Tang Long was at his home in Manchester, where fluffy white snow was falling outside the window.
In this virtual AI Cloud Training Ground, surprisingly, there are also seasonal changes just like in reality, and the field is similarly covered in a blanket of white.
With the continuous upgrade of the AI system, this Cloud Training Ground was designed in the image of the Manchester City training ground, as Tang Long envisioned.
Various NPC characters are integrated within.
After Tang Long entered the Cloud Training Ground, the landing scene was the locker room.
He changed his clothes, and the kit manager came in to put his clothes in the basket, sending them to the laundry room.
"Thanks for your hard work, Johnson!"
Johnson, who was enthusiastic in real life, did not respond, merely nodded expressionlessly.
At this moment, Tang Long was not in a hurry to go onto the field; he headed towards the therapy room inside the training ground.
Sure enough, Gracie was sitting on a chair, waiting for his arrival.
However, this NPC character of Gracie seemed not to be very lively.
She sat motionless on the chair with her eyes closed, head unlifted.
Tang Long said "wake up" to her and then pinched her little face~
Gracie, like a robot, suddenly opened her eyes wide and turned her head to look at Tang Long.
"Hello, Master, is there anything I can do for you?"
Gracie spoke softly, her eyes full of ambiguous smiles, then squatted in front of Tang Long in a semi-kneeling form, looking up at him with a smile.
Tang Long took a sharp breath and shook his head, lightly tugging at Gracie’s chestnut ponytail.
"Messed up the system, Gracie is a team doctor, switch modes, you made a mistake!"
With a click, Gracie’s beautiful sapphire blue pupils suddenly went dark, and after a few seconds, they lit up again, finally returning her gaze to normal.
"Is there any discomfort in your muscles? Do you need electrotherapy, or to enter the cryogenic chamber?"
Seeing Gracie finally switched to normal mode, Tang Long happily enjoyed half an hour of massage therapy.
"You graduated from medical school, your biology must be good, tell me how Fly Eye is used in football."
Facing Tang Long’s inquiry, a circle-like icon appeared in Gracie’s eyes, spinning for about ten seconds, after which lines of text swiftly slid across, narrated through her mouth.
However, what Gracie said was somewhat profound, and she quoted many English medical literature sources, with various technical terms, leaving Tang Long in confusion.
Tang Long also found a benefit: in the AI Cloud Training Ground, Gracie was more obedient, and her technique wouldn’t become somewhat perfunctory as the massage time progressed.
Furthermore, after his back muscles were massaged, Tang Long felt more comfortable than in reality.
He had already turned over to get out of bed, yet lay back down, facing up.
"Massage my thighs, calves, and shoulder and neck for me, too."
Previously, Gracie mostly massaged Tang Long’s back because she also took on the heavy duty of analyzing the body data of the entire Manchester City Club players, without time to independently treat Tang Long for too long.
However, in the Cloud Training Ground, whatever Tang Long wanted Gracie to do, she would do it without a single complaint.
Continuous double matches for a week brought immense fatigue to Tang Long’s body;
After being massaged with Gracie’s soft hands for over an hour, Tang Long felt much better, as if he had slept again, and felt completely relaxed.
After thanking Gracie, he finally headed towards the field.
Unlike usual, the staff here were present, but Tang Long was the only player.
In the empty stadium, white snow drifted, all was white.
Although wearing long sleeves and pants, Tang Long couldn’t help but shiver.
"Child, I think you need a neck warmer."
Warmth enveloped Tang Long’s neck.
Chiwo appeared out of nowhere, putting a black training neck warmer around Tang Long’s neck.
Looking at Chiwo’s friendly face, Tang Long was moved to tears~
Within the entire Cloud Training Ground, the NPC characters were somewhat skewed from reality, except for Coach Chiwo’s personality, which remained unchanged. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs NoveIꜰire.net
His mentor still cared about him so much!
Since Chiwo became the assistant coach of the England national team, busy with work, most of their contact was via mobile phone.
Tang Long played for half a season in the Premier League and only saw him once, but in the AI Cloud Training Ground, he could see him every day.
Perhaps it was the impression of Chiwo that was the deepest, leaving an indelible mark in Tang Long’s memory, with enough fed data, so the AI system’s construction of Chiwo was closer to reality.
"Mr. Chiwo, I want to train with the newly activated Fly Eye feature."
"Alright, kid, do you know what Fly Eye is? Let me first explain its biological principles..."
"No need, Mr. Chiwo, Gracie has already explained it to me. Please tell me how to apply this feature on the field." Tang Long got straight to the point.
Amidst the heavy snow on the training ground, Chiwo briefly explained the function to Tang Long, who nodded frequently while listening.
According to Chiwo’s explanation, while on the field, Tang Long had the assistance of AI’s real-time judgment, allowing him to predict the next move three seconds in advance.
However, the AI system analyzed based on the big data provided by Tang Long.
The fed data came from football match videos Tang Long watched daily, as well as actual matches in the Premier League, the English League Cup, and the Champions League.
While big data predictions are useful and often give Tang Long an edge over others;
The Premier League is a tightly scheduled league, and Tang Long has to play more matches in the same amount of time than he did with Inter in Serie A, meaning he needs to predict more often.
"Have you noticed that sometimes the predictions the AI system gives you are not the optimal solutions?"
When Chiwo posed this question, Tang Long was taken aback, then nodded solemnly.
"That’s right, there were a few times I didn’t follow the AI system’s guidance and acted on my own judgment."
Tang Long spoke about a match against Swansea, where after entering the attacking third, the AI guided him to pass the ball to Sterling on the flank, but he took a shot himself, scoring a splendid world-class goal that had the fans applauding.
Chiwo smiled and gave Tang Long a thumbs up.
"It seems you already understand a principle that big data is not almighty. Football is played by living, breathing people, not just a bunch of data running simulations against each other."
"Every moment you face on the field is influenced by your state, the state of your teammates and opponents, the fans’ cheers, and more factors."
"Of course, luck is also an indispensable factor."
"Is the judgment of big data necessarily more reasonable than human judgment? Often it is, but sometimes it’s not, especially when your AI system hasn’t been upgraded to the highest level. It still waits for more data to be fed, or better yet, sometimes your own judgment is more accurate than the fed data. This happens, well, it’s like..."
"Enough, Mr. Chiwo, I get it. Let’s start training!"
Chiwo and Tang Long stood 50 meters apart.
Standing on opposite sidelines of the field.
The snow fell heavier, making it difficult to see each other clearly.
From the other end, Chiwo shouted hoarsely:
"I will send a long pass toward you. Don’t move, don’t stop the ball, don’t make any actions. Just keep your eyes on the ball, feel its change in size as it moves closer, this trains your eyes’ focusing ability to better perceive the situation!"
A long pass flew toward Tang Long.
Chiwo, being a defensive midfielder from his playing days, having also played at Ajax during his career;
Even after a few years of retirement, his long passing skills remained exquisite.
With a gentle touch, the ball traced a rainbow arc in the air.
Tang Long followed Chiwo’s guidance, standing still, eyes fixed on the ball.
At first, the ball was just a tiny speck.
Then it grew larger, turning apple-sized as it reached above the center circle.
Accompanied by the cutting wind, the ball got larger, striking the falling snowflakes, heading towards Tang Long’s head.
As the yellow ball approached, Tang Long felt a shadow looming. He wanted to step back and cushion the ball with his thigh but remembered the rule of not moving, until the ball hit his forehead with a "thud."
Footballers have heads made of iron, Tang Long wasn’t hurt.
He understood that with Chiwo’s skill, hitting his head accurately with the ball was deliberate.
"What was it like?" Chiwo ran over.
"It felt like the ball grew from small to large, then hit my head, making me momentarily see black," Tang Long said.
"That’s right, it’s that oppressive sensation as your eyes focus on the ball’s movement."
Tang Long seemed unimpressed.
This simple vision focusing is something he constantly encountered in every match, nothing unusual.
Except this time, unlike during a match where passing and receiving occur in motion, he stood still, making it feel somewhat odd.
"Isn’t this normal? If my eyes didn’t focus on the ball’s movement, I’d be blind."
"Normal? Then tell me, how many snowflakes did the ball hit while flying toward you in the air?"