In the final minutes of the match, AC Milan held firm against Napoli's frantic pressure!
From the moment Leon was carried down the tunnel, he did not return.
That left Su Jing sick with worry!
The instant the final whistle blew, Su Jing rushed off to find Leon.
But after just a few steps, it suddenly struck her that she had no idea where to even begin!
"Excuse me! Do you know how I can find Leon?"
Su Jing tried to speak to a nearby AC Milan supporter in her broken Italian.
"Who are you to Leon?"
"His girlfriend?"
The AC Milan die-hard she had approached, Bob, looked at her with a friendly smile.
"Ah!"
"Yes, that's right!"
Su Jing felt heat rush to her face.
But if it meant finding Leon as quickly as possible, she was willing to claim the title of Leon's "girlfriend" for now.
"I'll take you to him!"
Bob's expression said it all: just as I thought.
The AC Milan supporters standing nearby smiled warmly as well.
Su Jing was fortunate.
Bob happened to be the head of a core group of AC Milan die-hards.
He was someone who could get a word in with the club directly.
With Bob's help, Su Jing was back in Milan before long and had tracked down the hospital where Leon was being treated.
"Thank you so much!"
Su Jing expressed her deep gratitude to Bob.
"Think nothing of it! I hope Leon's alright!"
"Let us know as soon as you hear anything!"
Bob waved it off and said his piece to Su Jing.
"Of course!"
The two exchanged contact details, and Su Jing rushed inside the hospital.
"The patient's nose has been set and he has a mild concussion, nothing too serious!"
"That said, he will need at least a few weeks of rest!"
A nurse gave Su Jing a brief update and then let her through.
When Su Jing stepped inside, she found Leon's nose in a splint and his head wrapped in bandages, which made for a rather alarming sight.
Her heart sank at once.
She could not quite say when it had started, but she had grown deeply concerned about Leon.
Leon was not asleep, lying there with his eyes open and staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.
Su Jing did not disturb him and simply settled into the chair beside the bed, watching him in silence.
Leon had not noticed her arrival at all at that moment.
He was entirely absorbed in the stream of system notifications sounding off inside his head!
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, on shutting out Higuaín and securing the victory! You may now draw a Higuaín Badge!"
"Ding! First serious injury detected. Issuing system item as a one-time reward!"
"Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have received [Iron Mask - Diamond]!"
[Iron Mask - Diamond]: Increases facial injury resistance by 100%! Facial injury recovery speed increased by 100%!
Now that was something.
Leon felt a ripple of excitement stir inside him.
This [Iron Mask] was an absolute lifesaver given what he was currently dealing with!
The 100% injury resistance and the 100% recovery boost might seem contradictory at first glance, but they were easy enough to understand on reflection.
This was not the only type of mask available!
But only one could be worn at a time!
Other masks might not carry the injury resistance effect, meaning Leon could still get hurt while wearing one of those.
In that case, the 100% recovery speed buff would still kick in, exactly as it was doing right now.
On top of that, this reward had come straight out as a Diamond-grade equipment item!
A Diamond-grade equipment item in the system shop would cost 10,000 system points to exchange!
That was completely out of reach for Leon at this stage!
'It seems that triggering certain situations for the first time earns a reward from the system!'
'This injury of mine is not entirely a bad thing!'
Leon thought to himself, quietly and without any great fuss.
System equipment items covered every part of the body, but only one item per body part could be worn at a time.
And once equipped, none of them showed on the outside!
The club kit could still be worn normally over the top.
Leon equipped the [Iron Mask] on the spot and immediately sensed a subtle but unmistakable change around his nose.
The dull, dizzy feeling that had been pressing down on his head also began to clear noticeably.
His recovery time had been cut by at least half.
Excellent!
"System! Draw the Higuaín Badge!"
With that unexpected windfall put to use, Leon moved straight on to drawing Higuaín's badge.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have drawn Higuaín's Badge: [First Touch Master]!"
[First Touch Master]: Ball control success rate increased by 70%! Ball Control attribute: 6 to 15!
Leon had half expected to draw a badge linked to Higuaín's finishing!
Not that there was any rule saying a goalkeeper could not shoot!
But what he got instead was [First Touch Master]!
And it had directly boosted his [Ball Control] attribute as well.
This was clearly a badge far better suited to the goalkeeper position!
As a striker, Higuaín's first touch and ball control when receiving all kinds of passes from midfield was exceptional!
It was also one of the essential qualities of a truly elite forward!
Picture the scene!
A midfielder plays a perfectly weighted long ball!
But the striker's first touch rolls it ten metres away from his feet...
The horror!
With his ball control now elevated, Leon was growing more and more into the [Sweeper Keeper] mould.
Neuer at Bayern had essentially been using himself as a playmaking defender, had he not!
Leon finally took one last look at his accumulated system points.
The match just finished had earned him 87 points, and combined with the 250 he had carried over, he now had a total of 337!
He would hold on to those for now.
Then it occurred to Leon that he was clearly not going to be able to train for the next few days!
That meant no system points from training sessions either, and the thought made him restless!
'No training. That's a real problem.'
Leon shook his head.
"Hm?"
It was only then that Leon noticed Su Jing sitting beside the bed, as though she had been there for quite some time already.
"What were you so deep in thought about?"
Su Jing smiled as she saw Leon finally come back to himself.
"Thinking about what to do without training."
Leon smiled back.
"You!"
"You absolute training fiend!"
Su Jing peeled an apple and handed it to him, and felt a quiet calm settle over her.
The following day, a wave of media coverage swept in about the clash between AC Milan and Napoli!
With this victory, AC Milan had climbed to fifth in the table!
They had pushed their way firmly into European contention!
The rise of Milan had become one of the hottest talking points in Serie A!
Leon's injury was equally in the spotlight.
Just as AC Milan supporters were hoping Leon would recover quickly and lead the side forward again, a discordant note rang out!
"Beyond Human Limits? Leon Feng's Impossible Saves!"
This time it was the Corriere dello Sport, Juventus's favoured mouthpiece, dredging up old grievances!
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