Chapter 41: The Little Lion's Powerful Allies

In the live stream comment section:

"Is it the Jixiang youth training team? They must be looking for Liu Yuanzhou and Peng Chang!"
"Liu Yuanzhou and Peng Chang are okay, but the others are a bit lackluster."
"Even those two aren't enough; they clearly can't keep up with the Little Lions' intensity."
"There's no one available, what should we do!"
"Borrow players from Hongyuan, Guangfa, or Weili!"
"We've borrowed from them before, but constantly asking them is becoming a bit much."
"Teacher Tong finds it hard to ask; unless the players themselves are willing, it's difficult."
"Sigh! It's so hard!"

This was the situation for the Green Field Little Lions. When they were younger, they would form teams, play matches together, and have a great time. But as they grew older, each of them had to go for trials to seek new paths, making it hard to coordinate match schedules. When one was free, another was busy. Most of the time, they couldn't get everyone together and had to borrow players from everywhere to play. However, borrowing once or twice was fine, but doing it too often made people annoyed.

Tong Xianfeng stroked his slightly graying hair and sighed, "If there's no other way, I'll have to go to the Netherlands or somewhere else to borrow players."

"What? Borrowing foreigners again?"
"Four foreigners should be enough, right? If there are too many, we'll end up being a team of foreign mercenaries!"
"We can't borrow anyone domestically. How about Teacher Tong forms a partnership with the four major football schools? That would make borrowing easier!"

Looking at the comments, Tong Xianfeng smiled bitterly to himself. It wasn't that easy! To put it bluntly, they were an online youth training team. Despite the good results, they ultimately lacked a systematic progression path. He didn't sign these players because he didn't have a club to develop them further. He couldn't let these young players' talents go to waste, so he had to keep playing matches to build their reputation and send them abroad for trials. Because of this, for the Little Lions, trials were the top priority. He would rather miss a match due to a lack of players than stand in the way of the children's future.

"Liu Yuanzhou and Peng Chang are quite good. If we can borrow a few more, we might be able to scrape a team together!" Tong Xianfeng felt helpless. In this case, he couldn't expect great results, as their strength on paper wasn't strong enough. He would just treat it as a chance for them to experience the competitive environment!

Just then, a noisy sound came from outside the door.
"Found them! I found them!"
Bang! The door to the studio was pushed open violently, and Xiang Ming ran in excitedly.
Tong Xianfeng's face darkened. "Don't you know how to knock?"
"Oh!" Xiang Ming retreated honestly, closed the door, and knocked again.
Knock, knock!

"Come in!" Tong Xianfeng rubbed his temples and sighed.
"Found them! I found them! I found them!" Xiang Ming was as restless as ever. Tong Xianfeng felt helpless, but that was how the boy was; he didn't intentionally suppress his nature.

The live stream was also amused.
"Xiang Ming is still as reckless as ever!"
"He's usually careless, but on the field, his technique is so refined."
"Xiang Ming's technique is indeed impeccable; watching him play is like watching a dance!"
"I didn't realize he was already 15. I've been watching him play since he was eight—seven years have flown by!"
"Yeah! Time waits for no one! Damn! I'm already over forty!"

Tong Xianfeng looked at Xiang Ming. "What did you find?"
"Foreign reinforcements!" Xiang Ming said excitedly. "I saw you were worried about not finding players, so I made a few calls."
Hearing this, Tong Xianfeng felt a warmth in his heart; he hadn't cared for the boy in vain!
"Who did you find?" Tong Xianfeng asked.
Xiang Ming replied, "Chen Shaojie, He Chaoyue, Yang Fan, and a guy named Wei Lai!"
Tong Xianfeng: "!!!"

In the live stream comment section:
"My god! Did Xiang Ming bring in the U15 National Youth team?"
"He Chaoyue, Xiang Ming, Yang Fan, and Chen Shaojie—isn't that the core of the National Youth's midfield and attack?"
"Holy crap! Powerful reinforcements! The Little Lions' combat power is about to skyrocket!"
"But who is that Wei Lai?"
"Wei Lai? Damn! Everyone, go watch the Future Stars Cup. This is our super defensive beast!"
"Is he that strong?"
"He performed like a real anchor! Even Chen Shaojie was suppressed by him, tell me if that's strong!"
"Is that true? Suppressed Chen Shaojie? I know Weili won the Future Stars Cup, but didn't they have Yang Fan as their anchor?"
"Yang Fan performed well, but the real anchor was that number five, Wei Lai!"
"Chen Shaojie plus Wei Lai—one controls the game, the other covers the ground! This midfield intensity is off the charts!"

Tong Xianfeng was also a bit confused. He remembered that Xiang Ming and He Chaoyue weren't exactly on the best of terms. Perhaps Xiang Ming had contacted Chen Shaojie, the "social butterfly," who then pulled players from Weili.

Tong Xianfeng turned to the camera. "I have to contact Weili now, so the live stream ends here. Once the kids are all gathered, I'll introduce them to you in detail!"
"Go ahead, Teacher Tong! I will definitely support this match!"
"Go, go! Don't forget to make videos for us!"
"Hurry and contact them, otherwise, the strong reinforcements will be gone!"

Tong Xianfeng didn't dare delay, immediately ending the stream and calling the Jiaozhou Weili Football School.

***

"The Green Field Little Lions have already contacted us. Your round-trip airfare will be covered by the school, and we will also send a supervisor to look after you!" Director Liu of the management department instructed them. "When traveling abroad, remember to keep your passports safe, stay close to the team, and strictly forbid any private activities!"
"Even while away, you must not slack off on training. Maintain a rigorous attitude and follow Teacher Tong's instructions, understand?"

Wei Lai and the other two nodded immediately, signaling their understanding. The football school even went as far as to reimburse their airfare and arrange a "nanny." They never had this kind of treatment before, but since these three were the top priority in Weili's development plan, they couldn't afford the slightest bit of negligence.

Back in the dormitory, the three began packing their luggage. They were to head to Water City tomorrow for a week-long training camp before flying to Spain from the Shanghai airport. Wei Lai was very excited; after all, across his two lives, this was his first time going abroad.

"What do I need to prepare for going abroad?" Wei Lai asked for advice.
He Chaoyue replied, "There's nothing particularly special to note; just make sure you have your passport. Buy a plug adapter; foreign outlets are different from ours. Forget it! Don't buy one, I have an old one here, you can use it for now!"
"Thanks!" Wei Lai smiled and took it.

The three moved efficiently and soon had their things packed. During the evening rest time, Wei Lai entered the virtual arena as usual. It wasn't a match field this time, but a training ground space. A light drizzle was falling from the sky, and the area was surrounded by low-rise buildings. The players' clothing had a retro feel—their jerseys were loose and baggy, reminiscent of the 90s. However, the team badge looked familiar. It was the same one from the team in Coach Casemiro's assessment! This was likely the Manchester City youth training base from the 90s.

Bang, bang, bang!
In the light rain, a group of people were huddled together playing a game of "monkey in the middle," and Wei Lai was the "monkey."
Snap!
Wei Lai didn't close his legs in time, and the ball was passed right through his crotch.
"Ha~~ nutted! Even if you catch it, you have to do it again!"
Damn it! Wei Lai puffed out his cheeks, feeling a bit angry.
"What are you looking at? Blehh!"
This was a boy wearing a Manchester United youth training kit. His face was obscured by a mist, but the voice made it clear he was making faces at Wei Lai.

Wei Lai endured it. There was no helping it; this guy was his instructor for this session!