“So you were here!”
Behind Henry, three men walked over and clapped him on the shoulder.
Cao Baming only then realized these were the friends Henry had mentioned earlier.
Damn it, I’m out of luck, no chance now!
“This is Arsenal’s new talent, Cao Baming from the Dragon Country!”
“That’s right! Finally get to see him in person!”
Following that, Cao Baming had no choice but to join them for more fun. By the time they left, Henry was already quite drunk.
This plan had thoroughly failed!
On the way back, Cao Baming was filled with regret. It was so close!
Now, the football legend would be flying away tomorrow, leaving England. Where would he find another chance to persuade him?
It seemed this system mission was going to fail.
“System, what reward do I get for failing my first mission?”
“Ding, searching… This achievement does not exist. Please choose again, host…”
Ah, forget it!
Only then did Cao Baming suddenly remember that he hadn’t claimed the attribute points and talent the system had given him.
First, Cao Baming distributed the 10 free attribute points, 5 each to Dribbling and Heading.
Dribbling definitely needed improvement. Although he had gained some from the previous 10 points, it was still not comparable to the skill of Premier League players, and Heading was even more so.
His scoring was too low now, a downright embarrassing score. He had to allocate some points to it!
Afterward, he checked the skill card the system had given him.
“Congratulations, host, for obtaining the ‘Powerful Slingshot’ talent. In a single match, every four shots on target will result in one guaranteed goal!”
This talent was indeed not comparable to advanced talents, but it still had some power.
However, it didn't seem very practical at the moment.
Since he couldn't get a starting position yet, as a defender, he might not even have four shots in an entire game.
The next day, it was a rare day off.
Cao Baming slept until past ten in the morning. When he opened his eyes, the sun was already high in the sky.
“Holy cow, so late!”
He hadn’t slept this soundly in a long time. It felt so comfortable!
As he said this, Cao Baming stretched and reached for his phone on the nightstand.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he unlocked it, a news alert popped up at the top of the screen, completely stunning him.
“Drogba makes a strong return, agreeing to a new three-year deal with Chelsea!”
“WTF??”
“Are you kidding me! Drogba?”
Driven by curiosity, Cao Baming continued to read the news.
Basically, the homepages of all major news outlets were covered by this news, drowned out by it.
It turned out that Drogba had also been ‘invoking deities’ recently, and with his exceptional football talent, he had finally succeeded three days ago!
Becoming another ‘Chosen One’ after Kaka!
He quickly reached a new contract with Chelsea, preparing to compete in the Premier League!
Below the news, the comment count had already exceeded ten thousand, and the news had only been released for an hour!
“Envious! Another Chosen One!”
“With Drogba’s return, the Premier League is bound to face a storm!”
“Ahhhh, my youth is back! My youth is back! Trust Chelsea one more time!”
…
Looking at these comments, Cao Baming saw a mix of joy for him and some envious voices.
After all, the process of invoking deities had no threshold; anyone could try, but whether they had the ability was another matter.
If their ability was insufficient, and there was already little hope, going would only be a waste of time.
As soon as the news broke, it also caught the attention of all the teams in the Premier League, making them all tense.
Chelsea, currently in a slump, would undoubtedly be revitalized by Drogba’s return.
After Hazard's departure, Chelsea's performance had been consistently low. Perhaps what they were missing was a good finisher, and who better suited than Drogba?
The Premier League was indeed about to face a storm!
Naturally, this news also reached Henry, who had just returned to his country.
After a good night’s sleep, his hangover had finally cleared.
“Holy cow, this guy actually succeeded? No way?”
Henry could hardly believe it.
Kaka's success was one thing, but was Drogba's strength truly superior to his own?
If even he succeeded, then what reason did he have not to?
This was undoubtedly a huge motivation.
Cao Baming had no idea that fate had bestowed such a great boon upon him!
At this moment, Henry had secretly resolved that he absolutely had to get him.
After breakfast, Cao Baming, along with some of his teammates, went to tour the city.
He hadn’t really had a chance to explore the English style since arriving here.
During their outing, everyone coincidentally started discussing Drogba’s return.
Keep in mind that on the league schedule, they would face Chelsea head-on in just half a month. Whether Drogba would play then was uncertain, but the pressure was already mounting.
The media was still hyping up this news, and it would likely continue for several days.
At this point, a remark from Cao Baming brought everyone a lot of reassurance.
“We have Emperor Henry, why should we fear Drogba?”
Everyone thought about it and realized it was true!
If Drogba could succeed, how could Henry not?
“Just waiting for Emperor Henry’s return! Then, in the Premier League, let’s see who dares to challenge us!”
“We are the strongest, alright! Don’t forget we also have the world’s best defender, Cao Baming!”
Cao Baming was startled!
“Best defender… I wouldn’t dare claim that!”
Cao Baming was realistic. With his current abilities, he definitely couldn't bear the title of best defender.
His defensive positioning and ball control were still below average for the Premier League, let alone being comparable to names like Ramos, Boateng, Carlos, or Van Dijk.
“Then, the world’s number one attacking defender!”
“The world’s highest shooting accuracy defender!”
“These titles are outrageous!”
As long as the modifiers were sufficient, anyone could be the world’s number one.
Soon, the topic was happily brushed aside, and no one was genuinely worried about the storm Drogba might bring to the Premier League. Instead, they began to look forward to Arsenal’s future!
As for Cao Baming, he was also very much looking forward to Henry truly changing his mind!
If that happened, obtaining the advanced talent from the system would be a minor matter; being able to play with his idol in the future would be an incredibly joyful thing.
…
While the players were enjoying their day off, Arteta was not idle.
In a dimly lit room, Arteta was still studying tactics.
As dusk gradually fell, he hadn’t even turned on the lights yet.
Their next match was against Crystal Palace. If they won this one, it would be their fourth consecutive victory, and then everything else would fall into place!
The next day, the players were called back for training.
Cao Baming also arrived at the training ground.
After completing the warm-up and fitness training, they moved to the field.