When Chen Hero followed his teammates off the bus, quite a few media outlets had already gathered on both sides of the walkway.

When these media outlets saw Chen Hero, Anyukov, Denisov, and Kerzhakov emerge, they swarmed forward, camera flashes bursting, and countless microphones thrust in their faces.

"Can you talk about what you were doing at Katyusha's that night?"

Some reporters even asked them with a sarcastic tone, "How's the quality of the chicks at Katyusha's?"

Faced with such humiliation, Denisov and the others lowered their heads and said nothing, wanting only to get through this as quickly as possible. They were all experienced veterans...

But the young Chen Hero couldn't take such provocation.

He rolled his eyes. "Is that any of your business?"

It would have been better if he hadn't responded. But as soon as Chen Hero opened his mouth, the reporters got even more excited. "Is it a matter of course for professional players to go clubbing?"

"Chen Hero, will you be punished for this? Will you still start this match?"

Although they still didn't know Chen Hero's background, they recognized him as a person, so some reporters directly called him by name to ask questions.

"Won't clubbing affect your match fitness, Chen Hero?"

"Fitness" was practically Chen Hero's sore spot now. He'd been tormented enough by that word these past two days. He didn't expect reporters to bring up the subject he wanted to avoid the most.

He stopped walking. "Fitness?"

"Yes, Chen Hero. Don't you think this will affect your fitness?"

Chen Hero wanted to angrily rebuke this ignorant reporter, but Captain Radimov, who had a lot of experience dealing with reporters, saw Chen Hero about to explode and quickly pulled him aside. "Hero, don't talk to them about this, or you won't know what hit you!"

He knew very well what reporters were like. You could say one casual thing, and they would twist it into something else, then launch a massive attack on you in their columns. They controlled the narrative, while you? An ordinary player couldn't even open his mouth.

So Radimov quickly pulled Chen Hero away, knowing that Chen Hero was an inexperienced young man. If he got tricked into a trap by the media, it would be terrible. Chen Hero had enough trouble as it was...

Chen Hero was unwilling to be pulled away like this. The reporters were still shouting at him, "You scored two goals and then went clubbing with your teammates. Isn't that a bit too arrogant?"

Chen Hero stopped. Radimov couldn't pull him, just fretting anxiously. Chen Hero raised his hand and pointed at the reporters. "You're questioning my fitness? Then today I'll show you what my fitness is like!"

With that, before Radimov could pull him, he turned around and walked into the tunnel.

The reporters looked at each other, not understanding what was going on.

To be honest, many reporters were proud of the title "Uncrowned King." They felt that with such a title, they could act like real "kings" everywhere, telling others what to do and passing judgment. They had been contradicted before, but to be challenged by an eighteen-year-old kid... that was a rare experience.

"This Chen Hero is too arrogant, isn't he?" a reporter complained after recovering from the shock.

"He's only scored two goals, and he's already this arrogant. If he scored more, who knows what he'd become?"

"Young people these days don't know how to respect people at all..."

"He won't succeed. A person with this kind of personality can't succeed no matter how talented he is." An experienced veteran reporter took a puff of his cigarette and said with a definitive tone.

In the tunnel, Radimov was trying to comfort Chen Hero. "Why are you arguing with them? Let me tell you, Hero, you can't win against them. They're a bunch of flesh-eating bastards. Offending them won't do you any good."

Chen Hero looked unconvinced. "I'm just not happy. Can they just say whatever they want about other people?"

"In fact, they can..." Radimov spread his hands. "Don't offend the pen-pushers, Hero."

Chen Hero muttered, "Anyway, I'm just not happy..."

Radimov knew that Chen Hero was young and vigorous, and that he had been smooth sailing since joining the first team, without encountering any major setbacks. So he couldn't think straight when he encountered such a thing. He was the same when he was young. After experiencing more things, he would naturally see things more clearly.

He patted Chen Hero on the back. "Okay, Hero, think about how you're going to score three goals in the match."

Chen Hero had initially doubted whether he could score three goals, but now, stimulated by the reporters, he was determined to achieve this goal in the match.

Fitness my ass! Today I'll show you that clubbing has nothing to do with fitness! I'm going to go clubbing and score a lot of goals! Let's see what you bastards do then!

In fact, Chen Hero's encounter with the reporters today was just the aftermath of the news in the past two days. After Chen Hero, Denisov, Anyukov, and Kerzhakov were exposed for going clubbing, a wave of criticism had been launched in the local media in St. Petersburg.

As Zenit's hottest player in the last two league rounds, Chen Hero, who had scored two goals, was naturally the main target of criticism.

The media believed that Chen Hero had only scored two goals for the first team and then showed up at a nightclub, which showed that this kid was getting carried away. If they were Advocaat, they would have excluded Chen Hero from the starting lineup long ago. Players who ignored team discipline were unacceptable!

Others believed that Chen Hero's clubbing would definitely affect his match fitness. It was a pity for this young man who had scored two goals in two consecutive starts. He should have had a bright future. Now it seemed that he would have to take a detour...

Yesenin was sitting on the sofa in his dormitory, reading the newspaper. The TV in front of him was playing a pre-match program on TV, where the hosts and experts were analyzing the starting lineups of both sides, and Chen Hero was prominently listed.

Today was match day, but he wasn't going to the stadium anymore, because Chen Hero's Russian was now good enough for everyday communication, and he didn't need him, the translator, to accompany him all the time.

There were many articles in the newspaper criticizing the four players, and Chen Hero, who had become a popular figure due to his recent two goals, naturally became the focus of criticism.

The criticism in those articles was much sharper than the questions Chen Hero had encountered at the stadium today.

So, the reporters had given Chen Hero some face in person... But Chen Hero was young and vigorous, and he didn't appreciate it at all.

Most of the criticism questioned whether going clubbing would affect Chen Hero's fitness... It seemed that "clubbing" and "poor fitness" had become synonymous.

So Yesenin was particularly interested now. He wanted to see how Chen Hero would respond.

Talent skills were good and powerful, but they couldn't guarantee that Chen Hero would complete a hat trick. So, to put it bluntly, to score three goals, he needed the most of his own ability—even if it wasn't necessarily in terms of football skills, but in terms of willpower and courage.

This task... how are you going to complete it, Hero?

The reporters in the media box were surprised when they saw the starting lineups of both sides.

Not only Chen Hero, but the other two players involved in the clubbing incident were also on the list! Zenit St. Petersburg's starting lineup was exactly the same as the one against Vladivostok Luch-Energiya in the last match...

They all said they didn't understand.

"What is Advocaat thinking?"

"Is he condoning those players who like to frequent nightclubs and don't return?"

"This is not a good sign... I'm a little worried about Zenit's performance this season. The coach was replaced mid-season, and the newly appointed coach can't control his players..."

Of course, some reporters were happy.

"Didn't that Chen Hero say he wanted to show us what his fitness is like today? The opportunity has come! I'd like to see what his fitness is like!"

When the match started, Chen Hero found himself facing an opponent...

When Kerzhakov passed the ball to him as promised, he jumped up but didn't head the ball. Because he was blocked by someone. The two collided in the air, neither of them fell, but they missed the ball.

After landing, Chen Hero looked at the person who had blocked him.

The name printed on that person's back was Booth.

Since landing in the Russian Premier League, he had finally met a center-back who was taller and stronger than him.

The coach of Krylya Sovetov, Gadji Gadzhiev, had obviously put in a lot of effort. He had carefully studied Chen Hero's performance in the previous two matches—the assistant coach of Luch-Energiya couldn't get the match footage, but that didn't mean everyone couldn't get it. It just depended on whether you were dedicated or not.

By analyzing the match footage, he found that Chen Hero's header was excellent, and that was his greatest weapon. But apart from headers, he didn't have a single shot in the two matches! Yes, a shot with his feet. All his shots were with his head...

What does that mean?

It means he can only head the ball!

Gadzhiev was startled by his own conclusion—to be honest, he didn't believe that there were still players with such serious weaknesses in professional football.

But for now, he could only choose to believe the conclusion he had deduced. To defend Chen Hero, he sent up two center-backs who were the best in aerial ability—Matthew Booth and Andriy Husin.

Matthew Booth was 1.99 meters tall, weighed 95 kilograms, and was a South African international.

Andriy Husin was 1.89 meters tall and weighed 78 kilograms.

Both of them were experienced veteran defenders, perfect for dealing with rookies like Chen Hero.

Gadzhiev stood on the sidelines with his arms crossed, watching the game. He was now waiting to use the actual match to test the results of his arrangement.