Chapter 063: Eruption

A thousand meters—if it were a contest of speed, Zhang Tan would not have the advantage, for his pace was only average. However, among high school freshmen, especially those in their first year, physical fitness was generally lacking; even a thousand-meter race devolved into a battle of endurance.

In endurance, Zhang Tan was second to none and full of confidence. He trained for long-distance running on the track every night, his body well-nourished with ample meat and fish, his constitution excellent.

Bang!

The referee pulled the trigger, a puff of blue-white smoke rising from the starter pistol.

At the sound, the contestants shot forward from their marks. Zhang Tan wore spiked shoes, their soles bristling with a dense array of spikes gripping the track, providing powerful traction and a forceful rebound, maximizing his speed. Almost the instant the gun sounded, he sprang forward like an arrow loosed from the bow.

With every step, the spikes dug into the earth, sending up small bursts of dirt in his wake.

His start was not slow, but not the fastest either; two other students reacted even quicker, surging ahead to lead the pack.

“Go, Zhang Tan! Go, Zhang Tan!”

“Go, Li Weiwei!”

“Go, Liu Jun!”

Each class’s cheerleaders ran along the grass inside the track, shouting encouragement as they went.

In the heat of the competition, Zhang Tan had no time to heed the cheers ringing in his ears. He had but one thought: to run. This was the preliminary heat—three groups in all, with the top two from each group advancing to the finals. Zhang Tan intended not only to reach the finals but to win a place of honor; anything less would betray the hopes of those cheering for him.

As the leader of his class, he could not allow himself to lose.

Having only recently established his reputation among the freshmen and sophomores at Shuandun High, Zhang Tan was keen to solidify his standing. He was no otherworldly master—despite his years and experience, he remained an ordinary man, and while he lingered at Shuandun, he intended to live with flair and dignity.

A tree lives for its bark, a man for his face.

This was the moment to fight for pride.

The wind howled. Sunshine blazed down.

Zhang Tan kept close behind the two leaders. In the first lap, he saw no chance to pass. The school’s track measured two hundred meters per lap; a thousand meters required five laps. Zhang Tan, lagging behind at this early stage, felt no anxiety. He simply shadowed the leaders, applying relentless pressure.

To be in front is exhausting, especially when setting the pace.

Whether it was the strain of trying to shake Zhang Tan or a growing lack of oxygen to the brain, the leader’s rhythm faltered in the second lap, occasionally surging ahead, then slowing. Perhaps he was also trying to disrupt the rhythm of those behind, but Zhang Tan was not so easily unsettled.

Seizing an opportunity when the leader slowed, Zhang Tan overtook the second-place runner and claimed the second position for himself.

“Go, Zhang Tan!” the girls from his class shouted, giddy and breathless as they ran along the sidelines, sometimes cutting across the field to cheer from the far side of the track.

Two hundred meters, four hundred, six hundred.

The leader’s stamina was waning; Zhang Tan could clearly sense his speed dropping. Zhang Tan himself had not slackened in the least—such a distance was far from exhausting his reserves.

Now was the moment to overtake.

With a subtle smile, Zhang Tan surged forward, overtaking the leader and leaving him behind to eat his dust.

Cheers erupted once more from the girls in his class.

The remainder of the race was almost without suspense. Zhang Tan held first place to the finish. As the other runners quickly faded, Zhang Tan also eased his pace, both to conserve energy and conceal his true strength. The real stage would be the thousand-meter final the next day.

In the school athletics meet, a first-place finish earned the class seven points, second place three, and third one. Breaking a record was worth fourteen points.

Zhang Tan, having easily secured first in the preliminaries, accepted a bottle of water from a classmate and wiped the light sweat from his brow. He realized he had run even faster during the competition—perhaps only with rivals challenging him could he truly unleash his potential.

“Maybe I can break the thousand-meter record,” he thought.

* * *

The second day of the school sports meet.

Class 5 of the first year currently had eighteen points, ranking fourth—a satisfactory result, if not outstanding.

At ten in the morning, the thousand-meter final began. Two students from Class 5 had made it through: Zhang Tan and Zhu Ran. An old acquaintance, Xu Weidong, was also among the finalists.

At the sound of the starter's pistol, Xu Weidong shot out in front like an arrow, immediately taking the lead.

Meanwhile, the two stalwarts of Class 5—Zhang Tan and Zhu Ran—were at the very back, with Zhang Tan second to last and Zhu Ran dead last. The two trailed far behind Xu Weidong.

“Damn, did that chubby kid take some expired aphrodisiac or something? He’s wild today! My hopes for the championship are in jeopardy!” Zhang Tan thought, his determination ignited. He quickened his pace, clinging to the pack and refusing to let the gap widen. As long as it didn’t, he could find an opportunity to overtake later.

“Go, Zhang Tan!”

“Go, Zhu Ran!”

“Go, Class 5!”

The shouts of encouragement never ceased.

The loudspeaker on the grandstand joined in: “Message from Class 5: Zhang Tan and Zhu Ran, go for it! The whole class is cheering for you!”

Track and field’s greatest spectacle—the one that drew the most attention—was surely the race.

The thousand-meter event was of particular importance; crowds lined both sides of half the track, watching as the six finalists pushed themselves to the limit.

Zhang Tan began to exert himself.

First lap: second to last.

Second lap: he squeezed into fourth place.

Third lap: another push, and he was third.

Fourth lap: Zhang Tan maintained his pace, overtaking the runner in second place and closing in on the leader, Xu Weidong.

Fifth lap—the final lap.

Now the cheers engulfed the entire Shuandun High campus. Even the neighboring Yuan Yi Golf Course must have heard the roar. As the cheers rose in waves, the contest between Zhang Tan and Xu Weidong reached a fever pitch. Xu Weidong was formidable; even halfway through the last lap, he was still ahead.

“No holding back now!”

“Aaah!”

Zhang Tan could stand it no longer—this championship was a matter of pride.

The wind screamed, his vision blurred, his speed increased.

With a fierce shout, Zhang Tan summoned every ounce of strength, shattered his own limits, and became a streak of light, overtaking Xu Weidong on the curve.

Victory lay just ahead.

At this point, both runners were giving their all; Xu Weidong, too, was pushing himself to the utmost.

The gap between them was no more than half a body’s length.

Yet that half-body’s lead sent Zhang Tan’s adrenaline surging; step by step, he kept Xu Weidong firmly behind him.

The finish line loomed, a ribbon stretched across.

The referee stood by, stopwatch in hand, counting the seconds.

“Go, Xu Weidong!”

“Go, Zhang Tan!”

“Ahhh!”

The two racers crashed across the line, separated by, at most, a single body’s length.

At the instant they finished, the referee stopped the watch.

“Yeah!” The students of Class 5 erupted in thunderous cheers at the finish.

Their cheers nearly drowned out the referee’s announcement: “Number 1525, 3 minutes 14 seconds—new school record!”

Yet another great cheer arose.

Supported by classmates, Zhang Tan drank water and walked slowly, his heart pounding, his spirits blazing like the midday sun.

“Damn it, Xu Weidong, trying to show off against me? Now you know the difference in strength!”