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Chapter 64 - The Tactic That Shouldn't Work

The stadium felt too quiet like the silence before thunder.Kei stood near the sideline eyes narrowed at the opponent's formation.Something had changed but not on paper.On paper everything looked the same same numbers same positions same faces but to Kei's eye it felt like staring into a painting where the shadows had shifted just a bit

The ball rolled back into play.Kei let it pass him then turned and bolted back into a deeper midfield line.Amano didn't question it he just called out to the others to adjust

The whisper came on the wind

"They're not playing to win.They're playing to learn"

Kei's heart skipped

Every move the opponents made it wasn't to break them down it was to analyze them.Ren's dribble got mirrored perfectly on the next possession.Dazai's cross attempt?Copied and improved

Like a mirror that learned from what it reflected

Kei narrowed his eyes and touched the edge of his hidden system menu in his mind.Just a flicker.The Phantom System pulsed

No alerts.No warnings.Just a single message

"Caution recommended.Do not let your habits become readable"

He breathed slow

The next possession he didn't do what instinct told him to do.He did the second best option.Delayed a pass by 0.5 seconds.Took a weird first touch.Chipped instead of cutting in

The defense hesitated

The learning system on the other team hiccupped

It wasn't AI but it was like facing someone who evolved every time you played them

Kei adapted back

The tempo slowed then broke then surged again.A tug of war of strategies masked as a casual high school match

But the crowd didn't notice

Only the players did

By minute 37 Kei walked past the opponent's captain during a throw in.They locked eyes

"You see it too huh" the captain muttered with a grin

Kei smirked but said nothing

The whistle blew again.Play resumed

But this time no one was smiling

Not even Kei

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