Chapter 2: The Outside Curve!

What is this?

Tang Ye frowned. Thirty-seven years old? A humiliating retirement? Nonsense, he was clearly only sixteen!

Unless something had gone wrong, someone must have bought the wrong account for their cheat system, but Tang Ye chose to ignore it entirely. Without a system, he was a slacker; with a system, he could be stronger, but he still wanted to be a slacker. Making an effort was impossible—it was never going to happen in this lifetime.

"Beep!"

In the 72nd minute of the match, a Go Ahead Eagles winger committed a foul, stepping hard on Milner’s ankle.

"Fuck!" Merent cursed loudly. "What the hell is this? That’s a red card, a red card!"

The referee showed a yellow card to the offending Go Ahead Eagles player, and the team doctor rushed onto the pitch to treat Milner. Merent received bad news: Milner could no longer continue.

In the 74th minute, having lost his main midfielder, Merent covered his face with his hands and looked toward the bench.

"Feranas, you..."

Just as Merent was about to send Feranas on, his assistant coach leaned in and whispered, "This is a friendly. We could let that Chinese kid on; it would help our viewership ratings!"

"You mean Tang? No, no, no, that’s impossible. Our opponents are the Go Ahead Eagles; how can I let him play?" Merent despised lazy players from the bottom of his heart and was determined not to let Tang Ye onto the pitch.

"It’s the management’s decision," the assistant whispered. "We need to sell jerseys..."

Letting a Chinese player participate—even in a friendly—would be a massive boost for Utrecht’s jersey sales. Moreover, because of Tang Ye, the Utrecht second team would gain quite a few Chinese fans.

"Damn it!" Merent cursed, then turned to look at Tang Ye on the bench. "Tang, you’re up!"

"Ah, me? Me?" Tang Ye opened his eyes. There were only ten minutes left; having to take another shower for just ten minutes of play wasn't worth it. He didn't really want to go on. "Sir, I haven’t warmed up yet..."

"Don't give me any nonsense! Warm up while you play!"

Merent didn't expect Tang Ye to actually do anything; he just wanted the guy to finish the remaining ten minutes without any trouble.

"Fine, fine." Tang Ye tightened his shoelaces and walked slowly toward the edge of the pitch.

[At 37 years old, you are full of ambition and stand on the pitch once more.]
[The old steed in the stable still aspires to gallop a thousand miles. Your reward is being drawn...]
[You have received: Luka Modrić’s signature outside-foot pass (Right foot).]

***

!!!

Modrić’s outside-foot pass? Tang Ye’s eyes lit up. He had expected to receive a skill from some ancient footballer, but he hadn't imagined it would be a template for a Modrić-style outside-foot pass.

Wait! Tang Ye suddenly realized something. In the system’s settings, the current year was 2036, so strictly speaking, Modrić was indeed a retired athlete.

Awesome. The system never misses!

On camera, Tang Ye, wearing the number 99 jersey, stood at the edge of the pitch.

"Holy crap, who said Tang Ye wouldn't get a chance? Here it is! Insane!"
"Nice, nice, those 70-plus minutes of waiting weren't in vain."
"Those who bet on a draw hoping for a Utrecht win are going to lose money. Utrecht has never won a match when Tang Ye plays."
"You can't say that; including friendlies, this is only Tang Ye’s fourth match for Utrecht."
"A 100% loss rate in three games—tell me that isn't cursed."
"Screw it, I’m betting on a draw. I have to support Tang Ye!"

After Tang Ye entered the game, the viewer count on the Huandoudou livestream began to surge, all because an app called Dongqiudi had pinned a news headline after he stepped onto the field: "16-year-old slacker makes his fourth substitute appearance, come and watch!"

At that moment, Tang Ye had just high-fived Milner and stepped onto the pitch, unaware that so many people were watching him.

The match continued. Utrecht’s backup goalkeeper, Bednarek, took a set-piece from the back, and players from both sides began battling for possession in the Go Ahead Eagles' half. Using their height advantage, the Eagles won the first header. Seeing this, Merent immediately urged his players to press.

"Up! Get up there!"

With all the Utrecht players in the opponent’s half and the Eagles in control of the ball, the situation was dangerous. If Utrecht didn't win the ball back, the Eagles could launch a counter-attack, as Utrecht’s defense was currently empty!

Hearing the coach’s urging, Tang Ye wandered sluggishly toward the ball carrier. This lazy attempt at pressure did nothing, and the player easily passed the ball away.

"!!!"

Amrabat reacted quickly, rushing in to block the space with his shoulder before poking the ball away.

"Holy shit, Jesus!" Merent let out a long sigh of relief. His heart had stopped when he saw the opponent pass the ball out. Thank goodness for Amrabat!

"Xuuu——!!!"
"Xuuuu!!"
"Beep, beep, beep!"

The match continued. The 2,000 fans in the home stands were very dissatisfied with Tang Ye’s performance, and boos erupted throughout the stadium.

From the 75th minute to the 85th, for ten full minutes, Tang Ye had only touched the ball twice, and both times were only because he had dropped deep to receive it. The home fans had one question: why did Utrecht spend 50,000 euros last summer to bring this slacker to the Netherlands?

"Karen, I told you, he can't do anything!" Merent gestured toward his assistant. "I won't say anything for friendlies, but when the real matches start, I’m definitely not letting this guy play!"

After finishing his rant, Merent noticed Karen wasn't looking at him, but pointing at the pitch.

Huh?

Merent turned to look. Tang Ye had just received a pass from the defender, Trupe, and was turning to carry the ball forward. Even though he was lazy, his ability to protect the ball was actually quite decent. With a subtle move, he shook off the pressing defender and lifted his head.

"What?"

"Don't rush, just hold onto the ball!" Merent shouted. But Tang Ye ignored him, swung his right leg back, and whipped the ball with the outside of his boot.

*Snap!*

A crisp sound echoed as the ball launched into the air, flying past the ear of the defender in front of him before beginning to curve toward the right.

*Snap!*

The ball soared over the two opposing center-backs, hit the ground, and continued to roll smoothly toward the right. A player in a red and white jersey sprinted out.

Xhaka!

"A breakaway! Tang Ye has sent a through ball with the outside of his foot!"
"It’s to the striker, Xhaka!"
"The ball is perfect. Xhaka stretches out his foot to control it—perfect!"
"A one-on-one! This is a perfect breakaway!"
"The keeper is coming out!"
"Xhaka, shoot!"
"Goal! It’s a goal!"
"Xhaka scores, coming from a beautiful outside-foot through ball by Tang Ye!"

Even though Xhaka was the one who scored, the director kept the camera on Tang Ye in the backfield. An outside-foot curve creating a breakaway. Was this really a Dutch second-tier friendly?