Sophia left.
Before she went, she handed Lu Yang the villa keys, and she really did have a construction crew quickly finish building an artificial-turf pitch.
With Sophia's finances, she could have afforded even a small natural-grass pitch, but there wasn't enough time.
Sophia could tell that without the pitch, Lu Yang might really have refused her invitation to come here and look after the house.
When Lu Yang and Moric finished training and were getting ready to head back to the villa, Moric found out that Lu Yang had moved into Sophia's mansion—and was utterly devastated.
He felt that his friendship with Lu Yang was nearing its end.
From that moment on, he swore he would never be friends with anyone who was 181 centimeters tall again.
They betrayed him far faster than he'd expected.
Rondo comforted Moric. "Don't be like that. You'll change too when you get a girlfriend."
Moric asked in confusion, "So once you fall in love, friendship takes a big hit?"
"At least at first," Rondo replied.
"What were you like when you were in a relationship?" Moric asked. "Did you abandon your friends like Lu?"
Rondo said, "I wouldn't say we had that much in common. I'd say it was... exactly the same. No, I was even worse back then—I was practically a lovesick puppy! Honestly, Lu Yang is a hundred times better than I was. You have to understand him. Sophia is his first love, and they're in the honeymoon phase. You know what I mean."
Moric seemed to understand, more or less. Women seemed even more complicated than football.
On the other hand, Lu Yang had never expected that he could earn a reward even for a match he hadn't played in.
"Ding! Your team defeated its opponent without you. You received 1 random gift pack."
"Ding! You opened the gift pack and received the star-level skill Guti's Through Ball!"
Another wolf!
Another star-level skill!
Lu Yang beamed.
Panenka Chip from Totti the King of Red Wolves.
Guti's Through Ball from Guti the Golden Wolf.
Would his next pack give him something like Romario the Lone Wolf's shot?
Guti was a Real Madrid midfielder, famous for his unpredictable performances.
His through balls were incisive, often deadly. But the high reward of attempting a through ball came with the high risk of giving the ball away and allowing the opposition to counterattack.
That had made Guti a controversial figure throughout his career, but he had never changed his style, sticking with his incisive approach.
It made the midfield he played in less stable, but had fans hooked, sending their adrenaline soaring again and again.
This star-level skill had greatly improved Lu Yang's passing ability.
His long passing increased to 60.
His short passing awakened and jumped straight to 55.
His shot power rose from 50 to 55.
And through balls generally meant passes along the ground, further rounding out Lu Yang's passing ability. His Low-altitude Passing and Weighted Spin Pass had both been types of long aerial passes.
Once all the results from the thirty-fifth round of Serie D were in, the standings shifted again.
Turris thrashed their opponents and remained in the lead, bringing their points total to 73.
Bisceglie stopped dropping points and also won, sitting in second place with 71.
Francavilla, meanwhile, struggled to score without their injured starting center-forward. They were held to a disappointing 0–0 draw and sat third in the standings with 69 points.
They were level on points with fourth-place San Remo!
The Serie D standings used head-to-head results as the first tiebreaker, and Francavilla had beaten San Remo once and drawn with them once, which was why they ranked third.
San Remo had only drawn twice in the second half of the season and had won every other match. One of those draws had been handed to them by Francavilla.
Even so, whenever the points were level, San Remo was generally at a disadvantage.
They had lost to all of the top six teams in the first half of the season.
Although they had beaten most of them in the second half, they had often lost by a large margin earlier in the season. Unless they could win by a large margin in the return matches, they would usually lose out on goal difference in the head-to-head record.
That was San Remo's weak spot.
Fifth-place Palermo and sixth-place Catania had also won, with 67 and 66 points respectively, hot on the heels of San Remo and Francavilla.
The battle among the top six was growing fiercer by the day.
The day before the thirty-sixth round, during San Remo's regular training session, the team's starting right center-back strained his thigh. An examination confirmed that he would miss the rest of the season.
The team made a last-minute adjustment, putting reserve center-back Nagy in the starting lineup.
Given Nagy's reputation for defensive blunders, many people were pessimistic about the change.
Fortunately, San Remo's next opponents were the weak Viterbo, who had secured a relegation spot long ago.
The thirty-sixth round kicked off a day later.
In the seventh minute, Lu Yang produced an unexpected through ball that stunned the entire stadium.
There were at least four players between him and the team's center-forward, yet Lu Yang's pass threaded perfectly through all four and landed right at San Remo's striker's feet.
It was one of Lu Yang's rare, precise ground passes, catching the opposition completely off guard.
The only player on San Remo who had been able to make that kind of pass before was Moric!
The striker had a clear run at goal and didn't waste the chance, putting San Remo ahead.
San Remo led Viterbo 1–0.
Though their relegation was already certain, that didn't mean Viterbo's players had stopped wanting to win.
After all, San Remo were currently the darlings of Serie D, attracting more attention than even most Serie C teams.
There were even rumors in the media that scouts from big clubs had been watching San Remo's matches lately.
Playing against San Remo was one of the best ways for players in the lower leagues to get noticed.
Viterbo's players wanted their moment in the spotlight too, hoping another team might take an interest. They weren't expecting to leap straight into Serie A or Serie B; staying in Serie D would be good enough.
So they were playing with real intensity today.
They were also doing a particularly good job of marking Lu Yang.
After all, Lu Yang was currently San Remo's biggest name.
The commentator said, "Oh, it looks as though Lu Yang is having a hard time today. The team's attack has been relatively smooth, but whenever he receives the ball, he's immediately swarmed by defenders."
"Lu Yang and Moric are two different kinds of players. Moric can handle that kind of pressure with ease, but Lu Yang seems a little flustered. Fortunately, his ball control and vision are good. He always manages to pass to Moric or the back line before losing possession."
"But this has disrupted the team's attack all the same. That's why, despite San Remo's midfield moving the ball well today, they've struggled to create clear-cut chances."
"So far, the score is still 1–0. Vedian hasn't had his shooting boots on today. He's had two good chances but hasn't scored. Meanwhile, the right midfielder and right forward haven't linked up particularly well. They both seem off their game, perhaps because of how hard they worked in the last match."
"Lu Yang was absent from the previous match, and San Remo's defensive burden increased significantly. The team also has quite a few older players. Their center-forward, right forward, right midfielder, and even their former starting right center-back are all over thirty-two."
"That may be why San Remo's starting right center-back was recently reported injured, with young Nagy taking his place. Most of San Remo's players have been pushed to their limits lately in terms of stamina and endurance. If they don't manage things carefully, more injuries may follow in the coming matches."
San Remo had now put together an incredible nine-match winning streak.
Before that nine-match streak, they had drawn twice, and before that, they had won five in a row!
They were unbeaten in the second half of the season.
But that also meant the players were exhausted.
Especially after they began pushing for promotion, the challenges grew tougher and tougher. The players got more excited with every match, and the team performed better each time.
But their bodies might not be able to keep up.
A team like San Remo couldn't possibly have a perfect rotation lineup.
In many positions, they didn't even have reliable substitutes.
More often than not, one reserve player had to cover several positions.
Now, stamina had become a major factor limiting San Remo's progress.
On the pitch, despite their 1–0 lead, San Remo weren't in control of the game.
"We need to score more goals to ease the mental and defensive pressure on the team," Moric told Lu Yang.
He was very perceptive. The team's right forward and right midfielder were in terrible form today.
Unlike Vedian, who simply couldn't get his shots right, those two seemed to be holding back.
That meant they didn't dare put their full strength into it.
When someone hesitated to give their all, it was often because a certain part of their body hurt when they did. The pain wasn't severe enough to stop them outright, but it made them instinctively hold back.
That was often an early sign of an injury.
They couldn't keep playing like this.
Soto's defensive tactics were solid, but they demanded a lot of running.
The team clearly didn't have the legs for that now, so Moric decided to change the way they played without permission.
But less running meant more gaps in their defense and a greater risk of conceding.
So the team's attackers had to get the upper hand first.
Everything depended on everything else. One wrong step, and their good intentions could backfire.
"I'll give it a try," Lu Yang said. "They're putting a lot of pressure on me today. You can look for more chances to get forward."
Moric nodded.
Before long, the opportunity came.
In the thirty-fifth minute, Lu Yang received the ball.
One opposing midfielder closed him down from close range, while another came over from the side to double-team him.
The player marking Lu Yang had clearly studied him. He knew Lu Yang couldn't dribble past defenders.
As long as he didn't lunge in, Lu Yang wouldn't be able to beat him with his favorite V-Pull.
It was the best way to defend against Lu Yang, and it had worked several times already today.
But this time, Lu Yang didn't just wait to be shut down.
He pulled the ball back with his right foot until it reached the tip of his left toe, then flicked it up with his left toe.
The opposing defender's eyes lit up. A bouncing ball like that was difficult to control, and he could easily win it. It was practically a sure thing!
Had Lu Yang made a mistake?
But just as the defender was about to step in, the ball—which should have soared high—struck the knee of Lu Yang's advancing left leg, dropped quickly, and bounced forward.
It sounded complicated, but the move itself took only an instant.
Lu Yang had just pulled the ball back with his right foot and set it down when it popped up, then was knocked away by his left knee.
It all happened in less than a second.
And why had Lu Yang's left knee moved forward to strike the ball?
Because he was taking a step with his left foot to get ready to sprint.
In a flash, Lu Yang pushed off with his right foot and stepped forward with his left. He and the ball darted past the defender like a yellow bolt of lightning.
The commentator froze for a moment. "That was... a Knee-Tap Lift! It's a flashy street-football move for lifting the ball, but it can also be used to beat a defender. It's incredibly sudden. Still, you don't see many players try such a showy move in a proper match."
"It may look easy to defend against, but it's actually a huge test for the defender. It shifts the ball's direction three times in an instant. First, it's pulled back from in front. Second, it goes from the ground into the air. And third, it suddenly shoots from the air toward the ground in front."
"Very few defenders can keep up with three shifts of their center of gravity in such a short time. Even if their brains react, their bodies won't. Or rather, even if their minds know it's a feint, their muscle memory will still kick in. You can see Viterbo's defender rooted to the spot, unable to move, as he watches Lu Yang and the ball fly past him."
"That's the power of the Knee-Tap Lift!"
After breaking through the defender, Lu Yang surged forward. He'd effectively beaten two players in one go, since another defender had been on his way to double-team him.
Viterbo's other players had no choice but to rush toward Lu Yang.
Moric had plenty of space. He moved up to the edge of the penalty arc.
He had barely arrived when Lu Yang's through ball reached him.
Another exquisite pass, slipping past a defender's attempt to block it.
Moric collected the ball and fired a long-range shot into the net.
San Remo led 2–0, strengthening their advantage!
During the goal celebration, Moric found the team's right-sided players and told them to take it easy from then on, conserve their energy, and protect their bodies.
The right forward and right midfielder's expressions changed slightly, but they nodded.
After that, San Remo changed its approach, sending more attacks down the left so Vedian would have more chances to find his touch.
"Why does the team seem to have changed its style?" Tom noticed the change and worried that Soto might get angry. No manager liked players casually changing his tactics.
Soto, however, smiled. "That's what the team's brains are for. Players on the pitch are often better at noticing certain details than we are, just as we're better at seeing the spaces on the field."
"Moric is adjusting the team's style based on the players' condition. That's what a midfield general is supposed to do. There may be something wrong with our players on the right. In the second half..."
He glanced at the substitutes' bench and pressed his lips together.
He didn't have many options for adjustments in the second half.
The club's greatest achievement in the winter transfer window had been signing him. Since Soto and the club chairman had both thought the season was already a lost cause and that their main objective was to avoid relegation, Soto hadn't asked for transfer funds or new players.
As a result, the squad was severely short on players.
If they'd known they had a chance at promotion this season, the chairman would have bought Soto a few substitutes during the winter window, no matter what.
But now there was nothing left to work with!