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

Early Sunday morning, Borussia Dortmund's team bus slowly drove into the Blaker training ground.

The aftereffects of the two-month suspension of the Bundesliga are cruelly draining the physical limits of every team.

The regular season schedule has been completely disrupted, with two games a week becoming the norm.

Having just finished a high-intensity match in the quagmire of Lower Saxony on Saturday, they will return home on Wednesday to face league champions Bayern Munich in a do-or-die battle.

All things considered, there are only three pitiful days of rest left.

But now the entire German sports community has no intention of giving these young people any breathing room.

Monday morning.

Munich's largest-circulation newspaper, the Munich Daily, and the authoritative magazine, Kicker, both gave the front page headlines to this national derby with remarkable coordination.

The newspaper page contained no fancy text, only a graphic poster that was extremely provocative.

On the left side of the image is Lewandowski wearing a Bayern Munich red jersey, and on the right is Haaland in a Dortmund yellow and black jersey. But in the very center of the poster, Sun Yang has been photoshopped into a Bayern Munich home jersey!

Below the image is a line of bold, large text.

[The May showdown! The ultimate judgment day for the salad bowl and the Golden Boot!]

The media's sense of smell is always as keen as a hungry wolf.

Looking at the standings, Bayern Munich has 58 points and Dortmund has 55. If Dortmund can snatch three points at home, they will completely catch up with the Bavarian giants in points, dragging the title race into the deep waters of goal difference.

Looking at the top scorers list, Lewandowski's 26 goals are no longer an insurmountable gap compared to Haaland's 21 goals.

Everyone knows that the entire Bundesliga has always been Bayern Munich's backyard talent pool. Götze, Lewandowski, and Hummels—weren't they all poached by Munich's talent scouts after dominating at Dortmund? Although Götze and Hummels eventually returned to Dortmund, Lewandowski is now Bayern's top scorer.

Some media outlets, always eager for drama, shoved their cameras right in front of Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick.

Outside the Sébenezer Avenue training facility.

A reporter from Bild threw out the bait: "Mr. Flick, Dortmund are on fire lately. Sun Yang and Haaland, those two twenty-year-olds, are practically dominating the attacking statistics. Is Bayern feeling even the slightest bit of pressure?"

Flick, who had just finished training, stopped and generously spread his hands in front of the camera.

"Pressure? Dude, this is the Bundesliga. Bayern are used to standing at the top and accepting challenges." Flick's tone was calm, the arrogance of the Bavarian king etched into his bones. "Dortmund really struck gold this winter transfer window with two incredible jackpots. Sun Yang's vision and Haaland's finishing ability are outstanding in all of Europe."

Seeing that the fish had taken the bait, the reporter immediately followed up: "Does the Bayern management have any plans to bring one of them back to the Allianz Arena? After all, this is your usual practice."

Flick straightened his tie and, with a smile, dropped a bombshell.

"I won't beat around the bush. A week ago, the higher-ups sent a formal inquiry email to Dortmund. We don't intend to break them up; we want to bring both of these young men with us."

The reporters at the scene went wild, their camera shutters clicking incessantly.

By publicly stating their intention to poach the opponent's key player before the match, Bayern Munich employs a psychological warfare tactic they are adept at.

"Geniuses shouldn't be buried," Flick continued, adding fuel to the fire. "In Germany, only a top platform like Bayern Munich is worthy of their talent. They should come to the Allianz Arena to play and compete for the Champions League trophy, instead of wasting their time in teams that can only be runners-up."

This statement went viral online in less than an hour.

Cologne, inside Sun Yang's villa.

Haaland is currently undergoing physical therapy in the same underwater recovery chamber used by Cristiano Ronaldo.

The large screen TV on the opposite wall is playing Flick's interview replays on a loop.

"Fuck it!" Harland slapped the water, splashing water everywhere.

He strode out of the recovery chamber, grabbed a towel, and roughly rubbed his blond hair.

"Those Munich old foxes are disgusting!" Haaland cursed, pointing at the screen. "The game hasn't even started yet, and they're already pulling this dirty trick in the media! Trying to mess with my mentality? How much salary are they offering me? Do they think I'm some poor kid who's never even seen a euro before?"

Sun Yang was sitting in the equipment area, doing knee load training.

His body, modified by the system, has an incredibly powerful recovery ability; all he's doing now is maintaining muscle activity.

"They're not just disgusting, they're really desperate." Sun Yang casually tossed aside the weighted sandbags, grabbed a water bottle, and took a swig. "Back then, they announced Götze before the Champions League final, and then poached Lewandowski on a free transfer. They've been doing this for almost ten years, it's an old tradition."

Haaland walked over, panting, and plopped down on the ground.

"Bro, you didn't actually listen to their nonsense, did you?"

Sun Yang stood up and patted Haaland on the shoulder.

"Bayern is indeed a big stage," Sun Yang said, staring into his eyes. "But right now, I'm only interested in wrecking their stadium. I wasn't joking on the bus; when we get back to our home ground on Wednesday, we have to devour this Munich sausage, skin and all!"

Haaland grinned, revealing two rows of gleaming white teeth.

"I've been waiting for you to say that. I'm going to have that Polish old man's golden boot!"

It was afternoon.

Tactical room at the Brakel training base.

The entire Dortmund first team looked solemn.

The locker room was unusually quiet amidst the overwhelming rumors of Bayern Munich poaching players.

Veteran Hummels had already given each of the younger players a heads-up. Having been repeatedly thrashed by Bavaria, these seasoned players knew better than anyone that the only way to deal with such underhanded tactics was to shut them up with goals.

Head coach Favre pulled the tactical board to the very center.

"Just ignore the newspapers and don't listen to a word of the reporters' nonsense. We'll just focus on the 90 minutes on the field!" Favre held a tactical pen and drew Bayern's starting formation heavily on the whiteboard.

"4-2-3-1. Since Flick took over, Bayern's high pressing has been top-tier across Europe." Favre drew two circles on the tactical board. "Kimmich! Goretzka!"

"These are two pure meat grinders," assistant coach Terčić added seriously. "Goretzka is like a bull after gaining muscle this season; his midfield duels are absolutely top-notch. Kimmich is tireless and his tackles are incredibly fierce!"

Favre turned his pen and stared at Sun Yang, who was sitting in the front row.

"Sun, be prepared to get kicked in this game," Favre said gravely. "They'll relentlessly harass you the entire match. The moment you get the ball, you'll be double-teamed or even triple-teamed. Don't hold onto the ball; use your passing speed to break down their defense!"

Sun Yang nodded readily. "Understood."

"Davis on the left wing is incredibly fast. Achraf, you can't push past them like you do against weaker teams. You need to lock down the right flank with Piszczek!"

"Regarding the forward line," Favre's pen pointed straight at the edge of Bayern's penalty area. "Hummels, Lewandowski is yours and Akanji's. Mark him tightly, absolutely do not let him turn and shoot comfortably!"

Every running route and every detail of marking a player was broken down into crystal clear.

Dortmund has already loaded all their heavy weapons.

……

The evening of June 5.

The sky over the Ruhr region was gloomy and oppressive, with a fine, cold drizzle falling.

Tall yellow police tape was erected outside the Westfalenstadion. Police cars with flashing lights were parked at the intersection, barely maintaining the silence of the frenzy.

Inside the stadium, 80,000 seats were empty, with only cardboard cutouts of fans standing silently in the cold rain.

There was no overwhelming booing, only the huge GG sign flashing pale white on the sidelines.

Inside the players' tunnel.

There are only five minutes left before the battle begins.

The players from both teams lined up. The air in the narrow passage seemed frozen.

The only sounds in the arena were the screeching of metal cleats scraping against the concrete and heavy breathing.

The two rows of people stood side by side, less than half a meter apart.

This close standoff, where the air was thick with the smell of blood, brought the tension to a fever pitch.

Lewandowski was at the very front of the Bayern team, chewing gum and staring straight ahead, not even glancing at the person next to him.

Haaland stood in Dortmund's second position, staring at Lewandowski's profile with the look of a wolf that hadn't eaten for three days.

Sun Yang, with the captain's armband wrapped around his left arm, stood steadily at the front of the team.

Next to him is Manuel Neuer, the anchor of Bayern Munich and the German national team.

The tall Neuer tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the Asian rising star who was a generation younger than him.

"I heard you're trying to even out the points here today?" Neuer looked down, his voice completely calm, exuding the aloofness that comes with being a German goalkeeper.

Sun Yang met his gaze without flinching.

"You actually believe the nonsense from tabloid reporters?" Sun Yang's lips curled into a cold, sharp smile. "Listen carefully, I don't care about any damn points. I just want to throw a few more cannonballs into the net behind you."

Neuer's eyelid twitched.

"I've seen your long-range shooting highlights." Neuer looked away, tossing out a cold remark, "But unfortunately, on this pitch today, you won't even have a chance to swing your leg."

Sun Yang didn't bother to reply, and simply twisted his ankle casually.

The bones rubbed together, producing a crisp clicking sound.