Chapter 29: The Weaver?
Page (1/3)
The livestream chat.
A dense barrage of comments flooded the screen in a frenzy.
— [Absolutely insane!]
— [Explosive!]
— [Has Li Luo been forced by the pharmaceutical giants to unleash all his power?]
...
Bayer Arena.
Leverkusen’s defense was in a state of utter alarm.
Li Luo was gradually beginning to understand why the permanent passive skill “Dragonfly Skimming Water” was a form of inertia—a primal instinct.
The phantom of the golden-haired figure dissolved into specks of starlight and scattered on the wind.
“Two effortless escapes in succession.”
“The space has opened up.”
“The angle is there.”
Almost instinctively, Li Luo raised his arm and swung his leg.
Sixty points in shooting.
Eighty-one points in leg strength.
The pinnacle of the Chinese Super League, complete mastery.
Bang!
The tens of thousands of spectators stared in astonishment.
Beneath the floodlights, the young Chinese player drew his bow and nocked his arrow.
With textbook-perfect technique, he unleashed a thunderous shot!
The ball rocketed forward.
Leno’s positioning remained tight to the near post. By Leverkusen’s usual defensive logic, stopping a prodigy of this caliber required the coordinated movement of the entire back line...
There was no time to save it.
The far post trembled faintly under the impact, followed by the rippling of the white net.
3–2!!!
A goal immediately after coming on?
“Beautiful!”
“He’s scored!”
“Li Luo comes on... Li Luo has unleashed a sensational long-range strike to pull one back for Wolfsburg!”
“Incredible.”
“A nutmeg, a Marseille turn, and a thunderous finish!”
“A perfect blend of elegance and power.”
“Can he lead Wolfsburg safely out of Bayer Arena?”
The commentators were left marveling.
Watching Li Luo’s successive evasions in slow motion, Coach Zhang found himself momentarily unable to describe what he had seen. It was as though Li Luo’s three touches had kneaded Leverkusen’s high defensive line into pieces.
...
Even Li Luo had not expected to score.
Wolfsburg had no target man.
He had been stationed at the very front of the formation, and his teammates had not had time to push forward in support.
He could only take the shot himself.
And somehow, it had gone in?
There was no celebration. The team was still behind.
Li Luo wanted to rush into the net to retrieve the ball... but then he saw the fierce-looking Bayer defensive unit.
“Arnold, go get the ball for us. We need to hurry.”
“All right, Li.”
....
The livestream chat.
Slow-motion replays showed Wolfsburg’s entire attack from different angles.
— [That was so cool.]
— [An incredible Marseille turn.]
— [Two goals down—my Luo had no choice but to unleash everything.]
— [A savior. He scores the moment he comes on.]
— [Coach Black-Gold’s strikerless formation, and Li Luo off the bench—he’s Fabregas, David Silva, and Totti all rolled into one.]
— [Mr. Black-Gold, take us to Russia.]
— [The Atletico Madrid version of Aguero, nicknamed “Little Li Luo.”]
Page (1/3)
Page (2/3)
....
De Bruyne ran all the way back to the center circle alongside Li Luo.
His expression was excited, his eyes filled with anticipation.
“Li, we can definitely turn this around.”
“Mm-hmm. Everything is under my control.”
Li Luo had spent so long observing from the bench that his spatial-awareness geometric model had already calculated the answer.
He gestured several times toward Wolfsburg’s half.
His teammates understood immediately.
Unlike Frankfurt, Hoffenheim, and Everton, the weaknesses in Leverkusen’s defense did not require especially difficult exploitation. Wolfsburg’s first problem was to solve the issue of their rhythm being disrupted by relentless pressure.
....
On the touchline.
Dino, the Bayer assistant coach, instantly understood the Chinese youngster’s signals.
“Li’s telling his teammates to rotate and cover for him at the very front of the formation.”
“He’ll deal with Leverkusen’s high-pressure assault...”
On the other side.
Wolfsburg’s veteran assistant coach said excitedly, “Li even managed to score a long-range shot...”
“What do you mean, ‘managed’?”
Black-Gold sharply rebuked him. “Everything was calculated by Li.”
On the bench, Dost felt exactly the same. He was not angry at having been substituted. Gazing at the Chinese youngster, his eyes were filled with certainty.
“I’m not good at creating attacks on my own. Li is the nemesis of Leverkusen’s defense.”
...
The match restarted from the center circle.
After Kiessling passed the kickoff back to the defense, the tempo did not slow.
The back line did not retreat.
The midfielders and forwards of both teams quickly surged across the center circle, their figures overlapping before separating again.
“They’re still going toe to toe!”
“Calhanoglu’s movement and passing are very sensible.”
“He keeps turning his head to survey the situation on the pitch.”
“Someone online said that the new generation’s four great midfield kings are Calhanoglu, Pogba, Pjanic, and Li Luo.”
“...”
...
Calhanoglu controlled the tempo of Leverkusen’s attack.
Moving.
Receiving.
Passing.
He dismantled Wolfsburg’s midfield barrier and led Bayer’s formation forward.
“Under the stars and crescent moon, North Rhine...”
The next moment—
“Oh no, he’s lost the ball.”
“Arnold finally succeeds in dispossessing Bayer’s midfield core.”
“Beautiful. He plays it back to Li Luo.”
“Huh? Li Luo has dropped deep. Who’s taking his place at the front of the formation? De Bruyne!”
...
Li Luo did not launch the attack directly.
He had to wait.
He had to wait for Bayer to unleash its merciless high press without the ball.
Snap.
He played it square to Guilavogui.
The Atletico outcast possessed solid technique. After noticing Li Luo’s run, he decisively sent the ball on.
“Beautiful.”
“Li Luo releases it in one touch.”
“He finds Knoche advancing from deep.”
“Gustavo has dropped back to reinforce Wolfsburg’s center-back line.”
“Both full-backs have pushed forward as well.”
....
Wolfsburg’s players understood each other perfectly. They worked hard to rotate, narrowing the distances in the immediate area while widening the passing options on the far side.
Page (2/3)
Page (3/3)
The ball’s trajectory.
The changes in Li Luo’s positioning.
Together, they formed a series of constantly shifting triangles.
Bayer unleashed a savage high press, but it was like a fist crashing violently into the ocean.
...
The livestream chat.
— [Positional sense, awareness, vision, reading of the game, tactical deconstruction, control of tempo, anticipation... a perfect combination of every element.]
— [A master.]
— [Yes, yes, yes—the bane of the high press.]
— [A stylistic counter!]
— [That was so dangerous. Li Luo nearly lost the ball. Why do I feel like the quality of his short passing... isn’t very consistent?]
— [Then Wolfsburg’s teammates must have passed poorly, making it difficult for him to handle.]
...
Calhanoglu kept running.
He tried to sever Li Luo’s passing connections.
Gradually, he realized that he seemed to be continually overestimating the force and trajectory of the Chinese prodigy’s passes...
“Why did I misread it again?”
“Impossible.”
“The quality of his short passing can’t really be that ordinary.”
“Guilavogui and Knoche are both better short passers than he is. No, that’s not it. I haven’t fully understood his one-touch passing-and-running patterns.”
...
The technical area.
Dino was horrified.
Schmidt suddenly rose from the bench, his eyes filled with confusion.
On the other side.
The assistant coaches were overjoyed.
Black-Gold gently clapped his hands. “Li is thinking exactly as I am.”
....
Bayer Arena.
The Bayer supporters were growing angry.
They were being made to chase shadows.
It seemed that in recent years, their greatest nemeses had always been teams led by brilliant midfielders who served as the “core,” the “weavers,” the “thieves of time.”
Two years ago.
The 10–2 disaster they had suffered on the Champions League stage still felt painfully vivid.
...
Within his spatial-awareness model, Li Luo noticed that he had drawn several Bayer players toward him.
He did not hesitate.
If he hesitated any longer, the stability of his passing and receiving could no longer be guaranteed.
Snap!
“Here it comes!”
“Li Luo’s chipped pass.”
“What vision!”
“Leverkusen’s high defensive line has already been lured into leaving several gaps.”
The ball floated uncertainly through the air, piercing Bayer’s midfield barrier.
Then it dropped onto De Bruyne’s toes.
The next instant, as though granted life, it sprang lightly toward the wing.
Wolfsburg full-back Sebastian surged forward at top speed, controlling the ball as he went, flying down the flank like the wind.
“A third-man combination.”
“No offside.”
“He’s through one-on-one.”
“Leno rushes out... and gets lobbed!”
Page (3/3)