Awakening the Messi template, Florentino Pérez begs me to join Real Madrid

September 4, 2010, SX Provincial Sports Center.

There were over 10,000 people in the stands—that's a big event in the China League One, and most of them were there to support Guangzhou Evergrande.

The league leaders' dark blue away jerseys were scattered across the stands, giving them the upper hand.

The atmosphere in the locker room was oppressive.

Coach Wang banged the tactical board loudly:

"Listen up, everyone! What's Guangzhou Evergrande's lineup? Muriqui, Zheng Zhi, Gao Lin—all regular starters in the Chinese Super League and even the national team. Our strategy today is simple: defend!"

Wu Shi sat in the corner, his fingertips cold.

He wore a substitute jersey with the number 26, listening to the deafening roar of "Go Hengda!" outside. "Northwest Wolves," "Shaanxi's Deterrent!"

"Defense and counter-attack, seize a few opportunities." Coach Wang's gaze swept over everyone. "Who in the attacking third has speed? Liu Yang, you... no, Li Jianguo, you play up front. Wu Shi—" He paused, "you're on the bench, get ready."

Wu Shi nodded. His palms were sweaty.

He didn't sleep well last night. The system in his mind was active again, constantly popping up notifications: [High-intensity competition environment detected], [Activate dynamic vision module in advance], [Load "High-Pressure Competition" coping strategy?]

He selected "No" for all of them.

"I wouldn't even want a dog," he muttered to himself.

But standing here today, listening to the roar of the Evergrande fans outside, he felt... a little uneasy again.

Game start.

Evergrande doesn't look like they're here to play in the China League One at all. Three minutes into the game, Muriqui accelerated down the left flank like a black lightning bolt, directly beating both of Shaanxi's full-backs.

The ball was passed to the middle, and Zheng Zhi followed up with a long-range shot—which grazed the crossbar and went out.

"Holy crap..." someone on the bench gasped.

Wu Shi stared at Muriqui.

This Brazilian isn't tall, but his acceleration is ridiculously fast, and when he changes direction, his center of gravity is so low that it's like he's gliding along the grass.

His mind automatically went through an analysis: fast footwork, delicate touch, explosive power... just like someone he hated.

No, faster than that person.

For the first twenty minutes, the Shaanxi team did not cross the halfway line.

The possession statistics showed 82% to 18%, a humiliating gap. Evergrande remained calm and composed, playing like a cat toying with a mouse, passing the ball around in midfield, and then suddenly unleashing a through ball that pierced the entire defense.

Li Jianguo stood alone in the attacking third, unable to even touch the ball.

In the thirty-first minute, they still conceded.

Muriqui cut inside, drawing three defenders before flicking the ball with his heel, allowing Zheng Zhi to slot it home. 0-1.

The stands erupted. Huge flags were waving wildly.

At halftime, no one spoke in the locker room.

Coach Wang's face was ashen: "Second half...still defense. Wu Shi—"

Everyone looked over.

"Warm up. Be ready to go at any time."

In the 58th minute of the second half, the score was still 0-1, but the game looked like 0-5.

Shaanxi team retreated to defend, with nine players crammed into the penalty area. Hengda's center-back Sun Xiang had even pushed past the halfway line.

Wu Shi stood on the sidelines, listening to the fourth official verify the numbers. The wind blew on his face, cool and refreshing.

"Go and run!" Coach Wang roared. "Don't worry about anything else, just run! Create space!"

Wu Shi nodded and stepped onto the court.

In that instant, he felt the world slow down.

It's not a metaphor.

It really has slowed down—Muriqui's running trajectory, Zheng Zhi's passing lines, and the gaps in his teammates' positioning, like tactical indicator lines in a FIFA game, faintly appear in the field of vision.

The dynamic vision module has been forcibly activated.

[High voltage environment detected. It is recommended to enable "Analysis Mode"]

"Damn it..." Wu Shi cursed, but did not refuse.

The first touch of the ball was in the 63rd minute.

The goalkeeper launched a long ball forward, and as the ball was in the air, Wu Shi's mind immediately predicted its trajectory: [Expected landing point: 12 meters from the right flank; advance start recommended]

He ran instinctively.

He was in position just as the ball fell. With his back to goal, Evergrande's center-back Li Zhihai was already closing in.

The other person's elbow was pressing against his waist with great force.

Three days ago, Wu Shi would have panicked. But now, the system prompts are as clear as a game tutorial:

[Back-to-back defense detected]

[Suggested Option A: Turn with the ball using your right foot, success rate 37%]

[Suggested Option B: Feint with the left shoulder, then flick the ball with the outside of the right foot; success rate: 52%]

[Suggested Solution C: Direct return transmission, 98% success rate]

Wu Shi chose B.

With a slight shift in his left shoulder, Li Zhihai moved his center of gravity. In that instant, Wu Shi flicked the ball to the right with the outside of his right foot—and turned!

Half a body length has passed!

But Li Zhihai, experienced as he was, reached out and grabbed the jersey. Wu Shi staggered a couple of steps, and the ball was still lost.

"Good!" Coach Wang shouted from the sidelines, "Keep playing like this!"

Wu Shi gasped for breath, his heart pounding. Just a moment ago, he felt like a puppet on strings—the system was controlling him.

But that smoothness... it's fucking awesome.

The time has reached the seventy-fifth minute.

Shaanxi team's second counterattack of the game.

The ball was intercepted in the backfield, and after three passes and two turnovers, it reached Wu Shi's feet. He was near the center line with open space in front of him.

Hengda's defensive line is closing in.

Right-back Li Jianhua was closest to him and was rushing towards him at full speed.

Wu Shi dribbled the ball forward. In his mind, the system was frantically flashing notifications:

[An opportunity to retaliate has been detected]

[Open space ahead]

[Suggestion: Use straight-line acceleration to engage in a speed contest with the defender.]

[Warning: The host's absolute speed is rated B+, while the opposing player Li Jianhua's speed is rated A-]

Success rate: 41%

Accelerate? Accelerate my ass. Wu Shi knew his speed was fast in the China League One, but compared to the players from Evergrande, it was nothing.

His gaze swept forward. Li Jianguo was making a run down the left flank, but was being blocked by the opposing center-back.

What should I do?

In an instant, memories of playing FIFA in my past life flooded back. That god-like perspective, that sense of control where "I know what will happen in the next three seconds"...

Then, the system message changed.

[Host's "gaming mindset" mode detected]

[Recalculating...]

[New suggestion: Cut inside to draw the center-back away and create space for teammates on the left flank]

[Reference Technique: Messi-style inside cut change of direction (Beginner)]

[Load animation module?]

Wu Shi gritted his teeth.

"...Loading."

Suddenly, his body seemed to disobey him. No, not disobey, but had its own will—he flicked the ball to the right with his left foot, his body shifting direction accordingly, not with large strides, but with small, quick steps to adjust. Li Jianhua missed his target, his weight thrown far away.

Wu Shi cuts towards the inside. Hengda's center-back Tang Dechao comes up to cover.

[Second layer of defense detected]

[Suggestion: Use continuous changes of direction to create shooting angle]

[Reference Technique: Messi-style Lateral Pass (Beginner)]

This time, Wu Shi didn't hesitate. He flicked the ball to the left with the inside of his right foot, and Tang Dechao moved accordingly; then he flicked it to the right with the inside of his left foot—

With just those two movements, the space was created.

At the edge of the penalty area, approximately 25 meters from the goal, Hengda goalkeeper Li Shuai has already covered the near post.

Wu Shi raised his left foot.

He's not left-handed. In regular shooting practice, his left foot is his secondary foot, used for controlling the ball and adjusting his aim. But at this moment, a system notification took over his consciousness:

[Shooting plan: Left foot inside-of-the-foot curl shot]

[Target: Top right corner of the goal]

[Strength coefficient: 0.7]

Rotation coefficient: 0.8

Should we proceed?

"alley!"

The ball is touched by the inside of the left foot. A "whipping" shot.

The ball lifted off the ground.

The rainbow-like arc bypassed Li Shuai's fingertips as he made a diving save, skimmed along the bottom edge of the crossbeam, and nestled into the top right corner of the goal.

Blind spot.

A dead end in the absolute sense.

The moment the ball went into the net, the entire stadium fell silent. Even the Evergrande fans forgot to curse.

Then, the roar of the Shaanxi fans exploded, like thunder that had been held back for seventy-five minutes finally striking.

"Takeishi——!!!"

Wu Shi stood still, neither running nor celebrating. He looked down at his left foot as if it were someone else's foot.

Was he the one who kicked the ball?

In my mind, the system calmly prompted:

[Goal stands]

[Messi-style inside cut + finesse shot module execution completion rate: 89%]

[Gain Experience Points]

Template integration accuracy improved to 0.7%

The match ended 1-1.

The Shaanxi team acted like they had won the championship; everyone surrounded Wu Shi, ruffling his hair and patting his back. Wu Shi just smiled, a slightly bewildered smile.

On the top floor of the stands, in a VIP box, an elderly Italian man with silver hair put down his binoculars.

Standing next to him was a Chinese man in a suit, who was the team's translator.

"That number 26," the old man said, his Italian tinged with a Tuscan accent, "what's his name?"

The translator quickly checked the roster: "Wu Shi. Sixteen years old, a local from Shaanxi, just joined the first team."

The old man—Marcello Lippi, Guangzhou Evergrande's technical advisor, or rather, the soon-to-be head coach—nodded slightly.

He'd seen too many geniuses. Italians, Brazilians, Argentinians. But that goal just now reminded him of something.

It's not about technique. A sixteen-year-old's technique is far from mature.

It's that kind of...decisiveness. In a high-speed counter-attack, changing direction twice without slowing down, and finally choosing to chip the ball into the far corner—this isn't the kind of thinking a Chinese League One player should have.

"Investigate him," Lippi said, his gaze still fixed on the boy surrounded by his teammates on the field. "Give me a report every week."

"Is contact necessary?"

"No rush." ​​Lippi turned and left the box. "Let him play a few more games. Let's see if it's luck, or..."

He didn't finish speaking.

But the translator understood. Lippi's evaluation of players is never based on just one goal.

In the locker room after the game, Wu Shi was pushed to the mixed zone. Facing the microphone and recorder, he stammered.

"That goal... was just a fluke."

"Left foot? I practice with that too..."

"Messi? I'm not like him."

The last question was from a reporter from Guangzhou: "There are rumors that Evergrande is interested in you. What do you think?"

Wu Shi was stunned.

His mind flashed back to the posts he'd made online in his past life criticizing Messi, to the GG sign he'd seen before the car accident, and to that damned name in the system notification.

Then he said:

"I play in Shaanxi."

He regretted it as soon as he said it. What a pretentious act!

But the reporters had gone mad. That evening, the headlines came out:

A 16-year-old Shaanxi player scored a spectacular goal, forcing a draw against the league leaders.

Wu Shi: I'm Not Like Messi

Is Evergrande interested? Prodigy declares he'll stay.

When Wu Shi returned to his dormitory, it was already past midnight. He turned on his cheap, knock-off phone and saw countless unread messages.

Old Chen: "Good lad! I knew I was right about you!"

Coach Wang said: "Rest tomorrow, extra training the day after tomorrow."

There were also a bunch of unfamiliar numbers claiming to be agents, reporters, or even scouts from other clubs.

Takeishi didn't reply.

He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Everything that happened today felt like a dream—the goal, the cheers, Lippi's gaze (he later found out who was in the VIP box).

And the system inside my head is quietly displaying new data:

Current integration level: 0.7%

[Unlock new module: Competition Reading (Beginner)]

[Next stage goal: Achieve 1% integration and unlock the "Continuous Disk Play" basic module]

Wu Shi closed his eyes.

"The Messi template..." he murmured to himself.

Then, in the darkness, he chuckled very softly.

I wouldn't even want a dog.

But it seems... not so bad anymore.