Awakening the Messi template, Florentino Pérez begs me to join Real Madrid

Overtime continued, but the remaining few minutes were already garbage time for Yi Jianlian.

However, the national youth team clearly did not want it to end there.

In the 120th minute, the opposing defender made a clearance error in the penalty area, which was intercepted by Wu Lei.

Wu Lei took a shot without even looking up, catching the goalkeeper off guard.

4:1

"Wu Lei—a brace! The game is officially over!" Huang Jianxiang's voice was already a little hoarse in the commentary booth.

"In the final moments of overtime, the Chinese youth team extended their lead to 4-1! This was a team victory, a victory of willpower! A victory achieved at a great cost!"

At the same time, the referee blew the final whistle.

Emergency Observation Room

My phone vibrated.

Wu Shi grabbed him almost immediately—it was a text message from team leader Lin Wei:

"Match over, 4-1. Wu Lei scored again. We won, we're in the semifinals. Get some rest, the whole team is on their way back to the hotel. Don't worry."

Wu Shi read those few lines three times.

Won.

We really won.

4:1.

He closed his eyes, leaned back on the pillow, and let out a long, deep breath. Although his left leg still ached slightly, the pent-up frustration and resentment that had been building up in his chest for days finally dissipated.

The system notification arrived as expected:

[Key match victory confirmed]

[Competition Contribution Assessment: Grade A, 0]

Template integration improved: 2.7% → 3.0%

[Achieving a key milestone: Integration rate exceeds 3%]

System upgrade process initiated...

Estimated upgrade time: 12 hours

[Features are limited during the upgrade]

[New features will be unlocked after the upgrade]

It's at 3%! We can unlock new features now. Wu Shi is already looking forward to what new features will be unlocked tomorrow.

Wu Shi stared at that number. From the initial resistance of 0.001%, to 0.7% after his first goal in the China League One, and now... Unbeknownst to him, this template that he once "wouldn't even want" has accompanied him through almost a whole season, one crucial game after another.

The system is undergoing an upgrade, which will take 12 hours.

"System, system," Wu Shi muttered twice, but as expected, the system didn't respond.

He suddenly felt a little uncomfortable, but it was alright.

As Wu Shi thought of this, a happy smile began to appear on his lips.

Post-match press conference, mixed zone

Cameras and microphones were pointed at the four who had just taken their seats: head coach Li, captain Wu Lei, and Wang Zhuofeng, who scored a goal as a substitute in this match. Chen Liang, due to excessive excitement and severe exhaustion from the game, was completely drained after the cheers and had to be taken by the team doctor to get an ice pack.

Old Li picked up the microphone, his eyes still a little red.

"Let me say a few words first," he said in a low voice.

"The kids gave it their all in this match. We knew before the game that our opponents were strong, and we knew what they had said. But football is played with your feet, not with your mouth."

A reporter raised their hand: "Coach Li, how is Wu Shi's injury?"

Old Li's expression darkened: "He's already been taken to the hospital. We'll have to wait for the detailed test results tomorrow. What I wanted to say was—"

He paused, then looked at the camera.

"Wu Shi was fouled countless times on the field today, the last time being a vicious foul where he charged straight at the player. I hope the AFC will take this kind of behavior seriously."

A murmur of agreement rippled through the room.

When it was Wu Lei's turn to speak, he appeared very calm.

"Winning the game is a team effort. We seized our chance in overtime." He looked at his teammates, "Without everyone's contribution, we wouldn't have gotten this far."

Su Qing from *Football Weekly* stood up: "Wu Lei, after you scored, you lifted your jersey to reveal a message of blessing written for Wu Shi. What were you thinking at that moment?"

Wu Lei paused for two seconds: "I want him to know that we are with him. This game doesn't just belong to the 11 players on the field, it belongs to all the players and all the staff. Although Wu Shi has left the field, his efforts are still there."

Wang Zhuofeng was still panting as he spoke:

"Yi Jianlian has excellent midfield technique, but we made up for it with running. The coach told me to go up and run, to charge at them, and I just executed the tactical instructions."

At this point, a reporter from a local Australian media outlet asked in English: "Coach Li, how would you rate the performance of the UAE team? They said before the match that there was 'no need to play too aggressively' in some games."

The whole place fell silent.

Old Li picked up the microphone and slowly said:

"I respect every opponent. But I want to say that on the football field, never underestimate any team that is willing to fight with all their might. Especially—"

He looked at the countless flashing cameras below the stage, "when this team is wearing jerseys with the national flag on them."

applause.

At the same time, the UAE team held a press conference.

The atmosphere was completely different.

The Portuguese head coach looked ashen-faced, Omar beside him had his head down, and Mabkhout remained expressionless.

"Our performance in this match was actually worthy of a victory."

The coach spoke in English, his tone stiff.

"The red card changed the game. Before that, although we were behind for a while, we quickly caught up and were in the lead. But that's football."

A reporter asked

"Coach, don't you think there are any problems with your tactical arrangements for this game?"

"Who are you?"

"Hello, I'm a reporter from Australian Sports Weekly."

The Portuguese said:

"Then I have to question the professionalism of your program team."

"If you watched this game carefully, you would know that we put a lot of pressure on the opponent's offense in the first half and tightly restricted their key attacking players. It's just that luck wasn't on our side. If we could have taken a point earlier, the game would have been completely different."

"Even though we fell behind in the second half, I made timely tactical adjustments and quickly caught up. Barring that unexpected event, even if we went into extra time, I still had two substitutions available, and our chances of winning were still very high!"

"But after the red card, in that situation I had to play all my cards and successfully defend the game until the end of regulation time."

My tactical setup has always been flawless, and I have been making timely tactical adjustments based on the situation on the field. Although we lost, it doesn't mean we are weaker than them.

At this point, a Chinese reporter asked a pointed question: "Before the match, you said that some matches 'didn't need to be played too aggressively,' but does today's result prove that underestimating any opponent is dangerous?"

The coach's lips twitched slightly: "I never said I underestimated our opponents. What I meant was that in a long tournament, we need to manage our energy wisely. Today it's just... the result wasn't ideal."

"Regarding Astray's foul on Wu Shi, do you think it should have been a red card?"

"The referee made his decision, and I respect the ruling," the coach said, downplaying the issue. "But physical contact is normal in a game."

When asked about himself, Omar replied in a low voice, "The opponent is not weak."

What are your thoughts on the "Wu-Wu duo" in the Chinese team? Especially Wu Lei's performance today?

Omar looked up, hesitated for a moment, and said, "They are very good players. Wu Lei's positioning and finishing ability are very strong. As for Wu Shi..." He paused, "His vision and passing are very distinctive, it's a pity he's injured. I wish him a speedy recovery."

This statement was reasonably appropriate, and the atmosphere in the audience eased slightly.

But then, another local UAE media outlet asked:

"You lost to an opponent who was generally considered 'not a tough opponent' before the game. Does this mean your coaching contract will not be renewed at the end of this year?"

The coach's face darkened completely.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything immediately.

An awkward silence fell over the scene, broken only by the constant clicking of camera shutters.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, in a hospital, Wu Shi looked at the countdown on the system interface: "Upgrading: 11 hours and 58 minutes," and finally relaxed and fell into a deep sleep.

That night, some slept soundly, while others remained sleepless.