Chapter 66: Asking for Advice? (20k Words, Seeking First Subscription!)

"I know many of you are deeply dissatisfied with my decision not to grant time off."

Ten Hagh spoke while eating; the other Utrecht players made no pretense, quietly nibbling their food and straining their ears.

"But you must understand, it’s already December—December 14th, to be exact—and the first half of the season is about to end!"

"But our record has been pretty good, hasn’t it?"

Tang Ye blinked.

In his memory, Utrecht had won most of their matches, including several decisive victories.

"That’s exactly the problem."

Ten Hagh put down his fork and pointed at the ceiling with his index finger: "Our original goal this season was to finish in the top twelve—just that. But because of our recent results, the management has changed our target."

The players at the table exchanged glances.

Changing the target meant greater pressure.

Ramseyer lifted his head: "So what’s our new goal?"

Ten Hagh held up four fingers, excluding his thumb: "Top four!"

"I’m sorry, lads, but the management has entrusted us with a heavy responsibility—this means your pressure will increase drastically."

In the Eredivisie, the three giants dominate; for Utrecht to reach top four, we must earn more points than every single team outside those three!

"Not an easy task, right?"

Ten Hagh scanned the players around the table.

Whenever his gaze fell on a player, that player lowered their head—except Tang Ye, who kept his eyes locked on Ten Hagh.

"Lazy Pig, do you have something to say?"

Tang Ye nodded: "Mr. Eric, don’t you like checking the league table?"

"Meh. Checking the table takes guts—I rarely do. So what’s on your mind?"

Tang Ye exchanged a glance with Ramseyer across the table, then pulled out his phone.

He opened the Royal Dutch Football Association’s homepage and tapped into the league standings.

1. Utrecht, 40 points

2. PSV Eindhoven, 38 points

3. Ajax, 37 points

4. Feyenoord, 35 points

5. AZ Alkmaar, 33 points

6. Groningen, 27 points

Tang Ye pointed at the top of the screen: "We’re number one. Why worry?"

Oh?

Ten Hagh raised an eyebrow, picked up Tang Ye’s phone, and studied it repeatedly: "When did we become number one?"

"After we beat Ajax yesterday."

Ramseyer reminded him: "Eindhoven and Groningen drew—each got one point less. We were second, now we’re first."

"Wow..."

Ten Hagh rubbed his eyes.

The Eredivisie really is simpler than I thought!

But!

"Of course I know we’re number one now—but is this first place permanent?"

Ten Hagh stared into Tang Ye’s eyes: "We’re first now, but will we still be first at season’s end? No—we must feel the pressure!"

Ten Hagh had Tang Ye unlock his phone again, then pointed to Feyenoord in fourth place: "We’re only five points ahead of fourth. Five points mean nothing. Do you understand? Right now, we’re no different from fourth."

"If we slack off in training, we’ll drop out of the top four!"

Tang Ye nodded.

He did want time off—but Ten Hagh’s words were undeniably sensible.

This season’s Eredivisie is sharply polarized; the top teams all have high point totals.

If Utrecht slips up in even one match, we’ll lose first place instantly!

"I see you understand now."

Seeing Tang Ye silent, Ten Hagh pressed on, placing a hand on his shoulder: "The youngest player should make the greatest sacrifices. I’ll be waiting for you in the gym tonight."

"No! Nonononono!"

Tang Ye abandoned his burger and jumped up: "No way! This is Sunday—Sundays are off-limits for training!"

"Come on!"

Ten Hagh slung an arm around Tang Ye’s shoulder and gestured to the first-team players: "They’re your teammates, your friends. None of them want to lose. Can’t you make an effort for your friends?"

"For the team!"

"For this great team!"

Ten Hagh’s words left Tang Ye with no escape.

That night, Tang Ye did go to the gym—but he only warmed up, then headed straight to the indoor sports facility.

In the indoor facility, Tang Ye spotted several familiar faces from the second team—all summoned by Merent for extra training. He even saw Zaka.

"Hey, Isaac!"

Seeing Zaka practicing dribbling near the cone markers, Tang Ye ran over: "Were you also called in by Mr. Merent?"

"Hmm, Tang? Yeah."

Zaka spread his hands: "Mr. Merent consulted Mr. Eric. He now believes extra training can solve everything. We’re pushing for a higher league rank—that’s his idea."

Clearly, second-team coach Merent had been influenced by Ten Hagh’s coaching philosophy.

Ten Hagh had reshaped Tang Ye through extra training; Merent now wanted to reshape his own second-team players the same way.

Both had come up from the second team. If Tang Ye could do it, Merent believed the others could too.

"By the way, check this out."

Zaka pulled the ball under his foot.

He pushed it with his left instep to his right foot, then back again, his upper body moving rapidly.

"Whoa, cool!"

Tang Ye stepped back: "That’s Cruyff’s move—I’ve done it in the game."

Zaka gave a thumbs-up: "Yeah, I’ve trained it for over two months. Easy to practice, but I can’t pull it off in matches!"

Zaka was only half a year older than Tang Ye—seventeen, the perfect age to show off.

If he could land that nutmeg in a Eerste Divisie match, how flashy would that be!

"No way, too cool—I’ve got to learn it too."

Tang Ye fetched a ball from the sideline and mimicked Zaka’s left-right flicks.

As a possession-oriented midfielder, Tang Ye loved these small techniques for shielding the ball!

"Enough with that crap, Tang!"

Ten Hagh spotted Tang Ye juggling on the sideline: "Come on, that’s not your job. Get over here. And you—Zaka, right? Isaac Zaka—you’re coming too. You’re drafted."

"Me?"

Zaka pointed at his own nose.

A second-team player being called by the first-team coach? Of course he was thrilled—he dropped his drill and sprinted over.

Once the tardy Tang Ye arrived, Ten Hagh explained today’s drill: he pulled Zaka and a few others from the second team, setting up a 2v3 scrimmage—Zaka and Tang Ye as attackers, three defenders (including a goalkeeper) as opponents.

The attackers’ goal: score. The defenders’ goal: steal the ball from Tang Ye or Zaka.

The purpose: improve Tang Ye’s finishing.

This was a recent decision by Ten Hagh. According to Van der Gaag’s stats, Tang Ye had received the second-most shooting opportunities in the box—after only Ale and Barazite.

Tang Ye’s movement was too gifted; Ten Hagh had no choice but to make this attacking midfielder train finishing.

"Finish!"

Tang Ye rubbed his hands: "Mr. Eric, you know I love shooting."

He raised his right leg, assuming a laces-driven shot stance.

"Not that kind of shot. The far corner—you’ve done it in training before!"

Ten Hagh positioned Tang Ye on the left flank and pointed to the upper-right corner of the goal.

"That one!"

Tang Ye nodded.

So today’s task was to train his [De Bruyne Far-Corner Curler].

Perfect—his skill level was only 1. This was the perfect chance to improve it.

The drill began. Tang Ye slowly moved toward the penalty area; two second-team defenders rushed out.

Tang Ye wanted to dribble past them—but Ten Hagh barked: "Pass! Pass! Don’t dribble!"

Thwack!

Tang Ye passed to Zaka, who moved laterally ahead of him, then flicked the ball back with his heel.

Look at the far corner!

Thwack!

The ball hit the net with a thud.

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

Proficiency: 48.2/50

Almost there!

Hearing the voice in his ear, Tang Ye felt excited.

So does that mean he’s about to upgrade his second skill to level two?

Only 1.8 proficiency left—Tang Ye didn’t even need to eat broccoli!

“Come on, again!”

The joy of that final shot lifted Tang Ye’s spirits and boosted his training enthusiasm.

Again!

Same combination: Tang Ye passed to Zaka, who returned the ball.

Zaka was smart—he knew his role was to be Tang Ye’s training partner, so he made no effort to show off.

“Here I come!”

Tang Ye laughed and unleashed a curling shot.

Thwack!

The second-team goalkeeper saved it, but Tang Ye still gained 0.2 proficiency.

“Keep going, keep going!”

Tang Ye urged the assistant coach to pass him the ball.

The second-team players watched Tang Ye’s state with quiet surprise.

Last year, this guy wasn’t like this at all!

Damn it!

No wonder Tang Ye made it to the first team.

Melent’s talk about talent was all nonsense.

Tang Ye rose from the second team to the first because he worked harder than everyone else on the second team!

He’s our example!

“Give me the ball, I’m coming, I’m coming!”

Thwack!

Constantly shooting from the far angle made his target predictable—goalkeepers saved his shots with high success rates.

But Tang Ye didn’t care; scoring wasn’t the point.

What mattered was the training effect!

Thwack!

【Lv1: Imitate → Lv2: Similar】

【De Bruyne far-angle curling shot, Lv2: Similar】

Proficiency: 1/70

“Wuhu!”

Tang Ye jumped up, threw a hook punch, leaving Zaka bewildered: “Tang, you didn’t score.”

“Scoring isn’t the point.”

Tang Ye shook his head, speaking earnestly: “You must feel your own improvement—that’s what matters! I feel it now!”

As Tang Ye said, after his second skill reached Lv2, his curling shot angles improved significantly.

Then came the new skill.

Because his second skill reached Lv2, Tang Ye unlocked his third skill.

But his third skill seemed… off?

【De Bruyne spatial movement, Lv1: Imitate】

Proficiency: 7499/50

“Huh?”

Tang Ye stood frozen for a moment, then his mind was instantly flooded with information.

【Lv2: Similar → Lv3: Simulate】

【Lv3: Simulate → Lv4: Realistic】

【Lv4: Realistic → Lv5: Replicate】

No, not possible?

Fully maxed out already?

“What’s wrong?”

Zaka walked over: “Damn, Tang, did you just have a breakthrough?”

“Nothing, nothing—I just spaced out.”

Tang Ye shook his head and walked back, signaling to restart.

Open the system.

【De Bruyne spatial movement, Lv5: Replicate】

Proficiency: 3999/4000

Hss—

Took a deep breath.

Just gained this spatial movement skill, and its proficiency jumped straight to over 7,000.

Tang Ye had never trained in movement positioning!

Without doubt, Tang Ye was 100% certain.

He’d found a bug!

Lv5: Replicate was max level, yet Tang Ye could still gain more proficiency?

“Isaac, let’s go!”

Tang Ye passed to Zaka, observed, then moved according to his own instinct.

Unfortunately, he felt no enhancement from 【De Bruyne spatial movement】.

Screw it—just move around a bit!

Left, right—he lured the nearest defender toward him, then slipped behind.

No thinking needed—off-the-ball movement was simply too easy!

“Here!”

Tang Ye pointed to an open space on his right; Zaka passed, and Tang Ye curled the ball into the net.

Lv2 far-angle curling shot was completely different from Lv1—this shot was noticeably more accurate.

Wait a minute!

Tang Ye noticed something strange.

His Lv5 movement skill had leveled up again!

【Lv5: Replicate → Lv6: Humble Inquiry】

【Vision: 91 → 93】

【De Bruyne spatial movement, Lv6: Humble Inquiry】

Proficiency: 00/00

【At 37, you can no longer sprint fast, but you possess the finest positional awareness in today’s football world!】

【Your rich experience has made you exceptionally humble—you asked De Bruyne, whose talent far surpasses yours, for advice on movement, and integrated his spatial awareness into your own technique.】

【Eager to learn, unafraid to ask—even of those less gifted! You received: French Advanced Chest (Growable)】

“This…”

Took a deep breath to calm himself.

Tang Ye was now 200% certain.

His system had glitched!

…

(End of Chapter)