"What do you mean?" the middle-aged man asked, frowning.
Yuan Zhuoyun laughed, "Look at your phone. Don't you know how to use the internet? The top trending topic is: 36 first-tier cities across the country have jointly issued a statement, refusing to host any Troubled Football Team football matches from now on. By the way, this news has been verified; it even has the official seals of each city on it."
"This is impossible!" The middle-aged man panicked immediately and quickly opened his phone to look through the screen.
"How could this be? How dare they do this?" The middle-aged man was completely dumbfounded.
He didn't bother to maintain his official airs any longer and hurriedly left.
Ling Yi and the others were also looking at their phones at that moment, and when they saw the top trending topic, they were all somewhat incredulous.
"Why did this happen?" Ling Yi asked.
Yuan Zhuoyun said, "Actually, this matter had already started to emerge half a month ago, but at that time only seven cities refused to host the Troubled Football Team football competition, probably because of your influence."
"Today, thirty-six cities suddenly issued this joint statement. I guess the higher-ups probably couldn't stand the corruption of the Round Association for a long time. I don't understand the intricacies of this, but I know the Round Association is doomed."
Where does the Round Association's income come from?
Competitions, ticket fees, sponsorship fees... but the prerequisite is that there has to be a competition.
If 36 first-tier cities refuse to participate in the competition, then other second- and third-tier cities will definitely follow suit. Without competition, where will the revenue come from? Without revenue, the market is doomed!
"What is Round Association's purpose in coming here? This is the first time I've seen you lose your temper," Cong Yajing asked.
"He wants control of the team's operations."
"You insist?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I want!"
"This kind of trash should just be put to rest as soon as possible," Cong Yajing said angrily.
"Whose men are the gatekeepers?" Ling Yi asked coldly.
"Boss, they're from the hotel," Yuan Zhuoyun said.
"Get those security guards out of here, no, get all the hotel's security guards and doormen fired. They don't even have this much sense. They let people in with a little bribe. What kind of security guards are they? Get some professionals over here tomorrow and explain the rules to them."
"Okay!" Yuan Zhuoyun nodded.
At this point, the young lawyer asked, "Are other platforms going to acquire it?"
"Just in case, we should acquire it; even if we can't acquire it entirely, we should at least get absolute controlling interest."
"Good!"
"Boss, the player selection is tomorrow, and everyone's asking about the process."
There are too many people signing up, tens of thousands, and the number is still increasing.
Selecting thirty players from tens of thousands of applicants is no small feat.
Netizens are very Ling Yi will choose his team members.
You'll find out then.
The news that Round Association was about to fail quickly became a trending topic again, and people all over the country were jubilant.
In the evening's news segment about the "big sister" (a term referring to a powerful female figure), a full three minutes were dedicated to this matter, though it somewhat downplayed the issue and didn't address the core issue definitively.
The title was: Stop treating fans like leeks.
But since the leader is broadcasting it this way, it sends a signal.
Round Association is really doomed.
However, this matter was quickly overshadowed by another trending topic.
That's about how the Ling Yi team selects players.
Ling Yi doesn't understand football, but Ling Yi does know one thing: the strong rise and the weak fall.
He divided the entire process into three stages. The first stage was a 100-meter race, with ten people in a group, and points were awarded based on their ranking.
In the second phase, players shoot from six designated positions on the field, with only one chance per position. Points are awarded based on the number of goals scored.
The third stage involves dribbling the ball through obstacles. The shorter the time taken and the fewer violations, the more points are awarded.
After three stages, the top 30 players with the highest scores stayed, while the rest went home...
Before dawn the next day, the area outside the Dafeng City Stadium was already packed with people.
Among them were those who came to participate in the player selection, those who came just to join in the fun, and countless media outlets.
The stadium opened at 8:00 AM sharp.
The Dafeng City Stadium can only hold 30,000 people, including the spectator seating.
Therefore, only five thousand players participate in each selection process.
Ling Yi's selection method was fairly standard, but the viewers in the live stream found it quite entertaining.
This selection process lasted for a full seven days.
Seven days later, the Ling Yi team was officially established.
Next, the logistics team, coaching staff, nutritionist team, monitoring team, psychological counseling team... all sprang into action, and the thirty players began their integration training.
The training sessions will remain entirely public and streamed live across the internet, including not only the players but also the entire operations team.
For example, why are the players' nutritional meals structured in this way, and what is the purpose of each training exercise?
The first match has been confirmed, just half a month from now, and the opponent is Troubled Football Team other than Nan Zu, who is currently in the spotlight.
A billion is too much. The Round Association people have given a death order: they must win this game. They are also going crazy online, saying that the Ling Yi team is a trash team and they will crush them in no time.
The outcome is unpredictable.
Even if the national team Troubled Football Team, it's still the national team. Can this team that Ling Yi hastily assembled really do the job?
More importantly, Ling Yi and his team conducted their training sessions openly throughout, which means that the players' characteristics and tactical arrangements were known to the Troubled Football Team in advance, which is very unfair to Ling Yi's team.
But Ling Yi said he didn't care.
Ling Yi's confidence stemmed not only from the fact that these thirty people were indeed very strong, but also from the fact that the Protagonist of this world was on his team.
Yes, the Protagonist was among those who were selected as players.
After all, there's a base salary of ten million a year, a million bonus for scoring a goal, and a ten million bonus for winning a match.
With such excellent treatment, how could the Protagonist possibly miss out?
The Protagonist's Lin Feng, a senior high school student who has had a cheat system for almost three months. Previously, due to his outstanding skills, he was recommended to the national team by his teacher.
But because he had no connections, he didn't even sign a contract and has been sitting on the bench for the past three months.
In fact, Lin Feng was sitting on the bench during that Troubled Football Team match in Dafeng City.
After Ling Yi formed the team, Lin Feng simply left Troubled Football Team and came over.
This kid is smart. He didn't say that he came from Troubled Football Team's side, since it's common knowledge that Ling Yi hates Troubled Football Team Round Association.
Only after he was chosen did he approach Ling Yi and confess the truth.
Since he's the Protagonist, Ling Yi definitely has to stay.
Looking out the window at the young men training enthusiastically, Ling Yi was very satisfied.
Lin Feng, in particular, has been performing too brilliantly; this won't do.
"Go and call Lin Feng to my office," Ling Yi said to his assistant.
A few minutes later, Lin Feng walked into the office with a worried expression. He was somewhat uneasy, wondering why Ling Yi wanted to see him. Was he going to kick him out?
"Brother Ling Yi, you were looking for me?"
"I know your true strength, and you don't need to train with them; it's unnecessary," Ling Yi said bluntly.
"This..."
"Unlimited!"
Ling Yi only said two words, but to Lin Feng, they were like a thunderclap.
"You, you..."
"We're live right now, so don't say anything out of the ordinary. Just know that I'm aware of this."
"Brother Ling Yi, what happened to you...?"
The conversation between the two left the viewers in the live stream completely bewildered. What did they mean? Was there a secret?
"You're the team's secret weapon, but you need to learn to act, understand?"
"Only I know about your affairs, so don't overthink it. After I leave, I will entrust all of this to you."
A guess suddenly formed in Lin Feng's mind.
"Brother Ling Yi, are you also...?" He didn't say the words "transmigrator," after all, it was a live broadcast.
Seeing Ling Yi nod, Lin Feng instantly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh, it's someone from my hometown! You scared me to death!"
Ling Yi didn't explain this, but continued, "In the match against the Troubled Football Team in half a month, play it safe and focus on intercepting the ball and passing it to create opportunities for your teammates."
"Bro, a goal costs a million!"
"Didn't I say that after I leave, all of this is yours, including my assets and this team? I've already had my legal team handle that."
The viewers in the live stream were stunned; it felt like Ling Yi was making a will.
"Brother Ling Yi, you..."
Ling Yi pointed to the ceiling and said, "This is just one of my stops."
Others couldn't understand, but Lin Feng did. His eyes widened. "Holy crap, is it this good? Reincarnation?"
Lin Feng asked in a low voice.
"Almost."
"Is it dangerous?"
Hearing Lin Feng ask this, Ling Yi smiled. This Protagonist is quite good in terms of character and other aspects. At least after hearing about this, his first concern was for Ling Yi's safety.
He shook his head and said, "Not dangerous, it's autonomous."
Can I come back?
"Yes, but the next time I come back might be a very, very long time from now."
Lin Feng understood. That person was playing the game of traveling through Myriad Worlds, which was much more advanced than his own. Moreover, he could choose which world to travel to. In comparison, his travels were much lower in level.
"Hehe, bro, I want to too..." Lin Feng pointed to the top of his head and said.
"If a beautiful woman named Yin Wanqing appears, you can talk to her, and she should agree. Don't ask about anything else yet."
"Good!"
Lin Feng left happily, but the viewers in the live stream were completely confused.
Looking at the comments on his phone, Ling Yi laughed and said, " Lin Feng is the team's secret weapon. You'll find out soon enough. We were communicating in code just now. Like you said, we can't let Troubled Football Team find out all our secrets."
Looking at Lin Feng, who was now just going through the motions on the training field, Ling Yi couldn't help but smile.