What a show of status!
An absolute show of status!
Especially with the breaking news segment on national television.
That was essentially the highest level of mainstream exposure possible.
And it was said that tomorrow's prime-time news program would run a full ten-minute special detailing Su Hang's football career.
In any industry, that kind of treatment is almost unheard of.
First, you have to achieve staggering success.
Second, you must have deep connections at home.
Finally, you can't be involved in anything classified or sensitive.
That's why this sort of special coverage only appears once or twice every few years nationwide.
Yet… Su Hang didn't just get this opportunity.
More importantly, this wasn't even his first time!
Half a year ago, when Su Hang won the World Cup, the prime-time news had already featured him once.
Of course, that also had to do with football's global influence—or more precisely, its European influence.
Su Hang's case showed the higher-ups another possibility.
What is Europe?
A complex and divided landscape.
It isn't a monolithic alliance. There are plenty of conflicting interests within it.
Some people in Europe want to find other forces that can reshape existing balances.
The authorities also hope to find partners in Europe—even if those partnerships aren't entirely sincere.
However, under years of "mainstream" international narratives, it's extremely hard for European public opinion to accept them.
So football becomes the best channel to rebuild—or rather, to better present—their image.
In the future, many countries committed to showing their true selves would adopt this approach, with tremendous success.
The UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and others.
But their main method was simply throwing money around.
That approach has terrible cost-performance and looks far too submissive, completely out of sync with the intended rhythm.
And barging in openly would only make Europe's old guard too nervous to accept them.
This had to be done subtly.
It had to be done cleanly, without leaving any leverage behind.
And someone who met all those conditions?
There really was only the Su family.
...
Explosive!
In an instant, the name "Su Hang" exploded once more, becoming the most talked-about term worldwide.
Even if it only lasted a single day, that was more than enough.
Because in many places, people simply don't care who holds the highest office in another country. Even if someone severely unfit held that position, the system would still keep running.
With momentum like this, South American media even forgot to argue that Zidane wasn't the King of Football.
So from that point on, in the textbooks, Zidane officially became the King of Football.
After all, if you don't object, that's basically consent.
Thus, as Su Hang climbed to the very top among active footballers, Zidane had also rewritten his own historical status in the sport.
For him, everything was in place. All that remained was retirement.
To be safe, he should probably retire immediately.
Otherwise, if his form dipped in the second half of the season, South American and European media would start stirring trouble again.
Zidane: "So, Su… sorry about that!"
Su Hang: "???"
Su Hang: "Zizou, don't mess with me!"
Of course, that was just a joke.
Su Hang had given everything for Zidane, and Zidane wouldn't pull the ladder away when Su Hang needed support the most.
This season, Zizou was carrying the load together with him.
"Ding! Congratulations on winning the Ballon d'Or! You have obtained: Ballon d'Or Trophy ×1, Ballon d'Or Attribute Point ×1."
"Ballon d'Or Trophy: Use to upgrade any one skill to its maximum level."
"Ballon d'Or Attribute Point: Randomly upgrades one attribute to its maximum level."
Su Hang: "???"
Su Hang: "Um… Zizou, how about you retire right now?"
Maximum level!
Just listen to those words.
The Ballon d'Or really lived up to its reputation!
All of a sudden, Su Hang felt tempted to change Plan A.
From the start, he and Zidane had agreed: Su Hang would go for the more attainable Ballon d'Or, while Zidane would target the more attainable FIFA World Player of the Year.
That way, both awards would be completely undisputed.
Even without that arrangement, Su Hang would probably still win the Ballon d'Or, and Zidane would probably still win FIFA World Player of the Year.
But the perceived value would be different.
In the future, people might say Su Hang stole Zidane's Ballon d'Or, and Zidane stole Su Hang's World Player of the Year.
That wouldn't be pretty.
Each trophy would effectively only be worth half its value.
But right now, Su Hang had overwhelming momentum. If he shamelessly used that to compete with Zidane for FIFA World Player of the Year, he might actually pull off an upset.
After all, the voting for World Player of the Year hadn't ended yet.
Zidane: "Bro… changing the plan halfway through is a bit unfair, isn't it? We agreed on a fifty-fifty split. You can't just double-cross me!"
Su Hang: "Bro? Who are you calling bro? Call me Dad!"
Zidane: "…God… Godfather?"
...
"Ding! You have used a Ballon d'Or Attribute Point. Stamina has been upgraded to maximum level: 99!"
"Ding! Due to the attribute enhancement, the Endurance Engine has evolved into a Legendary skill: Perpetual Motion Machine of the Pitch."
"Perpetual Motion Machine of the Pitch: Legendary skill. Every 20 minutes, recover 10% stamina."
"When your running distance exceeds 10,000 meters, defensive ability increases by 3%."
"When your running distance exceeds 12,000 meters, offensive ability increases by 3%."
"When your running distance exceeds 15,000 meters, offensive and defensive abilities increase by an additional 5%."
Tsk, tsk, tsk!
This…
No joke—are you sure there's no cheating involved?
It actually rolled stamina!
This was exactly what Su Hang needed most right now.
Su Hang's stamina wasn't great to begin with—only 75.
But last season, he didn't play as many matches as people thought, so he wasn't that exhausted.
On top of that, he had other excellent teammates sharing the load, especially Figo at attacking midfielder, which greatly reduced Su Hang's defensive pressure and slowed his stamina drain.
This season, though, was completely different.
This season, Su Hang had gradually become the opponent's primary defensive focus.
Combined with his constant up-and-down runs along the wing, his stamina consumption skyrocketed.
The season wasn't even halfway over, and he was already feeling worn down.
If this kept up, stamina issues were guaranteed in the second half of the season.
But now that this "Perpetual Motion Machine" had arrived…
That problem was instantly solved.
More than that, Su Hang could even give everyone a surprise.
The more he plays, the stronger he gets!
The only pity was that this perpetual motion machine only worked on the pitch.
If it worked in real life too, that would be insane.
Then Jennifer and Clara would be having the time of their lives!
Clara: "You mean pulling all-nighters gaming with you?"
Jennifer: "I was actually hoping that 'having the time of our lives' would happen in the bedroom, not the gaming room!"
...
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