Reincarnated As A Wonderkid-Chapter 516: The Butterfly Effect.

"The Butterfly Effect. A butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil, and a tornado happens in Texas. Small changes in initial conditions can result in vast differences in outcome."

Alex sat in the middle row. He was wearing a hoodie. He was trying to blend in.

The Butterfly Effect.

He thought about the tiny moments in football. A slip. A deflection. A whistle blown one second too late.

"Mr. Finch," the Professor asked. "Can you predict the weather?"

Alex looked up.

"Not with certainty, Sir," Alex said. "The variables are too complex. You can only calculate probability."

"Precisely," the Professor nodded. "We live in a probabilistic universe. Nothing is certain until it happens."

Mark sat next to Alex. He was wearing a safari hat and holding a butterfly net.

"I AM CATCHING BUTTERFLIES!" Mark whispered loudly. "I WILL STOP THE TORNADO!"

"Mark," Alex whispered. "Please put the net away. You are in a university lecture."

"I am a chaos hunter!" Mark insisted. "I am protecting the ecosystem!"

Maya was sitting on the other side of Alex. She was typing furiously on her laptop.

"I have simulated the Premier League season 10,000 times," Maya said. "Manchester City win 4,000 times. Liverpool win 3,000 times. We win 2,999 times."

"So it is close," Alex said.

"It is a statistical dead heat," Maya said. "One butterfly could change everything."

The lecture ended.

Alex walked out.

He was a student again. Not of A-Levels, but of Sports Science. He wanted to understand the machine of the body.

But tonight, he had a practical exam.

Premier League. Matchday 5. Manchester City vs Arsenal. The Etihad Stadium.

It was early in the season, but it felt like a title decider.

Alex walked to the car park.

Milo was waiting.

Milo was dressed as... a Meteorologist.

He was wearing a yellow raincoat and holding a giant umbrella that was inside out. He had a map of the UK taped to his chest.

"THE FORECAST IS GOALS!" Milo screamed. "ALEX! I AM THE WEATHER MAN! I PREDICT A STORM OF GOALS! WITH A CHANCE OF RED CARDS! I AM SELLING BAROMETERS! THEY ARE JUST JARS OF WATER WITH A STICK IN THEM! BUT THEY WORK!"

"Milo, it is sunny," Alex said.

"THE PRESSURE IS RISING!" Milo yelled, tapping his jar. "THE ISOBARS ARE TIGHT!"

They drove to Manchester.

Steve, the manager, was waiting.

"City have evolved," Steve said. "They don’t just pass anymore. They run. Doku. Savinho. They are fast."

He looked at the team.

"They want to create chaos on the wings. They want to stretch us."

He looked at Alex.

"Professor. You are the anchor. If the ship rocks, you steady it. Do not let the chaos consume us."

"I will be the calm center," Alex said.

The Etihad Stadium.

The sky was blue. The pitch was green. The noise was loud.

Alex stood in the tunnel.

Phil Foden stood next to him.

"University boy," Foden grinned. "Learning big words?"

"Learning how to beat you," Alex smiled.

"You can try," Foden said. "But today, we run."

Haaland stood behind Foden. He looked bigger than last year. He looked like he had eaten a smaller striker for breakfast.

"Robot," Mark whispered to Haaland. "Do you dream of electric sheep?"

Haaland looked down at Mark. "I dream of goals."

"Boring dream," Mark said. "I dream of pizza with wings."

The whistle blew.

The game started.

City were electric.

Doku ran down the left. He was a blur. He did a stepover that was so fast Alex almost missed it.

He crossed.

Haaland volleyed.

Raya made a miracle save.

"They are fast!" Ben White yelled. "They are too fast!"

City pressed. They swarmed.

In the twentieth minute, Rodri got the ball. He smashed a shot from thirty yards.

It hit the post.

CLANG.

The ball bounced out.

Silva shot.

Blocked by Gabriel.

"Chaos," Alex thought. "Pure chaos."

He needed to find order.

He got the ball.

Foden came to press him.

Alex did not pass. He held the ball.

He waited.

He waited for the chaos to settle.

He saw Rico.

Rico was standing in a pocket of space.

Alex passed.

Rico turned. He saw Mark.

Rico played a through ball.

Mark ran.

He was one on one with Walker.

It was the race everyone wanted to see. The Emperor vs The Sprinter.

Mark pushed the ball. Walker pushed his legs.

They were neck and neck.

Mark dived for the ball. He poked it.

It rolled past Ederson.

But Walker slid. He cleared it off the line.

"SO CLOSE!" Mark screamed. "I WAS SUPERSONIC!"

Halftime. Zero zero.

It was intense. It was high level chess played at 100mph.

"They are leaving gaps," Steve said. "When Doku attacks, he doesn’t defend. The space is there."

He looked at Alex.

"Professor. Find the butterfly."

"The small change," Alex nodded.

Second half.

Sixtieth minute.

Alex had the ball deep.

He saw Doku high up the pitch.

Alex didn’t pass to the wing. He passed to the space behind the wing.

Saka ran into the space.

He was free.

Saka drove into the box. He cut back.

Odegaard was there.

Odegaard shot.

Goal.

One zero. Arsenal.

The away fans cheered.

"The butterfly effect!" Alex shouted. "One pass changed the storm!"

City were angry. They turned up the heat.

Seventy fifth minute.

De Bruyne came on. The master.

He got the ball. He hit a pass that shouldn’t be possible. It curved around three defenders.

Haaland ran onto it.

He smashed it.

Goal.

One one.

"He is inevitable," Rico sighed.

Eighty fifth minute.

The game was tied. A draw was a fair result.

But Alex didn’t want fair. He wanted to win.

He got the ball in the center circle.

He saw the pattern. City were pushing high.

He saw Mark.

Mark was tired. He was breathing heavy.

Alex looked at Mark.

Alex pointed to the right.

Mark nodded.

Alex hit a long ball.

It looked like it was going to Saka.

But it had backspin.

It drifted. It curved.

It landed in the path of Rico, who had run from the left to the right.

A switch of play. A chaos ball.

Rico controlled it.

He was in the box.

He saw Haaland tracking back (the robot was everywhere).

Rico did a "Sombrero". He flicked the ball over Haaland’s head.

The crowd gasped.

Rico volleyed it.

It flew towards the top corner.

Ederson saved it!

But the ball spun up in the air.

Alex had followed his pass. He was on the edge of the box.

The ball was dropping.

"Hit it!" Mark screamed.

Alex didn’t hit it hard.

He remembered the lesson.

Probability.

If he hit it hard, it might go over. If he placed it, it might be saved.

He needed something else.

He hit a "Drop Kick". Like in rugby.

He let the ball bounce once. Then he struck it on the half-volley with the outside of his boot.

The ball bounced again. It skidded. It moved weirdly.

Ederson dived. But the ball bounced over his hand.

It nestled in the corner.

GOAL.

Two one. Arsenal.

Eighty ninth minute.

Alex ran to the crowd. He pretended to look through a telescope (or a butterfly net).

"I SEE THE WIN!" Alex shouted.

Mark jumped on him. "THE BUTTERFLY NET! YOU CAUGHT THE GOAL!"

The final whistle blew.

Arsenal 2. Manchester City 1.

A massive statement.

Alex walked off the pitch.

Pep Guardiola walked past. He rubbed his bald head.

"You create problems," Pep said. "I like problems."

"I like solutions," Alex smiled.

Milo ran onto the pitch. He was holding a weather map.

"THE FORECAST WAS RIGHT!" Milo screamed. "IT RAINED GOALS! ALEX! I AM SELLING LIGHTNING RODS! BOTTLED THUNDER! ONLY FIFTY POUNDS!"

"Milo, put the map away," Alex laughed.

"I AM A METEOROLOGICAL GENIUS!" Milo yelled.

They walked into the dressing room.

The team was celebrating.

Alex checked his phone.

A text from Maya.

"Chaos theory validation: Confirmed. The initial condition (your pass) led to a divergent outcome (the goal). Probability of that bounce was 0.03%. You are a statistical anomaly, Alex Finch. Also, Professor Hawking wants your essay on ’The Physics of the Curve’ by Monday."

Alex smiled.

He looked at Mark.

Mark was wearing the butterfly net on his head.

"I caught a win!" Mark shouted. "It is a rare species!"