Bologna. Tyler Stone's Office.Monday. 09:00 AM.
The room was cold, kept at a precise 18 degrees. Tyler Stone sat behind his glass desk, holding a detailed medical report. Rio sat opposite him, looking calm. Dr. Luca stood by the window, wringing his hands nervously.
"Clean," Stone threw the paper onto the desk. "No steroids. No EPO. No growth hormones. Your blood is cleaner than a monk's."
Stone leaned forward, his eyes narrowing behind his tinted glasses. "But the biometrics don't lie. Your hip flexibility increased by 400% in 48 hours. Your pelvic rotation speed is now faster than an Olympic gymnast. Explain that."
Rio shrugged. "I stretched. A lot."
Stone laughed. A dry, humorless sound. "You stretched. Right."
Stone stood up and walked to the window, looking down at the training pitch below. "I don't care how you did it, Valdes. Magic, nanobots, voodoo. I don't care." He turned back, his face serious. "Pep Guardiola is coming to Turin tonight. He is watching you. If you perform against Juventus... the official bid comes in. And if the bid comes in... I sell you."
"We had a deal," Rio reminded him. "If I beat the algorithm, I stay until the end of the season."
"For €60 Million," Stone smiled cruelly, "I will break any deal. That is just business, kid. You are an asset, and your stock is at an all-time high."
Turin. Allianz Stadium (Juventus Home).Coppa Italia Semi-Final (1st Leg).Tuesday. 20:45 PM.
The atmosphere was heavy. Juventus fans were out for blood. Bologna had humiliated them in the league encounter earlier this season. They wouldn't let it happen twice. Max Allegri, the Juventus coach, had set a defensive trap.
"They are marking you," Adrian whispered before the game. "Not man-marking. Zone-marking." He pointed to the Juventus lineup sheet. Gleison Bremer. The best defender in Serie A. A physical monster. Danilo. The veteran captain. Federico Gatti. The aggressive stopper.
"Bremer will be your shadow," Adrian warned. "He is stronger than you. Faster than you. If you try to stop and use La Pausa, he will crush you with his momentum."
Rio looked up at the VIP box. He saw the familiar bald head. Pep Guardiola. The Manchester City manager was wearing a grey turtleneck, sipping water, looking like a chess grandmaster analyzing a board.
Rio touched his hip. It felt warm. Fluid. Let's show him something he can't coach.
The Match. Minute 15.The Wall.
Juventus dominated. Dusan Vlahovic was a beast. He held off Bologna's defenders with sheer strength and smashed a shot against the post. Federico Chiesa ran circles around the wing. Bologna couldn't get out of their own half.
Rio was isolated. Every time the ball came to him, Bremer was there.
Thud.
Bremer slammed into Rio's back. In the past, with his Grade E+ Balance, Rio would have fallen face-first. But now, with Grade A Balance derived from the Elastic Hips upgrade, Rio absorbed the impact. His core stabilized instantly. However, he couldn't turn. Bremer was too wide, too strong. Rio had to pass back to safety.
Guardiola made a note in his notebook. Assessment: Good balance. But limited turning radius? Looks stiff under pressure.
Minute 35.The Evolution.
Score: 0-0. Kenjiro received the ball in midfield. He saw Rio dropping deep into the pocket to receive. Bremer followed Rio, tight as a second skin. Bremer thought: He will receive, hold, and pass back. He is a stiff player.
Kenjiro passed the ball hard. A "hospital pass" wrapped in speed. The ball zipped toward Rio. Bremer lunged. I will intercept it before he controls it.
Rio saw Bremer coming. Usually, Rio would need two touches: Control, then Turn. But now... he had the S-Grade Agility.
Rio didn't control the ball. He let the ball roll through his legs. Simultaneously, he swivelled his hips 180 degrees. It wasn't a mechanical turn. It was liquid. His upper body went left. His lower body went right. The Cruyff Turn (No Touch Variation).
Bremer, expecting a collision, tackled empty air. Rio spun around the defender like water flowing around a rock. He didn't lose a single kilometer of speed.
The crowd gasped. Bremer stumbled, shocked by the fluidity. Rio was free. He drove at the defense. Danilo stepped up. Rio dropped his shoulder—a feint made possible by his loose pelvis. Danilo froze. Rio slipped a through ball to Zirkzee.
Zirkzee shot. Wojciech Szczesny saved it with his boot. But the damage was done. The "Stiff Robot" had just executed the smoothest turn of the season.
In the VIP box, Pep Guardiola stopped chewing his gum. He leaned forward, eyes wide. He turned without touching the ball. That hip rotation... that's Iniesta level.
Minute 42.The Old Lady Strikes.
Juventus didn't panic. They were experienced winners. Adrien Rabiot stole the ball from Bologna's midfield. Counter-attack. Chiesa sprinted down the wing and crossed. Vlahovic jumped. He towered over Bologna's defense.
Bang.
Header into the top corner.
GOAL.Juventus 1 - 0 Bologna.
The stadium erupted. Juve! Juve!
Vlahovic silenced the Bologna fans with a finger to his lips. It was a reminder: Skill is nice, but Power wins games.
Halftime.Locker Room.
"We are playing well," Coach Rossi tried to encourage the team, but his voice lacked conviction. The players were down. Juventus was suffocating them.
Adrian Vance rolled in. "Pep is taking notes," Adrian said to Rio. "He liked the turn against Bremer. But he wants to see end product. Vlahovic has a goal. You have a nice dribble. Who wins the contract?"
Rio wiped sweat from his face. "Bremer is adapting," Rio said. "He won't get close to me anymore. He will stand off and wait."
"Then punish him for waiting," Adrian said. "Use the hips to create separation for a shot. You have the Golden Arc. You have the Cannon. Combine them."
Second Half. Minute 60.The Liquid Ghost.
Rio received the ball in the Del Piero Zone. Bremer was there. But this time, Bremer stood 1 meter away, respecting the turn. If I get close, he spins me, Bremer thought. If I stay back, I can block the shot.
Rio looked at the goal. He activated [The Eye of the Storm]. La Pausa.
Time slowed. He saw Bremer's weight shifting onto his heels.
Rio faked a shot to the far post. His hips opened completely—a perfect bluff. Bremer shifted his body to block the curl.
But Rio's Elastic Hips allowed him to cancel the motion instantly. He snapped his hips shut. He dragged the ball with his sole (Futsal style) across his body. La Croqueta... but combined with a 90-degree turn.
He cut inside Bremer. Bremer tried to recover, reaching out with his hand. Rio slipped past the arm like smoke. He was central. 18 meters out.
He didn't use finesse. He used [The Cannon].
BOOM.
He unleashed a drive with his laces. The ball flew straight as an arrow. It didn't curl. It screamed. It flew past Szczesny's ear before he could even blink. It hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced down.
CLANG-THUD.
GOAL.Juventus 1 - 1 Bologna.
Rio didn't run. He just stood there, rotating his torso left and right, loosening up. He looked up at the VIP box. He didn't smile. He just stared at Guardiola. Is that enough end product?
Minute 88.The Mixed Zone (Parking Area).
The game ended 1-1. A draw in Turin. A massive advantage for Bologna going into the 2nd Leg at home. Rio walked toward the team bus, carrying his kit bag. The media area was chaotic, but a figure was waiting near the exit, away from the cameras. It wasn't Tyler Stone. It wasn't Adrian.
It was Pep Guardiola.
The City manager was leaning against a pillar, checking his phone. He looked up as Rio approached. His eyes were intense, obsessive.
"You," Pep said. His voice was raspy.
Rio stopped. "Mr. Guardiola."
"That turn in the 35th minute," Pep said, ignoring pleasantries. "And the hip snap in the 60th minute. You move like a dancer, but you think like a killer."
Pep stepped closer. "My team... we pass the ball 1000 times to create one chance. But you... you create chaos with one movement." Pep handed Rio a card. It was blank, except for a private phone number. "I don't speak to agents. I don't speak to owners. I speak to football players."
Pep leaned in. "Do you want to win trophies? Or do you want to be a circus act in Bologna?"
Before Rio could answer, Tyler Stone appeared from the hallway, flanked by his lawyers. He looked like a shark smelling blood. "Tampering!" Stone said, but he was smiling. "This is illegal tapping up, Pep. You know the rules."
Pep smiled back. He didn't look intimidated. He winked at Rio. "Just saying hello to a fan, Tyler. Call me."
Pep walked away, leaving Stone looking at Rio like a prize pig.
"He wants you," Stone whispered, staring at the card in Rio's hand. "He wants you bad. The price just went up to €80 Million."
Rio looked at the card. The Premier League. The Treble Winners. It was the top of the mountain.
But then, a System Notification appeared.
[System Alert][New Route Available: The Manchester City Path][Reward: Unlimited Resources / Global Fame][Cost: The System will evolve. Difficulty will increase to 'Nightmare Mode'.][Reason: Premier League Physicality is 30% Higher. Match Speed is 50% Faster. Skill Degradation Rate DOUBLED.]
Rio looked at his hand. 315 Days.
If he went to City... the games were harder. The tackles were harder. The pace was lethal. He would burn through his lifespan twice as fast. Was it a promotion? Or a death sentence?