"These people are really annoying! I don't even want to listen to the crap they say behind our backs!"
"Sergio will definitely become a great player in the future. He's at the level of the top five leagues."
"Why are you treated like a core piece of the system? You only have stats and no real competitive ability."
"It's ridiculous. They're assistant coaches, yet they talk like football gods!"
"Isn't that shameless?"
Jiang Yunzhu defended Kai.
When she looked at Kai now, ahhhh… the more she looked at this little brother, the more pleasing he seemed.
"It's normal," Kai said with a smile. "Even the European media have doubted my stats and performances. It's not their fault… it's just because I'm too good. After they watch more of my games, what they say will probably change."
"You really… you're killing me!" Jiang Yunzhu almost cried. "You're only thirteen or fourteen, so why do you talk like some mature old man?"
As soon as she left, Kai sent messages to his teammates one by one:
"Tomorrow's match goes all out. Same plan."
The replies came instantly.
"OK!"
Originally, everyone just wanted to treat this friendly match like a casual game.
But now?
No chance.
Kai had spoken.
Anyone who relaxed could forget about playing in the second half of the season.
Never underestimate Kai's influence over Maxa.
Even though Maxa tried to hide it, after half a season everyone realized that his tactics, in-game commands, and substitutions all relied heavily on Kai's opinions.
After all, Maxa used to be a cleaner. His professional coaching ability honestly wasn't much better than the kids on the team.
After sending the messages, Kai looked out the window and fell into deep thought.
Why did he help the Wahaha Team?
There were many reasons.
But one of the most important ones was… raising his own value.
Whether it was domestic media or fans, for various reasons, they could rarely evaluate their own players objectively.
Some people were blindly confident, thinking every young domestic player had the talent of Messi.
Others were overly pessimistic, believing domestic players weren't even worth a single leg hair compared to foreign kids.
These two extreme emotions both ended up directed at Kai.
The result was simple: doubt.
First doubt:
Why can a Chinese player become the core of the team? It must be fake.
The logic behind that was: Chinese players can't possibly be that good.
Second doubt:
If Kai's stats are enough to be the core, then anyone from Wahaha could be the core.
The logic behind that was: Domestic players are obviously better than Kai.
Completely opposite ideas.
Yet coming from the same group of people.
Human nature really was twisted as hell.
And if you deal with that kind of distortion using only one attitude — either too tough or too soft — you'll lose either way.
You need both strength and restraint.
Before this, Kai had stayed polite, ignored their doubts, and kept things gentle.
Now…
It was time to stop being gentle.
…
The next day, the friendly match was about to begin.
Players from both sides entered the locker room for final preparations.
Kai sat on the bench, exchanging rewards.
In the last two matches before winter break, he had performed extremely well and earned a pile of training points, sports drinks, and random items.
Among them, the golden giant-tier fragments had finally reached the required amount.
"Ding! You consumed 20 golden fragments and obtained the golden superstar skill: Iniesta – Fried Meatball – Star!"
"Iniesta: Let me tell you a joke — Pro Evolution Soccer's Iniesta can't even dribble properly. Real-life Iniesta redefined this move and showed the world what true ball control looks like — simple, yet the hardest to master."
"Ball control +3, dribbling +3, burst +3, pace +3, flexibility +3."
"There is a certain probability of freezing defenders. Certain probability of winning a free kick. Small probability of drawing a yellow card. The effect improves when facing multiple defenders and scales with the number of opponents. For three seconds after using Fried Meatballs, acceleration, passing, and shooting are boosted. There is a small chance to trigger the skill continuously. Each consecutive trigger reduces effectiveness by 50% of the previous one, but can stack infinitely."
Kai went numb.
What the hell is this?
The description almost couldn't fit on the screen.
Iniesta's Fried Meatballs?!
This was insane.
A magical midfield skill.
Fifteen points of base stats added instantly.
Two months of training might not even give him that much.
And that was just the smallest benefit.
The real monster part was the effects.
Freezing defenders. Drawing fouls. Forcing yellow cards.
Lots of skills could do that.
But not many got stronger when surrounded by more defenders.
That was the terrifying part.
Most wingers die when double-teamed.
Top midfielders thrive in chaos.
They create something out of nothing.
This skill clearly belonged to the second type.
Plus, like the back-heel drag, it gave a three-second buff after activation — except this one boosted speed, passing, and shooting all together.
And it could chain.
Two fried meatballs: 150% effect.
Three: 175%.
Four: 187.5%.
If it stacked fully without decay, he'd basically be invincible.
He'd just keep frying meatballs forever like some lunatic dribbling through everyone.
People would probably just call him "Meatball Boy."
Kai couldn't help laughing.
"Why are you laughing? Let's go!" Ronaldo slapped Kai's shoulder. The others had already headed toward the tunnel.
"Don't forget our plan," Kai said with a grin.
"Relax. Just wait in space. I'll beat the keeper and pass it to you. We'll make sure you shine in front of your hometown guys."
"If you don't give back to your hometown, it's like walking at night in fancy clothes… I know the saying!"
"That's 'Jinyi Night Walk,' idiot," Kai sighed, then turned to Veloso. "You're getting lots of steals today. Pass to me the moment you win the ball."
Veloso smiled and nodded.
He had trained with the team for a while, but since he wasn't registered, he hadn't played official matches.
This friendly would be his debut for Sporting Lisbon U15.
He had waited a long time for this.
He wanted Benfica to see clearly.
He wasn't trash.
But many fans didn't understand the decision.
If you're replacing Sergio, shouldn't you at least pick a proper midfielder?
Why bring in a center-back who got cut?
Veloso hoped this match would shut everyone up.
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