The next afternoon, during training.
Luo Xiaoxiang stepped onto the main team's half of the field for the first time as a starting player.
The sun was just right, and the smell of the grass was no different from the reserve team's side, but the atmosphere was as cold as an ice cellar.
The main team players were gathered in twos and threes, warming up. When they saw him approach, most of them just glanced at him, then immediately looked away, pretending not to see him. A few others had undisguised expressions of rejection and disdain on their faces.
Only Liu Meng, the defensive core he had feinted past with Misdirection, nodded to him, a form of greeting.
Luo Xiaoxiang understood that this was Zhang Hao's influence at work. As the team's ace and captain, Zhang Hao held absolute sway within the team. If he disliked someone, others would naturally distance themselves.
Indeed, he saw Zhang Hao standing with several core players. Although they weren't looking his way, Luo Xiaoxiang could feel that their conversation was definitely about him.
"Damn it, I really don't know what the coach is thinking."
"Exactly, letting such a rookie start, isn't that a joke?"
"Brother Hao, in the scrimmage later, let's show him a thing or two, let him know that the main team isn't so easy to be on."
"That's right, let him roll back to the reserve team himself!"
Those hushed discussions still drifted intermittently into Luo Xiaoxiang's ears.
He remained expressionless, silently walking to the side and beginning to stretch his ligaments.
He had long anticipated this scene. To make these chosen ones accept him, the coach's appointment alone wouldn't suffice; he had to demonstrate strength that would shut them up.
"Beep—"
Li Tiejun blew his whistle, gathering everyone together.
"Today's training content is very simple: scrimmage!" Li Tiejun held the tactics board and briefly outlined the plan. "Luo Xiaoxiang, you partner with Zhang Hao as forwards. Everyone else stands in their usual positions. I require you, in offense, to use Luo Xiaoxiang as a pivot, pass him the ball more, and let him integrate into the team's tactical system as quickly as possible. Understand?"
"Understood!" The players replied sparsely.
Zhang Hao lowered his head, his expression unclear, but from his tensed jawline, it was evident he was fuming.
Make him set up plays for Luo Xiaoxiang? Be the supporting role? It was an absolute joke!
The teams were quickly formed, and the scrimmage officially began.
Luo Xiaoxiang, following the coach's deployment, actively ran around the front field. He tried activating Misdirection, and the effect was immediate. The opposing defensive line ignored his presence several times, allowing him to easily run into several excellent open spaces.
"Over here!" He raised his hand, signaling. His position was excellent; if the ball was passed to him, he would have a chance to face the goalkeeper directly.
The player with the ball in midfield saw him, and also saw the huge open space around him, but he hesitated. He subconsciously glanced at Zhang Hao in the distance, and ultimately chose a high-risk long pass, aiming for the ace who was being marked by two defenders.
The result was unsurprising: the ball was easily intercepted by the opposing defender.
Once, twice, thrice... the situation repeated itself.
Luo Xiaoxiang was like an invisible man; no matter how beautifully he positioned himself, how deadly the open space he found, the football simply would not be passed to his feet.
His teammates in midfield would rather choose to force a breakthrough themselves, or pass to Zhang Hao, who was heavily marked, than even glance at him.
They were using this method to silently resist the coach's decision, isolating him, the "outsider."
Luo Xiaoxiang's heart sank little by little.
He was like a martial arts master with incredible skills but bound hands and feet, full of abilities yet with nowhere to display them.
Misdirection could help him evade defenders, but it couldn't make his teammates willingly pass him the ball.
Li Tiejun's face at the sideline grew darker and darker; he, of course, saw the problem on the field.
"What are you doing?!" He finally couldn't help but roar. "Luo Xiaoxiang's position is so good, are you blind? Why aren't you passing the ball?!"
The midfielder who was singled out shrank his neck and mumbled in defense, "Coach, I... I didn't see him..."
"Didn't see him?!" Li Tiejun was so angry he slammed his tactics board to the ground. "I think you just didn't want to pass! Are you playing football? Huh?! You're playing house!"
The coach's fury made the atmosphere on the field even more tense.
Zhang Hao, with a cold face, walked over to the midfielder, patted his shoulder, and whispered, "Ignore him, play at our own pace."
His voice wasn't loud, but Luo Xiaoxiang heard it.
A surge of anger rose from the depths of Luo Xiaoxiang's heart.
He could tolerate being looked down upon, being ostracized, but he could not tolerate this blatant betrayal! This was an insult to football!
If you won't pass, then I'll take it myself!
Luo Xiaoxiang changed his strategy; he no longer focused on positioning but began to actively participate in pressing in the front field.
Although his stamina attribute wasn't high, his awareness attribute was as high as 75, which allowed him to always anticipate the opponent's passing routes in advance.
Soon, an opportunity arose.
The opposing defender's back pass was slightly under-hit, and the goalkeeper hesitated to come out.
Now is the time!
Luo Xiaoxiang, like a cheetah, suddenly burst forward, charging towards the football.
"Watch out!" The opposing defender exclaimed.
The goalkeeper also reacted, quickly rushing out, trying to block with his body.
But Luo Xiaoxiang's speed was faster! He got there before the goalkeeper, lightly nudging the ball with his toe, and it obediently rolled past the goalkeeper.
An open goal opportunity!
However, just as he was about to tap it in, a figure slid in fiercely from diagonally behind him.
It was Zhang Hao!
Luo Xiaoxiang was greatly startled; he never imagined that it would be his own teammate who would tackle him so viciously!
The tackle was both fast and brutal, clearly not aimed at the ball.
In a flash, Luo Xiaoxiang had no time to think, only instinctively leaping to the side.
"Bang!"
Zhang Hao's studs solidly scraped the turf, kicking up a large patch of grass clippings.
Although Luo Xiaoxiang dodged it, he was still knocked to the ground, and a burning pain shot through his ankle.
The entire field fell silent.
Everyone stared at the scene dumbfounded.
In a training match, tackling one's own teammate so viciously was no longer a simple internal conflict; it was blatant malicious injury!
"Zhang Hao! Are you out of your mind?!" The first to react was Wang Lei, who was watching from the substitutes' bench. Seeing this, he rushed onto the field and shoved Zhang Hao.
Several main team players also quickly came to break up the fight.
"Beep beep beep—!" Li Tiejun's whistle blew urgently and loudly, and he rushed over with a livid face.
"Everyone stop!"
He first ran to Luo Xiaoxiang, asking anxiously, "How are you? Are you injured?"
Luo Xiaoxiang sat on the ground, wiggling his ankle. Fortunately, it was just a scrape from the studs, no bone injury.
"Coach, I'm fine." He shook his head.
Li Tiejun breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly stood up, turning to glare at Zhang Hao, his eyes looking as if they wanted to devour him.
"Zhang Hao! Explain to me, what was the meaning of that tackle just now?!"
Zhang Hao was pushed back two steps by Wang Lei, showing no remorse on his face. Instead, he looked coldly at Luo Xiaoxiang and said, "I was clearing the ball. He just lost possession, and I was afraid the opponent would counterattack."
"Clearing the ball?!" Wang Lei cursed angrily, "You're clearing the ball by tackling your own teammate's foot? Do you think everyone's blind?"
"I said, I was going for the ball; he ran into me himself." Zhang Hao argued, his expression unchanged.
"You..."
"Enough!" Li Tiejun roared, interrupting the argument.
He stared intently at Zhang Hao, disappointment and anger intertwined in his eyes.
"I'm giving you one last chance, Zhang Hao." Li Tiejun's voice was chilling. "Apologize to Luo Xiaoxiang."
"Why should I?" Zhang Hao raised his head, meeting Li Tiejun's gaze without fear. "I did nothing wrong; I won't apologize."
"Good, very good." Li Tiejun laughed in anger. He nodded. "From now on, you go run laps on the track until I tell you to stop! Whenever you've thought it through, then you can come back!"
"I'll run then!"
Zhang Hao ripped off his training vest, threw it hard on the ground, and walked towards the track without looking back.
Watching his resolute back, the players exchanged glances, no one daring to speak.
The team's ace and the head coach had completely fallen out.
Li Tiejun's chest heaved violently, clearly infuriated. He remained silent for a long time before turning to the others and saying, "Training continues!"
With that, he walked to the sideline, picked up the tactics board from the ground, and sat alone on the coach's bench, not saying another word.
Without Zhang Hao as the ringleader, the remaining players, although still harboring reservations about Luo Xiaoxiang, no longer dared to be so obvious.
In the subsequent training, Luo Xiaoxiang finally started receiving some passes intermittently.
But he found that the situation was still not optimistic.
Although his Dribbling attribute had increased to 55, facing the main team's defenders was still very difficult. Several times, he had just received the ball and hadn't even had time to make a move before it was intercepted by the opponent's aggressive pressing.
He was like a student who excelled in one subject but was severely lacking in others; his positional awareness was top-notch, but his footwork was only amateur level.
This huge disparity made even him feel incredibly awkward.
When training ended, Luo Xiaoxiang stayed behind alone, practicing shooting and Dribbling against the goal.
He knew that relying solely on system skills wouldn't be enough; he had to quickly improve his fundamentals, otherwise, even with Emperor Eye, he would only be a blind man with vision on the field.
The setting sun cast his shadow long, and sweat soaked his jersey.
Just as he was training to the point of exhaustion, a clear female voice sounded behind him.
"Um... you're Luo Xiaoxiang, right?"