The match on the field had ended, but the atmosphere had not completely cooled down.
The green pitch felt more like a battlefield after a war, still filled with the lingering scent of gunpowder. A sense of tension permeated the air, and the players on the field were like warriors who had just emerged from a great battle.
Some were still standing, while others were injured, some severely. For the Crystal Bow team, this was undoubtedly a defeat, a complete and utter rout.
From falling behind at the start to later, relying on their own strength and spirit to turn the score around, they had briefly believed they could defeat this seemingly invincible super-demon that wreaked havoc in the Premier League. It wasn't until Cao Baiming came onto the field that they were forced to face reality.
It turned out the opponent hadn't been playing with their full strength at all, and they had foolishly thought they were close to winning.
Who was the true powerhouse? By this point, the intelligent ones had understood everything.
Cao Baiming let out a hearty laugh. He strode off the field with confident steps, showing no signs of injury. Even if his movements were slowed down a hundredfold, one could not discern any past injuries or lingering marks.
The team breathed a collective sigh of relief. Cao Baiming's appearance on the field had been a violation of the agreement; they knew this well. If it hadn't yielded results, they would have to face the consequences of their actions.
"This news must absolutely not be made public!" Mikel Arteta whispered to those behind him.
"Exactly, absolutely not. It's enough that we know ourselves."
The executives behind him seemed to agree. After all, if the fans knew that they had let Cao Baiming play with such a serious injury, their outrage would be undeniable.
As seasoned veterans of this profession, they were acutely aware of the fans' temperament.
Having suffered such an injury before, they absolutely could not fall into the same trap twice.
At this moment, the players also walked off, their eyes shining as if they had just won the league final.
Yes, playing with a monster like him made the experience different.
Mikel Arteta personally embraced the hero. Thierry Henry had completed his hat-trick, but the biggest hero of the day was not him, but Cao Baiming.
In desperate situations, his appearance often brought about miraculous results!
This was no longer a surprise to anyone in the Arsenal team.
And Cao Baiming himself had proven this very principle with his performance in the last ten minutes of the match, a fact that remained undeniably true.
Coming onto the field with ten minutes left and scoring two goals directly afterward. Although the second goal wasn't directly scored by Cao Baiming, that aerial volley could have easily been aimed at the goal.
Those who truly understood Cao Baiming knew that if he had wanted to shoot directly, it would have been no trouble at all. In fact, it would have been considered a relatively easy shot among his entire repertoire.
Passing to Henry was simply to help his teammate achieve a hat-trick. Yet, here the fans were, actually speculating that Cao Baiming would see his teammate as a rival for the Golden Ball.
It seemed their perspective was entirely different; their own narrow-mindedness led them to try and deduce Cao Baiming's thoughts.
Perhaps he didn't care about the Golden Ball at all. The wise ones already realized that Cao Baiming didn't need any extra awards or titles to prove himself or promote himself. He already possessed the highest level of footballing skill and ability.
No one could compare to him. The greatest player of this era was no longer up for debate.
This man, hailing from Tangguo, a nation not known for its footballing prowess, had even led his country to the World Cup finals and secured a runner-up position.
It was nothing short of legendary. Who else could achieve such feats?
The winning streak was maintained, and at this moment, the system's voice echoed in Cao Baiming's ears once more.
"Congratulations to the host for accumulating a total of 14,000 points in this match! The League Mission Reward System is now unlocked!"
The league was back. He had accumulated quite a few reward points during the World Cup, and he wasn't in a hurry to redeem them. What truly interested him was the system's built-in time perception function.
Cao Baiming had a strong premonition that this function would undergo a qualitative breakthrough at some point, and it was uncertain what even more powerful functions the system would bring then. However, accumulating points for it would definitely be worthwhile.
Just as he was preparing to head back to the locker room, he noticed Katerina had personally come to the locker room entrance.
Usually, even when she attended important and exciting matches, she wouldn't come every single time. Now, she appeared at the locker room door.
Could she truly tolerate the pungent odor of sweaty jerseys and socks that lingered after athletes had just competed?
Cao Baiming walked straight forward. Katerina's presence here undoubtedly meant she was looking for him.
As expected, before he had even walked a few steps and made eye contact, she began to greet him.
A smile, captivating and enchanting, lit up her face. It wasn't just Cao Baiming walking forward; the teammates beside him understood the look in their eyes when they glanced at Katerina. There was no connection with them; her heart belonged to Cao Baiming.
That smile truly electrified everyone around him.
"You've worked hard!"
Katerina greeted him, then continued with a worried tone, "How is it? Is your leg injury giving you trouble now? Are you feeling any pain?"
Cao Baiming inwardly pondered, shouldn't these questions be directed at Yi Yi?
So, her primary concern wasn't the outcome of the match, but his physical well-being.
"I feel great. It seems the injury has already improved. Although Yi Yi's test results say otherwise, I personally feel no pain after playing this match."