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Emery was stunned.
He found that the game he had prepared for nearly two weeks, with meticulously designed defensive tactics, had ultimately turned into a battle of wits against thin air.
Where is Lance? Where is your core player, Lance!
Are you not letting him play? Bastard!
La Liga Round 21, Atlético Madrid vs Sevilla.
In the 85th minute of the match, Atlético Madrid was already leading 2-0, and the outcome was decided.
Torres scored twice, and Griezmann provided two assists. Without Lance on the pitch, Sevilla had already fallen.
Before the match, Simeone had said that without Lance, Atlético Madrid might not necessarily win, and his tense expression had truly made people believe him.
You're such a good actor, why don't you go to Hollywood?
Emery glared fiercely at Simeone on the other side, only to see a faint, almost imperceptible smile on Simeone's fierce and rugged face.
"Damn it!"
Emery had truly lost his composure.
Of course, it wasn't just that which broke him.
The ball went out of bounds, creating a dead ball, and Atlético Madrid made their last substitution.
Torres, who had played the entire game, was replaced and slowly walked off the pitch to a warm ovation from the stands.
Atlético Madrid fans still had deep affection for Torres.
It was like the beautiful girl from school, the 'white moonlight' of student days, who got married.
Twenty years passed, and everyone got divorced.
They met at a class reunion; the 'white moonlight' was no longer young but still charming. After the reunion, they walked down the same path they used to take home from school.
The 'white moonlight' suddenly said, "If you had confessed back then, maybe we would have been together."
Of course, it's the same now.
What if he transferred to Liverpool and Chelsea?
Torres was still Torres.
"That's great. If I had Torres, I might be able to contend for Champions League qualification this year."
Emery's envious gaze followed Torres as he walked off, only to see Torres high-fiving Lance as they swapped places.
"Lance? Is it Lance coming on for the last five minutes?"
"Eh—"
Emery's jaw nearly hit the floor as he watched the handsome 18-year-old Asian youth jog onto the pitch.
"Well, at least the two weeks of defensive tactics weren't wasted. Although it's only five minutes, it's better than nothing."
Emery watched Lance's positioning and receiving the ball on the pitch with a complex expression.
Just two minutes later, Lance and Griezmann played a one-two on the left wing. Lance swayed his body, performing a stylish elastico to beat one opponent, then a horizontal Marseille turn to beat another.
From the edge of the penalty area, he unleashed a powerful shot with his right foot!
Whoosh—
The ball flew straight into the top corner, hitting the back of the net!
3-0!
"Eh!"
Emery's knees buckled, and he almost fell to his knees.
Just destroy me already!
...
Lance didn't realise he had inadvertently shattered the opposing manager's mentality.
He just hadn't simply enjoyed the game, simply enjoyed the pitch, for a long time.
Previously, Atlético Madrid seemed invincible, but the pressure was actually immense.
Real Madrid and Barcelona had both erupted with intensity beyond their expected timelines.
Atlético Madrid's squad seemed strong, but it was still a tier below Real Madrid and Barcelona's all-star lineups.
Whenever they were about to fall behind, Lance's forced power-ups always managed to keep Atlético Madrid alive, temporarily preventing the two teams from widening the gap.
The upcoming second half of the season, with its dense three-front battle, would be a huge test for the entire Atlético Madrid squad.
If they relied entirely on themselves, like Bayer Leverkusen, the treble would still be an unreachable dream.
Now it seemed he had worried too much.
Whether it was Griezmann, Torres in attack, or Koke, Gabi, Saúl in midfield, or Juanfran, Godín, Giménez in defence, or the steadfast Oblak in goal, and other substitute and rotation teammates, they were all trustworthy partners, powerful support behind him!
Against a strong second-tier team like Sevilla, Atlético Madrid was more than capable.
Lance could finally completely relax his mind and fully enjoy the process of dribbling and scoring.
Even with the team leading 2-0, he still pursued the ultimate offence!
The resolve to ensure victory!
That "Fierce Tiger Shot" from earlier, Lance didn't do it on purpose.
He was just caught up in the moment, and with the confidence he had accumulated over the past two years, he instinctively kicked a perfect long-range shot.
At the moment of the shot, Lance didn't even actively trigger the [Fierce Tiger Shot] skill!
Was it passive?
Watching the ball arc beautifully, carrying speed and power as it rushed into the net.
Something seemed to subtly emerge within Lance!
"This feeling!"
Huge cheers and applause interrupted Lance's thoughts as his teammates gathered around him in a hug.
"Great shot!"
"Hey! Are substitutes stealing our thunder, damn it!"
"How come you always score when you come on as a substitute, you guy!"
"Lance, superbe tir! Great shot!"
Griezmann gave a sincere thumbs-up.
Feeling the enthusiasm of his teammates around him, Lance realised he wasn't just a "mercenary" signed by Atlético Madrid for an exorbitant price.
He had long since become good brothers with everyone, just like the group of brothers at Bayer Leverkusen back then.
3-0
The 90 minutes ended, and today's MVP went to Griezmann for his hat-trick of assists.
Unfortunately, there's no trophy for La Liga's single-match MVP; only monthly and seasonal MVPs receive trophies.
The Player of the Month trophy looked like a large red thermos.
Lance had already won the Player of the Month award for September, October, and November. December was supposed to be his too, but La Liga officially awarded it to Messi.
Griezmann had always been envious of this trophy, but unfortunately, he could only be named Man of the Match when Lance was rested.
"Damn it, Lance! With you around, I'm afraid I'll never get Player of the Month."
"Brother, have a dream. I believe you will definitely win Player of the Month, and even Player of the Season will be yours."
"Really?" Griezmann's eyes lit up.
"Of course, after I leave La Liga."
"Damn!"
Griezmann's excitement was short-lived.
"Go on, this is your moment of glory."
Pushing Griezmann towards the frantic reporters, Lance, having accomplished his task, quietly walked into the players' tunnel.
Originally, some media tried to chase and pester him, but they were stopped by the diligent and responsible PR manager, Ms Hanna Mouller.
"Excuse me, the player does not wish to be interviewed at this time."
"Lance, can you talk about that goal just now?"
"Excuse me, Lance, what was the situation with you on the bench? Can you explain?"
Lance paid no attention until the noisy voices behind him completely disappeared.
"Well done, Ms Hanna."
Everything quieted down, and Lance went to a quiet corner of the changing room, finally able to check the system for what had just happened.
Could it be... indeed!
On the panel, the number for the [Hyuga Kojiro] template fusion value had finally changed!
Template: Hyuga Kojiro - S (Fusion Value 100%)
— — — — Skill: Fierce Tiger Shot
— — — — Skill: Aerial Thunder Beast Shot
— — — — Skill: Thunder Beast Descent
100%!
It's been almost a year!
The first time he drew the Hyuga Kojiro template was a year ago!
March 2015, before the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16!
It was now late January 2016, not far from the new Champions League knockout stage.
Unlike other S-rank templates, the [Hyuga Kojiro] template's personality was similar to the character's in the Captain Tsubasa manga, just as independent.
It could clearly grow normally with every match, but it had to play this 'stream of consciousness' game!
It only grew with each epiphany, and who knew when an epiphany would strike!
When the fusion value was stuck at 97%, Lance had imagined many ways for it to increase.
For example, falling into a desperate situation in the second leg against Real Madrid or Barcelona, trailing by a large margin, and then coming back to win with a Fierce Tiger Shot.
Or the opposing goalkeeper having a power-up, and scoring a winning Fierce Tiger Shot in the last minute.
Or scoring a crucial goal with a Fierce Tiger Shot in the Champions League Final.
Lance had thought of almost every bizarre trigger method.
What he hadn't expected was that the last epiphany would come in an ordinary league match, and he would come on as a substitute to score a goal that merely added to the lead.
At the moment of the shot today, he had only one thought in his mind!
Shoot, score, win, victory!
No possibility of being equalised, no matter how much they led, every minute was about extreme offence!
Do everything possible to win!
Even if it was just an ordinary league match, even if it was an insignificant victory, it was still a victory!
"That's right! My football style is football that cannot lose! Football that must win no matter what!"
At this moment, in Lance's consciousness, the character's lines from the animation echoed.
That resolute and unyielding image vaguely emerged.
After a moment of trance, Lance wanted to check the system panel again.
But when he opened it, there was only one prompt.
[System upgrading... Please wait!]
Sure enough, here it came again.