Football System: Penalty Zone Hero

Authors note: Bonus chapter #2 for 25/20 power stones.

...

Zenit Youth Team finally won the game 3:1 at their home stadium. Zenit scored another goal before the end of the game, but it was not Chen Yingxiong who scored this time. However, it had something to do with him. His super dominance in the air made Tomsk Youth Team completely at a loss. Everyone focused on him, and his teammates naturally got the chance to score.

But Chen Yingxiong was a little unwilling to not score twice - if that damn referee hadn't blown the whistle for his first header, he might have been able to perform a hat trick!

The first time he played in an official match for the team, he would have completed a hat trick... 

But no matter what the result of this game was, it didn't matter anymore.

Advocaat discovered a pearl hidden in the youth team.

The news media noticed it too.

As soon as the game was over, they flocked to interview Chen Yingxiong.

When Chen Yingxiong saw the group of reporters rushing towards him, he did not get scared and run away. Instead, he stood there and posed, waiting for the reporters to come up and press the shutter - you can pose in any pose you want, I guarantee that I will satisfy you!

This is my first interview ever! Does this mean I'm going to be a star?

Chen Yingxiong was very happy.

But his dream was interrupted by Popovich.

"I'm sorry, our players don't accept any interviews..." the coach blocked all the reporters in front of him and signalled Chen Yingxiong to leave quickly.

Chen Yingxiong knew that Popovich did this to protect young players, but he didn't need protection!

He wanted to shout to the reporters. "Interview me! Interview me! Make me famous!"

He didn't have time to say this before being ushered to the locker room surrounded by his teammates...

When he looked back, he found that Popovich was surrounded by reporters. If this happened on the battlefield, it would be like Popovich rushing out from the side, facing the enemy's pursuers and shouting to Chen Yingxiong. "My lord, please leave quickly! I am here to stop them!"

Then he fled in a hurry under the protection of many family soldiers and guards. Looking back again, the loyal Popovich had been overwhelmed by the brutal enemy soldiers. Among the large group of enemies, there was only the sword in his raised hand...

How tragic, but this was definitely not Chen Yingxiong's mood at this moment.

He really wanted to be interviewed!

…

The unwilling Chen Yingxiong was dragged into the locker room by his teammates, while Popovich was outside trying hard to resist the attack from the media.

"Excuse me, Mr. Popovich, what is the origin of the number 33?"

"Is he Korean or Japanese? Or... Chinese?"

"He has shown amazing talent in heading. Is he the new star that Zenit has discovered recently?"

"Name! We need to know his name!"

"He was rude to the referee during the game... Is he a 'bad boy'?"

"Is he Russian? Or a foreign player?"

All kinds of problems were thrown at Popovich, leaving him with no choice but to defend himself.

He could only keep one sentence on his lips. "Sorry, no comment, no comment... I said no comment!!"

Before the game, Advocaat promised that he would accept interviews from reporters after the game, but now no reporter came to ask him questions. Everyone surrounded Popovich.

Advocaat and Porter had no intention of coming up to help either. They were talking about Chen Yingxiong's matter.

"In the limited time he played as a substitute, he was able to perform so well. I think his mental quality is not a problem at all..." Advocat said. 

Mental quality was a very important indicator. If someone's mental quality is not strong enough, no matter how talented they are, they will not be able to play to their full potential. 

Faced with the ironclad facts, Potter could only nod his head in agreement. Chen Yingxiong's header did leave a deep impression on him. 

"I plan to transfer him to the first team!" Unexpectedly, Advocaat said this suddenly, which scared Porter.

Although he recognized Chen Yingxiong's heading ability, wasn't it too arbitrary to decide to transfer him to the first team just by watching a game of the youth team?

"Uh...it's just one game and only more than 20 minutes...isn't it too fast? I think we should continue to observe. Who knows if his performance today is normal or an accidental outburst?" Porter advised.

Advocaat thought about it and felt that his plan was a bit abrupt and arbitrary. He nodded. "Okay, let's continue to observe."

He looked at Popovich, who was besieged by reporters and said to Porter. "Let's go now, while no one remembers my previous promise..."

The two men quickly left the indoor football field of Smina Football School, leaving poor Popovich still facing the vicious reporters.

"Excuse me, Mr. Popovich..."

"That's a problem I have..."

"We are from Zenit's official website. How come we don't know there is such a person in the team..."

"No comment..."

"No comment!"

"Nothing to tell you!"

…

Chen Yingxiong was lying on the bed happily, holding a newspaper.

 It was full of Russian words, which he couldn't understand at all. But that didn't stop him from laughing.

Because there is a picture of him on it!

Although it's just a side view...but it's enough to show his heroic appearance!

This was the day after the youth league, and Popovich gave the team a day off - the youth team did not have as many games as the adult team. 

In addition to the youth league, they only had the Youth Russian Cup. There were not many participating teams in the youth league, so there were not many games.

Therefore, even on Mondays, Chen Yingxiong does not have to go to the training ground.

He ran to the gate of the training base and bought a newspaper. There was a newsstand outside the training base, which sold posters and cards of players in addition to newspapers and magazines. Fans who came to Udni to watch the training could buy a few posters or cards of players and bring them to the training ground to have the stars sign them.

After being happy for a while, Chen Yingxiong felt bored again - because he had no idea what it meant.

What did they say? Were they praising me or criticizing me? Were they speculating about my origins? I don't know what Popovich said to those reporters yesterday…

He remembered that after his father returned to China, he bought him a Russian-Chinese dictionary and sent it to him, asking him to learn Russian on his own before a translator and language teacher was in place. The dictionary had just been sent to him and he hadn't opened it yet...

He jumped off the bed and went barefoot to rummage through the packages piled in the corner. After finding the dictionary, he lay on the bed and compared the words one by one, trying to translate this short news by himself.

Just then, he heard the doorbell.

 …

When Chen Yingxiong heard the doorbell ring, he didn't react at all - the whole dormitory building was empty, no one had ever come to visit, and the doorbell had never rung before. So at first he didn't realize it was the doorbell and thought it was his cell phone ringing. But he soon realized that his cell phone didn't ring this tone at all!

The music continued, and it was only then that he realized - could it be the doorbell?

Chen Yingxiong walked to the door hesitantly and shouted to the outside, "Who is it?" At the same time, he put his eyes close to the peephole.

Through the peephole, he saw a balding middle-aged man wearing black-framed round glasses and with a moustache above his lips standing outside his door.

A stranger, a face he had never seen in the team before.

Hearing Chen Yingxiong's question, the person outside the door replied: 

"Hello, Yingxiong. I am your translator and Russian teacher."

Chen Yingxiong was stunned because he heard fluent Mandarin!

Mandarin without any accent!

It's as pure as the Mandarin spoken by the announcer in the CCTV News Broadcast!

…

Chen Yingxiong opened the door and looked at the man standing in front of him and was very disappointed - when the club informed him that they were looking for a Russian translator and language teacher for him, he was expecting a sexy beauty with blonde hair and big breasts to appear in front of him.

This is more in line with the style of novels like these, right?

Unfortunately, the man standing in front of him was a real man, and he didn't look good at all. Chen Yingxiong thought he was a bit vulgar. Just like those perverts who would touch women's buttocks on a crowded train...

Seeing a hint of disappointment on Chen Yingxiong's face, the translator was not angry at all. He smiled and stretched out his hand to Chen Yingxiong. 

"Hello, Yingxiong. I am Maxim Yesenin. From today on, I will be your translator and Russian teacher. Nice to meet you." He introduced himself to Chen Yingxiong in fluent Chinese.

Although he had heard it once before, Chen Yingxiong was still surprised at his accent-free Mandarin. He extended his hand and shook hands with the other party.

Just when the two people's hands touched, Chen Yingxiong suddenly found that a burst of colourful light suddenly flowed across the face of the translator opposite him!

He thought he was dazzled, so he blinked hard and opened his eyes again, but there was nothing! Yesenin had a kind smile on his face, but that was it.

"That..."

"What?" Yesenin asked with a smile.

Chen Yingxiong wanted to ask. 'What's that on your face?' But then he shook his head. "Uh, nothing."

Could it be that I really saw it wrong? He lowered his head in confusion, muttering to himself...

He didn't see that when he lowered his head to wonder if he was confused, Yesenin's smiling face flashed with a burst of colourful light, which was also fleeting. When Chen Yingxiong raised his head again, Yesenin had already returned to normal.

...

Bonus chapter #3: 30 power stones.

Bonus chapter #4: 40 power stones.

Bonus chapter #5: 50 power stones.