"Thank you so much..."
Cao Baiming said, but his expression told a different story.
Hu Tao felt a pang of guilt. He hadn't really thought things through; the surge of emotion had been a momentary outburst.
It was understandable, though.
Seeing Cao Baiming looking at his tablet, Hu Tao glanced over curiously.
"By the way, when can I go to the training base?"
Cao Baiming pondered for a moment, resting his chin on his hand.
"About a month. I'll notify you then."
Without sitting down, they chatted briefly before finding the seats the waiter had shown them to earlier.
From Cao Baiming's perspective, he could see that particular spot.
At this point, the nearby waiter began to apologize profusely, having not recognized him.
She offered polite words.
Cao Baiming paid her no further mind. He looked at the menu and then said,
"Let's have one of everything on this page, shall we?"
The waiter nodded immediately, her earlier surprise gone.
She knew that for someone like Cao Baiming, this small amount of money was nothing to bat an eye at.
After a few minutes of waiting, the desserts they had just ordered began to be served. They varied in color and shape, but their common characteristic was their small size.
Even so, eating them all was out of the question. After all, there were dozens of options on that single page, and only a little over ten had arrived, already filling the table.
The waiter brought over a small portable trolley. It turned out to have a function: it could adjust its height to perfectly meet the table, thus expanding its surface area.
Soon, the match also resumed. Cao Baiming ate what was in front of him while refocusing his gaze on the screen.
As the second half kicked off, Messi began warming up.
Although he wasn't immediately substituted in, it was clear he could be on the field at any moment.
After the players had been on the field for a few minutes, a strategic positional change was made up front. Cao Baiming felt this shift might be a special tactic planned by the coach.
The frequency of passes from the midfield and defense to the front also increased, and the team's overall tactics shifted again.
Arteta clearly didn't want to waste a good testing ground; he intended to try out all his ideas against Swansea.
Within seven minutes, the tactic paid off. Another assist from Saka, and this time it was Saliba, making a late run to score!
The score became three to one!
Looking at the momentum and form of these players, they seemed to be hitting their stride, and the rest of the match was likely to be a rout.
Since he was currently brimming with energy, Cao Baiming thought he could use his system's time perception to see twenty seconds, or if he was lucky, half a minute, into the future.
At this moment, Cao Baiming wanted to see if there would be any pleasant surprises, such as another goal within the next thirty seconds.
In his view, all signs pointed to a high probability of this happening!
He gently closed his eyes, and the scene rapidly materialized!
In the vision, he was sitting in the cafe, looking at the screen on the table before him.
Several new desserts had arrived, one of which was the small red mountain he had noticed while browsing the menu – it looked like a hawthorn tart.
He then looked at the screen. The score remained unchanged. Instead, he saw Messi being substituted onto the field. He had replaced Saka!
However, his gaze then shifted to his surroundings. A shocking sight unfolded: a man entered, seemingly carrying a weapon. He continued forward, his fierce eyes scanning the entire room.
A waiter tried to intervene but was shoved to the ground by the man.
Upon seeing Hu Tao, the man directly pulled out a dagger and lunged towards the girlfriend beside him!
The vision abruptly vanished!
Cao Baiming jolted awake.
He had wanted to check the score, but instead, he had an unexpected revelation. Was that person really targeting them?
He looked up at the couple across from him, who were engrossed in conversation, completely unaware of the impending danger.
Just a few seconds later, Cao Baiming turned his gaze to the left. He saw a waiter approaching with a large tray. On that tray was the conspicuous red hawthorn tart he had seen in the vision.
Judging by the distance, he would be here in less than five seconds to place the red hawthorn tart next to him. After that, the scene of Messi being substituted in the match would occur, and a few seconds later, the man with the knife would attack Hu Tao's girlfriend.
Whether he would succeed, Cao Baiming didn't know, as the vision had ended at that point. He now felt completely drained, clearly lacking the energy to see what happened next.
But regardless of what the vision foretold, Cao Baiming would not let such an event occur while he was present.
Ignoring the match on his tablet and the approaching waiter, Cao Baiming stood up and walked towards Hu Tao and his girlfriend's table before the waiter reached them.
"You two should move over here and sit with me."
Their eyes showed confusion, but Cao Baiming didn't know how to explain.
Just then, movement was heard at the entrance.
Cao Baiming stood there. Fortunately, the man he had seen in the vision had indeed entered, accompanied by at least four others.
Their attire and demeanor were the same as he had seen, looking like spoiled rich kids.
Upon entering, they began to scan the room. A waiter stepped forward to stop them, and just as the man was about to shove her to the ground, Cao Baiming intervened.
He kicked the dagger out of the man's hand with his first move and then subdued him in two more motions.
The men behind him attempted to rush forward, but a flash of light illuminated the area, and at that precise moment, they saw Cao Baiming's face. They recognized him instantly.
They didn't even have time to ask for an autograph; they turned and fled!
Seeing his incompetent lackeys running ahead, the man was furious and hobbled away desperately.
At this moment, Hu Tao stood up.
"It's them!"
Cao Baiming looked over in confusion.
"You know them?"
Everyone present was in a state of panic. A smear of blood remained where Cao Baiming had punched.
"Ah, I didn't control my strength well with that punch just now. It was a bit too hard."
At this moment, Hu Tao's girlfriend, pale with fear, buried herself in his arms. He then began to ponder how he should explain things to Cao Baiming.