When he woke up in the morning, Huang Kaiwen felt an itch in his nose.
He opened his eyes and saw Barbara teasing him with the ends of her hair.
He sat up at once and smiled as he waved at her.
Barbara rolled her eyes at him, then leaned close.
Seeing that there were still more than 72 hours left before the system arrived, he opened the TV out of boredom.
Meanwhile, back home, reports about him had already spread everywhere. In fact, the press conference Milan held two days ago had ignited the whole country's enthusiasm. Footage of him signing with Milan and charging onto the pitch had appeared on the seven o'clock news that very evening.
After the story had circulated for a while, everyone in the country knew there was a remarkable young man like him.
He'd graduated from university early, did well academically, was also an incredible athlete, had barely received any training, yet had gone onto the pitch and outclassed AC Milan's big-name stars.
Internet users back home had already begun imagining the birth of Asia's first Ballon d'Or winner.
All sorts of things had been dug up: that both his parents were dead, that a girl who'd written him a love letter in middle school, and that he'd dated a university counselor.
Mixed in among them was a report claiming he had cancer, but most people took it for fake news. The doctor was just trying to grab attention. In those days, there wasn't even a term for chasing online clout.
It took Barbara more than half an hour to come out. She pushed Huang Kaiwen's hand away, then fell asleep as soon as she lay down.
Close to noon, Huang Kaiwen heard a prompt in his mind. [Ding! King of Football System—official version activated.]
Player Ability: Below Average (Superstar Experience Card: 641 hours, 22 minutes, 41 seconds remaining) Expectation: 0 Fate Points: 0 Skill: Best Actor—Tom Hanks's peak acting ability. How could a great player not know how to act? — Sergio Busquets Skill: Take It—When intercepting another player's opportunity, there is a small chance of copying some of their traits. Abnormal Status: Fragile—From the moment you step onto the grass, your chance of getting injured increases by 100%, then rises by 1% every second. After you leave the pitch due to injury, your chance of getting injured returns to its initial level, and the cycle repeats. Successfully defending the UEFA Champions League title will remove this abnormal status.
When he saw the last line, Huang Kaiwen was stunned.
He didn't even have to do anything. After a few minutes on the pitch, his chance of getting injured would skyrocket, and he'd end up stuck in the infirmary.
Was playing football dangerous enough to cost him his life?
What if someone kicked him in the head? Wouldn't he become the second Petr Cech?
Even worse, if he got kicked three inches below the navel, wouldn't he become China's last eunuch?
The condition for removing the abnormal status was also ridiculous.
Since the UEFA Champions League was restructured, no team had managed to defend its title.
Then he immediately thought of AC Milan. The team really did have a chance right now.
It was 2004. If nothing unexpected happened, Milan would reach the UEFA Champions League final this year, then play a thrilling classic against Liverpool. They'd pop champagne at halftime, and Istanbul Night would become an unhealed wound in the hearts of all the Rossoneri. Whenever football shows around the world listed classic comebacks, AC Milan would be dragged out for another beating.
Then, a year later, Calciopoli broke out. AC Milan, despite being docked points, got ten goals from a superhuman Kaka and successfully avenged themselves against Liverpool.
What did that prove?
It proved AC Milan had been strong enough throughout those three years. Otherwise, they couldn't have reached the UEFA Champions League final twice in three years.
As long as he made sure the team won the UEFA Champions League this year and next year, or the year after and the year after that, he could solve the problem of his abnormal status. He wouldn't have to worry about Bill Shankly's famous words coming true: "Football isn't a matter of life and death. It's much more important than that."
Well, it would be a little difficult.
But at least there was hope. If he'd joined Real Madrid or Arsenal, removing the abnormal status would have been a distant dream. A benchwarmer like him couldn't possibly wait until Zidane coached Real Madrid.
As for Arsenal, there was nothing more to say.
Looking at it that way, it really seemed like fate had brought him to Milan.
After thinking it through, Huang Kaiwen stopped worrying about the abnormal status. If he got injured on the pitch, he wouldn't have to act, which would save him trouble. Otherwise, it would be easy to get exposed when he went in for an examination.
Football wasn't the same as it had been in Mr. Carlos Kaiser's day. Times had changed.
As for his newly acquired skill, Take It, he couldn't quite make sense of it. Huang Kaiwen mainly didn't understand what counted as an opportunity. It wasn't as if he could intercept a rare treasure or a hidden paradise on a sports channel.
Anyway, having another skill was a good thing. He'd take it one step at a time.
There was an explanation under Expectation. "Everyone" meant all kinds of people: fans, players, coaches, reporters, and anyone else who had expectations of him. It was like the power of worship in cultivation stories, except that these expectations would be quantified.
Every time it reached 100, the meter would fill up, and he could draw an experience card for a single match. That way, a benchwarmer like him wouldn't give himself away.
That seemed pretty reasonable.
Fate Points, on the other hand, were harder to earn.
Fate Points were rare points obtained by completing missions issued by the system or actively changing the fate of other people in football.
How many Fate Points he got depended mainly on how significantly he changed the other person's fate.
If he helped someone achieve great success in their career, he might even receive a gift from someone whose life he'd changed. He just didn't know what that gift would be.
The system didn't even have to give him a mission. With years of experience writing a hundred million characters' worth of stories, Huang Kaiwen knew that preventing his teammate Kaka from suffering major injuries and letting him continue his cheat-code career—turning the "Greatest Rivalry" into a "Peach Garden Oath"—would earn him a lot of Fate Points.
It was hard to dislike a player like Kaka.
He was handsome and devout, and he was an outstanding footballer.
If he had the chance, Huang Kaiwen would be willing to help Kaka. Besides, they were teammates now.
But he had no idea how to help Kaka.
It wasn't something he could solve by acting on a whim and giving him a few words of advice. That wouldn't keep Kaka from falling from the heights of his career too soon.
If he couldn't figure it out, there was no point dwelling on it.
At least he'd achieved his original goal: staying alive.
Huang Kaiwen was still pretty happy.
He'd signed a five-plus-one contract with AC Milan, which guaranteed him at least 12.5 million euros in wages over the coming years. He might not get bonuses for goals and assists, but there'd definitely be a bonus for winning titles. He could easily make 15 million euros over the course of his contract with Milan. Even the entertainment stars of the same era couldn't compare. What more could he ask for?
In a great mood, Huang Kaiwen ordered two lunches. When the food arrived, he called Barbara over to eat.
As they ate, Barbara asked, "When do you want to make your debut at San Siro?"
"Wait, I can choose?" Huang Kaiwen hadn't expected that. Obviously, the sooner he made his debut, the better. Otherwise, if his experience card expired, he couldn't exactly go onto the pitch and kick every ball into the stands.
"Of course."
Barbara spoke gently. "Just don't rush it too much, or there won't be enough time to prepare."
"Then let's do it before the European Championship. I can't wait to meet the fans."
"Okay!"
Before you continue