Chapter 48: What the hell is this reward?

Li Kang and his teammates returned to the hotel where they were staying.

After putting down his luggage, he eagerly opened the system panel, only to find it empty.

【Ding, rewards are being calculated...】

It seems it won't finish that quickly.

Dennis suddenly gave a mysterious smile: "Li, let's go shopping! Come on, it won't take too long—I'll help you pick some gifts for the club teammates."

"Don't dawdle—we're not those superstars from the first team; put on a mask, change into casual clothes, and hardly anyone will recognize us!"

That statement is actually true.

Even if Lin Jiade put on a mask, changed into casual clothes, and danced on the streets of Japan, he'd still be seen as just a lively youngster.

The two reported their outing activity to the coaching staff and the national team leader.

Then they left the hotel and headed to Ginza.

Half an hour later.

The two arrived at the back street of Ginza Avenue.

"I've arranged to meet a Japanese girl—do you mind? I heard you don't like European girls."

During his Villarreal days, young Dennis was still handsome, his hairline hadn't receded, and he was at the peak of his looks.

While speaking.

A Japanese girl in the distance waved, then pulled her companion and jogged over.

Dennis looked disappointed and muttered, "God, why isn't she like the photo? How can she be so short? Her figure is too flat, and her teeth! She's really not my type."

"Forget it, Li, let's grab something to eat soon and then find an excuse to leave."

He didn't control his volume, but he was speaking in Spanish.

The aesthetic differences between Europe and America are quite large.

Li Kang glanced at his companion's phone screen, then saw the Japanese girl running up to him...

They were completely like two different people.

The photo on the phone screen had an extremely exaggerated figure...

In front of him....

His gaze was instantly drawn to another girl.

An unwilling, cold expression.

Delicate, small features.

Very cute.

【Ding! Suppressing the reward neurotransmitter dopamine!】

A certain emotion of Li Kang instantly dissipated.

"Li-san, Asuka-chan! Come over quickly—he's Li-san! The empire's Kirin beast!"

The ordinary girl was beside herself with excitement.

The cold-faced girl pulled at her mask, which almost covered half her face, and politely greeted him.

Dennis was left hanging on the side, but inwardly he felt pleased: thank goodness they're more interested in Li-san!

There was no inappropriate behavior.

Dennis's lifestyle is very healthy; his social interactions with the opposite sex are just eating out and shopping.

Four people walked along the bustling back street of Ginza Avenue.

The signs and huge billboards lining the streets decorated the Tokyo nightscape with vivid colors.

Gusts of cold wind blew by.

Nothing could conceal the city's prosperity.

The aloof Asuka-chan said nothing; only upon arriving did she realize her companion's friend was a boy...

The ordinary girl buried herself in Dennis, speaking broken English, while he struggled to squeeze out a polite smile.

Li Kang, however, was thinking about what gifts to buy for Lewokusen's teammates.

Unconsciously, he also thought about buying a house.

The endorsement fee from Feiertings had already been paid before the ad shoot; he first bought some Bitcoin to save, and the remaining money he still didn't know how to use.

A few minutes later.

He stopped walking and realized he had gotten separated from Dennis...

The bustling street.

There was no sign of his teammates or the ordinary girl.

Beside him only remained the cold-faced Asuka-chan.

The two exchanged a glance, unable to communicate, the atmosphere awkward.

"Li-san, are you hungry?"

Asuka-chan pointed to a street food stall, her voice a little sweet.

She was hungry, and out of politeness she still asked Li Kang in broken English.

After all.

Compared to Westerners, the quiet Li-san isn't very off-putting.

Deep down, she firmly resolved to always reject such vague outings with her companion in the future.

Li Kang nodded.

Strangely, Asuka-chan didn't emit the usual unpleasant odor of ordinary girls.

In September Tokyo, the leaves on both sides of the street gradually turned yellow.

The girl ate two fish balls, and her mood seemed to brighten considerably.

Seeing Li Kang take off his mask, she felt a bit uneasy and involuntarily gave an embarrassed smile.

Li Kang also smiled.

Only then did he have the opportunity to closely examine her up close.

Long eyelashes.

Her skin was very white, like snow, like Hokkaido's snow.

"Li-san, have you been to Hokkaido? The maple leaves there have turned red."

Asuka-chan, who had been aloof at first, became more talkative.

The two strolled under the dim streetlights.

They were far from the noise.

They lost track of time.

In the distance.

The two paparazzi eagerly packed up their cameras.

"Li-san's private meeting with an opposite-sex friend from Japan—these photos will definitely fetch a good price!"

"Our country's girls must be mosaicked!"

"This kind of gossip would earn more if sold to Dragon Kingdom's media!"

"I guess Korean media will definitely say the girl is Korean! Then they'll fabricate a bunch of reasons to claim Li Kang also has Korean blood, haha."

Late night.

Related news quickly topped the homepage of Dragon Kingdom's football media.

《Chinese-heritage genius's Tokyo private meeting with an island country girl! 》

《On young players' self-discipline! Lust and junk food's devastation on careers! 》

《Shocking! Li Kang actually did this with a Japanese girl on the street! 》

《Tokyo Love Love Song》

Comment counts, like counts, and share counts surged wildly.

-【Truly disgusting, seeing a foreign woman and licking her, disgracing our Dragon Kingdom people!】

-【I think it's pretty good, having a sweet romance... strolling around, quite normal.】

-【If it were a European blonde bombshell or an island country action actress... then maybe it'd be considered lust? Haha, look at that little girl's figure—short and thin—and although her face is mosaicked, it must be true love.】

-【I don't like Li Kang anymore—how can he have a girlfriend!】

Two days later.

Li Kang returned to Lewokusen.

He immediately transferred the money to Asuka-chan, of course nothing happened—he's a decent guy.

That night's street-food expenses were still paid by the girl.

Of course, he didn't eat anything stimulating the whole time.

Before parting, they exchanged social media accounts and occasionally messaged each other a few words.

As for the gift for the club teammates?

Dennis helped buy it, packed it full in a big box, and Li Kang hadn't had a chance to look yet.

Brandt burst into the dorm excitedly: "Li! Hurry up and get a medical check—Spain's team doctor is unreliable, look at Alonso... Is this our gift?"

He couldn't wait to tear open the box's sealing strip and flip it open to see.

He was shocked.

《E-body Chasing Bullet! 》

《STARS Time Freeze! 》

《IPX Tropical Night! 》

《... 》

Full of unwatchable video tapes....

Li Kang was about to explain.

Brandt gave him a big hug.

"Dasisttoll!"

【98】 He then hoisted the big box and rushed back to his dorm in a puff of smoke.

Immediately hoisting the big box, he dashed back to his own dorm in a puff of smoke.

His running speed was even faster than when he was on a breakaway...

The system prompt sounded softly.

【Ding! National team mission settlement completed!】

【Congratulations, Host, for completing the mission: Crush the Blue Warriors' pride!】

【Personal evaluation: SSS!】

【Obtained mission reward: Bonding Rope.】

【Bonding Rope: single-use consumable, binding item; after binding with a teammate, the Host gains a boost in the teammate's strongest attribute, and the teammate will randomly share a defective version of the Host's passive module.】

【Note: Only effective when both are on the field simultaneously; after a transfer, the binding is automatically lifted...】

The light faded.

Li Kang saw that a thick rope had suddenly appeared in his hand...

Rope art?

What kind of weird reward is this?

Kinda perverted, right?

"Li, why aren't you closing the door? Let's go practice ball!"

Sun Xingmin came running in with the ball, saw the rope, and exclaimed: "This is the... you brought back from Japan…"

He reached out and touched it, and suddenly his whole body felt like an electric shock!

【Ding! Bond with Sun Xingmin achieved!】

【Host gains extra attribute boost: Speed +5.】

【Sun Xingmin acquires passive module: Injury Immunity (Defective).】

Li Kang: "..."

He was still thinking about how to use it, on whom...

In an instant.

Sun Xingmin shook his head, as if he had lost his memory, and wondered: "What's going on? I just clearly saw a thick rope..."

Barcelona.

Robert watched the news on the TV.

He slammed the table, angrily saying: "Damn it! Bosque, the despicable, actually didn't call up our Barça players for the international A‑friendly; he'd rather take players from Real Sociedad and Sevilla...."

Youth training director Raul laughed: "Look at how great our La Masia kids are—back then they were all sent off by you personally... especially Little Dennis and Li Kang, their coordination is flawless!"

Robert rubbed his face, composed himself, and calmly said: "It's fine; the Champions League group stage is coming up, and Leverkusen will learn what cruelty is at Camp Nou—what can a team without trophies use to compete with Barça?"

"Before the winter transfer window, Li Kang will, just like Fabregas back then, dream of returning!"

A few days later.

The Bundesliga match day arrived.

Bayer Stadium, bustling.

"CTV5! CTV5! Good evening, viewers! Welcome to watch the fourth round of the 2015/16 Bundesliga season!"

"Leverkusen hosts Darmstadt!"

"Coach Tuop, to cope with multi‑front combat, made a massive rotation of the starting lineup for this match! All the front‑line players were replaced with youth team youngsters."

"Darmstadt are this season's Bundesliga promotion team; they broke into the 2. Bundesliga in 2014/15 and then achieved a double promotion! Amazing!"

Dragon Kingdom livestream room.

Netizens showed little enthusiasm.

-【There's nothing to see in a one‑sided match, right?】

-【Fun fact: Our country's famous footballer Gu Guangming, after having his leg broken in domestic play in the 1980s, decisively immigrated to Germany, joined Darmstadt, and scored on his debut, launching a glorious career in the 2. Bundesliga!】

-【Gu Guangming played seven years in the 2. Bundesliga, right? After obtaining his degree from Cologne Sports University... he immediately restored his Dragon Kingdom citizenship and served the motherland...】

-【How did he serve? In the early 1990s he served as an assistant coach for the national team, and now he coaches a German team, making his mark.】

-【Watch the match properly; if you keep talking, the comment section will be shut down.】

Accompanied by the referee's whistle.

The match officially began.

Li Kang felt the warm waves rising from the pitch, and couldn't help but marvel: The heating system of the German stadium's turf is top‑notch even in Europe.

There wasn't much trouble.

Darmstadt's tactic is simple: defend to the death!

They have drawn all three of their Bundesliga matches this season.

Henrichs kicked off and passed sideways to Havertz.

Havertz decisively passed the ball back to Li Kang.

Leverkusen's formation surged forward quickly.

They pinned Darmstadt in front of the penalty area, launching a siege.

At the sidelines.

Darmstadt's head coach, Dirk Schuster, stood grim‑faced on the sideline, constantly directing the players' defense.

Before the match, he had carefully analyzed Li Kang's traits and assigned two players to mark Leverkusen's number 10 the whole game.

Unfortunately, Leverkusen's back‑line players were still all starters.

The team's chance of a successful counterattack was slim.

On the other side.

Old Man Tuop sat on the coaching bench with a worried expression; he wasn't concerned about this match's outcome but had focused all his thoughts on the Champions League.

Dino held up the tactical board.

The coaching staff gathered together, discussing the Champions League tactics in detail.

In the group stage, the first two matches were both away games.

Camp Nou and the Olympic Stadium are not places where you can easily escape unscathed.

Back on the field.

The match was somewhat dull.

Leverkusen had the advantage but couldn't score.

Darmstadt defended resolutely.

17th minute of the match.

Havertz created a gap on the right flank.

Li Kang sent a through pass.

Henrichs received the ball in the box and fired a shot.

The football flew out of the crossbar.

The 26th minute of the match.

Havertz frantically broke through on the right side of the opponent's penalty area.

He passed the ball horizontally to Henrichs inside the small penalty area.

Henrichs then fired a soaring high shot again.

He passed the ball to his girlfriend in the stands.

The 45th minute of the match.

Defender Papadopoulos couldn't stand it anymore; he surged forward into the opponent's penalty area.

He received Li Kang's pass.

He kicked angrily!

Unfortunately he kicked it straight.

The football was easily held by the opposing goalkeeper Mafinia.

Darmstadt then launched a quick counterattack.

Rosenthal dribbled past midfield.

Fortunately Kramer anticipated correctly and intercepted the ball.

The cheering at the BayArena gradually faded, replaced by cursing.

Leverkusen fans were somewhat displeased.

They complained en masse about their team's head coach.

On the grass near the coach's bench, countless lighters and cans fell.

Tuopu Laotou didn't care.

His mind was full of MSN, Totti, and Salah.

It's all Maldini's fault!

What kind of draw did we get for us!

When the match reached the last moment of injury time.

Dek Schuster raised his hand ready to cheer.

He thought this match was secured!

A draw, for a Bundesliga weak team, might also be a realistic and good result.

Suddenly.

He furrowed his brow.

Our players, after long defending, exhausted their stamina quickly, and their movements began to deform!

Li Kang sent a lofted long pass from the rib area.

Havertz rushed into the penalty area, stopped the ball with his chest, and volleyed!

The football lifted Darmstadt's net!

1:0!!!

The whole stadium cheered!

Leverkusen fans were ecstatic.

At that moment the referee also blew the whistle for the end of the match.