Chapter 143: Borussia Dortmund

While playing the system, Tang Ye's attention was unintentionally drawn to the super templates in the template shop.

A large number of unfamiliar stars, each priced at tens of thousands of comeback points, looked flashy and extravagant.

Tang Ye now had a question: with his current speed of earning comeback points, could he buy templates from the shop without relying on Huabei loans?

Could he really only accumulate them slowly through match rewards and daily tasks?

That was too unrealistic!

"Ding!"

As Tang Ye was thinking, his phone on the table rang; he had to cancel his ongoing matchmaking.

It was a message from Bruno.

【Tom, are you bored playing alone? I found someone for you—a guy I met during a match; he also loves gaming.】

Right after reading Bruno's message, a friend request lit up on Tang Ye's WhatsApp.

【dembele321】

Tang Ye squinted at it; if he wasn't mistaken, this was French.

Bruno had said he met him during a match, so the other person was likely a professional player; Tang Ye typed his name into Google.

【Ousmane Dembélé, professional player for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga】

Oh!

Tang Ye immediately realized.

This was the legendary template he'd obtained before!

He accepted Dembélé's friend request, and the two chatted.

Aside from that, Dembélé knew many games—he often played FIFA, Overwatch, and LOL.

【I was late for training because I was gaming.】

"..."

Seeing Dembélé's message, Tang Ye couldn't help laughing.

Damn it, you're my new best friend from now on!

Tang Ye picked up his phone, typed Chinese into a translator, then sent the French version to Dembélé.

【What game?】

【LOL】

Looking at the matchmaking he'd just interrupted on his laptop screen, Tang Ye smiled.

Bro!

Best bro!

He turned off the VPN, switched from the Chinese server account to the European server account, and added Dembélé as a friend.

【Mate, what's your rank now?】

【Bronze】

"..."

Looking at the two Chinese characters on the translation app, Tang Ye took a deep breath.

【You skipped training to play games—why are you Bronze?】

Dembélé fell silent for a moment before replying.

【I've played for a long time—since 2014—but I just can't rank up.】

He was stuck at Bronze.

But that wasn't a problem; Dembélé was already Tang Ye's friend, and Tang Ye would help his friends.

He rented a European Bronze account on a domestic rental platform, re-added Dembélé as a friend, and invited him in.

【Do we need voice chat?】

Dembélé seemed excited—he felt he was about to reach Gold!

【Do you speak Spanish?】

【No】

【Dutch?】

【No】

【Chinese... never mind, no voice chat.】

Fifteen minutes later.

【Holy shit, why are you running like that? You can shoot!】

【You missed the shot, bro, damn it—you only got 50 gold after 10 minutes!】

【Bro, you're the guy who skipped training to game—how are you this bad?】

【Aim him, holy shit】

After one match, Tang Ye, now familiar with Dembélé's skill level, decided to calm down and play his own game, ignoring whatever insane plays Dembélé made.

They played until 1 a. m.

Far away in Germany, Dembélé grinned, showing his white teeth as he stared at the French word "Gold" and his seven straight wins on his screen.

Bruno hadn't lied—Tom was a super expert!

【Tom, I'll come find you again tomorrow—when do you finish training?】

Tang Ye:...

Dongqiu Di match preview: At 2:45 a. m. on October 17, the 8th round of La Liga will see Huang Qian host Celta at the Song of the Sea Stadium; Celta currently ranks second-to-last in the league.

Borussia Dortmund Weekly—Cross-Special Edition: Last night, Dembélé's League of Legends account stayed online until 2 a. m.; the reporter noted, "Dembélé was brought to Gold rank by a skilled player, apparently someone he paid."

Spanish Metro Front Page: A La Liga player's bicycle was recently stolen; the bike's value reportedly exceeded 7,500 euros.

On the third morning, after his holiday ended, Tang Ye rode his new bicycle to the team's training base.

Huang Qian's schedule this month was odd.

Before the 20th, they had only two matches—but after the 20th, they had to play three!

With two weeks left until the match against Celta, Escribá had ample time to train the players.

For the past few days, Tang Ye had played games with Dembélé every night; his training performance wasn't great, but it didn't hinder his improvement.

On the afternoon of the 11th, during training, Tang Ye heard the system's familiar voice.

【De Bruyne 45-degree cross Lv. 4: Realistic】

Proficiency: 1/500

【Passing: 86 → 87】

After hardship comes joy!

Upgrading the 【45-degree cross】 skill raised Tang Ye's passing stat to 87—something to be happy about.

Tang Ye also noticed a problem during this upgrade: once a stat like passing reached 85 or higher, the rate of improvement slowed significantly.

Of course, that made sense—only a handful of players in world football had passing stats above 90; Tang Ye couldn't possibly reach 90+ just by grinding skill proficiency.

【Hey, Tom, did you find your bike?】

In the locker room, Bruno tossed Tang Ye a bottle of mineral water: "I saw your news—a certain La Liga player, haha."

【I don't know—I didn't contact the police.】

Tang Ye shrugged.

Bikes were too hard to find; otherwise, he wouldn't have bought a new one the day after losing his.

Just thinking about the thief who stole his bike made Tang Ye angry.

Why the hell steal a bike too!

【So, how's it going with Dembélé? Is he really good at gaming?】

Bruno sat down on a chair: "Dembélé used to be at Lyon—we met him during a friendly against them. I went to their locker room looking for someone and found him sitting on the floor watching a game, haha—his addiction is even worse than yours!"

Pfft!

Ale, who was drinking water, spat it all out: "Bruno, you're seriously underestimating Tom."

【What?】

Bruno turned his head, confused; Ale pointed at Tang Ye's head, laughing: "Last season, when our coach was explaining tactics in the gym, he was hiding behind me playing FIFA."

【I only played one match—I stopped after that.】

Tang Ye explained.

【Then you were reading novels again, weren't you? I felt your phone pressing against my back.】

Tang Ye had no reply.

But it didn't matter—as long as Eric wasn't there!

On the day of the match against Celta, Tang Ye joined Huang Qian's teammates at the Song of the Sea Stadium.

Rumor had it their opponent was weak and easy to beat.

But Tang Ye had never faced Celta before, so he didn't let his guard down too much.

He glanced at Rodrigo standing behind him; Rodrigo patted his shoulder—the Spanish defensive midfielder was clearly ready.

He'd performed well in the last match, so he got another starting spot today.

He had to seize this opportunity!

'Beep!'

The referee blew the whistle, and both teams' players, accompanied by their ball boys, walked out of the tunnel.

【Here it comes, the performance of King Tang!】

【Celta doesn't seem strong—let's see if King Tang can pull off a hat-trick.】

【Celta's just in bad form; after all, they're a top-five-league team, they've got talent.】

【Does King Tang have talent?】

【Alright, well, he doesn't.】

【Another 4-2-3-1? Is Escrivá changing the formation just for Piggy Hero?】

【Alright guys, classic finger-rubbing—King Tang is about to put on a show.】

【Forward, forward!】

Bruno urged his players to push up.

Today's opponent is weak, so Huang Qian will play more boldly.

【Give it to me!】

Tang Ye strolled slowly to the backfield, and Sorianos passed to him.

Don't rush to take the ball—first, look around!

The defender is right behind me!

As Sorianos's pass rolled toward him, Tang Ye moved forward to meet it.

Pretend to stop it, then actually flick it straight back!

【Wow!!】

A clean, sharp turn to shake off the marker—Wos, tightly marking Tang Ye, was startled and nearly lost his balance.

Wos's loss of balance only highlighted King Tang's greatness!

Get forward quickly!

Tap! Tap! Tap!

With quick outside-of-the-foot dribbling, Tang Ye briefly created space.

But due to his own speed limitations, Tang Ye couldn't dribble for long.

Aim at the ball to his right front, prepare to swing!

Huh!

The ball rolled forward slightly—Tang Ye misjudged it.

But it doesn't matter—just take one extra step and use my left foot!

Tap!

【De Bruyne Through Ball Lv. 4: Realistic】

Proficiency: 32/1000

【Tang Ye, play a direct through ball forward!】

【Fast, Bakambu, control the ball!】

【Beautiful!】

【Adjust, shoot now!】

【This one's in!】

【gggg——ooooo——llllll!!!】 Less than ten minutes into the match, the stadium announcer had already screamed the goal.

Tang Ye sprinted toward Bakambu, and the two slid to the ground together outside the pitch.

Five stripes on both of them.

No need to say it—the one with three stripes was obviously Tang Ye's.

【Vamos!】

On the sideline, Escrivá smiled, gave a simple clap, then slowly walked back to the bench.

At the 8th minute of the match, the home team's head coach sat down!

Through these opening minutes, Escrivá saw a lot.

Celta's pressing ability is weak, meaning they rarely pressure Huang Qian's midfield or defenders.

Even when they do press, it's just like Wos's attempt—lacking intensity.

If they can't even steal the ball from Tang Ye, how can they hope to win?

!

Celta is finished!

27th minute!

【Tang Ye, send the ball to Pato on the left.】

【Ale is ready in the middle, but Pato has no passing option.】

【It'd be better if Tang Ye were in this position.】

【Hey, here's an opening!】

【Tang Ye is running into the box!】

【Pato passes to Ale, Ale to Tang Ye!】

【Tang Ye to Bakambu on the right!】

【Bakambu crosses to Pato!】

【Shoot!】

The scoreboard showed 28 minutes in the first half—the score was now 2-0.

Huang Qian led 2-0 at home!

This was a passing and possession feast from Huang Qian's front line.

Pato, Ale, Tang Ye, and Bakambu executed rapid, precise short-pass combinations.

This was the effect of combining the '3' and '1' in the 4-2-3-1!

【aswelivealifeofease～】

【everyoneofushasallweneed～】

【skyofblueandseaofgreen～】

【yellowsubmarine! (Yellow Submarine)】

Boom! Boom!

【yellowsubmarine!】

Boom! Boom!

After the 2-0 score, the atmosphere in the stadium suddenly ignited.

The home fans slowly realized.

Today, Huang Qian would completely dominate this match at the Opera House!

Press them!

At the 41st minute of the first half, Rodri intercepted a Celta attack in his own half, and Huang Qian launched a swift counterattack.

Bruno's long pass went straight to the right baseline!

Bakambu, with his speed and dribbling, took control of the ball!

Bruno's pass choice was perfect—Bakambu now had a one-on-one opportunity on the baseline.

Facing Caffular, inch slowly into the box!

Looks like something's coming!

Sensing the chance, Tang Ye moved toward Bakambu's position—Rodri reacted quickly and immediately blocked Tang Ye's path.

【Here!】

Knowing Bakambu couldn't break through, Tang Ye reached out from behind for the ball.

Bakambu passed to Tang Ye.

OK!

Tang Ye always liked to think ahead before receiving the ball.

And this time, what he thought of before receiving it was…

Shoot directly!

He shifted the ball from his right foot to his left—his feet nearly collided, but his mind was clear, and he controlled it perfectly.

He flicked the ball with his left foot into the box!

The defender rushed out!

Tang Ye seized the chance and curled it toward the far corner!

Tap!

The ball went straight into the net.

Because it happened so suddenly, goalkeeper Alvarez had no time to react.

Goal!

【Wow!】

Tang Ye kept sprinting forward along the direction of his body, heading left.

"tom"

"tom!!"

"tom!!!"

Three shouts from the home fans—Tang Ye stood on the touchline, arms spread, welcoming their cries.

"That's it, that's it!"

"Well done!"

"Keep scoring! Keep scoring!"

"Destroy them!"

【You gained 15 Reverse Points】

So far, one goal and one assist—Tang Ye earned a 25-point Reverse Points reward.

But this was clearly not over.

A match lasts ninety minutes—only forty minutes have passed!

At halftime, Escrivà asked Tang Ye if he wanted to be substituted for rest.

Upon hearing this, Ale's attention snapped instantly—he stared fixedly at Tang Ye, who was stuffing gum into his pocket.

As a forward, Ale naturally didn't want Tang Ye, a pure attacking midfielder, taken off—but he had been Tang Ye's teammate last season.

He knew Tang Ye's nature…

"I'm fine, I can still play."

Tang Ye shook his pants, then gave Escrivà a thumbs-up.

"Good. Keep going!"

Escrivà placed a hand on Tang Ye's shoulder, then pulled it back to explain some issues from the first half to the players.

Second half begins!

"villarreal!"

"villarreal!"

From both sides of the tunnel came the fans chanting their team's name—Tang Ye stayed close behind captain Bruno.

"Give it your all in the second half!"

Bruno and Tang Ye slapped hands.

"No need to cheer."

"Huh? Why?"

"I'm always at full capacity!"

He rubbed his hands, shook his legs in place, and stepped onto the pitch, ready.

"Hah!"

Less than fifteen minutes into the second half, Celta's defender Gómez tackled Ale, received two yellow cards, and was sent off.

Celta had already had little hope—now they were down to ten men.

What now?

"xuuu——!!!"

Ale rolled around on the grass; the home fans booed Gómez for the foul. Tang Ye sprinted forward, bent his knees, and crouched: "Ale, you okay?"

Ale's ankle was in severe pain—he hadn't heard Tang Ye.

So Tang Ye extended his right index finger and rubbed Ale's buttocks: "Sebastián, you alright?"

"Call the physio!"

Bruno ran over and waved to the substitutes' bench.

"Oh, right."

Tang Ye stood up—he'd almost forgotten about the physio.

Two physios quickly examined Ale's injury and carried the Ivorian off the pitch.

Gómez's tackle was violent—Ale couldn't continue!

"Ssshh—"

Tang Ye clasped his head—Gómez had clearly not pulled his foot.

He seemed to have deliberately taken Ale down!

Damn it, what kind of defender is this?

Sansón came on to replace Ale.

Villarreal, now with an extra man, launched an attack against Celta!

Gómez had hurt Tang Ye's friend—Tang Ye would make his other friends crush Celta mercilessly.

3-0 wasn't enough!

A massacre!

Huang Qian would create a massacre today!

In the 72nd minute, two Celta forwards dribbled past Villarreal's backline until Rodri, with help from González, intercepted the ball outright.

Time to go!

Tang Ye quickly assessed the positioning of both teams' players and sprinted from the center to the left flank.

"Here!"

Tang Ye shouted—Rodri's low, long pass found him precisely.

Tang Ye didn't stop the ball—he turned and ran forward with it.

Rodri's pass thus became a through ball.

He scanned the penalty area, then swung his left leg.

【De Bruyne 45-degree cross Lv. 4: Realistic】

Proficiency: 12/500

The camera tracked Tang Ye's pass as it moved sideways.

Great opportunity!

"Woww!"

The stands erupted in excitement.

Pato and Sansón both sprinted into the penalty area.

Without Ale, Villarreal lacked aerial strength in the box—but Tang Ye's long pass was exquisitely placed.

It had spin!

"I'll get it!"

Sansón shouted—Pato quickly retreated to make space.

Thwack!

Sansón struck the ball into the grass—it bounced up.

Pato launched a direct volley from in front of goal!

……

(End of Chapter)