Chapter 24: Ba-shen, drop the loot!

Chapter 24: Mario, Drop the Loot!

Mario Balotelli’s performance against Napoli was truly disastrous. Hardly any fans were speaking up for him—in fact, which Milan fan hadn't booed Balotelli back when he was an Inter Milan striker? Under these circumstances, Balotelli’s start at AC Milan could be described as incredibly difficult.

The Milanese media were unanimous: AC Milan letting Li Mo go was a monumental mistake.

"Allegri and Galliani let go of the pearl of Vismara!"

"Look at the two goals Li Mo scored in the Premier League! That is a goalscorer! A true goalscorer!"

"AC Milan spent the entire summer searching for a lead striker to replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic. They found Balotelli, yet they let Li Mo go. Li Mo, only seventeen years old, has already staged a brace in the Premier League, including a stoppage-time winner! Look at his second goal! That kind of finish, that kind of world-class strike. Could any of Milan’s current strikers do that?"

"The best man was already in the squad, but AC Milan let him walk away."

"Was it Allegri or Galliani who made the decision? They are absolute war criminals!"

The slump in results, combined with the mounting pressure from the media and the fans, gave Allegri and Galliani a massive headache. Inside Galliani’s office, he looked at Allegri with a grave expression.

"Is this the result of choosing Balotelli?" Galliani’s tone was sharp.

Bringing in Balotelli had been Allegri’s insistent demand. To scrape together the funds for Balotelli, Galliani had sold Li Mo—though at the time, Galliani had felt quite smug about getting two million for him. But now, the whole world was mocking AC Milan. Galliani no longer considered it a good deal. Just before, the club owner, Berlusconi, had called to tear Galliani a new one. The pressure from the top had trickled down to Allegri.

Allegri frowned. He knew Li Mo had talent, but he hadn't expected him to "cash in" on it so quickly. A brace wasn't extraordinary; every league round saw players performing well. A striker scoring two goals in one game didn't really prove much. Sometimes, it could just be pure luck. But to come off the bench under pressure while the team trailed for most of the match, and then score two goals in stoppage time? That kind of performance couldn't be explained away as luck. Performing under such immense pressure spoke volumes.

Allegri knew he might have made a mistake, but now was not the time to dwell on it. He shook his head and said, "No one could have imagined Li Mo’s professional debut would be so outstanding. The previous decision was based on his past performances."

Galliani furrowed his brow: "Is that guy Mario really trustworthy? He cost us 18 million euros!"

"At Inter and Manchester City, he has had his brilliant moments. I think we need to have a little patience. After all, he basically lost his place in the second half of last season."

Galliani nodded. He knew that regret was useless now. The key was AC Milan’s performance on the pitch. If they played well, the media and the fans would forget about Li Mo.

On the AC Milan training ground, Li Mo was also the topic of conversation. When Li Mo was with the first team, he had been essentially invisible. No one took him seriously; he was just a fringe player. But who could have imagined that he would be so explosive in his very first game after transferring to Arsenal?

"Come to think of it, when Li was on the team, he often scored in practice matches too."

"Back then, nobody really paid attention to his scoring ability."

"Sigh, if he hadn't left, maybe we could have secured a victory sooner..."

Three consecutive defeats to start the season had put immense pressure on the AC Milan players. They were currently sitting in the relegation zone—though no one believed AC Milan was in actual danger of being relegated. But if they didn't shake off this slump soon, the season would be a write-off.

Just then, Balotelli walked onto the training ground, frowning. Allegri, standing on the sidelines, shook his head slightly. The guy was late again.

Balotelli sidled up to Stephan El Shaarawy. "Hey, Stephan, do you have Li Mo’s phone number?" he asked.

El Shaarawy was stunned. "Why are you asking for that?"

"I want to prove to him that Mario is not a piece of shit!"

El Shaarawy was speechless. The ones calling you a piece of shit were a bunch of extremist fans; what did that have to do with Li Mo? Why did you need to prove anything to him?

"Don't worry, I'm just sending him a text."

*Hey, Li. I’m Mario Balotelli. I’m not a piece of shit, and I will prove that I am the best striker at AC Milan!*

Li Mo received a text from an unknown number. *Balotelli?!* He shook his head. *Does this guy have something wrong with his brain? I’m not even a Milan player anymore.*

Li Mo put his phone down, not intending to engage, when he heard the system's chime.

"Ding! [Football Bond System] triggered. You have acquired a new module. Please check the Fusion Training Plan!"

Li Mo was taken aback. He opened the system and found that the fusion progress for the [Walcott Explosive Speed Module] was only at 65%. This level of fusion was useless to Li Mo—his own explosive speed was certainly not just 65% of Walcott’s. Before finishing one module, a new one had triggered. Was this because of the system upgrade?

Li Mo accepted the new module.

*Competitive Bond: Balotelli wants to prove his scoring ability is superior to yours.*
*Module Acquired: Balotelli Strength and Physicality Module*
*Fusion Difficulty: A*
*Fusion Progress: 10% (You currently look like a skinny bamboo pole)*
*Estimated Time to Full Fusion: 20-70 days*

Li Mo closed the system. After a moment of thought, he picked up his phone. "Very well, Mario. I like your fighting spirit, but... you cannot defeat me."

Li Mo tossed the phone aside after replying. About a minute later:

*Damn it! I’m not your challenger!!*
*You only scored two goals, right?*
*Hey, hey, hey, why aren’t you replying?*
*Are you in the shower?*
*Li?*
*Reply to me!!*
*Fine, the two goals you scored were pretty, but I’ve scored many beautiful goals too. I’ll find them for you.*

*Balotelli sent you a video.*
*Balotelli sent you a video.*
*Balotelli sent you a video.*

The next day, Li Mo discovered he had been bombarded with text messages. But even though Balotelli was throwing a tantrum on the other end, no further modules seemed to be triggered. If he could only "loot" Balotelli’s long-range shooting, footwork, or ball shielding, that would be fantastic. After all, the guy was world-class from the neck down. Even if his brain wasn't the sharpest, he had once been a top-tier striker.

Li Mo regretfully realized he couldn't keep "shearing the same sheep" indefinitely. Or maybe... was his method of triggering it wrong?

"Let’s compete again in this round of the Champions League then," Li Mo replied.

Who was AC Milan playing in this round of the Champions League? Oh, right. They were playing away against Zenit Saint Petersburg. Tsk, tsk, a bunch of Italians from the warm Mediterranean coast going to the icy, snowy Russia, playing on artificial turf... his former teammates were in for a rough time.

Li Mo put down his phone. He started to consider his own chances of getting minutes in the Champions League. In the first round of the group stage, Arsenal was heading away to challenge the French side, Montpellier.