Everyone's gaze focused on the white net rippling in the air, then abruptly shifted back to the Chinese boy who had delivered that miraculous long pass.
So dashing.
So elegant.
He was practically the soul of a team.
Milan was Europe's fashion capital, and countless daughters of fallen families, impoverished noblewomen, and faded glamorous actresses... could not help screaming and cheering at that moment.
Even people who did not understand football were thrilled by Li Luo's Inward-Curling Arc.
It was an indescribable visual experience.
Like admiring a work of art.
Cheers erupted from the Meazza Stadium stands and cascaded down.
Li Luo kept replaying the way he had exerted force in that instant.
His body posture.
The point of contact.
His follow-through...
He had never struck such a "perfect" Inward-Curling Arc in training before.
His long-passing ability had been squeezed to its absolute limit.
And—
The essence of an inward-curving long pass lay in how its landing point changed after it dropped... The inward spin did not fade until after several bounces, allowing his 56-point passing attribute to play to its strengths and avoid its weaknesses.
Of course, the receiving teammate could not be too slow-witted either.
"Beautiful!"
"It's in!"
"Li Luo delivered an astonishing long pass that bypassed Inter Milan's defense."
"God's-Eye View."
"Top-tier match-reading ability."
"A genius midfielder dazzling the Europa League!"
"That drifting, unpredictable long-pass trajectory."
"The lateral break after the ball hit the ground allowed Vieirinha to receive it on the run and face the goalkeeper one-on-one!"
"Their connection gave Wolfsburg the lead."
The commentator's tone was filled with excitement.
Director Zhang sighed repeatedly... He had never expected Li Luo to break the deadlock with an inward-curving long pass.
In the livestream.
The big screen replayed the moment of the goal.
Dense waves of comments flooded the screen.
-[That was insane!]
-[So handsome!]
-[Husband!]
-[Holy shit, Li Luo's long pass bounced, bounced, bounced, bounced... and rolled straight through Inter Milan's defense. What kind of physics was that?]
-[Oreo theory, Daliyuan effect, Orion aerodynamics.]
-[His long-passing technique is one thing, but Li Luo's vision is even more crucial. Does he have God's-Eye View or something?]
-[What role would Li Luo play in the national team? If he made a pass like that in a China National Football Team match, could our forwards easily score against the other side too?]
The Wolfsburg players surged forward one after another to embrace Li Luo.
They liked the Chinese boy before them far too much.
On one hand, there was the bond they had built and their shared team honor.
On the other, there were the win bonuses.
Vieirinha looked utterly incredulous. "That was incredible, Li. Before the ball dropped, I thought you weren't passing to me."
"The lead was perfect."
"The moment I received the ball, its inward spin had almost completely faded."
"Huh? Li, you seem to have gotten a little taller? I'm the shortest on the team again!"
Vieirinha was 172 centimeters tall and had been selected for Portugal's 2014 FIFA World Cup squad. Surprisingly, despite being a substitute... he had worn the number 10 shirt.
Li Luo retorted, "I was taller than you to begin with."
Everyone burst into laughter.
There was no height discrimination in football. The two were merely joking around and teasing each other.
De Bruyne finally managed to squeeze into the crowd and join the celebration.
He stared excitedly at Li Luo's face, his heart swelling with excitement. "Li's long passes still drift around unpredictably... He must be doing it to make it harder for opponents to judge, right?"
"His long-passing style is different from mine."
By the sideline.
Hecking and the assistant coaches excitedly embraced each other.
They were overjoyed.
They could see the light of victory again in the second round of the UEFA Europa League.
If they did not end up plagued by injuries later on, Wolfsburg might even dare to dream of winning the UEFA Europa League this season!
On the other side.
Mazzarri's hair was in disarray.
"Damn it."
"That kid Li is too talented."
"Wolfsburg is so lucky."
"How wonderful would it be if Inter Milan had both a developing Li Luo and De Bruyne?"
The match that followed.
Became dull again.
Some said that no matter how open a team was, once it stepped onto an Italian pitch, it would become unappealing to watch.
Inter Milan attacked with great effort.
But Wolfsburg excelled at parking the bus. Their low-block defensive system had long been drilled by Hecking until it was airtight.
Whenever they occasionally launched a counterattack, the tens of thousands of Inter Milan fans in the stadium would be left trembling with fear.
In the 50th minute.
Kovacic sent a diagonal long pass.
He was a household-name genius midfielder in Croatia, having joined Inter Milan at eighteen for a transfer fee of 11 million euros.
Croatian fans' expectations of him.
Were roughly... equivalent to Chinese fans' expectations of Li Luo.
"Yuto Nagatomo's timing on that overlapping run down the flank is crucial."
"Two teammates are following up, wow! A series of quick combinations in tight spaces."
"Can they penetrate and break through Wolfsburg's defense?"
"Ah! Whose foot blocked it?"
"Gustavo clears it... Is he passing to Li Luo?"
"Hehehe, former Bayern Munich player Gustavo might be thinking: I used to play UEFA Champions League matches against opponents like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, and Chelsea! Inter Milan, you're not what you used to be. I'm under no pressure at all!"
"Counterattack!"
"Here it comes."
Li Luo did not dwell on the ball.
He immediately passed it to Malanda, then continued charging forward, raising a hand as he ran to signal Little Black Egg to move the ball out wide.
He had not run very far.
When Malanda passed the ball back to him again...
Sighs rang endlessly through Meazza Stadium.
Inter Milan's local fans had already seen the quality of Wolfsburg's counterattacks and could not help showing expressions of fear.
It was simple.
Li Luo possessed top-tier vision and could quickly spot flaws in Inter Milan's formation as they dropped back into defensive positions.
That ensured the first half of the counterattack chain would not break.
De Bruyne possessed top-tier passing and movement, especially when it came to the killer final ball, directly threatening the defense.
That ensured the quality of the latter half of the counterattack chain.
A terrifying two-core weapon.
"Oh!"
"Li Luo's through ball..."
"The lead on it was perfect!"
"De Bruyne makes a run into the right half-space."
"He's quick, getting to the ball before Juan Jesus."
"One explosive touch!"
"A shot!"
Tonight, De Bruyne had already taken two shots that Handanovic had parried away.
This time.
Without the protection of his defense, Inter Milan's goalkeeper was powerless to turn things around.
Bang!
The ball skimmed along the grass and blasted into the lower-left corner.
0:2!!!
Meazza Stadium was engulfed in sighs.
"Beautiful!"
"It's in again!"
"Sleeping Dragon and Fledgling Phoenix!"
"Li Luo links up with De Bruyne—Sleeping Dragon and Fledgling Phoenix, two genius midfielders! Together, they dismantle Inter Milan's defense!"
"Wolfsburg extends its lead."
"Li Luo gets his second assist."
"A Chinese player dazzles the Meazza..."
The commentator's voice was full of excitement.
Director Zhang kept chuckling.
"Li, so this is what it feels like to be fed chances..."
De Bruyne's cheeks reddened as he raised both fists high and bounced around.
Li Luo and the Wolfsburg players... acting on instinct, copied his exact celebration.
In the livestream.
-[What kind of neighborhood-level celebration was that?]
-[Sleeping Dragon and Fledgling Phoenix.]
-[Li Luo is meshing better and better with his teammates. Wolfsburg might even stop Bayern Munich from winning the title this season, haha!]
Wolfsburg's celebrations gradually died down.
In the 68th minute.
During a stoppage, the fourth official raised the LED number board at the sideline outside the center circle.
"Hecking is making a substitution."
"He's taking Li Luo off."
"With four matches in one week during this brutal stretch, the young player really needs proper rest."
"Don't run him into the ground."
Applause rose in waves from the Meazza Stadium stands.
Li Luo walked to the sideline and high-fived Arnold before embracing him.
Hecking excitedly spread his arms.
"Fantastic, Li!"
"Go get some rest."
The assistant coaches all handed him dry towels and water.
For some reason,
the moment Li Luo walked off the pitch, he suddenly felt exhausted.
Still, he was in a great mood.
[Shock Value acquired: 170256]
[Consume 100,000 Shock Value to exchange for the Europa League Stars Blind Box?]
[Exchanging...]
Li Luo high-fived his teammates on the bench and the staff all the way over before taking his seat.
Rumble!
A gigantic card suddenly rose up before him.
Come on.
There was a high chance the Europa League Blind Box would not yield anything useless!
He needed to improve in every aspect.
Looking forward to it...
[Blind Box opening...]
A phantom image of a "Bicycle Kick" slowly emerged from the card.
[Europa League Golden Boot.]
[Europa League God of Slaughter, Europa League Striker Overlord, Europa League Tiger.]
[When Porto qualified for the UEFA Champions League, he transferred to Atlético Madrid; when Atlético Madrid qualified for the UEFA Champions League, he transferred to Monaco; when Monaco qualified for the UEFA Champions League, he transferred to Manchester United... In the 2014/15 season, Manchester United failed to qualify for European competition and could not even play in the Europa League.]
Who was this unlucky bastard?
Was he cursed by the Champions League?
Li Luo could not help recalling a compilation of "football curses" he had watched recently.
Guttmann's curse, Maradona's curse, the FIFA Confederations Cup champion's curse... and so on.
The funniest one was in Japan's J.League. There was a striker named Ryoichi Maeda. From 2007 to 2012, across six seasons, every team against which he scored his first goal of the season would be relegated from the J.League.
It scared every J.League club into issuing the same order: under no circumstances could they let that kid open his account!
[Congratulations! You have obtained: Falcao's "Tiger Descends the Mountain" module!]
[Awoo~]
[During matches, you can link shooting movements more smoothly and adjust your shooting posture more easily.]
[Additional attribute bonus: Shooting +5]
Good stuff.
With several modules stacked together, his shooting attribute... had already reached a whopping 75 points!
Müller's "False Run" module's attribute adjustment.
The attribute bonuses from Matthäus Cannon and Falcao's shooting technique.
With 75 points in shooting, did the heroes of the Europa League dare to be afraid?
The night breeze at Meazza Stadium gradually dried his sweat.
It felt as if even his pores were breathing.
Li Luo felt utterly refreshed.
The psychological pressure on him dropped sharply.
At Wolfsburg, such a united and balanced Bundesliga team, he could quietly develop and steadily improve.
Next season, riding seven-colored clouds...
"Theatre of Dreams, your genius has returned!"
"Oh my, why does our Manchester United Crown Prince not seem to have improved much?"
In the end,
beep! Beep-beep~
Meazza Stadium rang with the whistle that broke Inter Milan fans' hearts.
Inter Milan 1:3 Wolfsburg.
Hecking pumped his fist excitedly.
Wolfsburg's fans were overjoyed.
They had claimed another Europa League victory, and the dawn of qualification for the knockout stage shone ever brighter.
The Chinese teenager stood beside the pitch-side sponsor board and accepted interviews from Italian media.
Microphones and cameras were thrust toward him.
Camera flashes kept going off.
A chubby reporter asked, "Li, your performance tonight was spectacular, but many Apennines fans may not know you well yet. Could you introduce yourself?"
"My name is Li Luo. I'm eighteen years old, and I'm Chinese."
"Then would you come play in Serie A?"
Serie A?
He was returning to Manchester United next season. There was no way he could join another club.
Li Luo instinctively shook his head.
But then he felt that might be impolite.
"Serie A has a glorious history, and countless stars have left legendary moments on the Apennines Peninsula..."
Clap, clap, clap.
Thunderous applause broke out.
The Italian media were very pleased with that answer.
Suddenly,
the chubby reporter raised another question. "During the international break half a month from now, will you represent the China National Team? Will you make your national team debut? As far as I know, the opponent will be Japan's second team."
"A period of adjustment before the Asian Cup!"
"I believe many Chinese fans hope you can erase the humiliation of the China National Team's 1:5 crushing defeat to Thailand's second team."
"You carry the expectations of countless Chinese fans!"
Li Luo froze for a moment.
With the club playing four matches a week recently, he had had no time at all to follow outside news.
What?
An international break?
An international A-level match, representing the China National Football Team against Japan's second team?
Wouldn't that expose many of his weaknesses?
The level... and style of his China National Football Team teammates were not like those of his Wolfsburg teammates.
Hecking's tactical system and Wolfsburg's players had concealed many of his shortcomings to a great extent.
The China National Football Team? Erasing the humiliation of that 1:5 loss?
A warm-up period before the Asian Cup?
Li Luo instantly felt the pressure multiply.
I'm still in the beginner village, leveling with high-level players, and now you want me to wear starter gear and solo an elite monster?
In truth, Chinese fans were not that harsh.
Previously, when the China National Football Team lost 0:8 to Brazil, Chinese fans had been very tolerant and understanding, speaking out online to encourage them.
But losing 1:5 to Thailand's second team... that scoreline was simply too hard to accept.
A moment later, the interview ended.
Li Luo calmed himself down.
No matter what, he had to face it bravely.
There was still half a month until the international A-level match.
There was also one more Bundesliga match in which he could exchange for a Blind Box.
There was still room to improve.
A mechanical, icy electronic synthesized voice quietly sounded.
[Mission triggered: China National Team debut.]
[Mission description: Regardless of the match result, you will receive a gift.]
[Mission reward: Dark-Gold Treasure Chest.]
Not a Blind Box exchanged with Shock Value?
It was a treasure chest that gave him a reward directly?
Good stuff.
Li Luo's Spatial Awareness module had come from a treasure chest!
News reports climbed one after another onto China's trending lists.
<An Inward-Curling Arc That Pierced the Night Sky Over Meazza Stadium.>
<Li Luo Controlled the Field, Two Brilliant Assists Destroy Inter Milan.>
A Rising Europa League Star.
<Mastermind Hecking's Plan: Li Luo and De Bruyne Form a Super Double-Pivot Midfield.>
<Japanese Media: A Major International A-Level Clash, J.League and Overseas Elite Players Assemble to Face Genius Li Luo!>
<Chinese Football Association: Will Li Luo Play? We Need to Hold a Meeting to Study and Discuss It.>
<The Sun: Li Luo May Secretly Meet an Eastern Girl During the International Break.>
The number of comments, likes, and reposts continued to skyrocket.
-[What? Li Luo is going to beat up the Japanese?]
-[That's a good thing!]
-[That Japanese headline makes me feel like I'm reading dialogue from Captain Tsubasa...]
-[Football is a team sport. Everyone, do not put too much pressure on Li Luo. He has had no time to build chemistry with the China National Football Team while playing in the Bundesliga. We need to be tolerant and understanding. He's the only college student in the whole village! Don't attack him, don't insult him.]
-[Yeah, no matter the score, we have to encourage Li Luo. He's still very young, and he has been playing so well in the Bundesliga. Don't let him carry those crushing expectations of the national team.]
-[One genius cannot save the China National Football Team, but we must support Li Luo to the very end!]
-[Two assists against Inter Milan in the Europa League—who dares question our Luo's ability?]
-[That long pass from Li Luo... it was simply a work of art.]
Before you continue