Chapter 1 Contact

When Yang Pan contacted Zhang Jun as agreed at the London airport, he could hardly believe his eyes. Could a person with brown hair and brown eyes be Zhang Jun? But it was him, holding *The Sun*, wearing a dark blue trench coat, carrying a beige leather suitcase, and a backpack with orange and black accents...

"Excuse me..." Yang Pan decided to test the waters first. It wouldn't be too embarrassing if he mistook someone.

"Yes?" The man put down the newspaper and looked at Yang Pan.

"Are... Are you... Zhang Jun?" Yang Pan finally decided to ask directly. His luck couldn't be that bad, could it? Running into a reporter right away.

The man was stunned for a moment, then fluent Chinese blurted out, "Damn! You wouldn't happen to be Yang Pan, would you?"

Alright, no need to say anything more, the truth was out. Underground worker Yang Pan and underground worker Zhang Jun had finally made contact.

Yang Pan took off his sunglasses and pulled Zhang Jun to a secluded corner. "Damn, what did you do to yourself?"

"Hehe, my idea. Dye my hair brown, wear brown contact lenses, and speak fluent Dutch. Don't I look like a Dutchman?"

"A Dutch guy with yellow skin, ha!"

"A mixed-race person, maybe... You're laughing at me. What are you doing with that fake beard? Trying to look mature?"

"At least it works pretty well. No one recognized me on the way here. Hehe!" Yang Pan put on his sunglasses. "Let's go drop off our stuff and then go out for a stroll..."

"Under whose name did you book the room?"

"Mine? What's wrong..." Yang Pan suddenly understood. "Don't tell me?"

"Yeah," Zhang Jun nodded.

"Uh... I can only pray that everyone at the hotel, from the boss to the staff, are football ignoramuses." Yang Pan made the sign of the cross in front of his chest.

"Let's hope so... Oh right, when we're out, unless we're alone, don't speak Chinese. Only Dutch." Zhang Jun reminded him again.

※※※

Yang Pan handed over his passport, praying in his heart that the receptionist wouldn't be a football fan.

"Yang Pan!" The receptionist exclaimed, startling the two nervous men at the counter.

"Ah! We're not Yang Pan and Zhang Jun, we..." Yang Pan saw the other man extend a hand, smiling at him. "I know, because I never watch Serie A!"

Yang Pan rolled his eyes, then took out his wallet, pulled out a hundred euros, and placed it in the man's hand. "Okay! You've got the money, so keep your mouth shut."

"Hehe, don't worry, I have professional ethics!" The receptionist happily put the money in his pocket, then took out a key. "Room 206, gentlemen."

※※※

Zhang Jun put the suitcase by the door, surveying the double room. "To borrow a phrase from General George Patton, this isn't a hotel, it's a brothel."

"Alright, be content! Staying in a cheap, out-of-the-way hotel was your idea, because you were afraid of being recognized. And now? I'll go see if the shower in the bathroom works. You put away the luggage."

Zhang Jun put the suitcase in the corner, then sat on the wide double bed to test it out. The mattress wasn't too soft, but he liked sleeping on hard beds. The room wasn't big, and the decor and furnishings were simple. Zhang Jun suddenly wondered why a double room would have one large bed instead of two small ones?

To solve this mystery, he pulled open the drawer on the bedside table. Sure enough, he found several packs of condoms inside...

Damn! Yang Pan's choice of hotel! Zhang Jun could imagine how many men and women had rolled around on the bed he was now sitting on. Truly a "brothel."

Yang Pan came out of the bathroom. "I've checked everything. Basically, everything works, except the hair dryer..." He saw Zhang Jun holding something and waving it at him, walked over, and picked it up to take a look. "Oh, I was wondering what it was. Condoms... I know what you mean, but don't be so picky. We're only staying for two nights. Let's go out and find something to eat." Yang Pan threw the condoms back into the drawer.

※※※

"Really... finding a hotel in a place like this. This area is basically a forgotten corner of the city!" Zhang Jun was still complaining, because he hadn't found a satisfactory restaurant along the way. This place gave Zhang Jun the feeling of being a lawless, urban-rural fringe area, with low, dilapidated houses, narrow roads, idle people, ugly prostitutes, and...

Zhang Jun felt someone bump into him, then heard a "Sorry!" A small, thin figure ran past him quickly.

Zhang Jun subconsciously touched his bumped waist and found it empty.

...ugly prostitutes, and thieves...

"Stop thief!" Zhang Jun shouted and rushed out, with Yang Pan following him.

※※※

He turned left, and the two behind him also turned left. He turned right, and the two behind him also turned right. He overturned a roadside trash can, and the two also over... naturally couldn't, the two jumped over the trash can and continued chasing.

Damn! Why were those two so fast?

"Stop running! You can't outrun us! We're wearing Nikes!" one of the men behind him shouted.

Bullshit! I'm wearing Adidas!

He took another left turn, and the two still followed. Never mind, my territory is up ahead! When we get there, hehe...

A fence appeared ahead, and he lunged forward, grabbed the fence with one hand, jumped, and went over it. "Someone's chasing me, damn it!" He threw the fanny pack in his hand to a blond kid, then leaned against the wall, panting.

Zhang Jun and Yang Pan saw a group of people who looked the same as the thief, so they must be in the same gang. They quickly braked and stopped in front of the fence.

The grip of Nikes is really good... Hmm, now is not the time to film an advertisement for Nike. "Give me back my bag!" Zhang Jun shouted to the thief in English.

"Not bad, not bad. Running this far and still not tired." The blond kid tossed the fanny pack in his hand, looking at Zhang Jun and Yang Pan with a weird expression.

"Stop talking nonsense! Hand over the bag!" Yang Pan roared from the side.

"Oh oh, let me see what the loot is this time... Ah, quite a bit of money! John, you did a good job this time, I'll give you a bigger share later."

"Hehe, thank, thank you, boss!" The thief who had just stolen Zhang Jun's fanny pack laughed, panting.

"Hand over the bag!" Yang Pan roared again.

"Keep shouting, you can shout as loudly as you want, but no one will come here. This is my territory!" The blond kid continued to rummage through the wallet. "Hmm? A Dutchman? Ha! Foreign tourists!"

"Are you going to give it back or not?" Yang Pan grabbed the railing with both hands and was about to climb over and fight.

"Dutchman... Dutch football... Hmm, how about this? Since you're foreigners, I'll give you another chance. Play a game with us. If you win, we'll give you back the fanny pack. If you lose... hehe, you can cry and report it to the police!" His underlings burst into laughter.

Zhang Jun then realized that this was an abandoned parking lot, and those people were sitting on several dilapidated cars. At both ends of the parking lot were small goals, with nets hanging on them.

"There are only two of us, how can we play?" Yang Pan said. He couldn't ask for more than a game of football.

"Of course, we'll only play with two people too. How's that? I'm being so fair!"

"We agree." Before he finished speaking, Yang Pan had already climbed into the parking lot. With only four people playing in such a large parking lot, they had no problem with stamina.

Zhang Jun also jumped in.

"Kru, Wayne! You two!" The boss waved his hand, and two people jumped off the car and walked to the center of the field.

You idiots just wait to suffer! We are people who specialize in using streetball to bet on balls, fighting with me! The boss laughed wildly in his heart, "Oh, forgot to say, the game is a one-goal game, you be careful!" he added.

You idiots just wait to suffer! Yang Pan threw his coat on the railing, then squatted down to tie his shoelaces.

A soccer ball rolled to the middle of the field, and the blond boy called "Kru" kicked the ball to Zhang Jun. "Kick off, yellow-skinned Dutchman." he said coldly.

Zhang Jun kicked the ball back to him. "I'm afraid you won't even touch the ball later, yellow-skinned Englishman."

Kru's pupils shrank, and he stepped on the soccer ball. "Very good... Wayne!" He hit the soccer ball to Wayne, a short red-haired boy.

As soon as Wayne received the ball, Yang Pan confronted him. He seemed to underestimate his opponent and wanted to show off his footwork. As a result, his series of feints looked like a clown dancing a funny dance in Yang Pan's eyes. When his feet left the soccer ball, Yang Pan kicked the soccer ball away, then accelerated and overtook Wayne. Then Yang Pan didn't dribble the ball, but kicked it with great force!

The soccer ball brought up a gust of wind, blowing up the paper scraps on the ground, and then slammed into the wall behind the goal, making a muffled sound, and then bounced back to the center of the field.

"Serve the ball." Yang Pan stared at the opponent and said.

The people on the sidelines had been shocked by the ball, and there was silence, so Yang Pan's soft words seemed particularly powerful and clear at this time.

Kru looked at the wall behind him, then at Yang Pan, then stepped on the ball again and kicked it to Wayne again.

Wayne knew that he couldn't get past Yang Pan, so he kicked the ball back to Kru again. He knew that someone could always deal with the opponent.

Zhang Jun faced Kru, and Yang Pan didn't go to help, but stood a little behind Zhang Jun, taking care of the red-haired boy not far away. He believed that Zhang Jun could deal with the opponent.

But before Zhang Jun could make a move, he was passed by the opponent! A whistle sounded from the sidelines.

Yang Pan was shocked and rushed to fill the position, but it was too late, Kru kicked the ball and shot!

The soccer ball swept past Yang Pan's feet, then flew over the goal and slammed into the wall before bouncing back.

The whistle on the sidelines stopped, and everyone was stunned. "Hey, Kru. Just be straightforward, don't play around!" the boss shouted dissatisfied.

Kru looked back at the boss, then kicked the ball to Yang Pan again: "Serve the ball."

Yang Pan kicked the ball to Zhang Jun: "Do you want me to defend him? His movements are very fancy..."

"No need." Zhang Jun shook his head.

"Then you have to be careful, he is a master."

"Um."

While speaking, the two had crossed positions, Yang Pan went to his most familiar right, and Zhang Jun was on the left.

Zhang Jun took the ball and stepped on a bicycle. But only stepped on it once, and the second time he used his left foot to push the ball to the left front, and his right foot accelerated! Successfully surpassed Kru!

But when he looked up to find Yang Pan, he realized that he couldn't send the ball to Yang Pan's feet. Because of the field, it was impossible to use a long pass to transfer the ball, and if it was a short pass, that Kru was "just right" on his passing route, and the other person was closely guarding Yang Pan.

It seems that he can only take it himself.

Seeing that Zhang Jun had no intention of passing the ball, Kru forced himself up. Seeing this, Zhang Jun moved his left foot forward and leaned forward, seemingly wanting to break through straight ahead. Kru was indeed fooled, and his center of gravity retreated.

Fooled! Zhang Jun changed his right foot and pushed the ball horizontally to the right, and his body instantly turned inward!

But he staggered, and realized that he had rushed over, but the ball was still at the opponent's feet!

It turned out that although Kru's center of gravity had shifted, his left foot was still dragging behind, just blocking Zhang Jun's right-handed ball.

Kru supported the ground with one hand, then hooked the ball back in front of him with his left foot, and used his right foot and right hand to jump up from the ground. At the same time, he stepped on the ball with his left foot to dodge, and very smoothly avoided Zhang Jun's counter-attack.

Kru turned around and rushed forward with the ball. Yang Pan didn't care about Wayne either. He rushed up to grab the ball, Kru took the ball a little too far, it should be a good time to intercept the ball!

But Kru took a big step, pulled the ball back with his right foot, and slammed on the brakes! Then he used the inside of his right foot to buckle the ball from behind him to the left side of his body, and his body flashed to the left, just passing Yang Pan by!

However, Kru, who had just passed Yang Pan, was kicked away by Zhang Jun, and at the same time, he accelerated to catch up with the ball and attacked the opponent's half with the ball. Wayne was pressing towards Zhang Jun, and Kru was chasing back. However, Zhang Jun's speed was too fast, and the small venue happened to give full play to his advantage of fast acceleration, Wayne couldn't catch up, so he reached out and pulled Zhang Jun, Zhang Jun staggered, and the soccer ball rolled out of the baseline.

"What's this?" Zhang Jun was a little annoyed.

"Out of bounds, we serve the ball." The boss outside the court answered him.

"Isn't there a foul?"

"This is my territory, I have the final say on the rules. The only rule is to kick the ball into the opponent's goal. Hehe!" A group of people echoed the boss and laughed.

"You..." Zhang Jun was a little angry, but Yang Pan stopped him. "So that's how it is?" He stared at the other party and said.

※※※

Kru faced away from Zhang Jun, pulled the ball back in front of him with his right foot, and then wrapped the ball with his left foot. At the same time, he turned around, and turned past Zhang Jun's right side with the ball! However, this time Zhang Jun didn't let him pass so easily, but grabbed him with his backhand and stuck to him while turning around.

While the two were entangled, Yang Pan rushed up from the side, seized the opportunity to squeeze Kru to the side and steal the ball. In terms of body, although Yang Pan was a little shorter than Kru, he was obviously stronger than the opponent with muscles all over his body.

After getting the ball, Yang Pan passed the ball to Zhang Jun, but unfortunately Zhang Jun's shot was high due to Kru's interference. Although the small goal with a width of four meters and a height of two meters was unguarded, it was not so easy to hit.

※※※

Wayne passed the ball to Kru, Kru gently picked the ball with his toes, then rushed forward, and the raised heel happened to buckle the soccer ball forward in mid-air! Over the top! beautiful!

Unfortunately, this last buckle had a little too much power, and Yang Pan, who rushed up from behind, jumped in the air and headed the ball out of bounds.

※※※

Yang Pan received the ball that Zhang Jun passed back to him, and then swung his foot. The soccer ball hit Wayne, who had no time to dodge, like a cannonball, and it hit the bullseye - the face.

Wayne fainted on the spot!

Someone stood up from the sidelines, but Yang Pan looked at them contemptuously: "What? Didn't you say that there are no rules except for kicking the ball into the goal?"

The boss was ashen-faced: "Okay, very good. Take him down and change someone else!" But as soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly realized that the back that had been filled with enthusiasm was now silent. He looked back and saw one ashen face after another - they were scared. "What are you doing? Why are you retreating? You, go up!" He pointed to the person who had just stolen Zhang Jun's wallet.

Although he was unwilling, the boss's fist was also very powerful, and besides, this ball might kick at Kru, with such a fluke, he gritted his teeth and went on the field. But when he entered the field, he secretly drew a cross on his chest: God bless me not to be kicked by that guy's ball.

Unfortunately, God seemed to be asleep. As soon as that kid came on the field, he was bombarded in the lower abdomen by Yang Pan's powerful "shooting", and he knelt on the ground covering his stomach and vomited desperately, but he couldn't vomit anything except uncontrollable saliva.

"Next time, remember to stay away from the goal." These were Yang Pan's words, "Who's next?" He stepped on the ball and looked at everyone outside the court with his hands on his hips.

"Damn! You, get on the field!" The boss grabbed a man who was desperately squeezing backwards and kicked him into the field.

This time, as soon as Yang Pan swung his foot, the poor worm immediately fell to the ground desperately, but Yang Pan did not shoot, but passed the ball to Zhang Jun. The "shooting people game" ended here, and it was right to get the wallet back and go to eat early.

It was Zhang Jun against Kru again, but this time it was closer to the goal. For the shooter Zhang Jun, he had more advantages, because he didn't need to pass Kru, he just needed to flash a trace of space.

The essence of the word "shooter" lies in the final kick.

Zhang Jun buckled and then swayed, but Kru was unmoved. This won't work, it must be a quick decision. Zhang Jun suddenly had an idea, he pushed the ball inward, and then rushed forward with his body, seemingly trying to forcibly flash out the space with speed. Kru moved his body over to block it as expected.

But this time Zhang Jun's left foot did not continue to dribble the ball, but stepped over the ball. Then his right foot was tucked behind his left foot, and he poked it with a very strange way of toe!

Kru kept a careful eye, but there was no way to stop Zhang Jun, because this time it was not a change of direction, but a sudden shot!

The soccer ball flew over Kru, flew up, and then hit the far post of the goal and bounced into the goal!

The ball went in!

Zhang Jun kicked the ball in with a movement commonly used by South American players! Even Kru didn't expect this ball, he actually kicked the ball in with his feet!

One goal determines the victory, so Zhang Jun's side won.

"Bring the bag here." Yang Pan stretched out his hand to the other party.

The boss smiled sinisterly: "Don't joke! Do you really think I will return the bag to you? Haha!"

"Haha..." Everyone laughed.

"Bang!" The soccer ball flew quickly past the boss, slammed into the wall, and then bounced out and rolled to Yang Pan's feet.

The laughter stopped abruptly, and everyone looked at Yang Pan who was stepping on the soccer ball and pulling it back and forth with some horror. "I'll say it again, hand over the bag!"

"You can take the cash, but the rest of the stuff inside has to be returned to me." Zhang Jun said.

The boss looked at Zhang Jun, then at Yang Pan, and then looked down at the wallet. Then he took out all the cash inside and stuffed it into his pocket. Finally, he threw the bag over: "Take it! Don't let us run into you again!" He waved his hand and left with his subordinates.

Zhang Jun saw that Kru turned his head and looked at him, then followed him away. His skills are very good, but why is he mixed up in this kind of place? Zhang Jun was still thinking about it when he bent down to pick up the bag.

"Bang!" Scared him a lot and almost fell to the ground. When he raised his head, he saw Yang Pan facing the direction those people were leaving, and spit: "A bunch of bastards!" And a burst soccer ball was lying quietly under the wire mesh.

※※※

Zhang Jun didn't leave much of an impression on his three-day trip to England. If he hadn't met the man named "Kru", then this trip would have been a complete failure.

Back to their respective clubs, they will soon be preparing for the second half of the league. The Serie A league will restart on January 6, and Zhang Jun's Volendam will have the whole team go to Marbella, Spain for training.

Zhang Jun would occasionally think of the blond-haired "Kru" who had oriental features. I wonder how he is now?

※※※

"George, you and White don't need to train today." Perizzolo said to two children wearing blue jerseys.

"Ah?" George looked at the coach in surprise. It was impossible to be lazy during normal training, why don't they want them to train today?

※※※

George and White were walking down the street, shopping and chatting casually. At this moment, a figure caught up from behind and accidentally bumped into George.

"I'm sorry!" The man bowed and ran away in a hurry.

"Ah... ah? Stop thief!" George and White rushed out.

※※※

"It's two people again... Hey! There's quite a lot of money. How about playing with us, one ball determines the victory, and we'll return the bag if you win. How about it?" The blond teenager threw the wallet in his hand, and a soccer ball was kicked towards George and White.

George looked at the soccer ball under his feet and smiled: "I hope you don't regret it."

※※※

"The ball went in! Oh! Kru is great! Haha!" the people off the court shouted, and George and White looked at the ball in the goal behind them in surprise. In front of them, stood a tall figure with long golden hair and a cold expression. He had just dribbled the ball by himself and knocked George and White to the ground, and then succeeded in scoring an empty goal.

"Haha!" The blond teenager smiled, "Very good, according to the rules, you lost. The wallet belongs to us! There's a lot of money!"

"Wait! You..." George had just stood up when he heard the sound of sirens and hurried footsteps behind him.

"We are the police! You are all surrounded now! If you don't want to die young, then all of you honestly squat on the ground!" A police officer in the lead shouted loudly at the people in the parking lot with a gun in both hands, and there were fully armed policemen all around him, and people continued to pour into this abandoned parking lot.

"This..." The wallet fell to the ground, and the boss looked at everything in front of him in disbelief.

※※※

"Go away! Be honest!"

"What are you pushing? I have feet!"

"You be honest!"

Perizzolo handed a cigarette to the police officer: "Thank you!"

"Hehe, you're welcome!" The police officer took the cigarette and lit it, "I'm a Chelsea fan, and I will do everything I can to help the team, haha!" He turned his head and looked at the punks who were being escorted into the car, "Let them be quicker! Damn! Dawdling!"

※※※

The bosses entered the prison one after another, and the others dispersed. He was released because he was too young and his circumstances were minor, but facing the crowds coming and going, and the bustling streets, Kru didn't know where to go.

Should he go left, right, forward, or simply backward? He turned his head and looked at the police station behind him.

A middle-aged man appeared in front of him. "Came out."

Kru looked at him without speaking.

"So where are you going?"

Kru shook his head.

"Don't know? Well, I have a place where you can get rid of this kind of life, do you want to come with me?"

At a time of confusion, such a person appeared, as if sent by God. Kru nodded.

"You agreed? Hehe, very good! Then let me introduce myself."

"I, my name is Kru Lee."

"Well, I am the coach of the Chelsea youth team, you can just call me Mr. Giorgio." Perizzolo extended his hand to Kru.

Kru looked at the middle-aged man in front of him. It was still the world just now, but it seemed to be a little different.