Smoke swirled within Pacheco's office.
The head coach of Boavista's B team was puffing away like a heavy smoker. His murky yet shrewd eyes stared intently at Lin Yuan, who sat opposite him, through the haze.
A freshly printed contract lay on the desk, the paper still warm.
"I want the truth, kid."
Pacheco flicked his ash, his voice raspy. "That collision just now—you did it on purpose, didn't you?"
Lin Yuan sat on the worn leather chair, his shoulder throbbing with a faint pain. The recoil from the impact had numbed half his body, but he sat bolt upright like a javelin.
"Yes," Lin Yuan answered crisply, without any hypocritical pretense. "He tried to humiliate me, so I made him pay the price."
"Very good."
Pacheco grinned, revealing a row of teeth stained yellow by smoke. "I hate those hypocrites who always talk about'sportsmanship.' Here, winning is everything. To win, you can rip out your opponent's throat."
He pushed the contract toward Lin Yuan and tapped a finger on the figure. "This is a youth apprentice contract. 400 euros a week, room and board not included. If you play for the first team, there will be extra appearance fees. The term is one year."
400 euros.
In Portugal's professional football system, this was basically a beggar's wage. Even a slightly talented Brazilian import would earn ten times that amount.
"And," Pacheco added, "there's a special clause: if you cause the team to lose due to a 'non-tactical' stupid foul during training or a match, I have the right to terminate your contract at any time."
It was an insulting slave contract.
Any talented player with self-respect would have thrown the contract in the coach's face.
But Lin Yuan didn't even glance at the clauses.
He picked up the pen on the desk and, without a second's hesitation, signed his name: Lin Yuan.
Pacheco was somewhat surprised. "You're not going to haggle? Or find someone who knows the law to take a look?"
"No need."
Lin Yuan dropped the pen and looked up, a wildfire burning in his black eyes. "Because I'm well aware that I'm only worth this much right now. But soon, you'll realize this is the best deal Boavista has ever made."
Pacheco froze for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Arrogant kid! I like arrogant people, provided you have the capital to back it up. Training is at eight tomorrow morning; don't be late. Now, get lost and go take a shower."
Lin Yuan stood up and turned toward the door.
As his hand gripped the doorknob, Pacheco's voice came from behind: "Oh, right. Ricardo is the B team captain and the boss of the locker room. You just sent him to the infirmary, and his brothers are waiting for you in the locker room right now. Good luck."
Lin Yuan's footsteps paused. "Thanks for the reminder."
He pulled open the door, his lips curling into a cold arc. "However, I don't think that's a bad thing."
...The Boavista B team locker room was eerily quiet at this moment.
When Lin Yuan pushed the door open and entered, the noisy laughter vanished instantly.
The air was thick with the scent of sweat, dirt, and medicated oil. Over a dozen pairs of eyes stared in unison at this new yellow-skinned kid. Their gazes held hostility, scrutiny, and a lingering sense of fear.
Lin Yuan ignored these looks.
He walked straight toward the empty locker in the corner that the assistant coach had just assigned to him.
However, when he reached the locker, he found a massive padlock hanging on the door.
And on the bench in front of the locker sat a burly Black man, sitting tall and imposing.
This guy was named Bruno. Standing 1.92 meters tall and weighing nearly 100 kilograms, he was the B team's starting center-back and a close friend of the Ricardo who had been carried off.
Bruno tossed the key in his hand, his eyes glaring fiercely at Lin Yuan. "That locker is for teammates. As for the piece of trash who sent a teammate to the hospital... you're not welcome here."
Some of the surrounding players whistled, while others crossed their arms to watch the show.
This was the law of the jungle in professional football.
If a new lion doesn't kill a few hyenas, it cannot establish its territory.
Lin Yuan stopped and stood before Bruno.
The difference in their physiques was vast. When Bruno stood up, he was more than half a head taller than Lin Yuan, casting a shadow like an iron tower.
"Give me the key." Lin Yuan's voice was calm. "What if I don't?" Bruno took a step forward, his chest muscles nearly touching Lin Yuan's nose. "Chinese kid, don't think you're invincible just because you knocked over that weakling Ricardo. In my eyes, you're just a suckling..."
"Bang!!!" A loud crash interrupted Bruno's trash talk.
Lin Yuan didn't even use his hands.
He simply raised his foot without warning and kicked the edge of the bench Bruno had been sitting on with immense force!
The solid wood bench took a heavy hit and flipped over instantly.
Bruno didn't react at all. He lost his balance and fell clumsily to the ground with a "clatter," his head hitting the metal locker door with a loud thud.
The room erupted in an uproar.
No one expected this newcomer to dare to strike first under such an absolute disadvantage!
"I think you've mistaken one thing."
Lin Yuan leaned down and picked up the dropped key from the floor.
He didn't look at the dazed Bruno; instead, he turned and scanned the entire locker room with a gaze that looked upon them as if they were dead.
Those caught in his gaze felt a chill rise from their tailbones.
"I'm not here to make friends."
Lin Yuan inserted the key into the lock, speaking in the coldest tone of his life.
"I'm here to play football. Whoever stands in my way, I'll ruin them. Whether it's on the pitch or off it. Understand?"
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Bruno scrambled up from the ground, his face turning the color of pig liver, his fists clenching until they cracked. But when he met Lin Yuan's emotionless eyes, he actually hesitated.
Those were the eyes of someone who had killed.
Those were the eyes of a true desperado.
Just as the conflict was about to erupt, the sharp sound of the assistant coach's whistle came from outside: "Assemble! What are you all doing!"
The locker room crisis was temporarily averted.
But everyone knew that a mad dog had arrived at Boavista... Late at night, inside a cheap studio apartment.
Lin Yuan was shirtless, vigorously rubbing the bruise on his shoulder with medicated oil. No team doctor, no masseur—he had to rely on himself for everything.
Hiss—
The sharp pain made him gasp.
This was the price.
But he didn't regret it.
"System," he muttered in his heart.
A faint blue light screen instantly unfolded on his retina. [Football Bully Milestone System]
Host: Lin Yuan
Age: 18
Overall Evaluation: Substitute level for a Primeira Liga relegation-zone team (highly unbalanced)
[Core Attribute Panel]
Stamina: 85 (You're useless except for being tireless)
Strength: 82 (Enough to knock over most show-offs)
Aggression: 99 (You're a madman!)
Passing: 42 (Amateur level; suggested not to touch the ball)
Dribbling: 38 (Your feet are like lead)
Defensive Awareness: 65 (Relies entirely on instinct)
[notoriety points]: 200 points
"Passing 42..." Lin Yuan looked at the glaring red number and chuckled self-deprecatingly. "It really is pathetic."
When he was back home, the coaches only made him train his physique and ignored technique entirely. Now, he was just a brute with nothing but physical strength.
[Host detected to have 200 notoriety points.]
[Do you wish to consume all notoriety points to unlock the primary "Legendary Training Ground"?]
"Unlock," Lin Yuan said without hesitation.
The surrounding space warped instantly.
The dilapidated apartment vanished, replaced by a muddy pitch under a continuous drizzle.
A burly figure slowly emerged from the curtain of rain. It was a man with a full beard and eyes as fierce as a wolf's. He wore Manchester United's red jersey, with a captain's armband on his sleeve.
[Current Instructor: Roy Keane (Manchester United Legend Captain/Midfield Hardman)]
[Training Project: Meat-Grinder Tackle]
Keane walked up to Lin Yuan and, without any nonsense, kicked a football directly to Lin Yuan's feet.
"Kid, I heard you think you're tough?"
Keane's voice sounded like two pieces of pig iron rubbing together. "In my eyes, your performance today was like a sissy's. A real villain doesn't scare opponents by bumping into them; they make them too afraid to even receive the ball!"
"From now on, as long as you can steal the ball from me once, even if it's a foul, today's training will be over."
"Otherwise, you'll die right here."
Looking at the imposing legend before him, the blood in Lin Yuan's body began to boil.
This was the world he wanted.
"Come on!"
Lin Yuan roared and pounced like a hungry wolf.
Even in a dream, he would never admit defeat!