[Congratulations on completing the team mission: Winning the 2018-19 UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, and English League Cup!]
[Congratulations on completing the personal mission: Winning the 2018-19 Premier League Golden Boot!]
[Mission reward: Platinum Treasure Chest ×4!]
Ling lay sprawled on the bed, a fluorescent screen before his eyes continuously displaying text.
[Treasure chest opening in progress]
[Michael Ballack "Curved Cannon" Module!]
[Dennis Bergkamp "Soft Touch" Module!] [.]
Ling couldn't help but furrow his brow.
The effects of those modules were already of little use to him.
After all, his stats were infinitely close to Ronaldo's. Could Ronaldo's long-range shooting be worse than Ballack's?
Moreover, he already had Gabriel Batistuta's module and didn't need similar ones.
Just as he was thinking this, a cold voice echoed in his ears once more.
[Module Fusion Furnace function activated. Input three modules of the same level to obtain a random module of a higher level.]
Then, Ling's vision blurred as an interface appeared before him.
He didn't casually toss modules into it but carefully considered for ten minutes. Growth-type modules definitely couldn't be fused.
"Then I'll fuse single-skill-type modules."
Ling first selected several gold modules, such as Stanley Matthews' "Shoulder Drop Dribble" module, Robinho's "Stepover" module, and Rivellino's "Elastico" module.
As a dazzling light flashed, a new module appeared on the screen.
[Alexandre Pato "Golden Boy Ball Control" Module!]
Ling: "..."
Was this some kind of reversal of fate?
But he didn't mind, as he planned to continue fusing anyway.
So, he selected three modules with similar functions, all of platinum level, and placed them into the system.
This time, the burst of light was even more brilliant.
["Left Foot Agility" Module!]
[Module Details: This is a growth-type module. It alters the neural distribution in the left foot through training and increases the number of nerves during the training process.]
Instantly, Ling felt a tingling sensation in his left foot, as if it had become more agile.
He had once heard a rumor.
Diego Maradona's left foot had a richer neural network than the average person's two hands combined.
That was why he could perform those incredible moves.
Was the system starting to modify the human body?
But thinking about it, it seemed "reasonable."
After all, there was already an injury immunity module, so altering the neural distribution in the left foot wasn't impossible.
"I'll have a 5-star weak foot from now on."
Excited, Ling bounced up and down on the spot, picked up a soda can from the table, tossed it into the air, and began "juggling" it.
After tiring himself out, he lay back on the bed, focused his mind, and entered the system interface to draw the next reward.
[Team mission completed: Winning the 2018-19 Premier League Title!]
[Mission reward: Legendary Treasure Chest ×1!]
[Congratulations on obtaining: Xavi "Bird's-Eye View" Module!]
[Module Details: Enhances the basal ganglia of the brain and constructs visual-graphic capabilities.]
Then.
Ling wanted to try it out, but suddenly his head tilted to the side, and he fell into a deep sleep.
...
Late at night.
News of Manchester United defending their Premier League title became a hot topic worldwide.
So far this season, Manchester United had already won the UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, English League Cup, and the Premier League Title.
They still had the FA Cup and the Champions League left to play.
No one knew how far they would ultimately go.
The first quadruple, quintuple, and sextuple in English football history?
Yet compared to the honors Manchester United achieved, Jeremy Ling drew even more attention.
There is an unwritten rule in football: young players often perform exceptionally well in their first season but tend to encounter the so-called "second-season slump."
This essentially means they've been thoroughly studied by opponents.
However, Jeremy Ling forcefully broke through this slump, shattered the goal-scoring record he himself had set, and led Manchester United to a remarkable comeback from a two-goal deficit away from home.
Are young players nowadays that terrifying?
This was the thought of many football veterans.
As for the young players of Jeremy Ling's generation, they were currently hugging their pillows, feeling utterly demoralized.
What nonsense about all young players being terrifying—it's just Jeremy Ling alone!
Take General Mbappe, for example.
He looked up at the ceiling, which originally had a poster of Cristiano Ronaldo but was later replaced with one of himself.
Because he believed he could, like Cristiano Ronaldo, carve out a unique chapter in history.
But...
He struggled to score 33 goals, and that was in the less competitive Ligue 1.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Ling had already netted a staggering 45 goals in the Premier League.
There's just no comparison between them.
"Staying at Paris is just coasting. To improve, I have to leave." Mbappe secretly made up his mind.
As for other young players like Vinicius, Achraf Hakimi, De Ligt, and others, they all regarded Jeremy Ling as the benchmark to chase.
First, there was the era of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the unparalleled duo.
Now, is the future to be dominated by Jeremy Ling alone? The prodigies naturally wouldn't accept that.
Ling was unaware that he had become public enemy number one in football.
He was smacking his lips, lost in a wonderful dream!
What kind of dream? Ahem... he had won the Ballon d'Or for five consecutive years!
...
While Jeremy Ling slept, Manchester United fans were on high alert, scouring the news.
"Manchester United Returns to the Pinnacle of English Football—The Guardian"
"Welcome to the Era of Manchester United's Dominance—Daily Mail"
"Real Madrid Continues to Push for Jeremy Ling's Transfer—The Sun"
"Florentino Perez: I Will Bring Ling, Mbappe, and Hazard to the Bernabéu!"
Fame brings trouble.
Ling's potential transfer destinations included Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, and even Paris Saint-Germain.
PSG certainly had the money, having spent €220 million on Neymar.
They could probably shell out €250 million for Jeremy Ling.
Unfortunately, Ling had zero interest in Ligue 1. Besides, Director Mbappe definitely wouldn't approve.
The comments under the reports were equally entertaining.
[Manchester United's squad is valued at €1.13 billion, ranking second among clubs in Europe's top five leagues.]
[First place is Barcelona, valued at €1.16 billion.]
[Barcelona's results don't reflect that, do they? They only won La Liga and the Copa del Rey.]
[Market value doesn't equal results. Remember the Galácticos era at Real Madrid? The team was stacked with stars, yet they kept getting knocked out in the Champions League round of 16.]
[If Manchester United strengthens further next season, their squad will be even more perfect!]
[They're already close to the financial fair play limits—like those massive sponsorship deals above market value and part of player wages being paid by affiliated companies. They'll definitely have to rein it in next season.]
[Manchester United's management might not understand football, but their marketing is top-notch. With a single-season revenue of £1 billion—£300 million more than Manchester City and £400 million more than Liverpool—it's hard to violate the Premier League's PSR rules. They can just spend freely.]
[If you ask me, forget everything else, as long as Ling stays with the team, nothing else matters.]
[I wonder if Manchester United has a chance to replicate Arsenal's unbeaten record. Honestly, I'm really envious.]
[As long as Ling is at Manchester United, there's hope for everything!]
...
The next day, the sun was shining brightly.
Ling opened his bleary eyes, picked up the water glass on the bedside table, and took a big gulp.
His parched throat instantly felt much better.
After the drowsiness faded, he focused and opened the system.
Dribbling: 96.98 (97)
Passing: 88.65 (83)
Shooting: 95.12 (95)
Speed: 93.81 (94)
Stamina: 91.32 (83)
Defense: 69.36 (51)
Damn! Many of his stats had surpassed Ronaldo's!
Since Ronaldo's nickname is "The Alien," does that make him the alien of aliens?
The previous talent ceilings could no longer limit him, and he now had even higher goals.
What would happen if he trained his attributes to the max?
Ling recalled a novel he had once read, where the protagonist started with maxed-out heading, passing, shooting... Now that would be awesome!
After carefully reviewing the stats, Ling began studying the modules.
"Bird's-eye view" module?
It sounded impressive, and he was reminded of a manga—"Ao Ashi."
The protagonist in that story had a similar ability.
"By the time I'm older and move to midfield, I could probably play until I'm forty." Ling rubbed his hands together excitedly.
"Heh, by then, I'll leave a record that makes future youngsters despair just looking at it."
The following days returned to normalcy.
Every day was just training, resting, training...
----
A bit spoiler for the transfer after this season, man united buy Kai havertz of all things 😂 the author could go for osimhen or something since we could not get osimhen irl and had to settle for hojlund 😭