Loan to the Bundesliga? Reward: Peak Template! (Thanks to Big Stick Hits Harder for the alliance leadership)

The distant land of the East.

The media rushed to lavishly hype the Chinese prodigy's debut at the Theatre of Dreams.

<Turning the Tide, Li Luo's Last-Minute Header Levels the Score and Saves the Red Devils!>

<The Football King's Style: Chinese Prodigy Showcases Messi-Like Movement.>

<False Leaning to Draw Markers: Rising Star Recreates Cristiano Ronaldo's Off-the-Ball Mind Games.>

A Milestone for Chinese Football.

<Ten-Thousand-Word Analysis: How Super Prodigy Li Luo Displayed His Tactical Value After Coming On as a Substitute—Movement, Reading the Game, Drawing Defenders, Creating Space, and Finishing.>

<Korean Media's Malicious Smear Campaign: Li Luo's Performance Was Very Ordinary. He Is Just an Ordinary Talented Player Who Is Good at Passing, Controlling, Dribbling, and Shooting. He Will Be Exposed at the Asian Cup in a Few Months, and the artificial god created by China and Manchester United will be brought down!>

The number of comments, likes, and reposts soared wildly.

-[Little Koreans, look at you getting worked up again.]

-[Li Luo's style is so sophisticated. So cool.]

-[Yeah. Wasn't Cruyff's quote—"On the pitch, statistics show that each player has the ball for an average of only three minutes... So the most important thing is: what are you doing during the 87 minutes when you don't have possession?"—describing Li Luo perfectly?]

-[Cruyff said that decades ago. In fact, in some matches nowadays, a team's central star has the ball for more than three minutes. Anyway, Li Luo is awesome.]

-[Why does the Korean media always smear us like this? Let Li Luo crush them at the Asian Cup!]

-[Hard to say. If all their overseas starters return, we only have Li Luo...]

Morning in Manchester seemed draped in a thin veil of silvery mist.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The sound of a football striking the wall startled the birds from the branches.

Li Luo trained while watching Beginner Football for Children: Become Friends with the Wall on his phone screen.

He tried to control the force of his touches.

He tried to adjust the direction of his passes.

Gradually.

He really did start to get the faintest feel for it.

Sweat soaked through his shirt, and the Chinese youth felt immensely fulfilled in spirit.

A cold, mechanical synthesized voice quietly sounded:

[Ball Control: 8→8.000001]

[Passing: 9→9.000002]

[Shooting: 6→6.000005]

[Curve: 7→7.000001]

Li Luo: "..."

It seemed that relying on his own hard training over a short period really couldn't improve his stats.

Technique could not be mastered overnight.

What should he do?

Tomorrow was a training day...

Several kilometers away, a fierce argument broke out in the Manchester United offices.

Van Gaal clenched his fists, his face red with anger.

"I don't understand. Ferguson has already retired, so why is he interfering in club affairs? Before I came to Manchester United, I had a pleasant talk with him. Our ideas were very compatible. I said I had come to lay the foundations for Manchester United and would gradually complete the transition between the old and new generations. He agreed with that, and the club was going to give me ample time..."

"Why?"

A Manchester United staff member said, "Please don't be angry. Sir Ferguson's suggestion is to give Li a different head coach."

Van Gaal snorted heavily. "If you want to get rid of me, you don't need to use Li as an excuse!"

"Giving Li a different head coach doesn't mean getting rid of you."

"What?"

"That's right. Li will be sent out on loan for the time being..."

Van Gaal looked stunned.

His anger gradually faded. He was still somewhat annoyed, but he could no longer let it out.

To be honest, given Manchester United's situation this season... Old Van really would not give Li Luo the chance to "play freely."

Not long ago, he had even had a minor dispute with Manchester United's record summer signing—Di Maria.

Di Maria believed that during his time at Real Madrid, he had enjoyed considerable decision-making freedom in the wide half-spaces. But after arriving at Manchester United, Van Gaal had demanded that he strictly carry out the task of driving to the byline and crossing...

As well as higher defensive tracking requirements.

Many people suspected that Van Gaal would freeze out the expensively acquired Di Maria...

"Then where will Li be loaned to?"

With the summer transfer window about to close, the answer would soon emerge.

Old Van sat back in his chair, quietly reading the summary email Li Luo had sent him, his feelings complicated.

It was nothing new for youth academy prodigies to go elsewhere to gain experience.

For example:

Barcelona's crown prince—Bojan—had been loaned to Serie A powerhouse Roma. Under the guidance of legends like Totti and De Rossi, his competitive mentality had improved somewhat.

Manchester United talent Pogba had joined Serie A giants Juventus on a free transfer. Under Pirlo's tutelage, his game control and long-passing abilities had advanced by leaps and bounds.

Real Madrid talent Morata had been sold to Serie A giants Juventus, where his heading ability had risen rapidly, making Real Madrid eager to trigger their preferential buyback clause.

Germany, Wolfsburg.

Allofs looked anxious. "What did they say? How did the Chinese Super League club respond?"

A staff member silently handed over a fax.

"Sigh."

"Why is the Chinese Super League club still refusing to let him go? How many times have we negotiated since last year? They just don't want to send him to the Bundesliga!"

"If we can't complete the task, how are we supposed to answer to the higher-ups?"

"Beckenbauer was right about that..."

"Boss, what did the Kaiser say?"

"He once said: if a Chinese player performs even slightly well in one of Europe's top five leagues, he'll generate limitless commercial value."

Bundesliga powerhouse Wolfsburg was wholly owned by the Volkswagen Group.

The club's transfer decisions had to align with the group's overall interests.

It was now 2014, and the Chinese market accounted for 40% of Volkswagen's global sales!

Volkswagen was about to launch technological localization in the Chinese market.

Signing a Chinese player from the Chinese Super League was an incomparably urgent commercial demand for Volkswagen.

Even if he became a mascot, it would still achieve their strategic objective.

"Boss, there's another fax from Manchester United."

"Not for sale. We're not selling anyone."

"No, Manchester United wants to... loan a midfielder to Wolfsburg."

"No need. We already have De Bruyne."

"It's a Chinese midfielder..."

"What? You fucking idiot! Why didn't you say so earlier? Oh God! It's Li! Manchester United's Crown Prince... Li! Why, why is it us? Why? Oh God! This is such a fucking surprise."

Allofs was so incoherent that he began gesturing wildly.

Volkswagen Group's commercial demands and market strategy... had just been fulfilled?

"Report this to Volkswagen Group headquarters immediately!"

"Assess the loan fee, Li's wages during the loan spell... Forget it, assess my ass. Whatever Manchester United asks for, we'll pay it. We can't screw this up."

Wolfsburg's training base.

Head coach Hecking was feeling conflicted.

That was right.

The outside world believed he could turn stone into gold, transforming De Bruyne—the player Chelsea had made look "like an idiot, running around like a headless chicken"—into the Bundesliga's hottest superstar midfield prospect...

They saw him as a wise man skilled at unearthing players' potential, a coach who could turn trash into treasure, a golden-fingered manager, an unmatched master coach.

But Hecking understood that De Bruyne himself had been extraordinarily gifted. He simply had not adapted to Chelsea's tactical system before.

"What should I do?"

"If Manchester United's Crown Prince, who excels at passing, receiving, dribbling, and shooting, has his talent worn away in my hands, Sir Ferguson will definitely curse me in his new autobiography... Then the whole world... no, even my descendants will know about it..."

"There's another problem. If Li is loaned to Wolfsburg, is there even a place for him in midfield?"

"What? Volkswagen Group requires us to guarantee Li sufficient playing time?"

The breeze along the Aller River stirred the ryegrass and fluttered the hem of Hecking's suit jacket, but it could not blow away the sorrow on his face.

Beep, beep, beep.

Li Luo's phone rang.

It was the club office's number. He was just about to answer it.

Then, suddenly—

A cold, mechanical synthesized voice sounded.

[You are about to begin your Bundesliga journey...]

[Additional reward:]

[Randomly draw the prime template of a Bundesliga legend! You will permanently possess the attributes granted by the template!]

What?

A Bundesliga journey?

Before Li Luo could think any further, five enormous character cards glowing in different colors rose before him with a thunderous crash!