Volume 1: The Great Northern Bear

Chapter 0: Last Chance: Russia

With a "bang!", Chen Yingxiong punched the public telephone in front of him. There was even a faint fist mark on the metal shell of the phone...

"Fuck it!" he cursed.

His father, Chen Tao, was sitting on the curb, staring absentmindedly at the busy road.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck——" Chen Yingxiong kept hitting the phone, swearing like a machine gun.

"Hero..." said the father who was sitting on the curb.

"What!?"

"If you damage public property, you have to pay for it, right?"

Chen Yingxiong was speechless.

He stopped using the pay phone to vent his anger, then came over and squatted next to his father.

"What should I do? I can't find him now...that damn liar!" Chen Yingxiong cursed.

Just three minutes ago, they discovered that they had been deceived.

They had lost a full thousand euros after being cheated by an Italian scammer who claimed to be a scout for Udinese!

This was not a small amount of money.

The reason was that the liar claimed he could introduce Chen Yingxiong to Udinese, but he just needed a little introduction fee...

Before this, Chen Yingxiong had just been rejected by the Atlanta club which didn't even let him participate in the trial training. 

It was because his father was in a desperate state that he believed such a liar.

When they realized what was happening, they called the number the scammer left, only to find out it was an invalid number!

Only then did they realize they had been fooled.

One thousand euros was ten thousand RMB.

Additionally, this money was borrowed...

Hearing his son curse, Chen Tao sighed. It was all his fault for being impatient... But how could he not be impatient? He had been in Europe for more than half a month, saying that he was looking for a way for his son to play football, but he was rejected everywhere.

For him, the scammer had seemed like a rope that suddenly appeared as he was drowning.

So he believed the scammer and gave him a commission.

"Hero, do you think your father is useless?" Chen Tao, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly asked.

Chen Yingxiong knew what his father was thinking. He was afraid his father would have such thoughts, so he shook his head and denied it. "How is it possible? I have never had such thoughts. In fact, I am very grateful to you for bringing me to Europe, Dad..."

Chen Yingxiong thought again of what his father had said to him a quarter of a year ago.

It was three months ago, that "quasi-professional player" Chen Yingxiong was released by his professional club. At that time, he was one month and five days away from his 18th birthday.

The reason for his contract termination was not because he was not strong enough. In the Chinese Football League A team, he was still able to play frequently in the youth team.

The reason for the termination was that he fought with a teammate during training - a teammate who was in direct competition with him and who had kicked Chen Yingxiong in training, trying to destroy his leg. Chen Yingxiong, who was incensed, kicked the opponent right back. In the chest that was. The poor guy fell to the ground and couldn't get up - anyone who was kicked in the chest by Chen who was 1.92 meters tall and weighed 93 kilograms would probably feel uncomfortable after...

But it wasn't over yet. After Chen Yingxiong kicked the man to the ground, he sat on him and started beating him up with his fists, sending the bastard who committed the crime directly to the hospital.

At the age of 18, the players were about to face the crossroads of whether they could enter the first team. To get the opportunity and eliminate the competitors, many people would do everything they could. 

It was a well-known method to kick someone during training. It was not original at all. Since ten years ago, there has been no shortage of such dramas in Chinese football clubs. A very talented player with a bright future was severely injured by an opponent in the competition within the team and had to bid farewell to professional football forever... Chen Yingxiong's teammate obviously wanted to follow the example of his seniors.

Unfortunately, he picked the wrong person...

This serious conflict not only caused the other party to stay in the hospital for a month but also made Chen Yingxiong completely lose the opportunity to join a professional team and become a professional player. 

He was directly terminated by the club.

The club manager's words still echoed in my ears. "We don't need a football hooligan who is unorganized, undisciplined and dares to beat 

up his teammates!"

A local newspaper also reported the conflict, which was called "the most serious and horrific violent incident in the club's history." In the words of the reporter, Chen Yingxiong was described as a "habitual offender" with a lax sense of discipline and an improper lifestyle. 

"... It is reported that this player has not had this kind of conflict with his teammates just this once... Not only does he have a tense relationship with his teammates, but he has also quarrelled with opposing players many times during the game... Last season he received ten yellow cards and two red cards... He is the player with the worst discipline in the team... The club responded to the call of the Football Association and resolutely cleaned up its cancer and purified the atmosphere of the domestic league..."

At that time, Chen Yingxiong tore the newspaper into pieces.

Chen Yingxiong, the only child of the Chen family, showed great interest in football since he was young. He did have a talent for playing football, at least his physical condition was outstanding. He started to grow rapidly at a very young age and was a head taller than his peers.

Since his son loved playing football so much, Chen Tao, as a father, sent his son to a football school. From a professional football school to the junior and youth teams of a professional football club, Chen Yingxiong had come this far. If everything went well, he would have signed a professional contract with the club this summer and be officially promoted to the first team to become a fully professional player.

Although the club was only a China League One team, it was still a professional one. Then it would have been time to show his strength in the China League One, and then transfer to a Chinese Super League team. This was the career route map that Chen Yingxiong had drawn up for himself.

Unexpectedly, a teammate's dirty foot and his impulsive temper completely changed his life.

Since Chen Yingxiong has received football training since he was a child, his childhood and youth were completely tied to football. He could do nothing but play football, and the simple cultural courses he took could not enable him to enter university.

After being released by the team, Chen Yingxiong was very depressed for a while and played video games at home.

He didn't know what the future was, or what it would look like.

He couldn't do anything except play football, and now he had been released by the club, what else could he do?

He had always been the pride of the family and his father had high hopes for him, which can be seen from his name - Hero.

For disappointing these expectations, after being terminated, his father was so angry that he didn't speak to him for a whole week.

From sending him to play football when he was six years old to now, Chen Tao has put in twelve years of hard work and spent more than half a million yuan, but all of it had gone down the drain. To allow his son to play football, Chen Tao has done all kinds of business in the past ten years and spent all the money he earned.

The family of three still lived in a dilapidated residential building in the old city, which was built in the 1980s and had only five floors. There was not a penny in the bank account.

He thought that he had finally made it through. 'My son is going to sign a contract as a professional player and start making money on his own. If he was lucky, he might even make a lot of money... Now everything is gone.'

Chen Yingxiong once thought that his father was extremely disappointed in him, and he even had thoughts of giving up on himself.

At this time, his father suddenly found him one day and asked him seriously. "Do you still want to continue playing football?"

Chen Yingxiong was still immersed in a decadent life at the time. Due to staying up late to play games, his face was haggard and his eyes were dull. He didn't even react when he heard his father's question.

He looked at his father and opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

The father did not show any impatience or anger at his son's current state. He just repeated his question. "Do you still want to continue playing football?"

Chen Yingxiong glanced at his computer screen. 

The team channel in the lower left corner of the screen was filled with questions asking what happened to Hero as the character stopped moving.

He retracted his gaze, looked at his father, and nodded. "I want to."

"Really?"

"Of course I do!" Chen Yingxiong came to his senses and realized that his father was talking to him about a very important issue. "Besides playing football, what else can I do? What else can I do?" Chen Yingxiong said with some sadness. 

Since being expelled from the club, he felt that his youth and time had turned into shit in the toilet, which was ruthlessly flushed away. What was left for him? An empty and aching intestine.

My father nodded. "Okay, let's go to Europe!"

Chen Yingxiong was stunned. He thought he had heard wrongly, so he stared at his father.

Chen Tao suddenly lowered his voice and came closer. "I borrowed some money, and we are going to Europe. There is no future in playing football in China. The overall environment of Chinese football is rotten. Let's go to Europe!"

"Europe? Dad, do you have connections there? I haven't heard you mention it..."

"No. We will go to each club one by one." Dad said this firmly, and Chen Yingxiong was terrified. Go to each club one by one?

"We are not salesmen Dad..." Chen Yingxiong felt that his father was too crazy.

"We are going to go door-to-door and sell you to those European clubs."

"Uh..." Chen Yingxiong was frightened and didn't know what to say.

The father asked, "Didn't you say you wanted to play football?"

"Yes..."

"I've thought about it for a long time and I think this is the only chance, Hero. If you want to go, you can come with me. I'll tell your mom that I'm taking you to Europe to watch the World Cup and relax. If you don't go, I'll return the money."

Chen Yingxiong turned his head to look at the computer screen again. 

The picture on it had turned grey and white. His character was lying on the ground. A window popped up in the centre of the screen. "Do you want to respawn?"

The group chat was still refreshing in the lower left corner of the screen, concerned and asking what happened to Hero.

Chen Yingxiong said to his father. "Wait for me to say goodbye to them."

After saying that, he turned back and typed on the keyboard:

"Sorry, I have to AFK for a while..."

"???"

"What's wrong, Hero?"

"What happened?"

"I am going to pursue my ideal," he replied

So he and his father put on their backpacks and left for Europe…

Chen Yingxiong still thought it was too crazy when he thinks about it now. He has always believed that his taciturn and honest father would never do such a bold thing.

Who would have thought that in order for his son to play football again, he would go crazy?

So Chen Yingxiong would never say a word against his father in the future.

When Chen Yingxiong first arrived in Europe, he was very excited. No football player would not want to develop in Europe. Just like basketball players wanted to play in the NBA in the United States, football players also wanted to play in the five major leagues in Europe and become respected stars who could make a lot of money.

But this "self-promotion" journey did not go smoothly - being able to play in the youth team of a Chinese League One team does not mean that you can play in a professional team in Europe. And a part of the reason for playing in the youth team of the Chinese League One is being willing to give money to the coach...

Along the way, they went to five countries, including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Italy, but no team was interested. 

Even those second-rate teams in the second-rate leagues that Chen Yingxiong used to look down on, now looked down on him.

Apart from his excellent physical fitness, the things he learned in China were completely unappreciated by the Europeans.

Some teams did not even give Chen Yingxiong a chance to try out, as they were disgusted by this kind of inexplicable behaviour of self-promotion. 

In addition, Chen Yingxiong's Chinese nationality also brought him some troubles in joining these teams - who would be willing to waste a non-EU quota on a mediocre player?

They had been abroad for half a month, and the World Cup ended long ago, and they didn't watch a single game. They rushed from one place to another non-stop, working tirelessly to knock on the door of European professional football.

But no matter how many cold stares, ridicule and humiliations he received, Chen Tao never backed down.

Chen Tao had already made up his mind - no matter what, he would spend all the money he had. Until the money was gone, he and his son would continue to wander around Europe, looking for opportunities.

They had originally planned to go to Spain and Portugal after leaving Italy.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, they were defrauded of 1,000 euros, which immediately put a huge strain on their financial budget...

"…This is all my fault…If I hadn't believed that person so easily, this wouldn't have happened…" Chen Tao was still muttering and blaming himself.

Chen Yingxiong suddenly interrupted his father.

"Dad, let's go to Russia!"

Chen Tao raised his head and looked at him strangely. "Russia? Is it one of the top five European leagues?"

Chen Yingxiong shook his head: "No. I just think we don't need to go to Spain, Portugal or something to waste time and money." 

After this trip, Chen Yingxiong saw the top level of European football. He weighed his strength and felt that it would be impossible to continue to go to Spain and Portugal. 

Compared with mainstream European football, the level of Russian football was relatively low. Maybe there would be gains if they tried their luck there?

He didn't care about the fact that the level of the Russian league was lower than that of the main European leagues. As long as he could play professional football, he would even run naked in the snow!