After returning from Zurich.
Atlético Madrid's next simulation was the second leg of the Copa del Rey fifth round, against Getafe.
Before the winter break, Atlético had already executed a 3-0 victory at home. This time, operating away from their own grid, Simeone declined to deploy a full-strength combat lineup. Shane, Griezmann, Costa, and several other apex units were all held on the substitute bench.
The final output of the simulation was 0-0.
Neither side generated a kill-shot.
Atlético Madrid advanced into the Copa del Rey quarterfinals, where their next hostile unit would be Real Betis.
Because the winter break had compressed the broader seasonal calendar, the post-break schedule became unusually dense.
Less than three days after that cup fixture.
Atlético Madrid entered Matchday 19 of the league cycle.
The opponent: Zaragoza, at the Vicente Calderón.
In this simulation, Shane recorded neither a goal nor an assist.
But both of Atlético Madrid's kill-shots in the 2-0 victory were initiated by his long-range distribution algorithms.
With the termination of that match.
The first half of the La Liga season was officially complete.
After 19 league simulations, Atlético Madrid had compiled 18 victories and 1 draw, accumulating 55 points and occupying the absolute summit of the standings.
Barcelona, meanwhile, had generated 16 victories, 2 draws, and 1 defeat, collecting 50 points and sitting in second place.
This output left the entire Spanish media ecosystem in a state of shock.
"Are Atlético Madrid actually going to win the league with 110 points?" some analysts exclaimed.
But in objective reality, that outcome was highly improbable.
Because the second half of the season is denser, more violent, and far less forgiving.
And when the schedule compresses.
The first systemic failure to emerge...
Is injury.
After Matchday 19 ended.
Atlético Madrid's next simulation arrived in less than 48 hours.
They had to travel away to face Real Betis in the Copa del Rey.
After sustained internal calculations, Simeone ultimately decided to initiate partial hardware rotation.
He did not fully replace the starting architecture. Instead, he fielded a hybrid formation: half primary operatives, half rotational units.
But Atlético Madrid's luck in this simulation was catastrophically poor.
First, in the 7th minute, a Betis cross rebounded off Godín and redirected into Atlético's own net.
Godín, with maximum misfortune, had executed an own goal.
Then, three minutes later.
Midfield unit Gabi collapsed to the grass without any physical collision.
Hamstring strain.
Simeone was immediately forced into an emergency substitution.
Mario Suárez entered the simulation.
Near the conclusion of the first half, Shane attacked the sphere inside the penalty quadrant and successfully generated the equalizer, dragging Atlético back to 1-1.
But immediately after the second half began.
Raúl García executed a tactical foul and received his second yellow card of the simulation.
Red card. Deletion from the grid.
Ultimately, operating with a one-man numerical advantage, Real Betis defeated Atlético Madrid 2-1 at home.
It was Atlético's first defeat of the season.
A massive number of observers across the ecosystem quietly exhaled in relief:
Atlético Madrid had finally lost.
Roughly fifty hours after that defeat.
Atlético Madrid had to travel again, this time for an away simulation against Levante.
Levante currently occupied sixth place in the league. Across the previous several seasons, they had maintained a stable position in the upper tier of the table.
Now, at home.
Facing an Atlético Madrid unit that had just been wounded.
Many media nodes—including the primary propaganda arms aligned with Barcelona and Real Madrid—desperately wanted to see Levante execute the interception and derail Atlético's momentum.
The output disappointed them.
In the 27th minute, Shane executed a perfectly weighted vertical pass, allowing Griezmann to terminate the sequence with a goal.
Then, in the 63rd minute of the second half.
Shane processed a free-kick from the right side of the attacking sector.
Godín redirected the sphere with a far-post header, and Koke completed the sequence with a second aerial relay in the center, nodding the ball into the net.
Atlético Madrid's undefeated hardware in league combat remained active.
But three days later, in the Copa del Rey.
They defeated Real Betis 2-1 at home, leveling the aggregate score at 3-3 and forcing the simulation into a penalty shootout.
In the shootout.
Atlético Madrid was eliminated by Real Betis...
And after that simulation terminated.
The Atlético injury registry expanded again.
Two additional units were added.
Starting center-back Godín and midfield operative Koke both suffered injuries in training.
Godín's damage parameters were relatively tolerable.
His projected repair window was approximately two weeks.
Koke, however, would be absent for at least four weeks. Whether he could even return in time for the upcoming Champions League collision with AC Milan was suddenly a deeply unstable variable.
As the system was already under pressure.
The storm intensified.
League Matchday 21.
Atlético Madrid traveled away to face Athletic Bilbao and suffered a 2-3 defeat.
Shane generated one kill-shot and one direct assist vector in the simulation.
It still wasn't enough to prevent system collapse.
"Atlético Madrid has finally started losing!"
The Catalan media network erupted with delight.
Barcelona secured victory in the same round, compressing the point differential to just two.
"Barcelona has reduced the gap to a single match's worth of points! As long as they defeat Atlético Madrid away from home, they can still comfortably reclaim the league title!"
"Atlético Madrid's weaknesses are finally being exposed. As the second half of the season grows denser, player stamina is dropping and the injury wave is expanding. The structural fragility of Atlético's substitute hardware is now obvious to everyone!"
"Now that Koke, Gabi, and Godín are all injured, Atlético Madrid is already struggling for operational depth. Any Atlético supporter must be asking the same question: what happens if Shane gets injured too?"
"This is not an impossible projection. Up to this point in the season, Shane has been almost fully operational in every simulation. He has completed all 21 league matches, 4 Copa del Rey fixtures, 5 Champions League group-stage matches, and has also played all 4 national team matches across two international breaks. In barely half a season, he has already processed 34 full simulations! Do not forget—this is still a unit that has not yet reached 19 years of age!"
"Atlético Madrid is too dependent on Shane. Three injured starters have already caused them to collapse away to Athletic Bilbao. If Shane goes down as well, what happens then?"
One week earlier.
The media was broadcasting that Atlético Madrid was invincible.
One week later.
Those same processors were describing Atlético as a giant ship already taking on water.
A vessel that could capsize at any moment.
Time advanced into February.
And the first simulation of February.
Just so happened to be against Real Betis—the same unit that had recently eliminated Atlético from the Copa del Rey.
This fixture attracted enormous attention.
Because the ecosystem wanted to see whether Atlético, after tasting defeat, would continue to decay exactly as the Catalan media had predicted.
The output was devastating.
Operating away from home, Atlético Madrid produced an overwhelmingly dominant suppression sequence.
They controlled almost the entire simulation.
Shane generated one goal and two assist vectors, helping Atlético destroy the opponent 4-0 away from home.
One week later.
Returning to their home grid, Atlético Madrid secured a 1-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano.
The turbulence of the preceding days.
Was gradually overwritten by victory.
...
City of Milan.
Milanello training complex.
AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri paused the playback of the tactical footage.
The image froze on Shane Carter's celebration after scoring.
Allegri turned his head and addressed the surrounding assistant processors.
"Twenty-three league simulations. Twenty-one goals. Seventeen assists." He paused briefly. "All right, gentlemen. That is the unit we are about to face."
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