"I've already refused Barcelona once, so I think I can refuse them again."

When Zhou Yi said these words with a smile, the Catalan reporter in front of him was stunned. He hadn't expected that Zhou Yi, despite his smile, would speak so bluntly, with such a firm and uncompromising attitude.

Most people, when faced with Barcelona's interest, whether genuine or not, would start with something like: "It's an honor to be noticed by Barcelona. No one can refuse the call of such a giant..."

But Zhou Yi didn't even mention this standard response.

As for his claim of having refused Barcelona before, the Catalan reporter had vaguely heard about it. When Dortmund met Arsenal in the group stage, the English media had sensationalized the story. However, the reporter only had a vague understanding of the matter; he didn't know the specific details.

He found it incredible that Barcelona could have been rejected by Zhou Yi, who was only a seventeen-year-old boy at the time.

Something must be wrong here, or it was a case of misinformation...

Now that Zhou Yi had brought it up himself, he would have to go back and investigate thoroughly to find out what exactly had happened.

※※※

Zhou Yi's direct rejection of the Catalan reporter naturally couldn't remain a secret. In fact, the other reporters present quickly spread the news far and wide.

Zhou Yi's uncharacteristic bluntness aroused everyone's interest.

The media embellished the story with all sorts of rumors.

Some said Zhou Yi had angrily rebuked the Catalan reporter, while others claimed Zhou Yi looked down on Barcelona's invitation...

However, Zhou Yi didn't bother to explain these things. He simply didn't have the energy or need to engage in a war of words with the media.

What others thought was their business. Their opinions couldn't change Zhou Yi. Their praise couldn't make him win, and their criticism couldn't make him lose. So why should Zhou Yi care about what others thought?

He had never been the kind of person who cared about other people's opinions, or he wouldn't be seen as a "madman" in some people's eyes.

However, when his friends asked about the matter in their group chat, he couldn't ignore it.

"Yes, I did say those things," Zhou Yi admitted.

"Damn, Zhou Yi, you're awesome!" Sun Pan sent a thumbs-up emoji to Zhou Yi. As a player who was still under contract with Chelsea, Sun Pan didn't have any good feelings towards Barcelona.

Zhou Yi said modestly, "I'm just helping He Ying vent his anger. They were blind to talent, letting the best scorer in the Segunda División slip through their fingers!"

He Ying sent a rolling eyes emoji.

"But He Ying is performing well in Valladolid now. After the season ends, Barcelona should promote him to the first team, right?" Yang Mu'ge asked.

"Definitely!" Guo Nu said, a bit envious because he was also a die-hard Barcelona fan and hoped to one day return to play for Barcelona. But as things stood, playing for Cesena, he was too far away from that goal...

But unexpectedly, He Ying said, "No, I don't want to go back to Barcelona."

This answer surprised everyone. Sun Pan, Yang Mu'ge, and Guo Nu all sent shocked emojis in the group chat. Only Zhou Yi didn't say anything, because he understood why He Ying would say that, so he wasn't surprised.

Faced with everyone's surprise, He Ying explained, "The competition in the first team is too fierce. Even if I'm promoted, I'll only be a substitute's substitute. Players like Tello and Pedro are already substitutes. I don't know where I'd rank. Maybe I'd only get some playing time in the Copa del Rey. Sitting on the bench at Barcelona isn't what I want."

"But it's not certain that you'd be a substitute if you went back. Maybe at first, but as long as you have the opportunity, you can impress Guardiola," Guo Nu said. He still hoped that He Ying could play for Barcelona. "Like Lao Yang, wasn't he a substitute's substitute when he first joined Schalke 04, with no chance to play? But now? He's already a starter."

"My situation is different from Lao Yang's," He Ying explained. "I'm the kind of player who needs the ball at his feet. Dribbling, taking shots, I'm more threatening that way. And I play better in the center than on the wing. I'm playing in the center for Valladolid and have a lot of possession, so I can score goals. But in Barcelona's first team, Messi and Iniesta control the ball in attack. If I go up, I'll be doing more support and shielding, acting as a wall for Messi... I don't like that. That's not the way I want to play."

"Instead of wasting a few years on Barcelona's bench before finding a way out, I'd rather not take that detour in the first place. I like Barcelona a lot, but I've lost my illusions about it," He Ying finally said.

His words were somewhat heavy. His partners knew how much he had wanted to play for Barcelona. He often studied Catalan language textbooks and had been preparing for it even earlier than that.

He had been overjoyed to enter La Masia's first training session, making headlines in the Chinese media and being hailed as "the first Chinese person to conquer La Masia," enjoying unlimited glory, far more so than Zhou Yi, who was still lying low in Dortmund's youth academy at the time.

But in the end, he said that he no longer had any illusions about Barcelona. Reality was so cruel that people didn't know what to say.

Just when there was a tendency for the group chat to become quiet, Zhou Yi jumped in: "Damage control. I think He Ying is right. No one said that people from La Masia have to play for Barcelona, nor did anyone say that success can only be achieved by playing for Barcelona. All roads lead to Rome."

Everyone also felt that Zhou Yi was right. None of them were playing for big clubs, but they were all working towards their dreams, and it wasn't necessary to be at a big club to achieve those dreams.

"Thanks, Zhou Yi," He Ying said, expressing his gratitude for Zhou Yi's understanding. "But Barcelona is very difficult to deal with. They are very strong. You have to be careful..."

"I know," Zhou Yi said. "Barcelona is certainly very strong. It would be wrong if they weren't."

"That's a problem. It's too bad to face Barcelona. I thought you could go further..." Yang Mu'ge felt sorry for them. Although he was a player for their deadly rival Schalke 04, he was speaking as Zhou Yi's friend at this moment.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Yi's reaction surprised him, as well as the others.

"Why can't we go further?" he asked back.

"The opponent is Barcelona!" Guo Nu exclaimed. As a Barcelona fanatic, he was completely exposed at this moment.

"Yes, so what?" Zhou Yi continued to ask back.

"So what? It's the universe team! Aren't you afraid?" Guo Nu said.

"Afraid of what?!" Zhou Yi replied. "If Barcelona is the universe team, then I'm the explosion team!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sun Pan didn't understand. The universe team was Barcelona, but what did the explosion team mean?

Yang Mu'ge helped him out: "The Big Bang."

"What's that?" Sun Pan was still a little confused.

"In short, it means blowing up the universe!" Zhou Yi said.

"Oh, oh, I understand," Sun Pan nodded.

"Words are nice, but how are you going to win? Do you have a plan?" He Ying asked.

"No," Zhou Yi answered very straightforwardly.

"Damn it!" Sun Pan thought Zhou Yi was so confident earlier, so he thought he already had a countermeasure. Turns out it was just empty talk... "If you don't have one, why are you talking so big! Do you have to show off!"

"You have to have confidence," Zhou Yi sent a shrug emoji. "And the ball is round. Maybe we'll win?"

"..." Sun Pan was speechless.

※※※

The first leg of the quarter-final match between Dortmund and Barcelona was held on the evening of March 28th. And it was home first, then away, which was a very unfavorable schedule for Dortmund.

Now, there were still two and a half weeks before the match, so Dortmund could prepare well.

However, in the eyes of many, no matter how Dortmund prepared, it would be no different from a desperate struggle.

Barcelona was too strong...

This was the first thought that came to the minds of many people when they thought of Barcelona.

It was only human nature.

Or rather, it was the nature of ordinary people.

Perhaps even Dortmund's own fans and players felt that being drawn against Barcelona was a very unlucky thing.

Of course, not everyone would think that way.

When Zhou Yi and his teammates stood in front of a square, undecorated white building, they were all puzzled.

This strange building had actually been built in Dortmund's training base a long time ago, but it had always been covered with dark netting, and there were no signs outside the construction site to explain it. Everyone only knew that the training base was adding facilities, but they didn't know what kind of facilities, let alone what they were for.

The players had made some guesses about this strange building. Some said it was a new gym, some said it was an institution similar to the Milan Lab, and some said it was a new restaurant—the people who guessed this must be foodies...

After training began today, Klopp didn't have the players start training on the training ground as usual, but instead brought the team to this mysterious building.

"What is this?" Someone stared at the house and couldn't help but ask.

Klopp pointed to the mysterious building behind him with his thumb and said to everyone, "This is our secret weapon for defeating the universe team!"