Old Bing reminded him, Ronaldo charged at Yang Yang with the ball at high speed.

Yang Yang's full attention locked onto Ronaldo.

Just as in the demonstration, at the start, Ronaldo's speed was steady, and Yang Yang could predict each of his steps. But as he drew closer, Ronaldo suddenly quickened his stride frequency, making his overall speed surge as well.

Though he was mentally prepared, the lightning-fast change still caught Yang Yang off guard. Especially when he saw Ronaldo drop his right shoulder and look to the right, as if he was about to break through on that side, Yang Yang instinctively moved to block. But unexpectedly, Ronaldo executed a Pendulum Dribble, cutting the ball to the left.

He was beaten!

No hesitation, no physical contact—he didn't even touch Ronaldo's jersey.

Just like that, he was beaten!

Why was this happening? Why did such a simple technique, one he himself knew, become so devastating in Ronaldo's hands? Was it his speed and explosiveness?

No, Yang Yang was sure that the weakened Ronaldo's explosiveness and speed weren't that terrifying.

But why could such a simple move produce such power when Ronaldo used it?

"Take a look at this."

The scene shifted, and four running footprints appeared before Yang Yang.

"The top two are yours, the bottom two are Ronaldo's. The ball marks show where each touch landed. What do you see?"

Yang Yang studied them intently and carefully.

He noticed that the top two footprints were chaotic, completely lacking in pattern. The distance between each step varied—large when the touch was too strong, requiring a big stride to catch up, and small when the touch was too light or when preparing for a feint, requiring short, adjusting steps.

But the bottom two were clearly different. The early stages of both footprints were almost identical—each step's landing point, each touch of the ball, was very close.

"If you had Ronaldo repeat this same sequence a hundred times, the distance of each step and the timing of each touch wouldn't vary much. That's because this is the stride pattern best suited to Ronaldo."

"Now think carefully. Why did you fall for it, even though you knew Ronaldo's move to the right was a fake?"

Old Bing's calm question made Yang Yang ask himself the same thing.

Yeah, he knew the first move to the right was a feint, so why couldn't he help but fall for it?

"Because you were tricked by your own instincts!"

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