Bruce had been in this world for over a day, and he was fairly certain that it was a parallel world—essentially the same as the one he had originally lived in, with only minor differences. For example, the fate of his family had changed, but these alterations hadn't significantly affected the overall course of the world.
He had considered whether he could use his memories from his previous life to start a business and become a tycoon, or rely on his foresight to invest wisely and become a capitalist in the future.
But in his previous life, he had been an excavator operator. He hadn't gone to university and knew very little about business, let alone memorized any winning lottery numbers. Survival in this world was still a concern.
As for his supposed status as a third-generation rich kid, that was even further from the truth. His stingy father had been at most a small local tycoon in China, the family had little wealth, and he had never cared much about his illegitimate son.
Since moving to the UK at the age of 10, Bruce has returned to China only once, at age 12, to process his immigration paperwork. His father, meanwhile, has visited him just twice during his trips to Europe.
His father is still alive, but their relationship is strained, largely due to Bruce's status as an illegitimate child. As a result, Bruce often felt confused about his future and unsure of what path to take.
His mother, Kate, hoped he would study diligently, get into the mathematics department at Oxford or Cambridge, and become a mathematician, as he had shown exceptional mathematical talent from a very young age. His grandfather, John Sr., on the other hand, hoped he would pursue football and complete the career John Sr. himself had been unable to finish.
So, when he learned that Bruce was disappointed after failing to make it into the first team, Old John traveled from Scotland to comfort him and even made arrangements for him to play football there.
However, Bruce had never made any statements about this before. In fact, he wasn't opposed to becoming a professional player. In his previous life, he had played football in junior high and high school, and he genuinely enjoyed the sport.
Although he had stopped playing for a while after starting work and even gave up everything related to football, he later became addicted to games. This led him to unintentionally start playing football video games, which rekindled his passion for the sport. He not only plays football games frequently but also keeps up with all kinds of football news.
Still, after careful consideration, he didn't feel confident about pursuing a professional football career in this life.
For one, there were many objective factors that had allowed him to enter Crystal Palace's youth academy back then. Crystal Palace isn't known for its youth academy. In its 150-year history, only two players had truly become stars after coming through the academy. With such a low success rate, the academy must be considered extremely underwhelming.
Moreover, Crystal Palace is located in London, a city brimming with professional football clubs. When discussing Europe's top football cities, some might mention Milan or Madrid, but in terms of the sheer number of professional clubs, London is undoubtedly the leader.
The city alone has 13 professional football clubs, many of which have long-standing histories in professional leagues across various levels. Clubs that occasionally reach a professional league can only be considered semi-professional.
In such a competitive environment, Crystal Palace struggles with youth development, consistently facing challenges in attracting top young talent. Even moderately talented academy players often prefer Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea, West Ham, Fulham, Watford, or Queens Park Rangers—Crystal Palace is rarely the first choice.
Bruce was able to join Crystal Palace's youth academy primarily because the club struggled to recruit strong young players. However, professional clubs maintain strict standards for youth development, and failing to meet these targets can result in penalties.
Every now and then, clubs need to hire random players just to fill out their ranks.
In reality, Bruce was only able to secure a professional contract this time because he encountered a fortunate opportunity. The English Football Association had introduced new regulations, requiring clubs to include a certain number of homegrown youth players in their professional squads. Crystal Palace happened to be ineligible under these rules, so Bruce—who was barely considered decent in Crystal Palace's youth academy—was offered a professional contract to help the team meet the requirement.
In fact, the length of his contract reveals how little the club really valued him: it was only for three years.
Keep in mind, Bruce is only 17 years old now, which means he would be just 20 when the contract ends. If he were a truly exceptional player, professional clubs would likely offer a long-term deal right away, not just a short three-year contract.
Considering all these factors, Bruce had previously felt that his chances of succeeding as a professional athlete were low. He was actually more inclined to follow Kate Lee's advice: study hard, go to university, and rely on his future knowledge to pursue other opportunities.
Although it might not become a huge business, it should be enough to make a living. But now, with this talent system in place, his choice had become clear.
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Bruce's thoughts once again triggered the system's first blue card box, and the prompt asking whether to confirm activation appeared. For a moment, he felt a slight nervousness.
If he chose this path, his real professional football career would begin—and with this system, he believed his chances of success were high. Although he didn't possess the most valuable King of Football talent card, he was confident that becoming a star player in the future shouldn't be a problem. In fact, he even had a good chance of reaching the top tier of players. As for becoming a King of Football, that would have to be left to fate.
Of course, the only thing he wasn't entirely sure about right now was which type of player this set of cards was designed for. Was it meant for forwards? Or midfielders? Perhaps defenders? It could even be for goalkeepers.
Regardless of which, Bruce would light it up and follow the system's rules—but who wouldn't want something better? On the field, the most attention and glory undoubtedly belonged to the forwards who scored goals for the team. He wanted that kind of glory too, so ideally, he hoped for a set of cards designed for forwards.
"It doesn't matter if it's something else," he told himself. Without further hesitation, he focused his mind and confirmed that the first blue card in the first row had been activated.
A flash of white light appeared, and he finally saw the first blue card:
Wing Speedster (Joaquin): Equipping this item grants the wing skill talent of Wing Speedster Joaquin. When the talent card fusion rate exceeds 50%, the stability of wing crosses increases by 20%.
Joaquín, although not a widely famous star and never having played for a top club, was still a standout player, and Bruce remembered him well.
Joaquín was a typical Spanish winger, best known for his play on the flanks and his precise crosses. However, he was almost completely ineffective in the now-popular style of wingers cutting inside to shoot.
His most successful season was probably 2004/05, when he led Real Betis—a modest La Liga team—to fourth place, securing a Champions League spot for the following season. That year, he also finished second in the La Liga assist chart.
What pleased Bruce was that this was an attacking player card, meaning the entire set should consist of attacking players.
But on closer reflection, Bruce became less certain. Joaquín's talent on the wings could benefit forwards, midfielders, and even full-backs.
The only certainty was that this was definitely not a set of goalkeeper cards. Beyond that, whether it represented a forward, midfielder, or defender was hard to say.