"Gareth Bale surged past Fontàs! A brilliant move! Bale maximized his speed advantage! Such an unreasonable breakthrough, yet so effective and exhilarating!"

Harry Livy exclaimed excitedly, raising his voice once again.

In front of televisions, countless Liverpool fans cheered.

"Here it comes! This one's in for sure!"

"Score, whoever it is! Let's take the lead again!"

※※※

Liverpool fans in the stands also roared with similar cheers.

The jeers from Barcelona fans were much weaker, as they felt uncertain, worried about conceding, and not in the mood for booing.

Some couldn't bear to watch what was happening on the field, covering their faces with their hands and closing their eyes.

Piqué finally made his decision...

In any case, the player with the ball is always more dangerous than the receiver; that's the principle of defense. Even knowing Chen Hero's threat, he could only lunge at Bale.

But he remained cautious, not rushing in too quickly or decisively. He thought that if Bale passed to Chen Hero, he could quickly fall back, perhaps finding a glimmer of hope.

For example, if Chen Hero needed to adjust or stop the ball, he'd have time to block him and interfere.

And goalkeeper Valdés would surely come out, forcing Chen Hero to be unable to shoot immediately...

※※※

Gareth Bale, seeing Piqué rushing towards him, passed the ball to Chen Hero!

But not a ground ball; instead, a high ball!

The ball soared over Piqué's head!

A high ball!

Piqué wasn't alarmed; he was secretly delighted!

He turned and ran back, never having turned so fast!

A high ball meant the ball would spend more time in the air, giving him time to retreat!

Piqué turned to run back, then jumped, intending to head the ball away—Bale clearly knew that a high ball wasted time, so he didn't pass it too high, just a bit above the height of a normal person.

If Piqué jumped with all his might, he might have a chance to head the ball.

Piqué jumped.

Chen Hero jumped too.

The two met in the air.

And a ball.

Piqué crashed directly into Chen Hero, failing to head the ball but hoping his impact would disrupt Chen Hero.

But he was disappointed. Chen Hero remained motionless in the air, as if he were one with the earth.

Chen Hero jumped outside the penalty area, faced the high ball from Bale, braced himself, and... headed it!

Valdés, halfway through his charge, never expected Liverpool to end this counterattack in such a way. He thought Bale would pass a low ball, allowing him to block the shooting angle.

But how could he block it now? Chen Hero was high above, his own weight entirely on the ground, unable to jump in time, with vast open space overhead...

Chen Hero headed the ball, sending it flying towards the goal.

Valdés remained half-crouched on the ground, looking up in despair at the ball flying over his head, praying that Chen Hero's header from outside the penalty area would lack accuracy, going high or wide...

※※※

"Hero's header—!!!"

"The ball soars over goalkeeper Valdés, plunging towards the goal—goal!!!"

The commentary box erupted as if a bomb had exploded.

Everyone stood up, faces filled with shock!

"Just one minute after Barcelona equalized, Liverpool take the lead again! That's Hero's nineteenth goal in this Champions League season! And his first in this match!"

"Unbelievable! Unbelievable! Against such a powerful Barcelona, Liverpool can score directly from the kickoff! They only let the Barcelona players celebrate for a minute!"

※※※

Even more shocked than the commentators was Pavlov, the Saint Petersburg Zenit fan leader who knew the inside story.

His eyes widened, his mouth agape, as he stared blankly at the goal.

As the ball passed Valdés and began to descend, plunging into the goal, he remained frozen in that pose and expression, as if struck by a petrifying spell, having witnessed something incredible before the spell took hold.

It was indeed incredible, because the fans' wishes had come true! They really had maintained the lead in the first half! And not in five minutes, but just one!

The Liverpool fans around him cheered wildly, jumping in the stands, waving their arms, chanting one name: "He-ro—!!!"

He finally reacted, the sound breaking the petrifying spell.

He turned to look at Phil Jackson and their companions, all of them excited.

They raised their hands, then bowed low, prostrating themselves, rhythmically chanting Chen Hero's name.

Pavlov's mouth remained open.

Chen Hero... When did Chen Hero become so powerful?

As someone who had followed Chen Hero, he knew that Chen Hero was now one of the world's top three players, but this was beyond his comprehension, defying scientific explanation.

Fans prayed in their hearts, and Chen Hero fulfilled their wishes... What difference was there between this and God?!

He looked at the prostrating fans, the scene so similar to the worship of a deity!

※※※

Half the stadium was filled with Liverpool fans prostrating themselves to Chen Hero, arms rising and falling, a magnificent sight.

Everyone else seemed unable to accept this reality, lost and confused, unsure of what was happening.

Especially the Barcelona fans.

Yes, what was happening? We'd just scored a goal, equalized, and started dreaming of Barcelona crushing Liverpool... How could they concede a goal from the kickoff, the first shot after the restart, after leading for only a minute?

Something must be wrong!

This wasn't scientific!

It shouldn't be like this...

Chen Hero couldn't be that strong, Liverpool couldn't be that terrifying!

After Barcelona scored, the most pessimistic Barcelona fans thought they could at least go into halftime with a draw... Others were thinking of scoring another goal...

Now another goal had happened, but it wasn't their beloved Barcelona who scored, but Liverpool.

This... This was unbearable!

※※※

The Barcelona players were even more bewildered, listening to the deafening cheers, looking up at the Liverpool fans prostrating themselves in the stands.

They couldn't accept this reality at all.

They were hit even harder than the fans in the stands.

Because a goal they had worked so hard for was gone in an instant.

Barely two minutes of joy; such a huge psychological drop was unbearable for anyone.

Guardiola, seeing his players' expressions from the sidelines, didn't even bother considering the disadvantage of going from a draw to being behind. He just wanted halftime to come quickly, so he could soothe his players' emotions.

Because if they continued to play like this, Liverpool's morale would soar while Barcelona's would plummet.

Of course, he couldn't help but sigh.

That Chen Hero... He really had bared his fangs...

※※※

After scoring, Chen Hero ran to the stands where Liverpool fans were gathered, raising his right fist high.

He calmly accepted the fans' adoration.

He deserved it, because he had fulfilled his promise to them.

At that moment, instead of the usual commentary announcing the goal time, the scorer's name, and the current score, the stadium speakers blared... an air raid siren!

"Wooo—wooo—wooo—!" The shrill air raid siren suddenly blasting above everyone's heads stunned many.

This time, it was the Liverpool fans who were confused, while the Zenit fans were excited.

Just as they didn't understand the agreement between Chen Hero and the Liverpool fans, the Liverpool fans didn't understand what this sound meant.

The sound completely shattered the petrifying spell on Pavlov. He joined the stadium speakers in emitting the air raid siren.

And not just him; all the Zenit fans were doing it.

For a moment, the airspace above the Gazprom Arena was filled with the sound of air raid sirens, making people feel like they had returned to wartime!

※※※

The Liverpool fans didn't understand why there was an air raid siren, but Chen Hero was very familiar with it.

That sound... It had been a long time!

He didn't feel any fear. On the contrary, when he heard the sound, he paused, his eyes even slightly reddening...

This was the sound that played at Zenit's home ground every time he scored, a reminder to all opponents that the hero was here, watch out for headers!

This sound belonged only to Chen Hero, and everyone could only hear it after Chen Hero scored.

He wanted Zenit's fans to know that he hadn't forgotten them.

So Chen Hero turned around and lifted his jersey from behind, revealing the bear tattoo on his back!

Although brief, everyone saw Chen Hero pointing to the tattoo on his back, conveying his feelings to the Zenit fans in the stands.

No matter where I am, I will remember where I started. No matter where I am, I am proud to have the title of "Northern Bear!"

Thank you, Saint Petersburg Zenit fans.

※※※

Seeing Chen Hero do this, the Zenit fans cheered even louder.

The stadium speakers finally spoke after the air raid siren: "Forty-second minute, Liverpool lead Barcelona 2-1! The goal was scored by..."

"herooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!"

All the Liverpool and Zenit fans in the stadium used all their strength to shout this name.

※※※

The most miserable group at this moment was the Barcelona fans, who were being jolted back and forth by this match, finding it hard to accept.

After their goal, Chen Hero's one action caused the Liverpool fans to cheer like mad, suppressing their own cheers of celebration. They still didn't understand why.

Then, after Chen Hero scored, an air raid siren suddenly blared from the stadium speakers!

Scaring many of them, their hearts almost jumped out, and still pounding wildly in their chests.

And they still didn't know why... Watching the Zenit fans and Liverpool fans so happy, many Barcelona fans suddenly had this thought from the bottom of their hearts—perhaps we shouldn't have come...