Chapter 1 The Beginning

"...Mr. Gazzaev, has your team prepared for the weekend match against Zenit?"

"Yes, we are ready. We attach great importance to this game. Zenit is not an opponent to be trifled with..."

On TV, an interview with Valery Gazzaev, the head coach of Moscow CSKA, was being broadcast.

The match between Moscow CSKA at home against St. Petersburg Zenit has been designated as a national live broadcast, and the game is highly anticipated.

Leading up to the match, news programs about the two teams are increasing, and the atmosphere of a major battle is becoming increasingly apparent.

"Mr. Gazzaev, have you found a way to deal with Chen Hero?" a reporter asked.

Chen Hero, who was on the phone with his father, was also attracted by this sentence on TV, and he turned his attention to the TV screen.

"I think... it's not a secret anymore, is it?" Gazzaev laughed.

The laughter of the reporters was clearly heard on the TV.

Laugh your sister!

Chen Hero cursed inwardly.

But he was still telling his father on the phone: "...It's getting cold here in Russia, it even snowed yesterday. I still wanted to go out and play, but I was frozen stiff..."

It's normal for people from Sichuan not to have seen snow. Chen Hero wanted to rush out and play in the snow the first time he saw it, but he was so cold that he obediently rolled back into the house.

"I also took a lot of photos, snow scenes! It's so beautiful, I'm telling you Dad, you and Mom should really come to St. Petersburg for a good time... Oh, it's not cold, it's only cold when you go outside, there's heating and air conditioning inside, what's cold? Oh, by the way, Dad. We have another league game tomorrow. Guess who the opponent is this time?"

Chen Tao was preparing to close his shop while chatting with his son on the phone.

"Oh, good luck! Who is it?"

"Moscow CSKA! Hehe!" Chen Hero laughed excitedly.

Chen Tao was stunned for a moment, then reacted: "You still remember?"

"How could I forget? Of course I remember! I'm telling you Dad, I still remember that debt, and I've finally found a chance to settle it."

"Ahem..." Chen Tao coughed. "You..."

"Don't worry, Dad, the revenge is limited to football."

Chen Tao was speechless.

After Chen Hero hung up the phone, he continued to stare at the TV screen.

Now on stage was Zenit's coach Dick Advocaat. This news program was broadcasting the pre-match press conference between the two sides in the afternoon.

The topic still revolved around Chen Hero.

Who told him to rise suddenly and then sink suddenly, making the media very interested?

"Many teams have now claimed that they have found a way to deal with Hero. What do you think about this?"

"No comment," Advocaat shook his head and said.

"Then will you still include Hero in the starting lineup? Tekke has made a quick recovery. Will he play in tomorrow's game?"

"I will not reveal the team's starting lineup." Advocaat was very careful not to let others get any information. "You will get this list an hour before the game."

His answer was of course very disappointing to the reporters.

But Chen Hero smiled.

Just now Advocaat had already announced the team's starting lineup. Just like Advocaat had promised him before, his name was impressively on the list, while Tekke was in the substitute lineup.

The question was no longer in doubt.

That coach of CSKA, you just wait for me!

These days, more and more reporters have come to the training ground, even far more than the previous match between Zenit and Moscow Spartak.

Moscow CSKA is currently ranked first in the league and is very likely to win the league title. St. Petersburg Zenit, on the other hand, has star players like Arshavin.

The confrontation between the two sides will certainly be very attractive.

Chen Hero also accepted interviews with the media—although he had publicly slapped the St. Petersburg media in the face during the previous game, they quickly "reconciled." Chen Hero needed to be famous, and the media liked this player who could always stir up trouble—who would be willing to report on those good husbands who obediently went home to accompany their wives and children after training every day?

Of course, the questions these media asked still made Chen Hero very unhappy... for example: "Hero, will you start in the game against Moscow CSKA?"

"Is your recent lack of goals related to not going to nightclubs?"

Chen Hero cursed in his heart: Damn it, if I go to nightclubs, you talk about it, if I don't go to nightclubs, you still talk about it!

Although he had not scored for a while, Chen Hero was still very tough in front of the media.

He put on a straight face: "Whether I score or not has nothing to do with whether I go to nightclubs. Nightclubs are my personal hobby in my spare time, and scoring goals is my job. Can you distinguish between work time and personal time?"

His questioning left the reporters speechless...

Chen Hero had a dream in which no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't score in the game against Moscow CSKA. He tried the long shot he had just learned, but the football flew straight into the sky. After a while, a plane fell outside the stadium...

When he woke up, he still clearly remembered his feelings in the dream—when he realized that the first half was about to end and he had not yet scored a goal, he was anxious. The fans in the stands were still scolding him as "trash." Unwillingness and anger burned like flames, eventually engulfing his entire being.

Then he transformed into a hellfire with flames all over his body and leveled the entire Moscow Dynamo Stadium!

Then, under the sky reddened by the flames, he laughed loudly: "You won't let me score? I'll make it so you can't even play the game! Ahahaha!"

Under his feet were crowds of people screaming and running away. He looked down at these pitiful insects like ants. He looked up to the sky again and laughed.

Then... then he woke up.

"What the hell was all that nonsense..." Chen Hero shook his head.

However, the feeling he had when he realized that the first half was about to end and he had not yet scored a goal was very, very clear and real, so much so that he was still a little dazed after waking up—was what just happened a dream, or is what's happening now a dream?

Looking at the clock by the bed, it was basically time to get up.

Chen Hero was too lazy to sleep anymore, he turned over and got out of bed to wash his face in the bathroom.

This dream was too unlucky, he decided to wash it away.

His roommate Denisov was still tossing and turning in bed, occasionally uttering a sentence or two in his sleep.

In Moscow in winter, the night is particularly long.

When Chen Hero finished washing up and stood in front of the window, the world outside the glass window was still pitch black. You must know that it was already past eight o'clock—eight o'clock in the morning, not eight o'clock at night.

The street lights were still on, illuminating every street brightly, and the lights of distant buildings were also lit up.

The city was gradually awakening.

In the light, Chen Hero noticed something floating past his window.

He climbed up and looked closer, and found that it was... snowflakes!

It's snowing!

He looked down again... that's why the street lights were so bright, it turned out to be the snow on the ground reflecting the light!

Since the snow had accumulated, it meant it had been snowing for a while.

Could it be a snow battle today?

Chen Hero frowned. Although he had seen snow, he had never played a game in the snow before. St. Petersburg is further north than Moscow, and it had already snowed. There had been two snowfalls so far, the second of which was particularly heavy. So heavy that the team could only train indoors.

Playing a game in this kind of weather was full of too many unknowns that he didn't know before.

For example, the condition of the field, whether it would make his limbs stiff because it was too cold...

But one thing he was sure of. That was that even if it hailed, he would still take revenge in this game!

Moscow CSKA's home stadium, Dynamo Stadium, was in front of him, but he couldn't see it clearly in the dark. Chen Hero had seen it during the day yesterday, and he stared in that direction.

I hope they haven't forgotten about me.

"...This is Moscow's second snowfall this year. It started last night and has continued until this morning. Judging by the looks of it, it may continue to snow... Today's game will definitely be played in the snow..."

On the bus to the stadium, the local TV station was broadcasting a program, and the host was talking about today's game and the weather. But his tone didn't sound surprised at all. Looking at his teammates around him, they were also calm about the weather.

It seems that the Russians are used to playing football in the snow and ice.

The sky outside the car window was a bit gloomy, and even in the afternoon, it was no different from night... But then again, the days in Moscow in winter are originally short. It gets light after nine in the morning, and it gets dark after four in the afternoon...

Chen Hero was very unaccustomed to spending the winter here at first. When it got dark, he always thought it was very late, but he didn't expect it to be only four or five in the afternoon.

This made his biological clock a bit disordered, but fortunately he has adapted now, otherwise he would definitely feel hungry now...

Although the snow wasn't light, Chen Hero still saw many fans along the way, either driving or walking towards the stadium.

Among these people, there were also fans who were thinly dressed and carrying wine bottles in their hands.

They were wearing red Moscow CSKA jerseys, and when they saw Zenit's car driving by, they sang loudly and gave the car the middle finger.

Judging from the fans' reactions, this game was definitely not friendly.

But this has nothing to do with Chen Hero. He was here today to cause trouble for Moscow CSKA and wreck their game.

Fortunately, the snow wasn't too heavy today. The snow on the road wasn't deep enough to seriously affect the car's driving, so they arrived at the venue smoothly.

Getting off the air-conditioned bus, Chen Hero shivered from the cold.

At the parking location, although the weather was very cold, there were still many reporters waiting. They were also wrapped up tightly, but when they saw the players getting off the bus, they regained their energy and swarmed up.

Advocaat, Arshavin, and... Chen Hero became the focus of the media.

Advocaat was the coach of the team, and Arshavin was the team's number one star, so it was natural for them to be chased by the media. Chen Hero was chased by the media because of his fluctuating performance curve.

"You haven't scored in the league for four consecutive games. Do you think you've hit a goal drought?"

Chen Hero grinned: "Goal drought? What's a goal drought?"