Chapter 1 The Marketplace

Chen Hero, having gathered all the information he needed from Dracula, eagerly re-entered the training system and headed straight for the marketplace.

He had to see what this so-called marketplace had to offer.

The results were rather disappointing. The huge marketplace had very little on the shelves. It was obvious that the place had just opened, with many empty spaces. There was a beautiful saleswoman there, who, upon seeing Chen Hero, came up to greet him with particular enthusiasm, making Chen Hero think she was also working on commission…

Although there weren't many goods, and he was the only customer, the enthusiastic saleswoman was still very dedicated.

She began to introduce each item to Chen Hero one by one.

"This is Mighty Bull drink, which can restore your stamina..."

"Wait? Why Mighty Bull instead of Red Bull?" Chen Hero found it strange.

"Because using 'Red Bull' would be a copyright infringement. So to avoid such a situation..." the saleswoman explained to Chen Hero.

"I see… Dracula actually has a concept of protecting intellectual property…" Chen Hero was speechless.

"These are 'All-Around Warrior' sneakers that can increase the experience points you gain in the dungeons. This is a set of protective gear to reduce your chances of getting injured in the dungeons..."

Chen Hero pointed to the colorful jerseys and asked, "What are these clothes for?"

"They're useless, just decorations, for looks," the saleswoman replied.

Chen Hero paused, thinking he had misheard: "Just for looks?"

"Yes, just for looks."

"And they also cost experience points?"

"That's right, sir."

"This… what's the point of buying them? It costs money? I wouldn't take them even if they were free!"

"You can't say that, sir. Don't people spend a lot of money to buy an app on their Apple phones just to show off their wealth? That app only displays a bright red diamond icon on your screen, and it's useless otherwise, but it sells for a thousand dollars."

Chen Hero was surprised that this virtual lady even knew about that… That was quite a while ago.

Back then, Apple's smartphones had such a bizarre app called "i_Aessful." It was a truly pointless thing, yet eight people bought it before it was taken off the market. It couldn't be denied that there were still some bored, rich people in this world who liked to show off…

"And what else are clothes for besides covering your body? Looking good is one of their purposes," the saleswoman continued to explain.

Chen Hero pointed to the headbands and wristbands and asked, "Those are just for decoration too?"

The saleswoman nodded.

Chen Hero was speechless.

Since they were only for looks, he wouldn't consider them.

What he needed now was to restore his stamina, so he chose to buy ten bottles of the best Mighty Bull drink. One bottle cost three hundred experience points, which sounded expensive, but Chen Hero now earned one hundred and eighty experience points for every goal he scored, so experience came easily.

There were also cheaper options, costing only thirty experience points per bottle, but they only restored ten percent of his stamina, which was useless to Chen Hero.

※※※

It had to be said that although Dracula was a shrewd businessman, that "shrewdness" was only reflected in the fact that he charged for everything. The goods were actually quite genuine.

Then again, if not for his "shrewd" nature, how could Chen Hero have chosen him to be his agent? He had earned him a lot of money.

Chen Hero drank a can of Mighty Bull drink and immediately felt energized, as if his body was filled with endless power.

He couldn't wait to return to the "Master League" scenario and lead his "Liverpool" team, made up of various players, to face those legendary teams. Today, their opponent was the 1970 Brazil team, which would be a tough battle.

With the current strength of Chen Hero's team, losing by only three goals would be considered a victory…

But Chen Hero didn't care. He just wanted to face the legendary Pelé, Tostão, Alberto, and others.

In the end, Liverpool lost by exactly 0:3, with Pelé scoring two goals and Alberto scoring one. Chen Hero had two chances in the game, but he didn't score either time.

After the game, he lay on the field, panting heavily.

He discovered that the Mighty Bull drink really did have some effect. He didn't feel too tired.

This was the biggest gain today—from now on, he had a weapon to deal with this kind of "two-pronged approach."

But…

He smacked his lips. How great would it be if this thing also worked in reality…

※※※

Martin O'Neill was seriously considering whether to stop letting Chen Hero play in the League Cup in the future, and also not let him participate in the FA Cup.

But the next day during training, O'Neill found that Chen Hero's fitness was no longer a problem!

Yes, it was very obvious that it wasn't a problem.

He was very active in training, full of energy, not at all as tired as he had been before.

Whether it was sprinting, shuttle runs, or endurance tests, he performed outstandingly. Although it wasn't as good as his pre-season level, it was much better than yesterday.

O'Neill also found Chen Hero's sudden improvement in fitness strange.

He wasn't happy, but more worried—he was afraid that Chen Hero had taken some prohibited drugs to ensure sufficient fitness.

Doping was an eternal shadow that could never be dispelled in the world of sports. Although both the Olympic Committee and the football associations of various countries were cracking down on doping, as long as competitive sports existed, and as long as money and fame existed, this thing couldn't be banned.

He was afraid that Chen Hero would be confused for a while and go and touch this untouchable thing.

He expressed his concerns tactfully.

As soon as Chen Hero heard it, he understood what O'Neill was worried about, and he laughed: "How is that possible? Boss? I'm not stupid. Besides, with my physical condition, doping wouldn't have much effect…"

But in this matter, words were useless. No one would honestly admit to taking doping.

So although Chen Hero explained, O'Neill was still a little nervous and worried.

He was afraid that Chen Hero had deceived him, and then tested positive in the post-match urine test. Then it would be too late.

Now FIFA had a very strong punishment for players taking doping. If it was found to be true, it would be a minimum of two years suspension, and in serious cases, even a lifetime ban. In that case, Chen Hero could only retire…

Chen Hero saw the worried look on Martin O'Neill's face and guessed what he was thinking.

But he couldn't prove his innocence now, so he could only say: "Don't worry, boss. If necessary, I'll voluntarily apply for a urine test in the next game. It's okay!"

But he was thinking of really calling Dracula to ask if there were any prohibited ingredients in that Mighty Bull drink, and whether the effects of this drink would be brought into the real world…

※※※

Dracula gave Chen Hero a reassuring pill. The effects of this thing were only reflected in the dungeon. Outside the dungeon, it was useless. So Chen Hero didn't have to worry about any side effects, and at the same time, he cut off Chen Hero's thoughts of bringing this thing out of the dungeon.

Since there were no side effects, Chen Hero could use it with confidence in the dungeon. With this thing, he would no longer have sore back and legs when clearing dungeons, and his efficiency would naturally increase greatly.

In the "Master League," winning a game gave a lot of experience, a draw gave half the experience, and losing a game gave no experience. But in addition to this fixed experience income, some gains could not be quantified by data.

That was real experience.

This experience referred to which choice was the best and most effective when encountering various situations. This was something that others couldn't teach, because everyone's actual situation was different. Even if they encountered exactly the same situation, a player with excellent physique but rough skills, and a player with excellent skills but a weak body, could they choose the same coping method?

Definitely not. And their own coping methods were experience. Other people's experiences might not be useful to oneself.

Experience was about finding the most suitable method for oneself when constantly experiencing this situation.

With more games played, Chen Hero would gain a lot of various experiences. Others might not be able to become experienced until they were thirty years old, but he was now an experienced veteran.

So the benefits of the Master League in the dungeon were obvious.

People who didn't know the inside story thought Chen Hero was really a genius, and always had some actions that exceeded their imagination. No matter what situation he encountered in the game, he always seemed to be able to deal with it easily. They called Chen Hero's ability "talent."

Little did they know that Chen Hero had already seen it many times in the dungeon, and his body was almost conditioned to react instinctively. If he still didn't know how to deal with these situations, he might as well kill himself.

※※※

While Chen Hero was constantly clearing dungeons, the national team's games were also in full swing, but the Chinese team's results were still terrible. The coach had been changed, and a batch of Football Association officials had reached the end of their terms, and the players had also been replaced, but it was still useless. The Chinese team's results didn't improve at all.

Although the Chinese Super League was now in full swing, that was the grass-roots level, and the reason it was in full swing was because of the introduction of big-name foreign players, which had boosted the football market. The introduction of a large number of foreign players had instead squeezed the living space of Chinese local players, so there were even fewer excellent local players, and naturally there were fewer talents available for the national team to choose from.

But what did all of this have to do with Chen Hero…