The week of rest passed in the blink of an eye.
Reflecting on the past week, it had been incredibly fulfilling. Not only had I tasted foods I’d never tried before, but I also visited places I’d never been. Though it wasn't quite a world tour, the experience was truly unique.
Beyond my usual daily activities, the most time-consuming thing Cao Baming did was undoubtedly using his new system skill to play around freely within it.
The Time Bubble was an overpowered system skill, a bug in the system, and its scope of use was far beyond simply playing a football match.
With such a fantastic feature allowing him to spend time as he pleased, only to have it restored afterwards, without any need to consider ethics, morals, or even societal order which he could arbitrarily set himself – it was even better than a dream.
Moreover, whose dreams could truly be conducted under their complete control?
This long, seven-day holiday, though a full seven days, felt like only two or three days had passed. Time had flown by so quickly. As expected, when you are engrossed in something, time truly flies.
In this way, I had finally put my long-held philosophy into practice: since it's a holiday, one must truly rest, have fun, and most importantly, know how to have fun.
In contrast, playing football matches or doing other serious business required no effort; goals could be achieved casually. This allowed me to dedicate my true energy to enjoyment, which is what truly living is about.
Despite all this, there was still one match that continuously tugged at Cao Baming's heart. Even during this seven-day holiday, he thought of it constantly.
It was the Champions League final, scheduled to take place in about two weeks!
Only a competition of this magnitude could truly excite Cao Baming, enough for him to take it seriously and capture his full attention.
There was one aspect of this match worth looking forward to: who would be the opponent? Could Manchester City possibly completely crush AC Milan at home in the second leg, even overturning the three-goal deficit from the previous match?
Upon careful consideration, the possibility was slim. After all, they had just played Manchester City, and their form wasn't as good as expected.
However, before this crucial match, there was another one that needed to be played: the encounter between Arsenal and Bayern Munich. This match also held a certain suspense. If Bayern Munich could indeed overcome Arsenal with a four-goal advantage and win this game, then everything that followed would unfold differently.
While this probability wasn't zero percent, it was almost impossible. Cao Baming was completely confident about this.
After the result of the match against Bayern Munich, all these speculations would become meaningless, or rather, utterly pointless.
This morning, having returned from his holiday, Cao Baming arrived at the club filled with confidence and excitement.
The joy of reuniting with his good friends filled everyone's faces. At this moment, Cao Baming's return was truly paramount. For the team, it was of vital importance.
Just like in the simulation on the plane earlier, even without him on the field, his teammates could still achieve excellent results. This was evident from what had just happened.
In a league match that concluded at the end of this week, Arsenal faced Stoke City, a team not considered strong, even considered a weak team in the Premier League. However, Cao Baming did not participate in this match.
Ultimately, the final score of the match was a magnificent 6-0.
Martinelli and Henry both completed hat-tricks. Although Messi was a bit unlucky and didn't score in this game, four of the six goals came from his brilliant assists.
Wasn't this exactly what was seen in the simulation? These players were truly formidable. The current Arsenal's strength was unfathomably deep.
With an Arsenal team this united, and so many sharp swords, how could Bayern Munich possibly contend with them? It was needless to even mention them. Even Manchester City or AC Milan were not qualified to compete. The suspense of this Champions League final had already diminished significantly.
This time was different from the past. Fans had almost entirely shifted their predictions to Arsenal's side. Their strong belief in Arsenal stemmed from the sheer volume of Arsenal's fan base. Messi, Cao Baming, and Henry combined accounted for over ninety percent of the fan base.
What could other teams compare to them? They simply weren't qualified to be compared, and there was no need to compare.
Because such pointless actions would only make everything even more meaningless.
Sometimes, fan support could be mindless, but at other times, it was well-founded and based on rational judgment. Just like this time, although Arsenal fans showed significant support, there were also many who rationally analyzed the situation and focused their attention on Arsenal.
From a purely strength perspective, the other teams in the Champions League had almost lost the qualification to compete with the current Arsenal. The only two teams that had truly shown excellent form this season were likely Liverpool and Real Madrid. However, they had now fallen under Arsenal's dominance, becoming vanquished opponents.
As for the remaining teams in the finals, Manchester City's form was so erratic and unreliable. Moreover, with a three-goal deficit already, their chances of reaching the final were extremely slim.
As for AC Milan, forget it. Their reaching this stage was likely supported by luck. Any discerning observer could tell which team was a true dark horse and which was merely riding on luck.