Chapter 2: Outside Foot Curve!

What the hell!

Tang Ye frowned.

37 years old?

Forced retirement in shame?

Nonsense, he’s clearly only 16!

Probably some idiot bought the wrong system account by accident, but Tang Ye chose to ignore it outright.

No system? Slack off. With a system? Still slack off.

I’m never going to work hard—never in this life.

“Bip!”

The 72nd minute: the forward of Forward Eagle committed a foul, stepping on Milner’s ankle.

“Fuck!”

Marent shouted: “What the hell is this? Red card! Red card!”

The referee showed the offending Forward Eagle player a yellow card, while the team doctor rushed onto the pitch to treat Milner.

Marent received bad news: Milner could no longer continue the match.

In the 74th minute, the team’s starting midfielder lost the ability to play. Marent covered his face with both hands and stared at the bench.

“Feranas, you—”

Just as Marent was about to send Feranas on, his assistant coach stepped over and whispered into his ear: “It’s a friendly. Let that Chinese kid play—it’ll boost our viewership!”

“You mean Tang? No, no, no, impossible. Our opponent is Forward Eagle—how can we let him play?”

Marent looked down on lazy players—he would never let Tang Ye onto the pitch.

“It’s management’s order.”

The assistant coach whispered: “We need to sell jerseys…”

Putting a Chinese player on the pitch—even in a friendly—would greatly help Utrecht sell jerseys.

And because of Tang Ye, Utrecht’s second team will gain a lot of Chinese fans!

“Shit!”

Marent cursed, turned to Tang Ye on the bench: “Tang, you’re on!”

“Huh? Me?”

Tang Ye opened his eyes. There were only ten minutes left. To wash up again just for ten minutes of play? Not worth it. He wasn’t keen: “Sir, I haven’t warmed up yet…”

“No excuses. Warm up while you play!”

Marent didn’t expect Tang Ye to do anything meaningful—just needed him to finish out the remaining minutes without causing trouble.

“Alright, alright.”

Tang Ye tightened his laces and slowly walked toward the sideline.

【Your 37-year-old self, still ambitious, stands on the pitch once more】

【An old steed lies down but still dreams of a thousand miles—drawing your reward…】

【You’ve obtained: Modric’s Soul-Crushing Outside Foot (right foot)】

!!!

Modric’s outside foot?

Tang Ye’s eyes lit up.

He’d expected some ancient star’s skill—but instead, he got a Modric outside foot template.

Wait.

Tang Ye suddenly realized something.

According to the system’s timeline, the current year is 2036—so technically, Modric is already retired.

Damn, the system really knows how to deliver!

On camera, Tang Ye in jersey #99 stood at the edge of the pitch.

【Holy shit, who said Tang Ye wouldn’t get playing time? Here’s his chance—awesome!】

【Good, good, those 70+ minutes weren’t wasted】

【Those who bet on draw or Utrecht win are screwed—Utrecht has never won a match with Tang Ye on】

【Don’t say that—counting friendlies, Tang Ye has only played three matches for Utrecht. This is his fourth.】

【Three losses in three games—aren’t you G?】

【Fuck it, I’m betting on a draw just to support Tang Ye!】

After Tang Ye entered the pitch, the number of viewers on Happy Bean Live suddenly surged, because the app Dongqiu Di had pinned a news article after his substitution.

《16-Year-Old Slacker Makes Fourth Substitute Appearance—Come Watch!》

At that moment, Tang Ye had just shaken hands with Milner and stepped onto the pitch—he had no idea so many were watching him.

The match resumed: Utrecht’s goalkeeper Bednarek kicked a free kick from the back, and both teams scrambled for possession in Forward Eagle’s half.

Leveraging his height advantage, Forward Eagle won the first header. Marent immediately shouted for his players to press.

“Go! Go right now!”

All Utrecht players were in the opponent’s half, and Forward Eagle now had possession—this was extremely dangerous. If Utrecht didn’t win back the ball, Forward Eagle could launch a counterattack.

Because Utrecht’s defense was completely empty!

Hearing the coach’s shout, Tang Ye shuffled lazily toward the ball carrier.

This sluggish pressure had zero effect—the ball carrier easily passed it out.

“!!!”

Amrabat reacted fast—he lunged forward, used his shoulder to block the attacker’s path, then kicked the ball away.

“Holy shit, Jesus!”

Marent exhaled deeply—he’d nearly stopped breathing when he saw the ball get passed out.

Good thing Amrabat delivered!

“Xuuu—!!!”

“Xuuuu!!”

“Bip bip bip!”

The match continued. Over 2,000 home fans were furious with Tang Ye’s performance—boos erupted across the stands.

From his 75th-minute entrance to the 85th minute, Tang Ye had touched the ball only twice—and both touches came only after he dropped back to receive it.

The home fans wondered: why did Utrecht spend 50,000 euros to bring this slacker to the Netherlands last summer?

“Kalen, I told you—he can’t do anything!”

Marent shrugged to his assistant: “I won’t say anything in friendlies, but in official matches, I’ll never let this guy play!”

After ranting, Marent noticed Kalen wasn’t looking at him—he was pointing at the pitch.

Huh?

Marent turned—and saw Tang Ye receive a pass from defender Trupe, then turn and dribble forward.

Though he played lazily, the guy had decent ball control.

He used a small feint to shake off the defender, then lifted his head.

“What?”

“Don’t rush—keep possession first!”

Marent shouted—but Tang Ye ignored him, swung his right leg back, and struck with an outside foot.

Thwack!

A crisp sound rang out—the ball soared upward, slicing past the defender’s ear, then curved sharply to the right.

Thwack!

The ball cleared two opposing center-backs, bounced once, and rolled smoothly to the right.

At that moment, a player in red-and-white stripes sprinted forward.

Zaka!

“Breakaway! Tang Ye sent a perfect outside-foot through-ball!”

“To the striker Zaka!”

“The ball is steady—Zaka extends his foot, controls it perfectly!”

“Breakaway! A perfect breakaway pass!”

“The goalkeeper comes out!”

“Zaka, shoot!”

“Goal! Goal!”

“Zaka scores—assisted by Tang Ye’s outside-foot through-ball!”

Though Zaka was the one who finished, the director cut the camera to Tang Ye back in his own half.

Outside-foot curve creates a breakaway.

Is this really a Dutch second-tier friendly?

…

(End of chapter)