"Goal! You scored, you know? That's a hat trick! You can still complete it! You can still do it!!!" Kai shouted crazily into Ronaldo's ear.
At that moment, too many images flashed through his mind.
He had seen Ronaldo sitting on the bench, helpless and frustrated.
He had seen Ronaldo unable to touch the ball after coming on as a substitute.
He had seen Ronaldo throw things silently after being substituted early.
He had seen Cristiano Ronaldo kneel on the sidelines, lamenting that his lack of physical strength kept him from keeping up.
He had seen the despair on Ronaldo's face after failing to score again and again.
He had witnessed the twilight of a hero.
But he had missed Xiao Luo's—Ronaldo's—high-spirited energy.
This passion infected Ronaldo unconsciously.
He didn't even realize he had scored a goal, so Kai's excitement had nothing to do with it.
A hat trick? Didn't he just score twice with one assist?
He didn't know why he was running around the pitch with Kai on his back.
He didn't know why the corners of his mouth lifted unconsciously.
"Hat trick! Hat trick!"
Other players ran after Kai and Ronaldo, shouting in excitement.
Watching this, Maxa could no longer deny Kai's excellence. He was conquered: "He belongs here."
However, the always-critical Triguera disagreed, pointing to the training ground next door: "No, he doesn't belong here. He belongs there!"
Maxa looked over. That was the U15 training pitch for Sporting Lisbon.
…
"Ding! Victory achieved! Game score: A!"
"Note: Game difficulty is low; the highest possible score is A."
"Rewards obtained: Training stake ×10, Energy drink ×2, Medical bandage ×1, Blue fragment ×2."
As expected, these rewards were much lower than SSS-level rewards.
Kai thought for a moment and used a training stake.
Although the game was over, today's training had just begun.
Even if the intensity was light, the entire training stake was necessary. From now on, he would enter triple growth mode.
Everyone here—I'm sorry!
"Ding! A more talented teammate has been detected in your team. Do you want to choose talent sharing?"
"Talent sharing: You can share talents with teammates and enjoy the bonus of the highest-level talent among them."
Such a feature? Kai's eyes lit up.
He looked at Ronaldo. No doubt.
If you ask who on the training ground today had talent surpassing all peers, there was only one answer.
"Choose to share!"
Kai was decisive.
The next moment, his eyes glowed with colorful light.
Talent: Blue
Peerless talent: Purple
Unparalleled wonder: Gold
Color… Peerless genius!
Cristiano Ronaldo's talent? Peerless genius?
People often misunderstand talent. Height is talent, wingspan is talent, ball control is talent, speed is talent. Calmness, pressure resistance, self-discipline, determination, hard work—talent too.
For normal-IQ people, steady effort usually guarantees passing exams, assuming universities admit proportionally and families can afford it.
But in reality, undergraduates make up less than 5% of the population. Even ignoring older generations who lacked early education, the numbers don't look much better.
Some have natural ability—hardware talent. The problem is software talent.
If you lack discipline, determination, or courage, missing one link in your training chain can be irreversible.
Football is reading and learning. Training and testing.
Physically, Ronaldo might not be a peerless genius.
But combined with his spiritual talent, he is among the most highly qualified of the peerless geniuses.
Kai was secretly thrilled. Using Ronaldo's talent to grow his own strength meant that, in the future, as long as there were highly talented teammates, he could grow to the highest standards.
"Ding! Sharing failed! Teammate familiarity below 80. Improve before sharing."
The system's prompt was like a wake-up call.
Familiarity? Damn it!
But it made sense. Players naturally bond while training together. Without familiarity, how could you leverage their talents?
"Coach, I want to team up with Chris." Kai stepped forward to become Ronaldo's training partner.
Coincidentally, most kids weren't eager to train with Ronaldo. His cold, proud expression was intimidating.
Maxa approved of Kai's initiative.
After the day's training, Kai stared at his static stats and low familiarity, feeling anxious.
At this rate, reaching 80 familiarity would take two to three months.
No wonder players often need half a season to bond after transfers—they're starting from zero.
Day by day… Gan!
…
The next day, Kai was not late.
Today was an activity day organized by Sporting Lisbon's youth training team.
The youth squad conducted voluntary charity work in different locations, showcasing Sporting Lisbon's culture and philosophy—sweeping streets, for example.
Kai and Ronaldo held brooms, cleaning leaves and garbage.
Staff snapped photos.
Kai and Ronaldo were still in U14. After the weekend, they would join U15, train together, and compete in the Portuguese U15 League.
This made U14 players jealous. Only those who skip a level receive the club's key training focus and promotion.
While sweeping, Kai chatted with Ronaldo.
Ronaldo looked confused: "You and I don't know each other well enough for me to tell you about the girl I liked in third grade."
Kai: "Then we have to talk. How else will we get familiar?"
Ronaldo: "Why should I get familiar with you?"
Kai: "Next year, even in the years after, I'll be the midfield core and you the striker. We need familiarity.
"No matter how strong a striker is, he needs the ball to perform, right?"
Ronaldo: "Are you threatening me?"
Kai: "It's a bribe. Once we're familiar, you become my first-choice target for passes. Football is all about relationships, got it?"
Ronaldo: "Passing is your job; scoring is mine. If you refuse to pass out of personal feelings, it only hurts the team, like yesterday."
Boom!
A football flew from behind, hitting Ronaldo square in the face and knocking him down.
"Yo! Yo! Isn't this the omnipotent Portuguese Ronaldo? If you're so good, why didn't you stop the ball?"
Five or six U14 players, led by Andoa, approached, grinning.
Beneath their joking expressions was jealousy.
And what Ronaldo said earlier? That was the last straw.
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