Chapter 9: Stay Strong, Dinner’s on Me Tonight (Please Support and Vote for This Chapter~)

Undoubtedly.

After the preliminary heats of the 100-meter sprint, several groups had finished, and Su Shen’s time of 11.75 seconds ranked second. There was another runner who appeared to have sprinted quite fast, but it was clear he hadn’t paced his energy well. Sprinting so hard in the preliminaries meant he would likely be eliminated in the semifinals.

The 100-meter preliminaries concluded, and during the interval for other events like shot put, long jump, and high jump, Yang Yongqiang unexpectedly took it upon himself to act as Su Shen’s “therapeutic masseur.” Although Su Shen kept insisting he didn’t need it, Yang Yongqiang persisted, claiming it would help his performance.

Unable to refuse, Su Shen resigned himself to Yang Yongqiang’s ministrations.

“Yongqiang, you’re helping him relax,” Ningdebao suddenly appeared, catching Yang Yongqiang off guard. But Su Shen understood perfectly well: Ningdebao seemed to have joined their sports school recently, and without any personnel under her command, she was naturally on the lookout for talent. Seeing Su Shen’s results, how could she not be tempted?

“Sister Ning, what brings you here?” Yang Yongqiang paused his massage and stood up to ask.

“I’m here to see if the prodigy you recommended can run even faster,” Ningdebao smiled and looked at Su Shen. “Xiao Tian, right? Let me ask you—have you ever received professional training? This is very important. Be honest.”

Ningdebao’s concern was understandable. The difference between pre-training and post-training results hinges on one thing: potential.

If you can run this fast without any training, reaching a level equivalent to a second-class athlete, then you’re truly gifted.

But if you only achieve this after extensive scientific training that maximizes your potential, then you’re ordinary.

No point wasting time.

“This boy grew up in Guyi Village; it’s impossible he’s had systematic scientific training. I only recently gave him some advanced training,” Yang Yongqiang interjected, worried Su Shen might say the wrong thing.

“Hmm, then his talent is impressive,” Ningdebao scrutinized Su Shen carefully before suddenly asking, “Do you think you can win the championship today? I know you’ve held back some strength.” The final slowdown was something ordinary people wouldn’t notice, but a professional coach like Ningdebao certainly could.

Wow, Yang Yongqiang’s initial cautious claim about “maybe winning a medal” suddenly turned into Ningdebao asking if Su Shen could actually claim the championship.

“Coach Ning, I want to challenge the middle school record in Xiangshan City,” Su Shen said. Yang Yongqiang was stunned, thinking, why say this to Coach Ning? What if he doesn’t make it? Wouldn’t that leave a bad impression?

Ningdebao clearly hadn’t expected this; she thought her expectations were already high enough, but Su Shen was aiming for the record itself.

Instead, she felt her own vision was somewhat limited.

“Want to break the middle school 100-meter record in Xiangshan City?” Ningdebao looked at Su Shen. “That won’t be easy.”

“The electronic record is 11.19 seconds, and the manual time might even break 11 seconds.” She didn’t finish the sentence, but her gaze seemed to say—

Can you really do it, kid?

A challenge? Too bad, Coach Ning, I’m too familiar with you for that to work.

“I haven’t tried yet, but I feel good today. The synthetic track is so much easier to run on than the cinder track,” Su Shen started to say more, but Yang Yongqiang quickly interrupted, smiling apologetically at Ningdebao. “Sister Ning, he just got into the top two in the preliminaries and is a bit overexcited. Please don’t mind the kid’s words.”

“No, Yongqiang,” Ningdebao’s interest in Su Shen only deepened. “When else is a young person supposed to be ambitious? You love watching ‘Conquest,’ didn’t you forget the lines?”

“Athletes need to be bold and spirited,” she added, then turned to Su Shen. “How about the 200 meters? Confident? Going for the record there too?”

This time Su Shen shook his head; he hadn’t really thought about the 200 meters.

Don’t bite off more than you can chew—he just wanted to secure the 100 meters first.

Seeing Su Shen’s silence, Ningdebao was again surprised. This meant the 15-year-old boy could control his emotions and that his earlier bold words were not empty boasts.

He was confident in his abilities and possessed a maturity beyond the ordinary middle schooler.

An intriguing lad.

“All right, good luck in the 200-meter preliminaries later,” she said, then to Yang Yongqiang, “Remember to join me for dinner tonight.”

If the first invitation was just politeness, this time it was clearly serious.

“You little rascal, how dare you brag in front of Sister Ning? Aren’t you afraid you’ll get called out?” Yang Yongqiang sighed in relief after Ningdebao left.

“Coach Ning said it herself,” Su Shen replied. “Young people have to be ambitious, or what kind of youth are they? Mr. Yang, your ‘Conquest’ can’t just be about whether the melon is ripe or not.”

Yang Yongqiang: ...

...

After a short rest and some hydration, it was time for the 200-meter preliminaries.

---

The 200 meters differs slightly from the 100 meters. Though both are anaerobic explosive events, the 200 meters requires more endurance in the burst and technical skill on the curve. But for Su Shen, none of this posed an issue.

In his previous life, he trained in both the 100 and 200 meters before specializing in the 100 meters upon joining the national team.

Su Shen was assigned lane one.

Unfortunately, his luck seemed poor—he ran the 100-meter preliminaries on the outermost lane, and now he was on the innermost lane for the 200 meters. The 200 meters isn’t a straight line, and being on the inside lane can significantly affect performance.

The 200 meters can be further broken down by running style. The modern American style features a faster second 100 meters than the first. Su Shen’s style was the opposite: the first 100 meters faster than the second. There’s no absolute better or worse style since results are ultimately measured by the clock. There are exceptions, such as the Jamaican style, which emphasizes continuous acceleration and relies heavily on natural talent.

Regarding lane differences, lanes one through eight or nine show this pattern: the more inward the lane, the more technical it becomes; the outer lanes favor natural physical talent. Lanes five and six are considered the golden lanes. Lane one, where Su Shen stood, meant bearing greater centripetal and centrifugal forces.

That’s why Su Shen was really unlucky—Yang Yongqiang joked that perhaps they forgot to pay respects to the local earth god before leaving home.

But for Su Shen, this really didn’t matter.

He was precisely the kind of athlete with superb technique. In his previous life, he was nicknamed the “Crescent Moon Saber”—not a joke.

For him, being in the inner lane might even be better than the outer lanes.

Of course, the golden lanes would be best.

Ningdebao watched from above with the same feeling: this boy’s luck was, well, not great.

Let’s see what you’ve got.

Yang Yongqiang had spoken highly of him, saying he was definitely material for the provincial team. Now she intended to see for herself.

“On your marks.”

“Set.”

“Bang!”

Currently, domestic 200-meter techniques were rather crude, with no consensus on whether to adopt the American style or another approach. The various methods were a chaotic mix of unrefined experience, which explained why results stagnated. Su Shen was well aware that the so-called “yellow race limit” was far beyond current performances. Aside from those with West African descent, most Black athletes had visible talent advantages, but other Black and Asian athletes could surpass them. Not to mention Caucasians.

The real issue was the lack of scientific theory and support.

Especially in the early 2000s, national team athletes were expected to retire at 26 or 27, seen as reaching their peak. Su Shen himself demonstrated that systematic training could extend an athlete’s career and improve performance beyond those ages.

Hence, he was confident he could lead a major revolution in national athletics.

After all, results produced by scientific systems meant mass production of talent.

But for now, a trailblazer was needed to shatter the accepted “race theory.”

Liu Xiang was the first pioneer; Su Shen was willing to be the second.

Su Shen surged ahead rapidly at the start, quickly taking a commanding lead. This approach was not yet widely accepted and often criticized as burning out too soon. But Su Shen knew his strength was his explosive start; he needed to build a substantial lead early to have any chance of maintaining it.

“That kid’s acceleration is so fierce. Didn’t we tell him to pace himself?” Yang Yongqiang watched anxiously from below, fearing Su Shen would fade and be overtaken.

Ningdebao had a similar feeling; conserving energy in the early stages was the trend in 200-meter racing these days. But this strategy clearly didn’t suit everyone.

“That’s so fast, he’ll definitely slow down later. Kids these days really like to show off,” a semi-expert sitting next to Ningdebao commented, lacking much technical knowledge but eager to judge.

Su Shen had established a solid lead and was approaching the curve.

This was the moment when the technical advantage of inner-lane runners became most evident. Su Shen eyed the perfect entry point.

Entering the curve.

“Entering the curve so fast is hard to adjust in lane one,” Ningdebao murmured, watching intently.

Yes, it was very fast, but this was precisely Su Shen’s “Crescent Moon Saber” advantage.

In the words of the national team coaching staff—

Su Shen’s body was among the world’s best at controlling centripetal force during circular motion.

That’s why he was always the third leg in the national relay team.

Curve-running technique, Crescent Moon Saber, Su Shen—the eternal master.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.

His spikes struck the ground with explosive impact. The tighter the curve (inside lanes), the greater the inward lean and the higher the demands on the body’s ability to resist and control centripetal force. This was Su Shen’s strongest suit.

As other inside lane runners slowed down on the curve, heavily affected by centripetal force, the boy in lane one kept sprinting wildly as if unaffected.

What is talent?

This is true innate talent. Su Shen was born with perfect centripetal force control on curves and heightened bodily sensitivity, earning him the nickname “Crescent Moon Saber.”

Ningdebao widened her eyes in astonishment—this technique could even be executed this way?

Even as a professional coach, she had rarely seen it, especially from a 15-year-old who hadn’t undergone systematic training.

Exiting the curve, Su Shen accelerated again. Though this was his weakness in his previous life—his latter half was comparatively weak—this “weakness” was only relative to top-tier athletes. At this level, it was no problem. Don’t forget, in the 2006 Hong Kong Invitational, he ran a 200-meter time just over 21 seconds. However, because of his late-stage sprint issues, he never fully resolved this, so the 200 meters became a bit of a “peak at debut” event and was eventually set aside.

His curve-running talent couldn’t fully compensate for late-stage sprint shortcomings; this advantage only reemerged in the 4x100 relay.

Seeing he had left the others far behind, Su Shen glanced back near the finish line at Ningdebao and gave a sly smile.

Who knew this smile would later become his signature move?

Watching Su Shen slow prematurely near the finish line and smile at her, Yang Yongqiang was both surprised and excited. Surprised that Su Shen could run the 200 meters so well—especially his curve running, which left him dumbfounded.

Excited because Su Shen’s prospects for entering the sports school just grew even brighter.

Crossing the line.

After naturally slowing down at the front, Su Shen checked the electronic screen. Good heavens, he clocked 23.99 seconds.

Keep in mind, the 200-meter record was even harder to break. In 2006, the best provincial record in Guangdong was set at a provincial games event by Liang Jiahong at just over 21 seconds. The national athletics championships in 2006, held in Hebei, were won by Yang Yaozhu with 20.81 seconds. Now, in 2004, the second-class athlete standard was 23.84. If Su Shen hadn’t slowed down, Ningdebao believed he would have qualified.

This rural boy without systematic sports school training had achieved second-class athlete levels in both the 100 and 200 meters.

Ningdebao now fully believed Yang Yongqiang’s words and came to this city games to scout talent.

Well then, she already had her target.

This Su Shen, she wanted him.

As for her earlier doubts about Su Shen, Ningdebao had long since forgotten them.

Being a professional coach meant having a thick skin; being proven wrong was a good thing.

It meant the talent was even better.

Such setbacks, Ningdebao thought, she could handle many more times.

So,

She walked over to Yang Yongqiang, who was still giving Su Shen a “physical massage,” smiling warmly.

“Yongqiang, tonight at the XXX Grand Hotel, dinner is on me. Let’s catch up properly.”

“Don’t forget to bring Xiao Tian. See you at seven.”

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