Chapter 23: De Bruyne's Curving Through Ball

The second half of the match began. Tang Ye took off his yellow training vest and stood at the edge of the pitch.

"Tom!"

Someone in the away section shouted, though it was unclear who. Thanks to his performances in the previous few matches, many fans now recognized Tang Ye. Unfortunately, the away stand was quite far from where he was positioned, so he didn't hear them.

6 Ayoub ↓
99 Tang ↑

"Tang Ye is on!"

As expected, the moment Tang Ye appeared, the chat frequency in the live stream spiked several times over. Fans shouted his real name like people crying out in the abyss, hoping that the god descending from the heavens could pull them from the depths of despair.

"Bringing him on right at the start of the second half—Ten Hag is clearly planning to rely on him!"
"Let's see if Tang Ye can seize this opportunity today!"

Watching Tang Ye jog onto the field, Ten Hag pondered. He was 16 years old, and he was being subbed on at the very start of the second half of a Dutch Eredivisie match. Was it too early for this?

...

"Press forward, push up!" captain Ramselaar urged his teammates. Ten Hag was not yet satisfied with the 2-0 scoreline. He wanted more!

*Whack!*

Just after rallying his teammates, Ramselaar delivered a precise through-ball to Barazite, who was charging down the right flank. This was a golden opportunity for Utrecht! Janssen was moving up in support. Barazite sent a cross back—to Tang Ye!

Tang Ye observed the play. The left side looked promising. Without hesitation, he played a long pass, switching the ball to Haller on the left wing. Haller brought the ball down but was immediately pressed by Wuytens. Haller was a stubborn player; once Wuytens locked onto his position, Haller engaged him in a physical standoff.

Tang Ye drifted over from the center. "Give it to me!"

Huh? Haller wanted to continue his duel with Wuytens, but seeing it was Tang Ye, he decisively laid the ball off. However, with no teammates in the final third, who would support Tang Ye?

Tang Ye was crafty; after taking the ball, he feinted a pass before surging forward, charging straight into the penalty area. Facing Peters' challenge, Tang Ye trapped the ball with his sole before flicking it back to the trailing Haller.

!!!

Ten Hag's eyes lit up. *Damn, he’s that clever?*

"Haller, take the shot!"
"Hey, Haller!"
"Ah!!!!"

After firing the shot, Haller held his head in his hands. He had missed! The best striker in Utrecht had sent a ball served on a silver platter sailing over the bar!

"Fuck!" Haller roared in frustration. He had expected Tang Ye to go for goal himself; he never imagined the kid would proactively drive at the defense before whipping the ball back. Haller hadn't been focused enough. That was the only reason he hadn't completed his hat-trick yet.

"Tang, my bad, my bad!" Haller ran over to Tang Ye, placing his hands on his shoulders and apologizing repeatedly.

"Such a pity..." Tang Ye chewed his gum, his lips moving rhythmically. After unlocking the shop, he had received the corresponding goal-scoring rewards. One assist in the Eredivisie was worth five "Counter-Attack Points"—enough for a pint of "Grealish's Draft Beer"!

"Hey, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Seeing Tang Ye's disappointed expression, Haller thought he was angry.

"It's fine, Sebastien. Don't be nervous. We're leading 2-0, it doesn't matter," Tang Ye waved his hand.

"Okay, you're not mad?"
"Not mad."

Haller began to retreat to his own half, but then he suddenly turned back to ask a question. "Then... will you still pass to me?"

"Of course!" Tang Ye smiled. He had almost no ability to score goals himself; to earn those points, he had to rely on assisting his teammates. Haller was Utrecht's best striker, so of course, he would pass to him!

"Okay, good!" Haller high-fived Tang Ye and sprinted back to his position.

[Damn, so close!]
[Seriously, mate? You're not going to eat a meal served right to your mouth?]
[Clumsy Haller, wasting my King Tang's brilliant pass. Send him to the reserves!]
[The gap is clear. This is the difference between King Tang and an average player; their tactical vision is on completely different levels!]

The match reached the 65th minute, and the score remained 2-0. For the Utrecht fans, this was a decent result, but some were never satisfied.

The game remained tense. Falkenburg was carrying the ball in the front court, and Tang Ye slowly jogged toward him. Though he had only played about 20 minutes, Tang Ye's distance covered already exceeded the total from his previous two matches combined.

"I've got him!" Amrabat ran over from the side, assisting Tang Ye in forcing a pass from Falkenburg. Panic-induced passes often lead to mistakes, and Falkenburg was no exception. His pass went straight to Van der Maarel!

"Counter-attack! Run!"
"Everyone, run!" Ten Hag waved his right hand constantly. "Everyone, run!"

This was the chance! Van der Maarel passed to Ramselaar, who then fed the ball to Tang Ye. Tang Ye took possession and began scanning the positions of the opposing players. There were two center-backs hanging back to protect the goal.

[De Bruyne-esque Curving Through-Ball, Lv2: Similar]
[Proficiency: 2/50]

"Run!" Ten Hag was going crazy on the sidelines. *The forwards have already reached the other half, and you've only just turned around! Your teammates are running for nothing...*

*Whack!*

Tang Ye whipped the ball forward from the center, the sphere flying at a height of just 10cm above the grass. He sent the long pass right between the two Willem II center-backs, Wuytens and Peters.

"I've got it!" Peters attempted a sliding tackle to clear the ball, but for some reason, it suddenly began to curve.

?

It rolled past Wuytens and arrived right at Haller's feet!

"Okay!" Ten Hag nodded, whispering to himself, "Maybe you shouldn't run after all."

The ball was traveling fast! It seemed difficult to control...

*Whack!*

The friction of the natural grass caused the ball to decelerate, stopping almost perfectly at Haller's feet.

"Haller, this is it!"

Facing an absolute one-on-one opportunity, Haller chose to slot it into the top corner.

*Bang!*

"GOOOOOO—AAAAAAA—LLLLLLLL!!!!"
"It's in! Haller!"
"A hat-trick! That is a hat-trick for Haller!"

Witnessing the entire sequence, the fans in the stands were bewildered. *What in the hell kind of pass was that???*

"Tommmm!!!"

Haller grabbed the ball, kicked it into the stands, and ran toward Tang Ye without looking back. Tang Ye had been telling the truth—he wasn't mad at him!

"Beautiful!" Haller slammed into Tang Ye, but the latter didn't smile.

"What's wrong?"
"Wait!"
"Wait for what?"

[Counter-Attack Points * 5]

"Haha!" Tang Ye finally smiled. Grealish's Draft Beer. Secured!