Chapter 328: Chapter 77: Bellwether Wang Shuo! Bundesliga’s Great Revolution! The Strongest Passive Skill: Foundation! Dortmund’s New Captain

To build strength, what player doesn’t have to train their thighs until they’re thick and muscular?

That’s not attractive at all, is it?

Once he realized this, Wang Shuo suddenly felt that Foundation was practically tailor-made for him!

It’s so damn amazing!

It increased his muscle strength and physicality while preserving his speed and agility.

Were there any downsides?

Of course. He still had to build the muscle himself.

But for a grinder like Wang Shuo, was that even a problem?

"I’m going to make it big!"

Wang Shuo was practically buzzing with excitement.

...

"It’s not even light out, and it’s so cold. Are you really going out to train this early?"

As Wang Shuo eagerly scrambled out of bed, Lina Gerk stirred awake.

As she pulled the blanket over her body, leaving her delicate shoulders exposed to the cool air, Wang Shuo felt a powerful urge to pull her right back down into bed.

But in the end, he resisted the impulse.

’Discipline!’

’I have to have discipline!’

’I’m the man who’s going to win the European Golden Ball Award!’

"The second half of the season is about to start, so I need to get a head start on my preparations," Wang Shuo said with a smile.

When he came out of the bathroom after washing up, he found Lina Gerk already dressed in her workout clothes.

"Wait up, I’ll go with you," she said cheerfully.

"You’re coming too? You think you can keep up?"

"Are you underestimating me? We models have to work out to stay in shape, you know."

After she got ready, they bundled up in warm down jackets and headed out, a few minutes later than usual.

The streets outside were wet, and the snow on the roadsides had yet to melt.

Wang Shuo took out his phone and posted a tweet.

Speaking of which, something strange had been happening.

His Twitter feed was pretty boring. He basically just posted one tweet every morning when he went out.

Yet, he was somehow getting more and more followers.

An increasing number of fans even started "checking in" with him in the comments every day, right on schedule.

"You know, you should post more content. Things about training or matches. Just a few words about anything would be good."

Lina Gerk advised as they ran side-by-side.

Wang Shuo nodded. He was also learning how to interact with fans and people online.

But he had to admit, when it came to social media, he was no match for Lina Gerk.

Not long ago, he’d seen Lina Gerk on a German Television show. She was incredibly well-spoken and very witty.

Lina Gerk had told him it all came with practice.

She said that with more experience, exposure, and practice, he’d eventually get the hang of it.

He had to hand it to her, though.

She really could run.

At first, Wang Shuo slowed his pace to accommodate her.

But when he saw she was keeping up, he picked up the pace, surprised that she stayed right with him.

It was only when they neared Strobelaler that she started to fall behind.

When they arrived at the training grounds, the security guard was also surprised to see them.

He hadn’t expected Wang Shuo to be back for extra training right after Christmas.

And he was even more astonished to see Lina Gerk with him.

After getting an autograph and a photo with them, he let the pair into the gym.

"I wish those people who say Wang Shuo isn’t good enough for Lina could see this. They’re a perfect match—talented and beautiful—and they get along so well."

The security guard muttered enviously as he watched them go.

For a single guy, winter in Germany was just too cold!

...

Professor Andreas Schrenberg had also come in to work early.

The winter break had been shortened, after all.

The team was set to reassemble on January 1st for a training camp on the southern coast of Spain. The staff needed to prepare in advance and map out a training plan, especially for fitness conditioning.

Klopp was taking this extremely seriously.

Any misstep could lead to a recurrence of the "Klopp Syndrome" at Dortmund.

Wang Shuo was also a little surprised to see Professor Schrenberg, but he immediately ran over to ask him a question.

"Neural recruitment is actually quite simple."

"We all know that muscles contract to generate force, right?"

Wang Shuo nodded. He knew that much.

"Let me put it this way: if we think of the brain as a general and the muscles as his soldiers, then the nervous system is the army’s command structure."

"When your brain issues a command, the nervous system makes precise deployments. For example, if you’re jogging, it mobilizes slow-twitch muscle fibers. If you’re sprinting, it recruits a large number of fast-twitch muscle fibers."

"So, the stronger your neural recruitment ability, the faster you can mobilize and recruit those ’soldiers,’ the more of them you can call upon, and the greater your precision will be."

It suddenly clicked for Wang Shuo.

This meant his acceleration and top speed could be even faster.

His explosive power would be greater.

Technical movements like changing direction, stopping suddenly, and turning would become smoother and more precise.

Professor Schrenberg’s explanation also made Wang Shuo think of something else.

’Fast-twitch and slow-twitch fibers.’

As the name suggested, fast-twitch fibers contracted quickly, providing immense explosive power and strength, but they also fatigued easily.

Slow-twitch fibers were the opposite: they contracted slowly, generating less explosive power and strength, but they had high endurance and didn’t tire easily.

In track and field terms, fast-twitch fibers were for sprinters, and slow-twitch fibers were for marathon runners.

Everyone has both types of fibers in their body, just in different ratios.

It was said that Ronaldo’s partial African heritage gave him a higher proportion of fast-twitch fibers, which was why he was so fast.

’So,’ Wang Shuo wondered, ’after I increase my muscle density, does that mean I’ll not only be faster and more explosive than before, but I’ll also have more stamina?’