Chapter 33: He Truly Is Good Friends with the Wind

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What the hell?

That was Zhang Peimeng’s first instinctive reaction.

Was this guy simply unlucky? The stronger the headwind, the harder it was for athletes with mediocre results to run.

What kind of nonsense was that?

Could he have misjudged him? Was Su Shen actually just the sort of person who became conceited after saying a few impressive words?

Like that fellow beside him—what was his name again? Zhou something.

If Zhou Bing could hear this, he would certainly be furious.

“Why?” Zhang Peimeng still chose to trust his instincts as a man. Judging from Su Shen’s starting technique, his curve running, and everything else, it was impossible for him to be someone without any common sense. Technique was one thing: even if it was taught well, the learner had to comprehend it properly. Otherwise, you could simply take a few papers and training manuals home and practice by yourself. Why would you need a sports school or a coach?

By the end of 2004, the legends surrounding so-called “folk experts” were gradually beginning to be unveiled.

“The wind is rather friendly toward me.” Su Shen’s answer only left Zhang Peimeng even more confused. He glanced at Zhou Bing, but the latter’s face was covered in question marks, clearly saying: Don’t ask me. I have no idea either.

“Why don’t you just say the wind is your best friend?” Zhang Peimeng could not resist making a sarcastic remark.

Unexpectedly, Su Shen took him seriously. “You could put it that way.”

“In any case, I’m definitely closer to it than he is.”

“Oh, right.” Before walking away, Su Shen turned back and asked, “Between you and him, who won?”

Zhang Peimeng froze. He pursed his lips and answered stiffly, “I’ve beaten him before.”

“Oh, I understand. That means you’ve also lost to him quite a few times, right?”

After saying this, Su Shen waved to Zhang Peimeng and walked away with Zhou Bing, leaving Zhang Peimeng standing there with a dark expression.

……

During the interval between warming up and adjusting the starting blocks, Zhou Bing could not help complaining. “The headwind is ridiculously strong. I’ve never run in wind this powerful before. It must be over three meters per second. How are we supposed to run in this?”

“Trust me. Make good use of every opportunity to run against the wind. If you ever want to fight Japan in the future, you’ll have to get used to this kind of environment.”

Su Shen continued warming up seriously. A true expert never treated the warm-up casually. The stronger you were, the more destructive your explosive power became to your body. If you failed to warm up properly, you could easily suffer a sudden injury.

Su Shen had experienced this far too many times in his previous life.

This time, he had to complete every warm-up properly, reduce his injuries as much as possible, and avoid wasting time that could be spent improving.

During an interview in his previous life, Su Shen had once said:

“The greatest enemy holding back my progress is injury.”

Someone could call that humblebragging, but as far as he was concerned, he truly did not want to accept the arrival of injury. It caused far too many problems.

Following Su Shen’s lead, Zhou Bing also began carrying out his pre-race preparations with utmost seriousness. At the same time, he joked, “Why? Are the people in Japan all good friends with the wind?”

“That’s right,” Su Shen replied. “Japan’s geographical position means that strong winds are extremely common there. As a result, their athletes are much better than we are at using and understanding the wind. Since the international athletics community recognizes that wind speed affects performance, this is something we should prepare for in advance.”

“Those who prepare prosper; those who fail to prepare are ruined. The wisdom of our ancient forebears would not deceive us.”

Zhou Bing was stunned again.

He even felt that every time he spoke with Su Shen, he sometimes seemed like a complete idiot.

It was true that he had not read many books, but the difference in the level of their conversations was simply too great.

“Then how did you know all that?” Zhou Bing wanted to preserve the last shred of his stubborn pride, but Su Shen shattered it without mercy.

“Read more books. Everything is in them.”

Zhou Bing: …

The things Su Shen and Zhou Bing were discussing were not idle chatter. This was an area the country had largely neglected. Especially when competing in Japan, one could clearly feel that, in strong winds, the opponents’ ability to control their bodies was far superior to that of domestic athletes.

You only had to look at Japan’s performances in tailwinds and headwinds to understand. They ran in those conditions more often, so naturally they became accustomed to them. Besides, strong winds really were more common there. Training in this area had not even been put on the agenda domestically.

Unfortunately, though, Su Shen had once specially tackled this problem in order to suppress the arrogance of Japanese athletics. At first, he had thought it would only be useful for “resisting Japan.” But after completing the training, he discovered that his physical sensitivity to wind speed and his ability to control himself within it had both improved dramatically.

This very likely played a hidden role in helping him break through one bottleneck after another later on.

It was not mysticism. It was science.

Unfortunately, no one would understand it if he talked about it now.

But that did not matter. Once he led by example and established himself as an authority, he could easily promote these advanced theories.

He could help the country’s athletics as a whole advance to a higher level much earlier.

……

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The wind really was strong.

One could see a trace of unease on the faces of the other runners. Even Yi Xiaoqiang from Hong Kong was no exception.

Among all eight lanes, only Su Shen’s expression remained unchanged.

Although this was an invitational meet, the finalists’ names were still announced in full.

“Lane one, Zhang Jun, from Jiangcheng.”

“Lane two, Dong Tang, from Heishui City.”

“Lane three, Tian Yi, from Hushucheng.”

“Lane four, Zhou Bing, from Xiangshan City.”

“Lane five, Su Shen, from Xiangshan City.”

“Lane six, Yi Xiaoqiang, from Hong Kong.”

“Lane seven, Zhu Huanjun, from Beifeng City.”

“Lane eight, Wei Jian, from Yangcheng.”

After all eight competitors had been introduced, the athletes began preparing. They settled into their crouched starting positions and quietly waited for the race to begin.

“On your marks.”

The starter raised his pistol high at the side of the track. Everyone entered their final state of readiness.

“Set.”

They raised their hips.

Bang!

Su Shen was in lane five. The moment he started, every runner immediately—

felt the powerful resistance brought by nature.

Zhang Jun in lane one, whose ability was slightly weaker than the others, nearly threw himself to the ground from the force of his start.

The others did not fall, but their situation was hardly better.

There was no need to think about it. The moment they ran out, they felt the enormous headwind.

It was certainly stronger than three meters per second.

It was terribly uncomfortable.

Even Yi Xiaoqiang, the strongest athlete present, felt that much of his explosive power had been diluted in an instant.

The time and distance required to reach top speed would also be extended.

Yet at that moment, Yi Xiaoqiang caught sight of something from the corner of his eye.

A figure had surged forcefully past him.

The sensation of power bursting from that body seemed to say that—

he had barely been affected at all.

This…

It was not only Yi Xiaoqiang. Even the people around the track found it difficult to believe.

This was a wind stronger than three meters per second! And he was saying it had barely affected him? Had he installed an automatic wind-breaking system in his body?

Li Qing, standing to one side, was also astonished.

Looking at his proud student Zhang Peimeng, he suddenly understood why the always-arrogant young man had dragged him here to watch the race. At Li Qing’s level, there was usually nothing worth watching in a competition like this. The gap in ability was simply too large.

Li Qing had assumed Zhang Peimeng had come to watch Yi Xiaoqiang from Hong Kong, since Zhang Peimeng had failed to beat him the last time.

Only after arriving did he realize that Zhang Peimeng had someone else in mind.

That boy in lane five.

How had he done it?

Li Qing became interested and began watching the runner in lane five intently.

Because no one had expected Su Shen to explode with such force in a powerful headwind, everyone’s mindset and rhythm were affected to some extent. Stronger athletes like Yi Xiaoqiang adjusted quickly, while those with weaker abilities and poorer composure lost their rhythm almost instantly.

By disrupting the others’ state, this boy might have created a significant advantage for himself from the very beginning.

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As Li Qing watched Su Shen’s opening, these judgments flashed rapidly through his mind.

But what truly astonished him had only just begun.

Yi Xiaoqiang’s ability was clearly superior to that of Su Shen and Zhou Bing. Before his injury, he had already entered the 10.70-plus range. Now that he had recovered, maintaining a speed around 10.85 should not have been too difficult.

At this level, no one present should have been able to catch him.

Even Su Shen was several levels behind.

But with this powerful headwind, one could only say that Yi Xiaoqiang had been terribly unlucky.

His physical condition was not as well adapted to strong winds as Su Shen’s. On top of that, he had only recently recovered from injury, and his competitive form had not yet returned to its peak.

At the start…

Su Shen had actually opened up a gap of several strides between them.

This was not something that could be accomplished merely by having a faster start. Su Shen had not yet reached the level of being the undisputed greatest starter in the world.

It was simply that Su Shen was more accustomed to this wind speed.

That was his “secret magic.”

Yi Xiaoqiang had lost ground at the start, and then lost more ground here. One loss added to another, producing the scene before them.

Zhang Peimeng was also completely stunned.

This shocked him even more than Su Shen’s extraordinary starting ability in the semifinal.

After all, Su Shen was only fifteen years old. He was still far from his peak. There were other athletes whose early acceleration was faster than his, so the visual impact had not been especially overwhelming.

But the scene before him…

It struck Zhang Peimeng with undeniable force.

He quickly remembered what this fellow had just told him.

……

“The wind is rather friendly toward me.”

“The unlucky one isn’t me.”

“It’s him.”

……

This guy…

In all the years Zhang Peimeng had spent running in China, this was the first time he had experienced such an unbelievable sensation.

They had now reached the middle portion of the race, which should have been Yi Xiaoqiang’s strength. Su Shen was not yet capable of matching him there. But because of the exceptionally strong headwind, Yi Xiaoqiang was unable to fully display his advantage during this phase.

He had only managed to close the gap slightly.

The coaching staff from Hong Kong began to panic and shouted loudly from the side of the track.

But Su Shen’s eyes held only the finish line.

After adding those few “Five-Dimensional Points,” he had not gone all out in the previous race. It had only been a semifinal, so there had been no need.

This race, then, was the moment for him to give everything he had.

Watching Su Shen hold Yi Xiaoqiang off for most of the race, Zhang Peimeng suddenly thought: If I were out there, would I also—

“He didn’t lie to me.”

“He really is good friends with the wind.”

Watching Su Shen’s steady figure running through the powerful headwind, Zhang Peimeng could not help murmuring to himself.

P.S. Here comes the second update!

There will be another bonus update tonight~~

But it will probably be quite late, so everyone can sleep and read it after waking up~~

And then—

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