Chapter Two: The One-Euro Squad

Gu merged the appointment, extension, and registration request into one electronic document. At 11:59:46, Luo signed. At fifty-four seconds, Su uploaded it. The page spun for five agonizing seconds. At midnight, red became green. 【Registration successful: Lanhaven Athletic, twenty players.】 Cheers filled the corridor. Then Gu saw the fixture reminder. On Saturday they played defending champion Crown United. Below it sat an anonymous email. “Hector asked me to tell you: one euro can't buy a point.” Gu printed it and pinned it to the dressing-room door. “Good,” he said. “On Saturday, we'll appreciate its value.”