Chapter 3: Night of Life and Death

  July 12, 2014 at 9:30 PM. The final match between Brazil and Germany has already reached the second half of more than sixty minutes.

  "Schweinsteiger plays a through ball to ?zil, ?zil plays a diagonal pass to Podolski on the left wing, Podolski makes a quick low cross! Oh my god! I'm having a heart attack! I can't take it anymore! What are these Brazilians doing?! If this continues... the Germans will be ahead! Is Silva sleeping?! Can't even a 35-year-old Kl?ze keep up?!"

  That was the sound coming from the broken TV in Zero Point Bar, along with bursts of static noise. It was the weird shout of the host on National Sports Channel. Apparently, it was a frenzied attack by the German team just now, which made him scream his lungs out once.

  At this time, the Zero Point Bar was packed with people, and like the host, the bar had almost been blown up by the roar just now. In the moment when the scream tore through the sky, there was another heavy sigh, obviously, all the Brazilians in the house were shocked by Klose's shot just now.

  Chen Haonan held a bottle of beer in his hand, drank more than half of it, and his eyes were slightly red, sweating... But his thoughts were different from all the Brazilians here.

  It wasn't that he had eaten away all their bets and lost less than 500 yuan, what he was worried about was today's doings.

  It's terrifying that he can't get those 200,000 rials, but what's even more terrifying is the consequences triggered by his failure to complete the task...

  If the bookmaker had bet on Germany, but most of the gamblers had bought Brazil to win, and the result was indeed Brazil's victory, would Chen Haonan still be alive? Because of his small mistake, the bookmaker lost the entire battle... It doesn't matter if he dies, what about his son and foster parents?

  This is what Chen Haonan was really worried about at this time, that it's possible someone has already set out on the road, or is hiding in a corner of the bar, and once Germany loses the game, his own head will be taken away.

  It was that damn woman, that damn woman! Chen Haonan swallowed another big mouthful of beer and tried his best to recall the person who had bumped into him today, but no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't remember what the other person looked like. He only remembered the sound of her voice...

  "?zil has the ball, ?zil again passes directly to Kroos... Oh my god, what a save by Jefferson! Saint Jefferson! Without him, Brazil would have been doomed!" The commentator is singing praises for their goalkeeper.

  Damn it! Damn it! Why didn't the ball go in?! Chan Ho-nam cursed under his breath, then swallowed another mouthful of beer.

  Yes, he was praying for a German goal, as long as the Germans scored, his life would not be in danger.

  Although Chan Ho Nam did not complete his task, as long as the German team wins, the person who asked him to do it will not come to bother him.

  Chen Haonan did it for 200,000 reais, but at the time he didn't think about how severe the consequences would be. The underground boss was able to call him to take care of the Brazilian, so just how big is this boss? Although he wasn't in direct contact with the boss's people, being able to call him to take care of it clearly shows that he's a figure who can cover the sky with one hand...

  In fact, the odds offered by the bookmaker are a push within 90 minutes of regular time. As long as it's a draw, no one makes money. But since Brazil entered the semi-finals, everyone has been leaning towards Brazil, which means everyone is buying Brazil to score...

  The banker also opened a flat disk in time, but to be on the safe side, the banker still made a move towards the Brazilian team. The chess piece was Chen Haonan, but unfortunately, Chen Haonan ultimately failed to complete his mission.

  Tanaka naturally knew that if the German team drew in regular time, he would be fine, but since a football match is never over until the last minute, no one knows what the final result will be. So he'd rather pray for Germany to score than agonize over a tie until the 90th minute.

  The Germans bombarded the Brazilians' home stadium for nearly ninety minutes, yet failed to score a single goal. On the other hand, Brazil, known for their attacking prowess, had hardly any decent attacks and were suffocated by Germany, with the Germans having all the scoring chances... this is simply a miracle...

  Chen Haonan was worried, and indeed, the struggling Brazilian team really grasped an opportunity to counterattack. Silva quickly cleared the ball to Ganso's feet, and Ganso unhesitatingly made a straight pass to Neymar in front of him. Neymar burst out from between two tall German defenders, with the ball stuck to his feet...

  "Oh my god! A shot! A shot! A shot! How could Neymar miss such a great opportunity?! Is this really Neymar?! The host is going crazy, and the fans watching on TV are also going crazy!"

  Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

  Someone continuously smashed several beer bottles on the ground in anger, still cursing non-stop.

  "I'm done! Kicked a good ball for a year, and this one is the worst! Damn Neymar! Must have gone to find women last night!"

  Neymar actually played this ball quite well, but in pursuit of a better angle, he kicked the ball onto the post...

  Everyone was crying with a sad face, but Chen Haonan clenched his fists and broke out in a cold sweat.

  The ball is going in, he plans to fly back home, then take his son and foster parents to escape... only this way...

  The game had reached the eighty-fifth minute, and the score was still zero-zero. Everyone was suppressing the fear in their hearts.

  Judge, quickly blow the whistle to end the game, Chen Haonan once again silently prayed in his heart, at this time there was no draw to end the game that made him more expected.

  "Beer! Beer! Quick, bring beer! I can't take it anymore!" Another almost frantic fan, of course, as a Brazilian fan, it's more painful than German fans, after all, Brazilians were beaten by Germans, those with heart problems must have already gone to see the King of Hell, this is definitely an unavoidable thing.

  The night before the final, the President of Brazil himself appeared on television to advise people with heart problems not to watch this World Cup...

  In just five minutes, the fans were once again like they had been on a roller coaster ride, screaming wildly in extreme mental states.

  The match finally entered the injury time stage, and both teams seemed to have agreed that they would take full attacking steps, apparently this was a tacit agreement to enter extra time...

  Beep... Beep... Beep...

  That familiar whistle finally sounded! A draw within ninety minutes!

  Bang!

  Another loud and clear crash.

  Another bottle of wine shattered.

  This time it wasn't someone else who fell, but rather Chen Haonan!

  Those painful 90 minutes are finally over! The danger is finally lifted!

  I'm never doing this crap again! Chan Ho-nam cursed under his breath, looking relieved as he quickly made his way through the crowd that had once again become noisy.

  I'd rather continue being a cowherd than play this kind of thing again! His face still couldn't stop twitching with excitement, that seemingly smiling yet not quite joyful expression, as he walked out of the Zero Point bar, finally burst out, and let out another loud roar towards the sky! Only then did he slowly head home.

  Germany and Brazil's overtime? It is no longer his concern, winning or losing is no longer related to him.

  He is now very relaxed and just wants to go home to see his son, see his seriously ill foster father, and see his hardworking mother...

  Chen Haonan even went to a small grocery store with a good mood and bought several cooked foods, as well as two bottles of beer, rushing home.

  It took about half an hour before stopping at a dilapidated bungalow.

  Yes, this small two-room bungalow is no different from the surrounding houses. This is his current home.

  The dim yellow light at home was still on, Chen Haonan knew that his foster mother had not slept yet and was also watching the final in front of the TV. Usually around 10 o'clock, his foster mother would go to bed, but it seemed that tonight Brazilians were no exception, all watching the game.

  Chen Haonan gently stroked the familiar doorway, smiled to himself, and then pushed the door open.

  "Mother, I'm back."

  "Hao Nan, why are you back so early today? Didn't you stay at the bar to watch the end of the game?"

  After his adoptive father fell ill, it was up to his adoptive mother to support everything at home. Of course, Chen Haonan never allowed his adoptive mother to go out and work; he insisted on working himself, which was enough to make a living for the whole family.

  In his foster mother's eyes, Haonan has always been a good kid who works as a bartender in a bar, a waiter in a restaurant, and a temporary technical coach on the court, taking on three jobs at once to support a family of four.

  In Chen Haonan's eyes, his foster parents were just his own biological parents, and there was no prefix in front of them.

  "What's so good about this ball? If I were on the field, I would have won the game long ago..." Chen Haonan sat down beside his mother and turned down the TV volume a bit, but still joked about the progress of the game.

  "Hmm, I know your ability, at least you can pass ten good balls in the game, and not let Neymar grab one shot and hit the post!" Apparently, in Haonan's mother's eyes, she also thinks her child is always the best.

  "How's Father? Don't forget to see the doctor on time tomorrow, I bought him some delicious food," Chen Haonan smiled and handed over a thick stack of cash, which was the 800 rials he earned last night.

  Eight hundred rials is naturally four hundred rials that the bartender normally charges and another four hundred rials given by the customer the next day.

  "He's sleeping, his body has improved a lot recently, it's just that the medical expenses are a big burden. Thank you for your hard work, Haonan." As she spoke about her foster father's health, Haonan's foster mother also lifted her spirits and took over the familiar dishes, putting them on a plate.

  "Right, I still have to go back to work overtime tonight, you guys finish watching the ball and sleep early." As he said this, Chen Haonan had already quietly walked to his son's side, then lowered his head and gently kissed his son, the action was very familiar and full of love...

  "Let me calculate the time, tomorrow should be Xiao Haotian's birthday, right?" Mother looked at Chen Haonan with a kind expression and suddenly said, "You two have bitter fate, one without parents, one without mother, sigh..."

  "Mom, who says I don't have parents? You are the parents I love most deeply. Although Haotian doesn't have a mother, I will definitely find him a mother as good as you! I'll go see Dad first, you continue watching the game..."

  After pulling the quilt for his son, he left the small living room and entered his father's room.

  His father's quiet snoring gave him an inexplicable sense of security. Every time he came home, as long as he could see the lights on and his father's snores, he felt that everything was fine around him. Even if he couldn't play soccer anymore or walk the path of a soccer star, as long as his loved ones were still by his side, he felt it was all worth it.

  After wiping away those uncontrollable tears in the dark room, he finally came out.

  But then heard his mother's humming voice coming over.

  "What's wrong?" Just after asking, Chen Haonan realized what it was.

  What else can make great mothers cry besides Brazil's defeat?

  He took a look at the screen and indeed, the Germans had already started celebrating...

  Poor Brazilians, they were actually killed by the veteran legend Klose in the last minute of the game!

  One hundred and twenty minutes.

  The German team's coach L?w made a fatal move, and in the end, they lost.

  Stick with Clozer until the last moment of extra time, never give up on this veteran.

  If it weren't for Gomez's injury before the final, Klose wouldn't have played and a new legend wouldn't have been born.

  Old horse Fowkes has a strong ambition, Klose this World Cup, although only one goal, but it is the most valuable one goal, and also tied with legendary Ronaldo's World Cup total goals...

  “……” Chen Haonan didn't know what to say, and he couldn't go kick the World Cup himself. He couldn't just say that he would win one back for her, could he? But in the end, he managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Mom, soccer is just a game, it's no big deal. We'll have a big dinner tomorrow night, and that's what really brings happiness.”

  In Chen Haonan's eyes, having a big meal was much more important than football. He gently patted his mother's shoulder.

  I was about to go out, but worried about my mother's bad mood, so I sat down again.

  If fate had a choice, who would be willing to go out in the middle of the night and fight for their life? And yet, despite the unfairness of fate, we still need to struggle with all our might to live on...