Chapter 1 Liverpool's Bloody Storm

The bloody storm that Liverpool unleashed at Newcastle United's home stadium impacted all of England, and it wasn't until three days after the game that it gradually subsided.

Everyone was discussing Liverpool's crushing victory and what Chen Hero had said after the match.

A conspiracy was gradually taking shape in many people's minds. But they only dared to think it, not say it. After all, it was too absurd. So absurd that they themselves couldn't believe it.

Because no one dared to believe that the FA was going to target Liverpool.

This had never happened in the hundred-year history of English football.

After all, relying on a single referee's misjudgment in one game was not enough to prove anything. Everyone was used to seeing wrong calls and misjudgments.

For example, everyone thought Manchester United was getting preferential treatment from the FA.

A joke illustrates this well: "My FIFA soccer game glitched because I actually got a penalty against Manchester United!"

This meant that teams playing against Manchester United rarely got penalties.

FIFA has always claimed that misjudgments and wrong calls are part of the charm of soccer.

Chen Hero's words didn't earn him any punishment from the FA.

This was normal—if the FA had stood up at this time to accuse Chen Hero, they would have been running headfirst into the muzzle of a gun, proving that they had a guilty conscience.

After three days, the discussion about the game gradually died down.

※※※

Liverpool was like a face-changing master in Sichuan opera, sometimes the first team, sometimes the reserves.

Like now, the first team stepped down, and the reserves took center stage.

In the fifth round of the FA Cup, they faced Blackburn away.

Liverpool's reserves had played against Premier League teams in all three of their FA Cup matches, which in previous years would have been considered bad luck.

But now the reserves were no longer afraid of these Premier League teams.

Their morale was high and their confidence was strong. Most importantly, these things were not illusory, not based on wishful thinking. Their confidence and morale were forged through one tough game after another.

Confidence built up in this way had a solid foundation. And this reserve team had finally become a seasoned army, finally becoming a truly combat-effective team.

Against Blackburn, Liverpool's reserves, led by Chen Hero, won 1-0. Chen Hero scored the only goal of the game.

They advanced to the quarter-finals smoothly.

The media had learned to remain calm about such results, having long since become accustomed to them.

Blackburn lost to the reserves, but didn't hold a grudge. Their manager said the result was fair, and even though Chen Hero scored, they couldn't break through the reserves' defense...

※※※

After this FA Cup game, Liverpool's reserves temporarily disappeared from people's sight, and the first team took the field again.

The task this time was the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16.

Liverpool faced Napoli away.

This was Chen Hero's first return to the Stadio San Paolo in four and a half years since leaving Napoli.

For Napoli, this was the most important thing recently.

The media flocked to Naples to report on Chen Hero's return to San Paolo.

Some media began to educate everyone, telling them what had happened before Chen Hero transferred away from Napoli.

At that time, the boos against him had been deafening.

Because of this background, Chen Hero's return to his old stomping grounds was particularly noteworthy.

Would he be greeted with cheers or... boos at the Stadio San Paolo?

※※※

For Andrea Posh, he had been caught up in excitement and busy work ever since the Champions League Round of 16 draw came out.

Because Chen Hero was going to return to the Stadio San Paolo!

This was a major event for the Blue Bears!

After Chen Hero transferred away from Napoli, this organization, which was originally a Chen Hero fan club, also lost its idol. They naturally couldn't abandon their identity as Napoli fans to support Liverpool, although many of them were still following Chen Hero's progress, and Chen Hero's every brilliant performance would make them happy for a long time.

But no matter what, they could no longer cheer for Chen Hero in their own team's games.

After Chen Hero left Napoli, there were even disagreements and disputes within the fan organization. Some people thought that since Chen Hero had left the team, there was no need for the Blue Bears to continue to exist. They should either change their name or disband.

But Andrea Posh, as the leader of the fan organization, firmly disagreed with the suggestion to change the name or disband.

He believed that no matter what, everyone was a Napoli fan, and they had only gathered together because of Chen Hero. Now that they had been together for a long time, they were no longer just watching the games together for Chen Hero's sake.

Therefore, even if Chen Hero was gone, the Blue Bears could continue to exist, just as an ordinary Napoli fan organization.

The final result of the dispute was that some people left the organization, and those who remained continued to maintain the name of the Blue Bears.

But they no longer displayed the huge bear head flag in the stands of the Stadio San Paolo. They simply hung up the name of their organization in the stands, wearing blue Napoli jerseys, looking no different from other ordinary fans.

They were not a tightly organized extremist fan group in the first place. They were relatively loose, and it was already good enough that they could act in unison.

But Posh also felt that without shouting Chen Hero's name in the stands, they always felt like they were missing something. This team was like it had lost its soul. Although we were still watching the games together, we were no different from ordinary fans.

Sometimes he would wonder if he had made the wrong decision when he firmly disagreed with disbanding the organization or changing its name.

But when he learned that Liverpool was coming to play Napoli in the Champions League Round of 16, these thoughts were driven out of his mind.

All he knew was that Chen Hero was coming back! The hero in his heart was returning to the Stadio San Paolo!

Other Blue Bears fans felt the same way as he did.

Those who were still in the Blue Bears organization after Chen Hero left Napoli were all sincerely fond of Chen Hero. They would not turn against him just because Chen Hero was in Napoli or Liverpool.

When other Napoli fans booed Chen Hero, these people stood firmly on Chen Hero's side. After Chen Hero left the team, they continued to follow him and cheered for every brilliant performance of his. When Chen Hero broke records one after another, they were as happy as if Chen Hero was still a Napoli player.

During this time, Posh had been leading these people in preparing to welcome Chen Hero.

Everyone had a division of labor. Some were responsible for making commemorative t-shirts to wear at the time to show that they were a unified group.

Some were responsible for external liaison, contacting those fans who were not part of the Blue Bears but still liked Chen Hero very much, hoping that they could cooperate with the Blue Bears in chanting slogans and singing songs during the game to create a grand and warm welcome atmosphere.

Posh himself was busy remaking the giant flag.

The previous flag was actually still there, folded neatly and stored in Posh's home.

But that flag was outdated and no longer suitable for this theme, so he had to spend money to make a new one, which would be bigger and more eye-catching.

It would still feature the blue background and white bear pattern, but would add some things, such as slogans welcoming Chen Hero.

This was a rare grand event and a happy event for the Blue Bears organization in four years.

At this time, as Napoli fans, they were no longer concerned about the match between their team and Liverpool.

In fact, with their many years of attention to and understanding of Chen Hero, they all knew that Napoli was already doomed to be eliminated as soon as they were drawn to play Liverpool.

Since that was the case, why struggle? Why not just treat this game as a reunion of old friends...

※※※

As the day to go to Naples drew closer, Chen Hero suddenly became a little agitated. His performance in training wasn't that he wasn't active anymore, but that he was too active...

He rarely showed such behavior, so no one knew why he was suddenly like this.

Only one person knew why.

Christine Cabral was laughing at Chen Hero: "You're actually anxious about returning to Naples? This isn't the Hero I know."

Chen Hero rolled his eyes: "I'm a person too, okay? I have emotions too."

"You don't know how those Napoli fans will treat you, do you?"

Chen Hero was noncommittal: "I'm worried about whether I should slap them if those people still boo me..."

"Actually, you already have the answer in your heart, don't you?" Christine looked at him, her bright, large eyes staring at him, as if she could see through Chen Hero's heart.

"It's one thing to say... but I'm still a little hesitant... I'm going back to see old friends, and I don't want some people to ruin the atmosphere."

Christine clapped her hands: "It'll be clear in a few days, so what are you thinking so much about now? What if you're wrong?"

It was truly amazing. Chen Hero, who was always fearless in front of people and had to be tough to the end with everyone, regained his peace of mind after chatting with Christine Cabral for a few words. Subconsciously, he always liked to listen to Cabral, just like all the arrangements she made for him when she protected him.

So the next day, the reporters who were gathered outside the training base found that Chen Hero was suddenly no longer agitated. He had calmed down again.

Like that... normal Chen Hero.

Before, they thought that Chen Hero's sudden situation might bring some changes to this game. But now they dismissed the idea.

It seems that Naples is doomed this time...