Number 33 off, number 21 on.
Zhang Kuang jogged toward the touchline, raising both hands above his head to applaud the Auxerre fans in the away stand. The several hundred supporters who had traveled with the team all rose to their feet, sending their new Hero off with applause and cheers.
"Zhang! Zhang! Zhang!"
The chants echoed through the away section of Allianz Riviera Stadium. There were only a few hundred of them, but they roared with the force of thousands.
The Nice fans responded with coordinated boos-not directed at Zhang Kuang personally, but at the "culprit" who had left their defense in such a sorry state.
"Two matches, five goals." Dugarry leafed through his notes in the commentary booth. "Who was the last player in Ligue 1 to do that? Let me think... Benzema in 2007? No, Benzema scored four in his first two. Gignac in 2008? Four as well. Further back..."
"Papin?" Bart ventured.
"Yes, Papin." Dugarry slapped the desk. "Papin scored six in his first two matches in 1990. But that was twenty years ago, and Papin was already twenty-seven, at the peak of his powers. Zhang Kuang is only eighteen."
"Where do you think his ceiling is?"
"I don't know." Dugarry was unusually frank. "I genuinely don't know. But I can say with certainty that if he maintains this form until the end of the season, his name will be on every giant's list of targets in this summer's transfer window."
"You think he'll leave after just this half-season?" Bart asked.
Dugarry sounded astonished. "Do you really think that if Zhang keeps playing like this, a giant won't snap him up this summer? That Auxerre can hold on to him?"
"Uh... all right, you have a point... sigh, Ligue 1 can't keep its players..."
"Mate, I know what you're thinking, but there's nothing we can do. That's Ligue 1!"
"..."
As Zhang Kuang came off, Fernandez walked over and patted his shoulder.
"Get some rest." The veteran coach sounded calm, but he could not hide the satisfaction in his eyes. "We'll need you next match."
Zhang Kuang nodded, took the towel a staff member handed him, and sat down on the bench.
The moment he closed his eyes, his awareness swept over the system panel-
Two goals, two more Qi and Blood Points. My balance is already up to 90. Shame the assists still haven't come. I wonder if I can get MVP this match.
I definitely need to save my Qi and Blood Points for now, for upgrading my cultivation realm at the end of the season. If I can't get an Upgrade Card during this half-season, I'll dump another hefty batch of points into my stats then, before moving to a giant, a team that can win titles.
On the pitch, the match continued.
Zhang Kuang's departure had not completely silenced Auxerre's attack. Instead, it gave Nice more room to imagine the possibilities.
While Zhang Kuang had been on the pitch, Nice's defense had focused all its attention on him, double-teaming or even triple-teaming him. Although Nice occasionally got more one-on-one opportunities, they had never managed to take them.
Now Zhang Kuang was off, Nice pushed forward, and their defense actually relaxed.
They thought Auxerre's attacking threat would disappear with Zhang Kuang's departure and began pouring forward in an attempt to claw back the score.
In the eighty-second minute, Nice's all-out advance gave Auxerre a chance to counter.
Pedretti won the ball in his own half and looked up. Jelen was prowling near the center circle, with only one defender beside him.
A long ball.
The ball flew forty meters, landing precisely in Jelen's path. Jelen cushioned it with his chest, then, before it could hit the ground, flicked it with his right foot over the covering defender's head and accelerated into the penalty area.
One-on-one.
Ramé charged off his line. Without hesitating, Jelen side-footed toward the far corner with his right foot.
The ball skimmed past Ramé's fingertips and rolled into the bottom-right corner.
3-0.
Jelen froze for a moment, then spread his arms and charged toward the corner flag, the stunned expression on his face turning to wild delight.
He had finally scored.
Since Zhang Kuang's arrival, he had been getting more chances than before in both training matches and competitive games, but had never managed to turn them into goals. Today, this goal was like a stone being lifted from his heart.
"Jelen! Jelen scores!" Bart shouted from the commentary booth. "Auxerre's two strikers have each shown their own magic! Zhang Kuang bagged a brace, and Jelen adds another flower to the brocade!"
Dugarry laughed. "Jelen should buy Zhang Kuang dinner. Once Zhang Kuang came off, Nice's defense fell apart, and that gave Jelen his one-on-one opportunity. If Zhang Kuang were still on the pitch, Nice would never have given Auxerre that much space to counter."
"So Zhang Kuang's very presence has tactical value?"
"Not just tactical value." Dugarry shook his head. "Strategic deterrence. When a player can tear an entire defense apart by himself, the opposition has to use two or three men to contain him. That creates space for the other players. That's what a top striker does."
The final few minutes passed without further incident.
After three minutes of added time, the referee blew the final whistle.
3-0.
Auxerre comprehensively defeated Nice away from home, recording consecutive three-goal victories and opening the second half of the season with two straight wins.
Zhang Kuang rose from the bench and high-fived the teammates beside him in celebration. He glanced at the score on the scoreboard, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
Just then, a Nice player ran over to swap shirts with Zhang Kuang. Zhang Kuang did not recognize him; he was probably one of their youth prospects who had not played.
After swapping shirts, the team went to thank the traveling fans. Once they had finished, a staff member ran over to tell Zhang Kuang he had been named the match MVP.
Zhang Kuang was delighted. Two consecutive MVP awards had earned him another two Qi and Blood Points, bringing his savings to 92.
Just then, a female TF1 presenter came over with a cameraman to interview Zhang Kuang. Seeing him bare-chested after swapping shirts, his muscles rivaling a fitness model's, the reporter Marina Durand's eyes lit up, and she nearly drooled.
"Ahem!" Looking at Marina Durand, whose eyes gleamed green, Zhang Kuang gave a light cough to remind her.
"Uh, Zhang, another two goals today, and the match MVP award. How does it feel? Is there anything you'd like to say?"
Zhang Kuang said, "It feels good. It shows I can establish myself in Ligue 1."
Marina said, "Then what do you think of Ligue 1 defenses? Are they easy to play against? In two consecutive matches, I've seen two Ligue 1 teams fail to stop you."
Zhang Kuang said, "They're all very good. The reason you've gotten the mistaken impression that they can't stop me is that they aren't familiar with me yet. Besides, I haven't faced a genuine top-six team."
Marina said, "I just heard someone say that if you keep performing like this, you might transfer away this June. Is that possible?"
Zhang Kuang smiled. "Who knows? Perhaps it's possible. That's not what I'm thinking about right now. Right now, I'm thinking about scoring in every match, then fighting for the Golden Boot and a title."
Marina said, "Wow, that's great fighting spirit and a great goal. You've already scored five, with seventeen rounds left in the league. How many more do you think you can score?"
Zhang Kuang said, "Who knows? Maybe seventeen, maybe twenty, or perhaps thirty."
"Wow, all right. If you can score that many, you really will win the Golden Boot. Well, thank you for accepting our interview. I hope we can interview you again next match."
"Thank you. Goodbye."
Marina waved a hand at the cameraman, who obligingly switched off the camera, then took the microphone and left with the equipment.
Marina then took a business card out of her small bag.
"Zhang, those two balls you put away were fantastic. Here's my card. Let's have a drink sometime."
Zhang Kuang smiled. "Really? Your two balls are fantastic too. Let's find a time."
"How about tonight?"
"All right. Message me once you've made the arrangements. My number is..."
Zhang Kuang gave Marina his spare phone number. Marina smiled suggestively, then made a call-me gesture and left.
Zhang Kuang smiled too. He had found someone for a night of pleasure. A shame there was only one, but that was better than none.