Debut Reward, Legendary Chest!

Old Trafford seemed to be hosting an incomparably grand festival.

The Red Devils fans were ecstatic.

The Chinese fans were fired up.

A super genius scored on his Premier League debut.

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"The ball is in!"

"An equalizer!"

"Li Luo used a header at the very last moment to help Manchester United level the score!"

"When the great roc rose with the wind one day, it would soar ninety thousand miles into the sky."

"An unstoppable header sounded the epic prelude to a legend!"

The commentator could not help getting sentimental, rambling on about life, truth, dandelions, sorrow, Romain Rolland, Maupassant...

Coach Zhang kept chuckling, "Heh heh heh."

In the livestream.

The replay showed the scoring moment in slow motion.

-[Fucking awesome!]

-[Thank you, Li Luo, for saving my life. Over 3.5 is alive!]

-[He scored on his Manchester United debut? What kind of superstar opening is this?]

-[Hope for Chinese football—Chinese football can be saved!]

-[Quick, put the number seven shirt on him. He is the future king of the Theatre of Dreams.]

The technical area.

Swansea City's coaching staff was once again utterly dumbfounded.

Garry Monk angrily raised his hand and viciously smashed his water bottle onto the turf.

On the other side.

Giggs bent over, clenching his fists in excitement.

Van Gaal wore a complicated expression as he scribbled in his notebook, reviewing the attack while muttering under his breath.

"Li... his movement and positioning in settled attacks are very sound?"

"Really?"

"Damn it, when have I ever doubted myself? Li is a super genius!"

Cheers and applause poured down through the Theatre of Dreams like a torrential downpour.

Multicolored confetti fluttered through the beams of light.

Li Luo was completely dazed.

He had scored?

With a header?

He blankly touched his forehead.

The senior players had already rushed over and excitedly surrounded him.

"What are you standing there like an idiot for? Celebrate!"

"You brat, you were so handsome—just as handsome as I was on my debut!"

"Don't leave after the match. I'll take you to..."

Rooney draped an arm over Li Luo's shoulder and faced the stands.

He reached out and pulled up the badge on the latter's chest, telling everyone: this was Manchester United's future.

Some rejoiced while others worried.

Swansea City's goalkeeper was on the verge of tears: the Chinese teenager's header had been pretty ordinary. If it had not happened to hit the post and changed direction... he definitely could have saved it.

Just a little short.

Just a little short of winning the match!

Damn it, conceding an equalizer at the very end—I was fucking responsible!

Swansea City had a great atmosphere within the squad, and his teammates all ran over to comfort him. "It's okay. That kid is Manchester United's new star. There's nothing shameful about conceding to him."

"This is a good thing."

"If Li becomes a superstar someday, you'll be the first goalkeeper he ever scored against in his career! Do you know what that means?"

Gradually, the Swansea City goalkeeper felt that his teammate had a point.

No.

There was nothing ordinary about Li's header!

He must have calculated the ball's trajectory and angle, catching the exact moment I leaped to make the save...

That had to be it.

Above Old Trafford, the name of Manchester United's Crown Prince echoed through the air.

"Lee!!!"

"Lee!!!"

"Li Luo!!!"

Countless eyes were focused on the Chinese teenager.

Li Luo felt as though he were dreaming.

His emotions were complicated.

He was both relieved and lost.

He had muddled through tonight's match, but what about the next one? What about tomorrow's training?

Paper could not cover fire.

The truth would be exposed sooner or later.

Suddenly, a cold, mechanical synthesized voice rang out:

[Mission Complete: Premier League debut, an instant sensation.]

[Mission Report: A genius youngster who turned the tide, the darling of the Theatre of Dreams, the magnificent opening of an epic hero!]

[Mission Reward: Legendary Chest.]

A chest?

As Li Luo slowly jogged back toward the center circle with his teammates, he discovered an unremarkable wooden chest floating above his head.

Creak.

[Opening Legendary Chest...]

[Congratulations, you have obtained: "Spatial Awareness" Module (Legendary)]

[Effect: All dynamic information on the pitch will form an intuitive, concise "model" in your mind.]

[This sky will no longer obscure your eyes, this earth...]

What was this thing?

Was it useful?

Li Luo had no idea.

But the instant the football was placed back at the center circle, a sandbox-like model of the pitch instantly appeared in his mind!

The dejected Swansea City forward kicked off.

Beep! Beep-beep~

The referee blew the final whistle.

Manchester United 2:2 Swansea City.

The Red Devils fans' gazes never left the talented youngster from their own academy.

Gradually, some of them came to their senses: Fuck, it was a draw! Manchester United had drawn with Swansea City at home! And they had needed an academy kid to equalize—was that result acceptable?

Crash!

All sorts of random debris rained down onto the roof of the coaching bench.

Van Gaal's cheeks flushed red as he tried to argue, but the staff hurriedly pulled him away.

VIP box.

Ferguson, 77, took a sip of red wine and hummed the team anthem along with the fans.

"I believe it won't be long before the Red Devils' anthem includes Li's name too."

"Something's not right..."

"Something's not right with Li."

The old man's face darkened. Closing his eyes, he recalled Li Luo's journey through Manchester United's youth academy.

In 2005, an orphan wandering the streets of Manchester had drawn attention with his nimble dribbling and explosive pace. Manchester United's scouting team stepped in to assess him and brought him back to Carrington. At the same time, they worked to resolve his guardianship issues. Based on his language, they guessed he was a child from China, and Manchester United's club staff contacted the Chinese Embassy in the UK. In the end, they confirmed the orphan's identity.

After coordination between multiple parties and the completion of countless procedures, Manchester United successfully kept Li Luo.

The Chinese boy had lived up to expectations, breaking youth academy records year after year.

Just like...

Just like Barcelona's Bojan.

Ferguson vaguely remembered the first time he met the eight-year-old Chinese boy—the little fellow smiling as he stretched out his tiny hand to share his candy.

"No."

"The problem isn't Li Luo."

"It's Van Gaal. He hasn't given Li Luo enough freedom to display his individual talent in this match. He might ruin Li Luo, turning him into an utterly ordinary assembly-line product."

The Manchester United executives behind him were startled.

They exchanged glances. Wasn't the old man already retired? Did he still want to interfere with Manchester United's internal affairs?

Changing the manager? Impossible.

After all, Old Van...

"Tom, who in all of Europe is currently the best coach at developing midfielders?"

"Jack, don't just stand there. Get the technical team working!"

Old Trafford gradually quieted down.

After the Chinese boy and Manchester United's senior players had thanked the fans, they silently returned to the dressing room.

"Haha, you shy guy. Why do you turn your back when you shower?"

"Let me take a look... whoa~"

"Forget it, I'm just messing with you."

Li Luo was teased until his face turned bright red.

After showering, he dried his hair and changed into a clean long-sleeved tracksuit. Then, remembering something, he curiously asked Rooney, "Why did the referee still have us kick off from the center circle before blowing for full time, even though our celebration was over and stoppage time had already run out?"

Rooney thought for a moment. "A few seconds after you scored, stoppage time ended."

"It's normal that you don't know. The youth teams don't strictly enforce that rule, but in the top five leagues... no, those Bundesliga referees are the type to clock out the instant time's up too!"

"Don't you dare run off later, kid. Tonight, I'll take you somewhere fun! Let you experience the charms of old... mature women!"

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Giggs slapped a folder against his palm and said, "Li is still young. Well... not that young anymore. Li, the boss wants you to write a post-match report tonight."

"Okay."

Li Luo nodded seriously.

He had to sum things up.

From now on, he needed to seize every bit of spare time to relearn football from the beginning.

Maybe he could watch instructional videos from star players?

Right, video lessons were the most intuitive.

He took out his phone from his backpack and bookmarked several collections of material:

Morata Teaches You How to Shoot, Step by Step.

<Who Says Speed Can't Be Improved Later? Giroud Shares His Secret: Speed Training Methods.>

Maguire Teaches You How to Defend.

<Çalhanoğlu Tells You: How an Outstanding Midfield Core Escapes High-Intensity Pressing.>

<In 30 Days, Lukaku Will Make You King of the Six-Yard Box: The Importance of the Final Touch.>

<Hazard Explains in Person: How to Adjust Your Diet.>

It was just like playing a game.

Newbie player Li Luo had decided to start learning from the guides written by the pros!