Lloyd Angelo didn't think much of Su Bai's pass to him.
He controlled the ball with his body side-turned, then pushed it wide with his right foot toward left-back Sidney Park.
Team A's attack was now building from the flank.
On the sideline, the head coach showed no particular reaction to Su Bai's first touch.
Old Jess, though, was forcing himself to stay calm as he watched.
Had he misjudged the kid?
After that first touch, even he was starting to doubt himself.
Maybe the boy really was just terrible, and that pass at Dortmund had been a pure fluke.
But that couldn't be right.
No one flukes a ball like that.
On the pitch, the match continued.
Su Bai wandered aimlessly around midfield.
Having never played in midfield before, he barely understood positioning.
For the next three minutes, Su Bai couldn't even get his basic positioning right.
Ben Kersey quickly lost interest and started attacking on his own.
Su Bai followed him forward.
But as he ran, he was shocked to see the lines in his vision shift and change.
With every step, the numbers on each line fluctuated constantly.
Were the threat levels of these passing lanes changing along with his movement?
This system was insane.
Just then, Ben Kersey received a square pass from the left midfielder and prepared to loop the ball into the box.
Suddenly, he heard a shout.
"Here!!!"
The voice was unfamiliar, but Ben Kersey quickly realized it was the black-haired newcomer calling for the ball.
He turned and saw Su Bai in the space behind him, waving for possession.
Ben Kersey had no intention of passing at first… but then he remembered this trial was all about testing the kid.
He rolled the ball with his left foot back to Su Bai.
The ball rolled quickly toward him.
Giles Daniel on the sideline was surprised to see Su Bai actively asking for the ball.
From what he'd seen in the past few minutes, the boy was clearly an amateur—hardly even a good one at that.
Yet he had the nerve to demand the ball. For a Chinese player, that stood out.
He knew even Hao Junmin, the Chinese international in the first team, was timid and never dared to call for the ball.
Meanwhile, the most nervous person by far was Old Jess, swaying slightly on the sideline.
This was probably the Chinese kid's last chance.
If he took another bad touch, Daniel wouldn't waste any more time on him.
In the blink of an eye, the ball reached Su Bai.
Team B's defensive midfielder rushed forward to close him down and intercept.
But as everyone waited for Su Bai to control the ball,
he unexpectedly struck it first time with the outside of his boot!
The power seemed weak.
Was he shooting?
Daniel shook his head with a smile.
The kid was truly an amateur.
With the defensive midfielder bearing down on him and center-backs covering the box,
there was no shooting angle at all. Trying to force a shot was just wasting a chance.
He turned to Old Jess.
Sure enough, when Old Jess saw Su Bai strike the ball, disappointment flashed across his face—along with a touch of embarrassment.
Daniel was already preparing to comfort him.
The old man had good intentions, bringing in a prospect he'd spotted.
He'd just misjudged this one.
"Beautiful!!!"
Suddenly, Old Jess leaped up like a madman.
Daniel was stunned.
What was going on?
From the old man's reaction, had the Chinese kid scored?
He quickly spun back toward the pitch.
Not a goal…
A pass?!
Inside Team B's penalty area, Team A striker Whit Benedict was already through on goal with the ball at his feet.
Unmarked, he slotted it coolly into the far corner with his right foot.
The ball rolled into the net.
1 – 0!!!
Team A had scored the opening goal.
Whit Benedict jogged over grinning to Su Bai, who stood just outside the D.
"Nice pass, Chinese kid!"
Not only Whit, but even Ben Kersey, who'd laid the ball off to Su Bai, looked impressed.
As for Team B's defensive midfielder, who'd tried to close Su Bai down, he stared at the black-haired boy in shock.
He still couldn't figure out how the ball had got through.
Team B's defense had been perfectly organized.
He'd been bypassed through the legs, sure, but there were still two center-backs covering.
How had the ball reached the penalty area untouched?
One by one, Team A's players went over to Su Bai, patting his head in celebration.
Daniel turned confusedly to his coaching staff.
"What just happened?"
A middle-aged man with glasses stepped forward.
"Gaffer, that Chinese kid wasn't shooting. He played an incredible outside-curved pass."
"The ball went straight between Bisley's legs, skidded low across the grass, and zipped past both of Team B's center-backs."
"After it bounced, the heavy spin bent it toward Whit Benedict, who was making a run to the right."
Daniel was dumbfounded.
Impossible. The kid could barely play, yet he pulled off a ridiculously difficult outside-curved pass?
Outside-curl passes were among the hardest in football.
Hardly anyone at the top level could pull them off consistently.
Having missed Su Bai's pass the first time, Daniel was now genuinely interested.
"I told you he's a passing genius! Haha, Daniel, you've found a gem!"
Old Jess's embarrassment had vanished completely, replaced by pure pride and smugness.
Daniel didn't reply.
He shouted toward the pitch:
"Give the Chinese kid more of the ball!"
He let play continue.
In truth, he didn't need to say anything.
Su Bai's assist had already earned him the trust of his teammates.
And Su Bai himself had finally figured out how to use his system.
He didn't need to control the ball at all—he could play it first time, every time.
Thanks to the system, every passing lane in front of him was clearly marked with its success rate.
Slowly but surely, Team A's attack began to flow like water.
Thanks to Su Bai's one-touch passing, Schalke 04 U18 Team A was suddenly playing with the speed of a Bundesliga side.
Ben Kersey fed Su Bai every time he got the ball.
Su Bai simply followed the system's passing lanes and kept playing one-twos and quick combinations.
When he received another square pass from Ben Kersey,
a bright red passing line appeared in his vision.
Red meant assist.
Without controlling the ball, Su Bai struck it hard again with the outside of his boot.
The ball arced a beautiful rainbow over the Schalke training ground.
It sailed over Team B's defensive midfielder, then over both center-backs.
Up front, Whit Benedict, who'd been making a probing run, appeared perfectly at the ball's landing spot.
Another one-on-one.
Whit took the ball and finished low into the corner.
2 – 0!!!
Su Bai had notched his second assist.
This time, Daniel saw every single second of it.
"Jess! Does this kid have a contract?"
"Where's his agent? Where is he?!"
"I want to sign him."
"NOW!!!"
"IMMEDIATELY!!!"
On the pitch, Su Bai smiled as he watched his second assist turn into a goal.
But Old Jess on the sideline was laughing even louder.