Barbara, Pato, Kaka, Inzaghi.
Together, they gave Huang Kaiwen 113.5 Fate Points.
Huang Kaiwen checked the system.
Player Ability: Below Par Physical Fitness: Excellent Expectation: 100 Fate Points: 113.5 Skill: Best Actor — Tom Hanks's peak acting skills. How could a great player not know how to act? — Sergio Busquets. Skill: Take It — A small chance to copy some of another player's traits when intercepting their opportunity. Abnormal Status: Fragility Change — From the moment he steps onto the pitch, his chance of injury increases by 200%, then rises by 5% per second. After leaving the field due to injury, his chance of injury returns to its initial level. He cannot suffer a fatal injury, and injuries will not affect his physical functions. This cycle continues until he successfully defends the Champions League title, at which point the abnormal status will be removed. Item: 24-Hour Injury Immunity Card
September had just begun, so the shop and missions refreshed. Huang Kaiwen took a look.
There were only a few items in the shop.
[Fishing Mastery] 100 Fate Points, [Long-distance Dribbling] 1,000 Points, [Makoto Kyogoku Peak Template] 1,000,000 Points, [24-Hour Injury Immunity Card] 20 Points.
Without a second thought, Huang Kaiwen bought the Injury Immunity Card. Unfortunately, he could only buy one. Otherwise, he would've spent everything.
If he wanted to be a wage thief, he couldn't get injured every game.
Otherwise, everyone would realize something was up.
That template card seemed utterly ridiculous to Huang Kaiwen.
If he bought it, wouldn't he be able to catch a nuclear bomb with his bare hands? No wonder it was so expensive.
It turned out it was only there for him to look at.
As for the mission, he didn't even bother checking it. After all, he hadn't completed the mission to change Kaka's fate, and he didn't want it replaced with a new one.
On September 7, Huang Kaiwen returned to training and was warmly welcomed by his teammates.
He'd played two matches that season, and already returned twice.
"I think the club should set up a department specifically to plan a welcome event every time you come back," Inzaghi joked as they trained.
Huang Kaiwen shrugged and went back to running laps.
Senior Carlos Kaiser hadn't written his autobiography yet, and his legendary story hadn't come to light. So there was nothing wrong with him, Huang, doing recovery laps.
That evening, as usual, Huang Kaiwen invited his teammates out to dinner.
Captain Maldini felt it wasn't right and insisted on paying.
When a teammate returned from injury, the others were supposed to treat him to celebrate. It didn't seem right to keep letting Huang Kaiwen pay.
The next day, Huang Kaiwen estimated how quickly he was gaining Expectation and even used a trial card to join a training session with the ball.
He got the [2001–02 Season, Round 11 Zanetti Trial Card], but even that was enough to get him through training.
On September 13, Huang Kaiwen flew to Ukraine with the rest of the team.
Their first Champions League opponent was Shakhtar Donetsk.
After they arrived in Ukraine, Ancelotti told the players to relax, then sneaked out of the hotel.
Holding a little booklet called The Complete Guide to Ukrainian, he told the taxi driver, "Church. Take me to a church."
"I only take dollars," the driver said matter-of-factly.
"I'll pay you in euros. Just take me there, and I'll give you fifty."
"Deal."
Donetsk was part of an Eastern Catholic eparchy. It followed the Eastern Rite of the Catholic Church, which was different from the Russian Orthodox Church.
When they arrived, Ancelotti went inside and found a place to sit.
He clasped his hands and whispered, "Merciful God, I am your follower, Carlo Ancelotti. Please make sure Kevin doesn't get injured in tomorrow's Champions League match. To show my resolve, I'll give up smoking for a day. No, I'll just avoid smoking before the match. Maybe... Thank you, God."
He had already announced the Champions League starting lineup, and Huang Kaiwen was in it.
If Huang Kaiwen got injured soon after kickoff, it would be a huge blow to Milan. More importantly, Ancelotti would be under a lot of pressure.
After the young miss Barbara joined Milan, she had asked him why Huang Kaiwen was always getting injured.
Ancelotti felt that life was so hard.
Wasn't Kevin getting injured his fault? If he'd just been a little gentler at night, Kevin wouldn't be like this, would he?
Under immense pressure, and with his dreams and career at stake, Ancelotti had decided to find somewhere to pray in secret.
On the way back, he regretted not bringing Kaka. A devout believer like Kaka might be more beloved by God, right?
After dinner, Ancelotti returned to his room early, but he couldn't fall asleep until very late.
The next day, as kickoff approached, the entire Milan team boarded the bus.
Maldini teased Huang Kaiwen, saying, "Kevin, you're starting today. Don't get injured again."
Ancelotti's heart lurched. He clasped his hands and silently prayed once more. Dear Lord, please don't listen to Paolo...
Unlike the cheerful atmosphere on the bus, Ancelotti was under tremendous pressure.
As soon as he got off, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a Marlboro. Just as he was about to put it to his lips, he remembered his promise and put it away again.
After changing, Huang Kaiwen chose to draw with Expectation.
[Ding! You received a single-match trial card for David Trezeguet in the 2000 European Championship final, France vs. Italy.] [24-Hour Injury Immunity Card used successfully. You will not suffer any injuries in the next 24 hours.]
Huang Kaiwen smacked his lips. Trezeguet was all right, but he was a classic striker.
After warming up, both teams returned to the tunnel.
Coach Zhang said excitedly, "Huang Kaiwen is finally about to become the first Chinese player to start in the Champions League. His first Champions League appearance is another big step forward for Chinese football. Next, we need to take it one step at a time: the first Champions League goal, the first Champions League trophy. That's how Chinese football will rise."
The teams lined up and listened to the stirring Champions League anthem. For the first time, Huang Kaiwen felt the passion of football.
More precisely, he felt the passion of playing football—as a player.
He felt a burning urge to win the match, to win the Champions League.
At 7:45 p.m., German referee Herbert Fandel blew the whistle right on time.
The home team, Shakhtar Donetsk, kicked off.
Their squad featured many excellent homegrown players and internationals from other Eastern European countries. Their technical skills were quite good.
They opened with smooth passing on the ground. After receiving the ball, attacking midfielder Zvonimir Vukic immediately played a through ball to Vorobey, but it didn't get through. Nesta cleared it first.
Pirlo collected the ball and sent it long toward Huang Kaiwen on the right.
Huang Kaiwen felt good on the ball and carried it up the right flank. When the opposition pressed him, he immediately laid it off to Kaka in the middle, then kept charging forward.
Ancelotti kept wiping sweat from his face with a little handkerchief.
Huang Kaiwen had appeared twice before, once in a friendly and once in the league, and the two appearances together hadn't even added up to ten minutes.
As long as he made it past the five-minute mark without getting injured, that would be progress.
Kaka's pass was also rather obvious and got cleared. Just as Shakhtar defender Baghni prepared to launch a counterattack with a long ball, Huang Kaiwen brought him down with a tackle.
The referee came over and warned Huang Kaiwen.
"Good job."
Inzaghi gave him a thumbs-up.
He hadn't expected this talented teammate to get stuck in with a tackle. It had stopped the opposition's counterattack outright.
After Shakhtar restarted play from the back, they began to build slowly, passing among their midfielders and defenders.
Ancelotti wiped his sweat and turned to ask his assistant, "How many minutes?"
"Five minutes and thirty-three seconds!"
"Oh, thank God!"
Ancelotti lost his balance and dropped onto the grass.
His face was shining with sweat and a smile.
Carlo Ancelotti really was still God's favorite.
Before you continue