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Spain, Madrid. Atlético Madrid Training Base.
Inside the stadium, Diego Simeone and Assistant Coach Caratayud were stunned. The two exchanged glances, seeing astonishment in each other's eyes.
"Did you give him special training?"
"No! I thought you arranged it."
"Then this kid is truly terrifying."
Simeone knew Lance was highly talented even before this. Most players who complete their evolution in two or three years are considered geniuses, but Lance achieved a visible qualitative leap within just one week! Genius was not enough to describe this boy; he was practically a monster!
A week ago, Lance's long passes and through balls were unstable, only reaching the standard of an ordinary first-team player. His off-the-ball movement was also quite ordinary, without any particularly outstanding advantages. At the same time, he had a natural disadvantage when contesting high balls with his head. Despite having a height of 185 cm, his relatively slender physique made it difficult for him to compete against muscular, tough defenders. Therefore, most of Lance's goals were scored through skillful evasion or long shots. Headed goals were almost non-existent.
In the span of just one match, Lance was practically omnipotent on the training ground today! Long passes, free kicks, contesting high balls in the penalty area — even his defensive positioning had improved significantly! He was essentially a combination of Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, and Ronaldinho!
Simeone clicked his tongue quietly.
"What kind of monster is about to be born in the world of football? I dare not imagine."
Meanwhile, on the training ground, the Atlético Madrid teammates were also deeply shocked. Having trained and played with Lance regularly, everyone was very clear about his standard. Today, this guy seemed like a completely different person.
From the right side of midfield, Lance delivered a long pass that accurately found Griezmann amidst the crowd. This was not the usual pressure-free switch of play, but an extreme long pass delivered while both players were surrounded by defenders. Griezmann didn't need to jostle for position in the gap between players; he effortlessly received the ball, not even needing to exert effort to control it. This unexpected quality caught Griezmann off guard, causing him to miscontrol.
Griezmann immediately turned his head to look at Lance.
"Lance!! No way!"
"Oh my God!!"
"Please tell me that pass was a fluke."
"Yes, it was a fluke," Lance replied casually.
A few minutes later, another guided missile pass switched the play from the right flank to the left. Torres followed up with a volley that hammered into the net.
Fernando Torres, who had weathered many storms and returned to his best, also sensed that something was wrong. Onlookers might not have seen it clearly, thinking the long pass was rather ordinary, but only the receiver knew the high technical quality of Lance's delivery.
"Impossible! Lance, when did you..."
"Right, right!! Fernando, you feel it too, don't you!"
Griezmann found someone who understood him; the perception of both Atlético Madrid forwards was overturned. Could a person truly change so quickly in a short period?
If Lance's long passes weren't less than 100% effective, with fluctuating success rates, the two of them would have wanted to retire on the spot. It was too demoralizing! Playing alongside such a genius, Griezmann and Torres felt they were insulting the word "genius."
"That's quite normal."
Koke looked calm, showing no surprise.
"Lance is just that kind of player. You all know how late he stays for extra practice."
"So that's it."
Only then could the Atlético Madrid players accept the situation. Compared to Lance being a monster, his improvement through relentless extra practice was much easier to understand.
"This..."
Lance looked at his teammates discussing amongst themselves, hesitating to speak. He didn't know how to explain it. Forget it, let them guess.
Lance drank his electrolyte beverage while quickly reviewing his recent gains internally.
The four successfully fused templates — [Beckham], [Bukayo Saka], [Cannavaro], [Xiao Junguang] — had indeed brought about certain improvements!
The most obvious, of course, was "The Heartthrob," David Beckham. Lance's long pass success rate had increased significantly. In a non-confrontational state, he could basically simulate Beckham's muscle memory at 100%. With confrontation, the success rate fluctuated according to the pressure of the opponent, roughly simulating about 60% of Beckham's ability. It depended on the specific performance at the time. If he performed well, he could display the Curved Free Kick on the field. The same went for free kicks — it was related to physical exhaustion and match mentality, with performance ranging from 60% to 90%.
While Lance was reviewing, on the other side, the coaching staff led by Simeone had already begun discussing setting Lance as Atlético Madrid's primary free-kick taker. Previously, Griezmann, Koke, and others took the kicks, but now Lance might be more reliable.
As for [Xiao Junguang] and [Bukayo Saka], the muscle memory resulting from the fusion of these two templates was not too obvious. Lance himself excelled at breaking past defenders, and Bukayo Saka was also a player skilled at wing breakthroughs, possessing the technique for left-footed inverted cutting shots. No wonder Lance noticed that the accuracy of his left-footed shots had improved significantly. For someone who once relied solely on his right foot, his weak foot was gradually becoming a main scoring method.
The improvement brought by [Xiao Junguang] was mainly reflected in tackles being more stable, accurate, and ruthless. During today's internal scrimmage, Lance's numerous tackles caused Griezmann considerable pain. The exclusive skill of [Xiao Junguang], [Rebound Kick Speed Cannon], had not been tested yet.
[Cannavaro] enhanced his positional awareness in defense and his ability to contest headers in the penalty area. Of course, given Lance's muscle strength and positional characteristics, he couldn't defend better than a professional center-back, but at most he could bring more tactical value when tracking back.
Overall, this template fusion was undoubtedly a success! Lance was already eager for the next fusion to begin, to merge more high-level templates!
..."After the last round of La Liga, Atlético Madrid currently ranks first, maintaining a two-point gap with second-place Barcelona."
April 26, 2016. La Liga Round 36. Just two days after the decisive showdown in the previous round, Atlético Madrid was set to face Rayo Vallecano. The Champions League semi-final was kicking off just two days after that. Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona would hold the important first-leg semi-final showdown, so Atlético Madrid rotated their squad for today's match.
Key players like Griezmann, Koke, Saúl, Torres, Gabi, and Godín were all rested! Only Lance sat on the bench.
Simeone initially treated Lance like a treasure, protecting him from overly dense scheduling, fearing that the 18-year-old's slight frame might suffer an injury. Later, the coaching staff realized just how abnormal Lance was. Even with three matches a week, this guy could recover quickly, with all his metrics essentially returning to maximum value. As expected of a young man with strong recovery ability!
Thus, Simeone didn't hesitate, keeping Lance as a safety net. If Rayo Vallecano caused an upset, Lance would come off the bench as the savior.
"Lance, get ready for the second half, be prepared to come on at any time."
Thirty minutes into the match, Rayo Vallecano's bus-parking strategy frustrated Atlético Madrid's rotated lineup, which struggled to score. Simeone realized something was wrong and planned to use Lance, the nuclear weapon, to finish the match.
"No problem."
Lance was indeed very tired. Just three days ago, he had engaged in a fierce battle with Barcelona, and two days later, he would face a life-or-death match against them again. Even the toughest players couldn't handle that. However, Lance had a cheat!
On the bench, he secretly chugged a can of [Ordinary Red Bull].
With 1,600 Silver Coins, Lance had also completed a ten-pull draw. Unfortunately, everything he drew this time was either a [Substitute Paper Figurine] or [Ordinary Red Bull]; there were no novel items.
After gulping it down, Lance felt his physical condition recover significantly. This was the dominance of the cheat! Even if he secretly consumed a mysterious recovery item, outsiders couldn't detect any signs, and drug tests wouldn't find anything either.
I have a damn System, why should I care about science!
Sure enough, in the 75th minute, Simeone couldn't hold back any longer.
Atlético Madrid 0-0 Rayo Vallecano!
If Lance didn't come on, they would likely only get one point, allowing Barcelona to catch up again!
"Oh? Atlético Madrid requests a substitution! Ángel Correa leaves the field, and the savior, Lance, comes on as a substitute!"
The Spanish commentator joked. Everyone knew Lance would come on!
Ángel Correa wasn't discouraged; he smiled and high-fived Lance.
"Sorry, Lance. I couldn't score. It's up to you now."
"Don't worry about it, you're very strong."
Lance patted his teammate on the back and quickly ran onto the field.
The appearance of their Number 10 Ace caused everyone in the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium to erupt in the most intense cheers! The fans in the front rows were practically shouting themselves hoarse, likely to be voiceless for two or three days. The Rayo Vallecano players, however, looked terrified.
The most dreaded episode!
You said you'd use substitutes for rotation, but you throw a nuclear weapon into an ordinary league match — seriously?
Just three minutes after Lance came on, he demonstrated the terrifying deterrent power of the nuclear weapon! From the right side of the attacking third, he delivered a precision-guided long pass spanning over 40 meters, aiming straight for the penalty area! For a moment, the surrounding fans seemed to see Beckham! Even the substitute striker in the box, Luciano, didn't react, staring blankly as the ball zipped past him!
"Sorry, my bad, my bad!"
Luciano was full of remorse. If he had trusted Lance more and started his run earlier, he might have scored a beautiful volley.
Lance's single move made Rayo Vallecano break out in a cold sweat! Clearly, their nightmare was not over!
In the 86th minute, Lance moved from the center to the right flank! He performed a step-over to fake out the opposing left-back, then sharply dragged the ball back and cut inside. Everyone else thought Lance was going to continue his dribble, but Lance suddenly used his weaker left foot to pull back and shoot, delivering a crisp and fierce blast! The ball traced a beautiful arc and curled into the net!
"Gooooooal!!! LAAAAAANCE!"
"A beautiful world-class goal!!! Wow!"
"Atlético Madrid, unsurprisingly, takes the lead!"
"Lance has scored 49 goals, just one goal away from the 50-goal record!"
At this moment, the person under the most pressure was actually Messi, watching the match in front of his TV. Lance, like a god descending to earth, scored another goal, constantly closing in on his own record. At the same time, Barcelona was about to depart for the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium! Messi was about to face his nemesis for the third time!
"..."
Although Messi had never worked a regular job, he suddenly felt the pressure of a corporate drone. On the evening after a long holiday, the thought of going back to work the next day made him want to die.
"Just end it, quickly."
Messi shook his head, turned off the TV, and returned to his bedroom. He wasn't sure if he could break the embarrassing zero-win-rate record this time. In any case, he just had to fight!