"Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh!"
"Yeah yeah yeah...!"
"Cao Baiming! God of Asia!"
Amidst the frenzied screams and cheers of the fans, Cao Baiming and Wu Xue walked hand in hand to the entrance of a stadium.
Today, Cao Baiming was wearing a slightly more formal athletic uniform specially prepared by the Football Association, while Wu Xue was in her favorite long dress.
Soon, a man in a formal dark blue suit emerged, holding a microphone and addressing the surrounding fans.
"Is everyone ready? Today's event is about to begin!"
Just then, a cloud drifted across the sky, shielding everyone from the glaring sun. It felt like a thoughtful gesture on this hot summer day, almost as if it were intentional.
Fans had gathered all around, creating a traffic jam for miles.
The fans' enthusiasm was indescribable. Although the stadium itself was only so large, the event's impact extended far beyond its boundaries. Even on the balconies of high-rise buildings and hotels surrounding the venue, fans were present with binoculars, observing the event.
They might not have been able to rush early enough to secure a prime spot, but many had purchased tickets for the event and had been waiting around the venue since before dawn, before the sun had even risen.
After the host's speech, the fans erupted in cheers once more. Simultaneously, Cao Baiming took the microphone from the host.
Regarding the details of today's event, someone had already thoroughly explained it to the two of them earlier that morning.
Today's event was primarily a welcome ceremony to celebrate Cao Baiming's return to the country. The specific activity would involve a friendly exhibition match of football skills with fans on the very field before them.
For fairness, participation wasn't determined by ticket price but by a random draw from those who registered.
After Cao Baiming personally explained the purpose of the event to the surrounding fans, the opening ceremony commenced.
Following a series of promotional messages from various sponsors and advertising brands, fireworks lit up the sky.
Amidst the flashing lights and swirling smoke, the fans' excitement surged again!
They were eager for the event to begin, as who wouldn't want to compete with their idol?
Even though they knew winning was unlikely, the thrill was overwhelming, and everyone was eager to participate. However, only a few hundred lucky individuals could be chosen from tens of thousands of spectators.
Through the sponsors' mini-program on their mobile phones, after a flurry of activity, all the fans began to register. Subsequently, the system's random calculation displayed ten numbers on the screen.
Cao Baiming and Wu Xue walked to the center of the field and announced the ten luckiest winners. Not only did they have the honor of participating in this event, but they were also the very first ones chosen, truly like sons of destiny.
"Damn, isn't this my number? Sorry, brothers, I'm heading off. You all take care!"
"Ahhhhhh, it's me!"
"Awesome, brother!"
The ten selected individuals rushed forward, practically colliding with each other as they made their way onto the field.
Although the rules of the competition were not yet clear, each of them was already rolling up their sleeves, eager to play.
They had all worn their football boots to the venue for today's event.
"The next competition will be a penalty shootout skill contest, which is something we're all most familiar with and is straightforward. The rules are very simple: shoot the ball into the goal. We'll be competing to see who can score the most goals within one minute..."
The host, wearing a blue outfit, began explaining the rules to these fans, and Cao Baiming listened intently.
Hearing this, some fans were already sizing up the football at their feet and the distant goalposts.
"That's at least thirty to forty meters away, isn't it? That distance is too difficult!"
"Hmph, that's because *you* think it's difficult! There's no goalkeeper, so it's easy to score, right? Just watch me later, and I'll show you what skill looks like!"
"Alright, alright, brother, stop bragging. Let's talk again when the results are out. You might not even be as good as me!"
"Stop talking, stop talking. Don't you look at who we have as an opponent? It's Cao Baiming! He's the true master of long-range shooting. We people are just here to make up the numbers for him to show off. Do you really think you're that good?"
"Hahahaha..."
The ten selected fans on the field began to whisper amongst themselves, their anxiousness so great that they wished they could kick the ball into the goal right then.
The host continued to explain the rules.
"For the next match, we will divide into two teams. For fairness, one team will be composed of fans, the Fan Team, and the other will be the Cao Baiming Team, composed of Cao Baiming himself!"
The host, for dramatic effect, chose to announce this team division in a humorous tone.
Considering there were ten fans and Cao Baiming was a team of one, was it really going to be a competition against the combined score of those ten fans?
This announcement immediately sparked lively discussion among the surrounding fans, who were astonished. Even Cao Baiming, they thought, couldn't possibly crush ten people!
Although these ten were ordinary civilian fans, who didn't know that many a master came from humble beginnings? And those who dared to participate in such an event and click the registration button were likely not too bad, perhaps even possessing extraordinary skills!
Despite this, the fans were still very much looking forward to the upcoming match.
"You know, maybe these guys really aren't much of a match. Look at him, he's a professional player and the Golden Boot winner in the Premier League!"
"Indeed, indeed! Crushing ten ordinary people is no sweat for him!"
The ten people on the field were stunned. They had never imagined they would be on the same team as these few individuals. Would they hold them back?
Although there were rewards for both winning and losing this match, the prize for actually defeating Cao Baiming was a substantial 50,000 yuan bonus!
If they lost, they would only receive a signed jersey.
Many fans had come for Cao Baiming's autograph jersey, but who didn't like money? The fans felt that winning this match was not as impossible as they had initially thought.