Chapter 2: The Young Soccer Prodigy System

"Personal data successfully retrieved. The Captain Tsubasa System has been bound to your account. Please verify your information; if everything is correct, press the confirm button!" That deep, magnetic voice sounded again, and a melody that Dai Zhiwei knew all too well began to play—the theme song from "Captain Tsubasa," "Burning Hero."

At the same time, a young man clad only in underwear appeared on the phone screen, his appearance almost identical to Dai Zhiwei’s own.

"Captain Tsubasa System? That’s pretty intense," Dai Zhiwei muttered, trying to calm himself before continuing to look.

Next to the athlete, a character profile appeared, displaying: "Name: Dai Zhiwei, Nationality: China, Date of Birth: July 28, 1994, Age: 20, Height: 175, Weight: 64kg."

The screen flashed again, and the basic info page disappeared, replaced by a new profile board that, besides basic details, included additional information.

Dai Zhiwei was quickly drawn in by the stats displayed:

Trainee Player: Dai Zhiwei
Position: Forward/Winger/Attacking Midfielder
Offensive Ability: 73 (Average)
Defensive Ability: 30 (Very Poor)
Balance: 67 (Average)
Left Foot: 65 (Average)
Right Foot: 74 (Amateur)
Stamina: 81 (Good)
Top Speed: 96 (Elite)
Acceleration: 94 (Excellent)
Reaction: 97 (Elite)
Agility: 88 (Good)
Dribbling Accuracy: 72 (Average)
Dribbling Speed: 78 (Average)
Short Pass Accuracy: 71 (Average)
Long Pass Accuracy: 64 (Average)
Shooting Accuracy: 72 (Average)
Shooting Power: 68 (Average)
Shooting Technique: 69 (Average)
Free Kicks: 56 (Amateur)
Turning: 80 (Good)
Heading Accuracy: 64 (Average)
Jumping: 92 (Excellent)
Skill: 75 (Average)
Goalkeeping: 40 (Amateur)
Teamwork: 68 (Average)
Health: 7 (Excellent)
Overall Rating: 64 (Ordinary Player)

"Ordinary Player level? What does that mean?" Dai Zhiwei wondered, scrolling down to understand.

A note explained:
1–39: Football Enthusiast
40–49: Amateur Level
50–59: Professional Player Level
60–69: Ordinary Player Level
70–79: First Team Player Level
80–89: Star Player Level
90–95: Superstar Level
95–100: Legendary Player Level
100: King of Football Level

At the bottom, the system specifically noted that the average rating for Chinese male footballers was 65.

At his current rating of 64, Dai Zhiwei realized he wasn’t destined to lead Guangzhou Evergrande to dominance in the Asian Champions League or the Chinese Super League; just earning a spot in the rotation would be a victory. After all, with the presence of three international stars, Guangzhou Evergrande was stronger than the national team!

"So, I’m really just at the bottom tier of the first team. The system’s evaluation is actually pretty accurate," Dai Zhiwei said with a wry smile.

He agreed with the rating. Although he was a top student at the Genbao Football Academy and a standout in the Evergrande reserves, he still lagged behind others from the same academy, like Wu Lei. His ability was that of a typical CSL rookie—thanks solely to his extraordinary physical attributes.

"Wait, my physical stats?" Dai Zhiwei suddenly realized the system’s assessment of his physicality was astonishing.

Aside from a 67 in balance, his stamina (81), top speed (96), acceleration (94), reaction (97), agility (88), and jumping (92) were all unmatched in Chinese football.

Just then, the system interface popped up a new page, and a man’s figure suddenly appeared before Dai Zhiwei, startling him.

"Hey! Hello!"

This was... Tsubasa Ozora!

The absolute protagonist of "Captain Tsubasa"!

"Who are you?" Dai Zhiwei, who a moment ago had looked dazed, now stared in blank shock.

"I’m Tsubasa Ozora, the support system for Captain Tsubasa. I’m here to help you achieve your dream—dominating the pitch," Tsubasa explained.

"Dominating the pitch?" Dai Zhiwei pointed at himself and gave a bitter laugh. "Isn’t it said that Chinese men aren’t suited for football?"

"Of course, with your current ability, not only are you far from dominating the pitch, you wouldn’t even make the starting lineup for Nankatsu Middle School… Though, your physical stats are modeled exactly after mine when I led Nankatsu to the junior high championship."

"Well, you’re strong, so you make the rules," Dai Zhiwei replied, speechless. The physical feats in "Captain Tsubasa" were absurdly over the top, and now he understood why he had such impressive physical stats.

For instance, had he ever seen anyone shatter a concrete wall with a kick in real life?

But in "Captain Tsubasa," the Tiger Shot could, and the kicker was just a schoolboy.

"As you wish, since this is the Captain Tsubasa System, in addition to improving your stats through hard work, the system will also grant you some of the incredible abilities from the anime. By striving, you can master special moves from the show and fulfill your dreams," Tsubasa continued.

"So, can I use the Tiger Shot to punch a hole in a concrete wall?" Dai Zhiwei asked eagerly.

"No, you can’t."

"Then what about blasting the net with a long-range shot from midfield?" he pressed.

"That won’t work either."

"Well, those special moves don’t sound so impressive then!" Dai Zhiwei said, annoyed.

If he could really pull off the Tiger Shot as in the anime, every shot would be a goal—even from midfield.

"Bear in mind, this is the real world. If you could actually do what they do in the anime, you wouldn’t be on the pitch, you’d be on an operating table being dissected and studied," Tsubasa explained.

"Alright," Dai Zhiwei nodded, accepting the logic.

"Even though the special moves aren’t as exaggerated as in the anime, they’re still extraordinary. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be called special moves," Tsubasa said proudly. "For example, with the Tiger Shot, while it won’t tear through the net, in terms of power and speed, it’s at least as strong as Roberto Carlos’s peak long shots—if not even stronger!

"Or take my Curving Shot: its dip is sharper than Pirlo’s falling leaf, its bend is greater than Beckham’s, and its speed rivals Juninho’s thunderbolts. If you master it, you’ll be the greatest free-kick taker ever—scoring with the same reliability as taking penalties."

"Wow!" Dai Zhiwei raised an eyebrow, satisfied. "But I assume these special moves aren’t just handed out for free?"

"Correct," Tsubasa nodded. "You won’t be given any skill directly; you must earn them through effort. Each skill is worth points—50, 30, 15, or 5, for example. My Curving Shot costs 50, Kojiro Hyuga’s Tiger Shot is 30, Shingo Aoi’s Right-Angle Feint is 15, and Roberto Hongo’s Bicycle Kick is 5.

"You can earn points in two ways. One is through matches—winning an official game gets you 3 points, losing gets you 1. The other is through training—ten hours of high-intensity training (like in Europe’s top leagues) earns one point. In the Chinese Super League, you’d need 15–20 hours for one point, and amateurs would need 40–50 hours."

Dai Zhiwei grimaced, realizing the challenge wasn’t a small one.

"Therefore, I’ll give you a beginner’s gift—30 points. You can pick one 30-point skill or two 15-point skills. The choices are yours."

"Oh, I almost forgot," Tsubasa added just as Dai Zhiwei was making his selection. "There are conditions for acquiring skills. For example, to learn the Tiger Shot, your Shooting Power must be at least 85. You don’t meet the requirement yet."

"Uh?" Dai Zhiwei was a bit discouraged, but he quickly realized this was only reasonable.

It would be as bizarre as Neymar suddenly mastering Cristiano Ronaldo’s long-range blasts overnight.

He quickly skimmed through all the 5–30 point skills, knowing he had only a minute left.

"Reminder: less than one minute until your appointment with Zhang Linpeng," Tsubasa suddenly announced.

"Alright, I’ve made my choice!"

Under Tsubasa’s watchful gaze, Dai Zhiwei scrolled to a page, took a deep breath, and pressed his finger down.