The first half concluded with a two-one score, leaving the fans immensely excited. It was a truly spectacular match, as the rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester United had already set the expectations sky-high!
At this moment, Cao Baiming was positioned in the midfield, essentially in the very center of the pitch.
Arsenal maintained possession. Currently, Odegaard was engaging in short passing exchanges with Messi beside him. Alnenini was also quietly making his way over. Clearly, they had devised a plan to launch an attack in this area!
Observing their footwork and control of the ball, Cao Baiming's heart suddenly leaped!
On the other side of the field, Henry was completely unmarked. Their intricate short passes had somehow left Henry open!
Cao Baiming realized what Messi was about to do: directly sling the ball to the opposite flank of the field, connecting with Henry far away!
Following that trajectory, it was absurdly brilliant. It was a perfect passing lane, but something most people would never even consider.
Two seconds later, Messi, with an incredibly subtle touch, used the outside of his foot to pass the ball. It traveled along that line, suddenly hurtling towards Henry's side.
The ball moved with incredible speed and extreme stealth. Three or four players along its path made no attempt to intercept it.
The entire stadium erupted in cheers! This was a pass from a god's perspective!
Such a pass could only be executed by a true king of the game. It wasn't just about having a wide vision; it was the product of creativity and absolute on-field experience, a chemical reaction in a genius mind!
Messi was divine, the fans marveled, their expressions uncontainable.
"Manchester United, how will you win?!"
"There is only one true king of the game!! Messi!!!"
"Next, watch the performance of the great Henry, it's this easy! Manchester United, face your doom, hahahaha!"
…
While the Arsenal fans were buzzing with excitement, Cao Baiming had already moved from his previous position. Only those who truly understood him would notice this.
Fortunately, he had anticipated Messi's pass! Otherwise, he truly wouldn't know how to defend against it!
Cao Baiming himself was astonished at this moment. For anyone else, predicting this pass would have been impossible, and the only outcome would have been conceding a goal!
However, the situation wasn't as dire as it could have been!
Damn it! He had forgotten to allocate attribute points to speed!
Because the event had unfolded so suddenly, the interception attribute he had just switched to hadn't been fully processed. Now, he was too far from Henry.
No way, no way! He couldn't fail to reach the ball just because he wasn't fast enough after predicting it!
Cao Baiming's eyes hardened. In his desperation, he casually transferred sixty attribute points to his speed attribute and simultaneously activated his acceleration skill, the 'Flying Bird' skill!
As the ball remained airborne, not yet having reached Henry's feet, the fans on the sidelines followed intently a white blur sliding from one side of the pitch to the other.
Soon, they noticed a shimmer seemingly keeping pace with the ball, its speed nearly matching it.
Anyone with even a rudimentary understanding could tell that someone moving at such speeds must be Cao Baiming; no one else could achieve this.
Even Max wouldn't possess such explosive speed.
"It's Cao Baiming!!"
At the same time, the stadium roared again. However, this time, the source of the cheers had shifted; it was the Manchester United fans, Cao Baiming's fans!
He always brought hope in moments of despair.
On the field, the man in the red Manchester United home jersey was striding powerfully towards Henry. The incredibly clear number ten adorned his back, in white!
Cao Baiming felt as if he were traveling at the speed of lightning, the friction with the air making his skin tingle. This speed felt almost excessive!
The combination of the 'Flying Bird' skill and a speed attribute of one hundred and eighty points seemed overwhelming. This speed was comparable to a car on a highway!
It far surpassed Usain Bolt's known human sprinting limit, and if they were to race now, Bolt would lose spectacularly.
As he neared Henry, Cao Baiming glanced upwards with his peripheral vision. The ball was descending at that very moment. Fortunately, Cao Baiming had reached a crucial distance, enabling him to directly challenge Henry!
The challenge naturally began with the battle for possession. Although Henry reached the ball first, Cao Baiming positioned himself between Henry and De Gea's goal!
He stood before Henry, with Luke Shaw and Sal beside him, and De Gea behind.
Even Henry would have to think twice!
Cao Baiming's eyes flashed. Even Henry wouldn't be able to get past him!
In training, Henry had tried countless times. While he was strong, he had almost never succeeded against Cao Baiming's defense!
More importantly, in this simulation, Henry was set to be unaware of Cao Baiming, as he had no memories of playing alongside him. On the other hand, Cao Baiming knew Henry intimately.
He knew him perhaps too well. He was acutely aware of Henry's habitual little movements, his gaze, and the subtle shifts of his toes that signaled his intent, details that Henry himself might not even realize.
There was no reason not to be confident. Cao Baiming stood half a meter in front of Henry, a faint smile playing on his lips, his expression calm and filled with assurance.
Henry became flustered for a moment. He knew how formidable the man before him was. He looked around; his teammates' passing lanes were blocked, and their runs seemed ineffective.
And there were two more players lurking, ready to snatch the ball from his feet at any moment!
He couldn't wait any longer!
Suddenly, Henry feinted to his left, then kicked the ball to the other side of his body, about a meter away!