When he saw that the system had, for once, actually offered an extra reward, Li Yufei immediately felt as if he had boundless energy.
The last time the system had rewarded him with a skill was when he had just joined Arsenal.
There had been three major turning points in Li Yufei's life. The first was when he received the system's beginner's gift pack and gained the skill [The Flash].
Then, when he and Taylor had confirmed their relationship and completed their bond, he had gained the skill [Iron Man].
Finally, when he joined Arsenal's youth academy, he had received the skill [Great Basic Skills].
The system had only given him a generous reward of three skills at three major milestones in his life.
And it was thanks to those three skills that Li Yufei had quickly established himself and started steamrolling the various youth teams.
It could be said that without those three skills, Li Yufei would never have become the so-called "super genius."
After all, many of his other attributes weren't outstanding, and some were even below passing.
Now that he had a chance to gain a fourth skill, Li Yufei was incredibly excited.
As for items, Li Yufei had to admit he still had no idea what one looked like, because he'd never gotten one!
Now he had a chance to get both an item and a skill in one go. Li Yufei was determined to give it everything he had.
But when he saw the requirements for the extra mission reward, Li Yufei realized he had a bit of a problem.
Damn it, his post-match rating had to reach 10!
A perfect post-match rating wasn't easy to get.
Li Yufei remembered that plenty of players in his previous life hadn't managed to get a 10 rating even after scoring a hat-trick.
That showed just how difficult it was to get a 10!
Especially with Wenger likely to take him off early.
If he didn't even play the full 90 minutes, how could he possibly get a 10?
Thinking it over, Li Yufei quietly made a request to Wenger:
"Boss, this is the first Champions League match of my life. I want to play the whole game. Could you give me that chance?"
Wenger gave Li Yufei a peculiar look when he heard this. He couldn't figure out why Li Yufei had suddenly asked to play the full match.
But after a moment's thought, Wenger gave him his word:
"Fine, but only if you stay healthy."
"If you show clear signs of fatigue on the pitch, I'll take you off. You're most likely to get injured when you're tired."
"And if you do play the whole game, you'll have to be a substitute in the next one."
"Don't blame me, son. Your fitness and health come first. We absolutely can't risk fatigue or injury."
After hearing the old man out, Li Yufei couldn't really object.
Every word he'd said was for Li Yufei's sake. What could he say?
At the stadium, Li Yufei and his teammates warmed up for half an hour before returning to the locker room to make their final preparations.
Hearing the deafening cheers and drums outside, Li Yufei took a deep breath.
This was the magic of the Champions League!
Following the referee out through the players' tunnel, Li Yufei joined the other twenty-one players in a line across the middle of the pitch.
As the Champions League anthem rang in his ears, Li Yufei murmured softly:
"Playing Barça, playing Barça, playing Bayern Munich."
"My club's doomed..."
By the time he finished singing, Li Yufei couldn't help but feel a little awkward.
Damn, it hadn't seemed like a big deal in his previous life. But now that he was an Arsenal player, that cursed tune felt like it was really taking aim at them.
What did "my club's doomed" even mean?
Wasn't that just a curse on Arsenal?
He shook his head, clearing away the distractions, and prepared to give this match everything he had.
Even if Braga wasn't strong enough to make Li Yufei go all out,
the system's extra mission meant he had to "fight a rabbit with the strength of a lion."
At the sound of the referee's opening whistle,
the match officially began!
"Zhuang'er TV Station, Zhuang'er TV Station. Hello, viewers, and welcome to the Group H match of the 2010–2011 UEFA Champions League. Today's two teams are Arsenal Club from the Premier League and Braga from the Portuguese League."
"Let's take a look at the starting lineups."
"Arsenal are playing a 4-4-2 formation today."
"Goalkeeper: Almunia."
"Defenders: Sagna, Varane, Koscielny, Clichy."
"Midfielders: Alex Song, Wilshere, Nasri, Fabregas."
"Forwards: Arshavin, Li Yufei."
"Their opponents, Braga, are playing a 4-3-3 formation."
"Goalkeeper: Filipe."
"Defenders: Silvio Manuel, Moises Moura, Miguel Garcia, Alberto Rodriguez."
"Midfielders: Vantinho, Hugo Viana, Aguiar."
"Forwards: Mattheus, Alan, Cahill."
"Duan Xuan and Tao Wei will be bringing you commentary on today's match."
"All right, the match is underway. Arsenal, the home side, are attacking from left to right on your screen, while Braga, the visitors, are attacking from right to left."
The eighth minute.
Fabregas and Li Yufei played a one-two. Fabregas immediately threaded a pass into the open space in the penalty area. Li Yufei accelerated toward it and was about to shoot when Filipe rushed out and cleared the ball.
But Filipe was a fraction too slow. With Li Yufei already set to shoot, he brought down both Li Yufei and the ball.
The referee didn't hesitate and immediately called a foul on Filipe.
A yellow card and a penalty—Arsenal couldn't have asked for a better start.
"Oh, Filipe has stopped Li Yufei's one-on-one, but it was clearly a foul. The referee has shown Braga a yellow card and awarded Arsenal a penalty."
"That was a decisive call. No question about it!"
"This is the first Champions League match of Li Yufei's career, and just minutes into the game he's already helped his team create a fantastic scoring opportunity."
"You have to marvel at it. This talented young player, already renowned across the British Isles, is now steadily climbing to the top."
Tao Wei, joining Duan Xuan as a guest commentator, praised him as well: "Exactly. Li Yufei is a true genius!"
"His presence has at least proved one thing to the world: people of East Asian descent can play football well and shine on the highest stage of world football!"
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