Chapter 23: Is the Golden-Voiced Singer Here to Deliver Money?

Lin Hao felt a bit disappointed.

After all, in his daydreams over the past few days, a "Legendary Skill Treasure Chest" should have been some kind of super cheat code that would instantly propel him to the top. Something like Haaland’s raw physical dominance or Klose’s legendary aerial prowess.

Yet, the damn system gave him this...

Perfect Partner?
Synergy increased by 60%?
And a 5% success rate boost for mutual assists?

What even is this!

Well, although Lin Hao knew deep down that the "Perfect Partner" skill was actually quite overpowered, humans are always greedy, aren't they?

...

At the post-match press conference!

Felix Magath, who had been playing Santa Claus in the dressing room just moments ago, had now transformed into an aggrieved old man seeking justice.

"I have never seen such shameless people!"
"Armin Veh is an insult to football!"
"His substitutions were purely intended to injure my players!"
"God bless, Raul is not injured, but I have already filed an appeal with the club. We cannot tolerate such butcher-like players appearing in the Bundesliga!"
"There must be an additional suspension!"

Magath was furious. After all, when Raul went down, Magath’s heart nearly gave out.

Of course, after his rant against Armin Veh’s team, Magath also offered some praise for Lin Hao, who had been frequently mentioned by the Chinese reporters.

"Hmm! Lin’s performance speaks for itself!"
"He is the most talented player of his age I have ever seen!"
"His understanding of tactics has already surpassed everyone his age."
"One goal and two assists—such a debut is absolutely the wildest I have ever witnessed!"
"No, no, no! I am not saying Lin is better than Huntelaar!"
"Lin is still very young; he needs to continue to hone his skills!"

Magath’s words were diplomatic, but the Chinese reporters, who hadn't seen a Chinese player perform like this in one of the top five leagues for many years, officially began the "Hype Lin Hao" mode shortly after the conference ended.

Sina Sports: From the Asian Youth Championship to the Super Cup, and now a Bundesliga debut, Lin Hao has conquered everyone with a performance that can only be described as world-class. In such a dark era for Chinese football, we are fortunate to have waited for a superstar like Lin Hao!

Tencent Sports: Magath claims Lin Hao is the world’s number one youth player!

Titan Sports: Today, Gelsenkirchen is red! Lin Hao let the "Chinese Red" bloom brilliantly at the Veltins-Arena!

...

A perfect debut!

That night, Lin Hao’s phone was completely blown up.

His teammates from the national youth team called him at three or four in the morning to offer their congratulations.

It wasn't just his teammates; even his parents back in China called to praise their son’s performance, reminding him to stay safe while celebrating, as there were so many "infectious diseases" abroad.

This warning left Lin Hao feeling quite awkward. He couldn't help it—he was receiving the call just as Raul was dragging him off to some top-tier nightclub in Gelsenkirchen to have some fun!

Of course, Raul didn't take Lin Hao to any seedy places. In Raul’s eyes, his little brother was only 18, and he couldn't let Lin Hao pick up any bad habits during such a critical stage of his career.

However, once Hao Junmin realized it was a "clean" outing, he suddenly felt disappointed, especially since he had already told his wife he was resting at Lin Hao’s place.

...

The next day!

Lin Hao, still deep in his dreams, was startled awake by a howl from old Gassen.

He quickly jumped up and rushed to the living room. Seeing Lin Hao, Gassen charged over in excitement!

"Haha! Lin! We’re going to be rich!"
"Haha, God!"
"Lin! I can’t believe it!"

Gassen was rambling like a madman. It wasn't until the end that Lin Hao realized a domestic company had offered him an endorsement contract.

It was the amount on the contract that had Gassen so worked up.

"Golden Throat! I really don't know why a pharmaceutical company is looking for a football star to endorse them. First it was Ronaldo, then Kaka!"

Gassen grumbled while printing out the letter of intent from Golden Throat. Even with his expectations managed, Lin Hao was taken aback when he saw the fax.

Yes! The deep-pocketed Golden Throat had actually offered 15 million RMB for three years.

"Lin! I don’t think there’s any need to consider this further. According to their requirements, you only need to wear a jersey with their logo and take a photo! No follow-up work! This money is basically free for the taking!"

Gassen was right. If it were other product endorsements, he would have to use their products all day and film various commercials, but Golden Throat truly only wanted a single photo.

A photo for 15 million... If this isn't picking up money, what is?

And after three years, they could sign for another three. By then, who knows? Maybe 15 million could turn into 30 million, or even 100 million?

...

"Hmm! Gassen, tell them I accept!"
"Good, Lin, I’ll have them come over as soon as possible!"

Gassen was overjoyed. After all, he stood to gain 3% of that 15 million! He had already made hundreds of thousands from the signing fees, and now he was going to make even more. With Lin Hao’s current performance, there would be countless more endorsements to come.

Thinking of this, Gassen was practically skipping as he walked!

...

Once the endorsement was settled, Lin Hao headed to the gym as usual.

After an hour of intense training, he dove back into the system. He already knew how to use the "Perfect Partner" skill. Now it was time to convert his training and match points into attributes.

Ten days of training had accumulated one attribute point, and the Bundesliga match plus the Super Cup match provided another point. With two points in hand, Lin Hao looked at his current overall stats.

Offense: 80 (93) Ball Control: 75 (85+3) Dribbling: 80 (85+5)
Passing: 75 (82+5) Shooting: 82 (95) Heading: 77 (88)
Set Pieces: 70 (80) Curve: 72 (80) Speed: 80 (82+8)
Shot Power: 80 (82+8) Jumping: 78 (85) Physical Contact: 83 (88)
Stamina: 84 (88+10) Defense: 51 (51+35) Tackling: 55 (55+30)
Overall Rating: 78

Without hesitation, following his plan, Lin Hao added both points to his Offense rating.

For the current Lin Hao, his offensive stats were the most important to max out first. After all, the main reason he was in Magath’s squad was his ability to use his offensive attributes to revitalize Schalke 04’s attack! (In reality, it was that he could do the dirty work in the front court while using his offensive stats to find the perfect moment to feed Raul.)

As his Offense stat climbed to 82, Lin Hao’s overall rating finally rose to 79!

"Sigh! That wasn't easy!"
Looking at his slowly growing attributes, Lin Hao sighed helplessly.
It took over ten days just to gain this much... This damn system is truly slow...