Chapter 23: De Bruyne

The second half began, and Tang Ye took off his yellow jersey and stood at the edge of the pitch.

“Tom!”

Someone in the away fans’ section shouted loudly.

Thanks to his performances in previous matches, many fans now knew Tang Ye as a player.

Unfortunately, the away fans’ section was too far from Tang Ye’s current position, and he didn’t hear their shouts.

6Ayoub↓

99Tang↑

“Tang Ye, here he comes!”

As expected, the moment Tang Ye appeared, the barrage of comments on the live stream doubled several times.

The Bean Warriors screamed Tang Ye’s real name from the abyss, hoping the god descending from heaven would pull them out from the depths.

“Brought on right at the start of the second half—Teng Hahe is really going to rely on Tang Ye!”

“Come on, let’s see if Tang Ye can seize this opportunity in today’s match!”

Watching Tang Ye slowly jog toward the pitch, Teng Hahe pondered.

Sixteen years old, substituted on right at the start of the second half in the Eredivisie.

Is this too soon?

……

“Push forward, push forward a bit!”

Captain Ramsellar reminded his teammates on the field.

Teng Hahe wasn’t satisfied with the current 2-0 scoreline.

He wanted more!

Thud!

Immediately after motivating his teammates, Ramsellar delivered a direct pass—accurate enough—to Balazic on the right flank.

This is an opportunity for Utrecht!

Jansen is making a run behind!

Balazic returned the pass!

To Tang Ye!

Tang Ye is observing.

The left side is good!

Without hesitation, Tang Ye launched a long pass to Aale on the left flank.

Aale controlled the ball.

He was pressured by Wu Tengsi!

Aale is stubborn; after Wu Tengsi blocked his position, he locked horns with him.

Tang Ye strolled slowly from the center.

“Give it to me!”

Huh?

Aale still wanted to wrestle with Wu Tengsi, but seeing it was Tang Ye, he immediately passed the ball.

But there were no forwards up front—who would support Tang Ye?

This guy was cunning: after receiving the ball, he feigned a pass, then sprinted forward straight into the penalty area.

Facing Peters, Tang Ye used the front of his foot to trap the ball, then flicked it back to Aale.

!!!

Teng Hahe’s eyes lit up.

What the hell?

So clever?

“Aale, shoot!”

“Hey, Aale!”

“AHHHHHH!”

After taking the shot, Aale grabbed the back of his head with both hands.

He missed!

Yes, Utrecht’s best striker blasted a goal right into his mouth!

“Fuck!”

Aale roared in fury.

He thought Tang Ye was going to shoot himself, never expecting this guy would deliberately dribble forward to pressure the defense, then flick the ball back.

Aale’s focus was insufficient.

This was why he failed to complete a hat-trick!

“Tang, it’s my fault, my fault!”

Aale ran to Tang Ye, placed both hands on his shoulders, and kept apologizing.

“What a shame…”

Tang Ye hadn’t finished chewing his gum; his lips moved up and down.

After unlocking the store, he also unlocked the goal reward.

One assist in the Eredivisie is worth five Comeback Points.

Worth a cup of [Grealish’s Draft Beer]!

“Hey, sorry, sorry!”

Seeing Tang Ye’s disappointed expression, Aale thought he was angry.

“It’s fine, Sebastian, don’t stress—we’re leading 2-0, no problem.”

Tang Ye waved his hand.

“Okay, you’re not mad, right?”

“Not mad.”

Aale began jogging back to his own half, then suddenly turned around and asked Tang Ye a question.

“So… will you still pass to me?”

“Of course!”

Tang Ye smiled.

He had almost no scoring ability—he could only earn Comeback Points by assisting teammates.

Aale was Utrecht’s best striker; Tang Ye would definitely pass to him!

“Okay, good!”

Aale high-fived Tang Ye, then sprinted back to his position.

【Damn, so close!】

【Dude, you don’t even eat a goal handed to you on a silver platter?】

【Clumsy Aale, wasting Tang the King’s perfect penalty-area pass—send him to the reserve team!】

【The gap is clear—this is the difference between Tang the King and ordinary players; their thinking isn’t even on the same level!】

The match had reached the 65th minute; the score remained 2-0.

For Utrecht fans, this score was still quite good.

But some people would never be satisfied!

The game remained tense; Falkenborg dribbled forward, and Tang Ye slowly jogged toward him.

Only twenty minutes into the match, Tang Ye’s running distance had already exceeded the total of his previous two matches.

“I’ll take him!”

Amrabat sprinted in from the side, helping Tang Ye pressure Falkenborg into passing.

Panicked passes often result in errors, and Falkenborg was no exception.

His pass went straight to Van der Maarel!

“Counterattack, move!”

“Everyone, move!”

Teng Hahe waved his right hand frantically: “Move!”

This was the chance for a counterattack!

Van der Maarel passed to Ramsellar, who then passed to Tang Ye.

Tang Ye received the ball and began scanning the positions of the defenders.

Two center-backs were still dropping back to protect.

【De Bruyne curved through-pass, Lv.2: Similar】

【Proficiency: 2/50】

“Move!”

Teng Hahe was nearly frantic on the sideline.

The forwards are already in the opponent’s half—you’ve just finished turning around!

You're running for nothing as a teammate...

Thwack!

Tang Ye drove a forward kick down the center, the ball flying ten centimeters above the turf.

William II’s two central defenders, Wu Tengsi and Peters, were the exact gap through which Tang Ye’s long pass sailed.

“I’ve got it!”

Peters lunged to tackle, ready to clear the ball—but for some reason, the ball suddenly curved.

?

It rolled past Wu Tengsi and reached A Lai !

“OK!”

Ten Hag nodded, murmuring: “You might as well not run.”

The ball’s speed is too high!

Hard to handle...

Thwack!

The natural grass’s immense friction slowed the ball, bringing it to a near-perfect stop right in front of A Lai .

“A Lai , this is your chance!”

Facing this clear one-on-one opportunity, A Lai chose to shoot low into the top corner.

Boom!

“GOOOOOO——AAAAAAA——LLLLLLLL！！！！”

“Goal! A Lai !”

“Hat-trick! A Lai ’s hat-trick!”

After witnessing the entire goal unfold, the fans in the stands wore blank expressions.

What the hell kind of pass was that??

“Tommmm!!!”

A Lai clutched the ball, then kicked it hard toward the stands.

Without looking back, he sprinted toward Tang Ye.

Tang Ye had meant it—he wasn’t angry at A Lai !

“Beautiful!”

A Lai crashed into Tang Ye—but the latter showed no smile.

“What’s wrong?”

“Wait!”

“Wait for what?”

【Counterstrike Points *5】

“Hah!”

Tang Ye finally smiled.

Grimaldi’s draft beer.

Secured!

(End of Chapter)