Chapter 1 The Two of Them

Chen Yingxiong and Cabral stood outside the highway guardrail, watching the cars whizzing past.

He wasn't anxious anymore, because being anxious was useless.

The broken-down car was twenty meters ahead.

He had planned to call for help, but he discovered that his phone had run out of battery because of too many calls these past few days. Cabral's phone was the same.

The M1 motorway was flanked by farmland, with no villages or shops in sight. It was far from any bustling town.

Now the two of them were truly in a state where calling to heaven would get no response, and calling to earth would be futile.

"This is really a non-combatant's fault..."

Chen Yingxiong looked up at the sky and sighed. It was truly a case of when it rains, it pours. Not only did the car break down, but at this moment, the gloomy sky began to drizzle with cold rain.

Since the car had broken down on the highway, for safety reasons, they naturally couldn't stay in the car. There was only one umbrella in the car, and it wasn't big. If they both held it, they would both get wet. So Chen Yingxiong insisted that Cabral hold the umbrella, while he stood aside in the rain. He even said that such a small amount of rain wouldn't affect him at all.

He had rushed so hard before, but at this moment, because of the car breaking down, it had become a joke.

"Have you given up, Hero?" Cabral asked him.

"What's the point of not giving up? I can't possibly run to Liverpool from here, can I? That's two hundred kilometers!"

"Try hitchhiking," Cabral said.

Chen Yingxiong was startled. "This is a highway! Didn't you see how fast these cars are going?"

"You always have to try, right? Isn't that what you always say?" After Cabral finished speaking, she reached her hand inside the guardrail and raised her thumb, the gesture for hitchhiking.

Hearing her say that, Chen Yingxiong also came over and joined her in hitchhiking.

For now, this was the only solution.

January 3rd, 10:45 AM, Chen Yingxiong and Cabral were hitchhiking on the side of the M1 motorway.

There were five hours and fifteen minutes left until the start of the match.

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Martin O'Neill was still a little worried, so he decided to call Chen Yingxiong again to ask him where he was.

But when he called, he was told, "The number you dialed is switched off..."

What was going on?

Out of battery?

O'Neill frowned.

But then he thought, since they were already on the way to Liverpool, there shouldn't be a problem, right?

He absolutely did not expect Chen Yingxiong's car to break down...

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January 3rd, 11:30 AM, Chen Yingxiong and Cabral were still hitchhiking in the same spot.

The two of them had switched from hitchhiking together to taking turns, with one person hitchhiking while the other rested.

They still hadn't managed to hitch a ride.

The speed of the cars was too fast, and most people didn't even notice them. Even if some people did see them, they weren't willing to risk hitting the brakes.

"Damn it... Looks like no one recognized me..."

At first, Chen Yingxiong had stood confidently by the guardrail, reaching out to hitch a ride. He thought to himself that he was a popular football star in England, and surely someone passing by would recognize him. They would definitely be happy to help a star in distress, right? He would naturally reward this kind foreign friend handsomely.

But he stood by the road for a long time, and no one stopped to greet them warmly.

Actually, it wasn't that no one recognized him. His face appeared in the media every week, and his physique was particularly conspicuous, so how could they not recognize him?

But the few people who did recognize Chen Yingxiong weren't Liverpool fans. And they all knew that Chen Yingxiong was important to Liverpool, so out of their own selfish motives, not a single one of them stopped to help Chen Yingxiong.

So the pitiful Chen Yingxiong was left stranded in this "wilderness."

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January 3rd, 12:00 PM, Liverpool's players had already begun to have lunch in the restaurant. After a short break after lunch, they would prepare to go to the stadium. Generally speaking, for an ordinary league match, the team would go to the stadium an hour in advance to prepare.

That meant Liverpool would have to set off for Anfield Stadium at 3:30 PM.

And Chen Yingxiong had to get to the stadium before then.

But Chen Yingxiong's phone was switched off, completely unreachable, and he had no other way to contact him. Now O'Neill could only imagine where Chen Yingxiong was.

He guessed that they should be arriving in Liverpool soon, right? Maybe they were just outside the city of Liverpool now?

Martin O'Neill thought to himself, but he still felt a vague sense of worry in his heart.

He always felt that things weren't going smoothly, and he was worried that something would happen to Chen Yingxiong on the road.

This worry stayed in his heart, unable to be dispelled.

He also knew that he had no evidence to suggest that Chen Yingxiong would be delayed, but it was like a hunch, and that thought just wouldn't go away.

It was strange, Chen Yingxiong had clearly called him, saying that he was already on the way to Liverpool. Even if their phones had switched off because they ran out of battery, it shouldn't delay their journey, since driving didn't require using a phone...

So this should have been a foolproof thing, so why did he feel like something was wrong?

O'Neill shook his head, trying to shake the thought out of his mind.

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While O'Neill was worried about whether Chen Yingxiong would be able to make it back in time, Chen Yingxiong's teammates were also discussing this issue during lunch.

"Why isn't Hero here yet?" Adam Johnson would occasionally look up at the entrance of the restaurant even while eating, as if every time he looked up, he would see Chen Yingxiong walking in.

"I called him, and he said he was driving over here. He arrived in England this morning..." No wonder Chen Yingxiong's phone battery drained so quickly. It was already a miracle that a smartphone could last until Chen Yingxiong entered England with so many calls.

"Then there shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"But it's been several hours, even if he was driving an old car, he should have arrived by now, right? Not to mention that he's with... Cabral." Sanchez knew something about Cabral's driving skills. She could drive so fast in the chaotic traffic of Napoli, so she naturally wouldn't be the type to drive an old car.

So if Cabral was really driving, Chen Yingxiong should have been able to get to Liverpool before lunch.

Why hadn't he arrived yet?

Like O'Neill, everyone felt more or less worried and uneasy.

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January 3rd, 12:30 PM, Chen Yingxiong still hadn't hitched a ride. Fortunately, he had done some shopping when he left Frankfurt, so there were some bread sandwiches in the broken-down car. Although the taste wasn't very good in this cold weather, it was enough to fill their stomachs.

Chen Yingxiong was munching on a cold sandwich when he saw a red car coming from afar. From a distance, it looked like a pretty old model.

He quickly reached out his hand again, hoping that he would meet some kind people this time.

Actually, he really didn't have much hope in his heart, because he had been disappointed too many times before.

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Phil Gibbs was driving a 1975 Ford, with two friends in the car. They had just gone to London to see some girls and had a very happy New Year's holiday together.

They were currently returning to Liverpool from London.

The radio in the car was playing a preview of the Liverpool versus Newcastle match.

The topic the host talked about the most was Chen Yingxiong.

"...Currently, we don't have any more information about Chen Yingxiong. No one knows where he is. Our reporters have been stationed outside the hotel where Liverpool is staying, but they haven't seen Chen Yingxiong..."

"Oh! Damn it!" The three young men in the car complained at the same time. "Don't tell me Hero hasn't returned to Liverpool yet?"

"That damn Icelandic volcano! That bankrupt, rotten place in Iceland should sink as soon as possible!"

"Shut up! Phil, my aunt's family is in Reykjavik!" A red-haired, freckled young man in the back seat waved his fist.

"Then tell them to move to Liverpool as soon as possible. Aren't they afraid of being buried by lava if they live in that rotten place where they can only eat fish every meal!" Phil Gibbs, the driver, sneered.

"I agree with Phil, Iceland is a terrible country! They owed us money and held a referendum to declare bankruptcy, and then they just defaulted on their debts! It's too shameless! It even made it so I don't have money to buy a Liverpool season ticket this season..."

"Get lost, Tom. You don't have money because you spent it all on that fat girl, Leona!"

As the three friends were arguing in the car, Phil Gibbs suddenly noticed someone standing in the rain on the side of the road ahead, making a hitchhiking gesture.

He immediately laughed. "Hey, guys, look, there's an idiot standing in the rain hitchhiking! Ahahaha!"

He successfully attracted the attention of the other two, and the three of them turned their heads to look.

"Looks like his car broke down. It's really pathetic to be stuck on the road in this weather..." Of course, not everyone was as heartless and unsympathetic as Phil Gibbs.

"Is the one behind him holding the umbrella his girlfriend? She's got a great figure!"

"Should we whistle and tease her?"

Just as they were joking, Tom Jackson, the young man in the passenger seat, suddenly realized something was wrong.

"Slow down, Phil!"

"Why? Are you really planning to help them?"

"No, I just think that guy looks a bit like Hero..."

Before he finished speaking, Phil Gibbs's car sped past Chen Yingxiong.

But then a screeching sound of brakes rang out.

"fuCk! Don't slam on the brakes! How did you get your license, Phil?! It's raining! Damn it! Your car doesn't have ABS!"

"Hold the steering wheel! Grab it tight! God... this is on the highway!"

A series of wails rang out in the car.

Chen Yingxiong watched as the red vintage car sped past him, swerving left and right on the highway for a while before finally stabilizing and stopping on the side of the road with its hazard lights flashing.

"Looks like when God closes a door, he opens a window, Hero." Cabral walked up holding the umbrella, intentionally or unintentionally tilting the umbrella slightly towards Chen Yingxiong.

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ps, It's May! First day, asking for guaranteed monthly tickets!