Chapter 104: The Match at Spring City Station
This time, the competition at Quancheng Station was held at the Shandong Provincial Sports Center Training Hall.
On the day of the competition, Rousseau was approached for an interview by a reporter.
The reporter was from a portal website called 163. Rousseau didn’t use the internet and had no idea what 163 was, but since he was cornered at the entrance, he had no choice but to exchange a few words.
“Hello, Rousseau. I’m Yan Bing, a reporter from 163. Do you have confidence in winning the championship this time?” the reporter asked.
“I do have some confidence,” Rousseau replied modestly.
“Recently, domestic sprinting has been flourishing, with outstanding athletes emerging one after another. What do you think about Pan Kai from the Capital Team winning the 100-meter title at the Thailand Athletics Open?” the reporter continued.
What kind of question is that? I’m not a sports commentator... Rousseau frowned.
“Congratulations to him,” Rousseau said simply.
“If Pan Kai participates in the Indoor Athletics Invitational, do you think you can still win?” the reporter pressed on.
“That depends on whether he signs up,” Rousseau’s expression darkened.
“So you’re not confident, huh? Indeed, Pan Kai’s 100 meters at 10.15 seconds is the best domestic record. It’s normal for you to be worried. You’ll meet him sooner or later at the National Games. Do you have anything to say to Pan Kai now?” the reporter asked again.
Rousseau looked at the reporter, wondering if this guy had been sent by Li Yan to trouble him.
“The internet calls you the ‘Hexagonal All-Rounder’ of domestic sprinting, but Pan Kai’s 100-meter time is much faster. Your best official 100-meter time is only 10.49 seconds. How do you respond to that? Are you ashamed? Should you remind netizens not to call you that anymore?” the reporter continued.
If I punched this reporter... Rousseau thought, while Lu Jinrong noticed Rousseau’s impatience and quickly pushed the reporter aside. But the reporter still called out, “Rousseau, answer me!”
“What kind of ridiculous media is this?” Lu Jinrong was angry and decided never to accept interviews from so-called online media so casually again—no standards at all.
...
Later, Rousseau learned that Houlang and 163 were the two largest domestic portal sites, and their sports channels were vying for dominance.
Houlang’s sports channel had recently launched a feature on “Sprint Hexagonal All-Rounder: Rousseau,” to which 163 responded with criticism. Coincidentally, Pan Kai had just posted a new result, shattering the most basic edge of Rousseau’s “hexagon.” Seizing the opportunity, 163 launched an aggressive attack.
...
60-meter preliminary race.
Don’t get angry, don’t get angry, don’t get angry.
Rousseau kept reassuring himself.
So, in the preliminaries, he ran a 6.54 seconds—breaking the 60-meter record he had set at Rongcheng Station.
...
At 4 p.m.
Indoor 60-meter final.
Under the camera’s lens, and with coaches and athletes watching intently, Rousseau improved his indoor 60-meter time once again, setting a new national indoor 60-meter record.
6.52 seconds.
This was Rousseau’s final time in the final, breaking the preliminary record he had just set.
...
After the race, Lu Jinrong arranged for Rousseau to be interviewed by Shandong Provincial Television.
“Coach Lu, are you satisfied with Rousseau’s performance?”
“Very satisfied,” Lu Jinrong emphasized the word “very.”
“What does this indoor 60-meter result signify?” the reporter asked.
“It means Rousseau’s indoor 60-meter time is less than 0.2 seconds shy of the world’s fastest. He’s already ranked among the world’s top fifty sprinters. And considering he’s been practicing the 60 meters for less than a month, his performance is still on the rise and will continue to improve,” Lu Jinrong said with barely contained excitement.
“Rousseau, how do you feel now? Is it especially gratifying to break the record four times in a row?” the reporter asked.
“Pretty good. And I can still go faster,” Rousseau said directly to the camera.
This was his response to that earlier reporter from 163.
...
Shandong Provincial Television’s interview with Rousseau aired on the provincial sports news at 8 p.m. that evening.
This was the first official provincial-level TV interview with Rousseau, aside from the local Pengcheng TV station. The broadcast signal was sent via satellite across the country, naturally reaching the headquarters training center.
Zhang Zhen saw this scene on the TV in the cafeteria while eating dinner, and at once lost his appetite.
What was worse, Zhang Zhen overheard some divers at the next table discussing it. They were insiders in sports, though not in his discipline, but they had heard about the current storm sweeping the domestic sports scene—the one called “Rousseau.”
“Rousseau... isn’t he the 200-meter champion from the East Qing Games? Now he’s running indoor 60 meters?”
“Not surprising. I heard he’s the developing hexagonal overlord of sprinting—60 meters, 100 meters, 200 meters, first place in all.”
“Where did you hear that?”
“Online.”
“But that’s only three events. How is that hexagonal?”
“They split indoor and outdoor events—indoor 60, 100, 200 meters; outdoor 60, 100, 200 meters,” said one who clearly didn’t understand much.
“So that means he’s first from the 3-meter to the 10-meter diving platforms, from singles to mixed doubles? That’s way too impressive. How can others in sprinting survive?”
“Did you hear the gossip? At the East Qing Games sprint launch, Rousseau supposedly cursed his head coach and even got physical. The coach got beaten badly.”
“Really? What happened?”
“Well, they say...”
Slap!
Zhang Zhen walked over to the divers’ table, slammed his tray down, and stared at them. “There is no outdoor 60 meters! The 100 meters has no indoor event! The fastest 100 meters is not Rousseau but Pan Kai, and the fastest 60 meters is not Rousseau but me!”
Having said that, Zhang Zhen strode away, leaving the stunned divers speechless.
...
December 21.
Indoor Invitational, Quancheng Station, 200-meter race.
Rousseau continued his show.
He pushed the indoor 200-meter record down to 20.75 seconds.
On the narrower indoor track, Rousseau crossed the finish line first with an invincible aura, nearly a full second ahead of the others.
Rousseau was not too concerned about breaking the indoor 200-meter record, as the world record was almost mythic, nearly impossible to surpass.
The 19.92-second mark—who even ran that, Frederick or someone? The world of athletics had too many monsters.
With this, Rousseau’s tasks at Quancheng Station were basically complete.
He gained two attribute points.
Saying “basically complete” was because the 400-meter preliminaries and finals were still scheduled for the next day.
Regarding the 400 meters, Rousseau took a “hit or miss” approach.
He had no time to systematically train the specific techniques required for the 400 meters, and since the distance was long, his body would easily fatigue by the end. He dared not wear the Glass Crown for fear of injury, which was definitely not worth it for the 400 meters.
Therefore, in the 400 meters, aside from using “Momentum” to boost his initial speed, Rousseau relied purely on his physical fitness and technique. This event best showcased Rousseau’s performance without the State Bar enhancement.
...
Morning of the 22nd.
400-meter preliminaries. Rousseau advanced to the finals with a time of 49.00 seconds.
In the finals, he improved to 48.75 seconds, 0.25 seconds faster than the preliminaries, finishing second just behind the champion, Xiao Qiang from Liaoning Province.
Rousseau was very pleased with this result.
It proved that after four months of intense training and frequent competitions, his physical fitness and technique without the State Bar had already reached the level of a professional, outstanding sprinter.