Who Else? Who Isn't Shocked?

[Shock Value Gained: 39]

[Beginner's Bonus: Your first Bundesliga All-Stars Blind Box exchange costs only 40 Shock Value.]

Just one point short of Shock Value?

Who else was there?

Who hadn't been shocked?

Li Luo looked around and silently counted the people on the training ground.

This was bad.

Even counting the elderly security guard, there were indeed only thirty-nine people.

"..."

A short, squat figure squeezed out from the passageway.

It was Tom.

The guy scampered to the sidelines and whispered with the assistant coaches for a while. His face gradually filled with shock as he waved his chubby hand. "Li! That's amazing!"

[Shock Value +1]

Beep! Beep-beep~

The training match was over.

The Wolfsburg players all ran back to the locker room.

Li Luo took the towel Tom handed him and said earnestly, "You've done an excellent job. I'll make a call later and have them give you a raise."

Tom froze for a moment, then immediately caught on. "Oh! Praise you, kind Li. I'll definitely work hard for you!"

Rain poured down in torrents.

Everyone quickly retreated to the locker room.

The captain, Benaglio, took the initiative to pat Li Luo on the butt.

The vice-captain, Schäfer, followed suit.

This was a Bundesliga tradition. Among players, patting someone on the butt was body language for approval, encouragement, and friendliness.

Research from Cologne Sports University showed that appropriate physical contact could stimulate oxytocin secretion, convey positive emotions, relieve stress, and strengthen the willingness to cooperate.

Of course.

Even in the Bundesliga, butts did not always signify friendly behavior.

In a Bundesliga match in 2004, the legendary goalkeeper Kahn once pulled down his shorts and stuck out his butt to provoke the opposing fans.

"Li, come here for a moment."

"I won't take up too much of your time."

Hecking waved him over and called Li Luo into his office.

Through the office's floor-to-ceiling windows, countless blue-and-white Volkswagen logos could be seen.

Along the banks of the Aller River stood large signs with simple designs. Stretching his imagination, Li Luo saw "a trench-coated man with his hands in his pockets," "a red car," and "a sheep lowering its head to graze"...

Many of the buildings were relics from the last century.

One of them bore the sign, "Vibes Bar Lounge Wolfsburg."

Beneath the sign, a group of heavily built waiters were "enthusiastically" soliciting customers at the entrance...

"Li?"

Li Luo snapped back to his senses.

Hecking handed him a bottle of mineral water.

"You performed excellently in training. I've decided to start you tomorrow."

"Thank you, Mr. Hecking."

"No need to thank me. You're very good. Even in such terrible weather and such a harsh environment, your technique on the ball is still at the level of the China National Football Team... Sorry, I wasn't joking. I nearly went to coach in the Chinese Super League, so I did my homework."

Hecking looked serious.

He had once harshly criticized the Chinese Super League, believing that its money-driven football represented a regression in competitive sports.

Li Luo was stunned. It was the first time he had heard that kind of assessment. So his current ball control, at just over forty attribute points... had already reached the level of a national team player.

Even people who knew nothing about football knew the China National Football Team was bad.

But were national team players really as bad as he was now?

"There's also the matter of tactical resources between you and De Bruyne..."

The Wolfsburg manager hesitated.

Li Luo smiled. If he replaced De Bruyne as the core right now, what would Wolfsburg become? Forget gaining Shock Value—he'd be lucky not to gain Rage Value instead.

"No problem, Mr. Hecking."

"Good! You're a fine lad. I was overthinking it—I mistook you for the kind of player who demanded a central role... I was wrong. A central role is earned on the pitch, not argued for with words."

Hecking's expression turned grave. A super talent like Li was actually so team-oriented, so selfless... Who said he and De Bruyne had to fight over tactical resources? They could coexist in midfield. The coaching staff had to study this carefully! They needed to hold a meeting tonight to discuss how to optimize the midfield!

Li Luo watched the head coach's ever-changing expression.

He couldn't help thinking, Why are all football people so weird? I'm in a hurry to get back and draw my football star blind box.

Back in the locker room.

His teammates were all very welcoming.

Even the arrogant Arsenal Emperor, Bendtner, came over of his own accord. "I'll take you to Resonance Bar sometime! In future matches, you'd better give me a few more assists, kid."

Was his taste really that heavy?

Li Luo recalled the plump waitresses gathered beneath that sign and shook his head. "Maybe next time. I still have to go home and study."

Everyone burst into laughter.

They didn't know the Chinese boy meant studying football knowledge. They thought he was going home to study his schoolwork.

De Bruyne nodded. His initial impression of Li Luo was fairly good.

Twenty minutes later.

Li Luo returned home.

The first thing he did was redeem a blind box!

No.

First, he needed to call Manchester United and get them to raise Tom's salary.

Wolfsburg had also treated the Manchester United entourage well, allowing them to move around freely with Li Luo.

Without Tom, he wouldn't have been able to redeem the blind box today.

After the call went through, Manchester United's administrative staff checked in on him at length before finally saying that Li Luo should feel free to make any requests in the future and keep in touch.

[Would you like to spend 40 Shock Points to redeem a Bundesliga Star Blind Box?]

[Redeeming...]

Rumble!

A giant card suddenly rose before him!

Unlike the colorful template cards, this star blind box card only glowed white.

[Opening blind box...]

The white light grew increasingly blinding.

A figure slowly emerged from within the card.

Li Luo felt as if he were in a Pokémon cartoon right now: "Who am I?" "Psyduck." Dun~ dun-dun-dun-dun-dun~

[Congratulations! You have obtained: Bayern Munich—Thiago's "One-Touch Passing" module!]

[A gifted midfielder produced by La Masia's youth academy.]

[Xavi of Barcelona B? Thiago of Bayern Munich.]

[An inheritance of lullabies.]

[With his one-touch passing, he could send out super magnetic-levitation through balls that astonished everyone.]

[Everything was under his control; he could pass the ball to a Santa Claus making a high-speed run.]

[Effect: You have mastered Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago's "One-Touch Passing" technique, and the training effect for your passing attribute has been greatly enhanced.]

[Passing: 49↑]

What?

The training effect for his passing attribute had been greatly enhanced!

He wouldn't have to be sickened by Pinduoduo-style decimal points anymore, right?

"One-Touch Passing?"

"What does that mean? The textbook didn't explain it clearly... Oh, I just haven't learned it yet."

Li Luo turned on his computer and searched through the video collection in his notebook.

Morata Teaches You Passing Step by Step.

He dragged the progress bar to the One-Touch Passing section.

On the training ground shown on the screen, the weather was bright and clear.

Morata, wearing a Juventus shirt, demonstrated and explained with the staff's assistance.

[The ball's coming—don't control it. Smack, switch it with one touch.]

[The ball's coming again—don't control it. Smack, send it out with one touch.]

[You can choose a short pass, a long pass, a through ball, or, if you trust your technique, directly switch play over a large area and pull the opponent's defense apart on its weak side.]

[Of course, if you haven't scanned the field properly during a match, never use One-Touch Passing. You might pass it to the opponent—or even into your own goal.]

[If your team has three Moratas, congratulations—you can play dazzling pass-and-move football!]

[If your team has only one Morata, congratulations as well. Your team can let Morata control the timing of "accelerating" and the attacking tempo, fully leveraging the advantages of One-Touch Passing: reducing time on the ball, disrupting the opposition defenders' movement and positioning, lowering the risk of possession, suddenly piercing the defensive line, breaking high-intensity pressure, shortening the attacking chain during transitions, relieving teammates' pressure...]

[Look at that. Pretty stylish football.]

[If your vision and ability to read the game are poor, then even the most exquisite One-Touch Passing technique is useless.]

Li Luo suddenly understood.

So that was it.

Spatial Awareness, combined with One-Touch Passing... on the pitch, their power stacked!

Its tactical value could be shown at both ends of the field.