Chapter 1 Assembling Information to Find the Hero

As a sports reporter, Zhong Dajun was naturally part of the "Finding hero_Chen" movement. He even joined a QQ group where people exchanged information collected from various sources every day. This group, which combined the power of netizens from all over the country, only knew that Chen Hero was Chinese, joined the Zenit St. Petersburg youth team around the end of July 2006, was promoted to the first team two weeks later, and made his first appearance in the first team two weeks after that.

That was all.

It wasn't that they were incompetent, but that the Russian media didn't know much about Chen Hero's background either.

Previously, some media in St. Petersburg eagerly ran to the Czech Republic to find Petrzela, wanting to hear him talk about how he discovered Chen Hero.

As a result, the old Czech man looked blank when the reporter mentioned this person and knew nothing about him.

Then the trail went cold—no one thought that the person who made the decision to sign Chen Hero was assistant coach Vladimir Borovicka, not head coach Petrzela.

Zhong Dajun put the clues and information he got from the QQ group on the sports page of the Shuxi City Daily, where he worked, and made a special feature called "Finding hero_Chen." This was what he had persuaded the editor-in-chief to do.

He knew very well what it would mean for Chinese football today if such an awesome player really emerged. Whoever could find this legendary "hero_Chen" first would gain the upper hand.

Shuxi City Daily was the second most influential newspaper in Chengdu, constantly suppressed by its arch-rival, Jingguan Express, and its sales had never been able to beat the other.

If the "Finding hero_Chen" special feature could be successful, it might be possible to push down Jingguan Express in terms of sales. This was a good opportunity for a turnaround!

It was with this idea in mind that the editor finally approved this special feature, hoping that it would bring a positive effect on the newspaper's sales.

But the information he had was still too little, especially lacking some sensational elements and details. What was the point of simply listing that Chen Hero had scored ten goals in eleven rounds of the Russian Super League? How many people could understand that this number was awesome? No, what readers needed were stories! Detailed and dramatic stories! Without these, who would read it? Why was social news so attractive? Wasn't it because it was bizarre and people found it interesting?

So, the response to this special feature was mediocre.

Zhong Dajun naturally suffered tremendous pressure.

He had searched all the clues that could be found online. In reality, the newspaper couldn't afford to send him to Russia, and besides, the Russian league was over at this time, so he wouldn't be able to find anyone even if he went.

What should he do now?

He didn't know.

He decided to go somewhere to relax; he couldn't work under too much pressure.

Chen Hero's life after returning to China was very ordinary, after all, he was completely unknown in the country now. No one knew that he was the aerial threat that made defenders tremble on the Russian field, so no media or organizations bothered him, and he could enjoy this vacation in peace.

He spent the first two days at home with his parents, and Yesenin was introduced to his parents as DeCura, his agent, and stayed at his house temporarily.

After two days, Chen Hero's desire to play became strong again. He planned to go out and have some fun. DeCura had never been to Sichuan, so he had to take him to see the scenic spots. So the two of them went to Dujiangyan, Qingcheng Mountain, Emei Mountain, and Leshan for a tour. But there wasn't much to see, because it was winter, the dry season, and the vegetation was withered, and the colors were much more monotonous and dull, so these scenic spots by the mountains and rivers didn't look as beautiful as the legends said.

Chen Hero felt that playing like this was very boring. If it weren't for the fact that DeCura was a foreigner and hadn't seen the world, he would never have gone to those places himself.

Where did he like to go?

Of course, it was the entertainment venues in Chengdu!

Bars! Nightclubs! KTV!

On the fifteenth night of his arrival in Chengdu, Chen Hero took DeCura to a bar.

He hadn't been to a bar in Chengdu for a long time, not since he was kicked out of the team. He spent all day in his small room, addicted to World of Warcraft, and almost cut off all social activities. He no longer had contact with the friends he used to know.

During that time, he really felt like he was "abandoned by everyone."

Now, as Chen Hero stood in front of the Hot Fire Bar again, he thought of his past failures. At that time, he never dared to imagine that he would be able to earn 40,000 euros a week. This was a place where he and the group in the youth team used to come often. The consumption was not too high, and it was a place that the youth team players could afford at that time. And most importantly, you could often meet beautiful women here who were willing to have fun.

Because he was so familiar with the place, he took DeCura straight here.

If he hadn't hit that bastard and continued to be in the club's youth team, and then successfully promoted to the first team, what would he be like? A grandson in the first team? But one thing Chen Hero was very clear about was that he would definitely not earn as much money as he did now.

In that case, maybe he should thank the guy who gave him a dirty tackle back then, because if it weren't for him, how would he have had the chance to go to Russia?

"Is this bar very unique in appearance?" DeCura looked up at the neon lights above the bar door, very ordinary and simple, just a common sign.

Chen Hero lowered his head and shook his head: "No, I was just thinking about something. Let's go in..."

Just as they were about to go in, they suddenly heard a burst of laughter behind them: "Look who this is? Hey~ isn't this Chen Hero?"

Hearing the voice of an acquaintance, Chen Hero turned around. A white BMW 520 was parked right next to him.

A person leaned out from the passenger seat, smiling at Chen Hero, but the smile didn't look like the warm smile of seeing an old friend... This person was Meng Ran, the unlucky guy who had tried to give Chen Hero a dirty tackle in training but was beaten into the hospital by Chen Hero instead.

"Hey, long time no see, Hero. Where have you been hanging out recently?" Meng Ran used his hometown dialect to get close to Chen Hero. "I heard it's hard to find a job now..."

He sized Chen Hero up and down, and a look of sudden realization appeared on his face.

Then he got out of the car, and the others in the car got out one after another. There were two women and one man in the back seat, and a man got out of the driver's seat.

Chen Hero knew all three of the men present except for the one who got out of the driver's seat—they were his former teammates in the youth team. Judging from their smug looks now, they should have been successfully promoted to the first team. In the current state of Chinese professional football, being promoted to the first team is indeed something to be smug about. But unfortunately, Chen Hero didn't care about this anymore.

Meng Ran walked up to Chen Hero with a smile and said respectfully to the man who got out of the driver's seat: "Hey, Brother Wang, this is the Chen Hero I told you about before. We used to be on the same team, but now... he's parking cars here!"

Of course, he knew that Chen Hero had been kicked out of the team. What else could a semi-professional athlete who had been kicked out of the club do? They didn't know anything but playing football, Meng Ran knew this very well. So, looking at Chen Hero now at the door of the bar, dressed like this, he must be a valet parker.

Then he showed off to Chen Hero: "Wang Yongjun, from the national team! We all call him Brother Wang. He's generous and is the absolute core of the first team!" The meaning was, you don't know him, do you? I know him, so I'm better than you! "If you want Brother Wang's autograph, just ask me, haha!"

Chen Hero curled his lips and didn't say anything. He hadn't seen this person when he was in the youth team, but he had heard of him. Meng Ran wasn't wrong that he was the absolute core of the team, and he had also been selected for the national team several times, but in the national team, he was the kind of absolute fringe player who went in and out without ever playing in a game. He was a king in the club, but he heard that he was like a grandson in front of Sun Jihai and the others...

Wang Yongjun was quite pleased with Meng Ran's flattery, and he nodded arrogantly.

When he noticed that Chen Hero didn't show any respect or admiration, he frowned. But then he thought, what was the point of arguing with someone who had been kicked out? He handed the car keys to Chen Hero: "Park the car for me." He said it for granted, condescendingly, and arrogantly.

Meng Ran stepped forward and patted Chen Hero on the shoulder intimately: "I know it's hard to find a job now, work hard! Haha!"

The thin teammate who was also from the youth team laughed loudly. They still remembered the scene of Chen Hero being kicked out of the youth team with his tail between his legs.

The two women who were dressed up gaudily, with heavy makeup, and whose pungent perfume could be smelled from a distance, laughed even more hysterically, but what was shaking down was probably a pile of powder...

DeCura next to him could tell that these people weren't Chen Hero's good friends, but were trying to humiliate Chen Hero after running into him by chance... He was a little worried, not for Chen Hero, but for these guys in front of him, what if Chen Hero lost his temper...

Who would have thought that Chen Hero would accept the car keys with a calm face in the face of such humiliation and ridicule, without any intention of resisting. This made DeCura very strange.

Seeing that Chen Hero had accepted the car keys, Meng Ran's smug smile grew even wider. Then he put his arm around the glamorous woman next to him and made a gesture of invitation, beckoning Wang Yongjun to go to the bar.

Just as he turned around to greet that teammate, he saw Chen Hero take the keys but not walk towards the BMW, but walk straight to the side of the road, and then... bend over and grab the stone barrier post with both hands!

"Hero!" DeCura was startled. He had already guessed what this kid was going to do!

But Chen Hero didn't give him a chance to stop him. He clenched his teeth, contracted his arm muscles, and exerted force with his legs and waist. With a muffled groan, he lifted the stone post!

Whether it was Meng Ran, his teammates, or Wang Yongjun, none of these three people made any move in the face of such a strange and shocking scene. Their brains were completely blank—this was too beyond their comprehension. They stared dumbfounded as Chen Hero carried the stone step by step towards the BMW that looked very beautiful, and then the two female companions began to scream uncontrollably.

In their screams, Chen Hero threw the stone post at the hood of the BMW with force.

"Bang!!"

With a loud noise, the BMW obviously sank forward under the impact of the stone post, its rear end jumped up, and the hood was completely deformed. It looked like it was scrapped... The BMW's alarm started blaring non-stop.

The shrill alarm and the women's panicked cries intertwined. Immediately, it attracted the attention of countless people around.

Chen Hero clapped his hands, turned around, walked to the three former teammates, and handed the keys to Wang Yongjun: "I'm not a valet parker, thank you."

Wang Yongjun watched helplessly as his beloved car turned into a pile of scrap metal in front of him, and he hadn't reacted yet. But Meng Ran next to him was eager to protect his master and clenched his fists to teach this bastard a lesson!

"Oh, how many months do you want to stay in the hospital this time, Meng Ran?" Chen Hero sneered when he saw him clench his fists. Facing his former teammates in the domestic club, Chen Hero now had a special sense of superiority. At a height of 1.92 meters, he looked down at these people as if he were looking down at ants under his feet.

Meng Ran suddenly remembered the past when he was beaten by the furious Chen Hero and lay in the hospital for a month...

"Chen Bear! Don't go too far! There are three of us!" Meng Ran didn't dare to make a move, and his thin teammate next to him spoke up.

"Chen Bear" was a nickname his teammates gave him in private, and they never dared to call him that in front of Chen Hero before, because it would anger this bear. But now it was different...

After hearing this sentence, Chen Hero twisted around and stared at the person who spoke: "Get out of here, Beanpole! I can beat ten of you with one hand, do you believe it or not?"

When the people around saw that there was a good show to watch, they quickly gathered around. The Chinese people's nature of loving to watch the excitement was brought to the extreme.

A BMW parked on the side of the road was smashed, and a group of handsome men and beautiful women were about to fight. If such a thing wasn't worth watching, then what was worth watching!

Zhong Dajun was in the crowd of onlookers.