"How's it going?"
"Moric, what happened?"
"Is Lu sick?"
Moric was at the training ground, surrounded by coaches and teammates.
Everyone was puzzled, even alarmed, by Lu Yang's absence that day.
Lu Yang never missed training.
He had an extraordinary passion for football and an iron will.
But today... he hadn't shown up at the training ground.
Everyone was worried that something might have happened to Lu Yang.
After all, around this time last year, San Remo had suffered a major blow.
They'd had a chance to earn promotion to Serie C, but near the end of the season, their starting center-back and team captain, Rondo, suffered a serious injury. That had sent them stumbling all the way to the finish, and they missed out on promotion.
This year, under Lu Yang and Moric's leadership, they'd climbed all the way from the relegation zone to sixth place in the standings.
They were united, and had sworn they'd make it into the promotion spots.
But if something had happened to Lu Yang, the team...
At some point, Lu Yang had become deeply ingrained in everyone's minds. He didn't play like the team's core, the way Moric did, but his presence was everywhere.
In defense, he could track back and help out.
In midfield, he could sweep up and give everyone room to play.
In attack, he could make runs forward to score and assist.
He was everywhere.
Everyone had complete faith in Lu Yang's ability.
And with his usual composure and intelligence, along with his knack for calming his teammates, he'd already developed a certain degree of leadership.
Even Rondo had remarked that, given time, the youngest player on the team—a sixteen-year-old little firecracker—might take the captain's armband from him and become a young captain!
The team couldn't afford to lose someone like that.
But in the next moment, everyone's worries vanished.
"He slept with Sophia!" Moric blurted out.
"What?"
Soto, Tom, Rondo, Nagy, Vedian—everyone was stunned.
"What are you talking about, Moric? She's my goddess!" Rondo had put Sophia at the top of his personal list of goddesses, much to his wife's displeasure.
"It's true. They had dinner together last night. Sophia asked Lu Yang out." Moric was at a loss. Lu Yang wasn't a virgin anymore, so now he was the only clueless loser left. "And Lu Yang didn't come back all night."
"But that doesn't mean they definitely... you know." Soto couldn't believe it either. What a lovely cabbage—how could Lu Yang have...
"I heard Sophia's voice on Lu Yang's phone," Moric said. "She sounded like she'd just woken up... And before Lu Yang left, he told Sophia... they hadn't slept all night, he'd had a great time, and he hoped they'd pick up where they left off next time..."
Pfft!
Vedian nearly spat blood on the spot.
All night?
No way!
Even with his physique, he could only manage seven times in two hours—and that was counting breaks in between. Without those, he'd been out of commission in just a few minutes at his fastest.
And Lu Yang... had gone all night?
With Sophia, no less!
In front of a goddess like that, Lu Yang had gone at it all night?
Everyone on the field was devastated.
Unbelievable!
Impossible to believe!
They didn't want to believe it!
The goddess's purity and the men's pride both crumbled in that moment.
They hated that guy named Lu Yang with all their hearts.
Lu Yang got a taste of it when he arrived at the training ground.
"Moric." Lu Yang grabbed him. "Why is everyone looking at me like I stole their wives? I was just late. It's not like I skipped training. Isn't this a bit much?"
"I'm just a short guy. Don't ask me about it." Moric was being haughty. He was still bothered by how Lu Yang had addressed him in front of Sophia.
"Uh... I'd just woken up then. I wasn't thinking clearly. Don't hold it against me." Lu Yang apologized first.
"Please stop bragging about having just woken up! We all know—you and Sophia went at it all night!" Moric's eyes were red. "So what if I'm the last virgin on the team? I believe in love, and someday I'll find it!"
Moric shouted.
The whole training ground fell silent, and everyone turned to look at him.
"Moric actually..."
"My god, I thought he'd done it ages ago... Is that why he never grew taller?"
"He's a year older than Lu Yang, and Lu Yang's already... while he's still..."
The teammates started whispering.
Moric's face turned green.
Damn!
This time, he'd suffered a truly public death!
Round 32 of Serie D.
San Remo faced Pagani.
They were a mid-table team.
But they were highly attacking and believed in pure attacking football.
The reason they were stuck in mid-table was that they insisted on attacking, while their defense was pretty poor.
The lower the division, the more teams like this you found.
They could cling to all sorts of strange beliefs, even putting those beliefs ahead of the team's results.
Such teams were rare in the higher divisions.
Only a few wealthy big clubs could afford to stick to their principles.
For example, Athletic Bilbao's requirements regarding players' ancestry.
Real Madrid's Galáctico policy.
Bayern Munich's steadfast practice of snapping up players on the cheap.
Barcelona's unwavering commitment to the purest possession football.
But Pagani obviously wasn't in the same league as those clubs.
The nineteenth minute.
Lu Yang received a long clearance from one of the center-backs.
But the way he brought it down was unexpected.
He actually jumped, then controlled the ball in midair with a Rabona.
The whole move was incredibly flashy.
The fans erupted in cheers, as if he'd already scored.
His teammates, meanwhile, understood.
After all, Lu Yang had only just had his "coming-of-age ceremony," and although Sophia was famous for her sex appeal, four years ago, she'd publicly denounced casting-couch practices, showing everyone that she was actually a traditional woman.
So Sophia had probably just had her own "coming-of-age ceremony" last night.
It was only natural that Lu Yang, having scored his first, was a little fired up.
Young guys got excited every time they got "worked up."
But while everyone was focused on Lu Yang's flashy control, he suddenly sent a long pass.
The ball stayed low and traveled much faster than his passes used to.
So fast that most of Pagani's players didn't react in time.
The ball shot straight toward the top of Pagani's penalty arc.
By the time they realized the danger,
San Remo's striker, who wasn't known for his speed or runs forward, had made a beautiful, elusive run. He appeared right where the ball was headed, took it in stride, dribbled twice, then shot and put his team ahead.
Moric stared in disbelief.
Was that a Low-altitude Pass?
When had Lu Yang learned that?
Wasn't he only able to hit high, slow Weighted Spin Passes, useful mostly for switching play from one side to the other?
When had he learned to play faster, more dangerous passes?
The thirty-ninth minute.
As Lu Yang dribbled laterally with the ball, he suddenly sent another long pass.
Another Low-altitude Pass.
This time, Moric made the run and received it.
Moric was a little far from the penalty area, but there wasn't a defender around him. He had all the space he could want.
He went for a long-range shot, figuring he'd see what happened.
As it turned out, he was in luck that day. His shot found the net!
Lu Yang had assisted twice!
At halftime, everyone looked at Lu Yang with strange expressions.
What was with this guy? Why did his style of play seem different now that he'd come of age? Why had he become so "accurate"?
Lu Yang had never been much of an assister.
He was better at seizing opportunities and "stealing" goals.
In the second half, the game took a sudden turn.
Pagani's attack finally paid off.
In the sixty-third minute,
they launched wave after wave of attacks and scored, bringing the score to 2–1.
Soon after, Moric sent a long pass to the team's right winger. The winger's shot was saved, earning them a corner.
Moric took it, and Nagy, who'd been given a starting spot at center-back that day, scored with a header, making it 3–1 and pulling the team out of danger.
That was right: whenever the team conceded, Nagy was usually on the pitch.
His defensive ability was still inconsistent.
San Remo had to pay for his development with one goal conceded after another.
But his potential in the air and his determination to bulk up had won Soto over. As the season went on, Nagy gradually began sharing the center-back rotation with another defender.
Pagani's attack was relentless.
They were behind, but they played brilliantly.
Soon after, they won the ball with a Frontcourt Press, and their striker finished the move with a goal.
The defense had made some mistakes on that goal, but San Remo's goalkeeper was even more at fault. His back pass to Nagy had been too weak, causing Nagy to lose possession.
The score was now 3–2.
That was far from safe.
And it was only the seventy-fifth minute.
There were still nearly twenty minutes to go, and San Remo looked as if they might not be able to hold on.
Their opponents were attacking too fiercely.
And although Pagani weren't much for defending, they were good at pressing high up the pitch. Moric was feeling the effects. He'd had a tough time organizing the attack that day.
At the very least, he hadn't had many chances to send a killer pass. All he could do was guide the team forward.
That wasn't very efficient, and the play wasn't direct either.
At the crucial moment, Lu Yang stepped up again.
He helped Nagy cover in defense and successfully blocked the opponent's shot.
Rondo took control of the ball and passed it back to Lu Yang.
Lu Yang used a V-Pull to evade the press, then seized his chance to send a Low-altitude long pass straight into the opponent's half.
That pass was just as fast.
And with Pagani pushing so many players forward, it was a perfect counterattack.
Like a leopard, Vedian finally seized the one glimmer of opportunity he'd had in a match with few chances. He took the ball and was through on goal.
A thundering shot!
Vedian scored.
The score was 4–2.
Only ten minutes remained.
Lu Yang devoted himself entirely to defense.
Even Moric stopped organizing the midfield and joined Lu Yang to form a double-pivot shield, parking the bus in their own half.
After that, Pagani didn't get another good chance to score.
The final score was 4–2.
On paper, San Remo had won comfortably.
But anyone who'd watched the match knew how perilous it had been.
When they faced a team with such a potent attack, San Remo still hadn't found their own way to play.
Should they commit to defending, or go all out in attack?
That was the question!
Because they had to focus on defense, Moric's talent was wasted, and Vedian became invisible.
But if they went all-in on the attack, San Remo's back line still wasn't steady enough without Lu Yang covering for them.
Lu Yang was the team's offensive and defensive balancing act. When the team faced difficulties, he could give them two options, which was far better than having none.
But there was only one Lu Yang.
Put simply, San Remo had already become a Serie D powerhouse!
They were used to playing attacking football and weren't willing to give up the initiative as they had in the past, then sit back and play on the counter.
That was why they had struggled so much at times during this match.
Fortunately, Lu Yang had been superhuman today. He'd provided three assists, completing the first hat trick of his career—and it was an assist hat trick, no less.
But Lu Yang's ability to assist wasn't actually as impressive as it looked. His passing still lacked accuracy overall, and he had a ways to go before matching Moric.
More importantly, when the opposition were well prepared, Lu Yang wouldn't get many chances to send long balls downfield.
Moric could shake off his marker and then pass the ball. That was an essential skill for a midfielder.
But Lu Yang only had the V-Pull and the Rabona.
One trick could take you far, but you couldn't rely on it every day.
San Remo needed to adjust their mindset and quickly settle on a way to play against stronger teams.
Lu Yang also needed to find a way to improve his passing or his ability to shake off opponents.
The latter would be more effective, but how exactly to do it would depend on what he drew from his random gift pack.
That wasn't something Lu Yang could control.
The team's problems were addressed by Soto after the match.
"We're now in the top five of the standings. That's no small feat, but it doesn't mean we're a strong team," Soto said in a post-match interview. "Of those five teams, we're the weakest. We have no right to be arrogant. Just as before, we'll do everything we can to play every match well."
Their attitude said it all.
Soto wanted the team to return to counterattacking football when facing stronger opponents.
The coaching staff would reinforce this in their upcoming training sessions and meetings.
After the match, Lu Yang earned Soto's approval in the second phase.
He had saved the team when they were in the most danger.
Not everyone thought the match against Pagani was especially important for San Remo, but Soto did.
As a result, Lu Yang received a star player skill: Soto's Iron Wall!
His stats improved dramatically.
All his defensive stats were activated.
Defensive positioning rose from 50 to 55.
Tackling rose from 63 to 65, making it extremely strong.
Interceptions rose from 55 to 60, putting him among the best in Serie C.
Clearances were activated at 50.
Blocking was activated at 50.
At the same time, his physical attributes were enhanced.
Leg strength was activated at 50.
Jumping rose from 50 to 55.
Strength rose from 50 to 55.
Balance rose from 60 to 63, making it extremely strong.
Stamina was activated at 50.
Injury resistance was activated at 50.
This was practically a complete transformation of his defensive ability.
He had grown from a strong defender in Serie D into a strong defender in Serie C!
And yet, that wasn't all.
The assist hat trick had also earned him a random gift pack.
And this pack turned out to contain something good.