Chapter 21: A Match Where You Must Risk It All from the Start

Yang Fan possessed a unique talent for shaking off any awkward or presumptuous atmosphere immediately. In common parlance: he had no shame.

A moment later, he started rattling on incessantly again.

Once the warm-up concluded, Zhao Xiaotang looked at the group and said, "Main squad, get ready."

Everyone looked puzzled. Yang Fan sat on the ground and began organizing his gear. "Get ready, we're going up against the A-League squad soon!"

The group froze for a second before they all started grinning. Guo Fan, in particular, wore a look of utter helplessness. They had always been the sparring partners for the A-League team, and this time was no exception.

Before long, a bustling crowd approached. As Wei Lai was organizing his equipment, a hand landed on his shoulder.

"Long time no see!"

Wei Lai looked up and smiled involuntarily. "Wan Tao? Long time no see!"

Wan Tao was wearing his goalkeeper kit, tucking his gloves under his arm, his frame tall and imposing. Honestly, Wei Lai’s height of 175 centimeters was already considered exceptional development, but Wan Tao was well over 180 centimeters.

"I heard from Yuan Kai that you'd been promoted. I didn't expect you to jump straight into the starting lineup!" Wan Tao looked at Wei Lai, feeling that the other had changed significantly. After all, even when they were roommates, Wei Lai rarely spoke more than a few words to them.

"Hard work, that's what I'm best at!" Wei Lai said with a smile.

Wan Tao nodded. Wei Lai was indeed the hardest worker of them all, though his limited talent had always kept him from standing out. Now, however, it seemed it wasn't a matter of talent, but rather a case of slow and steady progress finally bearing fruit.

"Good luck!" Wan Tao nodded at him.

"You too!" Wei Lai replied.

With that, Wan Tao turned to Yang Fan. "Listen, Brother Yang, take it easy out there. Don't get too worked up. Fan Jian is a substitute, so don't take your anger out on us!"

Wan Tao was genuinely worried. This guy was a powder keg, ready to explode at the slightest spark.

Yang Fan waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry, I target the person, not the situation!"

Wan Tao grimaced and turned to leave. Wei Lai looked over at the A-League team, not seeing any sign of He Chaoyue. "Is He Chaoyue not playing?"

Yang Fan looked at Wei Lai with a wry smile. "How could he play? He exhausted himself this morning. He’s probably still lying down somewhere!"

Wei Lai shook his head. "I told him not to keep up!"

Yang Fan grinned. "Don't you dare say that to his face. That’s just goading him; he eats that stuff up."

"I heard that!" a gloomy voice came from behind them.

Yang Fan turned his head to see He Chaoyue standing outside the isolation fence, staring straight at him.

"Damn! You scared the hell out of me! Stop sneaking around!"

He Chaoyue waved a hand. "Enough with the nonsense." He looked at Wei Lai. "Let's continue tomorrow."

"Huh?" Wei Lai grinned, genuinely afraid that He Chaoyue would end up wrecked because of him.

He Chaoyue pursed his lips, looking as if he found it hard to speak. "I... I... I'll stop when I can't keep up!"

Both Wei Lai and Yang Fan were stunned. Yang Fan was particularly shocked. "Old He, this isn't your style. Where’s your pride? Your stubbornness? That cocky, 'I'm the best' attitude of yours?"

He Chaoyue glared at him. "Do you want me to come in there and kick you?"

"Just kidding!" Yang Fan immediately laughed and waved his hands.

Wei Lai looked at He Chaoyue. "You're not playing today, then?"

He Chaoyue nodded. "Can't move. I overdid it this morning. Next time!"

Yang Fan said with a laugh, "With you gone, we're going to crush the A-League team!"

He Chaoyue rolled his eyes. "You're an A-League player yourself. Don't you know their ability? Even without me, the B-League team can't win!" He looked back at Wei Lai. "No offense, but... that's just the truth."

Wei Lai shrugged with a smile. "Looks like we'll have to push ourselves harder then!"

Wei Lai didn't know exactly how formidable the A-League team was, as he had never been promoted there. Furthermore, in his previous life, by the time he reached the B-League and earned the qualification as a sparring partner, many of the top players had already left. For instance, He Chaoyue had gone to Europe to develop, Yang Fan had moved to the Chinese Super League, and most of the others had joined other China League One teams or the reserve squad of the Jiaozhou Willy Club. Therefore, the "A-League" at the time was just a title; the team no longer existed, and there was no one left to challenge.

Because of this, Wei Lai cherished this opportunity immensely. Although He Chaoyue couldn't participate, which was a pity, the others were all individual talents as well. Of course, Wei Lai didn't think the B-League team was particularly weak either.

First, Guo Fan was fully capable of entering the A-League. This guy was a momentum player; when he was in the zone, even gods and demons would step aside. When he wasn't, he was absolute garbage. How to trigger Guo Fan's state was a question, though Yang Fan might have some effect there.

Then there was Zhao Jun. Zhao Jun was a severely underrated player. He possessed an exceptionally clear vision for attacking and even had decent creative ability, always managing to deliver imaginative passes. However, he was a single-core processor; if you asked him to balance attacking with tracking back to defend, his brain would crash, and he wouldn't know how to play at all. But when he was allowed to focus on one thing, he could produce miraculous results. Wei Lai could perfectly liberate Zhao Jun, allowing him to focus solely on the attack.

There was also the attacking speed of Mumuti on the wing and the rock-solid defensive ability of Mao Biao. It seemed as if the U16, U15, and U14 cohorts were like mutations, with the overall quality generally much higher. Among these elites, through rigorous refinement, the "Golden Generation" players like He Chaoyue, Xiang Ming, and Yang Fan were selected.

Therefore, Wei Lai felt they truly had the ability to go toe-to-toe with the A-League team.

"The match duration is 20 minutes per game, for a total of four games, with the scores recorded separately! After each game, there will be a thirty-minute break before the next one," Zhao Xiaotang announced the rules.

Upon hearing this, the A-League team showed no reaction, but the B-League side was baffled.

"20 minutes? That's not even enough to get into the flow, is it?"
"Isn't that too short?"
"Can you even determine a winner in 20 minutes?"

Everyone was chattering, and Wei Lai turned to see Yang Fan curling his lip. "They're doing this, huh?"

Wei Lai walked over. "What's going on?"

The others also looked toward Yang Fan.

Yang Fan sighed. "This is a special rule we encountered when we played in the Netherlands!"

"In our official matches there, it was 20 minutes per game, four games a day!"

"Multiple matches, high frequency—it basically means you go all out the moment you step on the pitch! It's a rule developed by Dutch youth training to cope with the fast-paced, high-intensity nature of modern football."

With that, Yang Fan said, "Try to suppress them in the first and second games and secure some goals. From the third game on, you won't be able to hold up!" He then looked at Wei Lai. "Except for you!"

Yang Fan stood up. "It's time to start!"

Both sides had confirmed their starting lineups.

U15-A Team (4-2-3-1):
Goalkeeper: Wan Tao.
Defenders: Zeng Tianlang, Wei Shangzhi, Tong Kaixuan, Liu Yang.
Midfielders: Chen Li, Li Bin, Weng Shaojie, Ma Zhaoyang, Wang Xiaomiao.
Forward: Ding Hao.

U15-B Team (4-3-3):
Goalkeeper: Zhao Xuan.
Defenders: Wang Wenbin, Li Kai, Mao Biao, Yang Fan.
Midfielders: Ma Chenchen, Zhao Jun, Wei Lai.
Forwards: Guo Fan, Cheng Chong, Mumuti.

The A-Team wore red vests, while the B-Team wore green. Both sides were ready, and the match could begin at any moment.