The public chatter continued.
Ye Chen, however, had already left the training ground and arrived at Klopp's house.
Klopp, who dominated at Dortmund, didn't have as much luck in his personal life.
Simply put, Klopp was currently living with his second wife, who also had a son from her previous marriage. Ye Chen didn't ask why Klopp had bought two adjoining villasâafter all, that was his private matter.
Renting a house in Germany is slightly cheaper than in other places, but money wasn't an issue. After all, Ye Chen's match bonuses alone were in the tens of thousands per game.
However, Ye Chen could guess Klopp's reasoning. By owning two villas, they had a small football field in their backyard. The field was about half the size of a standard football pitch, perfect for casual play. Klopp's child seemed to love playing football too.
But that wasn't the key point. What mattered was that the neighborhood was upscale and had excellent facilities.
Ye Chen quickly wrote an IOU to Klopp, promising to pay the rent as soon as his next club paycheck came in.
Additionally, he borrowed over a thousand euros from Klopp to go on a shopping spree at the supermarket. He bought some home appliances and essentials. Instead of eating unhealthy food outside, he decided to cook nutritious meals at home. Once he hired a nutritionist, he would prepare meals based on their recommendations.
Ye Chen wanted to dedicate more time and energy to football!
Once everything was sorted, Ye Chen lay on his bed and started communicating with the system.
"System, I scored a hat trick last match. Time for my reward, right?"
"Ding! Congratulations, host, for overachieving your mission. A Silver Chest has been awarded!"
"Why just a Silver Chest? A bit underwhelming!" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow, though he didn't complain much. Even a small gain is better than nothing.
He eagerly asked the system to open the Silver Chest.
"Ding! Congratulations, host, you've received a Hellish Training Experience Card!"
"What?" Ye Chen was stunned. "System, are you sure this is a reward?"
"Completing the tasks during Hellish Training will grant you 10 free attribute points. These points come with no restrictions and can be added to any attribute!"
Ye Chen froze at the system's explanation.
His current speed was 85. If he raised it to 95, wouldn't he be unstoppable? Or, if he improved his explosive power to 95, who could keep up with his first step?
Why is Messi so terrifying right now? Sure, his feints are convincing, but the key is his explosive speed. Once he takes off, defenders can't even pull him back!
No wonder the Silver Chest only contained an experience cardâit was too powerful!
"How long does the Hellish Training last?" Ye Chen asked the system.
"The first experience card lasts ten days. Regular Hellish Training spans one month."
Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. Was this a deliberate arrangement by the system?
Today was October 2nd, and tomorrow would be October 3rd. His next match was on the 15th. The timing was perfect for a single experience session.
"Damn it! Fine, activate the Hellish Training Card!"
"Ding! Are you sure you want to activate it? Once activated, it cannot be forcibly terminated. Failure to complete tasks will result in a deduction of 10 random attribute points."
Gritting his teeth, Ye Chen said, "Do it!"
"Ding! The Hellish Training Experience Card has been activated."
"Ding! First session of the experience: Warm-up with a 15-kilometer night run!"
What?! Shouldn't training start tomorrow morning?
Before Ye Chen could react, another notification popped up.
"The host can choose not to run, but the system will automatically deem the task a failure."
"What did I do to deserve this?" Ye Chen's face twisted in anguish.
But as they say, to wear the crown, one must bear its weight. If he wanted the system to grant him 10 attribute points, how could he slack off? And this was a rare opportunity from the Silver Chestâit had to be cherished!
Ye Chen quickly got dressed, did some simple warm-ups, and began jogging. In his consciousness, the system's voice echoed: "Ding! The 15-kilometer night run has officially begun."
The only consolation for Ye Chen was that there were no street-side barbecue stalls in Germany at night. Otherwise, his run would have been pointless!
Fifteen kilometers wasn't an insane distance, but everything required gradual progress. Luckily, Ye Chen's fitness level was decent, allowing him to complete it in one go.
By the time Ye Chen returned home, his body felt like it was falling apart.
But there was no time to rest.
"Ding! Running task completed. A new task has been initiated..."
"Host, please perform 300 push-ups. This will be your final exercise before bed."
Three hundred? Ye Chen took a sharp breath.
For sleep's sake, he powered through!
By the time he finished, he felt like his arms no longer belonged to him. Still, he forced himself to shower before bedâhis slight OCD wouldn't let him sleep dirty.
...
The next morning, the system woke him up bright and early.
"Ding! A new day has begun. Please complete your morning routine within 10 minutes and run to Dortmund's training base."
Ye Chen, still groggy, was jolted awake when a countdown appeared. He cursed his foolishness for choosing Hellish Training, but there was no turning back now.
At the training base, Ye Chen noticed journalists lurking at the gates, hoping for a scoop. As soon as he arrived, he was surrounded.
"Ye, do you have time for an interview? I'm a reporter from Bild..."
Ye Chen shook his head immediately. "I have training. See you later!"
Among the crowd, Li Xinran called out in Mandarin. "Ye Chen, can I bother you for just a minute?"
Ye Chen paused upon hearing his native tongue. "You're the reporter from Sports Weekly, right?"
"Yes, yes! I'm Li Xinran. You can call me Xiao Li!" she responded eagerly.
"Alright, Sister Li. Ask quicklyâyou've got one minute!" Ye Chen smiled.
"Ferguson said that Manchester United's doors are forever closed to you. Any response?"
"Honestly, I don't want to ride Manchester United's coattails. After all, they terminated my contract. There are plenty of great clubs in the world. It's not like I have to go back to Manchester United!"
"Werder Bremen coach Allofs recently asked in an interview, 'Who is Ye?' How would you respond?"
"Who's Allofs?" Ye Chen asked, genuinely puzzled.
"He's the coach of your next opponent, Werder Bremen."
"Oh," Ye Chen nodded. "Never heard of him."
Li Xinran was speechless. "So 'never heard of him' is your response?"
Ye Chen laughed. "Time's up. I'm off!" With that, he jogged towards the training field, casually waving behind him.
Li Xinran quickly understood his gesture. "Does he mean he'll score five goals against Bremen?"
If Ye Chen had known her thoughts, he would've protested: "No way, Sister Li!"
He genuinely didn't know who Allofs was...