At this moment, Messi was almost out of stamina, but seeing Cao Baiming’s intention to attack, he quickly ran to position himself.
With Messi's coordination, the dense wall of players was broken down one by one, and finally, when it was possible to shoot directly, Messi still chose to pass the ball to Cao Baiming!
Seeing this, the stadium began to applaud, for Messi's noble gesture!
This was no ordinary assist; it was a direct setup for Cao Baiming to break his own record!!
Inside the penalty area, Cao Baiming naturally did not hesitate. Looking at the glittering shooting line in front of him, he flicked the ball with the outside of his instep, curving it directly into the goal!
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!"
"An extraordinary goal of divine inspiration, only he is worthy of it!"
"Let us congratulate Cao Baiming!! A football genius from Tang Country!"
"Six to one! A hat-trick! A killer blow!"
On the field, the Manchester City players, wearing their blue home jerseys, should have been brimming with confidence. But as they looked at the sideline, the prettier it was, the more distressed the fans felt. At this moment, they had no way to account for anything to their supporters.
How did it come to this situation, step by step? The entire stadium seemed to have become unfamiliar in an instant. The green grass no longer looked as green as before; although it was still green, it felt different. Even the color of the sky, the smiles on the fans’ faces, and the ribbons they waved in their hands had all changed their meaning.
At this moment, although the sky was clear with the sun hanging high, bathing the entire stadium in brilliant sunlight, a shadow had already appeared in everyone's heart. It was like a colossal dark cloud, hovering overhead. It wasn't in the sky, but it felt as if it were directly above them, and the sunlight was blocked by this immense cloud, unable to shine upon the field, let alone upon them.
It was like an abyss, as if it were constantly devouring, with no return. And now, there was no hope to be seen, no hope of breaking free. They could only let it swallow them bit by bit, letting themselves sink into the bottomless abyss, descending continuously.
Manchester City was utterly despairing this time. They thought it was a phoenix rising from the ashes, but after only a few minutes of triumph, Cao Baiming’s goal completely crushed them.
The feeling was unbearable.
The fans eagerly awaited Messi's reaction at this moment, because the previous goal had tied his record, and this one had completely broken and surpassed it.
A historic surpassing, a record that was considered by many to be insurmountable.
When one faces someone who has tied their record, they might show admiration, respect, or even a touch of pride. But can they still smile when facing someone who has surpassed them?
Soon, Messi provided the answer to the fans. With Cao Baiming's goal, the whole team rushed forward in excitement, not only to celebrate his hat-trick but, more importantly, to celebrate breaking Messi's record.
It is important to remember that if Messi had not selflessly passed the corner kick to Cao Baiming at the last moment in the penalty area, the outcome might not have been the same.
Because any rational person understood that in that position, Messi himself had a very high chance of scoring, perhaps even higher than Cao Baiming.
The spot he was in was famously known as Messi's corridor, the area where he was most comfortable shooting with his left foot, and the distance from the goal was where he scored the most.
The distance to the goal was about twenty meters, and the goalkeeper was not fully focused on him at that moment. Even from a strategic standpoint, it would have been logical for him to shoot. Even fans with only a rudimentary understanding of football could see this.
All signs indicated that Messi had deliberately chosen to pass the ball to Cao Baiming. He was clearly not a jealous person.
Cao Baiming understood this implicitly. Seeing the smile on Messi's face, Cao Baiming didn't hesitate or stand still. He proactively went forward and hugged Messi tightly.
Being friends with such a person was worth a lifetime; there was nothing more valuable.
Everything was said without words, but when the fans witnessed this scene, they understood everything. At this moment, it wasn't just the excitement and joy of creating a new record, but a warmth that permeated the field and entered the hearts of the fans.
However, at this very moment, something happened that Cao Baiming never expected. The system's voice echoed in his mind again.
Instantly, he tried to recall what had just happened. Hadn't he just scored a regular goal and achieved a hat-trick? Most importantly, hadn't he just tied Messi's season goal record, for which he had already received a reward?
In a mere second, Cao Baiming considered various possibilities but found no clear answer. Just then, the system began to report.
"Congratulations to the host for successfully breaking Messi's single-season highest personal goal record! Reward: 1 million points, one self-selected gift package. Do you wish to make your selection immediately?"
The system's voice stopped, but its echo seemed to reverberate endlessly in his mind.
Cao Baiming was stunned.
It was really this! Twice?
Compared to the previous reward, this one seemed less surprising; this was the true surprise! After receiving one reward, another even greater reward awaited him!
Receiving the same reward twice would not be cost-effective, but getting rewarded twice for the same mission was unprecedented. But none of that mattered now. He could look forward to whether this gift package would be more spectacular than the previous one.
Regardless, this was a cause for great happiness. The system was finally generous, or rather, it was far more generous this time than before.
Receiving a reward for tying the record, and then another for surpassing it – it was simply wonderful!
At this moment, Cao Baiming was filled with overwhelming excitement.