The rain clouds had been gathering silently above the stadium.
Dark.
Heavy.
As if waiting.
Li Wei ran across the grass, heart pounding.
The ball moved quickly through midfield.
Adrián Castillo, the playmaker, spotted him immediately.
"Number 17! Run!"
Adrián slipped a pass forward.
Li Wei sprinted.
The defenders rushed toward him.
His mind raced.
This is it.
My chance.
My first moment.
The crowd's noise grew louder.
"Li Wei has the ball!" the commentator shouted.
"Let's see what the young substitute can do!"
A Teruel defender lunged.
Li Wei pushed the ball forward and tried to accelerate.
But suddenly—
CRACK.
A sharp pain exploded through his ankle.
"AAHHH!"
His body lost balance.
He crashed onto the grass.
The ball rolled away.
The stadium gasped.
"OH NO!"
"Li Wei is down!"
"Just ten minutes after entering the match!"
The referee blew the whistle.
Players gathered around him.
But Li Wei barely heard anything.
Pain.
Burning pain surged through his leg.
His hands gripped the wet grass.
Then—
The sky opened.
Rain began to fall.
Slow.
Cold.
Droplets touched his face.
The stadium lights blurred through the water in his eyes.
Fans' voices echoed faintly.
"Poor kid…"
"He just came on…"
"What terrible luck…"
The commentators spoke softly now.
"This is heartbreaking."
"A debut that ends in injury…"
Li Wei lay on the field staring up at the dark sky.
Rain hit his cheeks like tears.
Inside his chest something broke.
Is this… the end?
Memories flashed in his mind.
A small boy kicking a worn football on a dusty street.
His father watching proudly.
His promise.
"One day I'll become a football superstar."
But now?
Third division.
First match.
Injury.
His dream felt like shattered glass.
Li Wei clenched his fists weakly.
His voice was barely a whisper.
"…Maybe… this life isn't meant for me…"
The rain grew heavier.
Thunder rolled in the distance.
And then—
DING.
A strange metallic sound echoed inside his head.
Li Wei frowned.
What…?
Another sound followed.
DING.
Suddenly—
A faint blue light appeared before his eyes.
At first he thought it was the stadium lights reflecting in the rain.
But the light grew clearer.
Sharper.
Until—
A transparent screen appeared floating in the air in front of him.
Li Wei's eyes widened in shock.
"…What is this…?"
The screen flickered.
Then lines of glowing text appeared.
As if some unknown system had just awakened.
And the rain continued falling around the fallen player on the field.
But something had just changed.
Something that would rewrite his entire destiny.