“The hero scored a goal…” During a break in the match, Messi heard news about his rival from his teammates.

His teammates had heard it from the substitutes' bench outside the field.

Everyone was paying close attention to Messi and Chen Hero’s battle for the Champions League top scorer title.

Chen Hero had said he would take back what once belonged to him, which was clearly aimed at Messi.

With Messi's current status in Barcelona, he naturally had a lot of influence. The entire team was going to help Messi keep the Champions League Golden Boot.

Putting aside any dislike for Chen Hero, just considering Messi's status, if you didn't help Messi with this, your days in Barcelona's locker room would probably be difficult. Every team has this situation to some extent; the locker room leader is unquestionable. It's a bit like monkeys in the animal kingdom: a monkey king has many privileges, and young monkeys will try to challenge the monkey king's position, while the monkey king will desperately protect his power.

Messi was now similar to the "monkey king" in Barcelona's locker room. Puyol had retired, and Xavi was old and playing less. In Barcelona, the biggest star was still Messi, so naturally he was the undisputed leader in the locker room.

Messi needed help, and everyone had to help.

With this understanding, the other players paid so much attention to this matter.

And naturally, someone would tell Messi the latest news about his opponent.

Messi appreciated his teammates' kindness but didn't show any other emotions.

He smiled and said thank you, but what he told his teammates meant something else—he didn't care what was happening with Hero; he was only focused on the present.

Did he really not care?

He didn't even believe it himself.

When he heard that Chen Hero had scored, he was indeed a little disappointed.

So he actually did care.

But to what extent did he care?

Did he care to the point where he would become impatient and play poorly because Chen Hero scored a goal?

Obviously not.

Messi was very clear about what he should do.

You scored a goal? Then I'll score a goal too!

※※※

"Lionel Messi! Messi! Messi—!!!" The Spanish commentator shouted excitedly, his voice even a little hoarse.

Barcelona's opponent in this match, Dynamo Kyiv, was not strong, so the outcome was not in doubt. The only suspense was whether Messi could score and surpass Chen Hero in the scoring charts.

Now Messi had finally scored, just five minutes after Chen Hero scored. He had increased his Champions League goal tally this season to two.

"Hero scored a goal five minutes ago, and Messi immediately responded with a goal! If you say there's no story between these two… I'll never believe it!"

After scoring, Messi didn't celebrate; instead, he went into the net, picked up the ball, and ran toward the center circle.

Messi's actions startled many people—the first half of the match wasn't even over yet, and Barcelona was already leading 2-0. What was Messi up to? Did he think there wasn't enough time and he needed to score more goals? It was still early in the match!

Only his father, Jorge, in the stands, knew why.

His son had already vowed to compete with Chen Hero, so for him, this match was no longer just ninety minutes, but all Champions League matches. His competition with Chen Hero would last an entire season, and Messi naturally wanted to seize the time and score as many goals as possible.

He applauded his son.

That's the way, Leo!

Let that overestimating Chinese guy see!

You! Are the world's number one!

※※※

Chen Hero heard the news about Messi scoring from his teammates during halftime.

"How many did he score?" Unlike Messi's superficial calmness and composure, Chen Hero was very openly concerned about Messi's performance.

"One." Kuyt held up one finger.

Chen Hero curled his lips. "Tch, he's still two behind me… Tell me when he catches up to me…"

Anyway, Chen Hero was in the lead now. As long as he kept scoring, he didn't need to worry about the people behind him for the time being.

If he was in a good mood, he would leave everyone in the dust, so they couldn't even see his back. If he was in a bad mood, he wouldn't mind slowing down temporarily, waiting for the other person to catch up, and then suddenly accelerating, leaving the other person eating dust.

※※※

Not long after the second half started, Sanchez scored a goal for the team, which basically sealed the victory.

The match had already lost its suspense.

The only suspense was whether Chen Hero could continue to score.

This might require a little external force…

In the sixtieth minute, news came from another stadium that Messi had scored again!

Now he was only one goal behind Chen Hero.

Liverpool fans also knew that Chen Hero had issued a challenge to Messi, so they were also paying attention to the contest between these two scorers.

When Messi scored, they shouted loudly from the stands: "Messi scored!! Messi scored!!"

Kuyt, on the substitutes' bench, couldn't help but laugh when he heard the fans shouting.

※※※

In Barcelona's away match against Dynamo Kyiv, Messi picked up the ball for the second time after scoring and ran towards the center circle.

Now everyone could see that Messi was competing with Chen Hero. He was trying to score as many goals as possible and pull Chen Hero down from the top of the scoring charts!

"Go! Messi!" Some Barcelona fans shouted from the stands, and then more voices joined in.

Even some Dynamo Kyiv fans joined in.

Who asked Barcelona to be so strong, and who asked Messi to be so popular?

In terms of personal image, the shy and pure Messi, like the boy next door, was obviously more popular than the unruly, scandal-ridden, and eccentric Cristiano Ronaldo and the idiotic Chen Hero.

Therefore, in many places, when Barcelona played away games, Messi could get cheers, while the latter two would probably face various boos and insults. Some people even used Messi's name to provoke the two.

Anyway, Dynamo Kyiv didn't expect to win this match from the start. Now they were already three goals behind, so what was the point of chasing?

Dynamo Kyiv fans were open-minded.

Compared to Chen Hero, they preferred Messi. So in this competition, they should cheer for Messi!

If Chen Hero saw this scene, he would probably be furious at the Dynamo Kyiv fans for being so unprincipled—losing the game was nothing, but how could they lose their integrity!?

How could they do such a thing!?

※※※

Chen Hero didn't know that the Dynamo Kyiv fans were actually cheering for Messi, otherwise, he would have been even more motivated—this time he would slap the faces of those unprincipled Dynamo Kyiv fans as well!

But now the result was actually the same; regardless of whether he knew the situation there, he would still score goals.

As the match was coming to an end, Liverpool got a corner kick.

Gerrard quickly and accurately passed the ball to the near post. Chen Hero rushed in from the middle at high speed, then headed the ball into the goal!

"The fifth goal! Hero's fifth goal in the Champions League this season!!"

"The new season's Champions League has only been played for two games, and Hero has already scored five goals! What a terrifying scoring efficiency—it reminds people of his performance in the Europa League last season…"

After scoring, Chen Hero spread his hands, didn't run, but instead curled his lips and looked disdainful.

This disdain wasn't aimed at their opponent, Feyenoord, but was directed at Messi.

You scored two goals? How impressive… I'll score two goals too!

Let's see who's better!

※※※

"Hero scored again…"

When Iniesta told Messi this news, he could see a flash of disappointment in Messi's eyes.

Playing against teams like Dynamo Kyiv wasn't a key match, so Messi didn't need to work so hard. There were many places where he needed to work hard because he was now the mainstay of Barcelona.

But why was Messi working so hard in this match? Naturally, it was because his opponent was that damned, annoying Chen Hero. In Iniesta's opinion, Chen Hero's sentence, "I'm going to take back what originally belonged to me," was simply a blatant insult. Messi had earned the Champions League top scorer title for two seasons through hard work. Why did it sound like Messi had stolen his Golden Boot when he said it?

Now that Messi had worked so hard to score two goals, the other person immediately responded with a brace.

Iniesta had a feeling—it was like being played with. You worked so hard to score two, and just when you thought you could catch up to the other person, they stepped on the gas and instantly threw you hundreds of meters away, leaving you to only be able to see their dust.

He couldn't help but suspect that Chen Hero was deliberately playing with Messi.

He wanted to reach out and touch Messi's head and say something to comfort him.

In that very short time, Messi had already regained his composure.

He smiled at his teammate and said, "Don't worry about me, Iniesta. It's only two games, we still have a chance!"

Seeing that Messi had adjusted his emotions so quickly, Iniesta also cheered up.

He patted Messi's shoulder hard. "You're right, Leo. Keep it up!"

Messi nodded vigorously.

※※※

In the end, neither of them was able to score again in this match. They each scored two goals, Chen Hero with five goals and Messi with three.

And Cristiano Ronaldo had fallen from second to third in the scoring charts. He was probably the most unhappy person…

Because this was a war between Chen Hero and Messi, and he had nothing to do with it. As the UEFA Golden Ball winner last season, how could he be a spectator in such a fierce competition?

He also clenched his fists secretly, vowing to join this war. You don't think highly of me, do you? Then I'll let you see the consequences of ignoring me!