Chapter 400: Germans Before, Now, After, and Forever Never Will

Pinned post on Check Dongqiu Di: China vs. Germany match in progress, current score 1:1.

Live match report: Tang Ye scores directly from a free kick, China leads Germany 2:1!

"Oh!!!!"

Roars erupted from the stands as fans cheered; Tang Ye sprinted forward with all his might.

Knee slide!

Thud!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

After standing up and taking a few more steps forward, Tang Ye arrived beneath the section where the German fans were seated.

"Roar—!!!!"

In the camera shot, veins bulged on Tang Ye's forehead and arms; viewed up close, it was even somewhat terrifying.

"Tang Ye!"

The Chinese national team players swarmed around Tang Ye, while Madaloni led the substitutes straight onto the pitch.

So many people were huddled together that Tang Ye's face was no longer visible on the big screen.

The camera panned downward.

On the grass were the marks left by Tang Ye's knee slide, dark trails.

Friction between the shins and the grass leaving marks is a perfectly normal occurrence.

But...

The number of these marks seemed a bit off?

One, two, three...

【????】

【Just started watching the World Cup, asking if I don't understand: are knee slides supposed to have three lines?】

【Hahahaha】

【Give the new fans a taste of Tang Tang Qiuwang's shock value】

【Wait, they scored just like that? I waited one minute, and you give me three points?】

【Damn, I should have followed Brother Tang Zhengxiong's direction】

The Happy Bean players were currently the most miserable.

Who the hell would think to bet on a straight win for the Chinese national team!

Except Tang Tang Zhengxiong.

But thinking about it carefully, it was ultimately the fans who didn't understand football.

Tang Ye was the core of the national team, and Tang Tang Zhengxiong was Tang Ye's father.

Tang Tang Zhengxiong had said the national team would win outright.

How could the national team possibly lose then?

They absolutely could not lose!

"Oh my god, oh my god..."

With two consecutive "oh my gods," the commentators in the broadcast booth were completely at a loss for words.

Being the first to breach the German team's goal was already incredibly astounding.

No one expected that after the score was equalized, Tang Ye would damn well score another one.

Treating Germany like a bunch of noobs, is he?

"Haha!"

Embracing his teammates, Tang Ye let his emotions run free.

"Amazing, amazing!"

Madaloni tightly gripped Tang Ye's head.

"No, I told you, playing offense means an easy win."

Seizing the opportunity, Tang Ye began showing off to his teammates.

Walking slowly off the field, Tang Ye quickly spotted a photographer standing nearby and the camera in his hand.

As Tang Ye walked toward the photographer, the photographer, seemingly knowing what Tang Ye intended to do, actively moved closer.

Crouching halfway down, Tang Ye pointed his index finger at the lens, then used his thumb to point at himself.

"Wow!!!!!"

"Tom!"

"Tom!"

The live audience switched sides on the spot, beginning to cheer and shout for Tang Ye and his Chinese national team.

There was no helping it; the German team had played terribly today.

Repeated malicious fouls meant neutral fans could no longer support them!

"Let's go, let's go!"

Morale among the Chinese national team players soared; after high-fiving each other, they returned to their positions.

"Beep!"

The referee blew the whistle; the German team kicked off!

"Hurry, hurry!"

Head coach Löw urged them on.

With only a few minutes remaining, if the German team didn't intensify their attack immediately, it would be too late!

Meanwhile, the Chinese team had also made their adjustments; Gao Gao Zhunyi and Zhang Zhang Xizhe positioned themselves very deep, stretching the defensive line and denying Germany any good attacking opportunities.

"Push up! Push up!"

Tang Ye urged them on as Zhang Zhang Xizhe coordinated with Wei Wei Shihao, the two of them completely locking down Müller.

Bang!

Zhang Zhang Xizhe completed the tackle!

"Beautiful!"

"The Chinese players' stamina appears to be failing, yet they are still maintaining a decent level of performance."

"Hold on for just five more minutes, and China will secure victory in this match!"

The camera instantly shifted to the stands, where Chinese fans scattered across various sections sang their great anthem of support.

"Oh GGBond, a hero in a fairy tale~"

"Oh GGBond, hot blood flows within the heart~"

"Oh GGBond, everything is held within our hands~"

"Make the world a better place."

"Perseverance guarantees success!!"

The voices grew louder and louder; some European fans who understood no Chinese at all were even trying to sing along.

They did not know what the lyrics meant.

But they could be certain that this song was being sung for Tom on the field!

"GG... Bond?"

The commentator in the English broadcast booth was somewhat bewildered: "What kind of name is this? Does the Chinese team have a player by that name?"

Another commentator provided the answer: "I believe they are likely calling out to Tom."

"Ah, so Tom is actually GG... hmm, GGBond."

GGBond; this clearly looked like English, the native language of the broadcast commentators.

But why did combining the words GG and Bond feel so strange?

"Hehehe, don't underestimate the big belly."

"Speaking of bravery, speaking of alertness, he is first-class~ awesome!"

"..."

The fans were still giving their all, but at this moment, Tang Ye's attention was not on the stands.

Kroos, Reus, and Plattenhardt had formed a triangle, so now...

Tang Ye quickly simulated the scenario in his mind, then signaled Wu Lei to go directly after Kroos.

As for himself, he ran toward Plattenhardt alongside Zhang Zhang Linpeng!

"Come on, come on!"

After a brief struggle, Tang Ye finally closed in on the German player holding the ball.

Bang!

"Oh!"

Tang Ye completed a sliding tackle on Kroos!

He helped Kroos up from the ground.

Just then, the stoppage time was announced.

Three minutes of stoppage time!

Check Dongqiu Di pinned post: China vs. Germany match in progress, current score 2:1, China leading.

【Opened Check Dongqiu Di and saw Germany 2:1 China; I thought I was misreading it. Uh... well, I indeed was misreading it.】

【Damn, awesome! I was already asleep when my dad woke me up to watch this.】

【Can we... can we actually win?】

【140 million Euros, 0% water content, 100% sugar content.】

【Don't score, Germany, please!】

Time ticked by second by second; Zeng Cheng, the Chinese team's goalkeeper, received a yellow card from the referee for time-wasting.

But a yellow card at this stage could no longer offer Germany any help.

Time: 94'12''

(+3)

"Screw you!"

Tang Ye kicked the ball away from in front of Özil and out of bounds.

"Beep, beep-beep!!!"

"The match is over!"

"The match is over!"

"Oh my god, I can't believe it! The victor of this match is the Chinese team; they have defeated the German men's national football team with a score of 2:1!"

"The Chinese team is today's winner!"

The faces of He Wei and Huang Huang Jianxiang were already red, matching the current color of the Luzhniki stands.

That was the color of the Chinese team's jerseys and scarves!

"GGBond!"

"GGBond!"

"GGBond!"

Hoo...

Legs going soft, Tang Ye plopped straight down onto the ground.

The grass was wet, but Tang Ye could no longer care about that.

This match lasted only 95 minutes, yet to Tang Ye it felt like playing for 120.

"So exhausting, damn it..."

"Tang Ye!"

Players rushed out from the substitutes' bench; Zheng Zhi wrapped both arms around Tang Ye's neck.

"Tang Ye!"

"Holy crap, Tang Ye!"

"I don't know what to say, Tang Ye! Tang Ye!"

Hands braced on the grass, body leaning backward.

Teammates were hugging him.

In the stands, fans cheered and celebrated.

The big screen displayed the score: China 2: 1 Germany.

All of this blending together, Tang Ye felt an immense sense of relief and ease, precisely what he had always been pursuing.

Lippi's face showed no expression; he simply stood beside the celebrating Chinese national team players.

Lips pressed tight, the head coach of the Chinese national team now did not know what to say.

"Got any water? Got any water?"

Tang Ye suddenly asked.

"Here, here it is!"

Feng Feng Xiaoting unscrewed the cap, handed the water to Wu Lei, and Wu Lei passed it to Tang Ye.

"OK, thanks, thanks!"

Rising from the ground, Tang Ye slowly walked toward the substitutes' bench, rinsing his mud- and grass-stained hands with bottled mineral water along the way.

Click-click!

On the side near the players' tunnel, more than 20 reporters had gathered; from less than five meters away, they aimed at Tang Ye and snapped photo after photo.

People's Daily headline—"Team China Displays China's Strength: Has Chinese Football Entered a New Chapter of the 'Great Tang Prosperity'?"

FIFA Official: Tang Ye named Man of the Match in Germany vs. China; he scored both of China's goals in the game and was involved in 87% of China's attacks.

"Haha!"

Back in the locker room, Tang Ye quickly found himself embraced by his teammates again.

"So awesome, damn it!"

Zhang Zhang Yuning let out a fierce roar at the wall.

Tang Ye thought it looked impressive, so he joined in with a shout of his own.

"Roar!"

"Damn!"

"Can't go on."

Tang Ye plopped straight down onto the ground.

He reached out to grab his phone from the locker.

To check what the situation was like on Check Dongqiu Di right now.

Check Dongqiu Di match report: China defeats Germany 2:1, securing the national team's first-ever World Cup victory. (Comments: 218,762)

"Hmm..."

He recalled never having seen a single news item on Check Dongqiu Di reach 120,000 comments.

So there were actually quite a lot of people in the country who watched football?

What Tang Ye did not know was that this World Cup had brought many new football fans in China, which had caused the user count of the Check Dongqiu Di app to surge.

There was no helping it; Tang Ye's two second-half goals had utterly shattered Chinese people's stereotypical impression of the men's national team.

"Here, Tang Ye!"

Wu Lei handed Tang Ye a bottle of cola, then took out his phone.

"Eh, no need, no need."

The match was already over; to be honest, Tang Ye did not really want to do something like taunting the opponent.

But since his teammates all wanted him to do it, Tang Ye found it hard to refuse.

Wu Lei positioned the camera; Tang Ye held the phone in his left hand and the cola in his right, using his teeth to bite off the bottle cap.

Pfft!

The cola sprayed out, splashing onto Tang Ye's clothes.

Facing the lens.

"Cheers!"

Glug-glug!

"Hoo..."

"Wow!!!"

"Haha!"

"Can't drink anymore, can't drink anymore!"

Setting the unfinished cola aside, Tang Ye continued scrolling through news on Check Dongqiu Di.

It was only after reading the news that he learned the Chinese national team had broken at least ten records in this match against Germany.

And then...

Baidu!

Exiting Check Dongqiu Di to open Baidu, Tang Ye was very curious how Chinese people who didn't watch football viewed this matter.

Baidu Hot Search

No. 3: China 2:1 Last-Second Kill Against Germany.

No. 2: China Won.

Hmm?

Tang Ye raised his eyebrows.

China beating Germany could only rank second and third on the hot search list?

Was there some super massive event that had overshadowed the World Cup's hype?

Squinting, Tang Ye scrolled upward.

No. 1: Tang Ye's Three-Stripe Slide Knee Celebration. (Hype Value: 67.24 million)

"..."

The corner of Tang Ye's mouth twitched.

The unique skill he had practiced three years ago had today propelled him to the number one spot on both the Baidu and Weibo hot search lists.

Lippi and Madaloni arrived late.

Lippi was fine, but Madaloni could no longer suppress the emotions in his heart, shouting and yelling along with the players.

Walking up to Tang Ye, Lippi extended his hand.

"Impressive."

"Haha, thank you, Mr. Marcello."

Sitting on the ground, Tang Ye slapped Lippi's hand.

【At nearly 40 years old, you have essentially led the Chinese team to their first World Cup group stage victory; achieving a first World Cup win in a non-World Cup year, one could say you have completely controlled FIFA.】

According to the system's timeline, today should not be a World Cup year.

But it didn't matter; Tang Ye had already grown accustomed to the system's glitches.

The key point was not what had been triggered.

The key point was what reward he could obtain!

【You have obtained the Barcelona Chest·Legendary】

As expected.

Since the system said he had controlled FIFA...

The reward certainly couldn't be too lame!

Of course, there was no rush to open the chest; Tang Ye had other matters to attend to right now.

That was to return to the pitch together with his teammates!

"Tang Ye!"

"Tom, wow!"

"GGBond!"

The stands were now completely occupied by supporters of the Chinese team.

Blinking his eyes, Tang Ye quickly spotted several familiar faces in the stands.

"Bro, I saw you at Old Trafford too!"

With one hand holding the railing and the other reaching out, Tang Ye high-fived the fans.

"Thank you, thank you all!"

The Chinese national team players slowly walked around the field, with Lippi and Madaloni following at the very rear of the group.

"I want, a life in full bloom~"

"Just like soaring in the vast sky~"

"Just like traversing the boundless wilderness,"

"Possessing the power of everything!"

"I want a life in full bloom~~"

"Just like standing atop the rainbow~"

"..."

"Thank you, thank you."

Tang Ye raised both hands, waving them back and forth in the air.

The fatigue from the match had recovered slightly, but Tang Ye's breathing was still very rapid.

This rapidity was not due to fatigue, but because of the emotional turbulence in his heart.

He had never imagined he could stand on a World Cup pitch, defeat Germany with a score of 2:1, and then listen to the fans in the stands singing "Life in Full Bloom" for him and his teammates.

Tang Ye now only wanted to give his chewing gum to every single fan in the stands, but alas, doing so was unrealistic.

"Tang Ye, you are my god, Tang Ye!"

"Tang Ye, you are my father!"

"Dad!"

The fans were calling him father on the spot, leaving Tang Ye somewhat flustered.

"Don't be like this, don't be like this; I'm not your dad, I'm not your dad."

"Then you are a god! Tang Ye, oh my god!"

"I, I..."

Realizing he could never talk his way out of this with the fans before him, Tang Ye could only give up.

CCTV1: At 11:00 PM Beijing Time on June 17, the FIFA World Cup Group F first-round match between the Chinese national team and the German team kicked off at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow; ultimately, relying on Tang Ye's two goals, the Chinese national team defeated the defending champions Germany by a score of 2–1, securing the first-ever World Cup finals victory in the team's history.

Ten Hag: "China's victory was well-deserved; Germany played dirty—that is not what football should look like."

Beckenbauer: "The team's performance disappointed me; this is not the German football I remember."

Stalin: "Before, now, and forever after, Germany will never achieve victory in Moscow."

(End of Chapter)