Dawn broke, and Wolfsburg's training ground lay veiled beneath a gauzy curtain of rain.
In normally dry Lower Saxony, a fine drizzle fell without pause.
Li Luo was not late; he arrived right on time.
After changing into his jersey and boots, he stepped onto the training ground.
He suddenly noticed that the feeling of grass beneath his feet was different from Manchester's.
The Wolfsburg coaching staff gathered around him warmly. "Sharp-eyed Li, the Premier League and Bundesliga have different climates. At this time of year, we use turf with rougher blades and denser roots."
"You'll need some time to get used to it."
Everyone had studied footage of the Chinese prodigy from Manchester United Youth Team and formed a fixed impression: Li Luo's ball control, passing, and footwork were highly refined. He was an Xavi or Pirlo type and would need time to adapt to the turf.
"Mm."
Li Luo nodded and silently committed the information to memory.
Not far away.
The Wolfsburg first-team players paused their warm-up drills and curiously sized up the newly arrived Chinese teenager.
"Huh? That guy's so short!"
"Clean face, no huge beard. He looks like a kid."
"He is a kid."
"Li is probably the shortest player in our first team, right? Lucky guy. Low center of gravity, quick steps. I watched that UEFA Youth League final—his control of the game and dribbling were strong."
"Vieirinha is short too, but his beard is thick."
They were not maliciously judging Li Luo's height. From a tactical standpoint, they saw him as a potential explosive weapon.
Head coach Hecking pulled a long face and interrupted his players. "Quiet! Rain isn't an excuse for us to slack off! Tomorrow's opponents won't relax just because they get soaked!"
His tone was severe, his expression fierce.
Then he turned around, put on a kindly smile, and jogged toward the Chinese prodigy.
The Wolfsburg players immediately shut up and resumed warming up.
The team doctor had advised the coaching staff that training in the rain could cause colds, but the suggestion was always firmly rejected.
Gradually.
Even the club executives had become accustomed to it. The previous head coach, Magath, had trained with absurd intensity, practically trying to work the players to death.
The players had no complaints. What was a little rain? Compared with other clubs, Wolfsburg's current training intensity was perfectly reasonable.
The rain slanted down, carrying the scent of wet soil and the chill of grass.
Li Luo's black hair looked as though it had been sprinkled with grains of white sugar.
He smiled politely and greeted the Wolfsburg manager.
"Mr. Hecking, good morning!"
At those words.
Hecking smiled and nodded in response. His mood instantly eased, and he formed a good impression of Li Luo: gentle, polite, and pleasant when he smiled. Unlike that troublemaker from Arsenal, and even less like De Bruyne, who had waited for him to speak first.
He took the medical report handed over by an assistant coach and muttered,
"Hmm? A little trouble adapting to the local conditions?"
"Boss, I don't have any trouble adapting."
"Good, good lad!"
Li Luo answered instinctively, then took the training bib handed to him by a staff member and joined the warm-up.
Not far away.
A Wolfsburg assistant coach blew the whistle for the scrimmage.
The rain grew heavier, and the grass became increasingly slippery.
The players' ball control, technical movements, and passing were all affected.
Even De Bruyne, with his elite passing ability, made mistakes.
Li Luo stood at the sideline with several teammates.
He was not nervous at all now.
The Spatial Awareness module in his mind was running at full speed.
This time.
He would not run around blindly like a headless fly.
The training match reached the twelfth minute.
De Bruyne sent a marvelous long pass, and the ball carved a rainbow-like path through the misty rain.
Bendtner, standing 190 centimeters tall, burst forward.
Thud.
The wet turf caused the big man to crash heavily to the ground.
The ball splashed as it landed, then rolled weakly out of bounds.
The Arsenal Emperor laughed as he got back to his feet and gave the Belgian prodigy a thumbs-up.
De Bruyne shyly returned the gesture.
The Wolfsburg coaching staff at the sideline nodded in satisfaction.
"Rain affects visibility."
"Bendtner's timing was half a beat slow, but looking back, his running route was very sensible. As expected of a prodigy produced by Arsenal's academy—top-tier Spatial Awareness."
"De Bruyne's game reading is top-tier too."
"The other players have been affected quite a lot."
"Put Li on!"
"Put him on De Bruyne's team!"
Beep!
Li Luo put on Team A's bib and jogged onto the field.
His teammates did not expect much. With rain this heavy and turf this slippery, a nimble, quick-footed prodigy skilled at passing, receiving, dribbling, and shooting would not pose much of a threat.
Hecking thought the same.
"Li still needs time to understand our formation changes and tactical system, then gradually integrate."
"Even a genius finds everything here unfamiliar. He needs time to adapt to everything at Wolfsburg."
"Take it slow."
"I'm not in a hurry."
Not nervous at all.
Completely not nervous.
Li Luo's expression remained calm.
The Spatial Awareness in his mind had already perfectly deconstructed Wolfsburg's formation shifts.
Every piece of information on the pitch was under his control.
The rain would conceal the shortcomings of his footwork attributes, which were only in the forties.
The match continued.
The football continued kicking up strings of droplets across the grass.
Both sides' formations constantly shifted with the players' movements.
A group of assistant coaches shouted from the sideline:
"Li, over there!"
"Get forward, Li!"
"Drop back, drop back, Li!"
They were trying to help Li Luo adapt to Bundesliga turf, integrate into his new environment, and fit into the locker room.
Gradually.
Everyone began to realize that something was wrong. Their brows furrowed, and their expressions turned astonished.
Li Luo's positioning was more sensible than the instructions they were shouting.
His movements began before he even heard their voices.
No.
It was... Li Luo's brain was faster than theirs!
Hecking's mouth fell open.
Bendtner, the "Arsenal Emperor" who had been substituted off, widened his eyes. This kid's Spatial Awareness... The Sun had not been making it up, and those Swansea City players were not idiots.
The teammates on the field were secretly shocked as well. Was this kid's vision... unaffected by the rain? His positioning was so sensible that it seemed like the result of precise computer calculations.
The longer De Bruyne played, the more confused he became. Before every reception or pass, he would see Li Luo already appearing in the most suitable position, creating the safest possible passing lane with the best angle for him.
"Hey, Li Luo even raises a finger to direct his teammates' runs!"
"Genius!"
"Super genius!"
"Commander!"
"The rain affects Li Luo's passing, receiving, dribbling, and shooting! But it can't conceal his vision, game reading, positioning, awareness, and off-the-ball movement..."
Hecking and the assistant coaches trembled.
Every face said the same thing: They had found treasure!
"By the way."
"Have you noticed that Li's way of handling physical duels is sensible too?"
"A modern way of contesting the ball."
"He may be short, but he's very good at using his core strength. He uses his backside very effectively."
"Yeah, too effectively. Manchester United's academy has some real substance."
European youth-training textbooks had been updated rapidly over the past decade, removing outdated concepts every year. Many young players had already settled into their technical habits, and the flaws in some of their movements had become ingrained, making them difficult to correct.
Manchester United was no exception.
Those naturally gifted stars would not be affected.
At this moment, no one knew.
Li Luo had only recently begun learning football, and his textbook... was the latest edition.
Ten minutes later.
Li Luo saw a teammate behind him win possession.
In an instant.
He immediately burst into motion.
His physical qualities were strong. At 173 centimeters tall, with a low center of gravity, he exploded off his first steps with tremendous speed.
Cruyff had once said: speed was not simply running fast, but starting earlier than your opponent.
"Transition to attack!"
"Get the ball to Li!"
The assistant coaches grew excited again.
Gustavo completed the interception and passed to De Bruyne.
The latter was shocked beyond measure.
There was no need to calculate the lead on the pass at all...
Smack!
The instant the ball left the ground.
Li Luo's figure happened to burst past the opponent's defensive line.
He was not offside.
"One-on-one!"
"This kid's football IQ is fucking high!"
Team B's goalkeeper was a little dazed.
At first, when he saw Li Luo, still unfamiliar with Wolfsburg's tactical system, come on wearing Team A's bib, he thought the scrimmage was unfair.
Now, seeing Li Luo nearly slip while controlling the ball before dribbling toward him one-on-one, he thought the scrimmage was unfair.
The distance closed rapidly.
Li Luo watched Team B's goalkeeper rush out.
Damn.
He had made a mistake the moment he controlled the ball, exposing the weakness of his footwork, which was only in the forties.
Facing a one-on-one now would expose his shortcomings in ball control and shooting even more.
The next moment.
He made another mistake while dribbling. His stability with the ball at his feet was far too poor.
It was about to go wide...
Team B's goalkeeper carefully watched the changes in Li Luo's shoulders.
A feint?
A real move?
In the end, he was thrown off balance by his own hesitation and fell to the ground.
He tried to brace himself with his hands, but the slippery turf made him fall again.
Before everyone's eyes, Li Luo and the ball moved forward on separate, diverging paths.
"Ball-and-Player Split!"
"Wow!"
Li Luo went around the fallen goalkeeper, touched the ball again, and gently rolled it into the empty net.
Clap clap clap!
Everyone applauded.
Hecking and the assistant coaches looked at him with approval.
His teammates could not help giving him a thumbs-up.
Amid the torrential rain, on the drenched turf, no one doubted Li Luo's skill at his feet.
[The Bundesliga journey had officially begun...] [Shock Value +1] [Shock Value +1] [Shock Value +1] [...]
Li Luo was a little bewildered as he watched the Shock Value notifications continuously float up.
The system prompt did not stop.
[Star Player Blind Box reward pool confirmed: Bundesliga All-Stars.] [Beginner benefit: The first Bundesliga All-Stars Blind Box exchange costs only 40 Shock Value.] [Each subsequent exchange requires 100,000 Shock Value.]
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