Chapter 83: 38th Birthday, Fairness Mechanism Triggered, Ultimate Chest

【Daily Task: 180 Abdominal Crunches】

Reward: 3 Reverse Points

On the morning of March 4, besides the usual daily task, Tang Ye discovered something else.

【At 37, you have officially turned 38. Playing in the Eredivisie as a middle-aged man is already extremely difficult; now, with another year added, you face an even greater challenge.】

【Fairness Mechanism triggered. You have received... the Ultimate Chest!】

What the hell?

Tang Ye sat up on the bed.

The Fairness Mechanism was already incredible—what the hell is this Ultimate Chest?

Don’t get up yet—figure out this Ultimate Chest first!

【Ultimate Chest: The Balanced Scales. This is the guarantee for a middle-aged man to compete in top-tier football leagues. Based on current conditions, the chest has three triggering methods.】

1. Unconditional direct trigger. Reward: 99% chance of Legendary Template, 1% chance of Ultimate Template.

2. Win the KNVB Cup or Eredivisie title. Reward: 80% chance of Legendary Template, 20% chance of Ultimate Template.

3. Win both the KNVB Cup and Eredivisie title. Reward: 100% chance of Ultimate Template.

Tip: You may now trigger the chest via Condition 1.

“Holy shit…”

Tang Ye usually woke up feeling groggy, but this time the system’s announcement jolted him fully awake.

Fairness Mechanism triggered—99% chance to get a Legendary Template.

That meant Tang Ye could get a Legendary Template without doing anything!

But Tang Ye definitely wouldn’t open the chest right away.

The Ultimate Template—though he didn’t yet know what it was—was clearly something even more extraordinary than the Legendary Template, according to his judgment.

He had to find a way to reach the Ultimate Template.

Since there was no time limit, Tang Ye planned to open the chest only after the season ended and everything was settled.

Season’s end sounded far off, but checking the schedule showed it was coming fast.

It’s March now. The KNVB Cup final ends in April, the Eredivisie in May—just over fifty days total.

It’s actually soon!

But…

Tang Ye hesitated—the Legendary Template would help him immensely.

If he took the Legendary Template now, would Utrecht’s chance of winning the title increase dramatically?

After careful thought, Tang Ye ultimately abandoned the idea of opening the Ultimate Chest immediately.

Double victories over PSV, revenge against Feyenoord—Utrecht’s current situation was excellent.

Let’s wait and see. If things turn sour later, Tang Ye wouldn’t mind opening the Ultimate Chest outright!

…

Local time, March 5—three days after Tang Ye’s birthday—Utrecht traveled away to face Heerenveen.

This was Matchday 26 of the Eredivisie.

This match was special for Tang Ye, because that morning, the Dutch FA announced the February Player of the Month awards.

Best Coach: Erik ten Hag!

Best Player: Tang Ye!

Long ago, when Tang Ye first joined the first team, ten Hag had said he’d follow his footsteps—and now it was clear he had.

Only a Best Coach can cultivate a Best Player!

【You purchased Valdi’s Red Bull】

“Match starting! No need to introduce the away team Utrecht—let me share the starting lineup for home team Heerenveen!”

“Goalkeeper Mulder, defenders are…”

Utrecht is playing aggressively—ok, showing the dominance of the Eredivisie leaders!

“Find Tang Ye! Stop staring—get to Tang Ye!”

Wang Chao hadn’t mentioned Happy Beans at the start of today’s stream because he noticed that after Utrecht’s popularity surged, many of his viewers disliked Happy Beans.

As one of the platform’s most popular streamers, Wang Chao had a sharp instinct for traffic.

Right now, the priority was keeping his viewers in the stream, training them to habitually watch Utrecht matches here.

Then, slowly guide them!

“We can see the camera now focuses on Utrecht’s #99, Tang Ye. This afternoon, the Eredivisie officially announced the February Best Player.”

“Tang Ye—no doubt about it! Utrecht won every match in February’s league and KNVB Cup, and Tang Ye was the absolute core!”

“De Jong’s progression is fast!”

“To the flank—Ale’s triangle pass to Tang Ye—should he shoot himself? Tang Ye chooses a far corner!”

【De Bruyne far-corner curler, Lv2: Similar】

Proficiency: 58/70

The curling shot struck the intersection of post and crossbar.

Missed, but the rebound landed exactly where Balazic was standing.

!!!

Balazic and Kafuren both sprinted toward the ball—but Balazic, faster, reached it first and poked it in.

Tang Ye raised both hands in celebration.

A pity he didn’t get Reverse Points, but the goal counted!

Match continued.

In the first half of the season, Utrecht and Heerenveen had played a tight match—but now, this Utrecht was entirely different from the old one.

Need more goals!

“Come on, give it to me, give it to me!”

Tang Ye took the ball from De Jong.

Janssen was injured in training, so ten Hag moved De Jong into the starting lineup.

De Jong was truly impressive—especially his ball-carrying and progression—making Tang Ye envious.

Secured the ball, looked up—right flank!

Right flank: fullback Klebe making a run.

Tang Ye considered: should he pass to Klebe?

Just pass!

Snap!

A low, direct through-ball from Tang Ye—fired from slightly left of center, slicing between Van den Berg and Kafuren, finding Klebe perfectly on the right baseline.

Klebe was comfortable—he only needed to keep running to control the ball.

“Woww!!”

The away fans erupted—Utrecht’s fullback showed outstanding dribbling skill.

Look closer.

Shit, Klebe’s dribbling is better than that of Utrecht’s own number-10s!

Klebe seized the chance and delivered a cross to the left flank—Ale.

Oh?

Familiar feeling—Tang Ye sprinted forward.

Ale didn’t rush to pass—he first took on his marker one-on-one on the flank, giving Tang Ye time to arrive.

Ale’s triangle pass came out!

“Mine! Mine!”

Tang Ye shouted for the ball—yet Marzo tried to intercept.

Tang Ye refused to yield, shielding the ball with his body.

He stomped it with his right foot, then pulled it between his legs!

A between-the-legs dribble—Tang Ye not only nutmegged the defender, but also himself!

“Tom!!”

Turned and accelerated.

Eyes locked on the goal.

Curl it to the far corner!

【De Bruyne far-corner curler, Lv2: Similar】

Proficiency: 60/70

Scoring a curler in-match added only 1 proficiency point—but since Tang Ye scored, he gained an extra point.

“2-0, Tang Ye! Perfect curler!”

“That’s Tang Ye’s signature move—the angle as sharp as ever.”

“And did you notice? Tang Ye’s shot speed is much faster than before!”

Only then did Wang Chao’s viewers realize it.

Indeed—Tang Ye’s physique had strengthened considerably.

Behind my crotch? My Monggo’s imagination is as insane as ever.

Holy shit, Monggo didn’t dodge this physical challenge? Not bad—17 really is different.

My Monggo got up too.

Who says my Monggo doesn’t train? Where’d all these muscles come from? Blackie, speak up!

Utrecht’s this strong this season, holy shit? They’ve won at least four or five straight, right? The first half ended, and Ten Hag led the players back to the locker room.

“We don’t need any other tactics in the second half—I have just one demand.”

Ten Hag held up his index finger and waved it in front of the players.

“Press them!”

“Just press them!”

Tang Ye sat on the chair, chewing gum and rubbing his hands.

The locker room’s heating was terrible, but Ten Hag’s words were electric.

Fired up!

“Pass to me, Tang!”

Aale gripped Tang Ye’s upper arm tightly, handing him this heavy responsibility.

!

“It depends on luck.”

Tang Ye wanted to say a few more words to Aale, but the guy had already walked out of the locker room.

“Uh…”

Tang Ye rubbed his head and looked at Amrabat, who had sat back down: “Why is Aale so worked up?”

“He’ll be top of the scoring chart if he scores one more goal.”

Holy shit, that good?

Tang Ye clicked his tongue.

When he first joined the first team, Ramseyer told him Utrecht was just a relegation-threatened side.

Aale’s about to win the Golden Boot—is this really a relegation-threatened team’s strength?

Holy shit, I feel like I’m being carried!

Tang Ye was excited.

Amrabat didn’t quite get what Tang Ye meant, frowned, and opened Aale’s profile on the scoring chart.

2. Aale (Utrecht), 19 goals

Top Assister: Tang Ye

Assists: 15

Hmm…

Amrabat turned off his phone.

In a way, he really was being carried.

…

Second half begins!

“Tang Ye, Tang Ye’s performance today is outstanding!”

“Tackle!”

“Perfect! Tang Ye successfully intercepted the Helmond player advancing down the flank!”

“He didn’t keep possession, but he defused the danger!”

“…”

“Another tackle—does Tang Ye have a tackle addiction today?”

“Yellow card! Tang Ye made a mistake—that’s a yellow!”

Holy shit!

Tang Ye jumped up from the ground.

He was aiming for the ball, but ended up kicking Tosbi’s shin!

yellowcard: y.tang

Tang Ye felt embarrassed and reached out to help Tosbi up.

Tosbi had no problem with that, but the other Helmond players did!

“Get off!”

Marzo shoved Tang Ye away.

Tang Ye hadn’t been standing very steady to begin with; Marzo’s shove sent him straight onto his butt.

“Holy shit?”

Aale and Barazite charged forward almost simultaneously. Aale, 1.9 meters tall, grabbed Marzo by the collar—the latter looked like a toy in Aale’s grip: “Kid, what the hell are you doing?”

Holy shit, they’re gonna fight!

Tang Ye quickly stood up and tried to pull Aale back, but Aale was fired up—he pressed his forehead against Marzo’s, making the other guy nervous.

Are they really gonna hit each other?

Dozens of players rushed over; the clash ended with yellow cards for both Marzo and Aale.

“Fuck you!”

“Get lost, idiot!”

Even after the yellow cards, Marzo and Aale kept trading insults.

Luckily, teammates held them back—otherwise, both would’ve been sent off with red cards.

Ouch—

Tang Ye ignored all that, rubbing his butt.

He’d landed on his butt, and even though it wasn’t a hard fall, it still hurt.

“Tang, you okay?”

Aale suddenly asked, still looking like he wanted to go punch Marzo again. Tang Ye was startled.

“I’m fine, fine, really fine, all better now!”

The match continued; Ten Hag substituted Amrabat for Ramseyer.

It was a conservative substitution.

Utrecht led 2-0 at the 70-minute mark; the change made perfect sense.

Around the 80th minute, Tang Ye sneaked into the penalty area, looking for a volley.

But this time, luck wasn’t on his side—he shot wildly off-target, nearly hitting a spectator in the head.

Tang Ye raised his hand to wave at the fans in the stands.

Looks like I’ve got a long way to go before becoming a true superstar striker!

“Beep, beeeeeep—!!!”

Full time. Neither side scored in the second half; final score: 2-0.

Tang Ye was now excited.

Because after this match, he’d receive the Player of the Month award for February!

It was his first ever professional honor!

Click!

Click-click-click!

The football association chose the pitch itself for the award ceremony. Tang Ye faced the reporters, with a giant billboard behind him.

“Tom—oh, sorry, uh… Tang!”

The reporter struggled to pronounce Tang Ye’s surname: “At 16, you’ve won the Eredivisie Player of the Month award, breaking the league record. What do you have to say?”

The reporter handed him the microphone. Tang Ye felt awkward: “I guess I should say… well, actually, I turned 17 today.”

“Same thing—17’s still a record. No underage player before you ever won Eredivisie Player of the Month. The best they managed was coming off the bench—you’re a guaranteed starter.”

The reporter realized he’d messed up and launched into excessive praise to make up for it, nearly blushing Tang Ye’s face red.

“Thank you, thank you.”

Tang Ye held the crystal trophy: “I’ll keep working hard—this isn’t the end.”

“Keep working hard?”

The reporter caught the key phrase: “To… Tang, Eredivisie fans generally see you as a genius. In your own view, which matters more—effort or talent?”

“Effort.”

Tang Ye answered decisively.

…

Utrecht Evening News front page headline—17-Year-Old Wins Player of the Month, Utrecht Rookie Breaks History.

Utrecht RTV reporter Fan De: Ten Hag Wins Manager of the Month Again—Utrecht Has Found Its Savior!

(End of Chapter)