The Official System Has Arrived

Before he was fully awake in the morning, Huang Kaiwen felt his nose tickling.

He opened his eyes to see Barbara teasing him with the tips of her hair.

He sat straight up and waved at her with a smile.

Barbara rolled her eyes at him before leaning in close.

Seeing that the system had not yet reached the 72-hour mark, he opened the television out of sheer boredom.

Back home, reports about him were already everywhere. It should be said that the press conference held in Milan two days ago had already ignited national enthusiasm; footage of him signing with Milan and rushing onto the pitch had appeared on the 7 o'clock news that very evening.

After fermenting, the whole country knew about this incredible guy.

He had graduated from university early, which meant he was a good student, and he was great at sports. Without any professional training, he had gone onto the pitch and completely dominated the big stars of AC Milan.

Domestic netizens had already begun to fantasize about the birth of the first Asian Ballon d'Or winner.

Everything from his parents being deceased to the love letters a girl wrote him in middle school and him hitting on his university counselor—all sorts of messy details were dug up.

Mixed in was a news report claiming he had cancer, though most people dismissed it as fake news, assuming the doctor was just trying to grab attention; in this day and age, the concept of "chasing clout" didn't really exist yet.

After more than half an hour, Barbara finally emerged, swatted Huang Kaiwen's hand away, and fell back asleep.

Approaching noon, Huang Kaiwen heard a prompt in his mind: [Ding, the official version of the King of Football System is activated.]

Player Ability: Sub-par (Superstar Experience Card: 641 hours, 22 minutes, 41 seconds remaining)

Expectation Value: 0

Fate Value: 0

Skill: Best Actor—The peak acting skills of Tom Hanks. How can a great player not know how to act?—Sergio Busquets.

Skill: Take It—A small chance to copy certain traits when intercepting the opportunities of other players.

Abnormal Status: Fragile—From the moment you step onto the grass, the chance of injury increases by 100%, increasing by 1% every second. After being substituted due to injury, the injury rate returns to the initial level, and the cycle repeats. Clear the abnormal status by successfully defending the Champions League title.

Seeing the last part, Huang Kaiwen was truly dumbfounded.

He didn't even need to pose; after a few minutes on the pitch, his injury rate would skyrocket, and he would end up as a permanent resident of the infirmary.

Would playing football actually be life-threatening?

What if he really got kicked in the head? Wouldn't he become the second Petr Cech?

Even worse, what if he got kicked in the groin? Wouldn't he become the last eunuch in China?

The condition to clear the abnormal status was also a bit absurd.

Since the Champions League was rebranded, no team had ever successfully defended the title.

Then he immediately realized that the current AC Milan actually had the credentials to do so.

It was 2004. If things went as expected, Milan would reach the Champions League final this year, only to play a soul-stirring, classic match against Liverpool. They would pop the champagne at halftime, and the Miracle of Istanbul would become an unhealed wound in the hearts of all Rossoneri. Whenever football shows around the world reviewed classic comebacks, AC Milan would be dragged out to be whipped.

Then, a year later, the Calciopoli scandal would erupt. A point-deducted AC Milan, led by a god-like Kaka scoring 10 goals, would successfully take revenge on Liverpool.

What did this mean?

It meant that this AC Milan team had enough strength over these three years; otherwise, they wouldn't have reached the Champions League final twice in three years.

As long as he ensured the team won the Champions League this year and next, or the year after and the one after that, he could solve the abnormal status problem and wouldn't have to worry about fulfilling Bill Shankly's quote: "Football is not a matter of life and death, it is more important than that."

Well, although that was a bit difficult.

But at least there was hope. If he had joined Real Madrid or Arsenal, the prospect of clearing the abnormal status would be remote. A slacker couldn't wait until Zidane coached Real Madrid.

As for Arsenal, the less said, the better.

Looking at it this way, his coming to play for Milan was truly destiny.

Once he figured it out, Huang Kaiwen stopped worrying about the abnormal status. If he got injured after going on the pitch, he wouldn't even need to act; it would save him the trouble. Otherwise, it would be easy to get exposed when he went for a check-up after the match.

The football world was no longer the era when Mr. Carlos Kaiser played. The times had changed, my friend.

As for the newly acquired skill "Take It," he was a bit confused. Mainly, Huang Kaiwen didn't understand what "opportunity" meant. The sports channel couldn't possibly be about intercepting heavenly treasures or mystical realms.

Anyway, having an extra skill was good. He would take it one step at a time.

There was a note under Expectation Value: "Everyone" meant everyone—including fans, players, coaches, reporters, and so on—and their expectations of him. It was similar to the incense and willpower in cultivation novels, and this expectation would be quantified.

Every time it reached 100, it would be full, and he could draw a single-match experience card, which would keep him from being exposed as a fraud.

That was quite reasonable.

As for Fate Value, it was much harder to obtain.

Fate Value was a precious point currency earned by completing tasks issued by the system or by actively changing the fate of other football practitioners.

The amount of Fate Value gained depended mainly on the significance of the change in the other person's fate.

If he helped someone achieve glory in their career, he might even receive a gift from the person whose life he changed. He just didn't know what that gift would be.

He didn't even need the system to give him tasks. With Huang Kaiwen's experience of writing a hundred million words over the years, he knew that preventing his teammate Kaka from suffering a major injury, continuing his cheat-like career, and forcibly turning the "Peerless Duo" into a "Peach Garden Brotherhood" would earn him a lot of Fate Value.

Kaka was a player you couldn't help but like.

Handsome, devout, and possessing superb skills.

If possible, Huang Kaiwen was willing to help Kaka, especially since they were teammates now.

But he didn't know how to help Kaka.

This wasn't something you could just decide on a whim; a few words of persuasion wouldn't stop Kaka from falling into an early decline.

If he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't think about it.

At any rate, his initial goal—to survive—had already been achieved.

Huang Kaiwen was quite happy.

He had signed a 5+1 contract with AC Milan, guaranteeing him at least 12.5 million euros in salary in the future. There might not be goal or assist bonuses, but the championship bonuses would be substantial. Mixing through a contract period at Milan to get 15 million euros was easy. Even entertainment stars of the same period couldn't compare to him. What else could he be dissatisfied with?

In a great mood, Huang Kaiwen ordered two lunches and, once they arrived, called Barbara to eat.

While eating, Barbara asked, "When do you want to make your debut at the San Siro?"

"Oh, can I choose that myself?" Huang Kaiwen hadn't expected that. If he could choose, the sooner the better; otherwise, if the experience card expired, he couldn't just go onto the pitch and kick every ball into the stands.

"Of course."

Barbara said softly, "Just don't be too rushed, otherwise there won't be enough time to prepare."

"Then let's do it before the European Cup. I can't wait to meet the fans."

"Okay!"