"I knew it, I knew you'd be there!" Moric rushed over and leaped onto Lu Yang, pounding his chest wildly. "That shot was incredible! A Dipping Shot—you actually pulled off a Dipping Shot! That's striker-level shooting, you know!"
Then the rest of the players rushed over and surrounded them.
Everyone celebrated wildly.
They'd won!
It was over!
Lu Yang had scored in the first minute of stoppage time. There were only two minutes of stoppage time in all.
Lu Yang had killed the game. San Remo had won!
Everyone was incredibly excited.
It had been so long since their last win, and this time they'd come from behind to win with a last-minute goal!
They hadn't experienced anything like this at all this season!
Soto began an exuberant knee-slide celebration on the sidelines!
The commentator was equally excited. "This is a new beginning for San Remo! A legend belonging to San Remo is truly setting sail! Lu Yang, Moric, Soto—I hope everyone remembers their names, because they're the ones writing this legend!"
"We can see that when Moric charged forward, most of San Remo's players surged forward too. Among them was Lu Yang, who should have been back on the defensive line. He sprinted all the way up, past Avellino's forwards and midfielders."
"If Avellino's players could see the future, they would have grabbed hold of Lu Yang. Because this center back was about to turn the game around with a thunderous shot!"
"Defenders with attacking ability are often called defenders with a killer instinct, but I'd call Lu Yang a defender with a cannon! That thunderous strike, that dipping long-range goal from nearly thirty meters out—it was absolutely stunning!"
"We can see the never-say-die spirit in Lu Yang and Moric's faces. They're green, they're raw, they're only sixteen or seventeen years old, but they always hunger for victory. All they want is to win!"
Sure enough, after San Remo finished celebrating, Avellino kicked off, and the referee blew the final whistle.
Soto found Lu Yang and Moric, then took them to the post-match press conference.
Yes, even though they were in Serie D, San Remo still held its own post-match press conferences, because their head coach was Soto.
This small Serie D match wasn't broadcast nationwide. It was only shown in Liguria, and even that was thanks to Soto's arrival. Otherwise, San Remo wouldn't have received that kind of coverage.
Quite a few media outlets had come today—around ten or so. Two of them were even well-known throughout Italy, including Live Football News.
Hans was a columnist for Live Football News. He had a keen nose for news and had taken an interest in Lu Yang during the Celebrity Match. So he'd volunteered for the assignment covering Soto's debut.
But his real target was that remarkable center back.
And the center back hadn't disappointed him.
"Hello, Soto. I'm Hans from Live Football News," Hans said, asking the first question.
"Oh, I know you. I owe my retirement in part to you." Soto knew Hans. There were many reasons for his retirement, but one important factor was his vicious style of play on the pitch.
An article had exposed what life was like for the players Soto had injured. Some of them had ended up in terrible situations, and the report had tarnished Soto's reputation for a time.
Hans had written that report.
He was a journalist who knew exactly how to tell a story.
"Heh, we're all just trying to make a living. Besides, I've written articles defending you since then," Hans said with a smile.
"But the one where you said nice things about me didn't take off," Soto said wryly.
"All right. Soto, during the match we saw Lu Yang, a center back, repeatedly take possession of the ball. He even charged all the way to the top of the opposing penalty arc. Is that kind of tactical indiscipline allowed in your team?" Hans's question was pointed.
Soto answered without hesitation. "Obviously, that kind of tactical indiscipline isn't allowed in any coach's team."
Hans's eyes lit up.
Had Soto just walked right into the trap?
In fact, it was a difficult question to answer.
If he said Lu Yang was allowed to break discipline, it would undermine the coach's authority and weaken the team's discipline.
But if he criticized Lu Yang... well, Lu Yang had scored the winning goal!
Soto's answer was, in effect, the latter.
But he quickly added, "Still, I believe scoring goals is allowed in any team, no matter how they're scored!"
The audience burst into applause.
There was no question that Lu Yang's actions were debatable, but one of the truths of football was that the scorer was never at fault.
They were famous!
San Remo was in the spotlight once again!
<First game after Soto takes charge ends San Remo's four-game losing streak; comeback victory stuns the league!>
<Brilliant substitutions! Both players Soto brought on scored!>
<13 seconds! The fastest second-half goal in Italian history!>
<Twice the perfect debut! Both San Remo youth-team substitutes scored!>
<Brilliant midfielder! Moric scored with his second touch of the game; his first touch was the kickoff.>
<Defender with a cannon! Lu Yang scores a worldie in the final minute!>
<The defender who should be playing striker in Serie D—just look at the damage his Dipping Shot can do!>
<The longest goal of the Serie D season! San Remo produces a 29.6-meter worldie!>
News was everywhere. In Liguria especially, Lu Yang and Moric had become overnight sensations.
Of course, for Lu Yang, it was another overnight sensation.
The nickname "San Remo Twins" quickly caught on.
Likewise, in the previous match, Lu Yang had broken a record: the record for the youngest player to appear in an Italian professional league. On the day of the match, Lu Yang was just sixteen years and 181 days old.
Of course, the record wasn't all that impressive, since young players often appeared in Italy's lower leagues.
If it had been Serie A or Serie B, it would have drawn a lot of attention.
Even so, someone was very unhappy about Lu Yang's record.
That someone was Arnold, Bisceglie Football Club's star player.
Arnold wasn't very old—only nineteen—but he'd already played professional football for more than two years. He'd made his Serie D debut at sixteen years and 300 days old.
This was also Arnold's final year in Serie D.
A Serie B team had already lined him up, which was why he was the star of his team. He was about to move up to a higher league.
The Top Five Leagues' second divisions scouted for new talent in lower-tier leagues, while those second divisions looked for dark horses in the leagues below them.
"Lu Yang? Who are you talking about? Sorry, I've never heard that name," Arnold said in an interview. "If he plays as a defender, I'll make sure he feels the full force of a Serie B attack in our next match."
"If he plays as a forward, I'll make sure he understands the gap between himself and a Serie B striker."
From those remarks, you could probably tell that Arnold wasn't especially bright.
He considered himself a Serie B striker and thought he was above the entire Serie D league.
Not just Lu Yang—even his teammates were bound to be unhappy with him.
How was that any different from people who got rich and immediately claimed they'd never been farmers?
Did they think everyone had forgotten what they looked like with mud all over their legs?
In this busy world, no one looked down on you because of your past—unless you looked down on yourself first.
Before long, Hans, who loved stirring up trouble, found Lu Yang and asked him to respond to Arnold.
"I can give you any answer you want, even one that exceeds your expectations," Lu Yang said as he sat with Hans in a café.
Moric was there beside him, backing him up. He was wary of the journalist who had once "framed" Soto.
Journalists like that were tigers: they devoured people without leaving a trace, and were as dangerous as unscrupulous agents.
Hans was taken aback by Lu Yang's words.
That didn't sound like something a sixteen-year-old would say.
"What are you talking about?" Hans pretended not to understand.
Lu Yang smiled faintly. "The Serie D league doesn't get much attention. It's just a lower-tier league. But even lower-tier leagues can produce promising young players. And stories about feuds are always the best way to draw attention."
"As for who gets the attention, that depends on who knows how to seize the opportunity. You could turn our conflict into the focus of Serie D without my involvement, but... with me in the picture, it'll be much easier for you to make it happen."
Hans took a sip of coffee and nodded. "Very few young footballers understand this kind of publicity stunt so well."
Lu Yang shook his head. "That's not the part I understand best. The part I understand best is... I'll help you teach Arnold a lesson."
Hans's hand trembled, spilling a few drops of coffee.
His brow furrowed.
Did Lu Yang know about his conflict with Arnold?
If the person sitting across from him had been Maniero, Hans could have accepted it calmly. If it had been Soto, at least he wouldn't have been so thrown off.
But Lu Yang was only sixteen!
How had he found out?
"It's simple." Lu Yang seemed to know what Hans wanted to ask. "I've read your columns. You know how widely your articles tend to spread. Last year, you mentioned Arnold of Serie D's Bisceglie several times, but you stopped writing about him after October."
"Instead, I found articles praising Arnold in other newspapers."
"I even think those articles of yours may have helped him attract the attention of a Serie B team. But... he betrayed you. Or maybe he found a better media partner."
"So you deliberately told Arnold how good I was, making him publicly attack me in front of the media. You want me to give that arrogant young man a hard slap."
Hans finally regained his composure. Not because Lu Yang was wrong, but because he liked working with clever people.
Arnold's betrayal had shown Hans how frightening a fool could be.
"Can you guess why Arnold left me?" Hans grinned and held up three fingers. "Three hundred euros per interview."
At that, Lu Yang and Hans both laughed.
Three hundred euros wasn't a small amount, not by the standards of the time.
A lower-league player might earn that much—or even less—in a week.
But was what Hans had done for Arnold really worth less than 300 euros?
The interest of a Serie B team, the transfer, the increase in Arnold's value by dozens of times—and the salary he'd earn in the future. Wasn't all of that worth more than 300 euros?
Staying away from fools wasn't about them being stupid; that didn't really matter. The real danger was that fools couldn't tell right from wrong, and might end up hurting the people who genuinely cared about them when it mattered most.
Many famous people throughout history, good or bad, had fallen because of the "fools" on their own side.
Hans was glad Arnold had betrayed him early.
If they'd built a closer working relationship and Arnold had betrayed him after becoming a Serie B player, Hans might have been blindsided by his enemies and suffered a serious loss.
As things stood, Arnold was just a Serie D player. What could Hans really lose?
"So, what do you want from me? You're going to help me teach Arnold a lesson, after all," Hans said, now treating Lu Yang like an equal adult.
A fair exchange of interests put everyone at ease.
"I want you to help me say the things I want more people to hear," Lu Yang said. "When footballers aren't strong enough yet, the media decides what kind of people they are. Players who don't get along with the media often have a rough road ahead."
"Smart decision. You understand the media's power very well—you're even... wary of it," Hans said. "So what do you want me to say? Should I praise you the way I praised Arnold, so you can get noticed by a Serie B team too?"
Lu Yang shook his head. "If I want to go to Serie B, I'll get there on my own. I want you to steer everyone's attention back to football, then let me show them through one victory after another that this is how football can be played!"
Hans narrowed his eyes. He didn't agree right away. Instead, he studied Lu Yang carefully before saying, "You're confident. No—you're arrogant!"
"That depends on where you're looking."
Hans gave him a puzzled look.
Lu Yang said, "If you'd watched me play, you'd know that compared to my performance on the pitch, this is just normal for me!"
Hans applauded.
He appreciated a player who was bold, careful, and clever. This was a player with a big heart, and players with big hearts could create genuine miracles.
"All right, then. Let's see how you do in the next match. If you really can teach Arnold a lesson, I'd be glad to be the one who speaks up for you." Hans stood and shook Lu Yang's hand.
Both of them smiled brightly.
The next day, Live Football News published Lu Yang's response.
"Honestly, if I hadn't checked the fixture list, I would've thought I was playing in Serie B. Come on, look at the team you're registered with. You're only a Serie D player."
"Besides, I don't think a half-season Golden Boot counts as a Golden Boot. The league hasn't even given him a trophy, has it? He's only scored two more goals than our own Vedian. You'd think he was ahead by twenty. By the end of the season, that Golden Boot might not be his."
"Finally, Arnold, right? I suggest you wear extra layers in our next match, because players who get frozen out will feel cold!"
The column immediately attracted the attention of football fans across Italy.
Stirring up trouble again?
A sixteen-year-old who'd only just joined the first team had come out and announced he was going to shut down the league's top scorer?
Whoa, that's the guy who took that Lumberjack Shot, Lu Yang, right?
Wow, so he scored an incredible worldie in the previous match?
What, he also set up that lightning-fast goal?
Well, after watching Serie A all the time, maybe we should try something different and check out a lower-tier league like Serie D?
Before long, plenty of people had expressed interest in the upcoming Serie D match between San Remo and Bisceglie.
And more people were joining them by the minute.
When Arnold saw the news, he ground his teeth in fury.
A mere Serie D defender dared to spout off?
To hell with Serie D!
Your whole family plays in Serie D!
I'm going to Serie B next season!
Meanwhile, after Lu Yang had finished making his bold claims, he quietly opened his system.
In the previous match, he'd earned his first win as a professional player.
As a result, he'd received two random packs.
Now it was time to open them!
Mero Negle, Guiyang Halukai, you're up—Pikachu!