Chapter 1 The Ending

Chen Hero, who had scored two goals, still didn't celebrate. He didn't even plan to celebrate the victory.

He simply raised his arms, and that was it.

He knew this goal had completely declared the death of Napoli.

Trailing by two goals with little time left, it was impossible for Napoli to catch up with Liverpool, let alone reverse the situation. They couldn't even tie.

And he wouldn't let Napoli tie the score either.

He said he would do his best, and he meant it. The game wasn't over yet, so he would continue to pursue goals.

Some might find it cruel, but this was the best way for him to express his respect to his former teammates.

The only way.

※※※

Despite conceding two goals, Napoli didn't plan on giving up. Their formation remained unchanged, and their tactics stayed the same.

It was as if they couldn't see the score on the big screen, as if they weren't trailing by two goals at all.

They responded methodically.

Defensive counterattack, every defensive move was done perfectly, and they were ruthless when it came to counterattacking.

Just three minutes after conceding the second goal, Cavani had an excellent opportunity, but he hit the crossbar, giving the visiting Liverpool fans a cold sweat.

Mazzarri stood in front of the coach's bench, arms crossed, watching everything happening on the field with a serious and focused expression.

He wasn't anxious, or panicked, or even desperate.

He probably already knew the answer to this game in his heart.

No matter how hard they tried, even at their home ground, it would be difficult to shake Liverpool.

But he still wanted his team to fight with all their might. This was not about winning or losing, it was about dignity.

It was the dignity of Napoli. He didn't want Chen Hero to think that Napoli had fallen into decline without him.

He wanted to tell Chen Hero that they were following his words.

"Napoli should be great because it is Napoli, not because of a certain player. Whether that person is Maradona or me, Chen Hero!"

We may not be great yet, but our conscience is clear.

※※※

De Jong's interception intensity in midfield didn't decrease, and he even received a yellow card for it.

Cassano used his skills to charge left and right in the frontcourt, and it was hard to believe that he was a thirty-three-year-old veteran.

Hamsik's passes were as sharp as scalpels.

Finally, they pulled a goal back in the game. Hamsik passed the ball, Cassano crossed from the wing, and Cavani, following up in the center, shot the ball into Reina's goal!

The cheers that erupted from the Stadio San Paolo at that moment even surpassed the cheers they had given Chen Hero before the game.

The blue and white bear flags had disappeared at some point, and the entire stadium's stands were a blue sea. These people were all Napoli fans now.

In the huge cheers, you could hardly hear any other sound.

This was the crazy Napoli home ground, the Stadio San Paolo that made countless visiting teams tremble with fear!

Cavani was very excited after scoring, and he even took off his jersey.

Revealing his solid muscles underneath.

He punched the air and roared at the fans in the stands.

The stands were filled with unified shouts of "Cavani."

Chen Hero stood in the center circle, watching this scene, with a faint smile on his face.

Old idols will inevitably die out, and it is unwise to always place hope on people who have already left.

Instead of dwelling on the past, it's better to cherish the people in front of you...

If the Napoli fans had treated him like this back then, would he have left Napoli for Liverpool because of Chen Xing's favor?

He probably wouldn't have even had that thought.

It's just a pity that many things, once lost, can never be regained.

※※※

Cavani's goal didn't win the game for Napoli, even though they were only one goal behind.

But Liverpool, for Napoli, was a real behemoth.

Especially with Chen Hero, who was determined to do his best to defeat his old club.

Many people may not be able to understand Chen Hero's way of thinking and principles. Why be so ruthless when facing your old club, mentor, and former friends?

According to their way of thinking, it is normal for most people to hesitate, sympathize, be unable to bear it, or even deliberately ease up in such situations.

Only Chen Hero's all-out effort is abnormal.

They are the ones who scold Chen Hero for not having sportsmanship, and they are often the ones who criticize Chen Hero for not being gentlemanly enough. So what they say is nonsense, and you don't have to pay attention to it. Because they haven't even straightened out their own logic, the words they say naturally have no logic, and are not enough to convince the public.

This is actually the real sportsmanship—I won't deliberately ease up because you and I have emotional ties. Defeating you with all my strength is my respect for you.

Before the end of the game, Chen Hero completed his hat trick.

Which also meant the end of the suspense in this game.

The third goal was also scored by Chen Hero with his left foot.

Now the commentators have also noticed this.

"Left foot! All three goals were scored with the left foot! It's quite rare for Chen Hero, who rarely uses his left foot to score or even shoot in games!"

"Hero is really determined to use his left foot today... He insisted on only using his left foot to shoot in the first half, which resulted in his poor performance in the first half. In the second half, he continued to use his left foot to shoot, but he scored three goals... It's really unpredictable..."

"A hat trick in one game, and all of them were scored with the left foot. If this kind of thing happened to a player who is good at using his left foot, it wouldn't be surprising, but it's worth noting when it happens to Chen Hero... This means that the last shortcoming of Chen Hero, inside and out, has been filled!"

"I don't know if this is a coincidence, but the fact that he insisted on using his left foot to shoot throughout the game tells me that this is definitely not a coincidence... Then this is very scary. A powerful center forward who is invincible in headers, has excellent right-foot skills, outstanding long shots, and a keen sense of smell in front of the goal, now also knows how to use his left foot. What does this mean for his opponents? I believe everyone is very clear, right?"

"I don't want to say this, but I think this future is very likely to be realized, that is... Chen Hero will embark on the road to invincibility from now on!"

Amid the commentators' exclamations, Chen Hero still didn't celebrate.

This time, he didn't even raise his hand. He simply hugged his teammates who came up to celebrate the goal and was then surrounded as he walked towards the center circle.

※※※

Until the end of the game, the score didn't change again.

When the referee blew the whistle to end the game, it signaled the end of the match.

The cheers rang out again in the stands of Napoli's home stadium, the Stadio San Paolo.

Of course, they weren't cheering for Napoli's victory.

In fact, they all knew in their hearts that Napoli was doomed to die against Liverpool.

They cheered for Napoli during the game because they were Napoli fans, not because they thought doing so would allow the team to beat Liverpool at home.

But now that the game was over, naturally there weren't so many concerns. They could cheer for their hero again, cheer for their idol.

All the Napoli fans stood up from their seats, clapping and whistling, and the sound was all for Chen Hero.

Chen Hero did play at his highest level in front of them, completing a hat trick in the second half. Making those Napoli fans who liked him feel that they hadn't liked him for so long in vain.

Who doesn't want their idol to become stronger and stronger?

They were also happy to see Chen Hero performing so well.

After all, Chen Hero came from them.

As soon as the game ended, the tense atmosphere disappeared.

The Liverpool players and the Napoli players gathered together to exchange jerseys and chat.

They didn't have the kind of hatred that required them to fight to the death, so after the game, they were still able to show this rare warmth—it was rare for Liverpool, because there weren't many teams that could maintain a normal attitude after playing against Liverpool now, and there were very few teams that were willing to talk to them so kindly and exchange jerseys.

Liverpool's strength has made many teams start to be jealous of them and stay away from them.

However, the members of the Eat, Drink, and Have Fun Gang got together and chatted about things that had nothing to do with the game that had just ended.

"What time tonight?"

"Right away! Ask your coach for leave, and just say that old friends are meeting to catch up!"

"How do we get out?"

"I've prepared a car, and I guarantee that no media will be able to photograph us!"

……

Chen Hero and Cassano faced each other.

They were both naked from the waist up, holding each other's jerseys in their hands.

"I plan to retire in Napoli, Hero. I have two years left on my contract with the club, and I'll be almost thirty-six years old by then. I'll retire after fulfilling my contract."

Chen Hero didn't advise Cassano to keep going, after all, he had a heart condition.

"If you want to hold a farewell match at that time, be sure to let me know."

"Don't worry, I definitely won't forget you, buddy! If it weren't for you, I might have given up football at that time. How could I have enjoyed the wonderful taste of winning the Champions League?" Cassano laughed.

Chen Hero laughed with him.

"My road ends here, you still have time to continue walking. I wish you a smooth journey and go further and further. Go to a place that all of us... can't reach!" Cassano extended his right hand.

Chen Hero's right hand came over, and the two people's palms met and grabbed each other.

Then Chen Hero's right hand pulled Cassano into his arms, and his left hand patted Cassano's back.

Cassano's left hand also patted Chen Hero's back.

The two people hugged each other like this.

"I'll walk it for you, brother!"