Asian Record

Little Liu in China held the phone, carefully listening to the voice coming from the Philippines on the other end from Yang Zhongyi.

"Go for it! Go for it! Zhang Guan, go for it!"

Yang Zhongyi's Chinese encouragement mixed in the chaotic foreign language but sounded especially clear. Little Liu could even feel the surging passion on the other end of the phone.

"Listen to this voice, the competition is intense!" Little Liu muttered to himself.

"Ah! Injured! Ah ah ah ah ah! Crossing the finish line! Champion! Champion! We won! We won!" Yang Zhongyi's almost roaring shouts were deafening, transmitted to Little Liu's ear through the receiver.

Little Liu suddenly stood up, shouting into the microphone, "Senior Brother? Who got injured? Who crossed the finish line? Whose championship? Did we win? Is it us?"

On the other end of the phone, instead of Yang Zhongyi's response, what came back was his excited shouts.

Yang Zhongyi's emotions needed an outlet, and indeed he was letting it out. The media in the Philippines had portrayed Zhang Guan and even the entire national team as shameless jesters. But at this moment, Yang Zhongyi could finally use contemptuous eyes to tell Ramos, tell those Filipino journalists, tell them who the real jesters were!

"Senior Brother, don't get too excited, listen to me first, tell me who won..." Little Liu continued calling out to Yang Zhongyi.

But the other end of the phone suddenly fell silent, making Little Liu feel uneasy. Little Liu wondered if Yang Zhongyi had shouted too loudly and lost his breath. But a second later, an even louder shout rang out:

"9.99 seconds! 9.99 seconds! Broke the record! We broke the record! Asia's number one!"

"What? Broke the Asian record? What's going on? Senior Brother? Senior Brother?" Little Liu was even more astonished this time, eagerly hoping to talk to Yang Zhongyi.

But Yang Zhongyi was still shouting.

"Asia's number one, broke the record! Sprinter... Sprinter Zhang Guan! Asia's number one, Zhang Guan!"

Little Liu's body trembled violently, almost dropping the receiver. He stared blankly at the computer screen with the report questioning the integrity of the athletics association, murmuring to himself, "Senior Brother seems to have said that Zhang Guan broke the Asian record, how is that possible? If that's really the case, then this report is a huge mistake."

...

At this moment, at the Lisha Athletics Stadium, all eyes were glued to the scoreboard.

9.99 seconds. If this result was correct, it would be a new Asian record, and the creator of this record would be Zhang Guan, the first to cross the finish line.

The Asian record was originally 10 seconds flat, set by the Japanese sprinter Ito Hiroshi in 1998. The closest to this record were 10.02 seconds by Asahara Nobuharu and 10.03 seconds by Shingo Suetsugu.

Since 1998, the Asian record had not changed at all. Internationally, some racists even claimed that the limit for East Asians was 10 seconds flat, that East Asians could never run under 10 seconds. But today, if this result were confirmed, Zhang Guan would become the first East Asian to run under 10 seconds. This held special significance for all East Asians, and indeed, for all East Asians worldwide.

In the media area, Ramos suddenly exclaimed, "Wind assistance, it must be wind assistance! European scholars have all said that East Asians cannot run under 10 seconds."

Other reporters stared at Ramos with disdain. It should be noted that in the press area, there were reporters from Japan, South Korea, various Southeast Asian countries, and Central Asian countries. All five East Asian countries were predominantly East Asian. Additionally, countries in the Indochinese Peninsula and the Malay Archipelago were also predominantly East Asian. Furthermore, there were large populations of East Asians in Central Asia, including Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. It could be said that almost the entire press area, except for reporters from West and South Asian countries, was predominantly East Asian. Ramos's self-deprecation was one thing, but nationals of Japan and South Korea were quite arrogant. Ramos's statement offended them all.

"The wind speed is 0.6 meters per second. This result is valid. It seems we have witnessed the birth of a new Asian record." Speaking was a South Korean reporter, who, while speaking, glanced smugly at the nearby Japanese reporter's seat, feeling quite satisfied.

At the finish line, Zhang Guan had already received the system prompt. He successfully broke the Asian record and gained two skill points.

"Now I have a total of four skill points. If I earn two more, I can complete the mission. Winning honors also grants skill points. The men's 100-meter champion at the Asian Athletics Championships should also be an honor, which definitely earns skill points. Perhaps after the award ceremony, I can complete this mission." Zhang Guan thought with joy.

Then he looked at the scoreboard showing 9.99 seconds and smiled satisfactorily.

"This time it's 9.99 seconds. Next time, if I run 9.98 seconds in another race, break the Asian record again, I'll get two more skill points. Then if I run 9.97 seconds next time, and 9.96 seconds after that... Skill points really have to be earned."

"Why are you laughing?" Shen Bao walked over from behind, casually draping a national flag over Zhang Guan.

"A flag? Shen Ge, where did you get the flag from?" Zhang Guan asked.

Before Shen Bao could reply, Chen Jian also approached, carrying a national flag, and said, "Old Shen always prepares a national flag for international competitions. When he wins the gold medal, he can wrap himself in the flag and walk around the field. But he's never had the chance to use it, so this time it's your lucky day!"

Shen Bao smiled awkwardly, letting the flag flutter on the field. It was every athlete's dream, especially after the competition, it was the moment for the champions to enjoy the cheers of the audience. Although Shen Bao had always harbored this dream, he had never been able to realize it!

Thinking of this, Zhang Guan hugged Shen Bao and said, "Shen Ge, let's do it together!"

"Okay!" Shen Bao hesitated for a moment but agreed. The three of them draped in two national flags, jogged slowly around the track, enjoying the glory belonging to the victors!

...

Standing on the awards podium, listening to the majestic national anthem, looking at the flag fluttering in the middle, Zhang Guan suddenly felt a strange feeling in his heart. It was a sense of pride, of glory, of being moved, something that was difficult to express in words. Although there were no thunderous cheers, although there was no stirring chorus, it surpassed a thousand words, instantly turned into infinite power, spread throughout Zhang Guan's body.

"This feeling is really good!" Zhang Guan realized that just standing here for the first time, he fell in love with this feeling, not only because of the championship and the glory, but also because of the indomitable spirit buried deep within him.

As the awards ceremony concluded, Zhang Guan stepped down from the podium, glanced at the gold medal hanging around his neck, and instinctively bit it.

"No need to bite, it's not gold, it's bronze, coated with a layer of gold," Chen Jian said from the side.

"Bronze?" Zhang Guan was somewhat annoyed. "Really stingy, just bronze, not as valuable as a silver medal."

"Silver medals are also bronze, just plated with silver," Chen Jian waved his bronze medal, then continued, "The level of the Asian Athletics Championships is not high enough, and the Philippines is very poor, so they don't use real gold and silver. They just use bronze and then plate them with gold or silver. If it were the Olympics, the silver medal would be cast in real silver, and the gold medal... would be made of pure silver, then gold-plated. But each edition is different, depending on whether the host is willing to spend money. Sometimes, if the host is unwilling to spend money, there will be more bronze and less silver in the Olympic medals, and if the host is willing to spend money, there will be more silver and less bronze, with a bit of gold added. Want pure gold? Go win a gold bar in the Golden League!"

...

At the Sports Bureau,

Director Yang was busy and anxious. His clarification had not only been ineffective but had also seemed to exacerbate the situation. The rapid dissemination of information on the internet was fully evident in this situation. In this era, the internet lacked guidelines and regulations, and the various unscrupulous behaviors of online media were even more apparent. Coupled with the instigation of online trolls, Director Yang felt like he was being roasted over a fire.

Outside the Sports Bureau, several media outlets' reporters were waiting, hoping to interview Director Yang. Journalists in Beijing had always been difficult to deal with, and the online public opinion had made these reporters smell the scent of a scandal, naturally flocking to it.

Director Yang furrowed his brow anxiously and asked one of his subordinates, "Have you reached them? What did the Athletics Association say?"

The subordinate replied promptly, "The Athletics Association's response is still the same. The national track and field team is currently in the Philippines for a competition, led by Director Ma himself. So we still need to verify with Director Ma to know the truth. They are preparing to report to Director Ma. I just called again, but it's busy."

"Then call again!" Director Yang said impatiently.

Just then, the phone rang, and the subordinate noticed that it was a call from the Athletics Association.

"Director, it's a call from the Athletics Association. They've replied." the subordinate said.

"I'll take it myself!" Director Yang picked up the phone, preparing to scold, "What's going on with your Athletics Association..."

Director Yang's words abruptly stopped, then he asked, "Broke the Asian record? Don't rush, slowly, what event is it, who broke the Asian record?"

The explanation began over the phone.

"What? Men's 100 meters sprint? Zhang Guan? Zhang Guan broke the Asian record? Am I hearing correctly? Confirm again for me, are you sure it's Zhang Guan?" Director Yang's tone suddenly became urgent, and he grabbed a pen and paper from the side, quickly jotting down notes.

After a while, Director Yang put down the pen and phone, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long breath. His face was somewhat serious and incredulous. He walked to the computer, entered a website address, and accessed an official website that provided timely information on the Asian Athletics Championships. Director Yang quickly clicked on the latest news, confirming the information he had just received over the phone.

"Director, what's going on?" the subordinate asked.

"Hehe... it's this Zhang Guan, who broke the Asian record in the men's 100 meters sprint, 9.99 seconds, just now!" Director Yang said, pointing to the computer screen.

"So, he didn't get into the national team through the back door?" the subordinate asked in surprise.

Director Yang looked somewhat helpless, glancing at his subordinates. Even his own subordinates thought that Zhang Guan had entered the national team through the back door, so it wasn't surprising that the media and the public thought so too.

Then Director Yang suddenly laughed, jumped up from his chair, and had a somewhat triumphant expression, "Let's go, let's go meet those reporters. After being troubled these past few days, it's my turn to turn the tables on them!"