The System Mission Arrives, Kill Milan!

After warm-ups, back in the locker room, Wenger gave a few brief instructions, and then Arsenal's eleven starters filed into the player tunnel.

AC Milan's players were already lined up in the tunnel ahead of time.

Li Yufei swept his gaze over them and immediately spotted a bunch of stars he'd only ever seen on TV in his past life.

Ronaldinho, Pato, Pirlo, Seedorf, Ambrosini, Thiago Silva...

Plus the subs' bench featuring Inzaghi and Gattuso.

He had to admit, setting aside these players' ages, just hearing their names—who among them wasn't legendary?

On paper alone, AC Milan was an undisputed Champions League title favorite.

Especially considering that a month later, Ibrahimović would transfer from FC Barcelona to AC Milan, making their squad even more stacked.

But given that most of this AC Milan squad were already in the twilight of their careers, their actual level was a big question mark.

Calling them a "paper tiger" wouldn't be an exaggeration.

After all, if Li Yufei remembered correctly, it was this very season that AC Milan lost 1-0 on aggregate to Tottenham in the Champions League Round of 16.

180 minutes without a single goal, and their opponent was Tottenham—a so-called BIG6 team that consistently floated in the middle of the Premier League.

That alone showed that Milan's real strength at this stage wasn't all that impressive.

Of course, Arsenal's situation wasn't much better.

Aside from having a younger squad, Arsenal was gradually transforming into the familiar "top-four addicts" of later years.

As for the Champions League, while they could consistently make it past the group stage, their knockout opponents were always "three years of Barcelona, five years of Bayern."

Basically, they'd enter the knockout rounds to soak in the atmosphere, then head home.

The only trophy they could realistically compete for each year was the FA Cup—the famous "thermos cup" for keeping Wenger's job.

Their predicament wasn't much better than AC Milan's.

After entering the pitch, the referee tossed the coin, and Arsenal won the choice. Captain Fabregas opted for possession.

Li Yufei was starting this match in place of the Moroccan Chamakh, playing his most familiar position as striker.

Feeling the surging waves of fans in the stadium, Li Yufei took a deep breath and opened his system panel.

Just moments ago, this long-dormant system had issued a brand-new mission:

[Mission Name: Professional Career First-Team Debut]

[Mission Objectives: 1. Help the team defeat AC Milan]

[2. Personally score a goal or provide an assist]

[3. After scoring, confess your love to Taylor Swift in the stands]

[Mission Rewards: Each objective grants 100 Intermediate Soft Rice Points. If all three objectives are completed, an additional 100 Advanced Soft Rice Points will be awarded.]

Here it comes, here it comes!

Li Yufei had long guessed the system's reward pattern. Sure enough, for a match with such symbolic significance to him, the rewards were bound to be generous.

The mission objectives weren't overly difficult either.

After all, beating this aging AC Milan squad wasn't too big a problem.

Besides, it was a friendly—AC Milan wouldn't go all out to win. In terms of attitude, Li Yufei already had the upper hand.

As for the second objective, he could manage it with some effort.

But the third objective was a bit tricky, since it explicitly stated he had to confess to Taylor after scoring.

It said "score," not "assist."

That meant even if he provided an assist to complete the second objective, he couldn't fulfill the third.

In short, the system was forcing Li Yufei to find every way possible to score.

But that suited him just fine. After all, in football, the player who scores is the one who grabs the most attention.

If Li Yufei wanted to become the world's best, the greatest of all time, as fast as possible, the only way was through constant goals.

With the Main Referee's whistle...

Can't find the book title? Try searching the author's name—maybe it's just been renamed!

The Russian Arshavin kicked off, and the match officially began.

This friendly between Arsenal and AC Milan was broadcast by Sky Sports.

In the Sky Sports studio.

Andy Gray and Martin Tyler were introducing the starting lineups for both sides.

"OK, ladies and gentlemen, the friendly between Arsenal and AC Milan is officially underway."

"Arsenal, in their red-and-white home kit, are attacking from right to left on your screen, while AC Milan, in their white away kit, are attacking from left to right."

"Let's take a look at the starting lineups."

"Arsenal starts in a 4-4-2 formation."

"Goalkeeper: Almunia."

"Defenders: Sagna, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Clichy."

"Midfielders: Wilshere, Diaby, Fabregas, Song."

"Forwards: Li Yufei, Arshavin."

"AC Milan starting 4-3-3."

"Goalkeeper: Abbiati."

"Defenders: Bonera, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Antonini."

"Midfielders: Ambrosini, Seedorf, Pirlo."

"Forwards: Ronaldinho, Borriello, Pato."

"We've noticed something—Arsenal's prodigy, and the son of the club's majority shareholder, Li Yufei Adams, has made his first-team debut."

"For whatever reason, Arsène has handed him a starting striker role for his debut."

"Andy, what do you make of it?"

Hearing Martin Tyler's question, Andy Gray paused briefly before replying tactfully:

"I think Arsène is using AC Milan as a test to humble Li Yufei."

"After all, Li Yufei isn't your typical youth academy player—he has a father who's a major Arsenal shareholder."

"For a super-rich second-generation like him, he needs to take some hits to keep his head straight."

"Football is ultimately a competitive sport. Opponents won't go easy on you because of your background—in fact, being a super-rich kid might even fire them up."

"I know Li Yufei tore through every youth level, but I'd argue that youth football and professional matches are two completely different beasts."

"Bojan from FC Barcelona broke Leo's records in the youth system, but his development in the first team hasn't been great."

"So I'm cautious about Li Yufei. He needs to prove himself in official games."

Martin nodded and chimed in: "Right, then let's see how this super talent, who dominated every youth tier, performs in an official match."

Li Yufei had no idea what the commentators were saying. By now, he was fully immersed in the game.

After the first few dozen seconds of nervousness, his mind had completely settled.

It was just like the college entrance exam in his past life—terrifying before it started, unable to sleep, but the moment he stepped into the exam hall, he was perfectly calm.

The same logic applied to the match.

Arsenal passed the ball around in midfield and defense for a while, then Fabregas suddenly accelerated, played a one-two with Wilshere, and threaded the ball forward to the left.

Feeling Seedorf pressing from behind, Li Yufei stepped forward to meet the ball, denying Seedorf any chance to interfere, and immediately knocked it to overlapping full-back Clichy.

AC Milan's defensive focus instantly shifted to the right.

Clichy drove toward the byline, with Bonera shadowing him closely, eventually forcing Clichy into a corner where he had no choice but to whip in a cross.

The ball struck Bonera's leg and rolled out for a goal kick. The assistant referee pointed toward the left corner flag, and the Main Referee followed with a whistle.

In the 4th minute, Arsenal earned the first corner of the match.