In the darkness, something began to move.
At first, they were only tiny specks of light, like lamps from a distant village on an open plain late at night, rising one by one from the depths of the light screen.
They were not still.
They rotated slowly, like stardust stirred by some invisible force.
More and more specks appeared, growing denser by the second, and the rotation grew faster and faster.
The swirling glow reflected in Zayn’s pupils, turning them gold.
At the center of the light screen, the rotating stardust began to gather.
Drawn by some unseen rule, it outlined one translucent human figure after another.
The figures flashed past too quickly for him to recognize them.
They revolved deep within the light screen like a revolving lantern, each silhouette leaving behind a faint golden afterimage as it vanished.
Zayn instinctively clenched the bedsheet.
The rotation began to slow.
The stardust stopped spinning wildly.
As if cupped gently by an invisible hand, it began collapsing toward the center.
The figures rotated more and more slowly, and the afterimages lingered for longer.
Finally, all the light contracted in a single instant.
At the center of the light screen, a figure’s back slowly came into focus.
He was tall, lean, and powerful, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist.
Beneath the red shirt, smooth but not exaggerated lines of muscle were faintly visible.
Light spilled down from in front of him, coating his outline in a soft golden sheen.
Then he turned his head.
A sharp, clean profile.
Handsome, well-defined features.
Light blond hair, fluffy and dazzling, edged by the sunlight with a gentle golden rim.
Zayn recognized that face.
The Golden Boy of Calderón.
Anfield’s El Niño.
[Fernando Torres]
[In the 2010-11 season, he transferred from Liverpool to Chelsea for £50 million, setting a transfer fee record between English clubs and becoming the most expensive player in the Premier League at the time.]
[Talents]
Cheetah Physique (S+): A rare combination of physical gifts.
It combines explosive power and outright speed with exceptional core strength, flexibility, and dynamic balance.
The body is like a precision spring, storing and releasing power in an instant.Two-Footed Finishing (A): Balanced shooting ability with both feet, allowing finishes with either foot without relying on the dominant foot.Stable Ball Control (B): His technique on the ball is not especially delicate, but his touch while driving forward is reliable enough that he rarely loses the ball at high speed.
[Traits]
Raw Pace: This is an attacking method carved into your DNA.
No fancy feints required.
Just a runway.
[Skills]
Whiplash Shot (S): An extremely explosive shooting motion, capable of producing powerful, heavy strikes even in very tight spaces.Precise Stop-and-Go (A): The first touch is not exquisitely refined, but the movement that follows the control is smooth.Rapid Turn (A): Whether under pressure or not, with the ball or without it, the turning speed is extremely fast.
Zayn slowly let out a breath and fell back onto the bed.
What kind of player was T9 in his prime?
Third in the Ballon d’Or rankings.
A nightmare for Premier League defenders.
The man who could tear past Ferdinand and Vidić with sheer speed.
He was also the first player in football history to score in all seven of the world’s top competitions: the World Cup, European Championship, Champions League, Europa League, Super Cup, Club World Cup, and Confederations Cup.
In his previous life, Zayn had not been a Torres fan, but that did not stop his heart from pounding now as if he had just eaten several ice creams and run a full marathon.
The slender figure sank back into the golden light.
Immediately after, the entire light screen seemed to be crushed by an invisible hand, shattering into countless tiny particles of light that poured down over Zayn like rain.
They passed through his skin, seeped into his blood vessels, and spread along his bones.
A burst of heat erupted from Zayn’s chest, yet it was warm and lazy, like his whole body was stretching open.
It felt as if every muscle fiber was being smoothed out, straightened, and woven anew by a gentle hand.
When the last speck of light disappeared into his fingertips, the system interface refreshed again.
The frosted-glass interface vanished, replaced by a brand-new panel with sharp edges and a faint golden metallic sheen.
The once glaring “None” entries were being filled in one by one.
[Host: Zayn Ryder / Austin]
[Age: 16]
[Height: 182 cm]
[Weight: 76 kg]
[Position: Center Forward (CF)]
[Dominant Foot: Right]
[Money-Power Template: Fernando Torres (Talent Realization Rate: 10%)]
[Talents: 1.
Cheetah Physique (S+), 2.
Two-Footed Finishing (A), 3.
Stable Ball Control (B)]
[Traits: 1.
Raw Pace]
[Skills: 1.
Whiplash Shot (S), 2.
Precise Stop-and-Go (A), 3.
Rapid Turn (A)]
[Ability Rating: D (Academy Level)]
Zayn’s gaze stopped on the final line.
With only 10% Realization Rate from the Torres template, he had gone straight from “Apprentice Level” to “Academy Level.”
He opened the explanation page for Ability Ratings.
The system showed the grading standards, each with a brief note.
E Rank (Apprentice Level): The most basic level of a youth academy setup.
D Rank (Academy Level): Possesses the basic technical foundation and tactical understanding required by a professional youth academy system.
Probably because he was currently only at D Rank, the explanation page ended there.
Zayn looked away from the rating explanation, and another new message appeared on the light screen.
[Squad Weekly Wage Ranking unlocked.]
[Squad Weekly Wage Ranking: None (Realization Rate locked)]
Zayn frowned.
Locked?
He opened the detailed explanation of the ranking and skimmed through it quickly.
It was more or less what he had guessed.
Everyone in the squad was ranked from highest weekly wage to lowest, and bonuses were given by tier.
1st place: 300%; 2nd-3rd place: 250%; 4th-7th place: 200%
8th-13th place: 150%; 14th-19th place: 100%; 20th-24th place: 50%
25th place and below: 25%
The note on the final line read: Without a contract, the template Realization Rate will be locked.
“No contract?
Don’t I have an Apprentice contract?”
Zayn dug the relevant information out of the original body’s memories.
The one hundred pounds Villa transferred into his account every week was not legally considered wages.
It was called a scholarship.
On paper, the club was funding young players’ football education.
In practice, there was a more realistic reason as well: avoiding any suspicion of employing child labor.
English law stated that minors under eighteen could not sign formal employment contracts with employers.
A club could not pay a sixteen-year-old wages.
It could only give money in the form of scholarships and allowances.
So the system did not recognize that weekly £100.
The entire Salary Football System operated on the basis of “earning money through football,” but right now, he was not earning money at all.
He was receiving a scholarship.
To the system, this was essentially no different from getting a little red flower sticker on his forehead as a reward for scoring full marks on a primary school test.
No professional contract meant no wages.
No wages meant the template Realization Rate was locked at 10%.
With the Realization Rate locked, his ability was nailed in place at D Rank.
If his ability could not rise, signing a professional contract would become even harder.
Just as Zayn was thinking, another new line of text appeared at the center of the light screen.
[Main Quest 1: Starting Point]
[Objective: Sign your first professional contract.]
[Reward: Realization Rate +5%, random Trait x1]
A very simple, very plain beginner quest.
But Zayn knew.
Fate’s gift was already right in front of him.