Is This a Sci-Fi Movie?

1:0!

De Gea helplessly punched the turf twice.

At twenty-five, he was the most talented goalkeeper in Europe's top five leagues. He never blamed his defenders after conceding.

At least, not until he met Maguire a few years later.

Rooney patted De Gea on the head, then retrieved the ball from the net and ran back to the center circle.

Bayer Leverkusen's players swarmed around Leo Kang and celebrated wildly.

During the past few days of training, old man Topp had not introduced any new tactical system, nor had he made everyone play around Leo Kang as the core.

He had merely made a few adjustments to the finer details of attack and defense.

With Çalhanoğlu gone,

everyone had been freed from the burden of cleaning up after others and covering for teammates. Their individual abilities and characteristics were fully unleashed.

BayArena.

Some of the younger Bayer Leverkusen fans were wildly chanting the Chinese player's name.

"Leo!!!"

"Leo!!!"

"Leo!!!"

Most of the fans, however, calmly applauded.

Some of them had protested over Çalhanoğlu's number 10 shirt incident.

They had also seen the reports about Barcelona buying Leo Kang back.

No club's fans wanted to nurture another Fàbregas.

Even though this nation had paid a heavy price twice in history for its crimes, it still had not completely changed certain sick mindsets.

China's livestream chat.

The comments were filled with joy.

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[Leo Kang is fucking awesome, 666!]

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[This midfielder doesn't seem to like assisting. In the two-legged Champions League playoff, Leo Kang has already scored three goals. Too bad they won't count toward his Champions League proper goals.]

-

[Watching the replay, he charged forward immediately after passing the ball. His burst of speed isn't that fast, but he happened to receive Kießling's layoff in the box!]

-

[This proves that we Chinese have the genes to decide matches even at the intensity of the Champions League!]

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[Bayer Leverkusen's players actually don't seem weak. At the very least, they're much stronger than Manchester United's old, weak, injured lot.]

-

[I knew the rising odds were bait to lure people into betting on Manchester United. Leo Kang is fucking awesome! My Happy Beans! I'm one card away! Gotta go—I'm buying his jersey as soon as the match ends!]

-

[Who cares how the odds change? Leo Kang can break every betting line! When have you ever seen a match he played in fail to cover the spread?]

By the touchline.

Van Gaal frowned deeply.

It was a stark contrast to the composed confidence he had shown in the first leg.

"Our attack will have a hard time opening them up. Ryan, it's a shame you retired."

Giggs's face darkened.

He had come on as a substitute in a Premier League match last year while serving as a coach.

But that had been a domestic league match.

The Champions League was an international competition!

And he had retired. There was no way to register him for a Champions League squad spot.

The match restarted from the center circle.

Rooney kicked off and passed back to Mata.

Mata was a classic Spanish technical midfielder.

But the peak of his career had been with Valencia and Chelsea.

After joining Manchester United,

he had always struggled.

Villa and David Silva were no longer beside him.

Neither were Drogba and Lampard.

He calmly shifted the ball, evading Son Heung-min's press.

Then he carried it forward a few steps.

He played it sideways to Depay, who had moved in from the flank to support.

"Bayer Leverkusen's formation is steadily dropping back!"

"Without the manic pressing from Schmidt's era, Coach Topp's tactical system is rather hard to read."

"Van Gaal's tactics at Manchester United are hard to read too."

In the livestream booth.

Duan Xuan and He Wei smiled bitterly.

These two coaches were both prime examples of XJBT. This match was far too difficult to commentate on.

Depay burst through the middle and left Bender behind.

Manchester United fans erupted in cheers.

Mata quickly drifted wide.

His strength was his excellent positional sense. His weakness was that his positional sense was too excellent.

It nearly caused him to collide with Rojo, who was overlapping down the flank.

Of course.

Depay had no intention of passing.

He was Manchester United's new number 7, the Red Devils' new Cristiano Ronaldo.

Facing BellArabi, who came charging in from the side,

he exploded forward again.

In an instant, he displayed astonishing acceleration and speed!

In Bayer Leverkusen's half, he was like a wild boar charging recklessly through everything in his path!

"Built strong from birth! Dutch prodigy Depay inherited the powerful physique of his Ghanaian father!"

"Combined with his terrifying explosiveness, he is absolutely the most unique number 7 in Manchester United's history!"

Amid the cheers of Manchester United's fans.

Depay charged into Bayer Leverkusen's thirty-meter zone and still showed no intention of passing, even though Lingard and Rooney had already found space!

By the touchline.

Van Gaal roared wildly, "Pass! Pass the ball! Do you think you're Lingard?"

Old man Topp clenched his fists nervously. "Don't panic. In the first leg, our players already became familiar with Manchester United's attackers' traits."

Dino: "."

Facing German international Kramer.

Depay changed direction.

But he failed to shake his opponent off as cleanly as expected.

Instead, the ball was poked away by the other man's toe!

It rolled toward the right flank.

Depay desperately accelerated, only to see a black-haired figure.

The instant Leo Kang stopped the ball.

Depay could no longer halt his momentum. Instinctively, he swung his thick leg at the ball!

"Oh no!"

"That was a very dangerous challenge!"

"A fifty-fifty tackle?"

"No!"

Everyone sucked in a sharp breath.

In that split second.

Leo Kang dragged the ball backward with his left foot.

Depay's thick leg viciously swept into his right shin!

Smack!

A horrifying crack rang out!

It plunged every fan in BayArena into an icy abyss!

Parents hurriedly covered their children's eyes!

This was an absolute tragedy on the football pitch!

On screen.

Manchester United's number 7 and Bayer Leverkusen's number 10 fell onto the turf almost at the same time.

The referee immediately blew his whistle to stop play.

He urgently waved toward the sideline, signaling for the medical staff to enter!

"That was Leo Kang's planted foot!"

"That was extremely serious. It could very well end a genius player's career!"

Duan Xuan and He Wei were nearly incoherent.

-

[Fuck! I could tell from his Eredivisie days that Depay played like this. Something was bound to happen!]

-

[It's way too similar to Ramsey's horrific broken-leg incident!]

-

[Another genius has been ruined!]

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[Couldn't tell whether Leo Kang's leg was deformed, but even the director doesn't dare show a replay. It must be serious!]

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[It's over. Leo Kang has been crippled. This must be a conspiracy by the betting companies.]

All the players from both sides immediately ran toward the scene.

In the face of such a tragedy.

There would be no arguments.

What everyone cared about most at that moment was the player's injury.

By the touchline.

Van Gaal and Giggs stood frozen in place.

Old man Topp and Dino anxiously leaned over the sideline, deeply worried.

Leo Kang felt a tearing pain shoot through his right leg.

Cold sweat instantly soaked his jersey.

Then came numbness.

It felt as though his right leg no longer belonged to him.

His consciousness gradually blurred.

The system notification quietly sounded.

[Injury Immunity Physique activated.]

[Repairing host's tibia.]

[Repairing host's fibula.]

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