The region of Tangguo was undeniably the hardest hit by the explosion of news, spreading among fans at a speed that seemed to surpass light itself.
If Einstein were alive today to witness this moment, he might have found it difficult to propose his theory of relativity.
"What's this, Cao Baming is injured!? Where did this news come from, where did it come from? Oh, it's officially released?!"
"No! I'd rather be injured myself than Cao Baming! I'd trade ten years of my wife's life for Cao Baming to get better immediately, ahhh!"
"Could it be true?"
"Was Cao Baming fouled in the last match? Is this Samba football so dirty? Even the Koreans weren't this vicious. They're going too far!"
"Cao Baming, get better soon! I'd rather everyone else get injured! Even if you're the only one left on the team, you're better than a dozen of them!"
"What about the final! That's France! That's Les Bleus! That's Zidane, Mbappé, and the Great Henry!!!"
"It's all over! It's completely over, damn it!"
"May the one who made the foul die soon!"
...
"Get well soon, Cao Baming. The Tangguo team is already very strong to have reached this point!"
"Please, stop scolding. It will put pressure on Cao Baming. He needs to recover well now. We hope to see him on the Champions League stage later!"
"Go, Cao Baming..."
Meanwhile, the Tangguo team was also undergoing intense training. Although hope was almost extinguished, this was still the World Cup final. Who hadn't dreamt of this as a child?
To reach the final stage, one had to fight for it!
However, without Cao Baming on the field, the players suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity with the pitch. Their minds were blank, they couldn't predict trajectories, didn't know how to make runs, and sometimes couldn't even control the ball properly.
They were frustrated, and Li Gang, watching from the sidelines, wore a troubled expression. Despite his anger, he couldn't scold them, as he had been yelling for two hours already and his voice was hoarse.
Without the aura's effect, they had lost their greatest advantage, and Cao Baming was also very concerned about this.
As long as he was on the field, even if he just stood there, he could inspire the team with his aura talent. His mental attributes were also crucial for the Tangguo team members.
Now, sitting here, he could do nothing to help.
The poor performance of the Tangguo players on the training ground further weakened the already dwindling hope of the Tangguo officials, leaving only a faint spark.
A mere gust of wind would extinguish it immediately, completely.
The news continued to ferment wildly outside. For the Tangguo team's next opponent, the French team, the news brought mixed reactions of joy and sorrow.
Head coach Deschamps, his hair still white, continued to lead the French team. When interviewed by the media, he was asked for his opinion on the recently released news.
Deschamps stated that Cao Baming's injury was a great pity, and everyone felt the same. He was a respectable opponent, and they all wished to see him in the final. However, it was unavoidable, and he hoped for his speedy recovery. 138 Reading Network
When asked for more specific details, a seemingly casual remark from Deschamps was seized upon by the fans.
"Whether Tangguo has Cao Baming or not, we will win. It's just that winning too easily would be boring."
It was understood that Deschamps dared to make such a bold statement precisely because Cao Baming was hospitalized and unable to play.
If Cao Baming were healthy, Deschamps wouldn't have dared to speak so arrogantly, even with a hundred times his courage.
However, the situation could no longer be changed.
Gradually, all walks of life were submerged by this news. Cao Baming himself, however, seemed unfazed, leisurely lying in a special ward reading a magazine.
At this moment, the odds for the championship had undergone a drastic and dramatic shift!
Within a day and a night, as the news fermented, the odds for France winning the championship soared.
From the previous two to one, it had become seven hundred and forty to one! The numbers continued to change!
The change of a single person had directly multiplied the odds by over three hundred times. Who could have imagined this? Even a novel wouldn't dare to write it like this!
It seemed that some people truly understood football, and they were plentiful! Wealthy individuals were certainly well-versed in football, because if they lacked absolute certainty, they wouldn't have invested so much capital.
The World Cup itself was an unpredictable event. The teams had limited knowledge of each other, as it was held only once every four years, and most of the time, everyone was busy with their respective leagues, making national team training opportunities rare.
For analysts, there was simply no data to analyze.
They could only rely on the performances in the current World Cup's previous matches to judge and analyze. Therefore, large capital usually only entered the game in later stages, as they wouldn't gamble randomly but would seek a basis to increase their winning chances.
The current odds of seven hundred and forty to one were not deceiving and should be closer to reality than any previous match.
Many Tangguo fans were stunned by this number. They couldn't have imagined that Cao Baming was so important to the Tangguo team!
With him, they went from being the world's best to the world's worst, just like that. It was too exaggerated!
Regardless, everyone still yearned for a miracle, for Cao Baming to return to the field for the final.
Many fans declared that no matter what the final roster looked like, they had already bought tickets for the final, and there would be no refunds. They would stand by the Tangguo team until the very end!
Some fans, desperate, even turned to superstition. There was a rumored method of summoning a deity: if five Tangguo nationals simultaneously chanted Cao Baming's name in a temple, the God of Tangguo would manifest.
And the Tangguo God they referred to was none other than Cao Baming himself.
However, after a group of fervent fans personally tried it and found it useless, other methods, such as writing the name "Cao Baming" on the ground with a ink-stained football, were also attempted. It was believed that if the writing was large enough, Cao Baming's injury would heal instantly.
Some people even attempted this. In the central square of Tianchao, this act ultimately led to them being taken away by security.
"How I wish this was a smoke bomb! It's looking more and more real now!"