"Ding! Roberto Carlos sends you his sincere apologies—you have obtained 'Violent Aesthetic Free Kick'!"
"Violent Aesthetic Free Kick: Legendary skill. History has seen many great free-kick specialists, but Roberto Carlos is truly irreplaceable. His free kicks reach the peak of raw power, and his signature S-shaped curve is beyond imitation!"
"Your free-kick ability has been greatly enhanced."
"When the ball is more than thirty meters from the goal, your free-kick ability increases by thirty percent."
"When the ball is more than forty meters from the goal, you have a chance to unleash an S-shaped free kick!"
!!!
Absolutely worth it!
Carlos, all is forgiven!
Su Hang's right eye was slightly bruised—he hadn't dodged Carlos's first punch, and it left him with a black eye. Still, it was only a surface injury that looked worse than it felt.
As for Carlos, the marks on his neck were even more alarming. To someone who didn't know better, it looked as if his whole neck had been painted purple.
Su Hang hadn't expected that Raúl's order for Carlos to apologize would bring him such a huge gain.
This… gave him a bold idea.
What if he "dealt" with the entire Real Madrid squad and made them all apologize? Wouldn't that mean…
Ahem!
The Real Madrid players coughed in unison, feeling a sudden chill in the air.
Of course, it was just talk. Su Hang would never actually cross that line—friendship wasn't something to joke about.
He wasn't stupid. Doing that would get him kicked out, no matter if he were the Crown Prince of Real Madrid or even its "Grand Emperor."
Thanks to Carlos's apology, Su Hang's set-piece attribute appeared—and started at a staggering 80!
His shooting also went up, from 74 to 75.
"Su, want to train together?"
Next to him, Pavón, Borja, and the others invited him to join their session.
Su Hang happily agreed.
After all, Pavón and the others weren't exactly top-tier—training with them might still put him near the bottom, but it was far better than being toyed with by the Galácticos.
Pavón thought, Uh… damn it! Get lost!
Carlos, meanwhile, kept his head down. He didn't dare get into any conflict with Su Hang now.
Still, he remembered exactly who was cozying up to Su Hang or sucking up to Simón.
Did they really think Simón could hold his ground at Real Madrid?
Did they really think that just because he had Raúl's backing, Su Hang could control everything here?
Naive!
Once Luxemburgo arrived, those ignoring him now would be warming the bench soon enough.
Boom!
Carlos let fly from long range—the ball screamed into the top corner, curling with a faint S-shape.
Young keeper López could only admit such a set piece was utterly unstoppable.
It was a good thing he hadn't gotten a hand on it—if he had, he might have been seriously injured.
...
December 5, 2004. Round 14 of La Liga.
Real Madrid traveled to face the Yellow Submarine—Villarreal.
A tough opponent.
With Su Hang and Carlos serving suspensions, neither made the squad.
After 90 minutes of hard-fought play, the match ended 0-0.
Not a great result.
Worse still, post-match scans revealed Raúl had strained his thigh muscle.
It wasn't serious, but he would definitely miss the next game.
And that next game… was Real Madrid's must-win Champions League showdown.
With only one group match left, the situation was tense.
Everyone had thought Dynamo Kyiv would be the weakest side, but they shocked everyone by topping Group B with ten points.
Second were Bundesliga's Bayer Leverkusen with eight points.
Real Madrid were third—also on eight points.
The biggest disappointment was Serie A giants Roma, who had collected just one point from five games.
Real Madrid's final opponent? Roma.
They had to win to guarantee qualification—and even then, only as second place.
A draw might see them eliminated.
A loss would definitely send them out.
If the Galácticos—boasting four Ballon d'Or winners and seven superstars—failed to reach the knockout stage, it would be beyond humiliating.
Real Madrid could not afford that disgrace.
Players, coaches, even club president Florentino could be chased out by furious fans.
And now, at this critical moment, Raúl was injured.
Talk about pouring salt on the wound!
If they stuck with their effective three-forward formation, they had no reliable substitutes left.
And truth be told, neither Owen nor Morientes had earned enough trust at this stage.
There was only one player they truly trusted…
"I hope the team lifts Su Hang's suspension!" one Real Madrid fan wrote on the official site.
That comment quickly racked up 30,000 likes.
"Yes! We need Su Hang now more than ever."
"Real Madrid can't crash out in the group stage—it would be a massive joke!"
"The team must play Su Hang!"
"I hope Su Hang doesn't get hung up on the punishment. In professional football, what matters is finding a way to win on the pitch."
"Yeah—should we have Carlos kneel and beg him? Please, Su Hang, come back!"
"Roma may be struggling this season, but they're still Roma. Il Capitano Totti, the bad boy Cassano—they can change the score single-handedly."
"This match is must-win. No matter what, Su Hang has to return!"
When Simón brought all these messages to him, Su Hang knew there was no escaping this game.
Public opinion was overwhelming.
Those who go with the people prosper.
Those who go against them perish.
The crowd can lift you up… or drag you under.
An eternal truth.
In the end, the media spotted Su Hang's name on the passenger list for Real Madrid's flight to Rome.
Outside Madrid Airport, Real fans packed the place, waving huge banners of Su Hang in his signature "falling from the sky" celebration pose.
"Siuuuuu!"
The fans roared as they celebrated his return.
They believed that if anyone could save Real Madrid, it would be Su Hang!
...
Upon landing in Rome, Real Madrid immediately held a pre-match press conference.
To show Roma their absolute intent to win, Simón announced his starting XI in advance:
"Ronaldo, Owen, Zidane, Beckham, Figo… Su Hang!"
The crowd erupted!
The moment Simón spoke that last name, the room filled with cheers and excited chatter.
Media outlets rushed to publish headlines:
"Nearly 10,000 Real Madrid fans see the team off at the airport—demand Su Hang's return!"
"Su Hang flies to Rome—likely to feature in the Champions League decider!"
"Breaking! Real Madrid's Crown Prince Su Hang to start—White-Clad God of Death descends on Rome!"
"Win rate soars—Real Madrid have only failed to win twice with Su Hang in the lineup!"
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