Chapter Seventy-Five: An Essential Transformation

On February 14, 2016, Wang Lei’s “Youth Army” completed its assembly.

Although, relatively speaking, there wasn’t a widespread issue of players gaining weight, some individuals had clearly put on a few pounds compared to half a month ago. After all, it was the New Year, and even ethnic minority players who didn’t celebrate the lunar holiday still enjoyed richer food during the break than usual. Families who could afford to send their children to university were generally well-off, especially in the frontier provinces where state support had greatly improved the living conditions of ethnic minorities.

When a child returns home after half a year away, their families care little for the orders of youth team coaches. Parents wish for nothing more than for their children to return to school carrying enough fat to last a whole year.

February 14 was just another ordinary day in the East, but in the Western world, it was the much-beloved Valentine’s Day.

Unlike the world of Earth, in this universe the Republic places great emphasis on guarding against cultural infiltration.

While the West clamors that Eastern nations lack freedom and democracy and resists their cultures, the Republic actively promotes its own ancient yet vibrant civilization. In the East, the consensus is that Valentine’s Day falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, when the ancient legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meeting on the Magpie Bridge is celebrated throughout the region.

In the matter of resisting cultural invasion, Wang Lei found it quite remarkable. He imagined that there must be someone in the upper echelons of the Republic’s government with an exquisitely keen sense for such matters. While vigorously developing the economy, the Republic had not neglected spiritual and cultural development; a series of political measures and promotional efforts struck Wang Lei as highly visionary. Thus, the present-day standoff between the Republic-led East and the Western world led by Europe and America could unfold on all fronts.

Sometimes Wang Lei even wondered if there was a predecessor who, like him, had “crossed over” from another world. Otherwise, how could a Republic so similar to Earth’s find itself in such a favorable position?

With the players assembled at the training base, their holiday was over, and more grueling training awaited them.

The regimen continued with physical conditioning and fundamental drills, but on top of these, Wang Lei began to introduce tactical exercises. However, the tactics he set were deliberately simple—never so complex that all five players needed to execute intricate movements. At most, core players would set screens for one another while the others focused on spacing the floor.

Wang Lei explained his tactical philosophy to the players. It was all about one thing: speed. Run fast, move the ball fast, shoot fast—so fast the opponents couldn’t keep up. Once that happened, the game would naturally fall under their control.

To achieve this speed, complex tactics were out of the question. It wasn’t just a matter of the players’ tactical acumen; even the basic human reaction has its limits. Thus, Wang Lei simplified the tactics as much as possible, relying on speed and stamina as the mainstay of the provincial youth team’s strategy.

Once training began in earnest, Wang Lei noticed a shift in the players’ attitudes. Compared to before the break, most now devoted themselves to practice without distraction—a change that delighted him.

After three matches and a holiday’s rest, the players—especially the core members—had undergone a fundamental transformation. Turgun, for example, was always the most diligent in training, and his thinking was flexible, never bound by Wang Lei’s routines.

According to traditional coaching logic, Turgun’s improvisational tendencies would be frowned upon as disruptive to the team’s rhythm. But Wang Lei saw it differently. In the future, Turgun would be the one truly controlling the tempo for his team. This boy needed to learn to play with his mind, not just dribble up the court and wait to shoot a three-pointer.

Besides Turgun, Cai Aihong and Hawuler had also changed dramatically. Cai Aihong was no longer as obstinate or rebellious as before. Though he still immediately raised questions when he didn’t understand something, he now completed all of Wang Lei’s training tasks without fail, sometimes even pushing himself beyond quota. One had to admit, this young man’s stamina was exceptional. Though rather slender, he could maintain a steady performance throughout an entire game.

For Cai Aihong, Wang Lei specifically arranged extra shooting drills, especially from the top of the arc and beyond the three-point line. In the future, the pick-and-roll between Cai Aihong and Turgun would be the team’s standard weapon. With Cai Aihong’s mobility paired with Turgun’s ball-handling and three-point threat, if Cai Aihong could develop his mid-range shot, the team’s half-court offense would never stall.

Hawuler, too, had changed. Before the holiday, he would often glance at the sidelines, perhaps searching for Aziguli. Now, though he occasionally drifted off, he devoted most of his attention to training.

Given Hawuler’s fearlessness in contact and his strength, Wang Lei focused his training on rebounding. Though Hawuler’s height was a limitation, Wang Lei didn’t see it as a major weakness—at least not at this level, where standing one ninety-six centimeters was more than enough to play inside. As long as he learned to use his body for positioning and leveraged his strength, Hawuler could become the team’s premier rebound protector.

To realize Wang Lei’s vision of fast breaks, rebounding was key. Without strong defensive rebounding, the team could never capitalize on its speed and stamina. Thus, Hawuler bore heavy responsibility, and Wang Lei often gave him individual attention during practice.

Though Wang Lei hadn’t been known for his defense as a player, his top-level professional experience gave him an understanding of the game far beyond these young men. When it came to rebounding, his experience was invaluable, and he shared it with Hawuler without reservation.

Ma Dongmei also came to the gym with Wang Lei daily, and she was hardly idle. Though a little younger than the players, she could teach them things beyond technical skills—how to manage nerves, how to maintain good physical condition.

It’s often said that a mix of men and women makes for easier work. With the beautiful Ma Dongmei on the sidelines, the team’s training atmosphere was especially positive. Wang Lei even considered letting Aziguli attend future practices. Truth be told, for young men not yet exposed to the wider world, trying to impress a beautiful girl was almost a biological instinct.