Amidst the dazzling golden light!
Su stared excitedly at the center of the glow!
Soon!
A pair of magnificent boots materialized in the SYSTEM space!
"Ding Dong!"
"Congratulations HOST for obtaining Diamond-level equipment!"
"[Wind-Treading Combat Boots]!"
"Attributes: +10 Speed."
"PS: 1. These are exceptionally dazzling super boots! Wearing them will make you a wind-stepping demon on the pitch!"
"2. Life isn't perfect, but these will make you 50% faster at everything! Remember, some things take too long and kill the excitement!"
Su was ecstatic!
+10 Speed!
This was fucking unbelievable!
His current speed was 88!
Add 10 to that—
98!
Damn, this was insane! With these, he'd instantly become a god.
Orange cards were truly overpowered!
Using one now felt slightly wasteful, but these boots were literal lifesavers.
Now with this speed boost, he wouldn't be limited to attacking through the center.
He could hug the touchline, using his dribbling and blistering pace to tear through defenses.
These boots upgraded him from a standard attacker to a goddamn tracked tank—like one of those long-range artillery units.
Imagine whipping in crosses from the wing, especially with a powerhouse like Drogba in the box. A maxed-out crossing stat plus 98 speed? That would be absolutely unstoppable—god-killing, buddha-smashing levels of dominance!
Shivering with excitement, Su equipped the Wind-Treading Combat Boots.
With them now slotted, his attributes updated:
Attack 85 | Control 85 | Passing 100
Shooting 85 | Heading 68 | Positioning 66
Curve 66 | Speed 88+10 | Foot Strength 80
Jumping 74 | Physicality 80 | Stamina 88
Defense 80 | Tackling 65
Overall Rating: 85+3 | Age 18
An 88 overall rating!
Absolutely broken.
Looking at his stats, Su finally understood.
He'd always wondered about the SYSTEM's rating algorithm. By normal gaming standards, his attributes should easily put him above 90, yet the SYSTEM stubbornly kept him at 85 with minimal changes.
It turns out that reaching 90+ in attributes is necessary for a qualitative leap in overall rating.
However, this realization left Su momentarily helpless.
It seemed that once a single attribute surpassed 90, progressing from 90 to 99 would be much tougher than expected.
...........
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Unlike Su's excitement at home,
far away in Madrid,
Ferguson wore a grim expression.
His beloved PiaoZhixing had been injured.
Everything had been fine for days, but today PiaoZhixing suddenly felt dizzy.
When the team doctors found nothing wrong, Ferguson personally took him to a Madrid hospital.
After a series of tests,
the doctors concluded:
PiaoZhixing had a concussion!
Minor, but a concussion nonetheless.
Apparently, Balotelli's elbow had caused it.
"Fucking Balotelli!"
Glaring at the medical report, Sir Alex angrily spat out his chewing gum.
All joy from their Manchester City thrashing evaporated instantly.
"Who's going to play on the right now?"
With the match approaching, this was the last thing they needed.
"Boss, should we use Valencia?"
Assistant Coach Hampsey suggested.
"It'll have to do."
Ferguson had always had a love-hate relationship with Antonio Valencia.
The Ecuadorian was undoubtedly talented—his assists and dribbling spoke for themselves.
But he was fundamentally limited: explosive vertically yet painfully one-dimensional horizontally.
In short, his crosses were always low-driven, and with virtually no left foot, cutting inside was impossible. His playbook might as well have read: "Never shoot."
And his defending...
In the football world, Ferguson stood as a master tactician.
From 1992-1999: Reliance on wing play
1999-2003: Experimentation with possession-based 4-2-3-1
2003-2006: Three years of rebuilding
2006-2008: Emergence of fluid attacking football, culminating in the 2007 "three-headed monster"
2009-2011: Berbatov's arrival ushered in positional play and the "False Nine"
2012-Retirement: With Shinji Kagawa, a return to 4-2-3-1
For over two decades, Sir Alex had reinvented Manchester United through every tactical evolution, each shift elevating the club to new heights.
The old man's genius was undeniable!
Just a brief look at his tactical evolution over the years revealed one constant:
His focus on dominating the center of the pitch never wavered.
............
May 4, 2011!
Gelsenkirchen!
A day forever etched in the city's memory.
Every shop in town had closed its doors.
Except for essential Veltins-Arena staff,
the entire population of Gelsenkirchen had gathered around the stadium.
Ticket holders streamed inside hours early,
while those without tickets began assembling outside as early as 5 PM.
"Blau und Wei?!"
"Wie lieb ich Dich (Text und Musik)!"
"Blau und Wei?, wie lieb ich Dich!"
.........
The earth-shaking anthem had been reverberating through Gelsenkirchen since late afternoon.
But it wasn't just local supporters.
Among the sea of blue, countless Chinese fans stood out in their red national team jerseys, adding their voices to the chorus.
In this moment,
they weren't protesting their national team -
they came to paint China's colors across this blue canvas.
Because today,
the city's brightest star was Chinese.
Even with Messi, Iniesta and Xavi on the pitch,
for this night at least,
Gelsenkirchen chanted for one man:
"Su!"
"Chinese Su!"
"Crazy Su!"
"Warrior Su!"
"Pop!"
"Pop!"
"Pop!"
As the Schalke 04 team bus turned onto Stadium Avenue,
the deafening roar reached apocalyptic levels.
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
"Witness the spectacle beyond the pitch!"
"Today, Gelsenkirchen drowns in blue!"
"This marks Veltins-Arena's first Champions League semifinal - the most prestigious match this city has ever hosted!"
"And amidst this blue tsunami, we spot striking red accents - "
"Our international students! Our Chinese community! Our visitors from abroad!"
"Countless black-haired, yellow-skinned Chinese fans have splashed our nation's red across this blue city!"
Wang Tao was broadcasting live from the packed stadium.
"Su! NiuBi!"
At that moment, several local Schalke 04 fans seemed to recognize this was Chinese television.
They crowded in front of the camera, chanting Su's name wildly!
One fan had even painted a red flag on his face.
Pointing at the vibrant red, he shouted Su's name - the phrase "NiuBi" had become familiar to every Gelsenkirchen resident.
To them, "NiuBi" simply meant "Su" in Chinese.
[Live Comments:]
"Holy shit! My adrenaline's going to explode! This atmosphere is insane - even more electric than the World Cup!"
"Nonsense! When has Schalke ever reached a UCL semi-final? This is literally the biggest home match in club history! Finals are always neutral venues - of course the fans are going crazy!"
"I don't care why they're excited! I'm so moved I could cry right now. Look at all that Chinese red in the stands! When will we ever see an entire stadium like this?"
"Don't get ahead of yourself! This is already incredible! Just having Su here is an honor for all Chinese fans!"
"I want to see Su school Messi! Score a hat trick! Reach the final! Win the damn trophy!"
"Don't fantasize too much. This is Bar?a we're talking about - losing would be understandable. We're outmatched at every position. Expecting one man to carry us against them is unrealistic!"
"At this point, win or lose doesn't matter! Just seeing Su here makes everything worthwhile! He's still young - give him two more years at a top club and he'll become a legend! Maybe even surpass the Golden Generation!"
"Exactly! This season is already a success. No pressure on Su - just let him enjoy the moment. First Chinese player ever in a UCL semi-final!"
"Haha, make that two debutants! Don't forget Hao!"
................
