Almighty Coach

by Stayrr

How could a poor graduate student without any background or connections become successful? With a coaching system? An upgrade? This is not a computer game, but real life we’re talking about! This will be a fantasy based on reality. Dai Li will fight back against all those who would mock and humiliate him with his astonishing and awe-inspiring training skills. From a nobody he’ll t

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Chapter 221: The Windfall

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Of course, Dahu Fu would not consider the Thai athletes drug traffickers just because of Dai Li's comments. However, the police had received some information earlier. With the new information from Dai Li combined with what he already knew, Dahu Fu instantly realized how suspicious this Jinxin cycling team was.

Dahu Fu looked at Dai Li with an odd stare.

Is what this coach said really true? Is the Jinxin cycling team really suspicious? Is the guy we are looking for really hiding on that team? If it is true, it would be such a shame for the Anti-Drug Brigade! We have guarded this place to search for this guy all this morning, yet we couldn't find him at all. It was this sports coach that found him! We are going to be a laughing stock if this gets out.

Deep in his heart, he had been convinced that the target of his investigation was hiding on the Jinxin cycling team. He just had no evidence to prove it.

Without saying a word, Dahu Fu shook his head and began to assign tasks to his team.

"Get all the photos taken of the Jinxin cycling team members from when they went through the customs, then send them in for facial recognition. See if there is any match with what we have in our database. Group One, follow the Jinxin cycling team immediately from now on to locate their position; Group Two, go to the Baggage Service Center and see if they have any baggage checked."

All Dahu Fu could do now was wait. Pretty soon, group two reported back to him.

"Captain, Group Two has inspected the bicycle parts the Jinxin cycling team checked in. No problems found!"

"Got it," Dahu Fu said. There was no change to his facial expression at all, almost as if he had expected this.

Dai Li, on the other hand, said to Chong Lin next to him, "I thought they would hide the drugs in the bikes to get them in."

"You've watched too many movies! Do you really expect them to hide the drugs in the bike frame?" Chong Lin smiled, then said, "The security check at the customs is very strict, especially for air shipments; everything is scanned with special machines. It's not only to check for prohibited items, but also to prevent any foreign objects from entering the country."

After a short pause, Chong Lin continued, "Surely the drug dealers are not that stupid. They know the checked items will be inspected, so they would not have hidden the drugs there. We still needed to check them anyway though, as we can leave no stone unturned."

"So where do you think they are hiding the drugs? In their luggage?" asked Dai Li in a whisper.

"Not possible. Did you not see our detection dogs sniffing around the luggage warehouse?" Pointing to his belly, Chong Lin said, "If they are really drug traffickers, the likeliest place for them to hide the drugs is inside their bodies."

"Did you say hide the drugs inside themselves?" Dai Li was shocked.

Chong Lin nodded. "When these 20 people get through customs, they used the special passage where the security check is not so strict. What's important about that is that there is no millimeter wave imaging inspector there, so the security inspector cannot see what's inside them. That made them all the more suspicious. Captain Fu must have realized this earlier."

"Captain, we found something in the facial recognition!" the officer at the computer said. "Target found; this guy, Nawat-Wonpuapara, used a fake passport. We have his profile in the database. His real name is Chappie. He is connected with the Golden Triangle drug dealers, and was arrested by the Tai police once for drug dealing. He was later released due to lack of evidence."

"Chappie? Used a fake passport for entry?" With a half-smile, Dahu Fu nodded his head. He was now sure that this Jinxin cycling team was who he had been looking for.

"Attention, Group One! The target has been confirmed! I will immediately send you the profiles of all members of the Jinxin cycling team; you keep a close watch on each and every one of them!"

After giving another order, Dahu Fu turned around to Dai Li and said, "You have really hit it this time, Coach Li. This Jinxin cycling team is really suspicious. On behalf of the Anti-Drug Brigade, I extend our thanks to you."

"It's what I'm supposed to do," Dai Li said immediately.

"Coach Li, we also have to ask you to make a testimony. Do you have time?" Dahu Fu then asked.

"Sure, no problem. It won't be long, I assume?" Dai Li asked.

"It'll be pretty quick. You just need to tell the police briefly why you found the Jinxin cycling team suspicious and then came to notify us." Dahu Fu then turned his head to Chong Lin and said, "Chong Lin, you are familiar with Coach Li, so you take him to do the testimony."

Several days later, Dai Li saw the news on his phone that the police had taken down a super big drug trafficking gang. Although the details of the case were mentioned, Dai Li felt that this had something to do with the lead he had provided the police.

Putting his phone down, Dai Li resumed his work. A moment later, Li Xue called and said, "Dai Li, come to the reception room! I have two police officers waiting for you."

Dai Li hurried to the reception room immediately and found Dahu Fu and Chong Lin there.

"Coach Li!" Dahu Fu and Chong Lin immediately stood up and shook Dai Li's hand.

"I saw the news! You took down a super big drug trafficking gang! Congratulations!" Dai Li said.

"It is thanks to your help that we did it," Dahu Fu said. "Coach Li, I have come here to say thank you."

"Is this about the Jinxin cycling team?" Dai Li then asked, "Does it really has anything to do with the super big drug trafficking gang that you arrested?"

"You are right," Dahu Fu nodded. "All 23 members of that Jinxin cycling team are drug addicts except for two drug trafficking gangsters. The addicts owed a lot of money to the gang, so the gang forced them to smuggle drugs into China with their bodies."

Just like I thought. Such low sports ability values are surely due to drug addiction. According to my detection, two were of normal sport ability, who must have been the two gangsters, Dai Li thought to himself.

Dahu Fu then said, "Technology is more advanced than ever and the entry and exit inspection in the airport is ever more strict. The drug traffickers thought they would be discovered, so they wanted to take advantage of this bicycle race. They registered as a cycling team in advance, then disguised themselves as cycling athletes to enter our country through the express entry port for the participants in the race. Once this was confirmed, we closely watched the Jinxin cycling team and caught them. That's how we did it."

Dahu Fu only gave a brief outline of how the case was solved, not sharing many details.

"To be frank, I have met quite a few warm-hearted people during my years as a policeman; but this is the first time a PE coach has helped us solve a case." With a smile, Dahu Fu continued, "It is really thanks to Coach Li this time. The lead you provided us really helped. So, we have decided to grant you a cash reward of 100,000 yuan."

"There's a reward?" Dai Li had not expected this.

"Sure. We have explicit rules for this. One can receive a reward of anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 yuan for reporting on the production, processing, making, trafficking, selling, transporting, and/or the illegal possession of drugs. It was a big case this time, which is why you will get the highest reward possible—100,000 yuan," Dahu Fu said, smiling.

This is really a stroke of luck! I have been quite lucky these days. Should I buy a lottery ticket? Maybe I'll trade in my bicycle for a motorcycle! Dai Li thought to himself.

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Chapter 222: The Half Marathon

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

100,000 yuan was by no means a small figure. It would take Dai Li two years to save up that much money, even if he didn't spend any of it on daily necessities. What made it even better was that it had been given to him by the police; it was much better than finding money on the street, as it was completely trouble free.

"To receive the money, you need to go through some formalities. If you have time, you can go directly to our bureau to get it. You can contact me in advance; here's my card." Dahu Fu handed a name card to Dai Li, then said, "We'll keep your identity secret. Don't worry."

Dai Li took the name card, still feeling very surprised and happy.

Dahu Fu then asked, "Coach Li, I actually want to ask you for another favor."

"Sure, just tell me what it is," Dai Li said immediately.

Dahu Fu said, "You know, there is a national fitness program underway across the entire country. Next month, our city will hold the Jinyan Lake Half Marathon. Besides the marathon lovers among the residents, the big enterprises in the city will also organize their staff to take part in it. We the police have also organized a team.

"This is only a match for amateurs, and it is more about participation than results. But we are the police, so this makes it a little special for us; if we get very poor results, the people will doubt our competence as policemen. So, I'm hoping that you would be willing to train our participants."

Dai Li nodded his head to show he had understood the request. He had heard about the half marathon match taking place next month. It was for amateurs, and was mainly to draw more residents to participate in the national fitness campaign. The prize for the race was not high; the main purpose was to have fun. Some coaches of the national team had also planned to run the match. Among them was Coach Liu, who was in charge of the marathon training; he had asked for his annual leave to prepare for it.

Compared to the other participants, the policemen were obviously special. In the opinion of the ordinary people, policemen were all professionally trained, so they should be able to run faster and have better endurance. Otherwise, how could they catch thieves?

So, if the policemen did not get a good score in this marathon, the residents would naturally think that the policemen were not skilled enough for the responsibility of taking down criminals and protecting the people.

If they did well in the match, on the other hand, they would be able to show that they were well-trained for their job. Therefore, it could considered a PR campaign for the police to organize a team to participate in the half marathon. If they did well, people would praise their excellence; otherwise, they would lose points in the minds of the public. This was why the police had attached great importance to this half marathon. They not only sent their strongest members for it, but also planned to have a professional coach train them.

When it came to coaching for a marathon, the coaches on the national track and field team were surely the most professional. Before Dai Li had come, Dahu Fu had already spoken to Li Xue about it. However, several famous long-distance running coaches were heavily scheduled for coaching tasks, and did not have time for this. So, Dahu Fu had decided to ask Dai Li for his assistance instead.

Dahu Fu thought that because Dai Li was quite young, he would be more approachable, and would not be very busy with his coaching tasks, which would make him more likely to help. In addition, Dai Li had just gotten the 100,000 yuan reward from the police. He should still have very positive feelings towards the police, and be more likely to agree.

Hearing what Dahu Fu said, Dai Li hesitated and glanced at Li Xue, who was next to him, obviously hoping to hear what his teacher thought.

Li Xue nodded with a smile, "Since Mr. Fu is so fond of you, just go. We don't have much training to do these days, anyway."

It seemed that Li Xue also thought it would be good for Dai Li to accept the invitation of the police. Society was full of people linked to each other through favors and connections, which meant it would do Dai Li good to know more people, as he was currently only a grassroot drifter from Beijing with no power nor backing.

Seeing that Li Xue had no objections, Dai Li nodded in agreement. "Alright. Because Mr. Fu has asked, I will humbly accept your offer."

The match would begin next month, which meant that Dai Li would only have three weeks maximum for training.

When training for long distance running, three weeks was really too short. What made it worse was that the policemen could not train full time; they had to work during the day, and could only train for two or three hours after work.

Even though Dai Li had upgraded to the immediate phase of a top-level coach, two or three hours of training per day for three weeks was by no means a sufficient guarantee that the police officers would improve much. Therefore, Dai Li put the training emphasis on the tactics and distribution of physical strength.

In long distance running, physical strength distribution was obviously a key point. The longer the running distance was, the more important physical strength distribution would be. Many people can complete a 5000- or 10,000-meter run, but not a marathon; the difference is the lack of knowledge on physical strength distribution.

The key factor for physical strength distribution in a marathon lies in the later half, especially the last third of the total distance. Many runners can suffer from cramps, fainting, and even have to withdraw from the match due to an improper distribution of physical strength.

Professional marathon runners had to distribute their strength very accurately; what speed to run in which mile, how much energy to use—everything had to be controlled precisely. For amateur runners, on the other hand, it would be a successful strength distribution if they could have the strength to run the entire distance at a consistent speed.

The tactics for marathon running were quite like that of a 10,000-meter run. If they ran in a team, the team members should stick together as much as possible and change the lead runner every so often regularly. This way, they could save a lot of strength.

During the later phase of a marathon, mental strength was also very important. It requires tenacity to tap one's potential and challenge one's limits.

Mentality is also a very important factor. When running a marathon, especially during the later phase, many people would feel very happy if they overtook their opponents, and feel upset if they were passed themselves. If a runner is overtaken by several opponents successively, they may even want to drop out—this is where a runner's mentality comes into play.

As a matter of fact, when you are tired during a marathon, your opponents feel the same way. Especially when all the contestants are of a similar skill level, because everyone has covered the same distance in the same time and has consumed the same amount of energy, whoever can stick with it until the end will win.

For professional athletes, "sticking with it" was the very content of their daily training. For amateurs, however, learning to "stick with it" on the racetrack was the hardest part.

Among the skyscrapers in the CBD business center of Huajing City converged all the economic, technological, and cultural forces of the city. All mega enterprises of the financial, trade, service, exhibition, and consultation fields had set up offices here.

The Dingtian Group was a nationally leading group company covering real estate, film television, tourism, consumption, and sport industries. With their total assets worth nearly 500 billion yuan, it ranked within the global top 2000 on the Forbes list. In comparison, the Continental Group of Haiquan Fang's father's was only but a small company.

The headquarters of the Dingtian Group was not in Jinghua City; instead, it was a luxurious office in the CBD business center of Jinghua. The office was located in the tallest landmark building in the CBD area, which had been built by one of the Dingtian Group's subsidiaries— the Sky Height real estate company.

In front of the window of the Dingtian Group's office stood a 24 or 25-year-old woman in business suit. Through the huge French window, she was looking at the endless stream of people down the road.

There was a knock on the door, then came in a man in his fifties wearing a suit, with a thick folder in his hand.

"Yunan, I've read the proposal you wrote. Go ahead as you planned!" said the man.

Turning around, the woman in business suit showed her beautiful egg-shaped face. She had light makeup on her face—she had only drawn in her eyebrows, wore a little lipstick, and the powder foundation she had on was not even noticeable. All these things had highlighted her fair and tender skin well. Her eyes are shiny, and showed a tinge of unyielding spirit, yet the dimples on her cheek added some sweetness to her look.

"Uncle Wang, please don't call me by my name in the company, will you?" Her voice was as sweet as the dimples on her face.

"All right, all right; Director Xiao!" said the man, a warm smile full of affection on his face. "You think they don't know who you actually are if I don't say your name? Those young people in the office are quite gossipy. As a girl of this age, you were parachuted into this position as a director. They might have guessed who you are the first day you were here."

Putting down the folder in his hand, the man changed the subject. "The half marathon by the Jinyan Lake is about to arrive. How is the preparation going? I heard that you have hired a professional coach?"

The girl nodded. "I hired Baogang Liu. He is the coach of the national marathon team. He had asked for his annual leave to train our runners.

"That's good. The contestants we chose are all veterans who are already good at sports themselves. Now, with training from a nation team coach, I'm sure we can win the championship," the man said.

The girl replied, "We must win. We spent 10.2 billion yuan to buy the land of the Jinyan Lake, and this half marathon is the first step to advertise our Jinyan Lake project. We need this to make a good start."

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Chapter 223: The Opponent

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Hello, Mr. Wang!"

"Hello, Mr. Wang!"

The suited man in his fifties had just entered the public office area when everyone came up to him to say hello. He nodded his greetings to them.

The man was Qinghe Wang, a member of the board of directors of the Dingtian Group, and general manager of Sky Height Real Estate Co., Ltd.—a subsidiary of the Dingtian Group. He was deeply trusted by the chairman of the group, as he had been following the chairman from the very beginning of the company.

Walking through the public office area, he went back to his office by the elevator. The employees in the public office area, however, were taking part in a heated discussion.

"Mr. Wang went to see Director Xiao again! Mr. Wang is the boss here; if he wants anything, he can have her come to his office. Why did he bother to go down to her office? This Director Xiao is really favored by Mr. Wang."

"Well, I think Mr. Wang might have taken a fancy to Director Xiao. Xiao is so beautiful that every man would fall for her. Mr. Wang might want to get involved with someone younger this time."

"It's possible. Yunan Xiao is only about 24 or 25, yet she was appointed director of the Planning Department. She must have connections somehow, and might have something with Mr. Wang …"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Nearby, someone approached them and interrupted their conversation. "You should never say anything like that. Don't you know that calamity comes from gossip?"

"We get it. How dare we gossip about Mr. Wang! We won't talk about it anymore! Brother Hu, please rest assured; we won't get you into any trouble."

"You people are really troublesome. You don't do any of your work well, but you gossip all day. What's worse, your gossip wasn't even accurate!" Brother Hu sighed. "You gossip so much every day. Don't you know who Yunan Xiao is?"

"Brother Hu, do you have any insider information? Tell us now!" The small group of people came closer to him immediately.

"Use your brain and think about what the surname of this Yunan Xiao is!" said Brother Hu.

"Xiao, of course!" one of his listeners said, with an expression of slow-witted loveliness.

Brother Hu was helplessly annoyed. "You fool! Of course I know her family name is Xiao! Don't you realize the family name of our chairman is also Xiao?"

"Oh my god! Is Yunan Xiao a relative of our Big Boss Xiao?" someone exclaimed.

Brother Hu nodded. "She is the daughter of our chairman. She came back from America not too long ago."

"Oh my, she is the princess of our company!"

"My god, a girl worth hundreds of billions of yuan! Right in front of me!"

Some of them began to gossip again.

…..

On the training ground of the SWAT team, Dai Li was looking at the officers who were standing in a line in front of him.

These are all the participants for the half marathon that had been selected by the SWAT team. They may not have been the best athletes on the team, but they were definitely good at long-distance running. Although they were not so good compared to professional runners, they were very good compared to amateurs.

Suddenly, Dai Li felt a tinge of maladjustment.

In Dai Li's mind, he had always been unlucky. All his trainees had had different problems; Feifei Yu was fat, Feixiang Lin had given up on himself, the shot put team would lose every match, the long jump team was drained of all their talent, Chong Lin had mentality issues, Sijie Yang had wanted to be a photographer instead of an athlete, and Yue Zhao had been misdiagnosed.

Everywhere he went, Dai Li had never actually been able to conduct his coaching without any disturbances. But now, Dai Li felt his luck had finally come. Though the training was not long, the training process was smooth, without any incidents.

What made things even better for Dai Li was that there were three SWAT police among the participants. For them, the 10,000-meter run was just a daily training exercise, so a half marathon was not too difficult for them.

Besides those three, there was one police officer who was a former special force soldier, and had transferred to the police team only last year. He was in excellent physical condition. He had used to run cross-country carrying several dozens of kilograms of weight. It was a piece of cake for him to run a half marathon.

The SWAT officers, the former special force soldier, and any other police officers were all stronger than the ordinary marathon aficionado. This was the first time that Dai Li had felt that he had a team of excellent trainees.

…..

The date of the match arrived very quickly.

The popularity of the half marathon was growing more quickly than any other sport in recent years. A half marathon was 21.0975 kilometers, which was a little more than two 10,000-meter races.

As a match to promote national fitness, the Jinyan Lake half marathon had no special requirements for the participants. A lot of long-distance running lovers had signed up for it, and even more contestants were citizens who had never run a marathon. These contestants did not want any praise; they only wanted to see if they could run to the finish line, and some were just there to watch the race.

Signing up was easy. As long as you brought a valid form of ID, filled out a form, and got a number plate, you could go to the starting zone. Many onlookers signed up for the match last minute. It was very crowded by the Jinyan Lake.

Compared with the individuals who signed up last minute, the teams of the enterprises and public institutions were more like regular armies who had their team leaders, wore the same clothing, had their own slogans, and had special logistics team for provisions such as drinks. Some even had their cheering squads.

Companies in good standing in Huajing City were all big ones, especially the time-honored state-owned enterprises (SOEs), of whom many were founded at the beginnings of the country. These state-owned enterprises had been in existence from planned economy to market economy, and had gone through the SOE reform, restructuring, and laid-off worker booms. Those still in operation had more experience in organizing such activities than the national team had in participating in the Olympics.

As for the public institutions, they were even better at the organization of events like this. Huajing City was the political center of the nation and tended to have a vast variety of events going on each year. It was business as usual for them to organize employees to take part in group activities like this.

Standing at the roadside, Baogang Liu looked at the event in full confidence.

On the racing suits of many teams was each company's name, such as "_ Paper,""_ Pharmacy,""_ Bank," etc.Others had printed slogans like "Serving the People" on their tracksuits.

In Baogang Liu's opinion, however, they were only here to make up the number.

Baogang Liu was the coach in charge of the training for the national marathon team. He had been asked by the Dingtian Group to coach the company's participants. The company had paid him well. To earn this money, he had even asked for his annual leave to focus on the training.

It was no strange thing for a coach to earn some quick money in his or her spare time. Every national team coach had his or her own way of doing this. The national team did not object nor encourage this kind of thing, as long as their official work was not affected.

As a national team coach, he was surely qualified, and was more than skilled enough to train ordinary people. The Dingtian Group had also given him a good team; the members were all veterans.

As a mega enterprise, the Dingtian Group would go to the job fair looking for veterans every year. Veterans had great of discipline, were easier to manage, and could bear hardships better than ordinary people. This made them more reliable than employees recruited through other means. Those who were chosen by the Dingtian Group were the elites among the veterans, with excellent capabilities.

The Dingtian Group was determined to win the team championship of this half marathon. Baogang Liu had not wasted any of the company's resources, and in just a few weeks, he had trained a very strong marathon team for the Dingtian Group.

Baogang Liu was very confident about the Dingtian Group's team, but he continued observing other teams. This was his experience he had accumulated during his many years of coaching kicking in.

"Construct Educational System, Promote Social Development." They must be from the Education Bureau. They all have fair and tender skin; they are surely a bunch of sedentary guys judging off their looks.

The members of the other team over there are more tan. That should be due to sunburn. They are reporters for the Huajing Paper! No wonder. They go out for interviews every day. It makes sense that they would be tanned.

This team is from Qinghua University. They are quite a big team. Some look like athletes, but most of them are ordinary teachers and students. Those university students are quite enthusiastic about this half marathon.

Oh? The Sports Bureau also have their own team here, and are even being lead by Mr. Qian, the Director General! There's Li, Wang… Baogang Liu shook his head quietly. He saw quite a few people he knew, one of whom had once been a professional athlete.

Wang was a national champion in the 10,000-meter run! But that was ten years ago. He retired from the national team five or six years ago. He was so strong as an athlete, yet now he has a beer belly.

Baogang Liu knew that it required daily training for an athlete to maintain his or her condition. Yet for top athletes, even if they stuck to their training every day, their condition would deteriorate as they aged. An athlete could not even maintain 30% of his or her top performance after five or six years of retirement.

Judging from my observation, there is no strong team at all except for the Dingtian Group's team, which is my group. We are certain to win the team championship, Baogang Liu thought to himself.

"Coach Liu, how is it? Are there any strong opponents?" asked a sweet girl's voice.

Hearing this, Baogang Liu knew that Yunan Xiao had come up behind him. She had such a distinctive voice.

"Hi, Director Xiao!" he said with a big smile on his face. Even at his age, he was eagerly attentive to young and beautiful girls.

"Director Xiao, I have looked through the other teams and did not find any strong adversaries. I think we are easily going to win this." As he was speaking, he suddenly saw a team in blue tracksuits.

Oh? Is that a professional team? I certainly see some professional qualities in them. Baogang Liu began assessing them almost immediately. Such was the instinct of a first-class coach.

Baogang Liu had seen many teams before, but this team wearing blue tracksuits had a different aura of professionalism about them, one which only some professional-grade long-distance runners possessed. Prior to seeing this, Baogang Liu had only seen this in their own training team.

A strong opponent! Baogang Liu felt his heart skip a beat. In this kind of competition, there are no professional teams. These people look like a quasi-professional team. But this is the marathon. Who are they?

Baogang Liu looked carefully, and finally saw clearly the team's slogan.

Faithfully Guard the Safety of the People, Baogang Liu repeated the short slogan to himself. There are not many units that use these words as slogans. It's the police! Only the police would use this slogan.

Baogang Liu took a deep breath. He knew that the ability of the police team participants was absolutely not inferior to that of the Dingtian Group's team. The Dingtian Group could gather more than ten outstanding veterans, but the police team could do the same, and may even find more excellent talents.

They should also have professional sports coaches. Otherwise, there wouldn't be that aura of professionalism pro athletes have, Baogang Liu thought. The next second, he saw Dai Li appear with the police team.

"Dai Li!" Baogang Liu couldn't help exclaiming.

"Coach Liu, do you see an acquaintance? Maybe he is a colleague of yours!" Yunan Xiao said, looking in the same direction as Baogang Liu.

"Yes, a colleague," Baogang Liu simply nodded. "That team in blue tracksuits over there should be the police team."

"Which one is your colleague?" Yunan Xiao immediately asked.

"The seventh young man from the left," Baogang Liu replied.

Yunan Xiao saw Dai Li. Although she was far away and could not see him clearly, Yunan Xiao could tell that he was not so old, and about her own age.

"Coach Liu, your colleague is very young. I would think the training level and experience are certainly not as good as yours, right?" Yunan Xiao tentatively asked.

"That's for sure!" Baogang Liu certainly wouldn't say the opposite, but he also felt he could not say so too definitely. After all, as the saying goes, "There is no ever-victorious soldier and no inflexible water." As long as it is a sports competition, there would always be uncertainty.

Baogang Liu changed the topic and said, "As a matter of fact, this Dai Li is not my colleague, as he is not a member of the national team. He has been temporarily transferred to the national team from the Hanbei Provincial team. He is also a good student of Coach Xue Li, and he is proficient in short-distance running training."

"He's not a marathon coach," Yunan Xiao said casually.

"But he is the youngest championship coach on the national team. In the Asian Games held a few days ago, the national team relied on Dai Li to get the gold medal in the relay race." Baogang Liu told Yunan Xiao all the details of the Asian Games relay race.

Yunan Xiao looked at Dai Li from far away and seemed interested in him. She said, "This Coach Li is a sprinting coach. In marathon training, he shouldn't be as good, right?"

"That's for sure!" Liu Bao said. He then added, "He probably is not."

Yunan Xiao noticed that Baogang Liu's was not so confident in his words anymore. She never would have thought this senior coach from the national team would show this lack of self-confidence before Dai Li. Yunan Xiao involuntarily looked at the distant Dai Li again.

Baogang Liu also realized that he had used the wrong words, and that it was wrong to not be confident in front of his sponsor. Baogang Liu then immediately said, "Director Xiao, please don't worry; I believe in the strength of our participants. And in the team competition, only the first five athletes' scores are counted to calculate the results. I can form a strategy to disturb their pace by arranging two or three of our contestants to run with them! As long as they are out of sync, we will win!"

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Chapter 224: Giving a Hand With No Hesitation

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Coach Li, there is a beautiful lady over there. She is looking at you!" Feng Wu whispered to Dai Li.

As a police officer who had been demobilized from the special forces, Wu had a much better intuition than anyone else, and thus spotted that the beautiful lady, Yunan Xiao, was looking at them from a distance.

"She may be looking at me rather than Coach Li," A police officer nearby said with a smile.

"Wu was a sniper in the special forces. His eyesight is no doubt better than yours! If he said the beautiful girl was looking at Dai Li, then it must be him," another police officer said.

Dai Li turned to face the direction Feng Wu had said and saw Yunan Xiao. Due to the distance, however, Dai Li could not see her face clearly. She was in sportswear, and was wearing a peaked cap. Her fair complexion and fine figure showed off her beauty.

The next second, he saw Baogang Liu.

Isn't that Coach Baogang Liu of the marathon team? He did join the race! I heard a few days ago that he had asked for his annual leave to prepare for this. Wait, the race uniform he is wearing looks similar to that of the team nearby. I'm sure the national team is not participating. Has he joined some amateur team?"

Thinking about this, Dai Li said to Feng Wu, "Officer Wu, could you please tell me what team that is over there?"

As a former sniper in the special forces, Feng Wu did have sharp eyes. After a glance, he said to Dai Li, "The slogan on the uniforms those people are wearing reads 'Dingtian Real Estate'. The team should be from the Dingtian Group."

The Dingtian Group... That's a giant company! How could Coach Liu have gotten involved with them? Perhaps he works for it privately to earn some extra money... Dai Li thought.

It's very likely. Baogang Liu himself is a marathon coach working all day on the training ground. There is no need for him to ask for an annual leave to do pre-race training—he could train professional athletes if he really wanted to.

Dai Li knew that Baogang Liu was a high-level coach. He had coached on the national team for several years. Although the national team didn't achieve satisfying results in the international competitions, it was undeniable that its performance was stably improving.

It's a piece of cake to coach ordinary men for him. He should have been able to form a fairly well-trained team in such a long annual leave. But no matter how skilled he is, he is no match for me. My team members are all policemen. So, my team is unparalleled compared to these common teams.

Dai Li found that he felt much more relieved than before.

"Hey, isn't that Zhao? The squad leader of the first squad? He had been working for Dingtian Group after his demobilization!" a police officer beside Dai Li said.

"Any acquaintances, Officer Wang?" Dai Li asked immediately.

"Sure. There, one of my old comrades in the army is on the Dingtian Group's team. We were levied in the same year and assigned to the same platoon. He was the head of the No. 1 squad, and I was in charge of the No. 2. Coach, may I say hi to him?" His request for a temporary leave was approved, and he walked over to the Dingtian Group's team.

Officer Wang returned to the team after a moment.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting so long. I met a few old comrades there," Wang explained. "At first, I thought only Zhao was there. But I never expected another two comrades in my military unit to also be on that team..."

"Are there a lot of demobilized army men in the that team?" Dai Li vigilantly asked.

A police officer named Sui next to him looked over the team of the Dingtian Group and answered, "Quite a few. People who served in the army, especially those who just get demobilized, would reveal their identity of being a soldier easily. I think they are all demobilized army men."

Officer Sui was a criminal police officer. He knew a lot and had excellent observation and good analytic skills.

All demobilized army men! Dai Li gasped nervously. Now, the situation turned hot.

I used to believe my team was strong enough physically. But it never occured to me that the Dingtian Group's team is almost as strong as mine, in that they even employed Baogang Liu as their coach! They will be my archrival in this race, and I have to take as much care as I can. I'll detect their ability later.

Before long, all the contestants stood on the starting line. Dai Li seized this opportunity to detect the abilities of the members of the Dingtian Group's team.

They are strong, as expected. If I just compare the ability points, the points of that team are almost equally matched with mine. Thanks to the buff from my Endurance Aura, they should be no match for my team if the race really comes down to the end. Dai Li was reassured.

…..

Does Dai Li really know marathon training?

Baogang Liu was still uncertain. He would be much more confident if his opponent were one of his fellow coaches he had worked with on the national team for years. As a senior coach on the national team, he knew them well.

But he couldn't figure out Dai Li at all. On the eve of the Asian Games, Dai Li had volunteered to coach the relay race team and made them champions. Baogang Liu had witnessed that race. The coordination among the four team members couldn't have been achieved in a day's training. That made him believe that there was something mysterious about Dai Li.

This guy Dai Li is by no means ordinary if he was chosen by Li Xue. However, he is too young; mastering sprint training is challenging enough for him. He should not be skilled at long-distance race training! Baogang Liu tried to boost his morale.

At that moment, the starting gun fired. Runners began to move like the tide of the sea. The scene of several thousands of people running on the track was rather spectacular.

There is an old saying that goes, "Never fall behind at the starting line." But the half marathon was not a 100-meter sprint. These runners had to run over 20 kilometers in total; whether they were slightly ahead in the beginning would have little influence on their rankings in the race.

But many people who took part in the race for the first time didn't understand that, and eagerly ran as quickly as they could to gain some advantage once the race began.

Some amateur participants sped up to follow those fast runners out of fear of falling behind. What they didn't know was that a marathon at the amateur level aimed for running as much as one could. Finishing the race was most important.

Seeing this, Baogang Liu shook his head silently.

The present front-runners may quit the race halfway. Although there seems to be a lot of people running during the race, those who can finish the race are probably less than of the people running right now, if I had to guess. Absorbed in thoughts, Baogang Liu picked up a pack of drinks, and rode on his bicycle.

At the same time, Dai Li also carried a pack of supplies and rode on a shared bicycle.

The road that had been selected as the race track had been closed for this marathon, so no automobiles were allowed to pass through. As a result, supplies such as drinks and energy bars had to be transported by bicycles.

There were too many teams in the race, including dozens of teams composed of undergraduates. If every team had a car with them, the race would certainly be hindered by those vehicles.

Of course, special vehicles like police cars and ambulances were permitted to enter the track. To avoid arousing suspicion of providing privilege to the police team, the police station hadn't assigned any cars for its team. Dai Li, as the team coach, had to bring the supplies to the next supply point by himself.

In a marathon, the organizer would set up supply zones. Sometimes participating teams might set up some additional supply zones to supply their players as well.

The first supply point in this half marathon was five kilometers away from the starting line. It was a good distance for those who dared to take part in the race. For those who had difficulty running five kilometers, they really needed more exercise.

Dai Li wrote down some notes at the supply zone and stuck them to the bottles with double-sided tape. It was a method to deliver messages during the marathon. Depending on the conditions of the runners, the coach would write down their tactical arrangements on the paper to inform his athletes. In similar races like road cycling, participants used the same method to deliver messages.

Racers reaching the supply zone first were all athletes of good skill. Those who were first i nthe beginning of the race might have dropped out already.

"Dai Li! You are here!" Baogang Liu's voice arose.

Before the race, there had been too many people, and both of them were busy setting up their strategies. The two of them had no chance to greet each other. Now that they were at the supply point where there weren't many people, they had no excuse to not see each other.

"Coach Liu!" Dai Li smiled immediately. "I saw you earlier. Please pardon me for not greeting you. I had a lot to deal with."

"Same here," Baogang Liu replied. He then asked, "Dai Li, are all your team members policemen?"

"Yes, they are. Days ago the police station wanted to hire a coach among us. Everyone was busy except for me, so I went," Dai Li answered. "Coach Liu, is your team from the Dingtian Group?"

"Hehe..." Baogang Liu readily acknowledged it without being awkward about doing a private job.

They spoke vaguely and tried to get a sense of each other's strength as runners gradually appeared from the horizon.

"Here they come!" Dai Li found a group of runners in blue sportswear—they were from the police team. Simultaneously, the Dingtian Group's team appeared in his sight.

Dai Li and Baogang Liu both picked up their bags and walked to the side of the road, ready to pass drinks out to their team members.

The second supply zone was 7.5 kilometers away. After that, a supply zone would be set up every 2.5 kilometers.

It was reasonable to set up more supply points in an amateur marathon race. When ordinary men had to run ten kilometers, every 2.5 kilometers in the race would drain them, and even cause some of them to suffer. At every supply point, there were always a number of runners that could no longer continue running anymore and had to quit the race.

The number of runners on the track started to decrease at the 10-kilometer supply zone, and began dropping more quickly when it got to the 17.5-kilometer mark. For those who had run that far, they were all able to finish the race. The supply zone for 20 kilometers was a little over one kilometer away from the finish line. Runners who had run that far would not give up easily.

At the supply zone for the 7.5-kilometer mark there were still many runners, but some obvious gaps had emerged among them. Neither the police team nor the Dingtian Group team were in first place, but they were still ahead of the majority of the racers.

The real race would really begin at the 10-kilometer supply zone Many people would quit at the next two supply zones.

"Dai Li, I have to go." Baogang Liu waved goodbye to Dai Li, then rode to the next supply point.

Dai Li smiled helplessly. The bicycle Liu was riding on was a high-end urban bicycle with derailleur, and could even be used as a racing bike. The Dingtian Group was rich enough to offer several bicycles to its team staff.

Dai Li's bicycle was a shared bicycle that had to scan a QR code before it could be used. Such a bicycle was no match for Baogang Liu's city bicycle in terms of speed and riding experience.

Forget it; I only need to be a bit faster than my team to reach the zone in advance. It will be fine. He rode on his bicycle and headed for the next supply zone.

Dai Li had seen many runners falling behind on the track.

Although most participants were merely having fun, there were still a bunch of marathon fans in them. Some of these fans were outstanding runners at the amateur level, even though they couldn't rival professionals. They were no slower than the advantageous teams and thus appeared in the front. Some really tough athletes among them could even win the individual championship.

The half marathon is no doubt the fastest growing sport in the last two years. So many people take part in the race, and there are a few masters at the amateur level. It has been almost twelve kilometers now. Racers running this far are obviously skilled. It's particularly difficult for solo runners to stay towards the front of the pack because they lack team coordination and have spent too much of their stamina. What a challenge!"

Dai Li marveled at them as he continued riding forward. All of a sudden, a man in white sportswear stumbled and fell to the ground. Dai Li took a careful look at him and found that it was a skinny man in his sixties who had grizzled hair.

...

"Director Xiao, you don't need to ride to the end. Our company has arranged a car for you. Isn't it better to go the other way and take a little detour to get you to the finish line?" A man beside Yunan Xiao was speaking to her attentively.

"It doesn't matter. I just want to get some exercise. It's only twenty kilometers; not that much." She actually despised this form of flattery, if it could be called that, but showed no discomfort in her expression.

It was natural for the employees of the Dingtian Group to come and try to pamper Yunan Xiao due to her position. For example, when she had decided to ride to the finish line in today's race, seven or eight people immediately rode on bicycles to accompany her. One of them even carried an ice box containing cold drinks for her.

Alas, I have no freedom at all! Yunan Xiao sighed helplessly.

At that moment, she saw someone fall to the ground.

Somebody fell down! It looks like an old man! She made up her mind and rode over there to help him as soon as possible.

"Director Xiao, please wait!" the man beside her said, following her. "Check it out first, don't touch him!"

"Why?" Yunan Xiao asked as she turned around to look at him.

"You have been in the U.S. too long and don't know the situation here. When faced with this type of thing, you should call the police or the hospital. If you insist on helping him, please do so after I have taken the video as proof to illustrate that the man was not hit by you," the man answered.

Yunan Xiao opened her mouth, but said nothing. She had thought of cases of "pengci" fraud, and the story of someone helping an old woman out of kindness at first, but selling a car to pay reparations to her in the end.

"It can't be..." Xiao seemed to say to herself.

"Director Xiao, people are very different these days. You have your special status. Being blackmailed will harm your reputation." Then, the man said to the men behind him, "Zhang and Li, you two go and help that old man; Zhao and Yu, take the video with your mobile phone. Although we are helping others, we don't want to be fooled!"

While they were talking, Dai Li arrived from behind. He stopped his bicycle in front of the old man.

"Are you okay, sir? Let me help you up!" he said without hesitation.

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Chapter 225: The Good Man

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Yunan Xiao looked at the man beside him with a hint of anger, almost as if she was saying, This man can help him; why can't I?

The man looked helplessness. He did not expect anyone to come and help an old man without any precautious self-protection.

This guy is Baogang Liu's colleague and a coach for the national team. Yunan Xiao recognized Dai Li.

"Sir, are you okay?" Dai Li asked, carefully checking on the old man.

To be precise, this old man was not very old. By his appearance, he should have been less than sixty years old. But his gray hair made him look older. He appeared to be in pain, clenching his teeth, with both his hands holding his legs.

Hearing Dai Li asked him whether he was OK, the old man said, "I have a cramp in my leg!"

Dai Li instantly understood why the old man had fallen.

When running a marathon, cramps were very common, as the runners would lose too much physical energy and have an inadequate amount of electrolytes. The old man had lost his balance when his leg began cramping and fell to the ground.

"Straighten your feet; toes up. Let me help you. Don't bend your legs." As a professional coach, it was natural for Dai Li to handle cramps. He knew how to relieve them.

A minute later, the tense expression of the old man eased a lot. The symptom of the cramp had seemingly vanished.

"Sir, how are you feeling now?" Dai Li asked.

"No cramping anymore, just a little painful here in the calf," the old man said.

"Your muscles are too tight." Dai Li touched the old man's calf, then said, "Let me rub it for you!"

Dai Li's Relaxation Massage was also effective on ordinary people. Only a moment later, the old man felt very relieved, and the pain originally caused by the cramp was also gradually eliminated.

"Young man, your massage technique is really good. Are you a massage therapist?" the old man asked, looking at Dai Li.

"I'm a sports coach," Dai Li answered.

"No wonder you are good at dealing with this sort of thing." The old man continued, "Nowadays, when ordinary people see an old guy like me falling down, they will hesitate for a while, even if they want to help. There are not many people like you now."

Dai Li smiled, but did not answer. When he saw the old man fall, he did not think too much; he simply wanted to help him.

"What's wrong, boss?" an anxious voice said from far away.

Following the voice, three men ran closer. The one in the lead was a slightly overweight 30-year-old, while two 20–year-old men followed him.

The 30-year-old man approached them, breathing heavily. He glanced at Dai Li and immediately said, "Did you bump into our director so that he would fall to the ground?"

Dai Li felt both annoyed and amused. But thinking it over, he realized that it was not strange. With his bike on the side, it was quite normal that they thought he had knocked down the old man.

"Lin, what nonsense! He is a good man!" The old man stared at the fat man and said, "I fell because I had a cramp in my leg. This young man kindly came to help me!"

The fat man was immediately embarrassed. With a smile, he said to Dai Li, "Sorry that I accused you."

"Director Xiao, you see that? It is really dangerous to be kind to others! Fortunately, the old man was a reasonable man. If it were rogue b*stard, the young man could get extorted." The man next to Yunan Xiao then said, "That old man is no ordinary man."

"Why?" Yunan Xiao asked.

"I heard those men addressing the old man as director. In this capital of ours, it is most difficult to figure out what position a director is, exactly. A director is by no means always a small position. This title might mean a lot." The man continued, "As officials of the lowest rank, there might be several directors in the administration of just one community. Yet at the same time, the boss of the Nation Development and Reform Committee is also called a 'director.' Some 'directors' in the committee have the power to easily make a big company suffer a lot."

"I see. The young coach of the national team is a warm-hearted person," Yunan Xiao nodded. She then said, "Well, everything is OK here now. Let's go."

Dai Li did not know that he was unexpectedly labeled a "good man" by Yunan Xiao.

How come Dai Li is still not here. Even though he rides a shared bike, he should not be so much slower than me! Looking at his watch, Baogang Liu continued thinking to himself.

Baogang Liu looked up again and finally saw Dai Li. With Dai Li were also more than 10 runners.

Dai Li is so late that he arrived at almost the same time as the candidates! I don't know why he was delayed. Well, this kid is not a professional marathon coach. It is normal that he hasn't prepared fully. Baogang Liu took out a bottle of water from his pack while thinking to himself.

Dai Li rode to the supply area quickly and quickly removed his backpack. He took out the drinks and got ready to give them to his team.

Upon Dai Li's arrival, the police team also arrived at the supply point. Dai Li quickly gave out the drinks, then immediately rode to the next supply zone.

People who could arrive at the 17.5-kilometer supply zone earlier than others were by no means mediocre. Until then, no complete team had arrived at the supply zone. Baogang Liu silently prayed that the Dingtian Group's team would arrive as soon as possible.

Here they are! Baogang Liu sighed in relief. The next second, however, he saw that the Dingtian Group's team was being closely followed by a team wearing blue tracksuits.

It was the police team.

Since the beginning of the race the two teams had been running together, and neither of them had been able to surpass each other by a significant distance.

It's almost the last 3.5 kilometers. It's time for a showdown. Now you should speed up a little. Baogang Liu picked up a pen and quickly wrote a few words on the sticker. He then stuck it on the bottle.

At the same time, Dai Li was also hurriedly writing.

In the last 3.5 kilometers, it will be time to speed up. With the help of the endurance halo, the physical condition of my team should be better than those of Coach Liu's. Dai Li wrote his tactical order to speed up on the paper. He then stuck it on the drink bottle and went to the side of the track.

Coach Baogang Liu also appeared at the same position, ready to pass the message along to his team.

The two teams received their coach's instructions and began increasing their speeds at the same time.

They are also speeding up! The same idea popped into the mind of both Dai Li and Baogang Liu at the same time. They involuntarily looked into each other's eyes.

Dai Li's stay on the national team was not in vain after all. Although he is not a marathon coach, he has learned a few marathon skills. He knows it is time to speed up now, Baogang Liu thought.

Dai Li, however, felt a huge boost in his morale.

Baogang Liu also chose to speed up now. He made the same choice as I did. It means my judgment is correct! Maybe we can win today! Baogang Liu is a professional marathon coach; it must feel very good to beat him!

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Chapter 226: The Score Counting

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After the 17.5-kilometer supply point, there was no need for the contestants of a team to stay in formation.

The contestants who had the strength to get a higher individual ranking had been following others within the team to preserve more physical strength. Until now, the leading runner for the last leg of the half marathon would be in front of the team. He would be leading the team for the next two kilometers.

After those two kilometers, they would reach the final sprint phase. This would depend on individual ability. The more physical strength one had left, the faster they could sprint.

The runner leading the team was destined to sacrifice their own result. If on an ordinary team, it would be difficult to do such tactical coordination, for no one would be willing to sacrifice their own achievements for someone else's ranking. But the police team was different; they strictly followed Dai Li's strategy that was made before the race. The leading athlete wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice for the sake of the team to achieve a better result. For the Dingtian Group team, the discipline of the veterans could also be guaranteed.

After the 20-kilometer supply zone, less than one kilometer was left before the finish line of the half marathon. At this point, all the contestants would begin their final sprint, and the distance between the players would begin to grow.

The ranking of individual races naturally depended on the results, while the ranking for team competitions was calculated by the total score of its team members. Contestants ranking within the top 500 all had scores. The first participant to pass the finish line would receive 500 points for its team, the second 499 points, and so on; 500th place would receive one point. For contestants ranking below 500, no points would be given to the team.

If more than one contestant of a team was within the top 500, then only the top five participants' scores would be counted. At the finish line, everyone looked anxiously at the runway, waiting for the first place finisher to arrive.

"Here he is!" someone suddenly shouted. Dozens of cameras instantly pointed towards the horizon. First place was a young man who was about 20 years old. He was a student from the Sports University, specializing in tthe marathon.

In this kind of competition, no professional athletes would show up. Competing for the championship against a group of amateurs was a disgrace no professional athlete wanted. Therefore, college athletes made up almost all of the highly skilled competitors. These college students were going for personal achievements, so they were no threat to a team.

The second through eighth place finishers were all college students, all from different universities. Ninth place was a marathon enthusiast who was about 30 years old, and had been a professional athlete when he was younger. Although he had retired many years ago, he had continued his training, running as many as 120-150 kilometers per week.

For amateurs, this amount of training was unusual. Even for professional athletes on the national team, weekly training only covered between 180-220 kilometers generally. If an amateur could really run 150 kilometers in a week, it meant that they must spend almost all their spare time running marathons to ensure a good result.

"10th place is coming!"

Although the runner was still quite far away, Dai Li saw the familiar blue sportswear. It's Feng Wu!

Dai Li heaved a long sigh of relief that this police officer from the special-ops had indeed brought him a surprise.

Baogang Liu, who was beside him, looked unhappy. But only a few seconds later, he felt relieved.

The 12th place finisher was from the Dingtian Group's team.

Between 10th and 12th place, the difference was only two points. Baogang Liu thought this could be ignored.

The 19th place finisher is still our man! Baogang Liu clenched his fist excitedly.

12th place scored 489 points, and 19th place scored 482 points. In total, the Dingtian Group's team had already gotten 971 points, which lead all other teams by a huge margin.

"Director Xiao, so far two of our runners have finished. The total score now is 971 points. We are number one."

Yunan Xiao nodded, "Tell the publicity staff to get in their positions. Once we receive the group championship, immediately begin our Jinyuanya Park publicity program. How about the other teams?"

"Only the police team has two contestants who have finished the competition. Their score is 969 points," the man immediately reported.

"Only two points less than our team!" Yunan Xiao raised her eyebrows. Then she said, "Watch the results carefully."

…

At the finish line, Dai Li and Baogang Liu were both waiting anxiously. The 25th, 26th and 27th place finishers had just crossed the finish line.

Both 28th and 29th place were also in sight, but neither of them were on their teams. 30th is still not our man. Come on! Baogang Liu prayed to himself.

However, none of the next few contestants reaching the finish line were members of the Dingtian Group's team. Similarly, none of these runners were members of the police team, either.

Finally, a familiar tracksuit appeared on the horizon. Here it is! 41st! He is from my team.

Baogang Liu had all his excitement showing on his face. It meant that the third contestant of the Dingtian Group's team was also about to finish the race.

Four or five seconds later, another member of the Dingtian Group's team appeared.

The 42nd place finisher is also from our team! We have four now; four of us! Baogang Liu quickly calculated it. The 41st place finisher would score 460 points, and the 42nd 459 points. Adding this to the previous two finishes, the Dingtian Group was leading by 921 points over the police team, which ranked 2nd. We are about to win! Now we just need one more contestant to finish the race and we'll win! The anxiety in his heart suddenly eased.

Places 42, 43, 44, and 45 finished the race in the next minute, but the four of them were not members of either team.

After half a minute, the 46th place finisher came into sight. He was wearing a blue sports T-shirt.

When Dai Li saw this blue sports shirt, he knew someone on his team was coming.

46th place is not bad. Baogang Liu was calm. 46th place will go to the police team. But he can only receive 455 points, which does not affect the overall ranking.

But then there was another contestant coming in a blue sports T-shirt.

The 46th and 48th place finishers were both from the police team. Baogang Liu's expression changed slightly.

Dai Li took out his phone to calculate. 46th place would score 455 points and the 48th would score 457 points. With the previous 969 points, we now have a total of 1,881 points. The Dingtian Group's team has now scored... Dai Li pressed on the calculator of the phone, calculating, and quickly came to a number. 1,890 points. We are now nine points behind the Dingtian Group's team!

Dai Li continued to look at the black silhouettes on the horizon ahead. Many of the contestants were sprinting to the finish line.

There are now four contestants who have finished from both teams. It will depend on the last runner of the five to see whose score will be counted. As for the 9-point gap, if our next contestant ranks higher than theirs by nine points, we can still win!

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Chapter 227: You Owe Me This Time

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

One minute ago, Baogang Liu had been planning to celebrate his victory; once he looked at the calculator on his phone, however, he lost all of his confidence.

Although Baogang Liu was a little slow calculating, he did finish the calculation; his team's score was only nine points higher than that of the police team. In other words, it was a nine rank difference.

In a marathon race, a difference of nine ranks was no big deal at all. Especially after the 40th or 50th place finisher, there could be more than ten athletes rushing to the finish line together. The rankings among a group of athletes could easily change, and did so often.

I'm not going to lose it today, am I? Baogang Liu thought, no longer sure of himself.

There are no undefeated generals in the stadium, and it was normal for a coach to lose a match. But Baogang Liu really did not want to lose today. Both Baogang Liu and Dai Li were coaches on the national team, but Baogang Liu was a marathon coach. If he was defeated by a sprinting coach, he would be quite shamed.

It all depends on the fifth score. Hurry up! Baogang Liu silently prayed.

On the track, there were always other runners appearing on the horizon. At first they were black silhouettes in the distance, then gradually the color of their sportswear would become clear. Each time a new silhouette appeared, Baogang Liu and Dai Li would anxiously look at it. When they clearly saw that the athlete was not from their team nor their opponent's, they each deeply sighed in both relief and regret.

In a blink of the eye, more than 60 runners had finished the game. There were more and more contestants on the track and the distances between the runners were getting closer and closer together, which became overwhelming.

Counted as the 69th, the fifth contestant of Dai Li's police team finally come.

Here he is! My contestant has gotten here first! With 69th place, we will get another 432 points. Dai Li quickly calculated the results.

If there is no contestant from the Dingtian Group's team among the next nine runners passing the finish line, then the team championship is ours! Dai Li thought, secretly glancing at Baogang Liu, who was not far away.

Baogang Liu had very mixed feelings. Not too long ago, the fourth contestant of the Dingtian Group's team had arrived first, and Baogang Liu had even felt victory already in his grasp. However, he was unexpectedly waiting for a fifth runner from his team, and in this time three runners from the police team had finished the race.

There is still a chance. I'll still win as long as one of the next nine runners is from my team. As long as he gets a ranking above 78th place, we will still win the champion.

Baogang Liu was trying to cheer himself up. Thinking of this, Baogang Liu looked up into the distance. He saw another blue tracksuit.

Is this one from the police team again? They have six runners who have finished the race now?

Baogang Liu felt worried immediately. Although the score of the sixth contestant would not be counted in the group results, he had a very bad feeling.

71st place was again taken by the police team.

75th and 78th place were also from the police team.

It's over! I have lost. Baogang Liu already knew that the Dingtian Group had lost the group championship!

The fifth contestant finishing the race from the Dingtian Group placed 85th, which led them to score five less points than the police team. This gap was not much in terms of points, but Baogang Liu knew he had been completely defeated.

Among the finishers from 69th place to 85th place, six were members of the police team. In comparison, most contestants from the Dingtian Group team finished between 85th place and 100th place.

Baogang Liu knew that this was where the gap lied. When only the scores of the top five of each team's participants were counted, the Dingtian Group seemed to be no weaker than the police team. The other runners from the Dingtian Group after the top five, however, were obviously weaker than the police team.

We were basically tied at the 17.5-kilometer supply zone. The gap had to have happened during the final three-kilometer sprint. Baogang Liu immediately figured out how this had happened.

Losing the match was not so terrible when you knew the reason why you had lost. The national team coaches were very good at learning lessons from their failures. Baogang Liu immediately found the reason for his failure.

I thought Dai Li was only a sprinting coach. It never occurred to me that he knew how to train marathon runners too. He had been playing innocent to trick his opponent! Baogang Liu cursed under his breath, then helplessly shook his head. This kid was so skillful; no wonder Coach Xue Li values him so much!

...

On the other side, Dai Li had also silently evaluated the effects of the endurance halo.

Although I have won, it was so close that I could have lost if it had not been for the endurance halo. I thought I would win easily, but in the end we only won by a small margin. The effect of the endurance halo for this super long race didn't seem to be as strong as I imagined.

The tactical arrangements made before the race and the on-field commanding were also my weak points. Before the match, I scanned all the contestants for their ability and they were very close; I barely won even with the endurance halo. This means I still have much more to learn from Coach Liu about the tactical arrangements and on-field commanding.

As for leading a team, Dai Li thought he had much less experience than Baogang Liu. The tactical arrangements Baogang Liu had made before the race were certainly better than Dai Li's, and the tactical instructions during the match he had given were certainly more reasonable than Dai Li's.

I'm in the intermediate phase of a top-level coach. With this advantage, I am one of the best on the national team in terms of training effects. In other aspects, however, I still have a lot of weaknesses, especially in leading a team during the match.

In the few projects I have done, whether it was the shot put, long jump, or sprinting, basically no tactics were required. I have not paid any attention to this. Now it seems that I have a lot of things to learn. As a coach, I can't just train! Leading the team in competitions is what I will have to do, and this is something I will have to continue getting better at.

Through a half marathon race, Dai Li had found his shortcomings, which could not be learned from the coaching system.

The coaching system could make his training effect multiply, could enhance his athletes' performance in certain aspects, and could even help the athletes recover from injuries; but it could not give Dai Li coaching experience, and was not able to help Dai Li master on-field commanding techniques.

Dai Li had considered himself very strong in the intermediate phase of a top-level coach. But now, Dai Li suddenly found that he was only a little better than a newbie.

...

Dai Li lowered his head as he summed up his shortcomings, so he didn't notice that Yunan Xiao was checking him out from not too far away.

The young coach of the national team was quite interesting! Baogang Liu said earlier that he was a sprinting coach, but he managed to beat a professional marathon coach in a marathon. Yunan Xiao felt that Dai Li was now even more mysterious than he had been before.

"Director Xiao, we have lost the competition. Will we continue to follow the publicity plan?" someone asked.

"Switch to plan B!" Yunan Xiao helplessly said.

For a project where more than one billion yuan had been spent to buy the land, there would surely always be a publicity plan B. The Dingtian Group had prepared several sets of alternative plans, though they were not as good as plan A.

What was more important was the fact that this was the first project Yunan Xiao had managed since she had returned to China. This setback at the beginning of her campaign had really made her upset.

She stared at Dai Li from far away, who was on her mind to blame for her defeat. She muttered, "Our plan took the planning department so long to prepare. But you screwed it up! You owe me."

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Chapter 228: The National Games Are Coming

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The next day, word of the results of the half marathon quickly spread to the national team. Everyone knew that Baogang Liu had had an unexpected failure, and that he had been defeated by Dai Li in the marathon.

The coaches of the national team knew each other well. They surely knew about Baogang Liu's qualifications.

In terms of ability, Baogang Liu was definitely not weak on the national team, and might even be in the upper-middle level. Not only was he good at marathon training, but he was also good at long-distance running training.

If Baogang Liu was defeated by another marathon coach, or even by a long-distance running coach, it would not have surprised anyone. After all, even the best horses stumbled sometimes; it's normal for a high-level coach to lose a match once in a while.

But Baogang Liu had been defeated by Dai Li. This made many people wonder why Dai Li was a sprinting coach. Sprint and marathon were both popular sports, but the two had nothing in common with one another; in fact, it was even safe to say that they were vastly different.

…

Yet the winner was Dai Li.

The outsiders might have thought that Dai Li had won the game due to pure luck. As the saying went, even the poorest families might have dumplings for dinner during the spring festival.

But in the eyes of the national team coaches, although there may have been a slice of luck in Dai Li's victory, there was definitely not a lot of it; Dai Li's strength as a coach was much more crucial.

What's more, what Dai Li had won was the team competition. This required five participants' scores to be counted. It might have been luck to have an individual runner win, but for five participants on one team to win, it obviously required something more than purely being lucky. Therefore, everyone realized that Dai Li must know something about marathon training. Many people even believed that Dai Li had rich experience in leading a team in marathon, otherwise it would have been impossible for him to defeat Baogang Liu.

...

Dai Li knocked on the door, then walked into Li Xue's office.

Seeing that it was Dai Li, Li Xue said, "Dai Li, you good boy! You won that half marathon race yesterday and defeated Baogang Liu! Baogang Liu's ability is quite extraordinary among marathon coaches on our national team. I never would have thought you would defeat him!"

"That was pure luck!" Dai Li smiled.

"All right. You needn't be humble when with me. If you did not know something about marathon, you couldn't defeat Baogang Liu at all! Fortunately, you're my student, and the long-distance running team wouldn't sare touch you" Li Xue said, smiling.

"It was only a game. Are they going to beat me?" Dai Li asked with surprised.

"You misunderstood me. I am short-tempered, but I have never fought with anyone when I lost a match. Those guys on the long-distance running team are always dawdling when doing things; how dare they start a fight with anyone?" Li Xue then said, "Yet they dare to do headhunting! If you were someone else, the long-distance running team would have tried to recruit you to their team long ago! It's a good thing that you work for me. They dare not solicit you, even if they had twice the amount of courage."

Dai Li smiled and changed the topic. "Coach, what did you call me here for?"

"Go back to the dormitory and pack up your belongings. You should return to your provincial team now," Li Xue said with no hesitation.

"Coach, you just said you would have me under your wing. Now you're firing me? I just won a half marathon with only amateurs. Is it really necessary to fire me??" Dai Li said half-jokingly.

"It is not that I want to fire you; I reckon that your provincial team will soon want you back," Li Xue said. He put a copy of a document on the table. "Take a look at this first."

Dai Li picked up the document. He knew what it was as soon as he finished scanning the title.

"The schedule for the track and field qualification competition for the National Games was released! It begins next month. It's very soon," Dai Li said.

Li Xue nodded. "Great importance is placed on every session of the National Games by every provincial training team. As usual, the provincial training teams will recall all the excellent athletes and coaches in their province. Many athletes and coaches from the national team also usually return to their former unit to work for their province. This is an unwritten rule.

"You have been temporarily transferred to the national team, and there are not many excellent sprinting coaches in Hanbei Province. Although you are working for the national team, you are still an coach for your provincial team. I think they will soon get you back," Li Xue said.

Glancing at Dai Li, he continued, "I just received this document. The national team gets news sooner than the provincial team. I think the Hanbei provincial team will receive a similar document by this afternoon at the latest. I just wanted to let you know in advance so that you could pack up and book your ticket home."

"I see. Thank you, coach!" Dai Li said.

Li Xue then said, "The track and field team of Hanbei Province is good at middle-distance running and the shot put. Their performance in sprinting is only so-so. I am afraid it is unlikely they will earn a medal in the National Games. So I will not impose any goal on you. When you go back to the provincial team, just don't screw up and embarrass me."

Li Xue, as an official of the second highest rank in national team, usually lead the training and naturally knew the situation of each provincial team well. This meant that he knew what the track and field teams of each province were good at.

Dai Li had been with the national team for such a long time that he had gotten to know something about each of the provincial teams. He knew there was no top-level sprinter in his hometown, Hanbei Province; at least, there was no sprinter on the national team currently from his hometown.

Li Xue was right. At five o'clock that afternoon, Dai Li received a call from the head coach of the track and field team of Hanbei Province, Weidong Chu, who told him to go back as soon as possible to prepare for the National Games.

Dai Li first bought a ticket to his hometown Yu Zhou, where he stayed with his parents for a day. Then he went to the provincial capital, Qingcheng.

The Hanbei Province's track and field team was still unfamiliar to Dai Li, as he had not actually stayed there for more than a few days.

When he was still with the youth team, he had signed up for the talent training program of the national team. After that, he had stayed on the national team with Li Xue to learn, and had almost never come back to the Hanbei Province's track and field team.

Hanbei Province's track and field team had never asked Dai Li to come back. Dai Li was wanted by Li Xue, and Weidong Chu would not want to annoy Li Xue. He actually hoped that Dai Li could stay with the national team.

Weidong Chu knew that the provincial team was too small a temple to accommodate a big Buddha like Dai Li; it would only be a matter of time before he went to the national team anyway. In Weidong Chu's eyes, it would benefit him to have a friend on the national team. It would do Hanbei Province's track and field team nothing but good if Dai Li could be recruited by the national team.

Therefore, if it were not really a special occasion, Weidong Chu would not recall Dai Li. But the National Games were obviously a special occasion. Weidong Chu needed Dai Li to come back.

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Chapter 229: Dai Li Is Coming Back

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

NG was short for the National Games, which was the highest and largest comprehensive sports event in the country. In addition to the martial arts project, the National Games were basically on the same level as the Olympic Games. There were even winter Olympic events in the early years such as skating.

Ordinary people probably would not pay much attention to the National Games. But for the Provincial Sports Bureaus, the National Games was only second to the Olympic Games.

Since the provincial training teams were not eligible to attend national sports games, the National Games became the highest stage they could ever see. Each Provincial Sports Bureau looked to the National Games to show off their achievements. Thus, the National Games was also nicknamed the Olympic Games in the sports world.

For athletes in the sports world, a gold medal in the National Games was second only to a world championship, especially for sports that were not as popular nor familiar to the public. If an athlete could win a gold medal in the National Games, he would be making contributions to their Provincial Sports Bureau, which meant that his or her career path would be a lot smoother, and that there would be a better position for him or her after retiring from sports.

These were the tangible benefits. For athletes who had no chance of seeing the Olympic stage, it was obviously worth it to try their best to show out in front of the leaders and solidify a good position for themselves after retirement.

In order to win a gold medal in the National Games, each of the Provincial Sports Bureaus applied all the strategies and tactics they had at their disposal. Drafting excellent athletes and coaches was the most basic of these strategies. Excellent athletes on national teams, professional clubs, or even overseas would be asked to attend the National Games.

Spending money was also useful. Especially in rich provinces, Provincial Sports Bureaus would set a high-level prize for a gold medal, nearly that of an Olympic championship. With a higher prize, the enthusiasm of the athletes would naturally be more profound.

Besides, spending money to poach excellent athletes from other provinces to attend the National Games was also a good way to enhance their own team in a short amount of time. For example, there was once a famous basketball player who had attended the National Games three times, and represented a different team each time. In the end, he walked away with a lot of money.

...

Headquarters for Hanbei Province's track and field team.

As the National Games began approaching, all the coaches started to gear up their training, hoping to achieve a good result in the competition.

The sprinting coach, Baojun Sha, walked into the dining hall, exhausted. He ordered several dishes he liked and devoured them. An entire afternoon of training had consumed a great deal of his physical strength. Right now even steamed bread with salted vegetables were a delicacy in his eyes.

"Baojun Sha, here, come here!" someone at the next table greeted Baojun Sha.

Baojun Sha turned around and saw two of his colleagues, Hua Liu and Guodong Li, who were both sprinting coaches.

How did Hua Liu and Guodong Li get together! Baojun Sha thought in doubt.

They were all sprinting coaches, but their relationships were not good at all. As the saying goes, "two people from the same trade can never agree." The three had always been in competitive on the track and field team.

The Hanbei Province track and field team had a vacant position as the group leader in the sprint training section, which was in charge of practical training. When someone got this position, he would have the opportunity to be promoted to the assistant head coach of the track and field team. Becoming a senior member on the team was getting a seat in a leadership position. Therefore, Baojun Sha, Hua Liu, and Guodong Li were all longing for this position.

Their differences in age were not significant, and both their qualifications and achievements were nearly the same. In order to get this position, they had all tried their best. It was because of this that their relationship with one another was not so good. They usually nodded at each other as a form of greeting, and never spoke to each other unless necessary. Even during group dinners that involved all their colleagues, they tried not to sit together.

Understandably, it was unbelievable that Hua Liu and Guodong Li were eating at the same table. Not only that, but now they had called Baojun Sha over to the eat with them. Baojun Sha was surprised.

He hesitated, but eventually carried his tray over to them. Before he could sit down, Guodong Li said, "Baojun Sha, you have really held some tough training sessions recently!"

Could it be possible that Guodong Li wants to find out my training schedule? Baojun Sha was distrustful and replied thoughtlessly, "It seems like you two have been doing some tough training too! Are you going to have yourself a big success at the National Games?"

"If so, you should be the group leader!" Hua Liu smiled and said, "I'm afraid there's no chance!"

"Hua Liu, opportunities depend on strength. You cannot attend the National Games just by talking." Baojun Sha thought Hua Liu had criticized him, so he was unhappy.

Hua Liu smiled ironically, "Sha, don't misunderstand me—I'm not talking about you."

Hua Liu's sneer disgruntled Baojun Sha. Baojun Sha said ironically, "Not talking about me? Could it be Guodong Li? I guess you were not talking about you, right?"

"Sha, I meant that none of us had a chance!" Hua Liu said.

"What did you mean, Hua Liu?" Baojun Sha sniffed.

"Sha, do you know? Dai Li is coming back," Guodong Li began to explain.

Dai Li? Who is Dai Li? The name sounds a little familiar! Baojun Sha said to himself.

Guodong Li leaned forward and lowered his voice. "The young coach who was selected from the youth team. The one who was taken away by the national team before he came to report in."

Baojun Sha suddenly remembered. "That guy! I knew him. Dai Li planned to attend the youth talent training program. He got lucky and was selected by Li Xue. Then he stayed with the national team. So? Is he coming back? I thought he would be directly transferred to the national team!"

"Dai Li was only on the national team temporarily before. Now that the National Games are coming, Coach Chu naturally wants him back." Guodong Li continued, "I heard that Coach Chu wants him to be the group leader!"

"Why! I've been on the team for almost ten years. Why him? Such a young guy wants to be the group leader! I don't even know him." Baojun Sha let all the anger he was feeling show on his face.

"It's because he can hold his position in the national team; because he is a proud disciple of Li Xue!" Hua Liu interrupted. These two reasons left Baojun Sha speechless, and unable to find any ground for defense.

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Chapter 230: Failed to Ally

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Either of the two reasons given by Hua Liu would be sufficient for Dai Li to be made the group leader.

As for these three, being recruited by the national team was impossible. They hadn't didn't qualified for the national training camp, while Dai Li could gain a firm foothold in the national team. This showed that he was much stronger than them, and thus could be eligible to be group leader.

Besides, Dai Li was Li Xue's favorite disciple, who was the second in command on the national track and field team. Xue was very influential throughout the whole country due to his numerous disciples and longtime followers. Relying on his relationship with Li Xue, Dai Li could make himself the group leader.

Considering this, Baojun Sha suddenly felt a sense of loss. He had trained for quite a long time to be the group leader. Now, the chance was taken by someone else before he could even get his hopes up.

He took a deep breath and cleared his mind. He had to console himself, "Dai Li is happy on the national team, and certainly won't want to return to the provincial team. I think he was just drafted for the National Games. After that, he'll surely return to the national team."

"Well, let's talk about the National Games." Hua Liu continued, "Dai Li is a coach. After coming back, the team will assign him athletes to train, right? Sha, who do you think will be sent to him?"

As if Baojun Sha was aware of something, his expression suddenly became serious.

Hua Liu continued, "When Dai Li comes back from the national team, our team will definitely assign him the best athletes. On our team, there are three top athletes: Kun Shen, trained by Sha, Tinshan Chen, trained by Li, and Yueyang Zhu, trained by me."

Guodong Li interrupted Hua Liu and added, "Sha, if I remember correctly, Kun Shen has been training with you for four years! Yueyang Zhu with Hua Liu have been for over three years. Although Tinshan Chen has only been training with me for nearly two years, his training is just starting to pay off."

Looking at these two guys, Guodong Li added, "Dai Li will choose one of them, which means taking away our two-year efforts. Will we be reimbursed? And at this key sports event, it seems that Dai Li will take an athlete trained by us to the National Games and steal our achievements."

"You two took me here just for this?" Baojun Sha sat up and continued, "To be honest, we would be quite lucky and thankful if our three athletes could even pass the National Games' qualification. To get good rankings would be impossible."

"But we can't allow Dai Li to take away our trainees!" Hua Liu said firmly, "Sha, at this special moment in time, we three should unite together against the outsider! We cannot allow Dai Li to rob our athletes."

"Unite together against the outsider?" With a sly smile on his face, Baojun Sha said, "Dai Li will only choose one man, and the probability of any of us is one third. I don't think my athlete will be lucky enough to be chosen by Dai Li."

"What do you mean, Sha?" Guodong Li looked anxious.

Smiling at him, Baojun Sha added, "Didn't you just say that Kun Shen had been training with me for four years? Actually, it's been four years and eight months! Kun Shen is twenty four. He's the oldest among the three athletes!"

Looking at Hua Liu, he continued, "Hua Liu, Yueyang Zhu, who you train, is about twenty two, right?"

"Yes, he will be soon," Hua Liu nodded.

"As for Tinshan Chen..." Turning to Guodong Li, he smiled, "Wasn't Tinshan Chen chosen by you from Qingcheng Sports School two years ago, Li? Later, you managed to get him onto the youth team. One year later, he was directly selected for our provincial team. I suppose that he's no older than twenty, right?"

When talking about age, Guodong Li became a little uncomfortable.

Baojun Sha continued, "All three are practically the same in skill, but they're different in age. If you were Dai Li, which one would you choose? The twenty-four-year-old, the twenty-two-year-old, or the one under twenty?"

It was known to all coaches that the younger an athlete was, the more potential they had. When facing three athletes at the same level, anyone with common sense would choose the youngest.

Holding his stray and patting Hua Liu's shoulder, Baojun Sha said, "Don't worry, Liu. Even if Dai Li came back, he wouldn't choose Kun Shen or Yueyang Zhu. I assure you!"

Guodong Li clenched his fists with anger, because Baojun Sha had figured out his plan.

Guodong Li had been eager to find an ally, since the youngest athlete, Tinshan Chen, who he trained, was the most likely to be chosen by Dai Li.

Therefore, he wanted to form an alliance with Baojun Sha and Hua Liu.

He talked to Hua Liu first and exaggerated the situation to scare Hua Liu, who hadn't realized the age issue and had agreed to ally with him.

However, when talking with Baojun Sha about it, Guodong Li's trick was figured out by the wily Baojun Sha. What's more, Hua Liu also understood the truth, thanks to Sha's comment.

After Baojun Sha moved to another table to the side, Guodong Li turned to Hua Liu. "Liu, it seems that Sha doesn't want to help us, but don't worry, we can find others..."

"Oh, Li, you eat slowly, I'm going to get a bowl of porridge!" Hua Liu cut him off and went off with his stray, leaving Guodong Li sat there alone.

"Men are evil and tricky!" Guodong Li couldn't help but curse in his mind.

…

In the conference room of the track and field team of Hanbei Province...

Pointing at Dai Li next to him, Weidong Chu said, "Let me introduce to you Dai Li. You must have heard about him before, but some of you may have never seen him before. Li was added to the national team after entering our track and field team, so he seldom shows up on our team. Now, he's returned. Whether you've seen him before or not, now you know him. Come on. Let's welcome Li back from the national team!"

Saying that, Weidong Chu started to applaud, and the others clapped along.

"Thank you! Thank you all!" Dai Li stood up, made a brief self-introduction, then said some standard words about learning more from others.

As he sat down, Weidong Chu went on, "Let's get straight to business. The qualifications for the National Games are about to begin. Needless to say, everyone knows how important the National Games are. What we are going to talk about is the National Games. Moving on, let's start with the field events. Coach Wang, tell us about your group's preparation for the long jump."

A bald man took out the report materials he had prepared, and said calmly, "For this National Games, the long jump group has specially prepared..."

…

The field sports included high jump, long jump, pole vault, triple jump, shot put, discus, javelin, and hammer. Every coach for every event reported their preparation for the National Games, then Weidong Chu discussed some modifications with them.

Some events took a short time, while some took much longer. After all eight of them had finished, an hour and a half had passed.

After looking at his watch, Weidong Chu said, "Discussions on preparations for the field events are over. Now let's discuss the track events, starting with the sprints. Lu, what about you?"

An over fifty-year-old coach put on his reading glasses and took out a rumpled document, starting to report.

As there was no group leader for sprint events and Baojun Sha, Hua Liu, and Guodong Li were all competing for the position, it wouldn't be appropriate to let any one of them do the reporting. It would be regarded as an act of favoritism.

Thus, Weidong Chu arranged the old yet honorable coach Lu to do the reporting. Coach Lu was approaching retirement age, and he certainly would not contend to be group leader. He wasn't a threat to the three people, so letting him report wouldn't cause others to misunderstand his intentions.

Coach Lu did his briefing at quite a slow pace. Though he said a lot, there was actually not much meaning in what he said. Anyway, as an old retiring coach who was basically dawdling his time away at work, he wasn't expected to do any brilliant reporting.

After he finished his report, they needed to discuss matters as usual.

Weidong Chu turned to Dai Li first.

"Li, you've been with the national team for such a long time, and you're Coach Li Xue's favorite disciple. Besides, you competed in the Asian Games. You're definitely an expert on sprint training. Tell us what you think first!"

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Chapter 231: I Want to Strive for a Gold Medal

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

This was the first time that Dai Li had attended a meeting like this, so he had made sufficient preparations in advance. Dai Li had formulated a game plan. Now, Weidong Chu was questioning him, so Dai Li firmly decided to start an explanation by himself.

Everyone in the meeting room fixed their eyes on Dai Li. They hadn't cooperated with Dai Li before, so they didn't know him and didn't know the actual level of the young man coming straight from the national team.

Someone was looking at Dai Li with high expectations and hoped he could provide some substantial content; someone seemed to be sneering at Dai Li and hoped Dai Li would make a fool of himself.

Only fools wouldn't be envious of him. As the youngest one in the meeting room, Dai Li was able to enter the national team, and now had even been asked to address the group by Weidong Chu. This treatment was almost the same as team leaders of other training teams; therefore, he could easily be envied by many people.

I'd like to know what this young fellow will say! Baojun Sha was flaunting his seniority by resting on the back of his seat, even crossing his legs.

Beside him, Hua Liu was poker-faced, while Guodong Li was very serious.

Dai Li cleared his throat with a dry cough and said, "I gained a brief understanding of the strength of our sprinters. Frankly speaking, our sprinters could hardly be promoted for the qualification round. Even if they could be promoted, they would be knocked out in the first round of the official competition of the National Games held in August. "

"Coach Li, your point is too arbitrary!" someone said, and that someone was Guodong Li.

"Coach Li, you've just come back, you haven't participated in training yet, and you also haven't met our athletes; how could you determine that our athletes won't be able to enter the official competition of the National Games?"

Guodong Li was quite hostile towards Dai Li, so even though he knew what Dai Li had said was basically correct, he couldn't help finding an excuse to argue with Dai Li. When he challenged Dai Li, he felt much better.

At this moment, not only the sprint coaches, but the coaches of other events turned their attention to Dai Li.

This should be a lot of fun! Guodong Li is trying to spook the newcomer, Dai Li.

In the sprint group, the competition among Baojun Sha, Hua Liu, and Guodong Li has already been very fierce. Now, the arrival of Dai Li will create even more fun!

It's beyond my expectations! This is just the first day, and the atmosphere has been so rousing.

Let's see whether this newcomer Dai Li has real skill!

Everyone had different ideas on the issue.

At this moment, the one sat beside Dai Li was introduced. "This is Coach Guodong Li from the sprint group."

Dai Li also didn't expect someone would oppose him when he had just started to speak. Now that he knew the objector was also a coach from the sprint group, he realized the reason.

Two of a trade never agree. This Coach Li is afraid that I could steal his job! Dai Li smiled; he knew there would be a lot of local bullies like Guodong Li among the sprint coaches in the meeting room. Guodong Li had just stuck his neck out.

As the saying goes, even one with great power cannot defeat a local villain. Since Dai Li had just arrived, he had to show his real strength.

Dai Li said, "The national team asks all provincial teams to submit lists of the names of excellent athletes quarterly; each quarter, the results of the athletes should also be submitted. We submitted our materials on the fifth of this quarter, and the materials of our team of the last quarter were submitted on the sixth, while the materials of our team of the previous quarter to that were submitted on the third…"

Dai Li paused a bit, "The athletes reported should be the best ones on our team. I can still remember several of them who appeared on the name list consecutively for several quarters, including Kun Shen, Yueyang Zhu, and Tingshan Chen."

Dai Li looked at Guodong Li again. "Those I mentioned just now are athletes on our team, so you should know them very well. However, I don't think your information on athletes of other provinces could be better than mine!"

"Just now, I said our athletes weren't good enough to be promoted from the qualification round. My viewpoint was not only based on the results of our athletes, but also from comparison with the results of athletes of other provinces, for their results could be found in the database of the national team."

As Dai Li said this, he looked directly at Guodong Li. To Guodong Li, this was an obvious demonstration.

However, Guodong Li was dumbfounded. Dai Li had mentioned the database of the national team, which was irrefutable for Guodong Li.

Guodong Li was not capable enough to be admitted to the national team, so he wasn't qualified to have access to the database of the national team. Therefore, he had to believe whatever Dai Li said, as he wasn't able to verify it.

Even now, Guodong Li raised questions. What he questioned wasn't Dai Li, but the database of the national team. Guodong Li was only an ordinary coach for the provincial track and field team. His questioning of the database of the national team was just like the complaint of a roadside restaurant owner about the recommended dishes of a 5-star hotel executive chef, which could only be described as sour grapes.

It's not a big deal to have access to the database of the national team! Guodong Li became depressed and didn't speak anymore.

"Ha, Guodong Li is humble now!" Baojun Sha gloated silently over Guodong Li.

Hua Liu was relieved. Li, at first you jumped out to challenge Dai Li, that was obvious to everyone. Dai Li isn't a fool, he will definitely get revenge. Later, he'll definitely ask for Tingshan Chen, so Yueyang Zhu and Kun Shen are safe now. They shouldn't be chosen by Dai Li.

The originally offensive Guodong Li had been subdued, so he sat back in his chair silently. Then Dai Li continued, "I'll carry on. As I said just now, our athletes aren't strong enough to be promoted from the qualification round, and can't achieve good results. Our insufficient strength is one reason, but another is our powerful opponents."

"Li, like the old saying goes, if you know yourself and know your enemy, you will win every war. Everyone knows that our sprint team is indeed not strong enough. Could you give us a brief introduction on other provinces' sprint teams?" Weidong Chu asked suddenly.

"Okay. Last year, local teams sent many excellent athletes to the national team. Especially during the training camp of the Asian Games, the national team enrolled forty sprinters during the first stage of the training camp. All forty of these sprinters were strong enough to enter the official races of the National Games, which means half of the positions in the official competition were taken by them.

"Besides that, as far as I know, some senior athletes of the provincial teams who had abundant experience didn't participate in the training camp for the Asian Games organized by the national team. The main reason was that provincial teams are putting emphasis on the cultivation of young athletes. However, these senior athletes are still powerful. According to my estimation, a quarter of the positions of the official competition will be taken up by them.

"In addition, the athletes from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan will attend the National Games. Sports organizations like the Xinjiang Construction Corps Team, the Rolling Stock Team of the railway industry, the Coal Mine Team, and the Vanguard Team, among others, will also participate in the National Games.

"Basically, the athletes from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, as well as sports organizations will not participate in events with a high technique difficulty; they'll focus on the track events, with sprints as the highest priority. I think these athletes will also take up a quarter of these positions.

"There are some unknowns in the races, such as the emergence of unexpected winners, so it's actually almost impossible for our athletes to be promoted from the qualification round, whether in the 100m sprint or the 200m sprint."

Weidong Chu nodded. He also had a general understanding of what Dai Li had said just now. However, the basic-level coaches of the team were unlikely to know such detailed information.

Weidong Chu said, "Li, the reason that we called you back this time was to help our athletes break through in the National Games. You should have known the status of our team. The configuration of athletes in our team is complete; we can't just select new athletes now. Just like a card game, we've drawn all cards, but our cards aren't good. How do we play the cards, what do you have in mind?"

"Coach Chu, could you tell me the goal of our sprint team in this National Games?" Dai Li asked.

"At least one or two athletes should be promoted from the qualification round and enter the official races in August." Weidong Chu said.

"That's not a difficult one. We still have nearly three months before the qualification round. If I'm responsible for the training, as long as the athlete is talented enough, I'm sure they could enter the official competition." Dai Li said resolutely.

Maybe Dai Li had been a little bit overconfident; people around him looked at him with strange eyes.

Some thought Dai Li was gutsy, while some thought he was bragging.

"Keep bragging. The more you brag, the more embarrassed you'll be when your swans are proven to be geese!" Baojun Sha said silently in his mind.

Dai Li even said so himself! Is he bragging or is he really that competent? Hua Liu's mind was full of doubt.

Guodong Li was the most nervous one among them. Dai Li's words could be understood as asking for athletes from the team. The subtext of "as long as the athlete is talented enough," was "just give me the most talented athlete." On the sprint team, the most gifted athlete was obviously Tingshan Chen, who was under twenty and under the management of Guodong Li.

Dai Li continued, "You may think I'm bragging. Actually, my confidence comes from successful cases I've had before. I think all of you should know Yue Zhao, the champion of the 200m sprint at the Asian Games. When he was enrolled to the training camp for the Asian Games, his level was just above average. After three months of my training, he managed to win the championship during the Asian Games."

"Was Yue Zhao trained by you?" someone immediately asked in surprise.

In the national team, all the coaches and athletes knew Yue Zhao was trained by Dai Li, but the coaches of Hanbei Province track and field team hadn't known. Hence, they had only heard the outstanding performance of Dai Li in the national team without specific examples.

Now Dai Li mentioned the case of Yue Zhao as a fact, which made everyone think highly of him immediately.

Dai Li smiled and nodded, "This is not a secret. Everyone on the national team knows it."

Everyone in the meeting room knew that the underlying meaning of Dai Li's words was, "if you don't believe me, you can verify my words." Since Dai Li dared to accept the verification, what he said must have been authentic.

He cultivated a champion at the Asian Games in three months, this Dai Li is really somebody!

It's quite impressive that he could be on the national team around twenty-five-years-old and could be chosen by Li Xue.

It turns out that this Coach Li is the coach of a champion at the Asian Games. When it comes to achievements, our coaches couldn't match him.

At this moment, Dai Li immediately stood tall. A lot of people who had planned to address him as "Li" had changed the salutation in their minds to "Coach Li."

Results were decisive in the competitive sports world. Those who bragged before the matches without results were bragging in vain. For those who were degraded before the match, as long as they could produce a champion, they would still be regarded as legendary heroes.

In all sports, if athletes were regarded as powerful, number one in the world, or leading an era, but they didn't have any decent achievements, their career would always be regarded as a fluke.

In the NBA, a lot of star players tried to join a powerful team, even with an annual salary of one dollar. They just wanted to get an NBA championship ring. Those who had an NBA championship ring at a young age, even if they were nameless, would be remembered as winning an NBA championship whenever they were mentioned.

This was the power of a championship. Dai Li showed his identity as the coach of an Asian Games champion at this moment to gain leverage.

Dai Li knew he was young and a newcomer. It was quite normal that others didn't accept him. He needed enough leverage to show his real strength, so that troublemakers or local bullies could be overpowered.

Weidong Chu was very delighted. He had heard Dai Li was very successful on the national team, but he didn't know Dai Li had accomplished such a remarkable achievement as this. A coach of an Asian Games champion was very rare in China, and Hanbei Province track and field team was lucky to find one.

This made Weidong Chu smile harder. He said, "Li, of course I believe your capable. Tomorrow, you'll just choose the athletes during training. Those who you select will be your trainees in future."

What Weidong Chu said made Guodong Li nervous. He intended to object, but he felt his voice would be very lonely.

Dai Li waved his hands, "Coach Chu, I still have an idea myself, although I don't know whether it's appropriate to say."

"Just say it, please tell us your idea!" Weidong Chu said generously.

"In my opinion, the promotion of our athletes from the qualification round and their entry to the official matches shouldn't be regarded as a breakthrough." Dai Li said.

"Li, are you going to achieve better results? Good, young people are always bold and resolute!" Weidong Chu was even more delighted.

"Coach, I want to strive for a medal." Dai Li paused, and continued as everyone snapped to attention, "I want to strive for a gold medal."

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Chapter 232: A Big Appetite

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

When Dai Li said, "strive for a gold medal," everyone in the meeting room was silent, including Weidong Chu. Everybody looked at Dai Li with amazed expressions.

What Dai Li had mentioned, a higher rank, a medal, or even a gold medal, was a distant dream for sprinters of the Hanbei Province Track and Field Team.

After all, these athletes weren't strong enough. They could hardly be promoted from the qualification round. A gold medal was just a myth to them.

What did Dai Li say just now? He wants a gold medal? Did I hear that right?

It's not easy for our athletes to enter official competitions, let alone at a higher rank. Is he still going to try for a gold medal?

Dai Li must be joking. So many national and Asian Games champions participate in the National Games. The distance between the gold medal and our athletes is a million miles.

Heh, this young guy is always aiming too high. An Asian Game champion has made him think too highly of himself. He thinks he's invincible in China, right? How dare he brag about striving for a gold medal!

Even Weidong Chu was doubtful in his mind. He thought Dai Li wanted to achieve a higher rank, so he praised Dai Li's boldness and resolution as a young man. However, when he heard Dai Li's goal, he felt that what Dai Li had said was quite unreliable.

Just like grabbing a lifesaver, Guodong Li thought he had finally found the loophole in Dai Li's words, so he looked up joyfully. "Coach Li, did you say 'strive for a gold medal' just now? I remember several minutes ago you mentioned our athletes could hardly enter official competitions. Those were the very words you said. How could you change to 'striving for a gold medal' in such a short time?"

"Yes, Coach Li, I know you're the coach of an Asian Games champion, but your goal is absolutely impossible!" Baojun Sha said. His words were fanning the flames.

Weidong Chu started to mediate the dispute. He said, "Li, we still have three months before the qualification round. After the qualification round, the National Games will start in August, which means we have an additional month. Our primary tasks now should be to promote our athletes from the qualification round. As for our achievements in the National Games, we still have a lot of time to set a goal."

Dai Li nodded and continued, "Coach Chu, colleagues, what I said just now may sound a little bit impractical. I did say our athletes aren't competitive in the National Games!

"Asian Games champions, like Sijie Yang and Yue Zhao, as well as national champions, like Jun Xie and Zitao Wei, will participate in the National Games together with numerous athletes who have won medals at state-level matches. Our athletes are far weaker than even the mediocre sprinters on the national team.

"This is a gap of strength that can't be filled through three months of training. No one is able to cultivate an athlete who has just reached the level of the qualification round into a champion at the National Games, let alone bridge the gap between our athletes and theirs. Therefore, it's impossible for me to strive for a gold medal in the 100m and 200m sprints."

Guodong Li snorted immediately, "Then how dare you to say you want to strive for a gold medal? I thought you really had the capability to realize it. You just said it casually, right? Everybody could say that. I could even say I want to strive for a gold medal at the Olympic Games!"

"Coach Guodong Li, mind your words, we're in a meeting right now." Weidong Chu stared at Guodong Li.

Guodong Li also felt he had gone too far just now. He straightened up a bit, and said, "Don't get me wrong, I just meant what Coach Dai Li said was paradoxical and meaningless, that's all."

"You're Coach Guodong Li, right?" Dai Li had clearly sensed the hostility from this local villain, so he continued, "You thought my words were paradoxical, but I haven't finished. I didn't plan to strive for a gold medal in the 100m sprint or the 200m sprint"

"Then which ones? We're the sprint group, so we're talking about the 100m sprint and the 200m sprint, or are you going to other groups? Or are you going to change our athletes' events? You only have three months, definitely not enough, right?" Guodong Li said acidly, so Dai Li couldn't save face.

Restraining the fury in his heart, Dai Li ignored Guodong Li's sarcasm and continued to say, "We can't compete with the athletes on other teams in the 100m sprint and the 200m sprint, so we have to go off the beaten track if we want to achieve a good result."

"Li, don't keep us guessing, just say it," Weidong Chu encouraged.

"To go off the beaten track means the relay!" Dai Li said.

In the meeting room, a lot of coaches had a thoughtful look. Actually, they had already realized what Dai Li meant was to focus on the relay. In fact, the sprint events only included the 100m sprint, the 200m sprint, and the relays.

Dai Li continued, "We won the gold medal in the relay at the Asian Games. I guess you've watched that race. I was in the arena, so my perception of the race was more informed. No matter the aspects of the process or the result of the event, you should've been able to see that the strongest opponent of the national team was not the Japanese Team, not the Saudi Arabian Team, but the Thai Team.

"The level of the Thai sprinters isn't high. Among the four runners, only one could reach the B standard of the Olympic Games. In personal ability, the Thai athletes would definitely be knocked out in the first round of the individual races; however, these players managed to win the silver medal in the relay race, which is a team event. In the previous two Asian Games, the Thai Team won a gold medal and a silver medal. We can say without a doubt that Thailand's performance was better than that of the Japan in the relay race at the Asian Games.

"I'm inspired by the Thailand Team. The personal abilities of our athletes are not good enough to achieve favorable results in the 100m sprint and the 200m sprint. We might as well give up on individual events and focus on the relay race, which we could win eventually."

Beside him, Baojun Sha's expression became grave.

"I thought he wanted to choose one athlete among Kun Shen, Yueyang Zhu and Tingshan Chen, but I didn't expect he was planning a relay and wanted all three of them. This Dai Li indeed has a big appetite!"

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Chapter 233: The Highest State

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Baojun Sha used to think that if Dai Li chose one athlete among Kun Shen, Yueyang Zhu, and Tingshan Chen, his apprentice, Kun Shen, would beDai Li's last choice, since Kun Shen was the eldest among them. Even if Dai Li wanted to choose two athletes, the possibility that Dai Li would choose Kun Shen was still low.

However, Dai Li's suggestion to focus on the relay generated a strong sense of crisis in Baojun Sha's heart.

A relay race needed four athletes. Once Weidong Chu accepted Dai Li's suggestion, the track and field team would definitely give four athletes to Dai Li, along with substitutes, so five or six athletes would be under Dai Li's management.

If so, not only Tingshan Chen, who was trained by Guodong Li, but Yueyang Zhu who was trained by Hua Liu, and Kun Shen who was trained by Baojun Sha would be chosen by Dai Li. Excellent athletes trained by other coaches might also be chosen by Dai Li for the relay practice.

I underestimated this Dai Li. His suggestion of focusing on the relay race was really unexpected. If I had known, I would've agreed with Guodong Li's advice yesterday to form an alliance against him. The objection of many would make a stand against Dai Li. Now, we're on our own. Without a unified statement, we'll be in big trouble.

Baojun Sha rolled his eyes. He didn't start a verbal duel like Guodong Li, instead acting smoothly but sinisterly. With smile on his face, he said, "Coach Li, I have a question. The Thai Team won a championship during the Asian Games eight years ago. Their achievements today should be more accomplished as a result of prolonged training. The experience they've accumulated should also be difficult for us to master in a short time. Is there still enough time for us to learn from Thailand? We have at most three months before the start of the National Games' qualification round. If we start training for the relay now, isn't time a little bit tight?"

The magic key that Dai Li relied on was still his title of "The Interlinked Iron Chain." However, he could only convince Baojun Sha on a factual basis here.

"This is Coach Baojun Sha," someone beside Dai Li gave introduced him.

Dai Li nodded, "Coach Sha, I understand your concerns. You're worried that we couldn't replicate the Thai Team's experience if we start training now, right? Actually, in recent years, the coaches in the national team were also studying Thailand's relay team. They performed a lot of professional analysis and collected materials from many aspects. We can say that our national team has acquired a full training system from the Thai Team.

"On the national team, a plan similar to the plan of Thailand's Team was also formulated. However, the athletes on the national team have to participate in individual events, so they can't just focus their stamina on relay training like Thailand. Therefore, this plan was not implemented." As Dai Li said this, he looked at Weidong Chu.

"But now, we could copy the plan formulated by the national team directly and use the plan on our team so that we could enjoy the research results of the national team. Even if we can't reach the level of the Thai Team in such a short time, the plan is more than enough for us to achieve a good result at the National Games."

Weidong Chu nodded and said enthusiastically, "The coaches of the national team are top figures in the industry. The training plan they formulated should be much better than ours. Li, we were lucky to have you on the national team; you found a secret weapon for us!"

Baojun Sha worked out his next question immediately. He asked, "Coach Li, this training plan formulated by the national team will also be known by other coaches on the national team. As far as I know, all provincial teams have called their coaches on the national team back to prepare for the National Games; that is to say, this training plan is also available for the other provincial teams. In case they also give up individual events and focus on the relay race, we won't have any advantage, right? "

In the meeting room, many coaches were nodding along. Training plans were not patented technologies. They were available not only for Dai Li, but also for anyone else who knew them. Any coach who knew this plan could implement it in practice without any opposition. This training plan was available for everybody, so it couldn't be regarded as a "secret weapon."

Dai Li looked at Baojun Sha. He had realized that this Baojun Sha was pretending to be nice and keep a low profile, but he was actually trying to challenge Dai Li, hiding daggers in his smile.

Dai Li continued to say, "Indeed, other coaches on the national team know of this training plan to focus resources on the relay. Some of them even participated in the formulation of this plan. However, what I can guarantee is that my training is definitely better than that of our opponents. Under the same conditions, our result will be better than theirs."

"Coach Li, are you confident about that?" Baojun Sha smiled, but his eyes were cold.

From beside him, Guodong Li added, "The national team has a galaxy of talents. Coach Li, I don't think your qualifications and experience are advantageous on the national team. What makes you think the training effect of other coaches on the national team is inferior to yours? Are you also the coach of the relay team that won a championship, like the 200m sprint?"

"How did you know that?" Dai Li pretended to be surprised, then said, "During the Asian Games, our sprinters suffered a lot of accidents. Jun Xie was knocked down and dropped out of his events because of injury; Zitao Wei had a serious fever before the match. These incidents were reported in the news. Before the relay race, the national team had only three sprinters left. In desperation, we had to ask Haiquan Fang, who is a long-jumper, to reach the required number."

"We knew all these issues, but what does that have to do with you?" Guodong Li asked improperly. He had made up his mind to find a fault in Dai Li.

Without rushing, Dai Li continued, "The temporary entry of an athlete causes a big problem in the cooperation of a relay team. More importantly, our training time to enhance the cooperation among the runners was limited to a couple hours on that day, and the one who was responsible for their training on that day was me!"

"Gosh!" Dai Li heard someone gasp in the meeting room.

"I guess you watched that match. The cooperation among the athletes was great, right?" Dai Li added.

Everyone in the meeting room was a professional coach; of course they knew how terrible it was to put a long jumper on a relay team. What Dai Li had said obviously implied that he had managed to help the relay team win at the Asian Games with only one day of training.

Furthermore, the cooperation among the four runner had been flawless in the match, looking perfect to all the coaches. Dai Li could improve the cooperation among the athletes to that degree in one day, so he should be regarded as the best coach on the national team. Even calling him the best coach in Asia would not be an overestimation.

Isn't the champion of the Asian Games just the best in Asia?

As the old saying goes, the best fighter is as hard to determine as the second best fighter. Athletes in competitive sports should be classified as fighters, as there's always a winner. The championship meant number one, and therefore, the best. Dai Li's reveal of his identity as the coach of the relay team that had won the championship at the Asian Games totally convinced everyone in the meeting room at that moment.

He was also the coach of the relay team! Guodong Li was so embarrassed. Just now, he had spoken thoughtlessly; he hadn't expected the gold medal of the relay team to really be attributed to Dai Li's training.

Beside him, Baojun Sha could sense an invisible pressure. He had realized that Dai Li was a tough opponent, although he looked ageless.

Just now, Dai Li didn't mention his identity as the coach of the relay team which had won the championship of the Asian Games until I questioned him. His acting was perfect! He kept a low profile at the beginning and then revealed his remarkable achievements in the end, which imperceptibly raised his profile. This is the highest form of acting; I give him a full score!

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Chapter 234: Undermine

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Baojun Sha was silent, while Guodong Li also couldn't find an excuse to object, so all he could do was sulk in his chair.

Weidong Chu had been totally impressed by Dai Li's plan. Dai Li's contribution in the championship of the relay team at the Asian Games had wiped out any last doubts in Weidong Chu's mind.

So, the sprint team's plan to focus on the relay was finalized. Weidong Chu asked Dai Li to submit a detailed plan to the track and field team.

Then, the meeting began to discuss other events. However, Baojun Sha, Hua Liu, and Guodong Li were distracted, like cats on hot brick.

The meeting lasted for over four hours and was finished after noon. All the participants left the meeting room, many of whom shuffled directly to the cafeteria.

"Li, wait for me!" someone called from behind Guodong Li; he turned around and found Baojun Sha and Hua Liu were walking towards him rapidly.

"Hey, Sha!" Guodong Li looked at Baojun Sha ironically, and said, "I remember you said Kun Shen was too old to be chosen by Dai Li, right? Now Dai Li has worked out a plan of relay training that requires four athletes. Besides Kun Shen, Yueyang Zhu, and Tingshan Chen, he still needs one more athlete!"

"Li, it's not a good time to say that." Hua Liu acted as peacemaker and said, "We should prepare a countermeasure. We can't let Dai Li just take our painstakingly cultivated athletes!"

"Are you going to find a countermeasure now? Isn't it too late? His plan to focus on the relay race was finalized just now in the meeting." Guodong Li shook his head disdainfully. "Hindsight is meaningless. I suggest you turn to Dai Li; maybe you could be his underlings!"

"Li, what do you mean?" Hua Liu was angry.

"It's okay, Hua Liu, Li doesn't want to cooperate with us. Let's find someone else. In the case that Tingshan Chen is chosen by Dai Li, it's not our business. We just need to protect Kun Shan and Yueyang Zhu from being chosen by Dai Li." Baojun Sha pulled Hua Li and pretended to leave.

Guodong Li also knew that Baojun Sha was scheming and full of ideas. By now, Baojun Sha should have worked out a method to cope with Dai Li.

"Wait!" Guodong Li stopped them immediately, then walked to them and asked, "Sha, do you have an idea?"

"Well, Li, are you interested now?" Baojun Sha seemed to have long expected Guodong Li's reaction.

Guodong Li nodded, "Sha, last night it was me who suggested we form an alliance."

"Okay then. Let's talk while we're walking." Baojun Sha waved his hand, and the three of them walked to the cafeteria.

The three of them were walking along the road. When there was no one around them, Baojun Sha said, "The plan to focus on the relay raised by Dai Li was finalized in the meeting, which is a command and can't be changed by ordinary coaches like us."

"Then what should we do? Just let Dai Li grab our athletes?" Guodong Li asked eagerly.

"That won't happen. The decision made in the meeting, although it can't be changed by us, can be changed by the athletes." Baojun Sha gave a cheeky grin, and continued, "Dai Li is going to choose athletes for the relay team, right? His efforts will be in vain as long as our athletes refuse to follow him."

"It's a decision made by the track and field team that was approved by Coach Chu. Could our athletes reject the plan? You can't fight the city hall!" Guodong Li asked with knitted brows.

"An objection from one or two athletes is definitely not enough. What about an objection from a lot of athletes? There's strength in numbers. You can't fight the city hall alone; two people are still no match for them. If you had ten thousand people, what do you think the result would be?"

"Sha, I understand your plan now. Your plan is to persuade more athletes to reject the relay training, right?" Guodong Li gasped, "In this way, the athletes will be punished! You should know the consequences if an athlete rejects an arrangement from a higher-up. It could ruin the professional career of an athlete."

"Don't forget, the law can't be enforced when everyone is an offender." Baojun Sha continued, "Once again, there's strength in numbers. If a lot of athletes reject the relay team, could the track and field team punish all of them? I guess they would consider whether their decision to focus on the relay is worth it at that time, and we still have a justifiable argument."

"What's the justifiable argument?" Guodong Li asked immediately.

"Dai Li's plan is to focus on the relay race, right? He also mentioned a precondition, which is to give up individual events. Isn't it a pretty good reason? After painstaking training, it's normal that all athletes want to accomplish achievements in the individual events," Baojun Sha continued.

Guodong Li didn't speak, seemingly considering Baojun Sha's suggestion.

Hua Liu said, "I think Sha's method is feasible. From the aspect of the athletes, they definitely want to have good results in individual events. They may not be willing to participate in the relay race."

"We should persuade more athletes to join our plan. Besides the athletes under our management, we should also have other athletes whose levels are high join us. We should create some chaos, the more chaotic, the better." Baojun Sha added.

Finally, Guodong Li nodded, "Okay, let's proceed as you said! Later, we should go separately to talk to the athletes."

...

Dai Li was busy preparing his report until three in the morning, but finally, he managed to list the training plan for the relay race in a detailed report.

On the morning of the second day, the report was placed on Weidong Chu's desk.

After reading through the training plan carefully, Weidong Chu smiled satisfactorily.

"This is a quite a good training plan, integrated with the high level training methods of the national team and the consideration of the actual situation of our team." As Weidong Chu spoke, he picked up a document and handed it to Dai Li. "I have approved the athlete selection plan for the relay team. Now all athletes of the sprint team are available for you to choose."

"Thank you, Coach!" Dai Li took the document and prepared to select athletes at the training ground.

The phone rang right at that moment. Weidong Chu picked up the phone and said, "Hello, this is Weidong Chu… What?"

Weidong Chu suddenly became solemn. He couldn't help glancinging at Dai Li, who was standing in front of him.

Dai Li noticed that the trouble seemed to be related to him.

"Okay, now I see. Just gather them in the meeting room, I'll come over later." Weidong Chu hung up the phone and lifted his head, then said, "Li, for the athlete selection, you have to wait a moment."

"What's wrong?" Dai Li asked.

"Some athletes don't want give up their individual events, and there's backlash against the relay team. I'll go and check it out." As Weidong Chu said this, he stood up and got ready to go.

An ominous foreboding suddenly flashed across Dai Li's mind.

...

Eleven athletes were gathered in the meeting room, all sprinters on the sprint team with relatively high athletic abilities.

"Coach Chu, I heard that athletes chosen to join the relay team have to focus on the relay alone and give up their individual events. Is that true? I'll never join the relay team if I'm asked to give up my individual event," Tingshan Chen said.

"Coach Chu, this year I am already twenty four. In two years, my physical condition will start to decline, so I won't have opportunity to take part in the next National Games. I've been preparing for this National Games for a long time. I just want to give it my best shot. I don't want to join the relay team." Kun Shen's voice was permeated with anxiety.

"Coach Chu, the opportunity to attend the National Games is quite rare. I've been waiting for this opportunity for several years. I failed to attend the last National Games, so I really don't want to miss this one. As for my performance in the 100m sprint, I'm the best on the sprint team. If I'm asked to give up the 100m sprint and focus on the relay race, I won't obey the order." Yueyang Zhu said stubbornly.

The rest of the sprinters also expressed similar opinions that they didn't want to give up their individual events to focus on the relay race.

With knitted brows, Weidong Chu hadn't expected the decision to focus on the relay race would be rejected by so many athletes.

An objection from one or two athletes was easy to handle, but now eleven backbone sprinters of the track team were rejecting the plan. Almost all of them were strong enough to attend the qualification round of the National Games.

Now Weidong Chu had to reconsider the decision to focus on the relay race cemented at the meeting the day before.

"It's normal that the athletes don't want to give up their individual events after so many years of hard training. Now, the athletes have expressed their objection. I guess some coaches also have similar feelings, but they didn't point it out for fear of hurting my feelings. I underestimated this issue. I should organize a meeting again to discuss it," Weidong Chu thought.

...

The sprinters' protest to Weidong Chu was soon spread throughout the whole track and field team. Dai Li also heard about the issue.

Due to this, Weidong Chu had to organize the coaches of the sprint team to discuss this issue in another meeting.

In the meeting room, Weidong Chu held up Dai Li's training plan and said, "This is the training plan for the relay race, prepared by Coach Li. I have read through it, and it's pretty good, and feasible. I think we should give it a try. However, the situation we are facing now is that some athletes are refusing to join the relay team and give up their individual events."

"Coach, should we try to persuade the athletes to accept this plan?" someone said.

"Persuade them? I'm afraid that's not an easy task. Athletes nowadays are different from athletes in the past. You could talk about the big picture, the team, and contribution to athletes in the past. However, most athletes nowadays are the only child in their family. They only care about themselves. It's useless to persuade them by talking about the team and contributing!" said Guodong Li, who was, again, the first one to bring up this issue.

All the participants had long discovered that Guodong Li was a naysayer.

"What Coach Guodong Li said is very reasonable. I'm also the only child of my family, so I can understand their feelings." Dai Li laughed, then said, "Coach Guodong Li has such a good understanding of our athletes that I guess he must have found the solution. Just say it, so that I can learn from you."

Guodong Li was dumbfounded immediately. All he had meant to do was pick on Dai Li, so it was impossible for him to prepare a reply.

Others also didn't expect that Dai Li could launch a counterattack against Guodong Li in such a short time, so everyone was looking at Guodong Li with a faint smile on face, waiting for his response.

It was lucky for Guodong Li that Baojun Sha stood up to rescue him. Although they didn't get along well with each other normally, now they were allied and had a common enemy. Both of them were in the same boat, so Baojun Sha had to speak for Guodong Li.

Baojun Sha said, "Coach, I have a suggestion. The athletes who rejected the relay race are worried about their individual events. How about just cancelling this restriction, and just as before, athletes can take part in their individual events and also participate in the relay race. In this way, the athletes won't reject the relay race."

"Then what should we do for training? Should the athletes be trained for individual events or the relay?" Dai Li asked immediately.

"Since they'll participate in individual events and the relay, they should have the training of their individual events and the relay at the same time. We've also done this before," Baojun Sha said with a smile.

Dai Li shook his head slightly. The sprinters on the track and field team weren't strong enough. If they were distracted by the training of their individual events, their performance in the relay race wouldn't realize a remarkable improvement. Also, Dai Li's plan of winning a gold medal in the National Games would be ruined.

Weidong Chu also knew Baojun Sha's so-called "suggestion" would do nothing but ruin the plan, so he asked, "Does anyone else have any good suggestions?"

The rest of the coaches either shook their heads or kept silent. The meeting room grew quiet immediately.

Weidong Chu became more and more solemn. He knew Dai Li's plan could help Hanbei Province Track and Field Team accomplish a good achievement at the National Games, but the coaches of the sprint team were uncooperative and even undermining Dai Li's plan.

As the head coach of Hanbei Province Track and Field Team, Weidong Chu was smart enough to know that Dai Li's plan would definitely go against some people's interests. The naysayer Guodong Li and the unknowledgable Baojun Sha had clinched Weidong Chu's judgment.

"Coach, I also have an idea," Dai Li said suddenly.

Everyone in the meeting room fixed their eyes on Dai Li. They knew Dai Li was planning to attack.

Dai Li said, "For the relay race, the teamwork among the athletes is crucial. A gap of 0.1 seconds could be filled with a perfect baton exchange, so I don't have strict requirements upon the athlete's level. Since some sprinters rejected my plan, how about just letting the athletes sign up voluntarily? Then, I'll choose five or six athletes from the applicants to build the relay team.

"I'll stick to this training plan. Once an athlete joins the relay team, they must give up their individual event and focus on the training for the relay race. We should tell the athletes about this in advance."

Weidong Chu stared at Dai Li in amazement. It seemed to Weidong Chu that Dai Li had made the perfect compromise.

"Li, our athletes aren't as strong as athletes of other provincial teams. If you don't select athletes whose levels are higher, our performance in the National Games might be ruined," Weidong Chu reminded him.

"Just because our athletes aren't strong enough doesn't mean they need more training. What I need are athletes who want to focus their stamina on the relay race." Dai Li smiled confidently, then he continued, saying, "However, I have to point out that once our relay team is established, the lineup will be fixed for the qualification round, the official competition, and even the final race at the National Games. No lineup changes will be permitted."

After hearing what Dai Li said, Baojun Sha, and Guodong Li couldn't help making an eye contact. What Dai Li intended was to destroy the other athletes' chances to join the relay team. If an athlete didn't sign up, or wasn't selected by Dai Li after signing up, this athlete was doomed to have no opportunity to participate in the 4x100m relay at this National Games.

"This Dai Li indeed has character. He's pushing the athletes to make the choice between individual events and the relay race. However, he should first pray that his team is able to enter the official competition!" Baojun Sha thought triumphantly.

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Chapter 235: Laugh Impudently

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The door of the meeting room opened, and the coaches who attended the meeting filed out.

"Sha!" Guodong Li called out to Baojun Sha and picked up his pace to catch up with him.

"Sha, did we win this battle?" Guodong Li asked in a low voice.

"Yes, we won," Baojun Sha nodded. "I thought Dai Li would struggle a bit, but I didn't expect he would compromise so quickly."

"Yes. In my opinion, it's a really poor move to ask the athletes to sign up voluntarily. Maybe he won't even be able to scrape together four athletes!"

"It might not be so bad. Dai Li should have no problem finding four athletes to build the relay team. However, the level of the athletes is crucial. If athletes who want to join the relay team can't participate in individual events, I'm guessing no great athletes will sign up," Baojun Sha said.

"You're right. I think that athletes who sign up to join the relay team will be mediocre at best. If they're not qualified to participate in individual events in the National Games, it's better for them to join the relay team so that they can at least get the opportunity to attend the Games." Guodong Li's face lit up with a smile.

Baojun Sha deadpanned, "Now what I'm worried about is if Dai Li can help the relay team to get through the qualification round and enter the official race, then…"

"As you said, that's just an if." Guodong Li's smile widened.

"Don't forget, he was a coach on the national team and also the coach of the relay team that won a gold medal at the Asian Games! No one could gain a foothold in the national team without true skill and experience," Baojun Sha reminded him.

"One can't redistribute what doesn't exist! Without high level athletes, no matter how capable the coach is, a good result is impossible, but anyway, Dai Li is young enough, he could take part in the race himself… Ha…" As Guodong Li spoke, he laughed impudently

...

The notice for registering for the relay team had been posted on the bulletin board.

Athletes on the sprint team had gathered in front of the bulletin board to check the notice.

"We can sign up voluntarily, then the coach will select team members from the applicants. That sounds good, before the members of the relay was going to be decided directly by the coaches!"

"Is it open to everyone? If so, I'd like to have a go at it. This is an opportunity to attend the National Games! In other events, I would never qualify to attend the National Games."

"It's because yesterday some athletes went to Coach Weidong Chu to petition against the plan for the relay race, so they decided to let us sign up voluntarily."

"I've heard that the track and field team stipulated that athletes who signed up for the relay race had to focus on it by giving up their individual events."

"Right, see, that's what they put in the notice."

"If individual events have to be given up, I'll never participate in the relay race. Relays are no competition for individual events."

"It also says in the notice that once the lineup of the relay is determined, it won't be changed until the end of the National Games, which means if the relay team can get through the qualification round, the team will enter the official race at the National Games."

"But the team has to be strong enough to get through the qualification round! It'll be very difficult for our team to achieve a good result in the relay race considering our current position."

The athletes began to buzz with discussion. Everyone had different ideas in mind. Especially for mediocre athletes who otherwise might not be qualified to enter individual events, to attend the National Games by joining the relay team was a unique opportunity for them.

Behind them, Kun Shen was looking at the notice with a deadpan expression. Tingshan Chen, who was standing beside Kun Shen, was smiling disdainfully. However, the expression of Yueyang Zhu was different from the expressions of Kun Shen and Tingshan Chen. Yueyang Zhu seemed to be lost in thought, his brows knitted.

"Interesting. Look! Once the lineup of the relay team is determined, it won't be changed anymore, which means athletes who don't want to give up individual events will have no opportunity to join the relay team. This is pushing us to make a choice between the relay race and our individual events," Tingshan Chen said.

"Well, Tingshan Chen, are you interested in the relay race?" Kun Shen asked coldly.

"Of course not! I'll definitely choose individual events. I'll do my best in the qualification round, so I might enter the official race in August as well. Look, Yueyang Zhu seems hesitant!" Tingshan Chen pointed at Yueyang Zhu.

Yueyang Zhu shook his head, "I was thinking that Dai Li used to be a coach for the national team. I've heard that he was Li Xue's apprentice. He should definitely have some real skill."

"Yueyang Zhu, are you complimenting that newcomer Dai Li? You would probably be scolded if you said that to Coach Hua Liu!" Kun Shen said.

"I mean, in case the relay team can get through the qualification round and enter the official race in August, and we're knocked out in the qualification round, it'll be extremely embarrassing for us. Then, we'll have to watch those who aren't as good as us participate in the official race in August helplessly." As Yueyang Zhu said this, he looked at Tingshan Chen and Kun Shen.

"Are you one hundred percent sure you can enter the official competition in August? I'm not so confident anyway."

"Don't worry! In case what you said really occurs, we can join the relay team then," Tingshan Chen said immediately.

"But it says in this notice that once the lineup of the relay team is determined, it can not be changed." Yueyang Zhu said.

"We're strong, and we're faster! With us, the relay team will achieve better results. Why wouldn't they allow us to join them? Maybe Dai Li will come and beg us to join his relay team then." Saying this, Tingshan Chen laughed impudently.

...

"Li, we get off work in one hour, and the registration of the relay team will be ended at that time. Now, seven athletes have signed up." With a wad of registration forms in hand, Coach Lu walked to Dai Li and handed the forms to him; then Coach Lu continued, "I still have something to handle, so I have to leave now, and I'll tell athletes who want to sign up to come directly to you!"

"Thank you very much for your hard work, Coach Lu," Dai Li said politely as he took the forms from Coach Lu.

Coach Lu was the one who had reported during the meeting held earlier in the week. He was about to retire, so he didn't work very hard. He might have come a little bit late in the morning and left a little bit earlier in the afternoon, but everyone just turned a blind eye to the way he muddled through.

Now that Coach Lu had sent the forms to Dai Li so early, it was apparent that he wanted to leave early again. Dai Li was undemanding of old-timers like coach Lu, who were immune to both soft and hard tactics. He believed he should appreciate their cooperation, for they were accommodating him. If they weren't cooperative, one could do nothing with them.

This was how things worked inside the system. Seniority was a powerful thing in administrative departments, governmental institutions, and long-established state-owned enterprises; but in private enterprises, no matter how old one was, it meant nothing if they didn't work hard, and money could only be earned through effort.

Dai Li's respect towards his elders left Coach Lu with a pretty good impression.He said, "Li, not so many athletes signed up this time, only seven. I'm guessing you need at least six athletes, if you count substitutes. You have very few alternatives."

"If the athletes focus their stamina on the relay training, five athletes will also be enough for me, as in, four members and one substitute. If the athletes aren't distracted by training for individual events, their training intensity will also be lower, so the probability of injuries caused during practice will also be lower. Therefore, downsizing is less likely to happen," Dai Li explained.

"It's good, you know this very well." Coach Lu smiled and said, "In my opinion, you may postpone the registration for half a month. After all, a lot of athletes don't want to give up their individual events right now. At the beginning of next month, we'll have a practice meet, held specifically for the National Games. Many athletes will be knocked out in the test meet. These athletes won't be qualified for individual events at the National Games, so they will definitely sign up for the relay race, and you may have more candidates then."

"Thanks for reminding me, Coach Lu, but the relay team is not a charity. It would be a shame for me to take in those "second-hand" athletes who have been knocked out," Dai Li said with a smile.

"Second-hand athletes? I've been a coach for 30 years; this is the first time I've heard that athletes could be described as first-hand and second-hand. Ha, Li, you really are funny!" Coach Lu was amused by Dai Li and started to laugh impudently.

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Chapter 236: Team Building

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After work, Dai Li waited in the office for another hour, but the eighth applicant never appeared.

Dai Li looked at the registration forms in his hand. Only seven athletes had signed up. Among them, he needed to select four participants and one substitute. Actually, he didn't have a lot of alternatives.

Dai Li turned on his computer and found the profiles of these athletes from the athlete database, including their results in previous meets and practices, which weren't satisfactory. Among them, three of the athletes were mid-level, the other four athletes were at the middle to low level.

The result is just as I expected. I heard that yesterday over ten athletes went to Weidong Chu to "petition" who said they would definitely not sign up for the relay team, and the rest of the athletes on the sprint team are quite mediocre.

However, Dai Li was not discouraged. This wouldn't be the first time he dealt with low level athletes. Dai Li believed he was capable of cultivating mediocre athletes into top-notch ones.

The materials saved on the computer couldn't give me a comprehensive description of the athletes. I should use the detector to check them personally, then I'll decide the lineup of the relay team. Maybe another surprise is awaiting me.

Dai Li remembered Sijie Yang and Haiquan Fang. As athletes with grade-A gifts, they had been found and cultivated by Dai Li.

Next morning, Dai Li gathered all seven athletes.

Again, Dai Li was not surprised by the detection results. No genius athletes like Sijie Yang or Haiquan Fang were found among the seven athletes. Their gifts were quite normal. Only one athlete was grade-C, and all the rest were C-. Some of the athletes were a bit old, so it was almost impossible to tap into their potential.

Technically speaking, these athletes also had a lot of defects. The training level of the provincial team was already lower than that of the national team, let alone the athletes' levels, which were middle grade or even middle-low on the provincial team. Their techniques were unsatisfactory; otherwise, their results would have been much better.

Dai Li had a feeling that he was being asked to choose a peacock from a bunch of chickens. Finally, he selected five athletes.

"Yihao Wu, grade-C gift, 18…" Dai Li listed the names of the athletes.

The young athlete with a grade-C gift, whose name was Yihao Wu, was naturally Dai Li's first choice. This year, he was only eighteen. Last year, he had been promoted from the youth team, so he was a newbie on the provincial track and field team.

The techniques of young athletes were inevitably clumsy. This year, he was still only eighteen, so his body hadn't yet fully developed and was no match for athletes who were around twenty five and in their peak states. As a newbie, his opportunities to participate in meets were already few and he would never have a chance to participate at this National Games. Therefore, he had to choose the relay race if he still hoped to take part in an event at the National Games.

Dai Li looked at the next athlete. Kenan Shen, thirty-years-old, he's even a few years older than me!

This athlete, Kenan Shen, was a standout during his peak. He had enjoyed his moment of glory by winning the second place in the National Championship when he was young, but an athlete's peak was very short, especially for sprinters. A thirty-year-old sprinter would be knocked down by illness and injuries without proper body care.

A sprinter at the age of thirty was definitely in the final phase of his sports career. Now, Kenan Shen's athletic level was much lower than his level during his youth. He seldom had the chance to take part in regular meets, let alone the National Games. The track and field team would rather give the opportunity to the younger athletes.

However, Kenan Shen still decided to sign up for the relay team, which meant he hadn't given up. The persistence of a thirty-year-old athlete sufficiently impressed Dai Li.

Kenan Shen reminded Dai Li of Aiguo Jiang, from the weight lifting team. Now, Aiguo Jiang had already retired and was working on the team as a coach. He was still working hard to earn the operation costs for his daughter.

Maybe for this reason, Dai Li decided to choose Kenan Shen, who was already an old athlete. However, old as he was, he had abundant experience. An experienced, older athlete could hold the team together in all kinds of team sports.

Dai Li looked at the next athlete. Jialiang Zhang, twenty five, he should be at his peak as a sprinter!

His name was Jialiang Zhang. His level, result and gift were all quite common. He was indeed, a mediocre athlete.

However, Dai Li was attracted by his one advantage, his stability. Although Jialiang Zhang was very common in all aspects, he was a pretty stable player; stability was crucial for the relay race. It meant a lower probability of errors. As long as an athlete was stable enough, it was acceptable that they were a little bit slow.

Dong Qian, twenty two. For the moment, his ability value is the highest among the five members of the relay team.

Among the five athletes, Dong Qian was the only one who might have had a chance to participate in individual events at the National Games. Of course, it was a "might have" chance. If Dong Qian chose to participate in an individual event, he would definitely have to face fierce selection and competition. He might have been knocked out. On the grounds of his current level, even if he managed to take part in the qualifying race, he was certainly not strong enough to get through the qualifying round. He might as well join the relay team, then at least he would have the chance to participate in the qualifying round of the National Games safely.

Besides Dong Qian having the highest ability value among the five players, Dai Li also chose him because his technical problems could be corrected easily. In other words, Dai Li could help Dong Qian see an obvious improvement in strength in a short time.

Wenqiang Wang, twenty seven, another old athlete! Dai Li looked at the last athlete.

This athlete was also mediocre. Dai Li had to choose Wenqiang Wang, for he really had no better choice, so Wenqiang Wang was simply admitted to fill the spot. He could only act as the substitute in the relay team. If nothing went wrong, he would have no chance to participate in the race.

...

In this way, the relay team was finally established. Dai Li started formal training the next day.

The first thing Dai Li needed to do was enhance the personal abilities of the athletes. The technical defects of these athletes were different, and had be corrected.

After he finished gradually rectifying the athletes' defects, Dai Li introduced the actual relay training.

One month passed in the blink of an eye. The qualification round of the National Games was getting closer. Inside the track and field team, an internal test meet was held.

This internal test meet was held mainly for individual events. The relay team that Dai Li was in charge of was not included in the meet.

The spots to participate at the National Games were limited; therefore, the athletes even had to compete for places at the qualification meet. The Hanbei Province Track and Field Team also wanted to fish out the best of the best through their internal test meet so that their best athletes could be sent to participate at the National Games.

...

Looking at the report posted on the bulletin board, Chao Zhang was sour-faced. He knew he had lost the opportunity to participate in the National Games.

Alas, years of efforts were in vain. Chao Zhang sighed and walked to the dormitory with heavy steps.

"Chao Zhang, what about your results?" He heard a voice behind him. Without turning around, he knew it was his roommate, Xinhua Zhao.

"What else could it be? I failed. I've lost my ticket to the National Games." Chao Zhang shook his head, then asked, "Xinhua Zhao, what about you?"

"Just like you, I also failed." Xinhua Zhao said.

"We're fellow sufferers! Let's work harder for the next National Games," Chao Zhang patted Xinhua Zhao's shoulder and said bitterly.

"That won't be necessary. We can still sign up for the relay team!" Xinhua Zhao said.

"Wasn't the registration for the relay team finished a month ago?" Chao Zhang asked.

"It was finished, but just look at those who signed up. Kenan Shen, he's already thirty, right? Another one is Yihao Wu, who's a newbie that just arrived. The relay team is made up old men and young kids who are no match for us. If we join the relay team, we'll be the best."

Xinhua Zhao continued to say, "Let's find that Dai Li and compliment him. Dai Li will definitely accept us, as we could strengthen the relay team. Although the relay isn't very attractive, it's still an indirect way for us to earn a ticket to participate in the National Games!"

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Chapter 237: Beg for Membership

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

During the homestretch of the National Games, the food in the cafeteria was more luxurious than usual.

Today's dishes were very appetizing to Dai Li. The meat dishes were diversified and not too greasy; more importantly, the dishes were lightly flavored, which was consistent with Dai Li's low salt diet. He couldn't help but go back for a second round.

Dai Li placed his cell phone on the table. As he enjoyed his dishes with gusto, he started to watch a hit TV series on the cell phone. Two figures appeared in front of Dai Li and sat opposite him.

The two of them introduced themselves.

"Hello, Coach Li, I'm Chao Zhang."

"I'm Xinhua Zhao."

Dai Li looked up at them. "Hello, I know you're both on the sprint team."

Both of them nodded. Dai Li stopped talking and continued to enjoy the TV show and his dishes.

One never goes to the temple for nothing. Dai Li had vaguely figured out their purpose for visiting. Dai Li ate his meals in the cafeteria every day; no one had ever come to him. Now that the internal test meet had just finished, the two athletes' visit was a reminder to Dai Li of their purpose.

However, Dai Li still pretended not to know why they had come. He didn't ask a question or say a word, just ignored the two athletes directly.

Chao Zhang and Xinhua Zhao made eye contact embarrassedly. At last, Xinhua Zhao started to say, "Coach Li, I'd like to ask you about something."

"What's that?" Dai Li looked up at him.

"Does the relay team still need more people?" Xinhua Zhao continued.

"What makes you ask that? Do you want to join the relay team?" Dai Li asked straightforwardly.

Xinhua Zhao and Chao Zhang's faces were soon beaming with delight, and both of them nodded. "Yes, we want to join the relay team."

Dai Li pressed the pause button on his cell phone, and said, "The registration for the relay team ended more than a month ago. If you want to join the relay team, you have to wait until next time and not miss the registration time again. However, I can't guarantee I'll still be the coach of the relay team next time."

Xinhua Zhao and Chao Zhang were quite embarrassed, but they didn't give up.

Xinhua said pleadingly, "Coach Li, could you make an exception for us and let us join the relay team, please?"

"Nothing can be accomplished without norms or standards. Since the registration time had been specified, the registration has to be performed according to specifications. I guess you've participated in a lot of meets, right? Can athletes still sign up through "exceptions" over a month after the end of the meet's registration?" Dai Li said unreservedly.

"This isn't an official meet," Xinhua Zhao murmured.

"The principles are the same!" Dai Li retorted.

"Coach Li, please just make an exception for us this one time. Both of us like the relay race very much," Chao Zhang said.

Dai Li curled his lip disdainfully. "Since you like the relay race, why didn't you sign up a month ago?"

Dai Li's question caused the two athletes to be dumbfounded immediately.

Xinhua Zhao and Chao Zhang had pinned their hopes on the relay race because they had lost their opportunity to participate in individual events at the National Games. One month ago, the test meet hadn't yet been held, and they still stood a chance to go to the National Games, so naturally, they didn't sign up for the relay team. It was assumed that Dai Li and the two athletes had a tacit understanding of this issue, but Dai Li didn't want these two athletes at all, so he didn't save face for them during the conversation.

Xinhua Zhao was quite angry at Dai Li's rude rejection. He held back his anger and said, "Coach Li, actually, you may also benefit from us being onboard."

"Oh? What benefits? Just tell me," Dai Li asked with interest.

"Both of us are good sprinters, or at least, we're stronger than the current members of the relay team. We're faster than Jialiang Zhang, Yihao Wu, Kenan Shen, and Dong Qian. With us, the results of the relay team will surely improve," Xinhua Zhao said.

Dai Li smiled like he didn't believe a sales pitch from a lousy salesperson. If Xinhua Zhao had said that to him a month ago, Dai Li would have believed him. Now, one month had passed, and the athletes of the relay team had made remarkable progress. Dai Li believed that the current members of the relay team wouldn't lose to Xinhua Zhao, even in individual events.

Dai Li put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth with a napkin, then said, "I'm quite satisfied with the current level of the relay team. I think they'll be capable of getting through the qualification round after another two months' training, or even less than two months. Okay, I'm full, you two take your time and enjoy the food."

After finishing his words, Dai Li picked up his plate and left without even looking back. Behind him, Xinhua Zhao and Chao Zhang sat there, looking at each other in consternation.

"What should we do? Coach Li refused us." Chao Zhang was very disappointed.

Xinhua Zhao was staring at Dai Li, who was leaving the canteen, malevolently.

"Humph, without athletes like us, he's only dreaming of making it through the qualification round of the National Games with those who are old and weak. In two months, he'll be a joke among the team," Xinhua Zhao said.

...

One month later, another internal test meet was held in the track and field team, and another group of athletes had bad achievements were knocked out again.

Dai Li became popular again. Now, Dai Li was just like the captain in a game. With the label of "captain," he was surrounded by a crowd of players who were begging for him to help them accumulate experience.

Quite a few athletes who were knocked out in the internal test meet hoped to join the relay team, including a very competent athlete on the sprint team, but Dai Li rejected all of them,

Dai Li's decision was a little bit unexpected. The five athletes selected by Dai Li were not competent ones. Ordinarily, Dai Li should welcome the entry of competent athletes with open arms, just like a powerful athlete joining a team was celebrated. However, Dai Li refused everyone who wanted to join the relay team.

A lot of people thought Dai Li was sticking to his principles, while other people thought Dai Li was making an example out of the relay to threaten them. Still others thought Dai Li was a blockhead.

Until the list of athletes going to the National Games was finally determined, Dai Li's lineup for the relay team remained unchanged without any addition or reduction.

The five members of the relay team were, of course, overjoyed. On grounds of their strength, they wouldn't have the chance to participate in the National Games. On the track and field team, a lot of competent athletes had been knocked out, but they could participate in the National Games if they competed in the relay race.

Actually, they hadn't realized that they had made remarkable progress after three months' training, which not only included the relay race. Even their performances in the 100m and 200m sprint were enhanced significantly.

A lot of athletes who had been knocked out in the test meet were envious of the members of the relay team. The feeling of helplessly looking at athletes inferior to them getting on a bus heading to the National Games as onlookers really sucked!

I just don't believe you can enter the official event at the National Games with a team of weaklings!

This Dai Li is too arrogant. When you have to face the music, you will regret rejecting my entry.

From the windows of the dormitory building, many resentful eyes were looking at the receding bus, and Dai Li was constantly cursed in the minds of those resentful losers.

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Chapter 238: Nobody was Happy but Somebody was Sad

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The competition system at the National Games was very complicated and varied for different events.

For example, the preliminaries for basketball would be held four to five months in advance and would be held in several locations. The participating teams had to participate in round-robin matches in each location. The top two teams of a competition would be promoted to the final round, while the third and fourth place of the competition competed for another place in the final round through a play-off. In August, the teams who had entered the final round would compete for the gold medal.

In this competition system, in case several powerful teams were assigned to one location, the preliminaries would be very fierce; in case all the weak teams were assigned to one location, the preliminaries would be held between the weaklings. Because of this, a circumstance where powerful teams were knocked out while weak teams entered the final round was always possible.

Another example was the marathon. The winner of the gold medal of the marathon would be decided several months before the National Games. The official events of the National Games would be held in August, while the marathon champion would have been decided around April, and the marathon wouldn't be held during the National Games at all.

The competition rules and system varied at each National Games. For example, eight teams would enter the final round in this National Games, but the number might be changed to twelve at the next National Games, while the number could even be changed back to eight in the games after that. The registration of the current National Games would be changed during the next one. In case the registration rules were changed, those who were qualified to participate in the events might lose their qualifications, while those who weren't qualified might be able to participate.

After all, the National Games were renowned as "The Olympics of Systems." The rules and competition systems were decided by sports associations. Sometimes, the chairman of a sports association who had a passing fancy in his mind might casually decide to change the rules. Therefore, non-professionals could be confused by the National Games, sometimes not even being able to figure out how athletes were promoted.

For the track and field events at this National Games, athletes whose results ranked in the top sixteen in China in the previous three years could enter official meets directly; athletes who participated in the last Olympic Games, or placed in the top eight in the last World Championships, or placed in the top six in the last World Cup, or were in the top three at the last Asian Games could also enter official meets directly. Therefore, athletes like Haiquan Fang, Yue Zhao, and Sijie Yang didn't' need to participate in the qualification meets, and could enter the official meets directly.

In this way, over twenty places in the official meets had been occupied by athletes who had qualified directly, which made the competition in the qualification matches even more fierce.

...

My opponents are so strong! Kun Shen lowered his head and walked off of the field gloomily.

He had come in the fourth place in the qualification race, and couldn't enter the next round, which meant his journey in the National Games' 100m sprint event ended here.

"Kun Shen was also knocked out, so our sprint team has been wiped out in the 100m sprint." As Guodong Li spoke, he patted Tingshan Chen's shoulder and continued, "Tingshan, don't be depressed, you're still young and have a chance at the next National Games. You aren't like the others who'll retire before the next National Games."

"Guodong Li, stop being mean!" Baojun Sha growled immediately to show his dissatisfaction.

Kun Shen was already twenty four this year, so he wouldn't have the chance to attend the next National Games. Guodong Li had alluded that Kun Shen was the one who would retire before the next National Games.

Kun Shen's failure to get through the qualification round upset Baojun Sha a lot, so Guodong Li's cruel words annoyed him easily. Baojun Sha quickly launched a comeback. "Kun Shen will participate in the qualification race for the 200m sprint, so he still has a chance to strive for success. He isn't like some young athletes who could only participate in the 100m sprint because they lacked curve techniques!"

Now, Baojun Sha was implying that Tingshan Chen was a young athlete who didn't know how to handle running the curve. Tingshan Chen was not yet twenty and still needed a lot of time to perfect his technique for the 100m sprint, so he hadn't spent any time training the 200m sprint.

"Enough! You two stop quarreling! Don't embarrass yourselves in front of the other teams!" Hua Liu noticed that Baojun Sha and Guodong Li were about to start a quarrel, so he tried to sort it out immediately.

Before, the three of them formed a short-term alliance because of Dai Li. Now, with the threat of Dai Li gone, they had revealed their true colors and started to undermine each other's work again.

However, this time, Kun Shen, Yueyang Zhu, and Tingshan Chen had been knocked out in the qualification match of the 100m sprint together, and lost the opportunity to enter the official race.

After all, they were weak and less skilled, so it was normal for them to be defeated in a fierce competition like this.

Kun Shen participated in the qualification match of the 200m sprint held the next day, but he was knocked out in the first round.

...

In the hotel, Yueyang Zhu was packing his luggage, quite depressed.

Beside Yueyang Zhu, Kun Shen was sitting by the bed. He lowered his head and kept silent.

Kun Shen was twenty four this year, so he was at his peak as a sprinter. Even so, he still failed to enter the official race at the National Games, which meant he wouldn't have another chance to participate in the National Games.

The next National Games would be held at least four years later, and Kun Shen would already be twenty eight by then, which meant he would be in the final phase of his sports career, perhaps even preparing his retirement.

I'll be twenty six when the next National Games is held. I don't know whether I could still have a chance to participate in it. Yueyang Zhu shook his head and said nothing.

Just at this moment, they heard the sound of footsteps. Tingshan Chen entered the room with another athlete.

"Shen, since we're going to go back tomorrow, we plan to buy some local delicacies for our families. Care to join us?" Tingshan Chen asked.

This was the first time for Tingshan Chen, who was only nineteen, to participate in the National Games; therefore, although he had failed to enter the official race, he wasn't very depressed; instead, he was quite excited to participate in meets in new places.

"It's time to buy some gifts for my family." Kun Shen returned to his mind and stood up. "Sure, I'll go with you."

As Kun Shen spoke, he picked up his cell phone to look for a number, then said, "Wait a moment, let me call Mr. Zheng of the vehicle fleet first. He travels a lot, so he definitely knows where we can buy high quality, local delicacies at the lowest price."

"That would be best. We were worried about where we could go just now. We planned to go shopping at supermarkets." Tingshan Chen said.

"The supermarkets are almost the same in all of China. Let me ask where we can find a specialty store." As Kun Shen talked to them, he dialed Mr. Zheng's number.

Soon, the call was connected.

"Hello, Mr. Zheng? This is Kun Shen speaking," Kun Shen said.

He heard a noise through the cell phone. Mr. Zheng, on the other end of the phone, said, "Shen, speak loudly please. It's quite noisy here, I can't hear you clearly."

Kun Shen raised his voice immediately and was almost shouting, "Mr. Zheng, how about now?"

"It's much better, I can hear you now."

"Mr. Shen, why is it so noisy there? I also can't hear you very clearly! Could you find a quiet place? I'd like to ask you about something," Kun Shen said loudly.

"I'm still in the stadium! So many people are around, how can I find a quiet place?" Mr. Zheng said.

"You're still in the stadium? Haven't you come back yet?" Kun Shen checked the time, then said, "Mr. Shen, now should be time for the Closing Ceremony, right?"

"The Closing Ceremony is about to be held soon. Now is the last match of the 4x100m relay, which is also the last event. I have to wait until the end of all matches then drive our athletes back." Mr. Zheng said.

"The relay race? Our athletes?" Kun Shen gasped immediately, and asked in amazement, "Hasn't our relay team been knocked out yet?"

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Chapter 239: The First Place

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Kun Shen shouted loudly, which attracted the attention of everyone in the room immediately, their eyes fixed on Kun Shen.

"Of course our relay hasn't been knocked out. They still have a race left. If they managed to rank in the top four, they'll enter the official race at the National Games!" Mr. Zheng replied loudly. Although Kun Shen hadn't put the phone on speakerphone, everyone in the room could still hear.

The relay race was a group event, so the rules for qualifying were different from those of the individual events. For the individual events, athletes whose points were in the top sixteen in the last three years could enter the official races directly. However, teams whose times ranked in the top twelve in the previous two years could enter official meets directly.

The official race of the 4x100m relay at the National Games had sixteen entries. Besides the twelve teams who had already entered due to their results earlier in the season, only four spots left were to be filled from the qualification round. However, the total number of teams that had signed up for the qualification match was over twenty. Therefore, each heat of six teams competed for one place in the official event. The competition was extremely tough.

Athletes like Kun Shen were focusing on their own events and didn't pay attention to the relay team. For them, the relay was composed of a bunch of weaklings, so it was impossible for them to win a place in the official race. Therefore, the relay team had long been forgotten by them.

But now, these athletes who had been knocked out were informed that the relay team was still in contention and had even survived until the last round. The relay team had the chance to win a place in the official race at the National Games. That's why Kun Shen and the other athletes were so surprised.

"Do you remember the members of the relay team? They even managed to enter the last round of qualifiers!" Tingshan Chen couldn't help asking.

"Let me think about it. I remember, there should be Yihao Wu, Kenan Shen, and the rest are…" Yueyang Zhu thought about it for several seconds, then continued to say, "I think the other two are Dong Qian and Jialiang Zhang."

"Yihao Wu, Kenan Shen, Dong Qian, and Jialiang Zhang? How could the relay team enter the final round of qualifiers with such a lousy lineup? It's totally impossible!" Tingshan Chen said in amazement.

At the same time, on the other end of the phone, Mr. Zheng said, "The match is about to begin, Shen, don't hang up, I'll talk to you when the match is over, it will only take a minute."

As soon as Mr. Zheng finished his words, a loud noise came out from the phone; apparently, the race had begun.

"For the qualification race for the relay, the top four will be promoted to the official meet, right? Now is the last heat, that is to say, they just need to come in fourth place," Yueyang Zhu said with furrowed brows.

"Fourth place is not an easy task! If we were on the track, it might be possible. For them, it's impossible!" Tingshan Chen curled his lip disdainfully, then said, "I defeated Yihao Wu when I was still on the youth team. Kenan Shen enjoyed his moment of glory when he was younger; however, yesterday's sun can't dry today's clothes. His level is much lower than before. Jialiang Zhang and Dong Qian are also no match for us."

Kun Shen said, "Speed isn't the only factor in the relay race. The teamwork among the runners is also very important. Moreover, the relay race is also very uncertain. An error could cause a disaster, even in a relay team composed of the four best sprinters."

While they were talking, they could clearly hear cheers from Kun Shen's cellphone.

"Come on! Come on! Faster!"

That was Mr. Zheng's voice.

Kun Shen looked at his cellphone embarrassedly. He hadn't expected the good-natured Mr. Zheng to cheer at the top of his lungs.

The room went quiet, everyone in the room silent, while the noisy cheers from the cell phone became even more clear.

"First place! We're in first place now! Just hang on! Come on!" Mr. Zheng's voice was very loud. Meanwhile, the cheers of others could also be heard.

"Hang on! Go, go!"

"Keep it up! Come on!"

"Was that Coach Wang's voice?" Tingshan Chen asked.

"No, I thought that it was Coach Liu!" Yueyang Zhu then said, "Kun Shen, just use the speakerphone so we can hear it clearly."

Kun Shen nodded and pressed the speakerphone button.

At the same time, a booming voice came out from the cell phone.

"Victory! We won! First place! We won first place! Well done!"

It was still Mr. Zheng's voice. However, when he was shouting, the athletes in the room were all dumbfounded.

After several seconds, Yueyang Zhu said first, "Did you hear that? Did Mr. Zheng say we won? Did he say we won first place?"

"You also heard that, right? So I heard correctly!" Kun Shen was shocked.

"Was the one who shouted just now Mr. Zheng? It's impossible! It couldn't have been Mr. Zheng! How could our relay team win first place?" Tingshan Chen asked in uncertainty.

"It had to be Mr. Zheng!" Kun Shen said, "I've known him for years, the one who shouted just now was him!"

"Couldn't we have misheard it? You should know our voices on the phone are different from our voices normally." Tingshan Chen argued irrationally, "I suggest we confirm it with Mr. Zheng."

Kun Shen nodded, and shouted to his cellphone, "Mr. Zheng! Mr. Zheng! Are you still there? Mr. Zheng!"

"Sorry, I'm here. I was too excited just now and forgot you were still on the phone." Mr. Zheng's voice came out again; apparently, he was the one who shouted "first place" before.

The hope in Tingshan Chen's heart was smashed instantly.

On the other side of the phone, Mr. Zheng said, "Well, Shen, you said you wanted to ask me about something, right?"

"Mr. Zheng, were you the one who shouted 'we won' just now?" Kun Shen asked immediately.

"I remember I shouted. Not just me, Coach Wang and Coach Liu beside me shouted too. It was too noisy, sorry for that," Mr. Zheng said coyly.

"Mr. Zheng, you mean our relay team won, right?" Kun Shen asked anxiously.

"Of course! Our relay team won the race, otherwise, why would I shout?" Mr. Zheng said.

"What about the ranking? Did they get first place?" Kun Shen's tone was even weaker.

"That's for sure. To come in first place is also called winning!" Mr. Zheng paused a bit. "Shen, you seem a little bit weird today."

"Ah, I'm fine, I'm okay. I have to hang up now." Kun Shen ended the phone call, then looked at Yueyang Zhu and Tingshan Chen, who were beside him.

"Did you hear that? The relay team won! They came in first place!" Kun Shen said.

"First place! Does that mean they got through the qualification round and can enter the official race at the National Games held in August?" Yueyang Zhu was out of his wits.

"The relay team actually won first place! That Yihao Wu is much weaker than me. How could he enter an official race at the National Games?" Tingshan Chen clenched his fists, not wanting to accept that fact.

"Well, Shen…" the athlete with Tingshan Chen said suddenly. "Shen, it seems you've forgotten something."

"What?" Kun Shen asked automatically.

"You forgot to ask Mr. Zheng where we could buy local delicacies," the athlete said.

Kun Shen stared at him malevolently. Now, he was really not in the mood to buy any local specialties.

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Chapter 240: A Saint Knight

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

When it was time for dinner, both the coaches and athletes arrived at the cafeteria of the hotel one after another.

By now everyone knew that the relay team had come in first place in the qualification round, and had become eligible to attend the National Games. Everyone knew that the members of the relay team were only second-rate athletes on the sprinting team. Their victory had been regarded as a big upset. Therefore, the relay team had been the talk of a lot of people during dinner.

"What a surprise! The relay team actually got first place in the qualification round!"

"Yes, indeed. It also surpassed my expectations. Anyway, that Coach Li who came back from the national team is really skilled! He was able to do so well with a group of mediocre athletes."

"I have also heard that our relay team's lead was huge during the match. They were in the lead the entire time. The 2nd place finisher was left far behind our relay team. The coach from the national team is indeed capable and skilled. If I had known that from the start, I would have signed up for the relay team."

"You regret it now? It's too late! I still remember before the relay team was established, over ten sprinters went to Coach Weidong Chu to tell him that they didn't want to join the relay team. Later, when all athletes could sign up for the relay team voluntarily, only a few athletes did so. As a result, the relay team has qualified for the National Games. I'm afraid they will not accept new applicants now."

"You are right! There is a saying which goes something like this: 'Today you ignore my existence, but tomorrow I will be out of your reach.'"

The talking had made Tingshan Chen very cranky. He was anxious to find a place where there were no people. However, some gossipers continued talking about the topic in the cafeteria, which made it impossible for Tingshan Chen to escape.

"Here comes Yihao Wu!" someone said suddenly. Tingshan Chen looked up and saw Yihao Wu walking into the cafeteria smiling.

"Wu, congratulations on qualifying for the National Games!" someone said immediately.

Hearing "National Games", Yihao Wu grinned from ear to ear.

"Yihao Wu, you are 18 this year, right? It is really impressive for an 18-year-old athlete to be able to qualify for the the National Games. When I was 18, I was still on the youth team," another person said, commending him.

Tingshan Chen's face flushed. He was one year older than Yihao Wu, so they should be peers; now, Yihao Wu had qualified for the National Games, while he had been knocked out in the qualifying round.

I don't accept that! I am not reconciled to my defeat. Why can Yihao Wu participate in the National Games and I can't? I am better than him. Tingshan Chen clenched his chopsticks tightly, his eyes filled with anger.

It's the relay race! Yihao Wu can participate in the National Games just because he joined the relay team! If I join the relay team, I will also participate in the National Games. Tingshan Chen took a deep breath, then thought of Dai Li.

Right! I should contact Coach Li. I am stronger than all the members of the relay team. If I sign up, he will definitely approve my application. Tingshan Chen made up his mind to recommend himself to Dai Li.

...

That evening, Tingshan Chen didn't visit Dai Li. The following day the track and field team returned to the training base, so Tingshan Chen also couldn't find an appropriate opportunity.

Back in Qingcheng, the track and field team had a day off. Dai Li had gone back to Yuzhou by train, so Tingshan Chen had failed to meet with Dai Li again. It was not until Dai Li returned after the holiday and normal training was resumed on the track and field team that Tingshan Chen finally saw his opportunity.

Tingshan Chen learned where Dai Li's dormitory was, then went to visit Dai Li alone.

Room 407, 4th Floor of Dormitory Building A should still be ahead of me. Tingshan Chen checked the room numbers, then finally found the door to Room 407.

Tingshan Chen smoothed out his clothes and went to knock on the door. However, before he could reach the door, the door suddenly opened. Someone walked out from the room with a bag in hand. There should have been two boxes inside the bag according its outline. The logo of some kind of liquor was printed on the packaging.

Tingshan Chen took a closer look and found that the one who had just come out was Kun Shen.

"Kun Shen?" Tingshan Chen was amazed. He had not expected Kun Shen to come out from Room 407 with two bottles of liquor in hand.

The next moment, Tingshan Chen suddenly realized that Kun Shen had also come to visit Dai Li. He had brought liquor with him, assumedly to bribe Dai Li. However, it seemed as if Dai Li had refused his bribery.

Kun Shen came to bribe Dai Li! No matter how stupid Tingshan Chen was, he knew the reason behind Kun Shen's behavior.

Kun Shen also wants to join the relay team! Tingshan Chen looked at the two bottles of liquor, as well as Kun Shen's gloomy expression. Apparently Kun Shen had been rejected.

Kun Shen had not expected to meet Tingshan Chen here either, who had witnessed his dismay. Kun Shen was very embarrassed.

"Kun Shen, did you come here to visit Coach Li?" Tingshan Chen paused a bit, then said, "To see if you can still join the relay team?"

Kun Shen didn't keep the secret from Tingshan Chen. He nodded and said, "Coach Li didn't accept me, just as I expected. After all, he has rejected many athletes before. I just wanted to try my luck. What about you? Are you here for the same thing?"

"Me? I was just passing through." Tingshan Chen didn't have the courage to tell the truth.

"Oh, then I'm going back. You take your time." Kun Shen didn't let him in on what had happened, and simply left with the two bottles of liquor.

Watching Kun Shen's receding figure, Tingshan Chen had mixed feelings

Kun Shen also visited Coach Li, and even took him some gifts, but Coach Li still refused him. I came empty-handed. Will Coach Li accept me? Tingshan Chen sighed wanly, but eventually knocked on Dai Li's door.

...

Several minutes later, Tingshan Chen came out from Dai Li's room with a disappointed face, visibly upset.

Dai Li had refused him, as he had expected.

Tingshan Chen felt as if he had been insulted. Dai Li would rather choose the young Yihao Wu and the old Kenan Shen, and even Dong Qian and Jialiang Zhang, who were no match for him, than choose him.

I hate him! Tingshan Chen said to himself. He couldn't help but be upset with Dai Li.

When Tingshan Chen walked to the gate of the dormitory building, he found Kun Shen standing there with two bottles of liquor in his hand. Kun Shen was looking at him with a half smile.

"Kun Shen…" Tingshan Chen stepped forward towards Kun Shen.

"Dai Li refused you too, right?" Kun Shen seemed to have expected this result. He continued, "If you think about it, we shouldn't be surprised by this. We went to Coach Chu and told him that we didn't want to join the relay team, which ruined Dai Li's plan to choose good athletes from the sprint team. Now that his relay team has qualified for the National Games, he will definitely teach us a lesson. We only have ourselves to blame for going too far."

"We were told to petition against the relay team by our coaches!" Tingshan Chen pouted, as if he had nothing to do with what had happened.

"Tingshan Chen, if you hadn't rejected the chance to join the relay team, you wouldn't have gone to Coach Chu to express yourself, right? After all, it was us who didn't want to give up the individual events," Kun Shen said.

"Dai Li's conditions were too harsh. We had to give up the individual events if we wanted to sign up for the relay team, which was unacceptable to most of the athletes," Tingshan Chen said, attempting to rid himself of responsibility again.

"It was indeed harsh to ask us to give up the individual events. However, in retrospect, if the members of the relay team hadn't put all their effort into the relay training, they wouldn't have qualified for the National Games. As a coach of the national team, Dai Li definitely knew that, so he made it a requirement that athletes had to give up individual events and focus all their energy on training for the relay in the very beginning," Kun Shen said.

"Shen, why are you defending Dai Li?" Tingshan Chen complained. "Are you willing to give up? We have to wait at least four years for the next National Games!"

"Of course not! Kenan Shen is 30, so he can still participate in the National Games; as for Jialiang Zhang, he is very average, and his performance hasn't improved in recent years. I'll be 24 this year, which is the peak of a sprinter's career. Four years from now I might be planning my retirement." As Kun Shen said, he sighed helplessly. "But what can I do? I want to join the relay team, but Dai Li didn't accept me!"

"Shen, I have an idea," Tingshan Chen said.

"What's it? Just tell me," Kun Shen asked immediately.

"Let's go to Coach Chu with Yueyang Zhu and other athletes whose performances are good, just like last time, and start a disagreement." Tingshan Chen continued, "Last time we won, didn't we? We successfully forced Dai Li to compromise by asking the athletes to sign up voluntarily. This time we should band together again to force Coach Li to accept us. We are sure to succeed."

Kun Shen let out a long sigh. "Tingshan Chen, you are too young and naïve. Last time we only won because Dai Li hadn't achieved anything yet, and the track and field team was looking forward to our good performance in the qualification round of the National Games. At that time, Dai Li was begging for our acceptance to the relay team, so we were given the benefit of a doubt; now we have been knocked out, but Dai Li's relay team has qualified for the National Games. We are now begging to join the relay team, while Dai Li has been given preference this time."

"Kun Shen, regardless of who has been given preference, we have to try, right? The track and field team is not ruled by Dai Li! If we dare not to try, we will never have a chance to participate in the National Games! If we try, maybe we will have a slim chance." Tingshan Chen continued trying to persuade Kun Shen.

Kun Shen thought it over as he frowned. He had indeed been convinced by the sentence, "If we try, maybe we will have a slim chance."

"You are right! If I fail to participate in this National Games, I won't have a chance to participate in the next one in four years. Even though this is risky, I have to give it a shot." Kun Shen nodded and said, "Let's go talk about our plan with Yueyang Zhu."

...

Today Weidong Chu was quite busy.

Over twenty athletes on the track and field team had qualified for the official match of the National Games. Therefore, the subsequent training for these athletes had become the most important focus for the track and field team.

Now that the training plans for the athletes had been submitted to Weidong Chu, he planned to review each of the plans one by one to find and point out anything unreasonable about them, as well as content that could be improved.

Weidong Chu had once been a professional coach, so even though he was not proficient in all track and field events, he was still familiar with training skills. In addition, as the head coach of a provincial team, Weidong Chu was more experienced and knowledgeable than ordinary coaches.

He picked up a red pen and made over ten marks on a training plan in several minutes.

This plan is not OK. I need to organize the coaches and discuss this in a meeting. Weidong Chu put the plan aside and picked up the next training plan.

This is the relay team's training plan prepared by Dai Li. When Weidong Chu saw the words "4x100m relay team," he smiled immediately.

The relay team got through the qualifying round by winning first place, with a huge gap between them and second place. This Dai Li is truly a capable guy. He can achieve such good results with a group of mediocre athletes. That's why Coach Li Xue decided to make Dai Li his last apprentice before his retirement. Li Xue has been working as a coach on the national team for a lifetime, so he is really insightful! Maybe Dai Li will be the best coach on the national team within 10 years.

As Weidong Chu thought this to himself, he reviewed Dai Li's training plan in an appreciative and open-minded view.

This was a mindset change. When he reviewed other coach's training plan, Weidong Chu expected to find mistakes, which was different than his attitude when reviewing Dai Li's training plan. Just like an artist who went to a high-end painting exhibition, Weidong Chu wanted to learn something from Dai Li's plan to make up for his own weaknesses.

As Weidong Chu was reading over Dai Li's plan, the phone rang. He picked it up immediately.

"Hello. Yes, it's me, what's up? Again? Last time they didn't want to join the relay team, what is their excuse this time? They want to join the relay team? Dai Li won't accept them? They deserve that! OK, I know; just send them to the meeting room, I will come over later."

Weidong Chu hung up the phone. He was clearly upset.

These guys have too much pride! What do they think I'm running here, a convenience store?

...

In the meeting room, Weidong Chu glared the athletes, who were being led by Tingshan Chen.

"Three months ago, in this same meeting room," Weidong Chu said as he tapped on the table with his finger, "You said you didn't want to join the relay team, and that you didn't want to participate in the relay race; now you're saying you want to join the relay team. What the hell do you want?"

Tingshan Chen was about to explain, but Weidong Chu didn't give him the opportunity. He continued, "Our relay team has entered the National Games after getting the remarkable achievement of winning first place in the qualifying match. I am very satisfied with their performance. I think it is very important to keep the integrity of the lineup for a team that could win first place. So, as for your request, my reply is that the lineup of the relay team will remain unchanged."

"But I'm faster!" Tingshan Chen said in haste.

"I just said the lineup of the relay team will not change." Weidong Chu stared at Tingshan Chen and said, "Regardless of if you are faster or slower, we will not change the lineup of a team that could come in first place!

Weidong Chu checked his watch. "OK, it's about time. I still have a meeting to attend later, so that's all for today's discussion." He stood up and left, leaving the athletes in the meeting room.

Coach Chu is indeed a qualified saint knight! You can't attack him with one movement a second time… Watching Weidong Chu's figure walk into the distance, Tingshan Chen continued having negative thoughts.

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Chapter 241: Frame Up

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Weidong Chu left the other athletes in the conference room without looking back.

"I told you. It's not working." Kun Shen looked upset.

Tingshan Chen looked upset too. His idea hadn't worked; on the contrary, it had been taken as a form of mocking by Weidong Chu. Tingshan Chen knew Weidong Chu didn't think highly of him.

"I don't think this is going to work. Tingshan Chen is young, so you can't blame him for thinking of stupid ideas; but you, Kun Shen, you are way older than Tingshan Chen, and you have been on the team for so many years. Why are you acting like this too?" Yueyang Zhu said.

"Hindsight is 20/20!" Kun Shen cursed quietly, then said, "How about you think of a plan yourselves!"

"Of course I have some ideas. Surely they will be better than yours!" Yueyang Zhu smiled with a mysterious look.

"Yueyang Zhu, do you really have some good ideas that can help us join the relay team?" Kun Shen walked closer to them and asked.

"I do have a pan. But I can't assure your success in joining the relay team, as you'll have to be good enough yourself," Yueyang Zhu said.

"Tell us about it now," Tingshan said anxiously.

Yueyang Zhu didn't answer them immediately. Instead he asked: "Do you have a lot of relatives?"

"What do my relatives have to do with this?" Tingshan Chen was confused.

Kun Shen sneered. "I don't have relatives in the authorities who are in charge of these types of things."

"You are overthinking. That's not what I mean." Yueyang Zhu lowered his voice and continued, "It is quite simple; we can find someone to report the relay team to the provincial authorities saying there is a shady deal going on, one in which qualified athletes were not selected for the team, while unqualified ones were. This would force them to perform another selection!"

"Isn't that fake reporting?" Kun Shen frowned. He didn't like this idea.

"If we don't do anything we will miss the National Games," Yueyang Zhu said.

Kun Shen shook his head. "I think even if we report them, we don't have a good chance of winning. According to management rules, even if this kind of thing is reported to the provincial authorities, they will let the team investigate the issue themselves. And it is pointless to let the team investigate themselves. They will just make up some excuse and let it go."

"That was before. Now things have changed." Yueyang Zhu smiled.

"What's the difference?" Kun Shen asked.

"You must have missed the news." There was a mysterious look on Yueyang Zhu's face. He continued, "I heard that the central inspection group might come to us after a few months."

"No way. Yueyang Zhu, don't tease us. You want us to report to the central inspection group? The central inspection group is in charge of big problems; what we have here is just a small, messy situation that isn't worthy of their time! Plus, this is a frame up, a fake charge! It is the wrong thing to do," Kun Shen said.

"That's right. And you said it will be several months for the inspection group to come here. By that time the National Games will have already finished. What's the point of reporting it?" Tingshan Chen agreed.

"That is why I said you guys don't read the news! I am not a fool. We are not going to report it to the inspection group." Yueyang Zhu snorted and said, "Before the arrival of the inspection group, the Provincial Politics and Law Committee, as well as the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, have a Discipline Inspection Dispute Group to keep things straight and neat. They also announced the hotlines. They want to solve the problems in advance before the central inspection group is actually here. After all, it would be much better to check the problems yourselves than have it checked by the inspection group."

"You're saying we tell this group about the relay team?" Kun Shen asked.

"Exactly! Although nobody knows the exact date the inspection group is coming, it worries everyone in this province. Whether it is a small problemor a big deal, we have to take everything seriously," Yueyang Zhu explained.

"But this is only a selection. This is not really worth investigating. The Discipline Inspection Dispute Group is not going to check this, will they?" Tingshan Chen asked.

"Being involved in a scandal is the last thing they want to deal with! If only one or two people say something, they may not take it seriously; but if a dozen people report it?" Yueyang Zhu lowered his voice as he kept talking. "That is why I asked if you have any relatives. Encourage your relatives to report the issue together and we can do it!"

"That sounds like a good idea. If we can make the relay team hold another selection, we all may get the chance to be chosen," Kun Shen said.

Tingshan Chen shook his head. "I don't think so. Don't forget the coach of the relay team is Dai Li. If he doesn't want to choose us for the relay team, there is nothing we can do."'

"That makes sense." Yueyang Zhu thought about it for a while, then responded, "What about this: we say these athletes bribed Dai Li and bought him presents so they would make the relay team. We can tell on Dai Li and make a false charge against him. We are definitely going to make it when he is no longer a coach!"

"Good idea! I say this works. We can crush Dai Li as well." Tingshan Chen was the first one to agree to the plan.

"But without Dai Li, we can't assure good scores in the National Games!" Kun Shen hesitated.

Tingshen Chen's mouth twisted in a contemptuous sneer. "Scores? Scores are obtained by us, not the help of others! Are we really going to talk about scores if we can't even make it to the National Games? Kittel has already broken so many world records; what does it have to do with our salary? Think about scores after we make it to the National Games."

…

The phone rang. Weidong Chu looked at the number, suddenly looking seriously. It was the home line of Director Wang, the direct boss of Weidong Chu. Weidong Chu was very familiar with this number.

"Why would Director Wang want to talk to me?" Weidong Chu picked it up without any hesitation.

"Hello, Director Wang. This is Weidong Chu!" Weidong Chu said energetically.

"Weidong Chu, there will be two officers from the discipline inspection dispute group coming. You have to see them in person and assist them with their work," Director Wang said.

"Discipline Inspection Dispute Group!" Weidong Chu suddenly felt nervous. He was familiar with the group, as he had worked with the authorities before. He knew exactly what this group did.

"Director Wang, is everything alright?" Weidong Chu asked in a low voice.

"They said we have been reported by a number of people saying there was something wrong with our selection for the relay team. Ask the members in the group for details!" Director Wang said. "Remember, you have to assist with their investigation! I have already promised them our integrity. If there are any problems, I will not tolerate it!"

"Director Wang, don't worry. I will help the Discipline Inspection Dispute Group." Weidong Chu paused, then continued, "Director Wang, I can promise you that the selection of our teams is fair and clear. There is nothing shady going on here!"

Weidong Chu looked nervous after he hung up. He knew he was innocent, but it was not a good thing to be inspected.

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Chapter 242: Achieve Something Big

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Xiaochun Gao stood at the gate of the Hanbei track and field team feeling excited.

Xiaochun Gao had used to work for the Provincial Politics and Law Committee, but had always felt he didn't get what he deserved after all those years of hard working. He had done a lot of things, but he had never gotten his boss's appreciation, or a promotion.

When the Discipline Inspection Dispute Group was established, Xiaochun Gao was transferred from his original work unit to this group.

After Xiaochun Gao came to the group, he was eager to achieve something big and impress his boss. However, it was not easy to find big tasks. Xiaochun Gao had stayed with the Discipline Inspection Dispute Group for over a month and had gone to check things on a daily basis, but still couldn't find a big case.

But two days ago, someone had reported that there was something shady going on in the selection process of the provincial track and field team, saying some athletes had bribed their coach to get positions on teams for the National Games, especially the relay team.

This wasn't really a big case, but because someone had reported it, the Discipline Inspection Dispute Group was on call. It ended up in Xiaochun Gao's hands.

As soon as Xiaochun Gao had taken over this job, he had begun dreaming of achieving something big.

This thing seems like a simple shady deal in the selection process, but will there be any deep reason behind it? Although Dai Li is the only one being reported, will this be something common across the track and field team? You can't take part in matches if you don't buy your coach gifts? Or maybe this isn't a single case on the track and field team, but all the sports teams in Hanbei Province work this way? Maybe this also involves the Provincial Sports Bureau. If the Provincial Sports Bureau has corruption problems, will there be anyone benefiting from it? I remember the provincial sports lottery sold over ten billion yuan last year? Even taking of it for sports funding would be two billion! Oh my god, a two billion yuan case. If I solve this, I will be so famous!

Thinking of this, Xiaochun Gao couldn't help smiling. Xiaochun Gao was an imaginative person. Even a small selection could make him connect it to a big case that involved billions of yuan.

…

Weidong Chu had been waiting in the reception area for a while. After they met each other, they had a brief introduction, then went straight to the point.

"Coach Chu, it was reported to us that the selection on the track and field team is rigged," Xiaochun Gao said.

"Director Gao, we are very serious about the selection. We have our evidence and standards." Weidong Chu paused, then continued, "I reckon the reason we got reported is because someone wasn't selected, and he was not happy about it. He probably made things up and reported it as revenge."

Xiaochun Gao smiled. He wasn't surprised to hear Weidong Chu's words. According to his previous experiences, those who were corrupted had plenty of excuses for themselves.

Knowing this, Xiaochun Gao continued, "This report mentioned an exact name."

"Who is that?" Weidong Chu asked immediately. He didn't know that.

"Coach Dai Li of the relay team. That is why I hope to call and ask him some questions." Xiaochun Gao made his request brief and direct.

"No problem, Director Gao. Just bear with me. I will call Coach Li here." Weidong Chu signaled to someone next to him. "Call Coach Li and tell him to come here."

Weidong Chu poured a cup of tea for Xiaochun Gao, then continued, "Director Gao, you said before that there was a shady deal behind the selection of the athletes. Were you referring to the relay team?"

"You are the person in charge of the track and field team. I will just tell you the truth." Xiaochun Gao put down the tea cup and said, "It was the relay team that had been reported."

"Hehe…" Weidong Chu heaved a sigh of relief.

Weidong Chu might not have been that confidence when it came to other teams playing dodgy when selecting team members, but when it came to the relay team, he was 100% certain that everything was neat and fair.

It was not easy and smooth when they had begun assembling the relay team. Coaches like Guodong Li and Baojun Sha were having some problems and they were not copying with each other, while athletes like Tingshan Suan and Kun Shen even told on them directly. Finally, they had to let the athletes volunteer to join the team. They ended up setting zero restrictions, and anyone could sign up for it. They would literally thank God just to have five athletes on the relay team.

Weidong Chu said, "Director Gao, I can assure you that we didn't have a so-called 'shady' deal going on for the selection for the relay team."

"Coach Chu, you have such strong confidence in your team members?" Xiaochun Chu shook his head. "From what I heard, athletes could only join the relay team after they bought Coach Li presents and gave him money."

"Presents and money?" Weidong Chu laughed. He continued, "We almost had to beg the athletes to join the relay team when we raised the idea, but no one was willing to be part of it, so we asked them to volunteer. In a way we didn't even select them for the relay team; they signed up for it voluntarily."

"The athletes signed up voluntarily!" Xiaochun Gao opened his eyes wide, looking embarrassed.

If it had been a selection, there were chances that a shady deal existed, as the coach was the one who would have made the final judgement. This was kind of like the first day of school when the children were trying to become the class monitor; the teacher has the right to decide. But it was a completely different story when athletes volunteered to sign up.

"Even though the athletes sign up themselves, there is still a chance there was some shady play. This kind of thing happens all the time," Xiaochun Gao said resentfully. He didn't want to just give it up. He still wished to find and solve a big case. Leaving with nothing was the last thing he wanted to do.

Weidong Chu recalled his memory and said, "I remember when we put up the signing up notice, not many people came to sign up. There were only about seven or eight people I think. Coach Li then selected five of them. This was not like a civil service exam where only one person could be selected to the personnel system out of thousands of candidates. Choosing five out of seven is not an easy job to do in itself, and it is impossible to be shady about it."

Xiaochun Gao was obviously upset after hearing what Weidong Chu said.

Dai Li arrived at the reception area.

"Coach Chu, I'm here." Dai Li said.

"Dai Li, come here. Let me introduce you to Director Gao. He is from our provincial Discipline Inspection Dispute Group. Director Gao, this is Coach Dai Li from our team." Weidong Chu introduced the two of them to each other.

So this is the Dai Li who was reported! He is so young. He's probably inexperienced. I could make him tell me everything if I scare him. Xiaochun Gao felt there was a good chance he could achieve something big.

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Chapter 243: Bluffing

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Dai Li sat down opposite Xiaochun Gao.

Xiaochun Gao stared at Dai Li. He thought Dai Li would be nervous, but in fact, Dai Li looked extremely calm. This wasn't a good start from what Xiaochun Gao had experienced.

The next minute, Xiaochun Gao played hardball and began talking. "Coach Li, we have received some information about you, but I would prefer to hear from you in person. You must know our policy; there is a lighter penalty if you confess than the other way around. If you give up the other people involved, you can receive a lighter punishment." Xiaochun Gao was staring at Dai Li as he spoke.

It was Xiaochun Gao's regular trick to bluff in the beginning, whether there really was a problem or not. This was a common trick. Many guilty and cowardly people sometimes just told the truth when they were being lied to.

The last sentence Xiaochu Gao had said was an attempt to persuade Dai Li to tell on more people. The more people that were involved, the bigger the case was, and Xiaochun Gao could make his dream come true.

Weidong Chu frowned. He seemed unhappy. Xiaochun Gao sounded like he was interrogating a criminal. Weidong Chu wanted to say something, but he held back when he remembered Director Wang's words, "assist him."

A clean hand wants no washing. There is nothing to worry about. Weidong Chu thought.

Dai Li nodded. Looking sincere, he said, "I am responsible for not breaking the relay record. I personally think there are some problems existing in our training process. First of all…"

"Stop!" Xiaochun Gao smacked the table all of a sudden. "I asked you to tell the truth. What are you talking about?"

"I am telling the truth!" Dai Li pretended to be cute and dumb. He continued, "Aren't we talking about the fact that my team didn't break the National Team's record?"

Weidong Chu almost laughed out loud. Obviously he had underestimated Dai Li.

"What record! We are talking about the thing you did when you were selecting the team members for the relay group!" Xiaochun Gao groaned. "Does that remind you?"

"You mean the selection for the relay team?" Dai Li shook his head and said, "The athletes signed up themselves. We didn't run the selection process as we usually do."

"Then why would only five of the seven be selected? It must have had something to do with you!" Xiaochun Gao inquired immediately.

"Director Gao, if seven people come to the tryout, are all seven of them supposed to be chosen?" Dai Li smirked. "The sports bureau wouldn't agree with that. According to the rules of the relay team for the National Games, every team has to have five to six members. Seven members wouldn't work at all."

Xiaochun Gao was embarrassed. He felt he had made a big mistake. He had acted unprofessional, as he seemed to have asked something before he had figured it out.

"Then what was your standard when you picked the five athletes? We heard that there was some shady play when you selected the members!" Xiaochun Gao continued his bluffing strategy.

"Shady play? Director Gao, you are overthinking. This is a sprinting competition; we only have two standards. Number one, how fast you run; and number two, how much potential you have to run faster. You can go over the records of the seven athletes if you want and see if the five athletes I picked were not qualified." Dai Li paused, then continued, "Sprinting is about running fast. I can't leave the fast runners aside and pick the slow ones, right?"

"But people reported you, saying the athletes gave you money to join the relay team!" Xiaochun Gao looked furious.

"Well, did the public tell you who gave me the money? And when they gave it to me? Where did it happen? And how much did they give me? We can discuss these things and make things clear," Dai Li sneered, looking straight into Xiaochun Gao's eyes. "Director Gao, you said you had some evidence to prove my guilt the moment we saw each other. Now I am curious if you really have evidence. Or did you just guess about everything? You can't just bluff to work for the Discipline Group, right?"

Xiaochun Gao took a long breath and calmed down. He thought dealing with a young coach like Dai Li would be a piece of cake; that just a few frightening statements would make him fold and tell the truth. He didn't expect Dai Li to be so difficult and come right back at him.

Is there really someone who tried to frame and throw dirt on Dai Li? Xiaochun Gao started to suspect this, however he couldn't simply let it go. He was thinking of the "big case" he had been dreaming about.

Bluffing is not going to work. I need to think of something else. Xiaochun Gao stayed silence for a few seconds before he started talking again. "Coach Li, please tell me—what was your reason for picking the athletes? The evidence for choosing every single athlete. I will have to write them down, if you don't mind."

"Sure. I will start with Kenan Shen first. He is a bit older than the others on the team, but he won second place in the National Games when he was younger. He is experienced in running, and we need an experienced athlete for our relay team, as the relay is a sport that requires teamwork.

"Then there's Yihao Wu. He is only eighteen, and he is the young man with potential on our track and field team. I want to develop him and help him become a better sprinter.

"Jialiang Zhang is next. He is a positive guy, and he always has a stable performance in competitions, which is suitable for the relay.

"The fourth one is Dong Qin. The reason I picked him was because he was quick and strong. He is the fastest among the seven candidates. You can check his documents or ask other people to prove it.

"And finally, Wenqiang Wang. He is the substitute on the team. I chose him because he was the fastest one of the remaining three candidates."

"So you are saying that the five guys on the relay team are not the fastest on the track and field team?" Xiaochun Gao thought he had found something weak in Dai Li's words.

Dai Li knew this question was a set up. He didn't reply immediately. Instead, he thought about it, then answered, "Their performance is changing. I am a coach in charge of the relay games. It is none of my business to measure their personal sports performance."

Xiaochun Gao hit the table again. "That's right! That is exactly what was said in the report! Those who ran faster didn't get selected to the relay team; on the contrary, those who were slow and average were selected! And you are telling me nothing about that is shady?"

"Director Gao, you seem to have forgotten that the selection of the relay team was actually voluntary. The excellent athletes you mentioned didn't even sign up for it. I wish I could have selected them, but I didn't have the choice," Dai Li said.

"Why didn't they sign up?" Xiaochun Gao asked.

"I have no idea!" Dai Li shook his head furiously. "The notice was put up on the bulletin board, so everyone could see it. We only got seven entry forms in the end. I couldn't force them to sign up."

"Sign up" again! Xiaochun Gao cursed silently. He felt like he was back where he started. He couldn't find anything suspicious as long as the athletes had signed up themselves.

It seems like there is no big case waiting here for me. I will have to go back with nothing, Xiaochun Gao sighed.

Suddenly, someone pushed open the reception area door and rushed inside without knocking.

"I wanted to join the relay team but Coach Dai Li refused to take me!" the guy said loudly.

Dai Li and Weidong Chu turned around at the same time and found that it was Tingshan Chen who had rushed in and spoken.

Xiaochun Gao, on the other hand, felt his dream of achieving something big had been given a new life. He waved to Tingshan Chen and said, "Are you an athlete? Come and sit down. Tell us everything, completely and slowly."

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Chapter 244: Make Things Right Once And For All

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Kun Shen looked at Yueyang Zhu, who stood next to him in the door of the track and field building, feeling nauseous.

"Yueyang Zhu, you are so mean. I heard that the Discipline Inspection Dispute Group has arrived. You persuaded Tingshan Chen to speak out, but you are standing here watching the fun," Kun Shen said with despise.

"The nail that sticks up always gets hammered down!"Yueyan Zhu said. "But this time, we need someone to speak out. You don't need to pretend to be a nice guy in front of me. When I was encouraging Tingshan Chen, you didn't say anything. You just wanted to get something out of it. if you really feel sorry for Tingshan Chen, why don't you switch with him and be the nail that sticks out?"

Kun Shen frowned. Yueyang Zhu's words were not pleasant to hear, but it revealed the truth that Kun Shen wanted to hear. He knew that Tingshan Chen was the guy that had stepped up, but he didn't say anything because he also wanted to get something out of it. Without Tingshan Chen, Kun Shen would get nothing.

Kun Shen felt sorry for Tingshan Chen. He sighed. "I feel sorry for Tingshan Chen. He was the one who reported the thing to the Discipline Inspection Dispute Group. Even if it works out in the end, he would be blamed by Weidong Chu. Once the Discipline Inspection Dispute Group leaves, Weidong Chu will surely be hard on him. Maybe Coach Guodong Li will be punished as well."

"This is the cost of growing up!" Yueyang Zhu said. "Tingshan Chen is a proud guy. He never showed respect to our older team members, as he thought he was excellent in his field. It is time to teach him a lesson and let him know that he can't do whatever he likes on our track and field team. If Tingshan Chen does get punished, it is not a bad thing for us, as we have such a competitive team environment."

Kun Shen didn't argue. Tingshan Chen was a proud person. He was only 19 years old, but his sports performance was as good as Kun Shen and Yueyang Zhu. One could predict that after three or four years, when Tingshan Chen would be 23, he would surely surpass Kun Shen and Yueyang Zhu.

Maybe because of this, Tingshan Chen had become "the nail that stuck up." When you are 18 and 19, you do things irrationally. Young men don't have their own opinions towards things, and tend to be more impulsive when they hear something. As they get older, they learn to think critically and have their own values and beliefs, and aren't shaped as easily by a place or person.

…

Weidong Chu looked at Tingshan Chen with resent inside the reception room. Xiaochun Gao was about to leave, as he had ran out of ideas. They didn't expect there would be another obstacle for them to overcome.

It is so inappropriate for Tingshan Chen showed up right now. We thought he would be the key person to develop; who knew he was such a troublemaker!

Weidong Chu thought about the two reports that had already happened before and realized Tingshan Chen had been a part of them. He couldn't help thinking less of Tingshan Chen.

Xiaochun Gao, on the other hand, seemed really excited. He thought he had found a new drive. He happily invited Tingshan Chen to sit down.

"My name is Tingshan Chen. I am an athlete on the sprint team…" Tingshan Chen introduced himself first.

"Tingshan Chen, you mentioned that you wanted to join relay team, but Coach Dai Li didn't accept you. Can you tell me more about this?" Xiaochun Gao asked patiently with a kind face.

"I wanted to join the relay team, so I went to Coach Li. But Coach Li said no," Tingshan Chen said. "My 100m record is surely the best on our team, but Coach Li would rather take other athletes who are slower than choose me. This is not fair!" Tingshan Chen said.

"Coach Li, is this true?" Xiaochun Gao looked at Dai Li, looking thrilled. "You just said that the athletes you picked are either fast runners or potential fast runners. Tingshan Chen is a young and promising athlete. How come you didn't choose him?"

"Tingshan Chen wasn't one of the seven athletes who signed up in the beginning. When he came to me, it was past the application period—it was three month later. Tingshan Chen thought this was unfair, but we have our rules. If you can still apply for it after three months, it is unfair for the other people," Dai Li answered without hesitation.

"Coach Li, you are right. If everyone delays things and hopes it will be fine, we can't manage our track and field team," Weidong Chu said.

"But I run faster than anyone else! If I join the relay team, the team will perform better in competitions!" Tingshan Chen agued. "Not only me, but Kun Shen and Yueyang Zhu as well. They were all left out even though they run faster than the current members on the relay team. If we change the members on the relay team to us, the sports performance will definitely improve!"

Xiaochun Gao nodded. He was excited, as he felt he had finally found a key point to fight back. He then asked, "Coach Li, why was a better sprinter ruled out when he wished to join the relay team? I am an outsider, but I know that the faster the team members run, the better chance they have of winning the race."

"Director Gao, a 4x100m race is not about getting the four fastest athletes and winning first place for sure; it's about teamwork." Dai Li continued, "Also, our relay team has made it to the official match in the National Games, and I am pretty satisfied with their performance. There is chemistry among our team members and I don't think it is necessary to change the team. If we change the members on purpose, it may hurt their chemistry."

"Coach Li, I don't agree with you on this. I'm not an athlete myself, but I know every athlete wants to be first place. They are not satisfied with what they have now." Xiaochun Gao paused, then continued, "I have to say something about this. As a coach, how could you be satisfied with how things are now? How can you be over the moon just because you made it to the National Games? You should aim for first place!"

"First place? We are first place!" Dai Li blinked. "Our relay team got first place in the qualification match for the National Games. As for the official games, although they hasn't started yet, I am aiming for first place again. Director Gao, since we can get first place now, the most important thing is to maintain the stability of the team. It is not necessary to take the risk of breaking up the team and finding new people."

Xiaochun Gao was speechless hearing Dai Li's words again. He was really upset. Xiaochun Gao wasn't a professional when it came to sports terms. When he had finally found a topic of 'team structure' to talk about, he had judged Dai Li for not being ambitious enough. He didn't expect Dai Li to have already won first place.

Seeing the awkward look of Xiaochun Gao, Weidong Chu couldn't help giggling silently. He knew that Xiaochun Gao had to leave with nothing if he didn't have any real evidence.

However, Dai Li didn't want to just let it go.

Dai Li continued, "Tingshan Chen said he was one of the best on our team, and that the other athletes are not as good as him. That is his own illusion, and it doesn't represent the truth. Anyone can say he is the best, but is it true? I don't even want to talk about the real case on the entire team, but on our relay team, there are at least two candidates who are better than Tingshan Chen. I don't think Tingshan Chen is fast enough, and that's one of the reasons I said no to him."

"You said I am not fast enough! That is bullsh*t!" Tingshan Chen stood up out of anger.

Dai Li smiled. "Tingshan Chen, I know you are happy with the results. What about this; we have a match in front of Coach Chu and Director Gao. I will call two of my buddies, and you can call Kun Shen and Yueyang Zhu. Scores are louder than words. We will see!"

"Then race it is! Competing with those weak chicks on your relay team, I am definitely gonna win!"

…

Weidong Chu walked with Dai Li side by side to the training base.

Frowning, Weidong Chu said in a low voice, "Dai Li, what the hell are you doing? Xiaochun Gao was already in the wrong and was about to leave. Why did you do that?"

"Coach Chu, today we had to deal with the Discipline Inspection Dispute Group. You think it has anything to do with Tingshan Chen?" Dai Li asked.

"I am sure they are involved. I assume they may be the ones that reported it! Dai Li, don't worry; this is not over. I will find an opportunity to make Tingshan Chen pay for this!" Weidong Chu said.

"Actually the athletes did this just because they thought they were better than the others. They felt it was unfair seeing those who weren't as good as them attend the games. So even though we handled Xiaochun Gao this time, the others will probably play other tricks."

Dai Li paused, then continued, "We are getting pretty close to the National Games in August, and the relay team are in the final stages of their training. I don't want to be distracted again, so I need a plan that can make things right once and for all. I need this race to let these people know that our relay team is strong and can't be mocked! We are much stronger than them, and they need to know that! They didn't get picked because they are not good enough."

"Are you sure? Tingshan Chen is indeed one of the best on our team when it comes to the 100m sprint," Weidong Chu said.

"One of the best? That was three months ago." Dai Li smiled confidently.

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Chapter 245: Remove the Obstacles

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Kun Shen changed the specialized competition trainers, looking hesitant.

"Tingshan Chen managed to find us some opportunity after he made a scene," Yueyang Zhu said as he tied his shoes. "I will not show you mercy during the competition. Try your best if you want to make it to the relay team."

"They didn't say we can join the relay team if we win." Kun Shen didn't seem happy.

"At least this is an opportunity. We have to seize the opportunity that Tingshan Chen fought to get us!" Yueyang Zhu said.

Kun Shen felt sorry for Tingshan Chen whenever he heard Tingshan Chen's name. Tingshan Chen was going to have a tough time after this, no matter what the result was.

Not far away from them, Tingshan Chen looked immensely proud. He didn't realize what kind of situation he was in. He quickly walked over to Kun Shen, smiling. "Brother Shen, I did a great job, huh? You have to buy me meals soon."

"Sure, the meal is on me!" Kun Shen smiled awkwardly, judging Tingshan Chen silently. This fool thinks he is some kind of hero. He would be counting money for the guy who sold to him. He made his bed; let him lie in it.

Dong Qian and Yihao Wu, representatives for the relay team, were ready for the competition.

"Hey Coach Li, are there only two athletes in the competition. Are the other two not coming?" Xiaochun Gao groaned.

"The relay team is for relay games. Two athletes for the curves while the other two run the straightaways. We are having a 100m sprint race, so the two athletes in charge of straightaways will take part in it. The other two athletes are practicing for the curves. I wouldn't mind having them participate if we were having a curve race," Dai Li answered.

Xiaochun Gao didn't argue. He understood nothing about professional sports terms, so he just kept his mouth shut in case he made another mistake.

Weidong Chu felt diffirent about this though. He surely supported Dai Li, but he didn't have faith in the two athletes Dai Li had picked for this race. If it had not been Dai Li, but another guy dealing with this, this ridiculous competition would not even be happening.

Dai Li still looked confident. As he had predicted, Dong Qian and Yihao Wu were way better than their three opponents, including Tingshan Chen. And this was his big achievement from the latest three months.

The moment when Dai Li had picked Dong Qian, he knew Dong Qian had potential. His weaknesses would be easy to overcome, and once he overcame them, he would improve a lot.

In the three months of training under Dai Li, Dong Qian had continued correcting his shortcomings. Dong Qian was not bad in the beginning, and over time he became better. It was only because Dong Qian was one of the members of the relay team and didn't get involved in self-testing programs that people didn't know he had improved to a higher level.

Yihao Wu, on the other hand, was in a different situation. Dong Qian was already mature in some skills even though he had some shortcomings, while Yihao Wu had not formed his own technique yet.

Yihao Wu was one year older than Tingshan Chen, and he had just gotten promoted from the youth team. The "mixed up" training style of the youth team would not help athletes grow.

To Dai Li, Yihao Wu was like a blank sheet of paper that welcomed all possibilities. Because of this, when they were first starting out, Dai Li taught Yihao Wu the technique system of the national team. Compared with the other athletes on the provincial team, Yihao Wu was at a higher starting point, and avoided unnecessary detours.

Young people were better at learning new things, so in the following few months, Yihao Wu grew a lot. And with a top coach like Dai Li, Yihao Wu got chances to improve faster. He was now just as good as Tingshan Chen. With the help of the explosive force halo, Yihao Wu could even be better than Tingshan Chen. Also, because they were all training for the relay team, Yihao Wu hadn't attended the most recent competitions in the past three month either. This meant that no one knew about his progress.

…

Altogether there were five athletes in the match. The rest of the members of the relay team didn't join the match.

The younger athletes, as well as the average ones, thought the relay team wouldn't achieve anything even if they were going to the games, so they didn't want to embarrass themselves. The experienced athletes who had practiced for years also didn't want to get involved in the race either, as they knew it was a competition that had excellent athletes.

It was not an official match, so they didn't use an electronic timer to keep time; instead, they found five coaches to time the race, holding stopwatches in their hands and standing at the finish line.

Although there wasn't an electronic timer involved, they used an electronic starting gun. A starting gun was usable, safe, and economic, as it could be used for a long time once it was charged.

The old fashioned starting gun was no longer popular these days. The existing starting guns had been produced years ago. This country had a strict rule about guns, so even though they were only used for races as starting guns, bullets were banned. In addition, the approval process for production was extremely strict; manufacturers wouldn't bother making them, and decided to make electronic ones. The electronic guns now didn't look like guns at all, but game handles.

The announcer shot the starting gun and shouted, "Everybody, get ready…" The five candidates were all ready to run.

With the sound of the gunshot, the five athletes shot out from the starting line like bullets.

…

"Wow…" The crowd was in awe.

"How come?"

"Dong Qian is in first place!"

"Yihao Wu runs so fast!

In the race, Dong Qian was first among the runners. The other four were at similar positions.

Kun Shen, Yueyang Zhu, and Tingshan Chen were all good sprinters, so it wasn't strange for them to run at the same speed; it was to everyone's surprise that Yihao Wu was running so fast that he had caught up to them.

It hadn't even been one year since Yihao Wu had been promoted from the youth team. He was still considered a freshman on the track and field team, and hadn't been given opportunities to attend formal games. Freshmen like him had to practice for two or three years before they could compete publicly.

But now, Yihao Wu's performance was surprising everyone watching. Dong Qian had surprised people even more, as he was currently in first place.

On the sprint team, Dong Qian wasn't the worst, but he was not the best either. However, Dong Qian was running faster than Kun Shen and the other three, and the gap between them widened as the race went on.

…

Dong Qian is ahead of me! How did that happen? Am I running too slow today? Kun Shen looked around and noticed that Yueyang Zhu and Tingshan Chen were running at the same pace as him.

Yueyang Zhu and Tingshan Chen are around the same speed as me. It's not that I'm running slower than usual, Dong Qian is just running faster! Kun Shen realized this, but also found that Yueyang Zhu and Tingshan Chen were not the only two running with him. There was a third guy.

Another one! Kun Shen turned around again and saw Yihao Wu.

Yihao Wu? Can he catch me? Kun Shen felt frightened. Dong Qian is faster than me, and Yihao Wu is running as fast as I am. How could this be happening?

However, the next minute, Kun Shen realized that Yihao Wu seemed to be ahead of them.

I feel like Yihao Wu is faster than me. Is this an illusion? Ku Shen looked around and found that Yihao Wu was slightly ahead of him.

How could this be possible! Yihao Wu is also faster than me!

…

Weidong Chu watched the race. The match was about to finish, and it was pretty clear who was going to win. Dong Qian without doubt had an advantage, and Yihao Wu had also emerged as second. As for Kun Shen, Yueyang Zhu, and Tingshan Chen, they were going to be the last three.

That's Dong Qian and Yihao Wu, right? I didn't even notice them in the beginning, and I didn't expect them to be so fast. No wonder Dai Li was so confident!

Weidong Chu looked at Dai Li, and suddenly realized that Dong Qian and Yihao Wu were faster because of Dai Li's training.

I didn't pick up the wrong guy! Weidong Chu thought. The athletes ran to the finishing point in a row.

Dong Qian was first, and Yihao Wu was second. The two candidates on the relay team had won the game, which surprised everyone.

"Dong Qian won first place! He beat Kun Shen, Yueyang Zhu, and Tingshan Chen!"

"Yihao Wu was second. When did he become so fast?"

"The members of the relay team are really something. No wonder they were willing to have a match with Kun Shen, Yueyang Zhu, and Tingshan Chen. They have the ability to."

"I used to think I was way better than the people on the relay team, but now I know that was just an illusion. I am much worse."

"I went to Coach Li, what a shame! I can't even run faster than them. No wonder Coach Li turned me down!"

There were discussions going on in the crowd.

I remember that Yihao Wu is one year younger than Tingshan Chen, and now he can beat him. It seems that Yihao Wu is more worthy of training, and he is obedient! Tingshan Chen is such a troublemaker. He just brought a lot of trouble to me, Weidong Chu thought silently. He thought about making Yihao Wu the focus of development on the track and field team.

In Weidong Chu's position, although scores mattered, he would not want troublemakers on his team for sure. The most important thing to Weidong Chu was to obey the coach and never bring trouble to the team.

Xiaochun Gao looked so embarrassed standing next to them. He stared at Tingshan Chen with resent.

And you call this one of the best? Bullsh*t! What a bullsh*t excuse that the excellent athletes were not selected and the average ones were! And the bribe? Bullsh*t! I thought it was a big case, but it was just a few athletes that got jealous of others because they were not good enough to be selected. What a false accusation! Such a waste of time.

Seeing this result, Xiaochun Gao realized that he had been used.

Xiaochun Gao suddenly came to the realization that it was actually very simple. He was just so obsessed with achieving something big that he had made things complicated.

Weidong Chu glanced at Xiaochun Gao coldly as he thought of ways to get revenge.

I remember Xiaochun Gao said he had evidence on Dai Li's case... Weidong Chu squinted his eyes and decided to do something for Dai Li.

…

As soon as Xiaochun Gao left, Weidong Chu dialed the number of Director Wang, the director of the sports bureau, and began complaining.

Helping his employees out was management skill of the boss. If the employee was mistreated and the boss paid no attention to it, the employees would not respect him, and the bully might gather the courage to continue mistreating the employee in the future. That was why Weidong Chu reported this to his boss.

Words like "framed,""treated as criminals," and "abuse of power" came out of Weidong Chu's mouth. And of course he exaggerated a bit here and there. From Weidong Chu's description, the track and field team had been mistreated, and Xiaochun Gao was made out to be very evil and mean.

Director Wang was not easy to deal with, as he was the vice director of the Provincial Sports Bureau. When he heard the news that the track and field team was bullied, he would surely defend them. This was not only for the sake of Weidong Chu, but also to show his power to lead coaches on other teams.

Director Wang called the boss of the Discipline Inspection Dispute Group. He wanted to complain about this as well.

…

"Xiaochun Gao, I asked you to investigate; I didn't ask you to cause trouble! I received a complaint!" a middle aged guy in his 40s yelled excitedly. "You should be faithful to the truth when I send you to investigate. And what did you do? You said you had the evidence to prove he was guilty? I am asking you now, what made him guilty?"

Xiaochun Gao lowered his head and said in a low voice, "Secretary Zhao, I was just using it as an interrogation tactic. I thought that if there was anything wrong, they would be frightened and tell me everything if I lied."

"Lie? Xiaochun Gao, how old are you? Are you still using the tricks that we used ten years ago? Were you asleep when we were having the training lecture? We deal with things more civilized now, without threatening anyone. Haven't you learned anything? The moment you saw them, you assumed they were suspicious. If you had evidence, fine. But did you think maybe they were framed? How are you going to get things done if you say things like that? Do you have an idea how much trouble you have caused our group? We aim to serve justice, but now, after this scene you made, the outsiders might take us as the imperial guards of the Ming Dynasty, which eventually became some version of SS troops!"

Xiaochun Gao still had his head lowered, not arguing back. Secretary Zhao continued, "Xiaochun Gao, I've seen your CV. You worked diligently during that time, and I was wondering why you never received a promotion. Now I finally understand—it was because you suck! No wonder you were never promoted, you troublemaker!"

Secretary Zhao breathed heavily and calmed down, then he said, "Well, to save you the trouble, there is no need for you to stay with the investigation group. Manager Li in the archives office happens to need some help, so you can go there and meet up with him tomorrow!"

"I've been transferred to the archives office?" Xiaochun Gao almost cried.

The archives office sorted out files and papers, which was dull and required no intelligence. More importantly, staying at the archives office was like being exiled. He would not be able to deal with regular cases anymore, let alone the big case he had always wanted.

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Chapter 246: The National Games

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After the race, Dai Li had made things right once and for all. Just as he had said, the athletes had originally complained because they thought they were better than the members of the relay team, and assumed they would help the team perform better if they replaced them.

This was the way sports worked—you let your performance speak for you. It was normal for an athlete to find things unfair when he saw people who weren't better than him got more opportunities and exposure.

But in this competition, Kun Shen, Yueyang Zhu, and Tingshan Chen had all failed. It made all the people present realize that the members of the relay team weren't easily bullied, and that they were all excellent athletes who were better than the top athletes on the track and field team.

Many people had wanted to join the relay team after their success, but they disregarded this dream when they saw how great Dong Qian and Yihao Wu were. It would be humiliating if they insisted on joining the team if they were not good enough.

A lot of people were shocked by Dong Qian and Yihao Wu, but afterwards realized that Dong Qian and Yihao Wu couldn't have won the match if they were not good. There were over 20 teams involved in the competition; they hadn't won this through luck.

Dai Li's coaching impressed all of them as well. Da Li had held the title of coach on the national team, and there were still many coaches who thought Dai Li was too young to be a coach. They didn't respect him much, but after this match, no one looked down on Dai Li anymore.

In under three months, Dai Li had helped Dong Qian and Yihao Wu become successful. Dai Li could take the credit for this, as other coaches couldn't have done this well with Dong Qian and Yihao Wu in such a short period of time.

In the sports world, your performance was the only thing that could do the talking. In this industry, competition existed. If you won the contest, you won all the respect and fans; if you failed, you received nothing. This also applied to the coaching industry.

If you compared a young coach who had won first place to an old one who had never won a competition, surely the former would be more popular. Although the coaching industry valued experience a lot, the truth was that championships were equivalent to experience.

Take the NBA for example; if a coach got three or four championships, even if he was young, no one would consider him inexperienced, and they would put his name next to other excellent coaches.

Dai Li was a good example. He was talented and good at coaching, so of course he would win the public's respect. People like Baojun Sha and Guodong Li, who had competed against Dai Li before, toned it down and gave up their tricks.

Dai Li didn't get distracted, and his training went smoothly.

…

As late August arrived, the National Games officially began.

To be honest, the public didn't pay much attention to the events in the National Games, as they thought many events were just weak athletes playing house.

A spectator sport demanded public attention. However, many sports fans were already spoiled by high-level competitions, and wouldn't be satisfied by an average contest. Once you tried Kobe beef, you would never find regular beef tasty.

The same applied to the National Games. Many events weren't interesting at all, and couldn't attract audience, such as track and field events. The athletes sucked, and no one wanted to watch these events.

Basketball did not fall under this category. There wasn't any foreign aid allowed in the National Games, which made the game easier to predict. If a basketball team invited just one excellent athlete from the NBA, they would surely win the entire competition. You could see everything in this kind of game, including exciting plays and defeating other teams. The audience would be intrigued. However, the games that weren't that fancy and required less proficiency would probably make the audience drowsy.

There were some events, however, that attracted people. Ping-pong, for instance, was a game that had a lot of top athletes. It was a lot of fun seeing the chemistry between top-notch players competing with each other in the National Games. Their performances were even better than those in the National Championship competitions.

…

On the Jiangdong team, Coach Guangzhi Cao, the one in charge, held the newly-released list of names and said, "Any team that took part in the National Games is not an easy team to beat. Although we have Yue Zhao, the champion of the Asian Games, we will not take this competition lightly."

Guangzhi Cao took a look at Yue Zhao and continued, "Judging from the structure of the groups, we missed two strong teams—the Huajing team and the Gangdao team, who are both in Group B. We will only have to compete with them in the final round. Of the teams in our group, we have Jun Xie from the Nanling team, and Zitao Wei from the Shangchuan team. They are top athletes from the national team as well."

"Coach, are we in the same group as the Hanbei team?" Yue Zhao asked.

"Let me see. Yep! We are in the same group as the Hanbei team. It looks like they caught up in the qualifying match. But don't worry, they are not as good as we are," Guangzhi Cao said.

"Coach, I think the Hanbei Team might be really tough to beat," Yue Zhao said.

"Oh?"Guangzhi Cao checked the Hanbei team's list of athletes again.

"Dong Qian, Yihao Wu, Jialiang Zhang; who are they? I have never heard of them. Anyone meet them during the 100 or 200m sprint?" Guangzhi Cao asked.

The athletes shook their heads.

"Cooch, I remember that the Hanbei team didn't join the 100 or 200m sprint," someone said.

"Did they fail to qualify?" Guangzhi Cao curled his lips, looking scornful. "Don't take these candidates who can't even qualify seriously. The fourth runner on the Hanbei team is named Kenan Shen, I know him."

"Coach, is that Kenan Shen? The one who won second place in the national games last year?" an experienced team member asked.

"That's right. That's him. Kenan Shen isn't a common name, so I don't think there isn't another guy shares this name," Guangzhi Cao said.

"If it is really that Kenen Shen, he is over 30 years old. I remember that he was already a big athlete when I attended the national games for the first time. I thought he retired, as there hasn't been much news about him lately," the experienced team member explained.

"He is over 30 years old and still running? Impressive. But we don't have to worry about him since he's so old." Another athlete turned around and said to Yue Zhao, "Yue Zhao, you are wrong. The athletes on the Hanbei team are neither old nor famous. How could they be tough?"

"Because their coach is Coach Li!" Yue Zhao said with a serious look.

"Coach Li? Which Coach Li? The one from the national team?" Guangzhi Cao asked.

"Coach Dai Li," Yue Zhao said.

"So he is a Dai Coach! Then what is there to worry about? Why are you so serious." Guangzhi Cao laughed, looking relaxed.

"No, not that 'dai!'" Yue Zhao knew Guangzhi Cao had mistaken it for "assistant coach," so he explained, "His family name is Li, and his first name is Dai. His name is Dai Li."

"Dai Li? I think I've heard that name before." Guangzhi Cao frowned, trying to remember where he had heard it.

Yue Zhao continued his introduction. "Coach Li was the coach that trained me when I was on the national team. I couldn't have won first place in the Asian Games without his special training."

Guangzhi Cao suddenly looked serious. It took a lot of talent to raise a Asian champion. He had to take this coach seriously.

Yue Zhao went on. "Also, during the relay race in the Asian Games, Jun Xie and Zitao Wei got hurt, so we had to ask that broad jump athlete Haiquan Fang to join us. I was the third runner, and Haiquan Fang was the fourth. Coach Li only needed one day to get us working cohesively."

"I saw that competition. You and Haiquan Fang were so in tune with each other." Guangzhi Cao shook his head as he said, "It's impossible. How could you be so in tune after just one day?"

"I didn't believe it either, but it happened." Yue Zhao sighed deeply. "When I think about it, I still find it unbelievable. But we did it."

"I am not saying I don't believe you. I just thought the teamwork you exhibited didn't seem random or new," Guangzhi Cao explained.

"Coach Li explained later that it was because he had trained all four of us in a way to develop smooth cooperation." Yue Zhao continued, "Haiquan Fang was originally from the Hanbei team, and I heard that Dai Li has been his coach since then."

"Two Asian Games winners! I am scared," Guangzhi laughed.

As a coach, Guangzhi Cao couldn't show his true emotions to others. His laughed to comfort and calm the athletes.

Yue Zhao laughed awkwardly. He reminded Guangzhi Cao with a quiet voice, "Coach, Sijie Yang is actually also a student of Dai Li. In the Asian Games, Sijie Yang beat me and won first place, and back then his coach was…"

"What? Three champions in a row?" Guangzhi Cao was so surprised that he yelled.

Champions in the Asian Games were not just cabbages that you could buy in every supermarket. Plus, there were only a few gold medals to be had in the Asian Games' track and field events.

Under these circumstances, Dai Li could win three medals in the same competition. If getting three gold medals could make you shine, Guangzhi Cao would be blinded by Dai Li's light.

Guangzhi Cao couldn't laugh this time.

…

Shuren Zhao and Li Xue sat side by side on the grandstand.

"Although some athletes had good performances in the sprinting events in the National Games, the results weren't as good as we thought they would be. We didn't see as many unexpected winners as we had hoped for. Instead, those who were predicted to win did so, and those who had been expected to lose failed," Shuren Zhao summarized.

"I personally hoped to see some unexpected winners, but it was a shame that no one had showed up." Li Xue continued, "Our next move is to train Sijie Yang carefully for the sprinting games. I intend to offer him more opportunities so he can get some more competition experience."

Shuren Zhao nodded in agreement. "If there are any international games, sign him up. Don't worry about losing, as failure is also good experience. If he loses today, he will win tomorrow!"

As they were talking, the starting gun fired, and the first round of relay race began. Shuren Zhao suddenly stopped talking and looked at the track.

"Eh?" Shuren Zhao made a questionable sound, gazing at the track intently. There was an obvious gap amongst the runners as the runners passed their batons.

It was at this time that Shuren Zhao suddenly commented, "How could this leg have been so fast? In just one leg the gap between the groups has been widened."

"Doesn't this seem familiar?" Li Xue smiled.

On the track, the third leg had already started. Shuren Zhao suddenly shouted, "The Thai team!"

"You've got a sharp pair of eyes." Li Xue gave him a thumbs up and continued, "That's right. They are using the Thai team's skills. Their athletes don't have advantages in speed; in fact; they are actually slower than other teams. But they saved time and gave themselves an advantage with their smooth cooperation during the race."

"Which team is this?" Shuren Zhao asked immediately.

"The Hanbei team," Li Xue said. "It must be the team Dai Li is coaching. I can't think of any other teams that would use this method."

"Your favorite student?"

Li Xue leaned back in his chair and watched as Dong Qian rushed to the finish line and finished in first place. He said, "Dai Li is really good at coaching. In just a few months he was able to learn from the Thai team and make the skills his."

This student will surpass his teacher eventually. Li Xue smiled, satisfied.

…

In the first round for Group A, the Hanbei Relay Team ran the fastest and entered the final round. They had also won the public's attention with this victory.

It was a common thing for a strong team to garner more attention as the competition went on. Take the Huajing Team for example; there were three top athletes on this team, including Sijie Yang. Sijie Yang was the 100m sprint champion in the Asian Games. Any team he was on would have a better performance, which was why the Huajing Team was the favorite to win the competition before the game even started.

This was also the case for the Gangdao Team. They were able to join some international competitions because of their special geographic position. This had helped them gain more experience. Their team members were also very professional, and their best performances had even been better than the national team in some past contests.

As for the Hanbei team, there weren't any celebrity athletes; there were many names people had never heard of before. Therefore no one really cared about the Hanbei team prior to this competition.

Things changed after the first round. None of the teams who had gotten through the initial round were weak. Making it to the final round was a sign that this team was excellent.

More than half of the athletes standing on the track were from the national team, including some Asian champions like Sijie Yang and Yue Zhao. Compared to their teams, the Hanbei team seemed a bit awkward.

Before the race, all the athletes from different teams would say hi to one another. Those who weren't on the national team had become friends with athletes who were, as they had come across each other in big contests so many times.

The athletes on the Hanbei team were the only ones who didn't know anyone here. They hadn't had many opportunities to take part in different contests, let alone meet top notch athletes in big competitions. Surrounded by strangers, they could only stand around awkwardly.

Dai Li saw quite a few acquaintances, including his former colleagues who had showed up to the match area.

…

Li Xue looked at the races with interest from the grandstand.

This is going to be fun. The athletes on the Hanbei team were not excellent athletes themselves, but had won because of their excellent teamwork. Let's see whether speed is more important than teamwork this time.

Just as Li Xue finished thinking this to himself, the starting gun sounded.

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Chapter 247: Speed vs Teamwork

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The contest began as soon as the starting gun fired.

Jialiang Zhang was the first relay runner for the Hanbei team, chosen by Dai Li.

Jialiang Zhang was not a top athlete, but he was a calm person, which helped him have steady, consistent performances in competitions. His characteristics made him suitable to be the first relay runner.

His performance was steady as usual. He began calmly and sped up as expected. He was running at a steady speed, but was gradually left behind by other runners as time went by.

This was the ability gap. Jialiang Zhang didn't have advantages in speed compared to the other runners, so it was normal for him to be left behind.

Right, he is not as fast as the others. Although he is running at a steady pace, he was left behind. Li Xue was intrigued as he looked at the track. He was not surprised by the result.

Dai Li sighed out of frustration. He knew Jialiang Zhang was just an average athlete, but he had had faith in him, and was hoping he could at least not finish last. Unfortunately, however, Jialiang Zhang was slowly left behind, and he was the last one to reach the second leg.

In the previous qualifying races and the first round, they had met some weak teams, and Jialiang Zhang had been able to somewhat handle them. However, when it came to the final, all the athletes on the track were great. Jialiang Chen was clearly at a disadvantage.

Jialiang Zhang is consistent. These types of athletes will never fail at critical moments, but I could never count on him to go above and beyond. It would appear that I was overthinking. Dai Li laughed at himself.

The runners waiting at the second leg were getting ready to receive the baton. Now was the time to show the gap in teamwork between in each team.

Jialiang Zhang was still steady. In both handing off and receiving the baton, everything went smoothly. After the set of actions were completed, Jialiang Zhang had completed his task.

He finished quickly. I saw the Thai team in his movement! Li Xue gasped silently.

The second runner was the young athlete Yihao Wu. As soon as he got the baton, he began to speed up.

Jialiang Zhang was the last one to enter the relay area, but Yihao Wu was the first one rush out.

"The Hanbei team is in first place after the first leg!"

"The curve is happening! What did I miss?"

All the coaches and athletes opened their eyes wide. Every team were running quickly, and it was hard to judge their positions clearly with the naked eye. Normally you just stared at one or two groups in particular.

However, it was easy for the audience to notice who was the first one to take off from the start of the second leg. The distance between the starting point to the second leg was the same, as was the length of the track. Whoever ran through the relay area was the quickest.

"They went from being left behind to first place. The Hanbei team was the fastest in the first leg of the race. They were much faster than any other team. They made up ground in the first circle in just one leg of the race."

Because many of the people who made up the audience were sports specialists, they realized this.

Yihao Wu performed extremely well as a second runner on his team.

In the relay, the second runner ran the shortest distance because it was a straightaway, so it required less skill. In most cases, the second runner was the weakest one compared to the other members of the team. This applied to today's match, as all the teams had made their weakest athlete run second.

However, Yihao Wu wasn't Dai Li's weakest runner. He was only worse than Dong Qian. The reason he was the second runner was because he couldn't run the curve of the track.

Yihao Wu was like the average horse on Dai Li's team fighting against the weakest horse of the other teams. This was "Tianji's horse racing strategy," when you made the average horse race against the weakest ones. Therefore, even though Yihao Wu wasn't that good, the Hanbei team would have a better chance of winning using this strategy.

"The second relay runner of the Hanbei team is good! After this stretch, their chance of winning should be pretty good." Li Xue was so smart that he understood the strategy and recognized it immediately.

Shuren Zhao, who was sitting next to him, was not a specialist in sprinting, so he couldn't make as quick and sharp a judgement as Li Xue. Li Xue's word were like a caption for Shuren Zhao, so Shuren Zhao couldn't help but nod.

It was just as Li Xue had said. Yihao Wu had the advantage, and was the first one to reach the second runner on his team

"Check out the Hanbei Team! They are so fast at handing off the baton!"

"What smooth teamwork. You can tell the two of them are really in tune. That takes a lot of practice!"

"That's right. This kind of teamwork couldn't have been developed in a short amount of time. It requires at least a year and a half."

"I see. They must specifically practice for the relay race!"

The second leg for the Hanbei team went perfectly, and their chances of winning grew directly afterwards. It was at this moment that the coaches of the other teams realized that the Hanbei team was a team that had specifically practiced for this event; otherwise, they couldn't have been so in tune during the race.

"I didn't expect to see any team use this kind of strategy!"

"It is hard to tell whether speed or teamwork works better!"

"The turning point will be whether the time they saved using their teamwork will make up for the time they lost during the individual running."

The rest of the teams finished the second leg of the race one by one. Two of them had rough baton handoffs, and there were some mistakes in the athletes' cooperation. These tiny mistakes would consume a lot of their time.

There was an obvious gap between them and the teams that had completed their handoffs smoothly. Though every athlete performed the same set of movements—handing off and taking the baton—how quickly they completed this process varied.

"It's the third curve! The Hanbei team is slowing down!"

The third runner Dai Li had sent to the Asian Games was the old athlete, Kenan Shen. He tried his best to run quickly, but because he was already 30 years old, his body was not as strong and flexible as the younger athletes who were in their 20s.

"Their third runner is Kenen Shen, the old tiger. He is already 30; he can't run fast!"

"They are catching up! Someone is catching up!"

Finally, Kenan Shen made it to the end of the curve.

Just a short curve on the track had made the Hanbei team's advantage slim.

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Chapter 248: A Finish That Takes Everything

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The third leg of the race was the most important part of the relay race in the 4x100m competition. Compared to the other legs, the third runner had to run the longest curve, and had to complete the final handoff, which required the best technique.

In addition, the third runner tended to feel nervous because the upcoming curve was the final one. They wanted to hand off the baton as soon as possible. However, the more nervous they were, the more mistakes they tended to make.

The fourth runner, on the other hand, only had to focus on one thing once they got the baton in their hand—running! This was the only thought in their mind, and because of this they generally felt less nervous.

Dai Li had chosen Kenen Shen to be the third runner because he was good at running the curve and had a lot of experience.

As an experienced athlete, he knew about curve running technique. When an athlete reached Kenan Shen's age, who had been sprinting for a dozen years, although they might not be the best runner when it came to curve running technique, they would still be masters to some extent.

As for experience, Kenan Shen was also a great athlete experienced in running. When he was younger, he was an excellent sprinter who went to various national sports games, which young athletes could never compare to.

In a man's thirties, even someone who was irritable could become patient, at least in the moment. Kenan Shen was not worried.

"Handoff!" Kenan Shen shouted as he stuck the baton out.

"Receiving!" Dong Qian grabbed the baton immediately, then rushed forward at a high speed. It was perfect teamwork again; so smooth and perfect!

Compared to other relay teams, the cooperation between Kenan Shen and Dong Qian was much smoother and faster. Outsiders might not have noticed this, but in the eyes of professional sprinting coaches, this was similar to a masterpiece.

"Perfect!" Li Xue commented. He had to compliment Kenan Shen for his handoff.

When judging the relay event, the performance of the next runner who received the baton decided the result. The athlete handing off the baton was not only a starter, but also an organizer of the relay process.

In the third leg of the race, Kenan Shen had done his best, regardless of his timing or other aspects of a sprinter who had to perform a handoff. He was one of the best relay runners just for what he had just done.

Perfect teamwork allowed Dong Qian to become the first one to leave the starting point for the last leg. He sped up. He realized he could maintain their advantage and be the first runner for at least the first ten meters.

Dong Qian was capable of competing in official competitions just because of his current performance. He was also one of Dai Li's best athletes. It would not be exaggerating to say he was the fastest sprinter on the Hanbei track and field team. But when it came to being the anchor of a team, every team would send their best runner.

Sijie Yang, Yue Zhao, Jun Xie, and Zitao Wei… The first two were Asian Games champions, and the other two had also won many national prizes for finishing in first place.

Dong Qian was still not as good as them. Even worse, there weren't any more opportunities to catch up. Dong Qian's performance mattered a lot. It would make a difference if his advantage would help him remain the fastest until the end of the race.

Everyone tried their best in the last leg of the race. Even if they had made some mistakes and become the slowest in the group, they would try their best right now.

…

Jun Xie held the baton tightly while he ran as fast as he could.

As an excellent sprinter on the national team, it wasn't that he didn't know he would be chasing after others; it was just that in Jun Xie's mind, he would have been chasing Sijie Yang, Yue Zhao, or Zitao Wei, his old team mate.

Right now, however, Jun Xie found that he was chasing after someone he didn't know at all.

Dong Qian was quite a famous athlete in the Hanbei Province, but he wasn't famous enough to be recognized nationwide. It was understandable for top athletes like Jun Xie to not know him.

How could this nobody be ahead of me? Jun Qian looked towards the front of the pack unhappily.

Luckily he is not as fast as I am. Once Jun Qian realized this, he began running at the speed of light.

The gap is narrowing! Jun Xie seemed to see a glimpse of hope.

But the runners were getting close to the finish line. Jun Xie suddenly realized that he might not be able to catch up to Dong Qian before they reached the finish line.

I am faster than him but I am being left behind! Am I going to lose to this nobody? No way! I can't let this happen!

At this moment Jun Xie looked diabolic. He looked like a crazy beast sprinting to the finish line.

Sijie Yang was acting the same way. This was a big change for Sijie Yang, who had won first place in the Asian Games.

Sijie Yang was much more mature than he had been when he had first attended the Asian Games. He longed for the championship even more than he had before. He would never miss an opportunity to become a champion. But right now, facing someone who was not as good as he was, the only thing he needed to do was to speed up.

Dong Qian was still the first one, but the gap was narrowing. Dong Qian could feel that Jun Xie and Sijie Yang were right behind him.

Jun Xie is on my left! Dong Qian got a glimpse of Jun Xie, which meant that Jun Xie was getting pretty close.

That's Jun Qian. I can't believe he is behind me! Dong Qian was excited.

Jun Xie had been the top sprinter in this country the past few years, and was considered the model sprinter.

Dong Qian had dreamed of competing with Jun Qian on the same stage for a long time, except that he had never been good enough to do so. All the contests Jun Xie attended were big ones, while Dong Qian was not even qualified to sign up for those competitions.

But at this moment, Dong Qian had felt that his dream had come true. He was running next to the great athlete he had always wanted to meet.

On his left, Sijie Yang was approaching.

That's Sijie Yang! the Asian champion Sijie Yang! Dong Qian suddenly remembered that a couple months earlier, when he had been sitting in front of a TV witnessing Sijie Yang win first place in the Asian Games, that he had also envied him as well!

Dong Qian had used to think that he would never be able to even be at the same contest as Sijie Yang.

Jun Xie, Sijie Yang, we are now in the same competition! And I might win! This is the only shot I'll have in my entire life!

Jun Xie and Sijie Yang were on either side of Dong Qian, now behind him. They had almost caught up to Dong Qian.

They were less than ten meters away from the finish line.

Dong Qian knew this would probably be the most spectacular ten meters of his life.

I want to win! No matter what it takes, I want to win!

Dong Qian straightened his head and body forward. Dong Qian was moving so fast that he couldn't keep his balance. He shifted his weight forward and stretched his arms out. He was diving across the finish line.

Many people thought it was cheating to dive across the finish line, but in actuality it wasn't against the rules. According to the regulations, the scale depended on the sequence of the athlete's body (not including the head, neck, arm, leg, hand or foot) crossing the finish line. The first one to reach the finish line won. As long as you didn't distract other athletes, it was okay to lie down once you crossed the finish line.

That being said, this movement wasn't encouraged, as athletes tended to get injured when they were running quickly. Most of the time they were not only in the danger of hurting their skin, but also faced the possibility of breaking a bone, which could end their sprinting career. Therefore, athletes would seldom bet their professional sports career to dive for the finish line.

Dong Qian was willing to do anything to win the victory. He dived across the line without giving it a second thought. He wanted to win so badly that he would do whatever it took to win.

The next second, Dong Qian feel to the ground hard, and slid forward due to his momentum.

Dong Qian now only had one question.

Did I win?

He raised his head, looking around for some type of confirmation. He was confused until he saw Dai Li raise his arms in celebration.

"I won!" Dong Qian giggled like a child.

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Chapter 249: Regretful People

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Weidong Chu looked at his colleagues celebrating at the end of the track, then pinched himself in the arm hard. When he felt the pain, he murmured, "We really won!"

Before, Weidong Chu had been grasping at straws when he had accepted Dai Li's suggestions and decided to let the athletes practice for the relay race specifically. After all, the sprinters' individual ability on the team hadn't been good enough for them to achieve a great performance in the National Games.

After the "reporting" fiasco, it had become harder to build a team, especially after Dai Li had been given a bunch of average athletes. Weidong Chu hadn't had any confidence in the relay team.

Winning first place had really impressed Weidong Chu. He had never thought they would win a gold medal. But now that they had already won first place, Weidong Chu couldn't believe it. It felt like a dream.

A relay race gold medal. They won first place! Weidong Chu couldn't help feeling excited.

Even though an individual medal was equivalent to a group medal, the value of a group medal meant more. A group gold medal was a group achievement, and could be bragged about in your resume. In comparison, individual achievements were not that great when put on a resume.

In the official summary, especially the report you wrote to your boss, you could write about how great the group was, and how wonderful your scores were. However, the same words couldn't be used to describe an individual, even if the person you were referring to had won a dozen Olympic gold medals.

There weren't many group events in track and field. The 4x100m relay race was obviously one of the most popular events that attracted an audience. Weidong Chu was already picturing the scene where he was being awarded by his boss.

The National Games were, after all, the Olympics for the personnel system. For those who were in leadership positions like Weidong Chu, this medal represented his outstanding achievement, and could even be his opportunity for a brighter future.

It's a sure thing! Now that we've got the gold medal, our track and field team will be having a good time next year! Wedong Chu looked at Dai Li as he thought this to himself.

"All the credit goes to Dai Li! He really made a great achievement, and we should award him when we go back!"

Thinking about awards, Weidong Chu frowned. He couldn't think of anything to award Dai Li with.

"It should be enough letting him be the leader of the sprint team! But he will not stay on the team for long. He'll probably go back to the national team soon. This team leader title won't mean a lot to him, so he probably won't take it seriously."

"What about another bonus? The bonus of this National Games isn't too much, but the welfare is good. Even though we gave Dai Li 8,000 yuan, it isn't enough. 8,000 yuan is not a lot of money right now."

Weidong Chu put his face in his hands: "We can't offer him a position or give him money, so what should we do? It's a tough job!"

The next second, Weidong Chu suddenly remembered something. He hesitated for a few seconds, then made up his mind.

"Well, let Dai Li have the opportunity to go to the USA! This is a unique opportunity, even for a coach on the national team!"

…

In the dining hall of the Hanbei track and field team, the athletes gathered together and looked at the television hanging on the wall. The national 4x100m relay race was live on the TV.

When they race started, the athletes sitting in the dining hall were so excited that they couldn't help yelling and shouting. Although they were millions of meters away from the track, they still shouted as loud as possible as if they were in the stadium.

"Dong Qian, hold on! You have to hold on!"

When Jun Xie and Sijie Yang were about to catch Dong Qian, everyone was nervous.

"We won! Dong Qian was the first one to cross the finish line! We won!"

Shouting and applause suddenly broke out at that moment. The sound of celebrating lasted for more than one minute, but the athletes didn't leave. They were still staring at the screen, looking forward to the upcoming awarding ceremony.

"They're coming out!"

As can be seen on the screen, all the 12 winners walked to the podium in three groups.

"Look at Jialiang Zhang, he looks lost. Is this his first time being on the stage? He looks terrified."

"Yihao Wu is waving at us!"

"He's waving at the camera, not us!"

"I am sure he is waving at us. Yihao Wu knows that we are watching him on TV."

"Look at Dong Qian. He is so happy that his front teeth are going to fall out from smiling so much."

"Why are Shen's eyes red? Did he just cry?"

"He definitely cried. Kenan Shen is 30 years old; how could he not cry standing on the winning stage of the National Games? If I were him I would cry too."

"Now that Shen got a gold medal, he won't have any regrets when he retires."

"Absolutely. Getting a gold medal in the National Games and retiring with glory. The bureau will offer him a decent job for sure. Maybe if the boss is happy he will offer him a really nice position, and he won't have to worry about his retirement."

"Yihao Wu, too. I figure he will be the key target of training in our team when he comes back."

"Of course, that's for sure."

"I say Wenqiang Wang is the luckiest since he's just a substitute. He never took part in the big competitions, but he is on the list of names for the relay team. Wenqiang Wang will be sharing the credit later."

"That's right. Lucky Wenqiang Wang. Hey, would I get the gold medal for the relay team if I they switched me with him?" someone joked.

"What if I had signed up when the relay team was recruiting. I might be the one standing on the stage reaping the rewards now!" Someone looked regretful.

When Kun Shen heard all the discussion, he felt even worse.

"Ah, if I know they could get the gold medal earlier, I would have joined the relay team. How could I let this marvelous opportunity pass?"

Kun Shen looked regretful. If there was a time machine, he definitely would have joined the relay team. Tingshan Chen and Yueyang Zhu also felt a sense of regret. Actually, they had already regretted everything when the relay team had made it to the final, and that was why they had tried to frame Dai Li.

But back then they didn't think the relay team would have won first place. They had only thought they were fighting to attend the National Games.

When they saw their four teammates standing in the middle of the stage wearing gold medals around their necks, they felt nothing but regret and sorrow.

"When the relay team was being assembled, they wanted us to be on the team! If we hadn't 'reported' them and just listened to what they had said, we would be standing on the stage right now on TV." Yueyang Zhu sighed, lowering his head. "I think I missed the best shot I had in my entire life! And I am the one who gave it away to other people…"

Not far away, Guodong Li touched Baojun Sha's shoulder tenderly.

"Baojun Sha, I think we made a mistake! We shouldn't have competed against Dai Li. It is all our fault."

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Chapter 250: Go To the USA

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Dong dong dong…"

Dai Li was knocking on the door of Weidong Chu's office.

"Come in, please!" Weidong Chu answered from inside. Dai Li then pushed the door open, and walked in.

"Coach, you were looking for me?" Dai Li stepped forward.

"Li, have a seat." Weidong Chu pointed at the chair opposite the office door , as he lowered his head in search for something from a pile of paper in front of him.

After a while, Weidong Chu found something that looked like a sheet, and raising his head, he asked, "Li, do you know UCLA?"

"University of California, Los Angeles? That's a top school in America!" Dai Li responded.

"Yes, University of California, Los Angeles." Weidong Chu continued saying. "There is an Institute called AP, short for Athlete Performance. Have you heard of it before?"

Dai Li gave it a thought, then asked, "Are you talking about that AP training center? The one in Arizona? That's one of the most famous athlete physical fitness training centers in the world. Numerous sports brands are their sponsors, including, Adidas, EAS sports nutrition, Gatorade sports drinks, and more."

Weidong Chu nodded, "That's right. But this AP physical fitness training center not only exists in Arizona, but the training bases are also located in Carson, California, and at Andrews University in Florida, as well as in the Fries section in Texas. However, the facilities in California are the most advanced."

Weidong Chu paused, then asked, "Li, are you interested in going to the USA?"

"Go to the USA? You mean, go to California? UCLA? And AP?" Dai Li asked in surprise.

"Yeah, California," Weidong Chu said. "Now here is an opportunity for you. There is an informational event covering how to get further study in the USA, organized by our sports bureau. It takes around 10 days. The main studying spot will be in the UCLA and AP physical fitness training center. UCLA is a top comprehensive university, and is also the cradle of the American economy, high technology industry, and film and art. This public school is always in the top three list of American universities, and in the top 10 in all-American, and even in the top 15 all over the world! UCLA has even produced 16 Nobel Prize winners."

"As for sports, UCLA has made great achievements. If you watch the NBA, you will know that many sports stars come from UCLA. And, this is just a tip of the iceberg. The students or graduates of UCLA have won 233 medals in totality since 1928, among which, there are 123 gold medals." Weidong Chu continued his introduction.

"Really…233 gold medals? I remember that we've only won less than 200 gold medals, since we joined the Olympics! UCLA is just a university, but it's sports performance is surely better than most of the countries in the world," Dai Li said, awed. He knew UCLA was really good, but he didn't realize UCLA was this good.

"That's why we would choose UCLA as our place of further study," Weidong Chu explained. "The AP physical fitness training center was established in the late 90s, when the private training industry in America wasn't that developed yet. Hence, the athletes mainly relied on their teams and the specialists in the university to train and support them."

"Later, a Sports Science Professor established the AP training center under the sponsorship of Adidas. He gathered a group of specialists from different fields, including coaches, doctors, physical therapists, nutritionists, human soft tissue experts, and sports psychology experts, to provide the athletes with scientific training methods and excellent services. Due to the advanced theories and reasonable training offered there, the AP training center attracts a lot of great American athletes."

"But, the moment the AP training center received its fame, was when they cooperated with the NFL, which stands for American National Football League. Back then, the AP held a pre-training program, and asked those athletes, who were potential qualifiers for the football league, to join in order to get ready for the tryouts for NFL. Now, every year, seven or eight athletes, who have been training in the AP, will be selected by the NFL."

"Later, the AP training center started working with the AEG Company. The AP training stadium in Carson, California, was built by the AEG Company. Thanks to the resources of the AEG Company, the AP training center has become the premier training base for American top athletes and future sports stars. You have heard of the AEG Company, right?"

Dai Li nodded. The AEG Company was the top sport and entertainment company in the entire world. Many people thought that AEG was just a magnate in the entertainment industry, but AEG was also a sports industry magnate. It controlled the most American stadiums, and owned a wealth of shares of the four major league teams in the United States. Therefore, the athlete resource that AEG had to offer, could really help the AP training center to be the best in America.

Weidong Chu continued, "Then, the AP training center worked with the Germany National Sports Team, and offered the athletes individualized training plans. In the World Cup that year, the Germany Team won second place, and the AP training center had now become a world famous training center."

Dai Li was a little bit hesitant, and he said, "UCLA and the AP training center are all super awesome places. If I really can visit there, I would be over the moon. But would they be happy to let us come to their fancy place?"

Dai Li thought he didn't really have a chance at this. He had stayed in the national team before, but even coaches in the national team wouldn't have the opportunity to have further study in places like UCLA or the AP training center. And the Hanbei sport team was just a provincial team, so how could they be lucky enough to have this chance?

Weidong Chu explained, "Our provincial sports bureau can't do this. It was the AEG Company. AEG always wanted to be involved in the domestic sports industry, and wanted to invest in our provincial sports stadium. Helping us contact UCLA and the AP training center was a nice gesture, aimed to show their sincerity. This is why we now have the opportunity to go abroad. UCLA and the AP training center have numerous visitors every year. Getting there is difficult for us, but a piece of cake for AEG."

"Do I need to pay for this?" Dai Li asked in a low voice.

"You don't have to, our bureau will pay for you," Weidong Chu explained. "AEG is only responsible for contacting UCLA and the AP training center. All the costs during this trip, including tickets and accommodation, will be covered by our bureau."

"Are there a lot of people coming?" Dai Li asked again.

"Not many, most likely over 20, but less than 30." Weidong Chu continued saying, "There is a limit to the number going abroad. We've factored the budget, and it costs about 100000 yuan for one person to go. Therefore, apart from those leaders in our bureau, there is only one place for one team coach. And I decided to let you take the opportunity!"

"Coach, are you sure? I don't think this is appropriate. We have so many excellent coaches in the team, who are all more experienced than I am…" Dai Li declined the offer in a subtle manner, but really, he was testing the waters to see whether Weidong Chu truly meant what he said.

Can experience win gold medals in the National Games for me?" Weidong Chu replied, his mouth twitching.

"I am just worried that the other coaches might not be happy!" Dai Li said.

"Don't worry about it," Weidong Chu said. "Actually, this opportunity is for the main lead coach in other teams, and as a main lead coach, I am supposed to go to the USA. Now, I've decided to give this chance to you, so they won't be unhappy."

Dai Li was very moved by this gesture.

Weidong Chu handed the sheet to Dai Li, saying, "Fill in your personal information first. I will sign you up later. Oh, right, don't forget to get a passport. You won't be able to go abroad, if you don't have a passport!"

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Chapter 251: The Stolen Quota

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Dai Li went to the Exit-Entry Administration Center of the Public Security Bureau the next day to apply for a passport, as instructed by Weidong Chu.

In some cities in China, people could apply for a passport out of his/her native city so they didn't have to go all the way back to their hometown. According to the policy of Hanbei Province, the applicant could apply for a passport anywhere within the province, and it was not necessary to go back to his or her registered place of residence. What it required was to bring an ID card for inspection, to take a photo, and to fill out a form. Then the applicant may go home and wait for the notice.

Dai Li had never gone abroad. As it was America that he was going to, he exchanged for some dollar bills and bought some books on English to practice in his spare time.

Meanwhile, Dai Li's application form was also submitted to the Provincial Sports Bureau.

…

"Section Chief, we have finished the name list of those applicants who are going to America for the learning exchange. With Director Zhang as the team leader, everything is ready now." Tong Wang handed a pile of files to Shousheng Liu.

Taking the files, Shousheng Liu casually put them aside and said, "Put them here first. By the way, is there anyone special in the files?"

"There are actually quite a few special ones. For the badminton team, the main coach did not sign up. They have submitted the files of Coach Hong Han for their quota," Tong Wang said.

"The position for the deputy main coach of the badminton team has been vacant for some time and the bureau has decided to promote Hong Han to the position. It has been decided and is about to be publicly released. They sent Hong Han to America, as he is actually second in charge," Shousheng Liu explained.

"For the Taekwondo team, the applicant was Coach Xiaolong Ye, the leader of the training group," Tong Wang said.

"Xiaolong Ye? I know him." Then Shousheng Liu said, "Xiaolong Ye is a leading coach of the Taekwondo team. He has trained three national team contestants in the recent five years, and one of them even participated in the last Olympic games. He is expected to be promoted in a year or two. Besides, the key point is that he is the nephew of Director Sun of the Secretariat of the provincial party committee. Hehe…"

Shousheng Liu stopped explaining and smiled to himself. As for if Tong Wang could understand what he was saying, it would depend on his comprehension.

"There is another one. The representative of the track and field team was not Weidong Chu, but a coach named Dai Li," Tong Wang continued.

"Dai Li? Who is he? I've never heard of him!" Shousheng Liu took the pile and started to browse through the files.

"Here he is." Tong Wang went forward immediately and helped Shousheng Liu find the file of Dai Li.

"He is quite young!" Shousheng Liu looked at the picture on the form and said.

"I've checked about him. Though he is young, Dai Li is really competent. You remember the gold medal we got in the National Games? He was the coach for the team," Tong Wang explained.

"I see. The gold medal for the relay race in the National Games has really helped Weidong Chu gain a lot of favor from the bureau leaders. The bureau director praised him for this gold medal as a model in quite a few conferences. It was this Dai Li guy who helped him get it. No wonder Weidong Chu is willing to give the opportunity to him." After some thought, Shousheng Liu asked, "Have you checked if he has any powerful strings? Could it be that he is a relative of some leader?"

"Nothing that I've heard of. But he was temporarily relocated to the national team some time ago," Tong Wang said.

"No backing!" Shousheng Liu looked at Dai Li's resume and said, as if talking to himself. "He was born in Yuzhou City, and his college was also in Yuzhou. No leader in our bureau is from Yuzhou, so he should not be related to any of our leaders. It seems that Dai Li really has no powerful backing."

Saying this, Shousheng Liu's eyes shone brightly and thought to himself, It is such a rare opportunity to go to America!

…

On the training ground, Dai Li was busy working when he saw Weidong Chu walking toward him at a fast pace.

Weidong Chu's expression was serious, and there was also some anger in his eyes. Dai Li had an ominous feeling.

"Li, come over here," Weidong Chu said loudly to Dai Li. Dai Li ran across to him immediately.

"What's wrong, Coach?" Dai Li asked.

"Let's talk about it while walking." Weidong Chu walked several steps and then said, "Li, I told you several days ago that you may go to America for learning. But it is not going to happen now."

"What happened?" Dai Li asked in surprise.

"Someone else has taken your quota!" Weidong Chu shook his head helplessly. "Director Xiao from the Retired Officer Division has taken your place."

Dai Li was so disappointed. But he did not ask why. Going abroad on public expense was such a good opportunity, and it was America that they were going to! Surely everyone would try to seize the quota. Now that some official had taken his place, it would just be in vein to ask why.

Weidong heaved a long sigh, "It was my fault. I didn't think it through. I thought that since the track and field team had the quota, we could decide who should go as we wished. I hadn't expected that they would have someone else to take your place after we submitted your application."

"I can understand that. It is a rare opportunity to go abroad. Surely everyone wants it." Although he said so, Dai Li was full of discontent.

Weidong Chu patted on Dai Li's shoulder and said, "I did the wrong thing though with kind intention. If I had submitted my name as the applicant, they would not have dared to displace me as I am the main coach of the track and field team. My position is at least an official. You, however…"

Weidong Chu sighed again. Dai Li understood what he meant.

As the saying goes, Pick the softest persimmon to pinch. If it was Weidong Chu who was going, the quota would not have been stolen. Dai Li, however, was the softest persimmon in the eyes of others, as he had no ranking, nor any strings to pull.

Although Dai Li didn't know that his quota for going abroad had been given by Shousheng Liu to another person as a favor, he could guess that it was a hot cake in the Sports Bureau, and there were a hell lot of people who wanted to get it, openly and secretly."

Dai Li was in very bad mood at that moment but he could do nothing at all. For the Young Talent Training Program of the National Team when his quota was taken by Xuexi Zhuang, he was able to go to Coach Jihai Ding to ask for his help. Yet for this America-going opportunity, there was nothing he could do.

Weidong Chu who was by his side said, trying to comfort him, "It's all right, Li. Don't take it to heart. You are so young and will surely have other opportunities to go abroad. From tomorrow on, you may have a vacation of two days. With the weekend, you may have a four-day holiday. Go out to refresh yourself, or you may go back home to have some rest.

He said some other comforting words to Dai Li and then left. Dai Li went back to the training ground with a gloomy heart.

Suddenly, something rang in Dai Li's pocket. It was his phone.

Dai Li took out his phone, and a strange landline number was shown on it.

"Hello." Dai Li answered the phone, thinking it might be a sales call.

"Hello. Is it Dai Li? This is the Entry-Exit Administration Center. Your passport has been issued. Please come and get it when you have time," a girl's voice was heard on the phone.

"It was the passport." Dai Li smiled with some self-mockery. Now that his opportunity to go abroad was taken by someone else, it was useless to have a passport.

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Chapter 252: The Turnaround

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The passport was useless for the moment, but Dai Li went to the service hall of the public security bureau to get it anyway.

Dai Li also booked a ticket home. He planned to get the passport in the morning, take the train at noon so that he would get home before dark and have supper with his family.

"This picture on my passport is quite good. It's much better than the one on my ID card. I should change to a better-looking photo the next time my ID card expires and needs to be changed."

With his passport in his hand, he looked at the photo on it carefully.

He had barely gotten out of the service hall when he saw a dozen people or so go out the the building next to the service hall one after another. Meanwhile, a minibus went over.

…

"Captain, why not stay here a little longer? It's so rare an opportunity that you can come here." Director Qin held the hand of an old man firmly.

"Qin, I have job to do in Qing City. I need to visit several units here. I just dropped by to see you. All right, since you are very alive and sound, I will worry about you no more. I'll go now!" The old man waved his hand.

The deputy directors next to them were a little awkward when they heard that the old man address their director as "Qin." Anyone in the public security bureau, when seeing Director Qin, would address him as "Director Qin" out of respect. This was the first time they had heard anyone addressing him as "Qin."

However, those deputy directors also knew that this old man was very much qualified to address their director as "Qin." When they were in the army, Director Qin served as a combat squad leader, while this old man was his company commander. When they were demobilized, this old man went to Huajing City and had a position of as a senior official. He had been the one everyone looked up to due to not only his qualifications and service history, but also his position.

The old man was about to turn around and leave when he saw Dai Li standing not far away on the stairs in front of the gates of the service hall.

"This lad has also come to Qing City." After a moment of thought, he said, "I see an acquaintance of mine and want to say hi to him. You stay here. Don't follow me."

Director Qin nodded immediately and watched him walking toward Dai Li. The others, seeing that Director Qin obeyed the old man's order and stood there, dared not follow.

The old man came to Dai Li and Dai Li also saw him.

"Hi, young man! We meet again! Do you remember me?" the old man asked with a smile.

"Hi, it's you! Never expected to see you here." Dai Li walked up to him quickly and then asked, "Have you been running a marathon recently? Do you have cramp anymore in your leg?"

This old man was the one who fell during the Jinyan Lake half-marathon. Dai Li helped him then and treated him with a massage.

"My leg is okay. But I cannot run marathons anymore." Seeing Dai Li's passport, the old man said, "You are here to get a passport. Are you going abroad? I remember you are a coach. Are you going abroad for a match?"

"Not for a match. It was an exchange learning program. But I cannot go now. My quota was taken by some official!" Dai Li's voice was full of dissatisfaction.

"Taken by an official?" There was a glitter in the old man's eyes. Then he changed his tone and said as someone who had been in Dai Li's place, "When I was young, I once had a chance to go to Hungary. I was told that I would not be able to go just two days before leaving. I was so upset at that time. Where were you going?"

"America." Dai Li then said, "The Sports Bureau is organizing the coaches to be able to learn from the training centers in America. Each team has a quota for one coach to go. My team sent me. But some division chief took my place."

"What division is the division chief from? He wants to go abroad so badly?" the old man asked with a smile.

"The division of Retired Officials," Dai Li answered, feeling speechless.

"Retired Officials Division? What is he going to learn in America? They don't have any management of the retired officials. This is a waste of the public fund!" the old man frowned.

"Surely it is! I wouldn't complain about it if it had been someone who was in charge of the training, competition, or even sports development. Yet he was from the Retired Officials Division! What can he learn?" Dai Li got quite angry.

The old man nodded and noted it down in his heart. Then he changed the subject and said, "All right, young man. We were in such a hurry last time I saw you. I still don't know your name."

"My name is Dai Li. I'm a coach for the provincial track and field team." Dai Li did not hold back his identity from him.

"I'm Dayong Jiang. I think I might be a little older than your father. You many call me Uncle Jiang," the old man said with a smile.

Dai Li nodded and looked in the direction from where the old man had come. There was quite a crowd there waiting for him.

"Uncle Jiang, are you a leader of the Public Security Bureau?" Dai Li asked carefully.

"I'm not a leader. I'm almost retired." Pointing at the crowd, Dayong Jiang said, "I was in the army when I was young. That's an old pal of mine from the army there. I was here to see him."

…

"Who was the young man? How does he know Supervisor Jiang? They know each other quite well. He might be someone powerful."

"It seems to me that the young man was here for some business of his. You see? He has a passport in his hand. Did he come here to apply for a passport?"

"Might be. But that is good. If he is here for his passport, we can look it up in the service hall so that we might know who he is."

Some in the crowd were whispering to each other. It was not that they really cared about who Dai Li was. They were just concerned about Dayong Jiang's every move.

…

The number one conference hall of the provincial party committee was fully occupied by the leaders from the institutes and enterprises subject to the provincial administration.

Sitting on the rostrum were naturally the big bosses of the province. The faces were familiar, except Dayong Jiang's.

Dayong Jiang sat close to the middle of the rostrum. He wore a pair of reading glasses and was speaking eloquently with a few pages in his hand.

"The usage of the three public expenses has been a key point for our inspection group. During the inspection of the several provinces, we have found a lot of problems. In some regions, the information on the three public expenses is not transparent and lacks supervision; in some regions, the supervision and inspection of the financial sector is extremely deficient and the inspection of the budget spending of some units is insufficient; and in some other regions, overspending happens every year and the expenditures are not in compliance with the budget."

Then Dayong Jiang's expression suddenly turned cold and he said, "apart from this, the waste of public expenses is very severe. The accounting of the expenses in some units is a mess. The expenditures are not recorded under the specified items and are even intentionally recorded under some other items; in some other units, no evidence is provided for the reimbursement of public expenses. They reimbursed the expense for official receptions without any official letter or any review or approval. Illegal items such as gifts and local specialties were also found."

"For going abroad on public expenses, lack of supervision was also discovered in some units. They take going abroad as sightseeing. Those who should go don't have the chance. Some who should not go are going instead." Dayong Jiang paused, and then continued, "Assuming that we are going to send some sports coaches to American training centers to learn and advance their training experience, why are some irrelevant personnel, such as people from the labor union, retired official management, and family planning management going instead of coaches? Isn't this a waste of public expenses?"

"America is a capitalist country. What are those who manage the labor union going to learn from them? Organizing strikes? And what are those who manage the retired officials going learn from them? Do Americans have the same retirement system as ours? And what will those from the family planning learn? Do American people have a family planning system?"

"I don't want any of these irregularities to happen in this province. As we are to learn their training experience, we should send those who are really in the business—the frontline coaches. We should not allow irrelevant people to go sightseeing abroad with the money from the state and the people. We should be aware that the money belongs to the country; it is the money of the people. Comrades, the money was given to us by the people. It should not be squandered. Every cent of it should be used for meaningful purposes, not even one cent should be wasted. This is not just money, it's our responsibility, it's our duty!

The leaders at the rostrum took the lead to applaud, and those who sat opposite to the rostrum followed their lead.

Director Zhang from the Sports Bureau began to feel a little nervous.

"We are organizing our coaches to go to America for exchange learning. Why did Supervisor Jiang from the Inspection Group of the Central Committee use it as an example instead of other things? It's too much of a coincidence. Is he implying something? Is it us that he means?"

Director Zhang was alerted immediately. His political sensitivity told him that Dayong Jiang would never say anything like this without a purpose.

"He is from the Inspection Group of the Central Committee. This surely is not child's play. I need to have it checked out if there is anything wrong in my bureau."

The next moment, Director Zhang took his phone and sent a text message quickly.

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