Chapter 6

Upon receiving the affirmative response from the chairman of Derby County, Wan Sheng finally had a smile on his face. When he first entered the room, he was prepared for failure, but he never expected to succeed and even get the job as an assistant coach for the first team.

That was a first-team coach!

Derby County was an English Football League (EFL) team. In 2002, the English Championship had not yet been formed, so the EFL was the second tier of English football. A team in the EFL was still a decent professional club, with an asset valuation of at least several million pounds.

The position of assistant coach for such a team was quite prestigious.

Often, the assistants of EFL team managers were qualified to lead a team in a lower league. Such a high starting point in the coaching world was usually only possible for retired stars. He never thought he would have such luck.

Wan Sheng found G. Smith more and more likable.

The chairman of Derby County, who was rather plump and not particularly appealing, suddenly became very cute because he offered him a coaching position.

Wan Sheng felt elated inside.

After giving Wan Sheng his response, G. Smith lowered his head to fill out a form. He suddenly looked up and smiled lightly, asking, "Young man, I don't know your name yet."

Wan Sheng hurriedly replied, "Sorry, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Wan Sheng."

"Wan Sheng? Is that a surname?"

"No." Wan Sheng shook his head. "It's my full name. 'Wan' is my surname, and 'Sheng' is my given name."

"I heard that Chinese names are quite strange, but yours is really simple," G. Smith said. "Can I call you by your full name? I hope you don't mind."

"Of course, Mr. Chairman."

G. Smith extended his hand to Wan Sheng, "You can call me Gil. I like it when people call me that."

"Sure, Mr. Gil." Wan Sheng reached out and shook hands with G. Smith.

Now they were properly acquainted.

"You don't have to be too happy. I'm just giving you a chance," G. Smith said. "A one-month trial period. If you can do well as an assistant coach, the club will sign you to a formal contract."

Wan Sheng nodded.

He suddenly looked embarrassed and said, "Mr. Gil, could you... advance me a month's salary? Oh, no, half a month would also be fine? A week?"

G. Smith was taken aback.

"I need to go back to Manchester to move my things and find a place to live here. It will cost a lot," Wan Sheng explained awkwardly. "I've been job hunting this month, and most of my money has been spent on transportation..."

G. Smith chuckled, "Wan Sheng, you're quite interesting."

"..."

"I've never met someone who, upon getting a job, doesn't go to celebrate but asks for an advance on their salary." G. Smith looked at Wan Sheng with interest. "You said you worked with the Manchester United youth team? From what I know, Manchester United isn't stingy..."

Wan Sheng shrugged, "They aren't stingy, but I was a temporary worker there. I only worked for a week before being let go. Have you heard about the recent news involving Manchester United's youth director, McGinnis? I was fired because of that incident."

"Ah, I see!"

G. Smith felt a bit enlightened. He knew about the recent news involving Manchester United, as the club was a focal point of English football. Even a youth team director's issues would make headlines in major sports media.

He didn't expect that this incident was related to the young man in front of him.

He looked at Wan Sheng's embarrassed expression with some amusement and finally said, "Alright, I'll do it because you're honest."

"Thank you! Thank you!" Wan Sheng quickly expressed his gratitude.

G. Smith smiled, "No need to thank me. Work hard, young man. I have work to do, so you can go and take care of your business. Remember to find Gregory at the first team training ground tomorrow morning. You'll be working under him."

"I will, sir."

When Wan Sheng left the chairman's office, he felt quite happy.

After over twenty days of running around, facing rejection and cold looks every time, G. Smith made him feel a bit of warmth. He was valued and had obtained a good job.

Although it was just a temporary position, Wan Sheng believed he could do well.

He finally had something to be proud of compared to his brother—working as an assistant coach for Derby County was much better than coaching the Manchester United youth team.

Although he lost his job due to his impulsiveness and not being able to catch McGinnis, he reconsidered and decided that if given the choice again, he would still leave. After all, such 'vile and cunning' behavior was not something he could do.

That evening, Wan Sheng rarely went to a small pub, ordered a meal and a beer, and celebrated finding a job.

He felt very happy.

For the past few days, he had been eating hard-to-chew bread and biscuits, which was not a pleasant experience. Now he could indulge himself and eat something normal.

After eating and drinking to his heart's content, Wan Sheng found a small inn to stay in.

The inn was right above the pub, a bit shabby but cheap. Wan Sheng decided to stay there when he heard the price... perhaps also because the charming female owner was quite attractive.

Entering the room, Wan Sheng threw his luggage on the ground and fell onto the bed.

For the past twenty days, he had been running around, almost covering the entire country. He couldn't rest well, and each failure added to his physical and mental fatigue. It was hard for him to get a good night's sleep.

Today, he was going to have a good sleep.

Completely relaxed, Wan Sheng soon drifted into a daze. Just as he was half asleep, a mechanical voice suddenly sounded in his ear, "Wan Sheng, you have become the temporary assistant coach of Derby County!"

"Who?" Wan Sheng suddenly woke up.

The voice was right next to his ear, but when he looked around, there was nothing.

Was he dreaming?

Wan Sheng was about to lie down again when he heard the voice again, "Training Master System reactivated... loading data..."

Wan Sheng sat up in surprise.

Many three-dimensional projections appeared before his eyes, blurry and indistinct. A progress bar appeared at his feet, and as the percentage increased, the images gradually became clearer.

Was that a character portrait? It looked like him right now?

An open ancient book? What was it?

One by one, the images appeared before his eyes, each very real. Wan Sheng felt as if he were in a sci-fi movie.

Was it a high-tech 3D computer screen?

It looked like it.

But what was going on? Was it still a dream? Or was he hallucinating!?

Wan Sheng was stunned by the bizarre scene before him.

...

PS: Please give me a recommendation vote!!!