July 2015.
Karytaina, Greece.
UEFA European Under-19 Championship, first round of the group stage.
Spain U19 versus France U19.
Even as the match entered its closing stages,
the tempo of both teams' transitions between attack and defense remained fiercely intense.
Possession changed hands again and again.
The frantic end-to-end battle ignited the passion of fans from both nations.
The LED scoreboard hanging high above the pitch showed 0:0.
By the sidelines,
the two head coaches gestured animatedly at their players, as if they wished they had game controllers in their hands.
This match did not attract much attention in Asia.
The major video platforms had no interest in buying the broadcasting rights.
China livestream.
An amateur streamer spoke in heavily accented Mandarin. "Brothers, we pirated the video feed from overseas, so there might be some issues! Just make do with it!"
A huge crowd of Happy Beans players in the comments anxiously followed the match.
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[A bunch of useless trash! They attack so fiercely, yet they just can't score! That idiot Dembélé from France wasted two one-on-ones!]
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[Stupid referee! Always calling offside! How was Asensio offside? Was it his body hair?]
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[Why isn't Spain U19 playing possession football either? There aren't even many La Masia youngsters in the squad anymore. Real Madrid has four, while Osasuna has five!]
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[Barcelona is surviving on MSN now! How many new players have they promoted from La Masia Academy over the past two years?]
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[He falls to the ground after a little touch again? Bury him alive on the spot! A substitution? Damn it! Making a change only in the 87th minute—what's the point!]
In the 88th minute of the match,
the ball went out of bounds.
The referee blew his whistle and signaled for a substitution.
The camera panned over.
A black-haired youth wearing the red number 6 shirt stood calmly beside the center circle.
The Chinese fans in the livestream
were dumbfounded.
Why was there an Asian player on Spain U19?
Was he from Korea or Japan?
"Brothers, hold on, I'll look him up."
"Lee Kang? Li Kang? Damn! This guy is Chinese-Spanish! He's from La Masia Academy and plays midfield. This is his first appearance for Spain U19!"
"According to FIFA regulations, once he represents Spain in an intercontinental match, it seems he won't be able to play for our China National Football Team. Pah! You guys are right—the China National Football Team is a pile of crap. Who cares which country he represents? As long as he can score and assist, he's our good brother!"
The match continued.
The hearts of the Happy Beans players suddenly sank halfway.
On camera,
the Chinese-Spanish youth named Leo Kang kept turning his head the instant he stepped onto the field, observing the positions of the other players.
He was not fast, but he always arrived beside his teammates at the most critical moments to provide support.
Every pass and reception he made was extremely sensible as well.
With his teammates' cooperation, he gradually took control of the middle.
The rhythm of the match seemed to slow tenfold.
It extinguished the enthusiasm of the fans in the stands.
The entire stadium fell quiet as the ball was passed around at varying speeds.
In the livestream, the Happy Beans players erupted in anger:
Was this guy playing retirement football?
Damn it, La Masia products were all the same after all!
Sleep-inducing football!
The little streamer was dumbfounded too.
Was this really a youth match where goals were usually scored in droves?
It was over. The gifts were completely gone.
Happy Beans players were realistic. No goals meant no one would send gifts!
By the sidelines,
the fourth official raised the stoppage-time board.
France U19's head coach grew anxious.
In his eyes, his team was a title favorite, clearly a level above their opponent. What was this declining Spain worth? How could they be playing so miserably!
With a broad wave of his hand,
he frantically urged the French youngsters forward! Intensify the high press!
Leo Kang seemed to have seen through the change in their formation.
Looking at France's loose defensive line,
he made a gesture.
In an instant, he accelerated the rhythm in midfield!
The ball moved rapidly between the feet of players in red shirts.
They easily dissolved the opposition's pressure.
Spain's formation surged forward wildly.
In the final minute of stoppage time,
inside the forty-meter area of France's half,
he received a pass from a teammate once more.
His body tilted slightly.
He drew back his left leg.
Then he delivered an ultra-long through ball.
The line was not precise enough.
The weight was not quite right.
Yet it was like a blunt knife scraping across the Gallic Rooster's throat!
"Brothers, it's happening! Damn, that's awesome!"
"France's defense is absolute crap! Asensio! One-on-one!"
When Asensio broke through France U19's goal,
the Spanish supporters' stand erupted in thunderous cheers.
The LED scoreboard changed!
His teammates rushed toward the goalscorer as well, celebrating without restraint.
Spain's head coach clenched his fist and roared loudly, all decorum forgotten.
On the other side,
France's head coach wore an expression as ugly as if he had eaten shit:
Damn it! How could a U19 match have a freak with such incredible game-reading ability!
The scouts from various clubs lurking in the stands all lowered their heads, their fingers flying as they recorded something unknown.
China livestream.
The comments flooded the screen.
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[Leo Kang! What an incredible assist! Fan for life!]
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[Thank you, Leo Kang, for saving my life! That vision and awareness! Insane!]
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[Good brother!]
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[Good brother!]
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[Good brother!]
Leo Kang's expression remained calm.
When the referee blew the final whistle,
he slowly walked off the pitch.
A mechanical synthesized voice sounded in his mind.
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[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the mission: National Team Debut!]
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[Personal evaluation: S]
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[Mission reward being issued. Congratulations, host, you have obtained: Rui Costa's "Godlike Through Ball" module (incomplete)!]
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[Passing: 70-81!]
Barcelona.
La Masia Academy.
Sports director Robert angrily smashed the remote control.
"Those idiots from the national team! How could they let Leo Kang play? Do they know how much money Barcelona has lost because of this? How am I supposed to sell him back to the Chinese Super League now?"
In this parallel world,
in recent years, with the rise of big-money football in the Chinese Super League,
transfer fees for Chinese players
had made clubs in Europe and South America restless with anticipation.
And so,
more and more Chinese youngsters were packaged by agency companies and sent to elite overseas clubs.
They waited until the media had praised them enough!
Then they pulled off a scheme of exporting them before selling them back home.
Roura, the youth academy director, carefully watched the replay of the goal and smiled. "Wouldn't it be good to keep Leo Kang at La Masia? Guardiola and Vilanova praised him back then."
"If his technique at his feet improves by leaps and bounds, he might become Xavi's successor!"
Before he could finish,
Robert interrupted him. "He's mute!"
Roura shook his head and corrected him with a smile. "It's aphasia, Mr. Robert."
Barcelona's sports director said dismissively, "Leo Kang's data in every category is extremely average. I need to get rid of him and sell him as soon as possible. I asked Enrique for his opinion before, and he said he had no interest in Leo Kang at all!"
Roura sighed. "Then don't visit the youth academy cafeteria in the future. Leo Kang's adoptive mother will poison your snail bread."
Robert could not help shuddering.
"I remember now. Aunt Sofia had an affair with Spain U19's head coach when she was young! No wonder Leo Kang got a few minutes on the field."
One week later.
The UEFA European Under-19 Championship ended.
Spain U19 ultimately won the title!
Asensio was named the UEFA European Under-19 Championship's best MVP.
Leo Kang never received another chance to play in the subsequent matches.
Naturally, he did not create any buzz in media coverage either.
Even in the post-title group photo,
he stood at the very back, at the edge.
This national team experience had been fairly ordinary for him. He had merely picked up a small medal.
He did not interact much with his teammates in private either.
It was just that the head coach's gaze whenever he looked at him felt strange.
July in Barcelona was scorching hot.
Leo Kang's "home" was located at the old site of La Masia Academy.
Inside the cafeteria,
a middle-aged woman with distinctly Castilian features checked the stopwatch in her hand.
Lunch was over.
She frowned and walked over to the young players.
"Paez, why did you leave so much food again? Isn't Xavi your idol? When Xavi was little, he licked his plate clean every time!"
"Ansu! You too! Don't run!"
"..."
"Aunt Sofia! Look, Leo is back!"
"Don't think you can fool me with that trick again!"
When Leo Kang appeared in the doorway,
the young players seized the chance and scattered in all directions.
Aunt Sofia turned around, unable to hide the delight on her face.
She wiped her hands on her apron before walking over.
With a smile, Leo Kang took a bank card from his backpack and handed it to her.
It was his pay from the U19 national team.
It was not much. Even with the assist bonuses, it barely amounted to anything.
Aunt Sofia put the bank card back into his backpack.
"I have nowhere to spend money. Those stupid national team coaches—you're obviously so outstanding, yet you only got a few minutes of playing time!"
Leo Kang had transmigrated into this parallel world.
For more than ten years, he had lived in extreme poverty.
Aunt Sofia, a Castilian, had somehow come to Catalonia, where she endured constant exclusion.
Of course, working in the La Masia cafeteria meant she never had to worry about food or shelter.
Four years ago, Leo Kang had suddenly awakened the Green Pitch Superstar System and gained God's Perspective.
That was how he had gotten the chance to pass La Masia's trial.
Amazing match-reading ability, right?
He had traded his language skills for it.
Before you continue