Chapter 23: Please, Do Not Show Any Mercy

23.55 seconds.

How long has it even been?

Had he been training for six months or more, Gou Laozhi certainly wouldn't be this surprised. But the training period had been far too short. Su Shen had only turned fifteen a few months ago; this rate of progress was truly astonishing.

"Xiao Tian, not bad. You did very well. It seems your training direction is on the right track." Ning Debao remarked that Su Shen had not only exceeded his goal for the 100-meter sprint but had also managed to shave a significant amount of time off his 200-meter run as well. It was truly ferocious.

This made Ning Debao believe even more in Su Shen's so-called "Scientific Development Concept." Sports were no longer in an era where one could achieve results simply by "burying one's head and working hard." She herself would have had no confidence in helping Su Shen achieve such a rate of improvement. In his previous life, Su Shen had only managed an 11.32 at the Pearl River Delta Invitational, and he hadn't even come close to sniffing the 200-meter final. Now, he had completely left that past version of himself behind.

"Alright, Xiao Tian, do some stretches and head back." Ning Debao felt in such a great mood today that everything she looked at seemed several times more beautiful than usual.

Only Gou Laozhi remained, looking awkward and unsure of what to say.

Just then, a boy who stood 1.82 meters tall walked over.

He was Zhou Bing, nearly sixteen years old, and one of the best young prospects under Gou Laozhi’s guidance. He was the trainee Gou Laozhi valued most in the fifteen-year-old age group, and it was said he had already broken the 11-second barrier, though his performance wasn't quite consistent yet.

Su Shen had a vague impression of this person, but that was all; his memories of him stopped right there.

Still, being able to break 11 seconds was quite impressive. It meant one had truly entered the realm of professional athletes. Without long-term training, it was difficult for an ordinary person to break the 11-second mark. Well, the domestic school sports meets don't count—everyone there is a Bolt.

Zhou Bing was the squad leader for the fifteen-year-old group, and he had come over to hand in the photocopied documents for his squad members to Gou Laozhi. Seeing the strange expressions on everyone’s faces, he asked what was going on and was somewhat shocked by the answer.

It turned out that the figure standing before them was Su Shen, the one who had set the record for the fastest "graduation" from the school's "Recruit Camp."

These were hot-blooded, adolescent youths. Seeing their "little leader" arrive, they were instantly re-energized, hoping their admired senior would "avenge" them. Zhou Bing hadn't originally had any interest in this, but kids are easily goaded. With everyone egging him on, he had no choice but to agree. He called out to Su Shen, who had already walked ten meters away, and said:

"You're that big celebrity who just enrolled, right? As you can see, my juniors are making a fuss, and I can't really turn them down. Let's have a race."

"It doesn't matter if you lose. I've been training longer than you, so this is just a formality. It’ll give my juniors some closure."

Challenges like this were common in the sports school. They were all teenagers, and teenagers with physical fitness far exceeding their peers at that. If the school hadn't tightened its grip, let alone racing, fighting and brawling would have been a daily occurrence.

Su Shen had originally intended to refuse, but this guy just had to add one more sentence—"You're not afraid, are you? You wouldn't be... incapable, would you?"

Well... a man cannot be told he is incapable.

Neither can a boy.

So, a race it was. Besides, he would earn "Five-Dimensional Points" for racing, it was just a matter of how many. Plus, he hadn't truly been satisfied with his last run anyway.

Running alone was just too lonely.

Running is meant to be done with others; that's when it's exciting and feels right.

Seeing Su Shen agree, Zhou Bing felt this little rookie had some guts after all. Knowing he couldn't win and still walking into the tiger's den—that kind of courage alone was commendable.

"Xiao Su, Zhou Bing broke the 11-second barrier just last month. His task at this stage is to stabilize that performance. Zhou Bing's personal form is quite consistent; your chances of winning against him aren't great." Although Ning Debao knew Su Shen had held back earlier and didn't have anyone to push him, Zhou Bing's time of around 10.99 seconds was still a tier above Su Shen.

As athletes, 0.05 seconds was essentially a hard threshold. Based on the data alone, Su Shen's current personal best was two tiers behind his opponent. Ning Debao wasn't looking down on Su Shen; she was pointing this out in case he didn't know the extent of Zhou Bing's ability, giving him a chance to back out gracefully.

"I’m going to break the 11-second barrier sooner or later anyway, Coach Ning. I want to test myself against him. I really need an opponent of similar caliber to stimulate my form." When Su Shen said this, not only Ning Debao, but even Zhou Bing and Gou Laozhi were slightly stunned.

???

They all felt... that what Su Shen just said didn't sound quite right.

Breaking the 11-second barrier sooner or later was fine; everyone in the sports school aimed for that—it was just a matter of time. But...

You said you need an opponent of similar caliber to stimulate your form? What does that mean?

Who is an opponent of similar caliber to you?

Zhou Bing?

He was the younger brother of Zhou Tao from the provincial team. His future was incredibly bright, and it was said he was striving to follow his brother into the provincial team to form a "Brotherhood."

Zhou Bing's talent was also excellent; he had only been here for half a year and had graduated from the "Recruit Camp" in just over two months. And the original record of graduating in half a month had been set by none other than his own brother, Zhou Tao.

The key point was... he had broken the 11-second barrier, while you were at 11.10. You were 0.1 seconds apart, which meant two tiers of difference. Even if you hadn't leaned at the finish line, you would have only improved by a little; there would still be at least a one-tier gap.

How could you possibly claim you and he were "similar in strength"?

At this point, not only were the juniors behind them murmuring, even Zhou Bing himself was a bit annoyed. He thought Su Shen was talented—otherwise, how could he have run an 11.10 so quickly?—but...

There was a gap between them right now. You don't actually think breaking 11 seconds is as easy as dirt, do you?

"Since you're so confident, don't say I'm bullying you." Zhou Bing took off his long-sleeved training jacket and began to warm up.

Seeing that a show was about to start, more people gathered around. In a closed campus, there were few exciting moments, so naturally, everyone wanted to join in the fun.

"It doesn't matter if you lose. Challenging a master is a good experience. Don't worry too much about the result, just give it your best." Seeing that Su Shen was determined to race, Ning Debao didn't stop him. The basic "competitiveness" and "desire to win" of an athlete should be encouraged.

Besides, Su Shen's performance had already satisfied her. She was 90% sure that after six months of training, Su Shen would catch up to this Zhou Bing.

But she didn't know that Su Shen didn't plan on waiting six months.

Su Shen was serious about wanting a head-to-head confrontation with Zhou Bing.

Once Su Shen had rested, the two began the official race.

"Go, Brother Zhou! Wipe him out, he's too arrogant!"

"Brother Zhou, it's up to you. Win some pride for us."

"Brother Zhou, show him what a real expert is!"

...

Good heavens.

This really illustrated what it meant to have strength in numbers; it was bullying Su Shen for having no one on his side, no one on Ning Debao's side.

But running is different from other sports—it doesn't require teammates.

This was a true individual battle.

Seeing Su Shen adjusting his starting blocks without a hint of nervousness, Zhou Bing couldn't help but feel a bit "suffocated."

"I'm stronger than you, at least have some respect for me!" he thought. "Get a little nervous, give me some face, will you?"

Su Shen adjusted the distance and angle of his starting blocks and finally said one thing to Zhou Bing. Before Zhou Bing could even feel happy, his face nearly turned black.

Because Su Shen had simply opened his mouth and said—

"Brother Zhou, please, by all means, do not hold back."

"I'm counting on you."

Zhou Bing: ...