The London Globe:
"After hearing the devastating news, Platini stated that based on Su Hang's performances this season, he would have been the strongest contender for FIFA World Player of the Year!"
Record Daily:
"Two days and one night! Su Hang remains unconscious! Renowned physician Dr. Wohlfahrt says the first three days are the golden window for a comatose patient to wake up—after that, the chances drop dramatically!"
CCYV:
"Famous star Su Hang remains unconscious as fans pour into temples across the country to pray for his recovery!"
The Times:
"Čech seeks psychological counseling after Su Hang's injury reawakens painful memories of his own severe head trauma!"
Mundo Deportivo:
"We acknowledge that Su Hang was destined to be the next king of football. But injuries are part of the game. We hope future kings Ronaldinho and Messi can take Su as a lesson!"
Sport:
"No one wants injuries—or even death—on the pitch. But when tragedy strikes, we must move forward… Barcelona's La Liga title this season is already a certainty!"
Headline after headline slid past the screen, as though they were stories about someone else entirely.
Even when a few carried obvious bias, the tone was far milder than before—almost merciful.
Tap, tap, tap.
Several people appeared at the door, but without the doctors' permission, none dared enter.
Jennifer, Clara, Zidane, Modrić, and others.
On the television, the broadcast suddenly changed.
"Breaking news! Major changes suspected in the condition of star footballer Su Hang—either he wakes up… or the worst happens!"
In an instant, reports exploded once more.
His phone began vibrating like mad.
Mbappé:
"No! I don't believe it! This has to be a dream—you'll shout siu a thousand more times on the pitch!"
Haaland:
"I can never accept this reality. But you'll live forever in my heart!"
Modrić:
"Don't scare me, Captain Su! If you wake up, I swear I'll never badmouth you behind your back again!"
Lewandowski:
"You're my football template. Everything I have now came from you—and yet I can't repay you at all!"
Gareth Bale:
"You might never have heard my name, but I've always felt like you were another version of me in this world!"
Messi:
"Your existence became my shadow. But the moment you left, I realized I'd lost interest in football. I want you back—even if it means being beaten by you again and again!"
Cristiano Ronaldo:
"I've never thought myself inferior to anyone. But now I admit it—you're the only player in this world stronger than me."
Clara:
"Su… not being able to give you a child is the greatest regret of my life."
Jennifer:
"If anything really happens to you, I'll never forgive myself. At the very least, I should've given you a child…"
Su Hang glanced toward the doorway where Modrić stood. Modrić looked as if he were freezing—his face pale, his whole body trembling.
Strangely, the two women beside him were flushed red, as if the room were unbearably hot.
Online, countless fans uploaded videos and messages filled with grief.
They were all Su Hang's fans.
At this moment, the entire world was mourning him.
Su Hang understood that feeling.
Years ago, when he woke up to the push notification about Kobe, his heart had felt as though it were sinking endlessly, radiating waves of cold.
After that, he stopped watching basketball.
He tried football instead—and was shocked to discover that the football world, too, had someone with an almost pathological obsession with victory.
The same talent—not absolute top-tier.
The same controversies.
The same ability to claw their way out of the lowest moments and prove themselves.
The same relentless effort to become one of the very best in the world.
Even their opponents were the same—the most gifted talents of the sport.
He fell in love with football.
Yet even so, he never stopped mourning—or perhaps hoping for—Kobe.
Year after year.
Even when the truth had long been accepted, he still hoped.
Even after all these years, he was still waiting.
So Su Hang immediately opened his social media app, logged in, and posted:
"I'm back."
Just four words—yet they carried infinite power.
Thirty seconds later, the platform crashed.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Su Hang felt as though he could hear cheers erupting outside.
They came from every direction, from every corner of the world.
...
Su Hang's awakening was nothing short of seismic.
His name had already topped trending lists across countries.
But after those four words, the top ten—top twenty—trending topics in every nation were all about him.
"I'm back! Su Hang announces his awakening, officially out of critical danger!"
"A miracle! Su Hang wakes up on the third day—his reservation at God's hotel was only for two nights!"
"Brought to tears! More than seventy leagues around the world organize events to celebrate Su Hang's recovery!"
"Ashley Cole breaks down in tears! Mourinho makes a rare statement: 'In the face of life and death, football means nothing!'"
"Chelsea owner Abramovich clasps his hands in prayer: 'Su Hang's awakening is redemption for all of Chelsea. He will forever be our hero!'"
And yet, inside the room, no one was smiling.
Su Hang's mother cried as she struck Su Hang's father.
"I told you not to let the child choose such a dangerous career! You wouldn't listen! You insisted on sending him to Real Madrid! You even paid money to keep him in the youth academy!"
Su Hang felt painfully awkward.
Everyone else felt just as awkward.
After all, the current top striker, top-two player of the year, Real Madrid captain, global superstar Su Hang… had once needed money just to stay in a youth team.
Ridiculous.
"No more football! You're done playing!" Su Hang's father looked at him, eyes red and swollen—clearly he'd cried more than once.
"Why stop? Getting injured playing football is normal, okay? Look how scared you all are. I wasn't even—"
Before Su Hang could finish, the system popped up.
"Ding! You have suffered critical damage. Injury Resistance has been forcibly changed to 1!"
"Ding! Your career faces a major decision. A collision with the goalpost during the World Cup caused irreversible spinal damage. Ashley Cole's impact triggered a relapse of the old injury."
"If you choose surgical treatment, you will be sidelined for eighteen months. Afterward, the injury will heal permanently with no aftereffects, and Injury Resistance will remain at 3."
"If you choose conservative treatment, you will be sidelined for twenty days. After twenty days, Injury Resistance will temporarily rise to 9 and you will be free of back issues for the remainder of the season. After the season ends, Injury Resistance will be forcibly reset to zero, and the back injury will be highly prone to recurrence!"
"Ding! Your heroic performance has impressed Shevchenko. You have obtained the Andriy Shevchenko 1998 Moment Card!"
None of that mattered anymore.
Moment Cards didn't matter.
What the system said about his injury left Su Hang deep in thought.