The tense and exciting game ended with both sides in such jovial spirits that many people suspected it was a fixed match… If Napoli hadn't fought so hard on the field, the media might have speculated about it the next day.

After the game, Hero and the others asked head coach Martin O'Neill for leave.

Martin O'Neill knew a little about the existence of the Eat, Drink, and Be Merry Squad. He didn't approve of such things, believing that professional players should focus less on sensual pleasures. However, since the leader of this group was Chen Hero, he couldn't interrupt and say anything.

He could only grit his teeth and approve it.

And so, the Liverpool and Napoli branches of the Eat, Drink, and Be Merry Squad gathered together for a good time, not returning to the hotel until eleven o'clock.

But it wasn't that crazy. This time, everyone mainly gathered to reminisce. They talked a lot, didn't drink much, and the girls were purely for show.

So everyone was still sober when they returned to the hotel.

Cassano's impending retirement touched Chen Hero.

If Cassano hadn't mentioned it, he wouldn't have thought the bad boy was about to retire.

His impression of Cassano seemed to be stuck in his last season in Naples.

At that time, Cassano was not yet twenty-nine years old, the golden age for a professional player.

Unexpectedly, he was already almost thirty-four years old.

The "bad boy" had become a veteran, which was truly sigh-worthy.

Thinking that he too would retire one day, Chen Hero couldn't imagine what it would be like.

Would he also look old and haggard?

Chen Hero lay in bed, imagining his retirement.

He didn't want to be so old that he couldn't even run, sitting on the bench most of the time, struggling for a chance to play.

He hoped that even if he retired, he would still be in good enough shape. He should be able to retire whenever he wanted, not be forced to retire by everyone else. No one could force him.

That was the most important thing.

No one had ever been able to force him to do anything he didn't want to do.

He didn't want to ruin his reputation when he got old.

He fell asleep thinking about it.

Then he had a dream.

In the dream, he was enjoying the cheers of the crowd, standing in the center of the stadium, waving to the stands. The fans all stood up, and even the sidelines were full of people. If the police hadn't been desperately stopping them, these people would have rushed onto the field.

Reporters from all over the world gathered here, pointing their cameras at him. He could see many famous logos.

A helicopter circled in the sky, filming from above.

These people were all shouting, "Hero, don't go! Hero, we don't want you to go!"

"Please stay! You can still play!"

Many fans even fainted from grief and were frantically carried out of the crowd.

But he waved to them with a nonchalant air and said, "I've won every possible championship, and more than once. So I'm very satisfied. I've decided to retire!"

After speaking, he squeezed out of the crowd.

The reporters and fans frantically charged at the police line, trying to get close to him. Countless microphones were thrust towards his mouth over the heads of the police. The reporters shouted, "Please give me one more interview, Hero!"

"I have one more question, Hero…"

He turned a deaf ear, simply smiling and waving to the people on both sides.

The police were pushed so hard that their hats were askew, and they desperately blocked the frenzied people.

In the passage they desperately cleared, Chen Hero walked down the steps alone, entered the tunnel, and then stepped onto the stairs, his figure gradually disappearing from sight.

He walked so firmly, no matter how others called out to him, no matter how the cries outside had become a chorus, he didn't turn back.

Those frantic shouts, those noisy scenes, were all left behind him.

Stepping onto the stairs, he saw his agent, Dekula, standing there waiting for him.

He smiled at him: "How was it? Not bad, eh, Mr. Aurora?"

Dekula smiled and replied, "You've long been a true hero of the green field."

The two smiled at each other.

Along the way, Chen Hero couldn't do without Dekula, and Dekula couldn't do without Chen Hero. Their tacit cooperation had created a rare myth in world football.

In the laughter, the surrounding world was rapidly dissipating, the stadium walls, stairs, handrails… everything was turning into beams of white light.

These white lights were so dazzling that Chen Hero couldn't help but close his eyes.

When he opened his eyes, he saw the ceiling of the hotel room.

He turned his head, and Skrtel was sleeping soundly next to him.

So it really was just a dream…

He simply began to savor the dream.

If there was such a scene when he retired, it would be worth it.

※※※

While Chen Hero was sighing about Cassano and his own retirement, the outside media was commenting on the game with unusual seriousness.

Everyone had seen that Chen Hero had insisted on using his left foot to shoot and control the ball during the game. He seemed a little uncomfortable in the first half.

But in the second half, his performance was like a completely different person.

He scored three goals, completing a hat trick.

This performance made people realize a problem.

That was, Chen Hero's left foot was no longer what people thought it was.

All along, everyone had thought that the left foot was Chen Hero's weakness, and this weakness gave them some psychological comfort—no matter what, Chen Hero was still a human being, not too exaggerated. A person with flaws is a human being, and where in this world is there a perfect person without flaws? Even saints have flaws.

They thought that this left foot was difficult to train, especially when Chen Hero was twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. To improve his left foot ability was as difficult as climbing to the sky.

Who would have thought that Chen Hero had actually trained his left foot!

Was he still human!

Did he still have any weaknesses now!

Outstanding height, excellent jumping ability, good header, keen sense of smell in front of the goal, foot skills can also be called delicate, not slow speed, rarely… no, almost never injured, unlimited stamina, stable condition, never misses any game… In the past, his temper was still a weakness, but in the past two years he has controlled his temper very well. You can see it in the game against Everton.

Now his left and right feet are all-rounders…

With such a comprehensive center forward, unless he himself doesn't want to play, can anyone in this world stop him?

This result made many people feel terrified.

Two true kings of football have been born in the world of football, and there have been strong players such as the football emperor, but even the kings of football and the football emperor have flaws.

Chen Hero had achieved true all-round perfection without flaws.

And he was only twenty-eight years old, the golden age for a professional player. He could maintain his good condition until his early thirties.

In these years, with his ability, he could completely monopolize and dominate the world of football.

If it weren't for the drag of the Chinese national team, he could go to any of those world powerhouses and help the team win the World Cup.

Complete his career's true grand slam!

All along, everyone thought that such an awesome guy should only exist in fantasy and could not appear in reality.

Even Messi, who was closest to the king of football, was greatly limited in heading ability because of his short stature, and was not considered an all-rounder.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who is known as "all-round," is often criticized for his temper and personality, which is too independent, and his condition is prone to ups and downs.

Unexpectedly, Chen Hero, this Chinese boy, had done it.

This was naturally a major event in world football.

The media naturally had to report on it and discuss it in detail.

What kind of impact the appearance of a truly all-round Chen Hero could have on the world of football was also the topic of greatest concern to everyone.

The happiest people were naturally the Liverpool supporters. With such an awesome figure in their team, the team's performance was naturally guaranteed.

More people were either frustrated and sighing, or simply unwilling to accept such a reality. They doubted whether Chen Hero was really as powerful as the media said.

The loudest opinion was the "coincidence theory."

That is to say, the performance of one game cannot explain anything.

Even if Chen Hero used his left foot to control the ball and shoot in this game, so what?

Scoring three goals was all a coincidence. Which player hasn't had a God-given moment in their entire career?

Can you ask Roberto Carlos to score another free kick like the one he scored in the 1997 Four Nations Invitational Tournament? Can you ask Zidane to score another volley like the one he scored in the 2002 Champions League final? Can you ask the Chinese national team to enter the World Cup finals again?

Just because some things have been done for the first time doesn't mean they can be done for the second time.

So many people think that Chen Hero is lucky, and the media is overreacting. It's nothing great, and there's no need to make a fuss about it now.

Just wait and see, and see if Chen Hero can still have such a performance.

This kind of voice is very loud and most in line with everyone's psychological expectations.

After all, it is too difficult to get everyone to accept that Chen Hero has suddenly become invincible.

It is more reasonable to say that it is good luck and an occasional coincidence.

Everyone is more willing to believe it.

So for these people, the most important thing is not what the truth is, but what they are willing to believe.

If they are willing to believe that the sun comes out from the north, they can think that the sun coming out from the east is a fallacy.

But this game was indeed lacking in persuasiveness.

So, regardless of whether they believe it or not, everyone focused their attention on Chen Hero, wanting to see if he could come up with any convincing performances next.