Chapter 6: Wolfsburg! (Thanks to the mighty leader who keeps us going)
The edges of the cards shimmered with different colors, seemingly indicating their quality tiers. Gray, green, blue, purple, and gold.
Li Luo paused for a moment.
Why not take them all?
He hated these card-drawing probability games—they easily stirred up one’s gambling instincts.
“Give me the golden legend!”
He reached out and poked the air.
A white beam of light appeared out of nowhere, cycling through the five cards.
Gradually, the cycle grew faster and faster.
Finally,
The white beam slowly stopped on the golden card.
Li Luo was overjoyed.
He didn’t know much about Bundesliga legends, but gold was definitely the best.
The other four cards dissipated with the wind, while the golden card radiated a dazzling light, slowly revealing a tall and imposing silhouette.
[Congratulations on obtaining: Matthäus “Hexagonal Midfield” Peak Template!]
[Attribute boost: Heading +40, Ball Control +40, Passing +40, First Touch +40, Shooting +40, Curve +40, Defense +40, Tackling +40]
[Iron Warrior.]
[The engine of the German steel flood.]
[The most versatile midfielder in 20th-century Germany, the most untamable lion.]
[If only this guy were mute.]
Li Luo, clueless about football, blinked: Who is this guy? He vaguely remembered seeing the name while researching last night.
No matter.
This felt amazing!
The golden peak template boosted nearly every attribute related to ball touches.
He suddenly felt like he was about to “graduate.”
Although his passing, first touch, dribbling, and shooting were still only in the forties, he was satisfied.
Any improvement was a good thing.
However, something seemed off with the attribute panel.
[Heading: 98]
Huh?
With the spatial awareness module, a heading attribute of 98 was unstoppable?
That couldn’t be right.
His height was only 173 cm.
The young Chinese player was no longer a complete novice; last night, he had studied the history of the world’s football kings, saints, and emperors.
Maradona was 168 cm tall.
Cruyff was 176 cm.
Both football legends had strong heading and jumping ability and had scored stunning headers, but when facing tall defenders, they rarely had an advantage in aerial duels.
His thoughts were interrupted; the system’s prompt continued.
[The German conquest journey is about to begin.]
[When you represent a Bundesliga club, you will earn the shock value of everyone at the scene.]
[Every 100,000 shock value points grant you one chance to redeem a star player blind box.]
[Star Player Blind Box: Opens to grant star player skill modules, for example: Beckenbauer’s “Outside Foot High-Arc Long Pass” module.]
Too much information.
Li Luo’s mind was spinning.
His phone rang again, and he pressed the answer button.
“Li, I’m sorry, but the club plans to loan you to the Bundesliga this season...”
---
On the other end of the call,
Giggs and the Manchester United management team wore regretful expressions.
The deeply devoted Red Devil heir would surely feel disappointed hearing this news, right?
Even though Volkswagen Group was paying Li a generous loan salary.
Even though they were offering him a sky-high advertising contract.
Even though Wolfsburg was playing in the main Europa League this season while Manchester United had to go through qualifiers.
All these material benefits could never compare to Li Luo’s love for the club.
Click.
The call ended.
Giggs turned his head and said, “Li agreed immediately.”
“He didn’t ask why?”
“No, but I guess he’ll be upset for a while. He asked if he should attend training tomorrow, and I told him to rest first and prepare for the medical.”
---
Cheshire.
Ferguson had a good appetite today and finished a plate of Italian food.
He sipped some red wine.
His assistant approached quietly and whispered, “Sir, everything is progressing smoothly.”
“Mm, Black Gold will definitely put him back on a normal growth path, like De Bruyne. Li won’t become a factory-produced utility player.”
“Sir is right. Developing all-round means becoming all-round mediocre. Talent will be erased.”
---
News quietly appeared on Chinese websites.
“Wolfsburg cancels negotiations with Chinese Super League club; midfielder Zhang fails to secure overseas move.”
“The difficult path of Chinese players going abroad.”
“Why is it so hard for Chinese players to break into European leagues?”
Comments:
-“Why didn’t the CSL club just let him go sooner? After two years of wrangling with Wolfsburg, the player could’ve gained valuable experience training alongside stars from the Big Five leagues.”
-“They keep talking about the overseas dilemma and reasons this and that... Honestly, these players just aren’t good enough. If they were, they’d have gone abroad long ago. There’s no dilemma.”
-“Korean media are mocking us over this again. Just wait for the Asian Cup in a few months.”
-“Why do Koreans and Japanese have so many players abroad? I don’t get it. We’re all East Asian.”
-“Wolfsburg is strong. That guy De Bruyne, the blond kid, his passes are amazing. If they had a striker with great heading ability, I can’t imagine how crushing that team would be!”
Suddenly,
A piece of news dropped like a bomb, causing a huge stir on Chinese social media.
“Manchester United’s 18-year-old prospect Li Luo officially loaned to Wolfsburg.”
---
Night fell.
Li Luo hugged a soccer ball after finishing a day of solo training and returned to the Manchester United dormitory.
His phone screen was still playing “Early Childhood Football Enlightenment.”
The boost of 40 points to his attributes was immense.
In terms of football control, he felt he had progressed from “kindergarten beginner” to “fourth grade elementary.”
No wonder it was the Matthäus peak template, able to dramatically boost the comprehensive ability of a person who had never played before.
But,
The upcoming Bundesliga journey was likely to be full of embarrassing moments and doubts during training.
“Don’t be afraid.”
“Improve slowly.”
No matter how poorly he played, he had to endure one season and see if he could accumulate enough shock value to redeem module rewards.
---
The young Chinese player no longer felt the initial confusion and panic.
The lingering anxiety quietly transformed into motivation.
He opened his computer and diligently studied theory and watched instructional videos of current star players.
---
A few days later.
Manchester Airport.
Giggs and the Manchester United team gathered to see Li Luo off.
“Take good care of yourself, Li.”
The Red Devils’ legends wanted to say more—about discipline, restraint, not fooling around, not chasing women...
Upon reflection, who was he to say such things?
“Manchester United will always be your home.”
“Van Gaal couldn’t come, but he told me to tell you to email him anytime if you have questions...”
Rooney, worried, suddenly chimed in, “By the way, protect your nuts in Germany. I want you to come back in one piece.”
Outside the caution line, many Red Devils fans had gathered.
Flags fluttered.
Scarves bearing the club emblem were raised high.
They had come to send off Manchester United’s heir.
Li Luo nodded seriously, “I will definitely return next season.”
Going to the Bundesliga meant losing the superstar treatment of being surrounded by stars as at Manchester United.
Like other gifted players leaving their training homelands, he would face brutal challenges adapting to the locker room and the team’s tactics...
He would have to work hard to overcome difficulties and adapt.
Finally,
The young Chinese player waved goodbye to everyone.
---
Wolfsburg.
Alofs and the staff were busy.
“The highest specifications, the most grand welcome.”
“Don’t simply treat Li as a Manchester United prodigy. He represents the entire Chinese market, backed by countless ‘gods.’”
“His loan to Wolfsburg is Volkswagen Group’s commercial demand.”
“The club must treat him like a god, understand? No player is allowed to bully him.”
“The Chinese market accounts for 40% of Volkswagen’s global sales. Volkswagen is about to launch localization of technology for the Chinese market. Li is very important to us.”
Previously, Wolfsburg had persistently negotiated with a Chinese Super League club for two years over an ordinary Chinese player.
Now, with a Manchester United prodigy like Li Luo?
His Premier League debut even included a goal.
His performance in the Bundesliga could not possibly be disappointing.
---
Wolfsburg head coach—Black Gold—still looked troubled.
There were many problems to solve:
How to coach a prodigy like Li Luo?
Would he be dissatisfied with the coaching staff’s training methods?
How to arrange his position?
How to divide ball possession between him and De Bruyne?