Chapter 1

The murky Thames River divides London into north and south. Traditionally, the south is poor and the north is rich, the east is poor and the west is rich. Perhaps this can be blamed on the Germans. During World War II, London was bombed, and the East End was one of the hardest-hit areas, turning everything into ruins. This area was clearly abandoned, and it also formed the resilient and indomitable spirit of the East Londoners.

In 1986, ten-year-old Audrey-Hall was an East Londoner. Compared to children born in the northwest of London, he clearly had no material conditions to boast about. However, in this industrial area mixed with immigrants, he was fortunate. His father, Arthur-Hall, had a small glass factory here, which, though not large, was enough to support the family, especially with Arthur having three sons.

Audrey's eldest brother, Barnett, was already eighteen and worked with Arthur, looking like a glass installer with no future prospects.

The second brother, Andrew, was only three years older than Audrey and was still in school. However, it seemed that he would follow in his elder brother's footsteps and become a blue-collar worker.

Audrey, though young, was quite mischievous. Since his family sold glass, he would always secretly carry pebbles in his pocket at night and take advantage of the dim light to smash the windows of restaurants or stores owned by immigrants in the community...

The more he walked at night, the more likely he was to run into trouble.

At the end of May, Audrey went out at night to repeat his mischief. His target was a new video store opened by a black man named Sand. In the East End of London, where racial discrimination was most severe, even if Sand was tall and strong, he had to be very cautious in his life. He had heard rumors about mischievous children breaking glass, so every night after the video store closed, he did not go upstairs to rest but stayed in the dark store. Although he was mainly guarding against thieves, he inadvertently became a trap for the mischievous.

"Crash!"

When a small stone shattered the window glass and flew into the video store, Sand burst out in anger in the dark.

This frightened Audrey, who had just thrown the stone and was feeling quite pleased. He didn't expect such a quick reaction and quickly fled into a small alley across the street. In his panic, he entered a dead end. Hearing the door of the video store across the street open, he was terrified. Although he was a local in East London, most of the immigrants lived in clusters. African immigrants were united, and those from West Asia were another group...

If it were daytime, Audrey would not be afraid. If the white people here saw a black man bullying a child, they would naturally come to his aid, and the black man would not dare to provoke them. But it was night, and Audrey was afraid of falling into the hands of the black man, who would leave him without any help.

Facing the dead end, Audrey, at ten years old, was agile and tried to climb over the high wall to escape. However, in his panic, he managed to climb the wall but fell to the ground, hitting his head and bleeding, and fainted on the other side of the wall.

Sand cursed on the street, causing a commotion, and soon someone found the unconscious Audrey and kindly took him to the hospital...

Audrey was hospitalized for three days. His injuries were not serious, but after waking up, he became lost and silent. Even when his parents, Arthur and Amelia, and his two brothers, Barnett and Andrew, surrounded his bed, he did not speak a word, even hiding his head under the covers. This made Arthur very anxious and he questioned the doctor, wondering if his youngest son's head was damaged or if he had become mute.

In fact, Audrey was not only lost on the surface but also terrified inside. No one knew that this ten-year-old boy's body housed a soul from thirty years in the future, and it was the soul of an atheist from China.

With the attitude of "since I'm here, I'll make the best of it," Audrey quickly adapted to everything. He didn't know why he had come to London in 1986, but at least he had no attachments. In China, he was an orphan.

Three days later, Audrey was discharged from the hospital. The Hall family prepared a sumptuous meal for him at home, but there was a hidden worry in their eyes.

The once lively and mischievous Audrey suddenly became well-behaved and obedient after being discharged.

No one asked about this, thinking that Audrey had learned his lesson from the bloody experience of falling off the wall and was better off being obedient, which would make the adults less worried.

Since May 31 was the opening day of the Mexico World Cup, the football atmosphere in London did not decline with the end of the league. On the contrary, every fan hoped that England would perform well in the World Cup, showing the world that banning English teams from the three major cups was a loss to Europe and the world!

Although the ban on English clubs participating in European competitions was ordered by the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher.

Last May, the tragedy of the Heysel Stadium disaster dealt a heavy blow to English football, not only in terms of mental loss but also in economic and national image.

As the night lights came on, Audrey, led by his two older brothers, came to a fan bar in the community. The bar was filled with smoke and had a foul smell, but the atmosphere was very lively.

Barnett casually greeted the young men he knew, and Andrew had a few friends present. However, the ten-year-old Audrey clearly did not fit in here, with no familiar faces to be seen.

Fortunately, after his two brothers greeted people, they took him to sit in a corner.

Audrey listened carefully to the conversations of the fans around him, most of which were about the matches. Here, they either talked about the local team, the Lions of Millwall, or the upcoming World Cup. Occasionally, they mentioned the Crazy Gang of Wimbledon.

"Scoundrels!"

The bar was filled with coarse language, and Audrey gradually formed an understanding of these fans who talked freely.

They did not discuss Millwall's season performance or the prospects for the next season. Instead, they talked more about things outside the matches, such as fighting, brawling, and provoking rival fans, making them uncomfortable...

No wonder, the East London teams were the most notorious, with two arch-rivals, West Ham United and Millwall, being the breeding grounds for football hooligans.

Just like the fans of Leeds United, who were always considered the most extreme racists, no matter how much time passed.

As the conversation continued, many fans in the bar began to praise the Crazy Gang of Wimbledon.

To be honest, the Crazy Gang of Wimbledon had created a miracle in the past three years, achieving three consecutive promotions and would appear in the top division next season, which was a commendable achievement.

However, for the fans of Millwall, the praise had nothing to do with the team's performance. The main reason was the behavior of Wimbledon's players on the field. They were wild and brutal, and even the coach instilled a "fight on the field" mentality. For the fans of Millwall, this was the most satisfying type of match.

What is football?

To them, it is nothing!

Football is best a combination of boxing and American football!

Audrey found it hard to fit into such an environment. He could only lower his head and sneer in his heart: the Crazy Gang of Wimbledon?

Don't think the Crazy Gang is so successful now, even creating a mainstream trend in England. But their absence from the 1994 World Cup was partly due to their rough play.

And Wimbledon would eventually be deserted, losing community support, making it difficult for the team to maintain a fan base.

"Hey, help me out."

Just as Audrey was deep in thought, Barnett sat down with a few bottles of beer and handed them to his two younger brothers, the cheapest beer.

Although Andrew and Audrey were still children, they did not think there was anything wrong with drinking. They looked at the paper Barnett had placed on the table, which listed the twenty-four teams participating in the Mexico World Cup.

Barnett wrote the names of a few teams on a piece of white paper and showed it to his two younger brothers, saying, "What do you think? England as the champion, Brazil as the runner-up, and France and West Germany as the third and fourth."

Thirteen-year-old Andrew, kneeling on the seat, looked at the names of the four teams and clapped his hands in approval.

Audrey, after a moment of confusion, suddenly realized: his brother was going to bet on the matches!

Audrey hurriedly tried to stop him, but the words died in his throat.

This was London, and his brother was an adult; everything was legal.

However, Audrey's frown deepened as he looked at the names of the four teams.

Seeing his expression, Barnett smiled and asked, "Why the long face?"

Audrey looked up at his relaxed brother and asked seriously, "How much are you going to bet?"

Barnett's smile faded, and he whispered, "Five hundred pounds, I've been saving for two years."

He had started helping Arthur work two years ago.

Audrey's frown deepened, and he shook his head, "If you want a return on your five hundred pounds, don't bet on England to win. Your emotions are biased, don't waste the money."

"But we have Lineker."

"Argentina has Maradona too. Why do you think Argentina won't even make the semi-finals?"

"Argentina can't beat England."

"If you're talking about the Falklands War four years ago, yes, Britain won. But football and war are different. Otherwise, Brazil wouldn't be in the semi-finals."

Barnett fell silent, his expression somewhat uncomfortable.

The hatred between England and Argentina was well-known. Four years ago, when England reclaimed the Falkland Islands, the public naturally supported it and had no good feelings towards the defeated.

Seeing his brother's silence, Audrey's eyes twinkled, and he said softly, "Lend me a hundred pounds, I'll bet too."

"I want to too!"

Andrew, not wanting to be left out, also looked at his brother.

Barnett, as a responsible older brother, was very protective of his two younger brothers, and the family was very united, a characteristic of East London families. He nodded reluctantly.

Saying "lend" was the same as "give."

Seeing his brother agree, Audrey said, "How about this, brother, we bet on the teams that will advance from each group, what do you think?"

Barnett actually wanted to get rich overnight by betting on the champion and runner-up, and the third and fourth places, which would have a huge return. But now, after calming down, he thought it was better to be safe.

The three brothers gathered to discuss the teams that would advance from each group.

Twenty-four teams, with two advancing from each group, plus the four best third-place teams, making a total of sixteen teams for the knockout stage.

They only guessed the top two teams from each group.

Audrey could no longer remember the details of the group stage, but he remembered the finalists of this World Cup.

Following a conventional approach, the strong teams from the six groups would advance. Audrey advised his brother not to bet all the money at once, while he himself asked his brother to bet 100 pounds on Argentina as the champion and West Germany as the runner-up.

He vividly remembered the final and Maradona's "Hand of God" match, but the odds for betting on the champion and runner-up before the tournament were high. By the time the quarterfinals and semifinals were decided, the returns would be much lower.

Andrew, on the other hand, treated his 100 pounds as a treasure, carefully asking his brother to bet on the teams that were sure to advance from each group. Although the odds for strong teams were low, Andrew did not have the courage to bet everything on one outcome.

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