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

The moment the whistle blew, everyone on the Evergrande bench rushed back onto the field!

The players collapsed onto the grass, some roaring to the sky, some weeping with their faces covered, and many more were exhausted from surviving the ordeal and overjoyed beyond words.

Wu Shi stood there, hands on his knees, bent over, panting heavily.

Sweat had already soaked through his jersey, clinging tightly to his body.

That ball... it actually went in.

Zheng Zhi walked over, his face covered in sweat and dirt. He hugged Wu Shi tightly and patted his sweaty back hard.

"Good lad! You dare to fight! You earned your luck through hard work!"

Wu Shi forced himself to straighten up, wiped the sweat from his blurred vision, and looked towards the sidelines.

Lippi had already shaken hands with the assistant coaches and was turning to walk towards the players' tunnel. But before leaving, the old man stopped, turned back, and walked through the noisy stadium and running crowd to find him.

Lippi raised his right hand and gave Wu Shi a thumbs-up. There seemed to be a slight smile on his lips.

Then, he turned around, his figure calmly disappearing into the entrance of the passage.

That simple gesture and that slight smile carried more weight in Wu Shi's heart than any trophy or any praise.

He knew that what Lippi admired was not the lucky deflection, but his decisiveness in choosing to break through and take a shot at that moment.

[System: Match ended. Final score: 8.5/10.]

[Statistics: 1 goal (deflected), 1 key pass, 76% pass completion rate, 13.2 km running distance, 10 successful duels, 3 tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 key clearance.]

[Core Task Assessment: Under extreme adversity, he scored a crucial goal in an unconventional way on the offensive end (a combination of courage and luck), and gave his all on the defensive end. As the interim playmaker, he demonstrated decisiveness in breaking through the deadlock when the team most needed to do so, which is an important sign of his growth.]

[Integration score: 7.68% → 7.83% (+0.15%). Key goals and decisive actions have led to growth.]

[Global ranking prediction for the same age group: 85 → 84 (↑1 place).]

[Final Comments: The significance of the number 10 lies not only in orchestrating attacks, but also in the courage to take responsibility and break the deadlock in crucial moments. You exemplified this with a slightly lucky yet decisive individual performance. Congratulations on advancing to the AFC Champions League quarterfinals. Remember this feeling of daring to believe in yourself and take action in desperate situations. Luck always favors the brave.]

The system panel slowly faded away.

Two weeks later,

In the training base apartment late at night, only one table lamp was on.

Wu Shi had just finished his daily system training—that was three hours ago.

Now, he sits cross-legged on the bed, closes his eyes, and tries to enter a meditative state.

This is a relaxation and concentration method recently recommended by the system, which is said to help deal with mental fatigue caused by high-intensity competition.

Suddenly, a voice rang in his mind without warning, as clear as if someone were speaking right next to his ear.

[System: Template blending threshold detected. Current blending level: 8.00%]

Wu Shi suddenly opened his eyes, his heart skipped a beat.

8%? That fast?

[System: Yes. Since advancing in the AFC Champions League knockout stage away game, your game understanding, ability to handle crucial balls, and mental resilience have all significantly improved. These latent growths have accumulated to a critical point. Breaking through 8% is a crucial stage in template integration. In addition, your progress as an attacking midfielder in the Chinese Super League these past few weeks, even without Conca, has been very noticeable.]

"Any changes?" Wu Shi asked expectantly. Previous upgrades had all been accompanied by the unlocking of new features.

[System: This upgrade involves adjustments to the core algorithm and deep consciousness interaction module, and is expected to take 72 hours. During this period, all functional modules—including real-time analysis, simulation training, environmental monitoring, and suggestion prompts—will be temporarily disabled, except for the basic attribute panel (read-only mode).]

"Close?" Wu Shi was taken aback. "It means..."

[System: This means that from the moment the upgrade begins, you will be unable to use any accessibility features of this system for 72 hours.]

You will not hear my voice again.

[Real-time analysis and suggestions are not available.]

Unable to start simulation training.

All additional sensory enhancements and predictive aids based on system data will disappear.

You can only rely on yourself—the muscle memory you've developed, the tactical knowledge you've learned, the match experience you've accumulated, and… your intuition.

The system paused for a moment, and the voice was more serious than ever before.

[Wu Shi, these 72 hours, especially the matches, will be a crucial test of your growth.]

You are no longer that "plastic person" who is helpless without system guidance.

Now, let me see what kind of football you can play when you're all alone.

As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Shi felt as if something had been gently "removed" from his mind.

The world... fell silent.

It's not quiet in a physical sense, but rather a kind of "sparseness" in perception.

Over the past year, he has grown accustomed to the data streams that might appear in the corners of his vision at any moment, to the calm analysis that echoes in his mind at crucial moments, and to the sharp-tongued voice that constantly nitpicks during extra practice sessions.

Now, it's all gone.

He could hear the distant traffic outside the window and feel the softness of the mattress beneath him, but these sensations had become "ordinary." There were no additional dimensions of information, no aids beyond the realm of common sense.

He was all alone.

A strange feeling, a mixture of slight unease and subtle excitement, spread through my heart.

Just then, my phone vibrated. It was a message from the assistant coach: "Tomorrow night we play Shandong Qilu at home. The old man will announce the starting lineup at the pre-match press conference. Be prepared, it's highly likely you'll still be playing as an attacking midfielder. Conca and Zengcheng won't be playing."

Shandong Qilu. A long-established powerhouse in the Chinese Super League, last season's league champion and Super Cup champion.

They are also in excellent form this season, currently ranking second in the standings, only one point behind Evergrande.

If Evergrande wins this match, they can temporarily secure the top spot in the league; if they lose, they may have to relinquish their hard-won lead.

He will play as an attacking midfielder in the first game after the system goes into hiatus, facing a strong opponent and shouldering the responsibility of organizing and linking the attack in midfield without Conca.

Wu Shi put down his phone, walked to the window, and looked at the sparse lights of Guangzhou outside.

He suddenly remembered a long time ago—in his past life—when he stayed up all night watching football in an internet cafe, staring in disbelief at the fluid teamwork and spectacular goals on the screen, and then, in some corner of his heart, secretly imagining himself standing on that lawn.

Now, he not only stands there, but also, under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of people, decides the outcome of a crucial match without any "cheat codes."

He recalled the last time he played in a professional league without the system's assistance, even against a team in the bottom half of the China League One at the time, and his performance could only be described as disastrous.

But I am not the same person I was back then.