Football: He suffered a broken leg at the start of the game, but partnered with Haaland!

The Mercedes-Benz van sped through the wind and rain, leaving the media's cameras and microphones completely behind in the exhaust fumes.

Sun Yang sat in the back row, too lazy to even take out his phone. He had no time to pay attention to the gossip circulating online.

There's only one thing on his mind right now.

Win.

Keep winning.

The next morning, at the Dortmund training ground.

A light rain was falling. Strength and conditioning coach Kramer frowned as he looked at the data on his tablet. He glanced up at Sun Yang, who was easily running laps on the field, then turned to head coach Favre.

"Boss, this doesn't make sense." Kramer pointed to the heart rate and lactate levels on the tablet screen. "He just battled those PSG butchers for 85 minutes on Wednesday night. It's only Friday today, and his muscle lactate levels are completely normal. This kid could even play another game in extra time!"

Favre had his hands in his trench coat pockets, his eyes were dark-rimmed.

Reus's serious injury has left him sleeping less than four hours a day for the past few days.

"What did Dr. Schmidt say?" Favre's voice was hoarse.

"The doctor's exact words were, 'This Chinese kid's cardiopulmonary function is a bizarre mystery.'" Kramer shook his head with a wry smile. "He's practically powered by a nuclear engine."

On the court, Sun Yang maintained a steady breathing rhythm as he completed the high-intensity shuttle run of his eighth lap.

Haaland, who was ten meters behind him, was already panting heavily, his hands on his knees.

The Norse behemoth straightened up and roared at the retreating figure in front of it, "Damn it, Sun! Are you a Terminator robot? My thighs are still as hard as lead, and you haven't even broken a sweat!"

Sun Yang turned around and jogged backwards with ease.

"Erling, if you want to win the Bundesliga Golden Boot, grit your teeth and keep up. Don't complain like a delicate little girl."

Not far away, Favre and Director Zorc stood side by side.

"I originally planned to rest these two young players for tomorrow's away game against Werder Bremen," Favre said, his brow furrowed.

"But Bayern's momentum is too strong. They just beat Chelsea 3-0 away in the Champions League. We are only three points behind them in the league standings. Every game now is a battle on the edge of a cliff, and one step back means an abyss."

Zorc sighed. "The lack of bench depth is our biggest problem right now. If we don't rotate players, I'm afraid their bodies will break down."

Favre stared at Sun Yang on the field for a while. He could clearly feel the murderous aura emanating from the young man, even from the sidelines.

"No more resting." Favre gritted his teeth and made the decision. "This kid's been holding in a lot of anger. Let him vent it on the field. Put both of them in the starting lineup for tomorrow's game against Werder Bremen."

February 22, 2020, Bundesliga Round 23. Werder Bremen's home stadium, Weser Stadium.

The locker room before the game.

"I don't want to talk about tactics with you guys today." Favre looked around at the room full of young faces. "Your captain is lying in a hospital bed, and may spend the next six months in a wheelchair."

In today's away game, whether we can maintain our place in the league title race is crucial. We can't give up in any game. Whether we can bring the salad bar back to Dortmund for Reus depends on you guys, lads.

Veteran Mats Hummels sat on the bench. By rule, with Reus unable to play, he was the first-choice captain on the field.

But Hummels stood up. He walked straight up to Sun Yang and looked down at the young man who was almost ten years younger than him.

"Did Marco give you the things?" Hummels asked directly.

Sun Yang didn't say anything. He took out a plastic resealable bag from his pocket, unzipped it, and took out the yellow and black captain's armband that still had dried bloodstains and bits of grass on it.

In the locker room, dozens of eyes turned to him.

Hummels didn't take it. He suddenly reached out with both hands, grabbed the two ends of the armband, pulled it open forcefully, and then roughly slipped it onto Sun Yang's left arm.

Sun Yang's arm muscles are extremely strong, and the armband is tied very tightly, creating a powerful muscle groove.

"I'm getting old. These legs are like rusty bulldozers, they can't keep up with those lightning-fast strikers anymore." Hummels punched Sun Yang's shoulder hard. "Marco's meaning is very clear. For the remaining tough battles, you'll lead the charge."

"Can you handle it, kid?"

Hummels' voice echoed in the hall.

Sun Yang glanced down at the armband that represented Dortmund's highest honor and responsibility.

The defensive instincts honed by Maradona's countless exploits in my dreams flashed through my mind, along with the defensive rating that had soared to seventy.

"Leave it to me." Sun Yang suddenly looked up, his eyes sharp as knives. "Matz, in the next match, no one will be able to take a single point from us."

This hornet swarm, thoroughly enraged, has sharpened its stingers and is ready to fight for a league championship for its old captain.

A strong wind whipped up a few snowflakes that lashed the grass. The more than 40,000 Werder Bremen fans at the Weser Stadium erupted in deafening boos.

Borussia Dortmund, wearing their away jerseys, stood in the center of the pitch.

Favre stood in the command area, his expression serious.

From the start of the match, Werder Bremen employed a high-pressing tactic in the attacking third. They attempted to wear down the Dortmund players, who had just endured a tough Champions League match, through intense physical confrontation.

Sun Yang was in charge of orchestrating the ball's trajectory in midfield. He immediately noticed that two opposing defensive midfielders were sticking to him like glue.

The match was in its 27th minute.

Werder Bremen's midfield maestro Eggestein intercepted the ball and attempted a quick counter-attack. He had just dribbled past the center circle when a yellow and black figure suddenly appeared from the side.

Sun Yang didn't slow down at all. With the help of Kante's perpetual motion machine lungs, he directly got stuck between Eggestein and the ball, and his shoulder collided heavily with the ball.

boom!

Eggestein cried out in pain and flew out like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily onto the grass.

Possession of the ball changed hands.

Without a second's hesitation, Sun Yang looked up at the field in front of him.

Haaland is starting.

The "point and shoot" technique was on full display. Sun Yang pointed with his left hand to the space behind the Werder Bremen center-back, and then unleashed a powerful right-footed strike on the ball.

The football skimmed along the grass, tracing an extremely straight and fast trajectory, penetrating the defense of three players and stopping precisely in Haaland's full-speed sprint path.

The Nordic giant met the ball with a deft touch, broke into the penalty area one-on-one, and slotted the ball into the far corner!

Goal! 1-0!

Haaland slid down to the corner flag in celebration, then grabbed Sun Yang as he ran towards him.

"Dude, that pass was fucking awesome! It was practically shoved right into my mouth!" Haaland burst out laughing.

In the 71st minute of the match, it was Sun Yang's turn to shine.

Dortmund won a corner kick on the left side of the attacking third. Sancho took the corner, but the ball was headed out of the penalty area and fell towards the edge of the box.

Werder Bremen players rushed forward to block. Sun Yang chested the ball down at its landing point, and before it hit the ground, he deftly volleyed it into the right side of the penalty area with the outside of his right foot, as if by magic.

A bizarre parabola full of deception.

Haaland leaped high like a great bird, smashing a powerful header through the net.

Two to zero.

The match has ended. Sun Yang dominated the away game with two pinpoint assists. German media exclaimed after the match that Dortmund possessed a sophisticated offensive supercomputer.

One week later, the 24th round of the Bundesliga.

Borussia Dortmund returned to their home ground to face Freiburg. Signal Iduna Park was packed to capacity.

Amidst a sea of ​​yellow and black formed by 80,000 fans, a giant portrait of Reus was unfurled in the south stand, with the words "Waiting for you to come back" written below.

The media has been pessimistic about Borussia Dortmund these past few days. Marco Reus is injured, and Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel has made numerous controversial statements. This tension has carried over to the league matches.

Sun Yang, wearing the captain's armband, stood at the entrance of the players' tunnel, his eyes as cold as ice.

The match begins. Freiburg's head coach, Streich, has deployed a heavy defensive formation, hoping to take a point away from home.

They used two defensive midfielders to take turns harassing Sun Yang closely.

In the 15th minute, Sun Yang received the ball in the center circle. Freiburg player Haberle made a vicious sliding tackle from behind, while another midfielder, Grifo, double-teamed him from the side.

This was a dead end. Even Favre on the sidelines stood up, ready to protest the foul.

But Sun Yang remained unfazed.

"Feel the ball's breath with your ankle." Maradona's mad teachings echoed in my mind.

Faced with being double-teamed from both sides, Sun Yang did not choose to confront the ball head-on or clear it with a long kick. He stepped on the ball with the toe of his right foot, suddenly shifted his body to the left, and made a feinting movement with his shoulder.

Griffon was immediately feinted, completely losing his balance. In that split second, Sun Yang suddenly pulled the ball back with his right foot.

The ball came to a stop just an inch in front of Habler's sliding tackle studs.

Immediately afterwards, he lightly tapped the ball with his heel.

The ball skimmed along the grass and passed precisely between Haberle's legs.

A groin dribble!

Sun Yang slipped through the narrow gap between the two players like a ghost, regaining control of the ball. The entire movement was as fluid as a work of art, so fast that the commentator couldn't even utter a word of surprise.

The 80,000 Dortmund fans in the stands went completely wild.

After shaking off his marker, Sun Yang dribbled the ball deep into the penalty area. With the outside of his foot, he delivered a beautiful, lobbed shot that accurately found Sancho lurking in the box.

Sancho easily slotted the ball into the net. 1-0.

The rest of the match turned into a one-sided massacre by Borussia Dortmund. Haaland scored two goals in the first and second halves, and Sun Yang once again provided a perfect assist with a low through ball.

Three to zero, a bloodless victory.

In the post-match press conference, Freiburg coach Streich looked even more grim than if he had swallowed a bitter pill.

"We simply can't handle that young Chinese guy," Streich said, spreading his hands in exasperation. "His passing vision is completely out of this league's league caliber. And the dribbling skills he displayed today when he was double-teamed... frankly, I think he was toying with our defenders."