CHAPTER 125: THE CAROUSEL SPINS

"Boss," Arthur rasped. "We play Manchester United in forty-eight hours. Ten Hag plays a high press. If we run the boys too hard today they will have legs made of jelly on Sunday."

"They won’t be tired Arthur," Michael smiled his eyes fixed on the pitch. "They are evolving."

Michael blew his whistle.

"THE CAROUSEL!" Michael shouted. "GO!"

On the pitch the simulation began.

The B-Team was set up to mimic Manchester United. Finn Riley was playing as Marcus Rashford because he was fast. Higgins was playing as Harry Maguire because he was... big.

But the A-Team was doing something strange.

Kai Sora and Arda Guler were standing in the center circle.

Usually midfielders stay in their zones. But Kai and Arda looked at each other.

Arda winked.

Kai adjusted his invisible sunglasses.

They started to move.

It was not running. It was dancing.

Kai dropped deep to collect the ball from the defenders. Arda sprinted high.

Then suddenly they switched.

Arda dropped deep. Kai sprinted high.

They passed the ball between them. Zip. Zip. Zip.

Higgins tried to mark Kai. But by the time Higgins moved Kai was gone and Arda was there.

Higgins tried to mark Arda. But Arda did a spin and suddenly Kai was there.

"I am getting dizzy!" Higgins roared spinning in a circle. "Who am I marking?! Why are there two of them?!"

Kai received the ball. He did not look. He backheeled it.

Arda was already running into the space. He collected the pass without breaking stride.

"Stop them!" Arthur yelled from the sideline getting caught up in the action.

Sam Jones the goalkeeper screamed instructions. But it was too late.

Arda played a through ball to Isaiah King.

Isaiah smashed it into the net.

"GOAL!" Isaiah screamed. "The Carousel is too fast! You cannot stop the spin!"

Michael looked at his laptop. The System screen was glowing so bright it almost hurt his eyes.

[TACTICAL ANALYSIS: THE CAROUSEL]

[EXECUTION RATING: PERFECT]

[PLAYER SYNC: 99%]

[CONFUSION LEVEL: MAXIMUM]

Michael felt a shiver down his spine. This was not Championship football anymore. This was elite level geometry.

He looked at Kai Sora.

The Japanese midfielder was walking back to the center circle. He was not sweating. He looked bored.

Michael activated the Founder’s Eye.

[PLAYER EVOLUTION: KAI SORA]

[ATTRIBUTE INCREASE: TELEPATHY]

[DESCRIPTION: The subject no longer needs to look to know where his teammates are. He feels the space.]

"Telepathy," Michael whispered. "He is actually a Jedi."

"What was that Boss?" Arthur asked.

"Nothing," Michael grinned. "Reset! Do it again!"

For the next hour the team played football that looked like it belonged in a video game.

Diego Nunez was evolving too.

The Uruguayan Bull was practicing against Finn Riley. Finn was fast. Very fast.

Finn tried to sprint past Diego.

Diego did not turn. He just stepped sideways. He used his hip.

BUMP.

It looked gentle. But Finn flew three meters sideways and landed on a crash mat.

"Sorry little fox," Diego grunted offering a hand. "But the border is closed."

Michael checked Diego’s stats.

[PLAYER EVOLUTION: DIEGO NUNEZ]

[NEW TRAIT: THE IRON WALL]

[DESCRIPTION: Physical duels won increased to 95%. Opponents fear factor increased.]

"He is scary," Arthur noted watching Diego sharpen his studs on the concrete floor during the water break. "He looks at attackers like they are steaks."

"That is exactly what we need," Michael said. "Manchester United have fast strikers. Hojlund is strong. Rashford is quick. We need a wall."

At the end of the session Michael called everyone to the center circle.

The players sat down. They were breathing hard but they were smiling.

"That," Michael said looking at them with pride "was the best training session I have ever seen."

Isaiah King raised his hand. "Boss did you see my rabona pass? It was beautiful. I think I should win a Ballon d’Or just for that pass."

"It went out for a throw in Isaiah," Danny Fletcher pointed out.

"It was a tactical throw in," Isaiah argued. "I was wasting time."

The room laughed.

"Listen," Michael said. "On Sunday we face Manchester United. They are desperate. They need a win. The media says they will crush us."

He looked at Kai and Arda.

"But they have never seen The Carousel. They do not know how to stop ghosts."

He looked at Diego.

"And they do not know what it feels like to run into a wall."

Michael stood up.

"Go home. Rest. Eat pasta. Tomorrow we go to the Fortress."

Sunday morning.

The team hotel was quiet. The players were in the lobby waiting for the bus.

Usually there was music. Usually Isaiah was dancing.

But today was focused.

Michael stood by the door. He checked the time.

12:00 PM. Kickoff was at 2:00 PM.

The bus arrived. It was the new team bus. It was painted red and white with the giant Barnsley crest on the side. Underneath the crest it said: THE DYNASTY.

"Nice bus," Kenji Sato said bowing to the driver. "It is very shiny."

They climbed aboard.

Michael sat at the front. Arthur sat next to him.

"You look calm Boss," Arthur said.

"I am calm," Michael lied. His heart was hammering a techno beat against his ribs. "The work is done Arthur. Now we just watch."

The bus pulled out of the hotel.

They drove through the streets of Barnsley.

And then they saw it.

The Red Sea.

Thousands of fans lined the streets. The road to Oakwell was blocked by people.

They were banging on the sides of the bus. They were waving flags. They were setting off red smoke bombs that turned the daylight into a crimson fog.

BARNSLEY! BARNSLEY! BARNSLEY!

Inside the bus the players looked out the windows.

Isaiah King took off his headphones. His eyes were wide.

"They are crazy," Isaiah whispered. "Look at that guy. He is on top of a traffic light."

"That is passion," Diego Nunez rumbled. "In Uruguay we climb trees. Here they climb traffic lights. I respect it."

Kai Sora lowered his sunglasses. He looked at the sea of red faces screaming his name.

"They are loud," Kai noted.

"Does it make you nervous?" Michael asked turning around in his seat.

Kai thought about it. He looked at the fans. He looked at the smoke.

"No," Kai said. "It feels like... a battery charger."

"A what?"

"A charger," Kai smiled. "They give me energy. Maybe today I will run twelve kilometers. For them."

"Please do not run twelve kilometers," Kenji Sato panicked. "If you run twelve I have to run twenty four to keep the balance! I will die!"

The bus laughed. The tension broke.

They arrived at the stadium.

The entrance to the Fortress was guarded by security but the fans were pushing against the barriers. They wanted to touch the bus. They wanted to touch the magic.

The bus stopped. The doors hissed open.

Michael stood up.

"Okay," Michael said. "This is it. Manchester United are in the away dressing room. They are probably listening to expensive music and thinking about their Ferraris."

He looked at his Misfits.

His Rejects. His Boys.

"You are Barnsley," Michael said fierce pride burning in his chest. "You are the Dynasty."

"Let’s go show them what that means."

They walked off the bus.

The roar that greeted them was not just noise. It was love. It was belief. It was twenty five thousand people saying We are with you.

Michael walked into the tunnel.

He felt a vibration in his pocket.

[SYSTEM ALERT]

[MATCHDAY: MANCHESTER UNITED]

[TEAM STATUS: EVOLVED]

[WIN PROBABILITY: 45%]

Forty-five percent.

It had gone up. The System was starting to believe too.