Su Chen kept himself hydrated while massaging the muscles in his lower legs to relieve fatigue. Around half an hour later, he stood up and looked at the trainer, Gu Zhuang.
"I'm ready. Let's get started!"
"Fine, but don't blame me if you hurt your knees," Gu Zhuang replied in a muffled voice. He couldn't believe that he couldn't beat a kid, not to mention that Su Chen had already run 10,000 meters.
Each of them stepped onto a treadmill and got into position.
"Senior, go for it! I believe in you!" Lin Yumeng cheered for Su Chen while clenching her fist, looking adorable.
Su Chen nodded and gave her a grin in return.
Many people who were working out in the gym approached to see how the match would turn out.
"Let's begin!" Su Chen glanced at Gu Zhuang, set the speed to ten, and started running.
Seeing this, Gu Zhuang bitterly set his speed to 12, which he thought was a piece of cake since he had already done the warm-up exercises.
Clamors of comments arose among the bystanders.
"Who do you think will win?"
"Of course, the coach will win. Look at the muscles on his legs."
"I think so too."
"Not necessarily. I saw this guy running for quite a long time every day. He's got great stamina."
"…"
Su Chen soon activated the Fast Pace skill in his mind. His whole body relaxed instantly, and his breathing became steady. Besides, the amplitude of the motion in his arms and the frequency of his pace achieved the perfect condition.
"Huh! He's got something there!" The experienced trainer's eyes glistened with interest as he observed Su Chen's running.
After running for two minutes, Su Chen set the speed directly to 14. His pace was much faster but still quite stable.
"Run for thirty minutes with this speed? Isn't he too cocky?"
"That's got to be hard. This young man is hot-blooded—his body definitely can't take it."
The people around them did not think that Su Chen would win. Thirty minutes of running was a marathon. Thus it would be challenging to finish the whole race if his speed was too high.
When Gu Zhuang saw that Su Chen increased his speed to 14, he did the same thing immediately.
He had already been working as a fitness coach for several years, so he thought that he would do better than a youngster like Su Chen in terms of running speed and distance.
Another two minutes went by; the pace was too laid back for Su Chen since the effects of the Fast Pace skill, including doubling of the running speed and halving the energy consumption, were also apparent.
Hence, to everyone's astonishment, he raised the speed of the treadmill to the maximum, 18.
At that very moment, all the noises in the surrounding area died down strangely.
One should know, the average speed of the best marathon runners was around 20, which was 20 kilometers per hour.
"Have you lost your mind? Your knees won't be able to take it!" Gu Zhuang was shocked and mad.
"I know my body better than you do," replied Su Chen with a grin. He had not even started panting while he spoke.
His upper body remained still, but his legs were moving so fast that flashes of his legs looked like a pair of wheels. The crowd's jaws dropped when they saw him doing that with such ease.
The concern that first gleamed in Lin Yumeng's eyes turned into awe and admiration.
Gu Zhuang clenched his teeth and increased his speed to 16, not willing to play second fiddle. He did not believe that Su Chen could run for half an hour with a rate of 18.
Time sped by, minute by minute. Sweat covered their foreheads. Su Chen still seemed relaxed, whereas Gu Zhuang's breathing started to become chaotic.
"This can't be...This guy is such a weirdo."
"It's already been 20 minutes, looks like he'll finish the whole course."
"He could be an athlete!"
Twenty-five minutes went by while the crowd was deep in discussion.
"Argh!" Gu Zhuang cried out in pain out of the blue. His steps became deranged, and he pressed the stop button in panic.
He stumbled while he came down from the treadmill after stopping it. He sat on the floor, holding his lower leg as his face collapsed in pain.
"What's going on? Muscle cramp?" a female instructor hurried over and asked.
Gu Zhuang nodded with his forehead covered in cold sweat. He then turned to Su Chen and yelled, "You win! You win! I surrender, okay? You can stop now."
"I'm gonna finish it!" said Su Chen, panting.
He delighted in accumulating experience. How could he waste the opportunity to gain points while the Fast Pace function was still on?
"You're a freak!" Sulking, Gu Zhuang cursed at Su Chen.
Half an hour passed. Su Chen stepped down from the treadmill, invigorated.
"Senior, here's your towel." Lin Yumeng handed him a towel while staring admiringly at him as if there were millions of stars blinking in her big eyes.
"Thanks." Su Chen grinned as he took the towel and swiped away the sweat. He drank some water.
He wasn't delighted. The Fast Pace skill was way too strong. He felt that if he continued training, he could win the marathon in the Olympics.
"Young man, how do I address you?" Gu Zhuang looked at Su Chen and asked while the female coach helped him up. There was not a hint of disdain left in his eyes.
Although Su Chen had been here every day in the past month, they had never spoken to each other because Su Chen always worked out by himself and left as soon as he finished training.
"Su Chen."
"I am Gu Zhuang. I am sorry about how I carried myself today. You are excellent," Gu Zhuang apologized openly.
He then said as agitation stole over his face, "Are you interested in becoming a track and field athlete? I know a coach. Your ability has proven that you would be a seeded player. You could be a champion."
"Not interested." Su Chen shook his head. Imagine how tiring it must be to be an athlete.
"My family isn't short of money. Why would I put myself in such a position?"
Gu Zhuang started to feel anxious, "How could you not be interested? If you win the gold medal, you will bring glory to our country!"
He thought Su Chen had such great potential. If he could persuade him to be an athlete, he, as the introducer, would also be honored if Su Chen won the gold medal in the future.
Su Chen stopped responding to him and walked toward the weight-lifting area. He took a 25-kilogram dumbbell and lifted it without interacting with anyone.
[Lift 25 kilograms once, proficiency plus-five]
[Lift 25 kilograms once, proficiency plus-five]
Lin Yumeng followed him there, like a little tail, took a five-kilogram dumbbell, and did exactly what he had done.
"Straighten your waist, open your feet till they're as wide as your shoulders, stabilize your arms." Su Chen gave her some tips while he was weight-lifting.
When he saw that there were some flaws in her actions, he put his dumbbell down, walked toward her, and helped correct her posture.
There was inevitable physical contact between them.
A blush climbed up Lin Yumeng's chubby face, but she held back her shyness and put on a calm front.
Su Chen noticed it. He scratched his nose out of awkwardness.
"That's right! Let's practice it on your own with this posture." He looked straight ahead and returned to his workout after saying this. Although the girl was plump, she was quite adorable and very well developed.
"Ahem…"
"See no evil! See no evil!"
[Weight-lifting proficiency reached 50, 000, level boosted up to Master's Level, advanced skill, Super Strength, activated]
He rested for a minute between groups of 20 weight-lifts. After about half an hour, another notification appeared in his brain.
[Super strength]: A passive skill, it will stimulate the body's potential and break the shackles. Body strength multiplies by three to five times. The effect intensifies as the player's stamina increases.
When Su Chen browsed through the introduction to the new skill on the dashboard, his heart fluttered with excitement.