Equivalent Exchange: Eight Mangled Fingers, One King of the Pitch

Tags: Rising through the Dutch league, becoming a star in Serie A, turning down the Olympic team, winning Olympic gold for Italy, soccer, System, wish fulfillment, passion. Equivalent exchange: to gain something, you must give something of equal value. At seventeen, Sun Sheng had been told three times by the world of soccer that his “talent was limited.” He joined AC Milan's youth academy at ten, only to be let go three years later. His grandfather sold their house to send him to Lyon, where he spent three fruitless years without even setting foot on the first-team pitch. Now he has been loaned to AZ Alkmaar U19 in the Dutch league: his last chance, and a place where everyone has forgotten him. In his despair, he was reborn. This time, he bonded with the [Steel Alchemy System]. The System has only one rule: equivalent exchange. Want Van Basten's peak abilities? Want thunderous long-range shots and an iron physique? Want the abilities of the Gum-Gum Fruit? The System tells you: Sure. Just pay an equal price, and I'll give you what you want. Sun Sheng never hesitates. Make the trade. From U19 substitute to his Eredivisie debut, from weak long-range shots to “The Great Sage's Roar” echoing through the stadium, he trades his lifespan, organs, and memories for power, again and again, face-slapping everyone who ever looked down on him. Milan, Lyon, Chelsea: the giants who once let him go will one day beg on their knees for him to return. But with every goal, he comes one step closer to death. Every victory costs him something permanently, whether it be his body or his memories. The System asks him: Is it worth it? He smiles. “Equivalent exchange has never left me shortchanged.”