It took a long time for Cao Baiming to recover.
What he had seen moments ago was no longer important; everything before him was real, and he had indeed received those rewards.
Thinking of this, Cao Baiming's mood immediately lightened. Didn't he just get five million points? Added to what he had before, that would bring him to at least nearly ten million!
This way, the hidden mysterious grand prize might be close to being unlocked!
The five top-tier talent skill cards in the supplies were all excellent. There was no rush to open them. He'd keep them, save them for the World Cup, and choose whatever he needed then. That would be the best strategy.
The same applied to attribute points. He now had a full hundred points, more than enough to allocate as he pleased. Besides, he was already incredibly strong. Any single attribute, when taken out, could be proudly declared as top-tier in the world, ranking at least in the top three.
"System, check the current remaining points!"
After a brief pause, the system's voice sounded again.
"Ding..."
In an instant, Cao Baiming recalled the sound he had heard in his mind after that flash of white light.
"Current total points for the month have been found: ten million, four hundred fifty-five."
He had reached it!
It wasn't a complete shock, but it was a little beyond his expectations. He thought he was still a little short. Now, the mysterious reward should be visible.
"System! Redeem reward!"
At that moment, the appearance of that mysterious reward even materialized before his eyes!
"Ding! New exchange item unlocked: Time Flow function! It allows the system to set a new unique skill. The skill effect is to interpret time from a new perspective..."
"Interpret time? It seems my guess was correct..." Cao Baiming mused, listening intently.
"Current unlocked level: Tier One. The effect allows you to view both the near past and future simultaneously, rather than at a single moment."
"Unlocking requires one thousand points. Do you wish to unlock it immediately?"
Cao Baiming's eyes flickered as his mind raced!
Just then, Cao Baiming felt a subtle sense of anomaly. As expected!
He could already foresee a brand new locked reward appearing after the successful unlock, requiring a cost of... fifty million points!
That would likely be the Tier Two effect. Regardless, it should be very powerful!
A system-specific skill, of course, had to be unlocked! What was there to hesitate about?
"System! Unlock immediately!"
"Ding! Time Flow function successfully unlocked. One thousand points consumed. Current remaining points: 455."
The feeling of going from millionaire to pauper in an instant...
But! At that very moment, Cao Baiming felt an unprecedented sensation. This feeling originated from... his own body!
Being able to look back at past events was nothing, but being able to see the future! That was too powerful!
At this very instant, he could feel something was different. A wealth of knowledge suddenly appeared in his mind, and the people and things before his eyes even seemed to have changed slightly!
In a flash, Cao Baiming saw a brief glimpse of the future!
But! This future was pitifully short! Based on his current feeling, it was only about 0.1 seconds ahead!
If roughly calculated, this amount of time was almost negligible!
At this point, the system's voice chimed in.
"Time Flow function is now active. It can be manually turned off at any time. This effect is more pronounced on the football field and can be upgraded with accumulated experience."
...
After listening to the system's explanation, Cao Baiming finally truly understood its capabilities.
Since it could be strengthened, everything was fine!
In the future, this would be a god-defying superpower!
Could it be that the scene he saw last night was related to this Time Flow?
Perhaps he had accidentally glimpsed an event that was about to happen in the near future!
The more he thought about it, the more chilling it became!
...
Unknowingly, nearly forty minutes had passed since the match ended. The other players in the team had already tidied up and were preparing to leave.
If not for the last-minute comeback, this match would have been truly dangerous, causing Arteta quite a bit of worry.
However, the final outcome was satisfactory to all the players. This meant they could prepare for the next match with full strength and participate in training with complete confidence.
Arteta also knew that when Cao Baiming wanted to leave after the next match, he likely wouldn't be the only one. Messi and Henry might also leave with him. If those players truly decided to depart, he certainly wouldn't be able to stop them.
Therefore, regardless of any thoughts, this was the last opportune moment. If it was missed, there would be no more chances.
At this moment, for these star players, the importance of the league was decreasing at an exponential rate. In a short while, they would likely only have the World Cup on their minds. Everything was in preparation for the World Cup. Even if they continued to play, they might not be able to contribute much.
Messi's national team had already maintained an unbeaten streak of 36 matches in various related competitions. This number was a terrifying existence even throughout history, setting a record.
Henry's French team was also on a hot streak. Although there were some minor issues exposed by the media recently, they were quickly resolved. They remained one of the three major favorites to win, and the biggest favorite at that.
As for Cao Baiming, there was nothing more to be said. Arteta knew he couldn't afford to provoke him.
In the Premier League, Arsenal once again crushed Liverpool. Salah had a poor performance throughout the match.
As expected, this match became the focal point of intense discussion in major football magazines and media outlets.
However, no matter how heated the outside world's discussions were, Cao Baiming paid them no mind. He was even unaware that the fans had given him a new nickname.
It wasn't until the next day, on his way to the training ground for team practice, that he learned about it through a teasing remark from his teammate Vieira.
It turned out that the new nickname the fans had prepared for Cao Baiming was "Mind Crusher"!