Chapter 54: Usain, Let's Have a Race (Extra Chapter Added ~ Please Vote for Us, La-la-la~)

Morocco.
Marrakech.
Upon arriving here, you are immediately struck by the vibrant charm of track and field athletics.

In about half a month, the IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics (U18) will be held here. This has prompted many small and medium-sized warm-up matches and invitational events to take place ahead of schedule.

As soon as he arrived, Zhou Bing looked around everywhere, marveling with clicks of his tongue.
"Oh my, these Black brothers are really dark, even darker than the miners I've seen."
"Why is Black people's skin so dark and their teeth so white? Tian, do you know?"

Su Shen had already been pestered with countless questions along the way, and at this moment, too lazy to overthink, he blurted out: "Because they use Darlie toothpaste."

Who would have thought that Zhou Bing would actually rub his chin and wear an expression of "I see," making it completely impossible for Su Shen to muster any anger.

Perhaps too many foreigners had arrived recently, so the locals were not surprised by them, but because Su Shen and his group had yellow skin, they still drew a few extra glances.

"Once we arrive here, follow orders in everything. Group activities are mandatory, and no wandering off alone is allowed. Did everyone hear that clearly?" Ning Debao was leading a team out for the first time, and frankly, he was a little nervous inside. So, he immediately sought advice everywhere from his teachers, hoping to ensure absolute perfection this time.

Su Shen was rather indifferent. There were many invitational and warm-up matches here right now.
This was precisely his purpose for coming.
He was not here for sightseeing and entertainment, so whether it was a group or solo arrangement did not matter.

On the other hand, Lin Yanfang had been so terrified when she heard he was going to Morocco to compete that she almost lost her color. She kept muttering about whether it was dangerous over there, whether there were giant lions, giant pythons, coups, and riots. Su Shen had spent a great deal of effort to barely comfort her, but his recent "leveling grounds" were right here; he had to come whether he liked it or not.

Moreover, it was a good opportunity to observe the level and strength of his peers of this era.
Little did he know, a pleasant surprise awaited him upon this arrival.

...

Upon reaching the hotel, it felt quite exotic.
Although Morocco wasn't particularly affluent, it still possessed a distinct local flavor different from domestic hotels in China.

Zhou Bing was like the Monkey King descending the mountain, looking here and there, unable to stay still for even a single moment.

Although the food here was mediocre, athletes didn't need to eat excessively anyway; as long as they ensured sufficient protein and fiber intake, that was enough. Bringing such ingredients along wasn't troublesome—for instance, boiled chicken welcomes you.
It was the quintessential "delicacy" essential for staying at home or traveling.

As for whether it tasted good, that was a completely different story.
Su Shen couldn't even be bothered to complain about the dietary habits of domestic athletes. Even the national team members ate all sorts of messy things, and some athletes didn't avoid anything at all—accepting smoking, drinking, betel nuts, and barbecues without exception. It wasn't that these things couldn't be consumed at all; having a casual indulgence once in a while was fine. After all, didn't those top European players and athletes occasionally have a hearty "cheat meal"?

The problem was that this "occasionally" in China... happened far too often.
This became a fatal issue for maintaining athletic form, especially for sustaining a sports career past the age of thirty.

Su Shen had long been accustomed to dietary discipline. If he wanted to satisfy a craving, he would generally just make some soup, and otherwise had very few culinary desires.
As long as his nutritional intake was sufficient, that was enough.

Just as the group was waiting for the coaching staff to check in at the hotel front desk, a few Black men stepping out of the elevator instantly caught Zhou Bing's attention. The latter patted Su Shen's shoulder and said, "Tian, look at this. These guys have killer physiques, especially this tall one. He's taller than me by a good half a head, must be nearly one meter ninety-something."

Su Shen had originally wanted to say, "They're just people, what's so interesting about them?" But when he turned around, he found himself somewhat speechless.

Especially that remark—he simply couldn't say it.
Because, leaving others aside, this giant among giants in the middle...
Damn it.

It was none other than "Lightning" Usain Bolt!

Just people?
To borrow Su Shen's favorite saying from his past life—except for Bolt.
He was not human.

At that moment, countless thoughts flashed through Su Shen's mind like lightning, and suddenly a "very wicked" thought popped up.
To be honest, if this wasn't done now, goodness knows when it ever could be.

Young Bolt, if you don't take this chance while you haven't fully developed yet to give you a good "beating," who knows when such an opportunity would ever arise in the future.
Anyway, there was no chance in his past life.

Su Shen—no, the entire track and field world—had watched Bolt quietly flex for a whole decade.
People were even "terrified at the mere mention of Bolt."
He was practically the Voldemort of the track and field world.

Before Zhou Bing could continue, Su Shen abruptly stood up, walked straight over to Bolt, and said, "Hey ~ Usain, I'm an Asian track and field fan of yours."
Bolt was startled, never expecting to have a sprint fan, especially given how dismal his current record actually was.

Bolt had been experiencing a streak of terrible luck lately.
Last year in Athens, he injured his ankle in the first round and failed to even advance to the second round.
In recent domestic competitions, he had also suffered an early exit due to injury.

If Su Shen's memory served him right, at the Helsinki World Championships in Finland a few months from now, he would also run a pitiful 26.27 seconds because of an injury.
Yes, you read that right, it was 26.27 seconds.
This was a level that an elite middle school sports student could easily achieve.

Therefore, Bolt in these past few years was truly plagued by injuries, marking the absolute lowest valley of his life.
He had only recently changed his head coach to the legendary Glen Mills.

Su Shen knew that starting from right here, this guy's life circumstances would soon reverse.
The issue of excessive training would be swiftly resolved for him by Mills.
Even his physiological flaws would be completely suppressed through Mills's customized training plan.
Soaring to the skies was only a matter of time.

This was not empty boasting, because in the sprinting world, Bolt simply didn't need to be hyped up.
Essentially, the conclusion was—the God of Sprinting is yours truly.
That was precisely the gist of it.

Bolt had come this time accompanying Mills's team to cheer on his younger fellow apprentice, Yohan Blake.
To be honest, judging by the current situation, Yohan Blake appeared to be the true rising star.

After Bolt's disastrous performances in several major competitions, outside evaluations had been entirely negative. Coupled with the fact that he hadn't yet transitioned to the 100 meters and remained in a period of confusion, hearing that he still had a fan—and a distant Asian fan at that—made the low-period Bolt almost well up with tears.

Bolt discovered that Su Shen's English was quite good, so he let his training partners go ahead and decided to sit down to have a good chat about life and ideals with this little Asian fan.

To his surprise, as they talked, Bolt realized that the Asian young man in front of him was actually his "industry peer."
He was an Asian sprinter.

And the more they chatted, the more he realized that this guy's mind and knowledge reserves were simply at a level that crushed his own.
At times, he even gave off the aura of Glen Mills.

...

"I think your choice of Coach Mills is spot on. Training doesn't need to be excessive. Especially practical simulation training; too much of it will actually impair the body's somatic tacit cognitive characteristics." Unfortunately, of what Su Shen said, Bolt... understood not a single word.

For instance, what on earth were somatic tacit cognitive characteristics?
Sometimes he was actually more like an athlete like Zhou Bing, focusing purely on training without meddling in the head coach's affairs, so he hadn't replenished his theoretical knowledge in a timely manner.

"Su, what are somatic tacit cognitive characteristics?" Bolt didn't put on any airs and asked directly.

Su Shen then remembered that Bolt's knowledge reserve in this area wasn't particularly rich; discussing this with Mills would be a better match. Bolt was a super-genius-level athlete, but not a "scientific research-type athlete" like Su Shen. On the contrary, his mentor Mills was precisely that type.

Su Shen thought for a moment, organized his words, and said, "The so-called 'somatic tacit cognitive characteristics' mean that if your training units closely resemble the competition format, you will better approximate your routine training state during the competition."

"And if your training units are fragmented, scattered, and arbitrary in volume and frequency, it will generate a 'somatic tacit cognitive characteristic'... Simply put, your muscle memory will establish a latent state-allocation pattern."
"As a result, your body will subconsciously distribute its state and physical energy accordingly."

Although Bolt hadn't actively studied this field in a specialized way, he was, after all, a "monster-tier" figure in this domain, and he quickly understood. He clapped his hands and said, "So that's what you mean too—actual competition training doesn't need to be too frequent, right, Su?"

Su Shen nodded in agreement, "That's precisely what I mean."
"So I'm not the only one who thinks this way?" Bolt felt as though he had found a "soulmate" in a vast sea of people, and his favorable impression of Su Shen instantly skyrocketed.

"It's a pity I haven't been able to explain this to those who accuse me of being lazy and not working hard." Su Shen happened to bump into Bolt during the rarest low point of his life, which easily sparked this resonance. Moreover, Su Shen's advanced theory also made Bolt feel that "my path is not lonely," having finally found a "comrade."

The two quickly struck up a lively conversation.
In particular, Su Shen's various insights and perspectives made Bolt feel... "unexplained yet awesome" and "refreshing."

Huh?
"Xiao Tian is acquainted with that tall guy?" Ning Debao turned around and saw Su Shen chatting animatedly with a tall, thin Black youth, looking rather puzzled.
However, as long as Su Shen wasn't running off randomly and was just chatting, he didn't mind and let him be.

Just as he was thinking this, Su Shen stood up over there and uttered a few words that left that Black youth frozen on the sofa.

That sentence was—
"Usain, let's have a race."

Well, the subtext was—
"While you're young, I'm taking your life."

The whole world was abused by you for over a decade; let me take the first victory, that shouldn't be too much to ask, right?
Don't ask; asking means Su Shen is representing the suffering brothers of the sprinting world for the next dozen or so years to vent some serious "frustration."

It's just a pity there were no video recording devices around, and very few mobile phones had camera functions.
Otherwise, keeping a record of this would allow him to regulate his mood and fall asleep happily on sleepless nights.

PS: Come, come~~~ That man has arrived, shout out his name here loudly!
An abrupt extra chapter, everyone, are you satisfied?
If satisfied, drop a wave of support—votes, bookmarks, tips. Xiao Zi turns no one away, let the storm rage even more fiercely!
Dog-head for self-preservation~