The afternoon after the match against Bayern Munich U19, the team had the day off.
But Wang Shuo couldn't wait, staying behind at the training ground for extra practice.
He wanted to know just how much his abilities had improved after obtaining his third Passive Skill, [Swift].
And even in just training, Wang Shuo was surprised to find that his improvement was immense.
The speed of his movements had increased significantly.
Back in his home country, he had been pushed by the coaches at the Huairun Football School to train his technique relentlessly, so his fundamentals were very solid.
Now, with the increased speed of his movements, the advantage of his solid fundamentals became apparent.
There was a very true saying: in the world of martial arts, nothing can break through pure speed.
Wang Shuo was very confident that with the boost from [Swift], his threat on the pitch would rise to a new level.
As for how much of it he could actually utilize, he would need to slowly adapt to it and test it in a real match.
That afternoon, Schürrle, Medinitz, and the others found Wang Shuo at the training ground again. The group then headed back to Bruch Road Stadium to watch the first team's match.
After an away draw against Oer in the last round, Mainz only had 43 points, placing them 4th in the 2nd Bundesliga and knocking them out of the promotion zone.
Therefore, this round's home match against Aachen was crucial for Mainz.
Aachen was currently ranked 10th in the 2nd Bundesliga. They weren't at risk of relegation, but they also had no hope of promotion.
And Mainz was playing at home.
More importantly, 3rd-place Cologne was facing league leaders Borussia Mönchengladbach at home.
Borussia Mönchengladbach had been unstoppable in the 2nd Bundesliga this season, so Cologne might not have an easy time at home.
2nd-place Hoffenheim was playing away against Kaiserslautern, a team fighting relegation.
To avoid relegation, Kaiserslautern would definitely give it their all, so the outcome was uncertain.
Meanwhile, Freiburg, currently in 5th place with the same number of points as Mainz, was playing an away game against St. Pauli.
6th-place Fuerth was hosting Munich 1860.
Compared to the formidable teams their competitors were facing, Mainz's opponent this round, Aachen, was a relatively easier matchup.
If they could snatch these precious three points at home, and if Cologne failed to win or even lost to Borussia Mönchengladbach, Mainz could take their place and return to the top three in the league standings.
This was a very real possibility.
Klopp had also made his preparations based on this scenario.
For this match, aside from starting midfielder Pekovic being suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards, Mainz's squad was relatively complete.
So, pre-match predictions were quite optimistic, believing that defeating Aachen at home wouldn't be a problem.
But when the match actually started, everyone realized that Mainz had no answer for Aachen's defense.
The attacking line, led by Borja, launched wave after wave of attacks against Aachen, but they could never break through and score.
That was the case in the first half, and the situation became even more urgent in the second.
By the 70th minute, Klopp couldn't sit still any longer. He immediately substituted Jovanoic for Balik, Foyelner for Amri, and the Ghanaian striker Isaac Boakye for midfielder Elgin Soto.
In other words, aside from Borja, Klopp had swapped out his entire attacking front line.
But even after substituting three players, the team still couldn't get the better of Aachen.
Instead, in the 81st minute, Aachen launched a swift counter-attack.
Aachen's right-back, Jerome Polenz, assisted right midfielder Daniel Brinkman in scoring against Mainz.
Afterward, no matter how hard Mainz attacked, it was all to no avail.
In the end, Aachen defeated Mainz 1-0 away from home, thanks to Brinkman's counter-attack goal.
This left all the Mainz fans who had come to Bruch Road Stadium to watch the match feeling extremely disappointed.
The situation for Mainz grew even worse after the match, as results from the other games started trickling in.
Cologne drew 1-1 at home against Borussia Mönchengladbach, securing a precious point.
Hoffenheim defeated Kaiserslautern 2-0 away, continuing to defend their 2nd place spot in the league.
Fuerth beat Munich 1860 3-1 at home, earning a valuable three points.
Only Freiburg suffered a crushing 0-5 defeat away to St. Pauli.
And so, after 27 rounds of the Second Bundesliga, Borussia Mönchengladbach continued to lead with 52 points.
Hoffenheim had 50 points, quietly closing in on the league title.
Cologne was in 3rd place with 46 points.
Fuerth reached 44 points, overtaking the 43-point Mainz for 4th place.
Mainz and Freiburg, with the same number of points, were ranked 5th and 6th respectively.
...
"The situation is really difficult now!"
As they left Bruch Road Stadium, Schürrle was clearly disappointed with the first team's situation.
The gap between Mainz and Cologne had widened to 3 points.
Of course, it wasn't an insurmountable gap, but with only 7 rounds left in the season, the situation wasn't optimistic.
In the past 11 rounds, Mainz had only managed to win two matches.
They had drawn a full six matches and lost three.
If this was a mire, then Mainz was sinking deeper and deeper.
"I think the first team is actually skilled. At least they dominated their opponents on the field, but it always feels like they're just missing that final push," Wang Shuo said, also feeling a bit regretful.
Klopp's team definitely wasn't lacking in strength.
With the help of [Insight], Wang Shuo could see it.
For example, in this match, the three-man midfield of Elgin Soto, Gunkel, and Kalhan had actually suppressed Aachen and were able to create more chances than their opponents.
But for some reason, whenever they were on the attack, something would always go wrong at the crucial moment.
"Amri isn't the same brilliant Amri from the first half of the season, and Foyelner's performance was pretty average after coming on as a sub."
"And Borja... it's like he's suddenly forgotten how to score."
Medinitz couldn't quite figure it out either.
Although they were U19 youth team players and still a long way from the first team, as Mainz players, they certainly hoped the first team would return to the Bundesliga as soon as possible.
"I heard that if the team really fails to get promoted, Klopp is going to leave."
Wang Shuo could hear a hint of worry in Schürrle's words.
During his time at Mainz, Wang Shuo had heard many people talk about it, and he knew how important Klopp was to this team.
He had come to play for Mainz in '90, becoming a defensive cornerstone who had been protecting the team ever since.
Then, in February 2001, he had stepped up when the team was in crisis, taken over as manager, and after much hard work, led Mainz to a historic promotion to the Bundesliga.
Even last season, when the team was relegated from the Bundesliga, everyone firmly believed that Klopp would definitely lead them back.
If a person like that really left, it would be strange if everyone—from the club to the players to the fans—wasn't worried.
But Wang Shuo had the faint feeling that even Klopp didn't have a good solution for the problems Mainz was currently facing.
...
After watching the game and having a meal together, Wang Shuo returned to the small apartment that Thomas Essien had rented for him.
He had just gotten home when he received a call from Thomas Essien with some explosive news.
"Bayern wants to scout me?"
When Wang Shuo heard this news, he was so shocked that he shot up in bed.
"How is that possible?"
"Why wouldn't it be possible?" On the other end of the line, Thomas Essien was grinning from ear to ear.
He was now absolutely certain of how brilliant his judgment had been.
He had always firmly believed that Wang Shuo could make it in Germany.
And look, even Bayern had seen Wang Shuo's potential.
"Let me tell you, Wang, Hennes called me personally. Hennes himself said it, would he lie?"
Of course, Wang Shuo didn't believe Hennes would lie.
'But this is so unrealistic!'
"Hennes said that in the next few days, Bayern's chief scout, Wolfgang Dreimler, is coming to Mainz personally to watch you train. So, for the next few days, you need to be on your A-game and perform well."
Wang Shuo nodded.
Wang Shuo wasn't a stranger to being scouted.
But he had absolutely no experience being scouted in person by Bayern's chief scout.
He had no idea what he was supposed to do.
'Who knows what Dreimler will be looking for?'
'Is he going to be like a spy, sneaking into the Mainz training grounds to peep at the U19 practice?'
Thomas Essien let out a chuckle.
"Come on, is that really necessary? This is Bayern we're talking about!"
According to Thomas Essien, Wang Shuo didn't currently have a professional contract with Mainz, only a youth academy contract.
Plus, he had only been with the team for such a short time.
In theory, if Wang Shuo were to leave, Mainz wouldn't get a single cent.
Of course, given Bayern's reputation in the German Football Scene, they wouldn't do something like that. They would probably communicate directly with Mainz's management.
'Make Bayern pay a fee?'
'That's probably impossible.'
But the Bundesliga champions would compensate Mainz in other ways.
For example, by loaning one or two talented players from their youth team to Mainz for free, or something like that.
"Thomas, why do I feel like this is a bit... unreal?" Wang Shuo felt uncertain.
A month ago, he was just a nobody who couldn't even get a trial with Frankfurt U19.
'And now, in the blink of an eye, I'm on Bayern's radar?'
"Me too," Thomas Essien said on the other end of the line, empathizing with Wang Shuo's situation.
"I just feel that in my current state, even if I go to Bayern, I definitely won't get any playing time. Even on the U19 team, they have so many talented players. Would there even be a spot for me?"
Thomas Essien was silent for a moment before speaking again.
"When I meet with Wolfgang Dreimler, I'll have a good talk with him."
"Yeah. The most important thing is to guarantee my playing time."
Only with more match appearances and more opportunities to develop could Wang Shuo earn Passive Value and continue to improve and grow stronger.
'Warming the bench?'
'Even if it's for Bayern, what's the point?'
"Oh, right, there's one more thing. Someone from Adidas contacted me too."
"What about?"
"Before you came to Germany for the trials, back in your home country, didn't you provisionally sign a contract with Adidas?"
Wang Shuo thought for a moment. He had indeed signed one.
After all, his trial trip to Germany had been sponsored by Adidas.
But after Wang Shuo arrived in Germany, Adidas had barely paid him any attention.
For a behemoth like Adidas, which had countless players under its banner, why would they care about a single Wang Shuo?
"They contacted me this time, saying they want to sign a formal contract with you. You'll be able to get a sponsorship fee."
The moment he heard about getting money, Wang Shuo's eyes lit up. "How much?"
"I don't know. I'll go negotiate for you, but be prepared. Since you've already signed a preliminary agreement, it won't be easy to negotiate."
Wang Shuo grunted in acknowledgment.
He really needed money right now.
'My parents back home, my aunt's family who doted on me...'
Wang Shuo desperately needed money—the more, the better!
...
After hanging up with Wang Shuo, Thomas Essien thought it over and decided he should call Kramny to tell him about Bayern coming to scout Wang Shuo.
Even though they had just defeated Bayern Munich U19, Kramny had guessed that Wang Shuo would attract Bayern's attention.
But he hadn't expected it to be this soon.
After his initial shock, he hung up with Thomas Essien and immediately called head coach Klopp.
Unexpectedly, Klopp was even more frantic than he was.
"Bayern?"
"No, absolutely not!"
"We absolutely cannot let Wang Shuo go to that damned Bayern!"