Chapter 47: The Dutchman in Brazil

Two days remain until the next Eredivisie match against Twente, and the entire first team returned to the serious atmosphere before their winning streak.

Tang Ye also kept practicing skills during training.

【De Bruyne’s far-angle curling shot, Lv1: Imitate】

Proficiency: 20/50

【Shooting: 55→56】

Ten Hag assigned Tang Ye mostly passing drills, which caused his 【far-angle curling shot】 skill to level up extremely slowly.

Even with Xilanhu’s help, it was the same.

On the contrary, Tang Ye didn’t miss a single passing-related skill.

【De Bruyne’s curved through-ball, Lv3: Simulate】

Proficiency: 38/200

The through-ball proficiency was about to hit 50; Tang Ye now wished he could transfer that proficiency into his curling shot, so he could earn another Level 2 skill!

“Perfect, that’s the kind of pass!”

Tang Ye’s recent pass surprised Ten Hag on the sideline; the Dutchman walked over and clapped for him: “Brilliant! This is exactly how a genius should play!”

“Huh, what did you say?”

“Oh, I mean, if you’d controlled the speed of that pass just a bit better, you’d have been close to genius level.”

Ten Hag explained: “But don’t be discouraged—you’ve already done quite well at this stage.”

“Alright, everyone gather!”

Ten Hag had Fan Dejiahe call the players together.

“The schedule is tight these days, so we’ll temporarily skip endurance training; today’s afternoon endurance session is changed to strength training, with a specialist in charge.”

“What about the starting lineup?”

Ayoub suddenly asked; Ten Hag’s previously relaxed expression instantly stiffened.

“Hmm… I’ll tell you tomorrow afternoon. The starting lineup isn’t finalized yet—no need to rush.”

This was the last thing Ten Hag said to the players during the morning training session.

…

At noon in the cafeteria, Tang Ye opened his panel to check his quest.

After obtaining the Portuguese Star/Legend Box, Tang Ye received his new quest.

Unlike previous quests requiring more assists or goals, Tang Ye’s next quest was a milestone.

Start three matches as a starter for Utrecht’s first team; reward: Brazilian Special Box.

This quest isn’t match-based, so the reward is slightly weaker—the so-called 【Brazilian Special Box】 is essentially a blind box.

85% chance to open a Low-Level Box, 3% chance for a Mid-Level Box, and the combined probability of High-Level, Star, and Legend Boxes is 2%.

There’s also a 10% chance of receiving a “consolation prize.”

After opening the Portuguese Star/Legend Box, Tang Ye fully understood his terrible luck.

This 【Brazilian Special Box】 was, to him, just another Low-Level Box.

Of course, even a Low-Level Box contained signature skills worth millions or tens of millions of euros—certainly beneficial for Tang Ye.

Because of this milestone quest, Tang Ye wanted to privately chat with Ten Hag again.

But Tang Ye held off, thinking carefully again.

Ten Hag had already said he wasn’t at Eredivisie level, yet Tang Ye kept pestering him for a starting spot.

From another perspective, this approach really wasn’t appropriate.

Precisely because of this, Tang Ye ultimately abandoned the idea of talking to Ten Hag and decided to wait and observe.

…

After afternoon training the next day, Fan Dejiahe read out the starting lineup for the next match with his notebook.

Utrecht (4-3-1-2)

Goalkeeper: Ruit

Defenders: Klebe, Rieuwe, Timo Lechert, Kangboyi

Midfielders (defensive): Stride, Ramselaar, Jansen

Midfielder (attacking): Tang Ye

Forwards: Ale, Barazite

4-3-1-2 is a variation of 4-3-3, where the central striker becomes a withdrawn attacking midfielder.

Utrecht hadn’t used this formation in any official match this season, but players had trained with it, so no one was shocked.

What surprised everyone was Tang Ye’s name on the starting lineup.

This was Tang Ye’s third start for Utrecht’s first team!

Yesterday morning he slid on the training ground with three stripes; today afternoon his name was clearly on the starting list!

All first-team players knew Ten Hag valued face; Tang Ye’s start after that slide was truly top-tier.

No punishment?

【You obtained the Brazilian Special Box】

Teammates turned their gazes toward Tang Ye; Ale even placed a hand on his shoulder.

Ten Hag scanned the first-team players, lingering slightly longer on Ayoub: “Hmm, I know some of you may object to Tang starting…”

“No objections!”

Barazite and Fan Demarell shouted simultaneously.

“I didn’t say it was you two who objected—why are you yelling?!”

Barazite and Fan Demarell quietly slipped to the back of the line, listening as Ten Hag continued.

“Tang is indeed young, but look—he’s 16 now, next year he’ll be 17, the year after that 18. In over a decade he’ll be in his thirties… when you think of it that way, Tang’s age isn’t that young.”

?

“Of course, I’m starting him mainly because Tang scored in both previous matches. If a substitute scores in his first start, he earns the next start—that’s a widely accepted rule among coaches, and I think it’s appropriate.”

Ten Hag spoke briefly, carefully observing Ayoub’s expression.

Ayoub’s face darkened, but he said nothing.

…

That evening, after training and returning to his dorm, Tang Ye used the 【Brazilian Special Box】 he’d received that afternoon.

Before him appeared a large red-white-blue spinning wheel, the needle pointing straight up; on either side were “Legend” and “consolation prize,” though Legend had only a 0.01% chance, and the Legend sector on the wheel was barely a line wide.

The wheel began spinning rapidly, then gradually slowed down.

Tang Ye stared fixedly at the wheel.

Though he knew his luck was terrible, it was impossible for him not to hope for a big prize.

The needle began to inch forward.

Mid-Level Box… High-Level Box…

Legend Box!

!

Tang Ye held his breath—the needle had just landed squarely on the “Legend Box” zone.

The Legend Box zone was tiny, nearly as thin as the needle itself.

“Don’t move, don’t move, don’t move…”

Tang Ye silently prayed.

The Portuguese box didn’t yield a Legend—surely this Brazilian box would finally give him one?

0.01% chance!

Click!

The wheel shifted slightly—the needle landed on the edge of “consolation prize.”

“Shit!”

Tang Ye punched his computer desk.

What the hell is 0.01%?!

Now it was clear—the wheel was just for visual effect; the system had never intended to give him a Legend Box.

But don’t panic yet.

What was this “consolation prize”?

【You opened the Brazilian Box (consolation prize)】

【You obtained 1 nude photo of Eric Ten Hag (from Anthony)】

???

Seeing the photo suddenly appear in his hand, Tang Ye jumped and shoved it into his drawer.

What the hell is this?!

…

(End of Chapter)