Balotelli’s Challenge

Balotelli's performance against Napoli was abysmal. Milan fans, who once booed him as an Inter Milan striker, offered little sympathy now.

The media in Milan lambasted AC Milan's decision to let go of Louis.

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

"Look at Louis's two goals in the Premier League! This is a shooter! A real shooter!!"

"AC Milan has been searching for a top striker since Ibrahimovic left, and they chose Balotelli. However, they let Louis go. Louis, only 17 years old, scored twice in the Premier League and netted a last-minute goal! Look at his second goal! Such a goal, such a world-class strike. Can Milan's forwards do it?"

"The best talent was in the team, but AC Milan let him go."

"Was it Allegri or Galliani who made the decision?!"

Given the poor performance and the pressure from media and fans, Allegri and Galliani found themselves in a tight spot.

In Galliani's office, he faced Allegri with a serious expression.

"Is this the result of choosing Balotelli?" Galliani said in a harsh tone. It was Allegri's strong request to buy Balotelli that led Galliani to sell Louis to raise funds. Initially, Galliani felt quite proud of selling Louis for two million, but now, with the world mocking AC Milan, it no longer seemed like a smart business decision.

Recently, Milan owner Berlusconi called to criticize Galliani, putting even more pressure on him.

Allegri frowned, knowing he might have made a mistake. He understood Louis had talent but didn't expect him to realize it so quickly. Scoring twice in one game might seem like luck, but under heavy pressure, Louis's performance indicated something more profound.

Galliani asked, "Is Mario really trustworthy? He cost us 18 million euros!"

"He had his moments of glory at Inter Milan and Manchester City. I think we need to be a little patient; after all, he basically lost his position in the second half of last season," Allegri replied.

Galliani nodded, recognizing that regretting past decisions was futile. The key now was AC Milan's performance on the field. A good showing would make the media and fans forget about Louis.

Meanwhile, at the AC Milan training ground, players discussed Louis. Once a nobody, his explosive debut in the Premier League was on everyone's mind.

"By the way, when Louis was in the team, he often scored in training matches."

"At that time, no one paid much attention to his goal-scoring ability."

"Alas, if he hadn't left, could we have won a victory earlier?"

With three consecutive defeats at the start of the season, AC Milan players were under tremendous pressure. They were in the relegation zone, and though no one believed Milan would be relegated, the team needed to recover soon.

At that moment, Balotelli walked onto the training ground, late again, causing Allegri to shake his head.

Balotelli approached El Shaarawy, "Hey, Stephen, do you have Louis's mobile number?"

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

"I want to prove to him that Mario is not shit!" Balotelli replied.

El Shaarawy was speechless. Those who criticized Balotelli were extreme fans; Louis had nothing to do with it. But Balotelli insisted, "Don't worry, I'm just sending him a text message."

"Hey, Louis, I'm Mario Balotelli. I'm not shit. I'll prove that I'm the best striker in AC Milan!"

Louis received a text from an unfamiliar number. Balotelli? He shook his head. Why is this guy messaging me? I'm not an AC Milan player anymore.

Ignoring the message, Louis heard the system's voice. "Ding! [Football Bond System] is triggered, you have obtained a new module, please check the fusion training plan!"

Louis was stunned and turned on the system. He saw that the [Walcott's activation burst speed module] fusion progress had only reached 65%, which wasn't helpful as his own burst speed was already better. 

Upon receiving the new module, he found it was triggered by competitive bonding with Balotelli.

Competitive Bond: Balotelli actually wants to prove that his scoring ability is better than yours.

Obtain Module: Balotelli Power Confrontation Module

Fusion Difficulty: A

Fusion Progress: 10% (You are like a thin bamboo pole now)

Estimated time for full integration: 20-70 days

Louis thought about how to stimulate more modules from Balotelli. Responding to Balotelli's message, he wrote, "Very good, Mario. I like your fighting spirit, but... you can't beat me."

A minute later, his phone buzzed continuously with messages from Balotelli. 

"Damn it! I'm not your challenger!!"

"You just scored two goals, right?"

"Hey, hey, why don't you reply to me?"

"Taking a shower?"

"Louis?"

"reply to meee!!"

"Yes, the two goals you scored are very beautiful, but I also scored many beautiful goals. Let me find them for you."

Balotelli sent multiple videos of his past goals.

The next day, Louis found himself bombarded with texts but noticed no new modules were triggered. Maybe the stimulation method was wrong? Deciding to try something different, he replied, "Then let's compete again in this round of the Champions League."

AC Milan's next match was against Zenit St. Petersburg, a challenging away game. Louis thought, a group of Italians from the warm Mediterranean coast going to the icy, snowy Russia to play on artificial turf... enough to give his former teammates a hard time.

Putting down his phone, Louis focused on his own upcoming match. Arsenal's first round of the Champions League group stage was against Montpellier.