Gewiss Stadium.Second Half. Minute 60.Score: Atalanta 0 - 1 Bologna.
The "Meat Grinder" didn't stop. It accelerated. Gasperini made his move. He subbed on Gianluca Scamacca (195cm Striker) and Ademola Lookman (Speedster). Fresh legs against dead legs.
Rio looked at his stamina bar. [Stamina: 18%][Heart Temperature: Rising]
"They are hunting," Kenjiro whispered. He was barely moving. He had planted himself in the center circle like a stationary turret, spraying passes whenever he could, but his defensive work rate was zero.
Minute 68.The Crack.
Atalanta attacked. Lookman received the ball on the wing. He didn't use a skill; he just pushed the ball past Bologna's exhausted fullback and ran. It was simple. Cruel. He crossed the ball. Scamacca was waiting. He jumped. Bologna's defenders (Beukema and Calafiori) tried to challenge him, but Scamacca was a tank. He smashed them aside in the air.
BOOM. A header that sounded like a gunshot. GOAL.Atalanta 1 - 1 Bologna.
The stadium roared. Rio bent over, hands on his knees. His chest wasn't heaving anymore. It was vibrating. Vrrrrrrrrrr. The Bionic Heart was hitting the Redline. It was struggling to circulate energy to his depleted muscles. The cooling fans inside his chest were spinning at maximum RPM.
In the VIP box, Tyler Stone looked at his monitor. "Heart rate variability is chaotic," Stone noted. "He is crashing. The biology is failing. He should be subbed off." Stone waited for Rossi to sub Rio. But Rossi didn't move. He knew Rio was the only hope.
Minute 85.The Dead Zone.
The game was tied. Extra Time (2 x 15 minutes) loomed. "I can't play Extra Time," Rio thought, his vision blurring at the edges. "If we go to Extra Time, I die. Literally. My heart will shut down."
[System Warning][Stamina: 5%][Critical Failure Imminent][Recommendation: Stop Activity Immediately]
Atalanta smelled blood. They pressed higher. Ederson tackled Rio again. Crunch. Rio fell. He didn't even try to dodge. He just lay there, staring at the grass. "Get up!" Ederson shouted, pulling Rio's jersey.
Rio forced himself up. He looked at Kenjiro. Kenjiro was leaning on his knees. The Symbiotic Link was transmitting a sensation of burning acid from Kenjiro's knee directly to Rio's brain.
"Kenjiro," Rio whispered through the link—a shared glance of desperation. "One last pass."
Minute 90+3.Stoppage Time.
The Fourth Official raised the board: 4 Minutes Added. Atalanta threw everyone forward for a corner kick. They wanted to win it now. The ball was whipped in. Skorupski punched it clear.
The ball flew out of the box... landing at Kenjiro Tanaka's feet. The counter-attack was on. But Kenjiro couldn't run. Marten de Roon was sprinting at him to kill the play.
Kenjiro saw Rio running. Rio was sprinting. But it wasn't a sprint. It was a stumble. His legs were gone. He was running on fumes and willpower.
Kenjiro didn't pass to Rio's feet. That would require Rio to control it and slow down. Kenjiro passed into Space. A 40-meter through ball that sliced the defense.
Rio chased it. He was one-on-one with the defender, Berat Djimsiti. Djimsiti was fresh. Rio was at 2%. Djimsiti was faster. He was catching up rapidly. I can't outrun him, Rio realized. My legs won't swing.
He reached the edge of the box. The goalkeeper, Juan Musso, rushed out to close the angle. Djimsiti was right on Rio's shoulder, reaching out to pull him down.
Rio needed to shoot. But a normal shot requires a back-lift. You have to pull your leg back to generate power. If he pulled his leg back, Djimsiti would tackle the ball away. If he tried to curl it (Golden Arc), Musso would smother it.
He needed a shot with Zero Back-lift. He remembered watching old clips of Brazilian futsal players. Romario. Ronaldo Nazario. When your legs are dead... use the toe.
Rio didn't swing. He just poked his leg forward, stiff as a spear. The Toe Poke (Punt Kick).
THWACK.
It is the ugliest shot in football. But it is also the fastest to execute. The ball shot off the tip of his boot like a bullet. It happened a split-second before Djimsiti tackled him. It had no spin. It had no beauty. It just had surprise.
Musso was still setting his feet. He didn't expect a shot so early. The ball flew past Musso's ear before he could raise his hands.
It hit the post. CLANG. And bounced in.
GOAL.Atalanta 1 - 2 Bologna.
The Collapse.
The net shook. Rio didn't run. He didn't scream. He just fell forward, face-first into the dirt as Djimsiti crashed on top of him. [Stamina: 0%][System Safety Protocol: ENGAGED][Emergency Shutdown Initiated...]
The Bologna players went crazy. They piled on top of him. "RIO! RIO!" But Rio didn't move.
Kenjiro limped over, pushing the players away. "Get off him!" Kenjiro screamed, seeing Rio's lifeless face. "He can't breathe! Medic!"
Kenjiro turned Rio over. Rio's eyes were rolled back. His chest wasn't moving. The Bionic Heart had stopped humming. It was in Cool Down Mode—a state of suspended animation to prevent thermal explosion. To a human doctor, he looked dead.
In the VIP box, Tyler Stone stood frozen. His algorithm had predicted a 99% chance of Djimsiti winning the duel. "A toe poke?" Stone whispered. "Who shoots a toe poke in the 93rd minute?"
Stone looked at the medic running onto the field with a defibrillator. "If he dies," Stone muttered, "I lose my investment."
The Void.
Rio was floating in a dark, silent space. No pain. No noise. No Atalanta. Just the System Interface glowing in the void.
[Match Complete.][Result: Victory.][Stress Test: PASSED.][Achievement Unlocked: The Redline.][Reward: +7 Days.]
[Current Lifespan: 322 Days.]
Rebooting Host...3... 2... 1...
The Locker Room.
"No pulse! Clear!" Dr. Luca's voice screamed. Rio felt the cold pads of a defibrillator on his chest. Wait, don't!
Rio gasped, sitting up violently just as the machine whined. He ripped the oxygen mask off his face. "I'm alive!" Rio choked out.
Dr. Luca dropped the paddles, looking like he had seen a ghost. "Impossible... you were flatlining. There was no rhythm!"
Adrian Vance stepped in from the shadows. He placed a hand on Dr. Luca's shoulder. "Vasovagal syncope," Adrian lied smoothly. "Extreme exhaustion caused his heart rate to drop too low to detect. It happens to marathon runners. He's fine, Doctor. Give us a minute."
Dr. Luca looked confused, but he nodded slowly and stepped back.
Rio slumped back onto the table. "Did we win?"
Adrian looked at him with a mix of awe and horror. "We won," Adrian said. "You crazy bastard. You toe-poked it."
Rio laughed weakly. "Romario style."
The door opened. Tyler Stone walked in. The room went silent. The billionaire looked out of place in the sweaty, muddy locker room in his expensive suit. He walked up to Rio. He looked at the bruises on Rio's legs. He looked at the blood on his jersey.
"The Toe Poke," Stone said. "It has an xG of 0.06. It is statistically the worst shot selection possible." Stone paused. A small, genuine smile appeared on his face. "But it was efficient. Minimal energy. Maximum speed. You broke the model again."
Stone took out his phone. "I cancelled the transfer to England. You are not a 'Liability'. You are a 'High-Variance Asset'." He turned to leave. "Rest up, Glitch. Next week is the Coppa Italia Quarter Final." "Who do we play?" Rio asked.
Stone stopped at the door. "AC Milan."
Rio froze. Milan. Silas. The rival who threatened him on TV. The Hedonist vs The Survivor.
"Good," Rio whispered, closing his eyes as the exhaustion took him again. "I owe him a dance."