Chapter 32: Level 3: Simulation (4k Two-in-One)

"Verification... damn it, this is so troublesome."

Tang Ye grabbed his hair. If he wanted to get verified as a professional player on Instagram, he had to provide his market value data from Transfermarkt. This issue had Tang Ye completely stumped.

Because he hadn't even played for half an hour in the Eerste Divisie last season, and with FC Utrecht’s second team keeping their training sessions strictly confidential, the staff at Transfermarkt had no way of knowing Tang Ye’s potential. Currently, the market value section on his profile displayed nothing but two dashes.

--

That was his market value.

Verification failed, so Tang Ye had no choice but to register for Weibo. Getting verified as a professional player on Weibo was much simpler; Tang Ye just took a photo of the National Grade II Athlete certificate he had earned in junior high school. Half an hour later, a striking yellow badge appeared on his Weibo homepage:

【National Grade II Football Player】

At the moment, his follower count was still in the single digits—just the default followers that came with the platform. Remembering what Haller had said earlier, Tang Ye messaged Amrabat on WhatsApp to ask for a few photos from the matches. He put them together and posted them on Weibo, wondering if he could gain some attention.

It was evening in the Netherlands, which meant it was likely the middle of the night in China, but for some fans, the time didn't really matter. Less than 10 minutes after he posted the photo collection, his notifications started popping off. Tang Ye quickly moved his mouse to open the messages.

【Bro, are you a fan of Tang Ye too? Why don't your photos have watermarks? Can you teach me how to do that?】

【These were sent to me by someone else. If you want them, just take them.】

Tang Ye was generous and sent the photos Amrabat had given him directly to the netizen. The person on the other end wanted Tang Ye to teach them how to remove watermarks, but Tang Ye replied that he didn't know how; he just received the photos from others.

【Alright, do you have any other photos? I’ve been a fan of Tang Ye for 20 years, I’ve really supported him for a long time.】

Other photos...

Tang Ye checked his phone gallery. He didn't have a habit of documenting things with photos, and now that a fan was asking for them, he had nothing to show.

【Wait, let me take one for you.】

【What?】

Ignoring the notification sounds from his laptop, Tang Ye took his phone, snapped a selfie with the front camera, and transferred it to his computer.

【????? No, where did you get this photo? This is from Tang Ye, right? Does he have an Instagram account?】

【Yes, he does.】

Tang Ye sent over the Instagram account he had just created, but to his surprise, he was immediately berated.

【A new account? Get lost, scammer. Are you here to swindle money?】

Huh?

【No, this is really my account. Trust me. Follow me now, and when I get more followers, I’ll follow you back and make you an influencer!】

【Go to hell!】

The fan on the other end was furious. Wasn't this the same scam as "I am Qin Shi Huang, send me money"?

【You’re so unprofessional. If you’re going to scam me, at least use an account that already has followers. I’m speechless. I actually thought you were a Tang Ye fan.】

【No, I really am Tang Ye. Please, just believe me and give me a follow.】

【You’re a fan of Tang Ye? Then let me ask you a question: what kind of player is Tang Ye?】

What kind of player?

*Hiss*—

Tang Ye took a deep breath. This was a debatable question.

【A ball-controlling midfielder!】

【You’re trying to scam people without even having basic knowledge? My Brother Meng is a positional midfielder. Do you even know what a positional midfielder is? He only needs to walk on the pitch to win MVP!】

Damn it, this guy was a hater!

【How can you say that!】

Tang Ye was getting angry.

【I run my ass off, okay?】

【Using a Tang Ye selfie to scam people everywhere, I’m going to put you in your place today. Holy crap, you even have a "National Grade II Athlete" tag on your homepage. Haha, hilarious. My Tang, the King of Football, is a starter for an Eredivisie team, and you’re trying to piggyback on his fame with a Grade II certificate?】

"..."

【Go wash up and go to sleep, you silly kid. You’ll never experience the greatness of my King Tang in this lifetime.】

"..."

Tang Ye held the back of his head with both hands. According to the theories of Haller and Barazite, creating a social media account was supposed to be very useful for a player. But Tang Ye’s situation was a bit special—he had too many haters!

...

After being scolded by a fan, Tang Ye felt a bit disgruntled and went to sleep early. When he woke up the next morning, he saw the time was 10:12 AM and there were 21 missed calls from Ten Hag.

Disaster!

Today was Sunday, Dutch time. It was supposed to be a rest day, but due to scheduling adjustments, Ten Hag had swapped the work shifts of Sunday and the following Monday. Tang Ye’s alarm clock was only set for weekdays, so he was now nearly two hours late!

He scrambled out of bed and rushed to the training ground without even eating.

"Tang, you jerk, get over here! Get over here right now!"

Before he even stepped onto the pitch, Ten Hag’s voice came flying toward him.

"Holy crap, *hiss*—"

Tang Ye took a deep breath, looked at Ten Hag’s darkened face, and walked over slowly.

"Erik, actually, I forgot today was training..."

"Are you trying to tell me you forgot today was a training day?"

"..."

"Yes, how did you know?"

"To hell with you! Just because you can get into the cafeteria now, does that mean you don't care about training times anymore?"

Ten Hag was so angry he kicked Tang Ye’s backside: "Seriously, the sows in the neighboring village are more diligent than you. At least they wake up to eat when it's time. You haven't had breakfast yet, have you?"

"Not yet..."

"I knew it, you lazy pig!"

Ten Hag was truly furious, and Tang Ye felt very aggrieved. He had been roasted by haters on Weibo yesterday, which led him to forget to set his alarm.

"Mr. Erik, believe me, this was truly a mistake. It won't happen again next time," Tang Ye said.

"It won't happen again next time?"

Ten Hag looked into Tang Ye’s eyes, as if waiting for a definitive answer.

"Of course."

"Okay."

Ten Hag nodded and took his phone out of his pocket. Then, he played a recording for Tang Ye.

【Mr. Erik, believe me, this was truly a mistake. It won't happen again next time.】

"This, this is..."

"This is what you told me last week. Remember?"

"Oh, and here’s the one from the week before."

Ten Hag played another recording. Apart from the speed of the speech, the sentences were identical.

"..."

Ten Hag patted Tang Ye’s back. "You’ll make up for the lost training time tonight. Sit out the morning session and get to the cafeteria to eat."

Watching Tang Ye’s retreating back, Ten Hag shouted, "The sows in the town of Montfoort wake up at 7:30 to eat. Tang, when will you be able to outperform those sows?"

As soon as Ten Hag finished speaking, Tang Ye’s system reacted.

【At 37, your body can't keep up with training and requires more sleep, but your head coach doesn't understand your needs. He treats you like a 16-year-old, unaware that you are no longer at that vibrant age.】

【Start in an Eredivisie match and achieve results (ratings, goals, assists)】

Reward: Portuguese Treasure Chest (The chest level correlates with the starting performance)

It’s here!

Tang Ye’s eyes lit up, but the smile he had just shown quickly faded back to calm. It was already a miracle that Ten Hag had let him start in the KNVB Cup. To start in an Eredivisie match? It didn't matter if Tang Ye was late every day or arrived 30 minutes early—it wouldn't make a difference!

...

That evening at 8:30, Tulus and Tang Ye said goodbye at the gym. Shortly after, Tulus received a call from Ten Hag.

"Mr. Erik."

Tulus greeted Ten Hag. FC Utrecht’s coaching staff hierarchy was very distinct; as the fitness coach, Tulus was Ten Hag’s subordinate—a direct one. That was why Tulus hadn't refused when Ten Hag asked him to give Tang Ye extra physical training.

Ten Hag had timed the call perfectly, knowing that Tang Ye had just finished his session.

"How was the training tonight?"

"It was okay. We worked on strength today. You know, Tang usually doesn't resist when it comes to strength training, and my intensity was relatively low."

"Relatively low, you say..."

Ten Hag pondered for a moment before throwing out a question he had been harboring: "Let me ask you, for a player like Tang who is only 16, can we increase the intensity of his training?"

"Absolutely not. That is strictly forbidden."

Tulus shook his head repeatedly. "Mr. Erik, it’s not that I don't want to work overtime, but Tang is only 16. His bones haven't even finished developing. High-intensity strength training at this stage will stunt his growth!"

Tulus’s meaning was clear. Tang Ye was only 16; he couldn't do 100kg squats like adult players in their 20s. While Tang Ye could lift a 100kg barbell if he put his weight into it, it would definitely affect his future.

"I know strength training is out. I’m talking about conditioning—endurance training. Let him run more."

"You want him to start?"

"Tulus, you don't need to worry about what I’m planning. Just answer my question: is it feasible to increase the intensity and volume of Tang’s endurance training?"

"Of course, that’s possible."

Tulus agreed without hesitation. "The intensity is fine. I can increase the volume by 10% on top of what he’s doing now. As long as he gets proper massages, he won't get injured."

"10%? No, no, no. He’s only 16. You shouldn't train his endurance like a 30-something player. Now is the time when he should be able to run the most; you can train him to be faster."

Ten Hag said, "You need to find a way to make that lazy pig run, understand?"

"But you’re trying to make him fly."

"Then let him fly!"

Ten Hag shouted, and this last sentence left Tulus silent.

"So, you’re in a hurry after all."

While Ten Hag was on the phone with Tulus, Van der Gaag was standing right beside him. The two were currently watching the view from the balcony of Ten Hag’s home.

"This is my first season at Utrecht; I have to get everything right."

Ten Hag’s expression was firm. "Taking a team with poor morale to the top twelve of the league—Michel, you know our task this season is arduous!"

...

As time moved forward, after the conclusion of the KNVB Cup match, Tang Ye felt his training volume being increased bit by bit. During this period, Tang Ye had a chat with Ten Hag about the workload, to which the Dutchman replied that if Tang Ye wanted to continue enjoying the privilege of being exempt from academic homework, he would have to accept the coaching staff’s arrangements.

That single sentence from Ten Hag completely checkmated Tang Ye.

The good news was that the two goals Tang Ye scored against Sneek earned him 30 Counterattack Points—worth six pints of Grealish’s draft beer—so Tang Ye didn't have to bear the pain brought on by the endurance training.

The bad news was that the system’s draft beer was a reinforced version of alcohol; it treated the symptoms but not the root cause. Every night when Tang Ye returned to his room, he was in a state of extreme exhaustion. Unless he bought Kante’s Hot Chocolate Milk.

Tang Ye really wanted to buy the hot chocolate milk, but the damn thing was just too expensive!

Soon, under this new training intensity, Tang Ye—who drank the draft beer every day—discovered a very serious problem.

The daily mission reward was only 3 Counterattack Points, while Tang Ye’s daily pint of draft beer cost 5 points. This meant that if Tang Ye continued at this training intensity, he would have to score goals or provide assists in every match. Otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to afford his 5-point beer!

Trade big suffering for small suffering?

It didn't seem that simple anymore.

...

"Move, move, move forward!"

Tang Ye shouted, and Barazite began his run ahead.

*Thwack!*

He sent a through ball, whipping it out in front of Barazite. Because he hadn't applied enough backspin at the moment of impact, the ball didn't decelerate as expected when it hit the turf. Barazite stretched his leg out, but couldn't quite reach it.

【De Bruyne’s Curved Through Ball, Lv2: Similar】

Proficiency: 49.5/50

"Beautiful!"

Tang Ye shouted. Barazite, up ahead, spread his arms: "The angle was great, but the ball was too fast. Tang, can you slow the ball down?"

"Let's end the passing drill for now!"

Van der Gaag said. Tang Ye had already done enough long passes today; the effect of overtraining wouldn't be significant, so they might as well switch to a new project.

"Let me try one more."

Tang Ye raised his hand to signal. Van der Gaag, of course, wouldn't refuse and immediately kicked the spare ball sitting by his feet to Tang Ye.

This drill for Utrecht was a tactical simulation. Tang Ye wasn't passing directly; he had to break through Amrabat’s defense.

"Sofyan, ease up a little, give him some space!"

Van der Gaag reminded him. Tang Ye took the ball and began moving laterally, using a feint to shake off a slacking Amrabat.

Don't rush, create a bit more distance.

That’s it!

Tang Ye saw Barazite ahead, who had also shaken off his defender. He wrapped his foot around the ball with his instep and sent it out with a *thwack*.

It was similar to the arc of the previous long pass, but this time, Tang Ye intentionally added a significant amount of backspin to the ball.

As the ball hit the turf, the reverse spin caused it to instantly decelerate, arriving perfectly in front of Barazite.

Barazite smashed the ball into the net with one touch!

【De Bruyne’s Curved Through Ball, Lv2: Similar】

【Proficiency: 50/50】

【Lv2: Similar → Lv3: Simulation】

【Passing: 72 → 74】