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

At 2 a.m. in the gym, Wu Shi stared at two lines of numbers on the system interface.

Template integration accuracy: 5.75% → 6.00%

[Global ranking for the same age group: 99 → 97]

"Up 0.25%, moving up two places."

The system's mature female voice rang out.

"Not bad, not bad. At this rate, by the time you retire at forty, you'll probably be in the top eighty. Surprised? Unexpected?"

Wu Shi didn't say anything and carried the 140-kilogram barbell off the squat rack.

Gaining 3.5 kilograms of pure muscle in two months resulted in persistent body aches and a progress bar that crawls at a snail's pace.

"Don't be discouraged." The system changed its tone, feigning concern.

"At least you've upgraded from 'ordinary plastic' to 'reinforced plastic' now. Next time you get hit, you should last an extra 0.5 seconds before falling."

"Can you shut up and let me finish my workout?" Wu Shi gritted his teeth and finished the last set.

"Alright, alright, you practice."

The system was silent for three seconds.

"Oh, by the way, Elkeson pulled a muscle. Next week in the AFC Champions League match against Jeonbuk, Lippi is starting you as the lone striker. Are you ready?"

Wu Shi's hand slipped, and the barbell almost hit his foot.

Three days later, in the locker room.

Lippi pointed to the tactics board:

"Jeonbuk's defenders, Kim Min-jae and Park Won-jae, are like a wall and an eel, respectively. Moo-seok, your task is not to confront them head-on—to lure out that wall and make the eel lose its way."

The teaching assistant pulled Wu Shi aside.

"Those two old foxes will definitely mess with you. Kim Min-jae likes to use his body to intimidate people, and Park Won specializes in dirty tricks and trash talk. Remember, don't get carried away, or you'll lose."

Wu Shi nodded, going through Gao Lin's "Away Game Survival Guide" in his mind: if you are fouled, fall down dramatically; if you are scolded, respond cleverly; in short, you can't suffer a loss and you can't get a card.

The players of the Sea Cucumber team that I criticized my whole life in my past life.

Only by playing alongside them can one truly understand why these individuals stand out from over a billion Chinese people.

Donning the national team jersey is never an easy task.

However, in competitive sports, results speak for themselves.

Even if you're the best, you'll still be blamed for not achieving results.

In the players' tunnel, Kim Min-jae glanced at him as he passed by and said in heavily accented Chinese, "Number 21? Rookie?"

Wu Shi kept his eyes fixed ahead and ignored him.

"Elkeson's injured, so you're filling in?" Kim Min-jae shook his head. "Is Evergrande out of options?"

Wu Shi understood what he meant. He turned around and replied in the Korean he had crammed for the past two weeks:

"Uncle, are you talking so much because you're afraid you won't be able to run anymore?"

Kim Min-jae was taken aback, clearly not expecting this Chinese kid to speak Korean and call him "uncle".

The referee whistle blows.

The first encounter took place in the 7th minute.

Wu Shih dropped back to receive the ball, and Park Won clung to him like a plaster, his elbow pressing against Wu Shih's lower back, muttering in English:

"Little one, it's dangerous here. Go home and have your milk."

Wu Shi shielded the ball, then suddenly flicked it with his heel—a nutmeg! He then circled around to the other side, turning back to shout as he chased the ball:

"Uncle, are you spreading your legs so wide to let me through? What, are you looking for a part-time job? But you're not a woman, you won't make any money by spreading your legs like that."

Park Won's face darkened. Although his Chinese was rudimentary and he didn't fully understand, he noticed the Evergrande players next to him trying to suppress their laughter.

I knew this kid would never say anything good.

[System: Trash talk initial score: B. Combined with a nutmeg dribble, the effect is doubled.]

As Zheng Zhi ran past, he whispered, "Not bad, who did you learn from?"

"Brother Gao Lin." Wu Shi grinned.

In the 18rd minute, the opportunity came.

Zheng Zhi made a long pass from the backfield. Wu Shi had his back to the goal, and Kim Min-jae was like a mountain pressing down on him.

With the ball in the air, Wu Shi suddenly took a half-step back—and in that half-step, Kim Min-jae overshot his target.

He chested the ball down, turned, and found himself in a wide-open space.

Wu Shi dribbles forward, and Park Won is covering for him.

He made a fake inside cut, and the moment the opponent's center of gravity shifted, he changed direction and went to the outside, down to the baseline!

"It's over!" the commentator shouted, his voice cracking.

Near the baseline, Wu Shi looked up – all his crossing options were blocked.

[System: Cross success rate 31%. Cross to Zheng Zhi success rate 69%. Suggestion...]

Wu Shi didn't listen. He saw the goalkeeper positioned far forward, and he saw the trajectory of the goal, as long as the shot was of high quality.

He rubbed the outside of his right foot in an odd arc.

The ball traced a question mark in the air, bypassed everyone, and spun into the far corner.

1: 0!

Tianhe Stadium exploded.

As Wu Shi ran towards the corner flag area, he whispered in Korean as he passed Kim Min-jae:

"Agassi, that half-step you just took...you really need to lose some weight. You don't look fat at all, are you just weak?"

Kim Min-jae stared at him without saying a word, but his eyes could devour someone.

[System: Goal + Trash Talk combo. Explosive damage. Kim Min-jae's anger level +40%.]

The remainder of the first half became a testament to Wu Shi's suffering.

Jeonbuk's defensive actions became increasingly aggressive. In the 35th minute, Park Won swung his elbow at the back of Wu Suk's head during a header challenge—this time Wu Suk was prepared and raised his arm to block.

A muffled thud.

The two landed. Wu Shi rubbed his arm and said loudly in English, "Not bad elbow strike, have you trained?"

The referee was just three meters away and could hear everything clearly. Park Won opened his mouth, but no words came out.

[System: Defense successful + public execution. Park Won's frustration level increased by 50%.]

In the 43rd minute, Jeonbuk equalized. 1-1.

In the corridor leading back to the locker room, Kim Min-jae caught up with Moo-seok.

"Kid," he said in English, "you talk too much."

"You've been quite active too," Wu Shi said without stopping.

"Football is played with the feet."

"So how did you play in the first half?" Wu Shi turned around, "That Agassi who got nutmegged by me and still scored?"

Kim Min-jae narrowed his eyes. Jung Zhi quickly stepped forward and put his arm around Wu Shi's shoulder: "Let's go, coach, wait for us."

After walking a distance, Zheng Zhi said in a low voice, "Trash talk is fine, but don't do it in the tunnel. It's easy to get a card."

"I know," Wu Shi said. "I just don't want him to think I'm easy to bully."

Zheng Zhi laughed: "He learns pretty quickly. Be careful in the second half, he'll definitely retaliate."

In the locker room, Lippi highlighted the goal, but his expression was serious: "They will be even more ruthless in the second half. Wu Shi, your role has changed—now they are afraid of your shots and will mark you closer. This is an opportunity; pass the ball to your teammates more often."

The assistant coach added, "Kim Min-jae already has a yellow card, so try to get to him more often. He won't dare to make any big moves."

Wu Shi nodded and drank half a bottle of water.

He touched the back of his head—the spot where he had been elbowed was still a little sore.

But the fire in my heart burned even brighter.

It turns out that playing football isn't just about using your feet.

You have to use your mouth, your brain, and everything else that will make the other person uncomfortable.

He looked at the sticky note on the wardrobe, which Gao Lin had written: "On the field, kindness is a virtue, but being easy to bully is the original sin."

Wu Shi tore off the sticky note, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into the trash can.

In the second half, it's time to let those Korean uncles know—

This Chinese kid is not to be trifled with.