Stars Shine Bright

The first half ended.

Van Gaal stormed into the players' tunnel.

Giggs followed close behind.

Manchester United's coaching staff looked somewhat at a loss.

Their opponents had the advantage of two away goals.

And were now leading by two goals.

Not to mention that United were a man down.

The match was becoming increasingly difficult.

The Manchester United players looked dejected.

If they failed to reach the Champions League proper this season, it would be an absolute disgrace for the Red Devils!

After celebrating, the Bayer Leverkusen players slowly walked off the pitch to the fans' applause.

Old Topp hurried over to Leo Kang and asked with concern about his condition.

Dino quickly handed him a dry towel and some water.

Leo Kang smiled and shook his head.

He was a little puzzled. Even with God's Perspective, he could not see through Van Gaal's tactical system, yet Manchester United did not seem all that strong.

China's livestream room.

The big screen displayed the first-half statistics for both sides.

"In previous matches, Bayer Leverkusen's passing success rate was only around 70%!"

"But in this first half, their successful dangerous-pass rate alone reached 81%! That doesn't even include the safe passes in their own half."

-

[Passing it around is passing it around. What do you mean, safe passes?]

-

[Looking back at the replay, Leo Kang barely holds onto the ball during attacking build-up. It's neither Barcelona's Tiki-taka possession game nor Arsenal-style pass-and-move. The key is that he's so secure on the ball!]

-

[He seems to be Spanish. I reckon in a few years, the Matadors' football dynasty will rise again!]

-

[Brothers! Keep supporting Bayer Leverkusen in the second half! With Leo Kang's Lamp there, it's definitely in the bag!]

Bayer Leverkusen's locker room.

Old Topp moved the little markers around on the tactical board.

"After Depay came off, Manchester United switched to a 4-4-1! At least seven players will take part in the defensive pressing in front of the box. BellArabi, you can't hold onto the ball so much in attack!"

"Mata is weak defensively and in the press, but the kid has excellent positional awareness. Watch carefully. Near the end of the first half, he kept cutting off the passing connection between Leo and the flank!"

"We can't predict what tactical changes Van Gaal will make in the second half. In any case, keep up the rhythm from the first half. Don't let their defensive pressure throw us into disarray! We can't give them any opportunities to organize counterattacks!"

"The goddess of victory is smiling upon us!"

The players all nodded seriously.

Although quite a few of them felt that everything the coach had said before that was nonsense—so long as Leo Kang was on the pitch, a ten-man Manchester United could only be suppressed by Bayer Leverkusen.

But the old man's last sentence was truly rousing!

The goddess of victory was smiling!

Only forty-five minutes stood between them and the Champions League proper!

The fifteen-minute halftime break soon ended.

Both teams returned to the pitch.

"Good evening, viewers, and welcome back. We are bringing you the second half of the 2015/16 Champions League qualifying playoff!"

"We can see that both teams have made personnel changes!"

"For Manchester United, Martial has replaced Rooney!"

"For Bayer Leverkusen, Brandt has replaced Leo Kang!"

"With the referee's whistle, the second half is officially underway!"

The rest of the match saw few twists and turns.

Bayer Leverkusen were no longer pressing Manchester United as relentlessly as they had in the first half.

Instead, they turned the match into a fragmented mess.

The ball kept flying out of bounds.

Manchester United simply could not advance it past the halfway line.

Nineteen-year-old Brandt had already shown his versatility.

He was not particularly strong defensively, and his elegant style of play was more like that of a South American player.

But he was incredibly fast. Shifted from winger to a deeper midfield role, he was the complete nemesis of players like Martial and Lingard.

Manchester United's Mata was also tightly marked by Kramer.

Son Heung-min and BellArabi also joined the team's defensive efforts.

Only then did Bayer Leverkusen's fans realize that without Çalhanoğlu, their team's defensive structure was incredibly strong.

Every player's movement had been unleashed, and when resisting Manchester United's advances down the flanks, the timing of their switches and rotations was near-perfect.

The clock ticked away.

Soon, the match entered the final stage of stoppage time.

Van Gaal gripped a bottle of mineral water and said helplessly, "That old bastard Topp is too shameless. He's deliberately dragging out the match like this!"

He then looked toward the bench.

And let out a sigh.

Manchester United were now filled with players who were either too old, too young, or injured. There was truly no one left to use.

Giggs hesitated. "Boss..."

Van Gaal shook his head. "If we can't beat this Bayer Leverkusen side, then even if we reach the Champions League proper, can we really make it out of the group stage?"

Giggs froze.

He seemed to have no choice but to accept the reality before him.

We won't have Champions League football this year.

European giants Manchester United had never been so downcast.

World-renowned manager Van Gaal had never been so humiliated.

In the end.

The referee blew the final whistle.

Bayer Leverkusen 2:0 Manchester United.

They eliminated their opponents 4:2 on aggregate and advanced to the Champions League proper!

"Congratulations to Bayer Leverkusen! Congratulations to Leo Kang!"

"Across the two-legged Champions League qualifier, Leo Kang created four goals all by himself, dragging Bayer Leverkusen back from the brink of elimination!"

"We can now hear an entire BayArena chanting a Chinese name!"

The Bayer Leverkusen players charged wildly toward the bench.

They lifted Leo Kang high into the air!

Without a doubt.

The mute Chinese was the team's hero!

In the stands on all sides.

The fans rose to their feet and gave him their most thunderous applause.

The media reporters instinctively rushed forward to compete for an interview.

Only to realize that Bayer Leverkusen's genius could not speak...

Van Gaal's face was livid as he unhappily shook hands with old Topp.

He gazed at the Chinese player's retreating back.

No one knew what he was thinking.

At the same time.

A piece of news shocked all of North Rhine.

< Bayer Leverkusen's genius midfielder rejects Barcelona buyback! >

In the eyes of ordinary fans.

Barcelona had been a superpower at the height of their dominance in recent years.

Dream Team III had lost its dominance as Xavi aged.

But the MSN trident still struck fear into Europe's strongest sides.

Messi, Neymar, and Suárez—three all-time great attacking killers—held up Barcelona's post-Dream Team III era!

This was practically the dream club for ordinary players!

In front of their televisions, Bayer Leverkusen fans struggled for a moment to process the sheer amount of information in the news.

"Leo Kang actually rejected Barcelona?"

"He rejected championships! He rejected glory! He chose to stay at Bayer Leverkusen!"

"Our hero! He isn't another Fàbregas!"

In an instant.

The last trace of gloom in the fans' hearts was swept away!

China.

The news of Bayer Leverkusen eliminating Manchester United did not draw much attention.

But the news that Leo Kang had refused to return to Barcelona made the front pages of every major football outlet.

< Sporting director Robert: Barcelona will wait for every child to return! >

< The discarded giant who shone in the Bundesliga does not want to go home! >

< Would anyone in the world reject Barcelona? Messi is stunned! >

The numbers of likes, comments, and reposts soared.

-

[What a shame. If Leo Kang went back to Barcelona, I'd buy his jersey! He doesn't know how to plan his career at all! Going back to Barcelona would be great—he could win trophies just lying on the bench!]

-

[I think Leo Kang wouldn't get a chance even if he returned to Barcelona. His acting isn't good enough!]

-

[Messi is stunned? What kind of nonsense headline is that!]

-

[I'm a fan now. As a Real Madrid fan, I have to say I admire talented young players like this who don't worship the strong!]

-

[As a Chelsea fan, I approve!]

-

[Say, what if Bayer Leverkusen meet Barcelona in the Champions League...]

North Rhine.

The entire Bayer Leverkusen squad returned to the training base.

Old Topp was beaming.

He announced a day off for every player!

Everyone cheered with excitement.

Assistant coach Dino shouted along with them.

Topp patted him on the head. "What are you so happy about? The coaching staff still needs to hold a match review meeting!"

The players burst out laughing.

They had not found this match particularly difficult.

Especially in the first half, the midfield and backline possession play led by Leo Kang early on had barely made his teammates break a sweat.

After the coaching staff left.

Captain Bender suddenly said, "Come drink at my place! It's still early!"

He was from a wealthy family.

When he came to Bayer Leverkusen from 1860 Munich in 2009, his family bought him a huge villa in an upscale neighborhood.

Son Heung-min hesitated before saying, "My dad doesn't let me drink..."

Kramer said, "Bender can call in lots of hot blondes from magazine covers."

Son Heung-min immediately took out his phone from his backpack and made a call. "Dad, I'll head home after doing some extra training at the club!"

He looked very honest.

But paparazzi had photographed him entering nightclubs more than once.

Bender threw an arm around Leo Kang and Brandt's shoulders and laughed. "You two minors can drink mineral water!"

Brandt angrily shoved him away. "Who are you looking down on? I'm already nineteen!"

Leo Kang smiled. It seemed that extremely self-disciplined players were still in the minority.

Eleven that night.

Leo Kang carried the drunken Brandt back to the first-team dormitory.

He had not drunk any alcohol.

After all, without the system, he was nothing but trash.

Talent determined the ceiling.

Discipline determined the lower limit.

The two security guards hurriedly caught Brandt.

They said nervously:

"Leo, you should hurry up and rest. If you do extra training, they'll dock our pay."

"Yeah, the fitness coach said your testosterone—"

Leo Kang smiled and returned to his dormitory.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for completing the mission: Advance to the Champions League proper!]

[Personal Evaluation: SSS!]

[Mission reward being issued.]

[Congratulations, Host, you have obtained: Platinum Treasure Chest!]

He had not even played the full match, yet his personal evaluation was still that high?

The Injury Immunity Physique Module had already proven it: anything from a Platinum Treasure Chest was bound to be top quality!

Leo Kang could not help looking forward to it.

This time, he did not check the reward pool.

[Opening Platinum Treasure Chest.]

[Congratulations, Host, you have obtained: Two-Footed Balance Module!]

[Additional Attribute Increase: Speed +2%, Ball Control +2%, Shooting +2%, Jumping +2%, Physical Contact +2%!]

The treasure chest hovering in midair suddenly opened.

A burst of white light enveloped Leo Kang's right foot.

There was not the slightest pain or strange sensation.

A moment later.

The white light faded.

Leo Kang lightly stamped his right foot.

He instantly understood why this module improved so many attributes!

In European football today.

The player with the most outrageous two-footed balance was Arsenal's Cazorla.

Even Wenger, his coach at the time, had said, "I really can't tell whether his preferred foot is his left or his right."

He was an underrated Spanish midfield maestro.

With no difference between his left and right foot, his dribbling, passing, and shooting became utterly unpredictable!

Defensively, he could switch his center of gravity with ease and maintain his balance. Even with his frail, undersized frame, he could stop powerful, bulldozer-like players!

He once said in an interview, "Ever since I was young, I've been able to use both feet naturally and proficiently. I never trained for it deliberately."

Simply put.

For top players, this was a super talent.

A female footballer in China's history had also possessed this talent.

Even after having her meniscus removed.

She still won countless honors.

Foreign media called her "Maradona in a skirt."

Top scorer at the 1999 World Cup.

Best Female Footballer of the 20th Century.

Female Footballer of the Century.

Early the next morning.

Old Topp hurried over to Leo Kang, who was training.

Dino quickly handed him a set of clothes.

"You brat, you came to the training ground even while you're on vacation! We've been looking for you forever!"

"Hurry up and put on a suit! You're Bayer Leverkusen's player representative now! We're going to Monaco!"

"That's right! To attend the Champions League group-stage draw!"

Everything seemed rushed.

Bayer Leverkusen had only qualified for the Champions League proper yesterday.

It was only this morning that Völler discovered the club's player representative was Çalhanoğlu?

He immediately crossed it out and wrote Leo Kang's name instead.

Three hours later.

Monaco International Airport.

The three of them walked out through the arrivals gate.

Völler looked Leo Kang over and said approvingly, "Not bad. It fits perfectly. You look so much like me when I was young! If only you grew a little mustache too!"

Old Topp curled his lip. "God! When you were young—"

Before he could finish mocking him.

The fans on both sides of the barriers surged forward like mad!

Clearly, they were not there to welcome them!

Just as Leo Kang was about to turn around.

Völler grabbed him and hurriedly led him out of the arrivals gate.

"Move! Third-seeded teams don't have the right to be late!"

"We're second-seeded!"

Old Topp corrected him.

The three soon got into the business car prepared by UEFA.

Thunderous cheers erupted outside the car.

"Cristiano!!!"

"Cristiano!!!"

"Cristiano!!!"

Through the window, Leo Kang first saw a tall, upright figure in a blue suit!

Security personnel struggled to hold back the frenzied fans.

Then.

One star after another walked out of the arrivals gate.

Hazard.

Pogba.

Ibrahimović.

Robben.

David Silva.

China's livestream chat.

The fans were thrilled by the sight.

-

[What a star-studded Champions League season!]

-

[Not really. It's more of a transitional Champions League season! With Xavi and Pirlo gone from the grand Champions League stage, a whole group of young talents are beginning to emerge!]

-

[I'm backing Roma's Pjanić!]

-

[Atlético Madrid's Koke has a lot of potential too!]

-

[Can Juventus get revenge on Barcelona this year?]

Old Topp muttered, "What a coincidence. Everyone arrived in Monte Carlo at the same time!"

Völler looked at Leo Kang and smiled. "In the near future, you too will become a dazzling star."

"Even more dazzling than them."

Thanks to Bookworm Dementia for the donation and monthly pass.

Thanks to Apprentice Electrician for the donation and monthly pass.

Thanks to I'm a Little Blue Boy for the donation and monthly pass.

Thanks to Zhongling Street Bully for the donation and monthly pass.

I'm sure I missed some, but there wasn't enough time. I'll make them up in the next chapter.

Thanks to everyone who voted with recommendation tickets.

Happy National Day! Enjoy the National Day holiday!