Chapter 554: Free Side Story (Five): IF Line Red Devil Revival

Free Side Story (Five): IF Line Red Devil Revival

August 26, 2015.

Carrington training base, second-floor meeting room.

Fan Jia'er's cheeks flushed, he raised his eyebrows, and he roared loudly at a group of scouts:

"A bunch of idiots!"

"The summer transfer window is about to close, and you still can't get in touch with that Chinese kid!"

"His release fee is pitifully low; we can scrape together the money and bring him back to Old Trafford!"

The scouts had difficulty speaking up.

Lewokusen's genius lives and eats at the base, has no social media account, still uses an old Nokia phone, and even his youth-team teammates don't have his number, making contact impossible.

After a moment of silence.

Old Fan took a deep breath, adjusted his red tie, and spoke calmly: "That kid may have many shortcomings, but his potential is limitless."

Gazing out the window, he could faintly see two sheepdogs herding a flock of sheep.

The greening around the Carrington base is excellent, with many small animals.

Before taking charge of Manchester United, Fan Jia'er demanded that a windbreak be planted around the training base: wind is never a player's friend.

Knock knock knock.

Ji Gesi lightly knocked on the door, quickly entered the meeting room, and handed a document to the Manchester United manager.

Old Fan opened it and saw; his thick, short neck instantly bulged with veins.

"Cunning Wo Le Er!"

"Loan?"

"A 10 million euro loan fee? A 30,000 euro weekly wage? Plus guaranteed playing time? And no option to buy after the loan ends?"

"Is this old fool a Jew?"

The crowd erupted in an uproar.

When the coaching staff and scouts heard this loan proposal, they were stunned.

Rumor had it that Lewokusen spent 1 million euros to bring Li out of La Masia's youth academy, kept him at Bayer's base barely warmed up, then flipped him for a tenfold loan to Manchester United?

"Impossible!"

"Manchester United would never accept such insulting loan terms!"

Suddenly, a chorus of sheep bleats came from outside, as if echoing Fan Jia'er's resolute stance.

August 28.

Lewokusen, sporting director's office.

The assistant grabbed a page of fax, rushed into the room, and exclaimed: "Chief, Manchester United actually agreed to the loan terms—this is"

Wo Le Er put down his cigar, wearing an expression of "as a matter of course".

"Fan Jia'er has good eyesight, just like me!"

"What a great start—Li's first transfer window in his career has already seen three clubs."

"Fan Jia'er is very willing to give youngsters a chance; he spent 39 million euros on 19-year-old Martial, so he certainly won't miss Li."

The assistant nodded: "In the same transfer window, there's no limit on the number of transfers, just like Demichelis and Haman."

Knock knock knock.

Wo Le Er tapped the wooden table and reminded: "It's not a transfer, it's a loan."

At the same time.

Just as Li Kang returned to the dorm after finishing training, a mechanical electronic synth sound rang in his ears.

【Ding! Side quest triggered: Red Devil Revival (optional)】

【Mission content: Courage, passion, strength! You are about to embark on the great path of revival, becoming the brightest star in the Dream Theatre—well, this isn't funny either, hell-level difficulty.】

【Mission reward: "Lone Hero" module (Legendary)】

【Lone Hero: Whenever a teammate makes a basic error, you will temporarily gain extra attribute bonuses in battle! Can stack, no upper limit.】

Legendary module?

Compared to teams in the top five leagues, the trigger rate for the Lone Hero is really too low.

Manchester United's global influence is huge.

Club websites across regions immediately synchronized the official announcement: "Lewokusen youth prospect Li Kang, loan to Manchester United."

Wo Le Er's cyber troops followed closely.

He still hasn't used up the traffic push package he bought.

"Lewokusen's youth academy gem, officially embarking on a Premier League journey."

"Champions League qualifiers, a genius boy who has conquered the Dream Theatre."

"Wo Le Er: Li's future is limitless; this loan case will go down in football history."

The number of comments isn't large.

【Get on the plane!】

【Li Mingdeng is awesome! He played less than a minute in his Bundesliga debut, and now he's headed to the Premier League? Hope he gets playing time at Manchester United!】

【Old Fan likes giving youngsters a chance; maybe he can train a second Xavi.】

【Don't hype him up; we need patience with young players—Li Kang's speed is too slow, his dribbling is average, and he needs to practice receiving the ball with his back to goal in midfield; hope he can pull it off.】

【The two goals in the Champions League qualifiers were too cool.】

【The Premier League's physicality is strong; young players struggle to adapt. He should stay in the Bundesliga to train.】

【Who is Li Kang?】

In the age of information explosion, a young player's loan news quickly sank into the sea.

Apart from a part of the club's die-hard fans and Happy Bean players, not many people paid attention to Li Kang.

Li Kang's days at Old Trafford were very peaceful.

Because the transfer period coincided with international match days, there was still over a month until the next Premier League round.

Teammates, the coaching staff, and the medical team treated him well.

Van Gaal kept strict control of the dressing room, with no unpleasant incidents, firmly preventing the young player from developing into an internet celebrity.

The only thing Li Kang found hard to adapt to was the Dutch training method.

Old Van is a passing-and-control maniac.

Unlike La Masia's training method, this old man placed great emphasis on the team's overall rhythm and transition.

Barça's passing-and-control play was like strolling a street all day and night.

Van Gaal-style Manchester United's passing and control play was like a fifty-meter explosive sprint.

After a few training sessions, Li Kang's ankle and external tibial muscle couldn't take it; correspondingly, the speed of improvement in all attributes kept getting faster.

Old Van's training was brutal, but very effective.

September 13.

A hot-blooded, boiling Premier League match day.

Liberty Stadium.

The LED big screen in mid-air displayed a score that left Red Devils fans torn: Swansea 2-1 Manchester United.

The commentator's tone was relaxed, as if already accustomed to Manchester United's situation.

The winning-bet king turned into the biggest losing-bet king.

"In the post-Ferguson era, Manchester United is called a pseudo-strong team."

"The whole team was suppressed by Swansea."

"Manchester United's worth is eight times that of the opponent."

"Van Gaal made no adjustments, still insisting on his big-circle tactic."

"Some Manchester United players have poor passing-and-control foundations; facing Swansea's frantic pressing, the big-circle tactic is a strained choice."

"Lingard! Premier League Iniesta! Oh no, couldn't get past, ball lost!"

Touchline.

Van Gaal furrowed his brow, one eye on the match situation, the other scribbling and drawing.

Finally, he found a way to break the deadlock:

"Let Li come on."

On the bench, Rooney hammered Li Kang's chest, saying: "Don't be nervous, when I was 17."

People had long forgotten how the 17-year-old little fatty once amazed with talent, only remembering that he went to visit prostitutes at 17.

Li Kang nodded seriously, stood up, and took off his vest.

Van Gaal and his assistant coach clung to his shoulders, constantly instructing, constantly gesturing, wishing they had a remote control to manipulate the player's every move on the pitch.

Liberty Stadium, over ten thousand spectators shifted their gaze outside the center circle line.

Stars glittered in the night sky.

An obscure black-haired youth welcomed his Premier League debut.

"The substitute coming on is... the 17-year-old youngster, Li Kang!"

if lines are all short pieces, very short, very short, very short, update time not fixed, content unrelated to the main text, many fragments are just letting loose, everyone can enjoy them as they like.