Michael lay in bed, quietly feeling out the changes in his body.
The flexibility in his thighs and tendons had definitely improved a little.
He still couldn’t drop into a full split, but ever since unlocking his cheat ability, his learning speed seemed to have leveled up in some seriously strange ways.
The language barrier was fading, and his basic goalkeeping fundamentals were progressing rapidly.
Lying there, Michael drifted off to sleep with a deeply satisfied feeling.
In his dream, Michael turned into a horse.
And someone was riding on his back!
…
The moment Michael opened his eyes the next morning, he realized his hormones had been running a little too wild lately.
Where exactly was his true love?
Michael decided he would definitely consult Emma about it this weekend.
He slapped his forehead, dragged himself out of bed, and went straight to the bathroom.
After washing up, he kicked off his morning routine.
Michael’s daily strategy was simple: run all the way to the training base on an empty stomach, eat breakfast in the club canteen, and then start his strength training.
That saved him the cost of an entire meal.
At nine o’clock, head coach Raul arrived at the base.
Spotting Michael already working out from a distance, Raul nodded in deep satisfaction.
Oriol had also arrived early today.
The second he saw Michael, the massive Ghanaian immediately lowered his head and flashed a painfully shy, awkward smile.
Michael just nodded back.
‘It seemed the kid still hadn’t recovered from yesterday’s yoga studio humiliation.’
By nine-thirty, the rest of the squad trickled in, and group training officially kicked off.
Michael was back in goal for the B team.
Even though Mario was suspended for the next match, the veteran’s status in the locker room remained untouchable.
As usual, Michael absolutely refused to use his cheat ability during practice, which naturally resulted in him conceding three goals during the scrimmage.
“Michael, what did you get up to last night?
You look totally off today,” Mario said after training, his brows furrowed in concern.
Even though he was paranoid about the rookie stealing his starting spot, Mario was still a professional and a veteran leader.
He didn’t want Michael’s poor form to cost the squad points tomorrow.
“It’s nothing, Mario.
I just overdid my arm-strength training this morning,” Michael quickly reassured him, sensing the veteran’s genuine concern.
“I’ll be perfectly fine after a good night’s rest.”
“Michael, get over here for a second!” Raul yelled from the touchline.
Michael immediately jogged over.
“Boss, tell me it’s good news,” Michael said.
“You cheeky brat.
Yes, it’s good news,” Raul said, crossing his arms.
“Your basic technique has been improving steadily, so I pulled some strings and specifically invited a specialist goalkeeping coach down from Barcelona.
For the next few months, after regular training ends, you’re doing an extra two hours with him.”
Raul tilted his head, a smug smirk creeping onto his face.
He practically had the words “I’m a tactical genius” stamped across his forehead.
Michael immediately threw up a thumbs-up and shamelessly showered the manager with praise.
Raul’s booming laughter echoed across the pitch.
Once the private session started, Michael’s mountain of technical flaws was ruthlessly exposed by the Barcelona specialist, Coach Robert.
His body instantly adapted, becoming fluid and coordinated.
Robert was completely amazed.
“Michael, you were born for this position.
An absolute natural,”
“If you had come through La Masia, I guarantee you’d already be starting for a first-division side by now!”
“It’s only because you teach so well, Coach!” Michael replied, accepting the compliment without a single ounce of shame.
Michael quietly confirmed to himself that his underlying learning ability really had leveled up.
Combined with today’s elite coaching and the rewind time he had aggressively hoarded over the past few days, tomorrow’s match was already in the bag.
…
After packing his gear and heading for the exit, Michael had barely walked ten yards before Oriol jumped out from behind a wall.
“Michael!
I’ve been waiting for you forever!” Oriol leaned in with an annoyingly sweet, desperate expression.
“Can you teach me a few more moves today?
I want to use them in the match tomorrow!”
“Jesus Christ!” Michael jumped, almost triggering his time-rewind out of pure panic.
“Why are you still here?
I told you yesterday, I don’t know any magic!
I was just messing with you!”
Oriol didn’t believe a word of it.
“I’m fully prepared to become your most loyal man!
Please accept me!”
No matter how much Michael tried to explain reality, the stubborn defender refused to listen.
Finally, Michael helplessly demonstrated a standard, cheesy set of Chinese middle-school morning calisthenics, completely full of rigid “youthful energy.”
At dusk, the two of them walked home together.
Distracted by Oriol practicing his ridiculous stretches, they blindly wandered down a dimly lit, deserted street.
The last light of sunset cast long shadows over the falling leaves.
Suddenly, Oriol stopped dead in his tracks.
“Stop right there, friends!”
Three heavily built men stepped out from the mouth of a dark alley, blocking their path.
“We’ve been a little short on cash lately.
Be good boys and help us out, will you?”
‘A mugging.’
Michael froze.
‘So Spain wasn’t exactly a peaceful paradise either, huh?’
Michael glanced at Oriol.
As a massive, muscular professional athlete, Oriol looked like the kind of guy who could snap one of these thugs in half with his bare hands.
Yet, without a second of hesitation, the Ghanaian went completely silent and obediently raised both hands into the air.
“Relax, guys.
I can give you my money.
Just relax,” Oriol said with practiced calm.
Clearly, this was not his first time dealing with this.
Before Michael could even negotiate, the three men pulled out pocket knives and closed in.
The instant the leader reached out to grab him, Michael reacted.
He threw a hard punch straight at the thug’s nose.
The leader yelled, dropping his guard to clutch his bleeding face.
Michael instantly followed up with a ruthless kick straight between the guy’s legs, immediately dropping the leader to the pavement.
Seeing their boss go down, the other two panicked and lunged at Michael with their blades.
He’d been stabbed!
‘Crap!
Rewind two seconds!’
Michael had absolutely no choice as he triggered his cheat ability.
Time snapped backward.
He dodged the blades perfectly this time and swiftly knocked the other two attackers out cold.
But as he stood over them, his blood boiled.
He had just burned through the precious rewind time he had spent days hoarding!
‘Damn it!
I saved up all week for the match, and you three idiots just made me waste it!’
Cries of agony echoed down the empty street as the three men rolled on the ground, begging for mercy.
But Michael was way too angry to care.
He walked over and delivered a few extra vindictive kicks to their lower bodies just to make a point.
Oriol stood frozen against the wall, his jaw practically hitting the floor.
Then, his eyes welled up with deep emotion.
Michael had just taught him those morning exercises, and now, he had effortlessly taken down three armed thugs!
This was undeniably the deadly art of kung fu!
Trembling with excitement, Oriol pulled out his phone and dialed the police.
By the time the sirens wailed and the police cruisers pulled up, the three muggers were barely conscious.
“Please come with us to the station to make a formal statement,” an officer requested.
After securing the scene, the police escorted Michael and Oriol into the back of a cruiser.
The three groaning robbers were loaded into ambulances and shipped straight to the emergency room.
It didn’t take long for the local sports journalists to catch wind of the police scanners.
They immediately rushed down to camp outside the precinct.
This was massive news!
A rising star from a local Segunda División club had been arrested in a violent street brawl!
Inside the station, Michael was busy calling John and Raul to explain the mess, while Oriol stood in front of a completely baffled detective, aggressively performing martial arts chops in the air as he described the heroic incident.
…
A few hours later, Santander’s legal representatives arrived.
Once they smoothed things over with the police and confirmed it was a clear-cut case of self-defense, Michael and Oriol were officially released without charge.
The second they stepped out the front doors of the precinct, the mob of waiting reporters swarmed them.
“It’s Michael Chen from Santander!
And Oriol is with him!”
The press instantly started firing off questions, shoving microphones in their faces.
The club’s PR director quickly stepped in front of the cameras.
“Everyone, please calm down and step back.
In tonight’s incident, our players were the victims of an armed robbery attempt.
They successfully defended themselves against the attackers and contacted the authorities immediately.
They have fully cooperated with the police and have been released without any charges.”
Shielded by the club’s security team, Michael and Oriol were safely escorted into separate cars and driven home.
But by the time Michael unlocked his apartment door, the internet was already exploding.
A few overly dedicated reporters had even sneaked into the hospital to photograph the three battered muggers.
“Racing Santander Keeper Michael Chen Hospitalizes Three Armed Robbers!”
“Streets of Santander: Rookie Goalkeeper Shows No Mercy in Brutal Self-Defense Clash!”