Chapter 24: Eleven Seconds

This kid is truly arrogant.

Zhou Bing is over half a year older and has been here longer, so he feels that Su Shen is simply... in need of a lesson. But he doesn't realize that Su Shen is actually thinking exactly what he said. There isn't a single shred of showboating in his mind. He genuinely wants to find a strong opponent close to his own skill level to have a proper race, thereby triggering the kind of breakthrough state that only comes during competition.

Therefore, he was genuinely worried that Zhou Bing might hold back his intensity because he looked down on him, which would have been a pity. One must understand that going all out in a race consumes a lot of physical energy, and Su Shen did not want to waste his state.

However, this "sincere" request fell on the other's ears as a "naked" provocation.

In truth, Zhou Bing knows very well that the last time he broke 11 seconds, it was likely due to the wind speed. After all, the sports school doesn't measure wind speed every day; it was just basic training. This is why he has been stuck ever since. It has become difficult for him to get back into the 10-second range. But his ability to hover around 11 seconds is relatively stable, and he should have no problem dealing with Su Shen.

...

"Fine, just don't regret it," Zhou Bing said with a sour tone.

"That's good, that's good. I'll leave it to you, Brother Zhou." Su Shen, as if completely oblivious, was 100% satisfied with Zhou Bing's serious attitude.

Beyond his annoyance, Zhou Bing also began to wonder if this guy's brain was wired normally.

Su Shen took a deep breath, adjusted himself, and waited for the command. Beside him, Zhou Bing also took his position in the starting blocks.

Bang!

The gun fired. Both of them shot out instantly.

But at this moment, Gou Laozhi frowned. He realized that Zhou Bing's starting rhythm had been disrupted by this kid, Su Shen. In sprinting, because of the high level of concentration required, it is quite normal for one's rhythm to be thrown off by an opponent. Especially with a "monster of the early stages" like the "Eastern Little Cannon" Su Shen—he is the kind of man who can throw even Usain Bolt off his rhythm if he gets aggressive enough.

If you focus too much on his start and early acceleration, you are easily drawn into his trap. Bolt could rely on his otherworldly raw talent to forcibly stabilize himself and win after his rhythm was disrupted, but Zhou Bing... he didn't have that ability. He was too focused on Su Shen at the start, to the point of being rattled, and his rhythm fell apart immediately.

This made Zhou Bing anxious. A young athlete lacks the adjustment capabilities of a top superstar, both physically and mentally. As a result, he became increasingly disorganized, and by the 30-meter mark, he hadn't even reached his full stride. For a competition at this level, there was basically no need to continue; Su Shen took the lead easily and crossed the finish line with a huge margin, not even pushing himself in the final stages.

In fact, Su Shen was very dissatisfied with Zhou Bing's performance.

Didn't I tell you to race properly and not hold back? What are you doing? Wasting my state and playing with me?

Before Ning Debao could congratulate Su Shen on defeating a strong opponent, Su Shen turned to Zhou Bing, who had just crossed the line, and said, "What are you doing? Are you looking down on me? Can you race me properly?"

Zhou Bing was furious. You won and you're still frowning and unhappy? Do you think you're something special?

But a loss is a loss. In sprinting, losing due to one's own mistakes is normal; even top experts have off days. So, even though he was unwilling to accept it, he had lost, and he couldn't blame anyone but himself. It wasn't as if Su Shen forced him to ruin his own rhythm, right? In the end, it all came down to his own inability to handle the situation.

Gou Laozhi’s face turned as dark as coal. He never expected that Zhou Bing would lose so miserably and so decisively. He hadn't even been able to display his strength before being disrupted; it was as if he hadn't lost to someone else, but to himself.

Just as Gou Laozhi was about to give Zhou Bing a harsh lecture, Su Shen suddenly walked over and looked at Zhou Bing.

"That one doesn't count. Let's do it again, and be serious this time."

When Su Shen said this, everyone was stunned.

...

This guy... doesn't he know when to quit while he's ahead?

Only Ning Debao, watching Su Shen's expression, gradually understood what her student meant. He really just wanted to have a proper race. This kid, really...

Seeing that Su Shen actually wanted to go again, Zhou Bing was no longer tired. He immediately shook off his frustration and nodded repeatedly, as if afraid that Su Shen would change his mind.

After the two rested and recovered their physical state, they started again.

This time, the cheers for Zhou Bing were significantly louder. Even Gou Laozhi was shouting from the sidelines, telling Zhou Bing to stay focused and not let his rhythm be taken away. After Gou Laozhi's private guidance just now, Zhou Bing began to remind himself to focus on his own state and ignore the "rhythm master" beside him.

This approach had its pros and cons. The good thing was that it was harder for others to affect his state; the bad thing was that it was also harder to be pushed into a better speed and rhythm by the competition itself. How to choose was a matter of opinion.

"You have to be serious this time, don't mess it up again," Su Shen didn't forget to "kindly remind" him before starting, which nearly caused Zhou Bing's hard-won steady mindset to explode again. He really found that this guy... was infuriating to talk to. It would be best to wear earplugs when racing him.

"On your marks."

"Set."

Bang!

"Go, Brother Zhou!"

"Go, Brother Zhou!"

Everyone was cheering for Zhou Bing. After all, Ning Debao didn't have many people on her side, and the girls were in training today and hadn't come over. Ning Debao was worried that this might affect Su Shen's mindset, but she didn't know... Su Shen had always been the one being "looked down upon" in international competitions. This was nothing. It wouldn't cause the slightest ripple in him.

Sure enough, Su Shen's start was incredibly powerful; his talent in this area was already evident at this age. Among his peers, no one could be more ruthless than him. If you tried to compete directly with his start, even Bolt would suffer.

Having learned from the last time, Zhou Bing didn't look over at all this time, focusing solely on his own rhythm. Gou Laozhi had told him that he had a height advantage and that the mid-to-late stage was his strong suit, so there was no need to rush to keep up with Su Shen at the start.

"It's fine, being a little behind at the start doesn't matter," Gou Laozhi said, nodding with satisfaction as he saw that Zhou Bing's rhythm remained steady. In his mind, he expected that by the 30-meter mark, he could establish a catching-up situation, and by the middle running phase, he should be able to completely suppress him. This was the most common tactic used to deal with early-stage sprinters.

This was also what Ning Debao was worried about. Because on paper, Zhou Bing was a level above Su Shen. This wasn't supposed to be a matchup between peers.

However, just as the late-stage runner should have begun his counter-attack, a miraculous change occurred.

After 6 seconds, Su Shen actually pushed his speed to its maximum value. He didn't drop off in the early stages as was traditional for the 30-meter mark in domestic racing. This theory was likely only being adopted by Su Shen domestically; his 6-second interval—the specialized intensive training he had done during this period—had not been in vain.

His advantage expanded immediately. Even Gou Laozhi shouted, "Impossible!" Why could this guy still increase his speed during the middle running phase? Wasn't 30 meters supposed to be the advantage zone for early-stage runners?

This was the first time Ning Debao truly experienced the power of the so-called "6-second law" of specialized training. For those who had never specifically trained this area, they would encounter unimaginable disadvantages. Seeing Zhou Bing, who was supposed to be catching up, being pulled away again in this interval, Gou Laozhi was going crazy. This was completely different from what he had predicted in his tactical guidance. Simply put... the tactical guidance had failed. He hadn't anticipated the key point.

Zhou Bing was also anxious now, struggling to chase.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.

The running shoes exploded with intense thuds against the plastic track. Nobody expected that Su Shen would establish another advantage during this middle running phase. 100 meters is a highly technical event, and only Su Shen could grasp it most deeply.

The transition between single and double steps was extremely smooth, and even at this intensity, there was no sign of disorder. Why? This shouldn't be happening for an early-stage runner.

Gou Laozhi was thoroughly shocked by the "unconventional" display from Su Shen; his gaze toward Ning Debao even changed.

"Brother Zhou, don't lose! Catch up!" his group of young fans were also anxious. Seeing that he hadn't overtaken him during the middle phase, they couldn't help but shout from the sidelines.

However, Zhou Bing was a late-stage runner after all, and his stride advantage was obvious. After Su Shen held on for a while longer, the gap finally began to narrow slowly.

"Entering the sprint zone! Go!"

Seeing that he still hadn't overtaken him by now, Zhou Bing tensed his entire body, pushing his speed to the limit. At this moment, even a fool would understand that the guy really... hadn't been lying. He just wanted a fair and square race.

The sprint phase. The final 20 meters. Su Shen's advantage was shrinking. As an early-stage runner, now it was time to see his endurance. If your endurance is strong enough, you can have the last laugh.

Su Shen deepened his nasal breathing, allowing more enzymes in his paranasal sinuses to produce more nitric oxide, thereby stimulating his blood vessels and heart and lungs, expanding them to the limit to provide his body with more oxygen.

Steady, steady, steady.

Su Shen's arm swinging also reached its limit. At this moment, he could already see a shadow appearing beside him. This meant Zhou Bing had caught up. But the finish line was right before his eyes. Su Shen exploded with all his might; this extreme competitive state often allowed him to gain greater physical momentum.

"He caught up! Go!" someone shouted from the side.

Yes.

Visually, Zhou Bing was finally neck-and-neck with Su Shen. And often, this was the moment when a competitive athlete would use this as a stimulus to break their own limits. Su Shen was very familiar with this feeling. What he wanted... was exactly this.

Come on! Let's see who holds out until the end!

Even though 20 meters is not far, everyone involuntarily held their breath. Ning Debao didn't know much else, but she knew one thing... Su Shen's run this time would definitely be faster than 11.10. As a professional sports school coach, and having watched Su Shen train for a long time recently, her judgment based on experience wouldn't be far off.

10 meters. 5 meters. They were still locked together. At this moment, you couldn't tell who was a bit in front or behind.

1 meter.

They pressed the line simultaneously.

Both of them rushed past, and Ning Debao and Gou Laozhi looked toward the results at the same time.

The timing staff walked over and told them the results.

Zhou Bing: 11.01 seconds.

Su Shen...

11.00 seconds flat.