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

15. 445

Read Almighty Coach - Chapter 445 - God's Guidance online free - Light Novel Full

Chapter 445: God's Guidance

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

Justin Alexander was seated in church with his fists clenched and his head lowered, praying to God.

He was a faithful believer. As long as there were no matches on the weekend, he would rather give up his training and attend a church service.

The sound of footsteps grew louder behind him. Alexander opened his eyes and saw a priest that he was very familiar with walking towards him.

Alexander had known this priest ever since he was a child. Back then, the priest was still middle-aged, but now, the priest had turned into a white-haired old man.

"My son, you look lost. Did you encounter some troubles?" the priest asked.

"I did something wrong before, and I want to seek forgiveness from God," Alexander answered.

"If you want to repent and atone your sins from the bottom of your heart, God will forgive you," the priest answered in a deep voice.

Alexander raised his head. "Father, my suspension is about to be lifted. I want to return to the arena."

"That's great, son. You are still young. You can still achieve a lot if you return to the arena; however, I hope that you won't make that same mistake again," the priest said as he took a seat beside Alexander.

"But I can't find a suitable coach." Alexander sighed before continuing, "I've contacted several reputable coaches, and they've all rejected me. You should know that I was suspended for using performance enhancing drugs. I've touched the taboo that no athlete should ever touch."

"Child, that is a thing of the past. I'm sure you won't be using drugs again, right?" the priest asked.

"That's a given. I will never touch something like that for as long as I live," Alexander answered resolutely.

"My child, it looks like you've found your road to redemption. Believe in yourself. God would never abandon you, so you should not give up on yourself. Continue moving forward, and God will give you guidance. Who knows, a miracle might occur in the very next moment," the priest said as he touched the cross on his chest with a hand before patting Alexander on the shoulder. "Child, I will give you a piece of advice. If you feel a lot of pressure and stress, find a place to vent. Perhaps you will feel better."In front of the main door of a building, Dai Li was reviewing a promotional poster in detail. The poster was the layout plan of the building, and on the top of the poster were the words, "Holly's Shooting Club," as well as a photograph of Mr. and Mrs. Holly.

On the side, Holly pointed towards the layout plan and announced, "The shooting club is divided into three parts. On the right here is the indoor shooting range, the place at the back is the outdoor shooting range, and on the left, this is the shooting training center."

"The indoor and outdoor shooting ranges both use real guns and live rounds, whereas the shooting training center uses practice guns used in matches. In some shooting clubs in America, it is mandatory for users to possess a gun license before they can perform live rounds practice, but for my shooting club, as long as you are over 21 years old, you can perform live rounds practice. For those who are above 18 years old but below 21 years old, they can only use pistols, and for those not yet 18, they can only use practice rifles in the shooting training center. Let's go inside."

Holly brought Dai Li into the shooting club. Descriptions of all kinds of guns were pasted all over the walls, and every gun had a one-to-one ratio display picture, the name of the gun, the gun's caliber, production house, as well as some information about the gun.

A price list was placed in an area with high visibility. On the price list was the rental price of every gun.

Holly, who stood on the side, continued his introduction. "In my shooting club, clients are allowed to bring their guns. However, still select rented guns. I have a lot of classical guns here; you can't buy these from Walmart or your regular gun stores."

Buying a gun in America is easy. There is a total of around 50,000 legal gun stores in America, which is about the same as the number of Shaxian country snack stores in China. Apart from gun stores, even Walmart has designated areas that sell guns. Apart from that, there are more than 5000 annual gun exhibitions in America on average, and one could purchase a rare or classical gun from those exhibitions.

Most ordinary gun owners possessed a pistol or a hunting rifle, and very few owned a submachine gun, an automatic rifle, or a machine gun. In truth, from the perspective of self-defense, a pistol would be more than enough. Besides, the price of a pistol was lower, as they could be purchased for around 300 or 400 dollars.

And if an ordinary citizen had the urge to shoot a gun, renting a gun from the shooting club was obviously very cost effective. It was like going skiing; although skiing equipment isn't expensive, very few people would actually bring their own gear. They would rent and use the items from the ski resort instead.

Dai Li looked at the price list. The guns were divided into three categories. The first were pistols, and the rental rate was 25 dollars each; the second were automatic rifles, and the rental price was also 25 dollars each. The third was the machine guns which had a rental rate of 50 dollars each.

The price listed included a fixed number of bullets; for example, ten bullets were given for the rental of an SKS semi-automatic rifle for 25 dollars. 50 bullets were given for the rental of a UZI submachine gun for 50 dollars. Of course, the bullet of the 9mm caliber UZI submachine gun was much cheaper than the 7.62 bullets used by the SKS semi-automatic rifle.

After using up all the given bullets, one would have to spend money to purchase bullets. Bullets of different calibers were priced differently. However, one thing was certain. The bullets in shooting clubs were more expensive than the prices at Walmart.

Apart from that, the price lists included an advertisement for the application of VIP deals. For example, the cheapest was a VIP deal that cost 499 dollars. One could rent a gun 11 times, plus a one-time-use for an M249 machine gun or a Degtyaryov machine gun, one use of an MP5 submachine gun, an M4, or an AK-47 rifle, and two pistols uses as well as one semi-automatic rifle use. To sum it up, it was spending 499 dollars for the rental and use of guns for a total of 17 times. The higher-priced VIP deal that cost 799 dollars allowed for a total usage of 42 times. On average, the rental of a gun didn't even reach 20 dollars. It was much more cost-effective when compared to renting a gun separately.

Apart from the VIP deals, there were also a few gun rental packages. Some of the packages were very tasteless. For example, the price for the rental of two pistols was 40 dollars. In Dai Li's opinion, going to a professional shooting range to experience shooting two pistols was anything but money well-spent. It was very probable that only those who were aged between 18 and 21 would choose that sort of package.

Of course, there were also combinations of several more popular guns. For example, there was a package named "We've won World War II." That package was a combination of the Thompson submachine gun and the MP40 submachine gun. Renting the guns separately would cost 50 dollars, but the package reduced it to 44.90. Although both those guns were ancient, they were the classic submachine guns of the second world war, and they were very popular among gun enthusiasts. There was another package, the "American Army Package," it included the M9 pistol, the M4 rifle, and the M249 machine gun. The full set of US military equipment was also a favorite and hot package.

Apart from the rental price of guns and the price of bullets, the rental of the shooting lane also cost money. An indoor lane cost 30 dollars per hour while the outdoor shooting lane cost 50 dollars per hour. The target sheets also cost money, but the cost was mainly to cover the labor for changing the sheets. It was the US after all; as long as it was human labor, it cost extra.

If it were the outdoor shooting range, the target equipment would also cost money. Take for an example a row of beer bottles, or perhaps a few humanoid gun targets, maybe even a watermelon or a hanging apple. Each and every one of those would have a clear price tag.

Dai Li looked at the price list and began calculating in his mind.

Under normal circumstances, buying a gun in a gun store, a pistol would cost from 300 to 500 dollars. The selling price of a long-barrelled gun would be around 1000 dollars. The price might be lower if it was bought directly from the factory in a gun exhibition. Based on the rental price of 25 dollars, deducting the cost of the bullets, the breakeven point for a long-barrelled gun would be around 60 plus times. The people who come here would never only rent one gun. If that were the case, the price wouldn't even be able to cover the cost of renting the shooting lane. Under normal circumstances, it is common for a person to rent two guns. If that's the case, the usage rate of the guns is quite high.

And the charges for these shooting lanes, it is merely a profiteering business. It's just the simple act of providing a location, and the maintenance fee is so low that is can be considered insignificant, but the price is more than ten dollars per hour. It is comparable to opening a cyber cafe and not just charging people for computer use, but for internet use as well, not to mention the charge for the used area of the computer table. These "two-sided" charges sure are well-played. Considering that in the calculation, spending two hours here would cost at least 200 dollars. A front-row seat for the LA Lakers was also around 200 dollars, wasn't it? No wonder Blake told me that Holly's shooting club could earn him several million annually. Renting guns, selling ammo, renting shooting lanes and target equipment… With these sorts of charges, there is no way to not make a profit.

Holly brought Dai Li to the counter. The shelf behind the counter was filled with all kinds of guns, and behind the counter was a man and two girls and three staff. The three of them all had pistols on their waists.

"Coach Li, which gun do you want to try, just choose whichever," Holly pointed toward the guns.

Dai Li looked dumbfoundedly at the gun shelf instead. He only recognized half the guns, and that was only because of the games he had played before. He had never touched a real gun before.

"Um… about that. To tell you the truth, I don't have a gun license, so I haven't used a real gun before," Dai Li could only answer honestly.

"I've almost forgotten, you aren't American!" Holly had only just remembered.

American adults who had never touched a gun were considered strange. The population of the US is around 300 million, but there is a total of 270 million guns. Removing minors who are below 21 years old, there were enough guns in America for every American to have one, with several million left over. So amongst the adults, almost everyone knew how to use a gun.

"If that's the case, let me help you pick." Holly grabbed a pen and the gun selection menu before pointing towards a silver pistol on the gun shelf, and saying, "This M500 revolver is the most powerful pistol in the world. The kinetic energy generated from the launching of the bullet is double that of the famous 'Desert Eagle.' The power it generates is almost the equivalent of a powerful rifle. The weight of the pistol, without bullets, is 2.32 kilograms, which is close to a lightweight submachine gun."

"That is a Thompson submachine gun. You've definitely heard of this gun before. It was the favorite weapon of the Chicago mob in the twenties, the burst of this gun is extremely satisfying, the rhythm that goes 'da da da,' giving it the nickname 'The Chicago Typewriter.'"

"The M4 rifle, the main rifle for the US Army, is also the most stable rifle of the US Army. It uses .223 caliber Remington bullets, which is also the most common rifle bullet in the US…"

"Hold on, I remember the M4 rifle is supposed to use the 5.56mm bullets," Dai Li interrupted Holly's explanation.

"The 5.56mm bullets were the standard bullets during the Vietnam war, but only the military used those. The bullet used by civilians in shooting ranges are the .223 bullets. For an ordinary person, the difference between the two isn't that big." Holly pointed towards the AK47 on the side and continued, "The AK47, the king of the long-barrelled guns, this is a gun you cannot miss."

"The SPAS-12 multipurpose shotgun is something you have to experience. This is the most commonly seen shotgun in Hollywood movies, like 'The Terminator,"Jurassic Park'…"

"The M249 machine gun… Yeah, let's forget about machine guns for now. We'll head towards the outdoor shooting range. I'll show you my baby, it's way better than the M249."Hitting the target with real bullets was completely different from playing a first-person shooter game. When playing a game, all one needed to do was click on the mouse and within a few seconds, thirty bullets would have been shot. In real life shooting, however, it was not like that. Every shot was fired with a pull of the trigger. If one aimed seriously for every single shot, it would take a long time to finish shooting 30 bullets. Moreover, Dai Li was a beginner, so his rate of shooting was much slower.

After about an hour in the indoor shooting range, Holly brought Dai Li to the outdoor shooting range. Dai Li also had the chance to witness the "baby" that Holly mentioned earlier.

The gun was placed on top of a shelf, six dark and shiny steel pipes that sent shivers down people's spines. Although Dai Li's understanding of the gun stopped at the game level, he still recognized the gun on first sight.

"The Gatling gun!" Dai Li couldn't help himself.

As the world's first practical machine gun, the Gatling gun was certainly famous enough, and more importantly, the gun could easily be recognized. The gun barrels tied together are the Gatling gun's most prominent feature. It was hard to forget after seeing it.

"I didn't see this thing in the advertisement outside," Dai Li remarked as he stepped forward to touch the Gatling gun, unable to help himself.

"This is the good stuff you get to enjoy after purchasing a VIP package." A hardcover manual seemed to appear from nowhere into Holly's hand, then he continued, "The things inside this manual are exclusive to the VIP of my place. They're all rare items, so I did not put them on the price list."

"Which means the things inside are the real essence of your club?" Dai Li asked.

"Correct, you can put it that way. The guns in this manual I bought in gun exhibitions myself. You can hardly find them in regular gun stores," Holly said as he opened the first page of the manual, and pointed at a sniper rifle with a long barrel. He then continued speaking, "I highly recommend this to you. The Barrett M82 12.7mm caliber sniper rifle. This rifle can penetrate light armor and bring down a helicopter, it can even destroy a light bombardier passenger aircraft. Because of its overwhelming power, this gun is prohibited to be sold in certain areas. A lot of gun stores would treat this gun as their most prized treasure."

"Those legendary killers, they use this, right?" Dai Li asked.

"That, I don't know." Holly shook his head and continued, "In truth, buying this gun requires special registration, and every man who owns a gun is recorded in the files. Besides that, the selling price of this gun is ridiculously high, and when paired with the add-ons and accessories, the cost goes through the roof. The 12.7mm bullets are also very expensive. Besides gun collectors, only shooting clubs would buy something like this."

As Holly spoke, a prominent and tall employee walked towards them with an army-green colored box.

"Boss, the bullets are here," the big guy said.

"Thanks, Jim. Just put the bullets here." Holly turned around as soon as he finished and continued speaking with Dai Li, "This is what I have especially prepared a carton of bullets for you."

"That's a lot. I'm actually just a beginner, when will I be able to finish?" Dai Li asked with a puzzled face.

"These are the bullets for the Gatling gun. Although an entire carton looks like a lot, for the Gatling gun, all it takes is a few minutes. Since we're playing with the Gatling gun, of course you will need a carton of bullets. Only then will you have fun!"The barrels of the Gatling gun were boiling hot, and the various targets far away had long ago been shredded.

Using the Gatling gun. Finishing a carton of bullets in just a few minutes. The feeling was indeed very satisfying.

However, Dai Li stayed on the following Barrett M82 sniper rifle for a long time. He aimed carefully for every shot, since the production cost of the 12.7mm bullet was already considerably high. With every pull of the trigger, 40 to 50 dollars were gone.

At that moment, the big guy who brought the carton of bullets earlier hurried over and whispered something into Holly's ear.

"Is there really something like that? Alright, I'll be right over," Holly said.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Dai Li put down the gun in his hand.

"There's a client, and it seems like there are some problems," Holly answered.

"Is someone refusing to pay? It can't be that someone is causing a scene? If there's anything you don't lack here, it's guns, an entire armory. By my estimation, the guns you have here are enough to equip a small army. I would never believe that someone would dare cause a scene here at your place," Dai Li said.

"There's a guy, he might be on some drugs, and he's someone I know. I have to go check it out. According to the law, people on drugs, mental health patients, and convicted persons are not allowed to practice live rounds shooting in a shooting range. You can continue and have fun, I'll be right back," Holly said.

"I'm done, continually shooting for several hours is pretty tiring." Dai Li stood up and rolled his shoulders. Even if the gun was placed on the ground, the recoil of the Barrett M82 sniper rifle still numbed both his arms.

"Alright, you should go to the lounge and have a cup of coffee. I'll be back after I settle that client." Holly turned to leave upon finishing his sentence.Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop…

Alexander steadied the M249 machine gun and shot at the targets located far away with a burst of fire. All 60 bullets in the box were quickly used up.

"Not enough!" Alexander lowered his head and glanced at the plastic container for bullets. The bullets that he bought were already gone.

After Justin Alexander left the church, he decided to listen to the advice of the priest and find a place to release his stress. His car coincidentally passed by Holly's Shooting Club, so Alexander decided to shoot a few rounds at the shooting club, to lighten his mood.

Alexander's action had long attracted the attention of the employees of the shooting club. The others who came to the shooting club all aimed properly and made shots one by one. Alexander, on the other hand, shot away like he had no care in the world the moment he pulled on the trigger. Added to that, his expression was incredibly savage, even seeming a little hysteric. It naturally increased the vigilance of the club employees. They suspected that Alexander was on drugs.

There is no lack of shooting cases in the US, especially ones that involved people on drugs. They have delusions and have no idea what they are doing. It's not like situations where an irrational drug addict who has a gun in his hand starts shooting at a crowd had never happened before. But Alexander was a famous celebrity, which meant that it was difficult for the employees of the club to check up on him directly as they were worried about the repercussions of an action like that. So, they went ahead and informed Holly instead.

At that moment, Alexander still did not realize that his behavior of venting pressure had turned him into a terrorist in the eyes of the club employees, he continued looking at the emptied bandolier and mumbled to himself, "Time to go buy more bullets."

At that moment, a person was walking purposefully towards Alexander.

"It's Adam Holly!" Alexander recognized him immediately after setting his eyes on him.

Alexander and Holly were both well-known athletes in the US. The both of them used to be representatives for the US national team, participating in the Olympic Games. So it was natural they knew each other. However, the relationship between them was only that of an acquaintance, they did not know each other that well.

Shooting and track and field were two separate sports, after all, and there wasn't much chance for athletes to meet each other. Even if it were in the Olympic Games, the shooting event was one of the earlier sports whereas track and field was usually slotted in the middle phase of the Games. By the time Holly's game had ended, Alexander's sprint might not have even started. It was even more improbable for the two to have any sort of interaction, which was why they couldn't be regarded as familiar with each other.

"Hey, Justin. I never would have imagined that you would be here," Holly put on a friendly smile, but in truth, he was observing Alexander's face in detail. He wanted to determine if Alexander had taken anything.

As a shooting athlete, Holly had good eyesight, so he could clearly see Alexander's face from far away. Alexander's eyes were bright, and his emotional state also seemed normal. He didn't look like a person who had taken drugs.

"Adam, it's been a while. I heard you won the world championship again. Congratulations," Alexander said.

Holly stopped in front of Alexander, his face still smiling, but both his eyes remained fixed on Alexander. He was still trying to affirm Alexander's state of mind.

Doesn't look like the face of a person who has just taken drugs, but I can't be careless. If he really took drugs before coming here to shoot at targets, my shooting club will also be penalized by the government. I better stop him from continuing to shoot. As Holly thought of that, he said, "Justin, it looks like you've run out of bullets. Why don't you take a break, come to my lounge, and have a cup of coffee. I've just got a stock of top-grade Cuban cigars."

"Alright, if you insist," Alexander agreed and nodded.At the lounge, Dai Li stood beside the window with a hot cup of coffee in his hand as he looked out, and what he saw was Holly leading a black man into his sight.

That should be the client Holly mentioned just now. A black man. Looks quite muscular, like an athlete. Hmm, he sure looks familiar. Have I seen him somewhere before?

It took Dai Li several seconds, but he finally recognized Alexander.

If I'm not mistaken, that black man used to be the fastest man in America, Justin Alexander!

Back in China, Dai Li used to be a track and field coach, so he had some knowledge when it came to world-renowned track and field athletes. When Alexander made his name, Dai Li was the track and field coach of the Chinese national track and field team, so Dai Li could recognize Alexander after a more detailed observation.

I remember a few years ago, before Kittel retired, Alexander was just behind Kittel. His personal best was 9.78 seconds, although it is still quite a distance away from Kittel's world record. Among the current active athletes, excluding Kittel, he is the only person who can make it within 9.80 seconds. This guy is probably also an S grade athlete. However, I haven't seen him in any race in the past few years.

As Dai Li thought of that, he pulled out his phone and searched for information on Alexander online. It didn't take long for him to see the news about Alexander's match suspension.

So he was suspended by the International Olympic Games Committee for using drugs. That's why there had been no news on him in the past few years.Alexander walked into the lounge and happened to see Dai Li.

This person sure looks familiar, I should have seen him before. Oh yeah, he's that Chinese Coach Li, I've checked his training center before.

I remember this Coach Li also knows about track and field training, he even trained that "Blade Warrior" Philip. To be able to make a disabled person who has lost both his legs run faster than an ordinary person, that was way too incredible.

Wait, the priest told me that God will provide me with guidance, and now I've met with this Coach Li, could this be God's guidance?

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Chapter 446: Time Bomb

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

"You promised Justin Alexander that you would become his coach?" Blake did not look at all happy. He looked more like a person who was in agony.

"Of course. A client approached me voluntarily, I can't just reject the guy, right? Besides, Justin Alexander is an exceptional athlete. Now that Kittel has retired, among the current active athletes, only he can run within 9.80 seconds. With his talent, becoming the fastest man in the world among the current active athletes isn't a difficult task. He will come and sign the contract tomorrow." Dai Li looked at Blake and asked, "Why do you have this expression? You look a little unnatural."

"I just never thought that Alexander would find you," Blake said with an insincere tone.

Dai Li did not notice Blake's tone and said directly, "I went to Holly's shooting range and met him coincidentally."

"What I mean to say is, how did an athlete of Alexander's level find you? Have you ever thought about the fact that he is a world class sprinter? So he should be looking for a world class sprinting coach," Blake said as if he was reminding Dai Li.

"I'm also a world class sprinting coach!" Dai Li said with confidence.

"I'm not questioning your ability. I know that your training ability in sprinting is not inferior to any other world class sprinting coach, but do other people know? Does Alexander know? He should have only just met you, right? And he already wants you to become his coach, don't you think that it's peculiar?" Blake said.

"Randy, do you have something you want to tell me? Do you feel that there is something wrong with Justin Alexander?" Dai Li looked at Blake like he understood something, but not really.

"Before you made a promise to Alexander, you should already know that he was suspended for using performance enhancing drugs, right?" Blake asked immediately.

Dai Li nodded. "I know. The news mentioned that he was found to have used performance enhancing drugs, so the Anti-Doping Committee of the International Olympic Committee suspended him for eight years, but because of his good behavior, being punctual and disciplined in submitting his medical report to the Anti-Doping Committee, a total of four years was deducted from his original sentence. So the total period of his suspension was shortened to four years."

"Then you probably didn't know that this was the second time he was tested to be using performance enhancing drugs, right?" Blake stated.

"The second time?" Dai Li's brows instantly furrowed together. "From what I know, according to the rules of the Anti-Doping Committee, to be found using performance enhancing drugs a second time should mean a lifetime ban, but he was only suspended for eight years."

"When Alexander was 20 years old, he was found to be using an amphetamine. This drug significantly stimulates the central nervous system. Because of that, the Anti-Doping Committee decided to give him a two-year suspension. However, he appealed the decision, stating that he used the drug to treat his ADHD, so he was exempted from punishment," Blake said.

"Amphetamine is a kind of stimulant that provides mental stimulation. It's a low-level stimulant, and even a test strip would be able to uncover it. No athlete should be using this kind of mental stimulant anymore nowadays, right? No matter how stupid Alexander is, he wouldn't need to use something so rudimentary. Perhaps he really used it to treat his ADHD. Otherwise, there would be no way he would take this sort of low-level stimulant," Dai Li justified for Alexander.

"But Alexander was already around 20 years old. He entered the University of Tennessee with a full scholarship. The University of Tennessee is a first-class national university. Do you think a full scholarship recipient of the University of Tennessee has ADHD? Besides, when Alexander was in university, he was the champion of the university sports association's 100m sprint event for six consecutive years. If he really had ADHD, would he have been able to accumulate so many achievements?" Blake rebutted.

Dai Li couldn't help but frown. He used to be the sprinting coach of a university, so he obviously knew it was improbable for people who had been admitted into universities to be diagnosed with ADHD, not to mention getting a full American scholarship.

ADHD is, in itself, a type of mental disorder. Its main characteristic is that the attention of the individual is disproportionate to the age and development of the individual. Children with ADHD are unable to focus their attention, their studies are terrible, and they are bad at doing most other things, including sports.

Dai Li did not deny the fact that geniuses exist everywhere. For example in school, there would always be a classmate who never studied but always did well in exams; in art, there would always be a student whose studies were terrible, but when it came to music and art, they were highly talented.

But it was different in sports. Although these so-called geniuses do exist in all kinds of sports, sports geniuses have no shortcuts. No matter how much of a genius an athlete was, he had to focus on training to achieve good results. Just look at the experience of famous world-class athletes; hard work and sweat are sure to be found every step of the way. No athlete would dare say that they don't train regularly and succeeded just from their talents alone.

So to indicate that Alexander suffered from ADHD while being capable of becoming the champion of the university sports association's 100m sprint event for six consecutive times was impossible. The track and field of the US was considered to be the best in the world, and universities in the US did not lack world-class athletes. To be able to retain the championship six years in a row meant that his level was amongst the top ten in the world. A person who suffered from ADHD wouldn't have been able to focus on his training, let alone reach the level of the world's top ten.

So for an athlete of Alexander's standard, the excuse of using amphetamine to treat his ADHD was not a good one.

Dai Li remained silent as Blake who was in front of him continued, "You are also a professional, and you should know that the half-life of amphetamine is between two and 24 hours. The kind of test strip that you mentioned just now would have difficulty discovering the drug if the user ingested it within two hours. Besides, the technology from ten years ago wasn't as advanced as it is now, and the races of a university sports association can only be considered to be amateur. Their urine test capability wasn't really high. It was normal for them to not find anything. If they really couldn't detect anything, then amphetamine was really an effective item."

"What you mean to say is that Alexander had always been using amphetamine, but due to the limitations of the urine test in amateur races, he was never found out. That was until he entered international competitions, where he was met with more advanced urine test techniques. It was then that he was finally detected?" Dai Li asked.

"I have no evidence, but that is what I personally think happened." Blake tilted his head and pondered for a while before continuing, "Four years ago, Alexander was again found out to be using performance enhancing drugs, this time he used THG. It shouldn't be a stranger to you, right?"

Dai Li nodded. "THG, Tetrahydropregnenone, a type of synthetic steroids, it can also be called the 'muscle gain drug.' The molecular compound is actually the derivative of synthetic testosterone, a type of stimulant specifically prohibited by the International Olympic Committee. I heard that this thing has been used more than the Beta blockers."

"Now you understand. At first, it was the low-level amphetamine. Later, it was the high-level THG. Justin Alexander has always been using performance enhancing drugs. That's why I feel that you shouldn't have promised him. If he were found out to be using performance enhancing drugs while training at our place, our reputation would be affected, and your personal reputation too. You should know that as a coach, reputation is vital," Blake said.

"When Alexander comes to sign the contract tomorrow, we should add a disclaimer clause. And we should also additionally note that if he were to use performance enhancing drugs, we have the right to terminate the contract unilaterally," Dai Li immediately said.

Blake shook his head. "You still haven't understood what I mean. What I want to say is that this is trouble, and you don't have to get involved in it."

"Randy, I am biased against athletes who use performance enhancing drugs, but I feel that we should give Alexander a chance. He is a very talented athlete. He made mistakes before, and he has already been suspended for four years; he has received his fair share of punishment. As long as he is sincere in wanting to change, to never use performance enhancing drugs ever again, why shouldn't we help him!" Dai Li said.

Dai Li was, of course, not suddenly filled with benevolence. He was just reluctant to let go of Alexander's talent. As a coach, when met with a talented athlete, it was indeed tough to let them go and give up.

However, Blake responded, "You've misunderstood what I meant. I am not prejudiced against Alexander, I only feel that he is a problem. My question remains. Why did Alexander find you and not the other coaches? Alexander was, after all, a sprinter who was second only to Kittel. If it wasn't for Kittel's dominance, Alexander might have already won several dozen world championships. He is an athlete who is among the best of the best, and finding a top-class track and field coach shouldn't be that hard, right? You know that Alexander has extreme talent, but do you think that the other top-class track and field coaches would deny Alexander's talent?"

"Do you know the reason? Why didn't he look for other coaches?" Dai Li asked.

"It's not that he didn't look! Alexander definitely went to other coaches, but he was rejected. They didn't want to coach Alexander," Blake said firmly.

"Why? Alexander has such talent, are those coaches willing to give up? You've been a boxing coach, you should know how it feels. When a coach sees an exceptionally talented athlete, he would never just let go," Dai Li refuted.

"It's because Justin Alexander was found to be doping. Twice." Blake held out two fingers.

"Indeed, he's used performance enhancing drugs as an athlete, and twice. His integrity should be questioned," Dai Li answered.

"You've been to the US for a few years, but you still haven't understood sports in America. It's not about personal integrity." Blake subconsciously looked out the door. He only spoke after he was certain no one was outside. "You should know the urine test rules of the Anti-Doping Committee, right?"

"I know. For example, in the sprints of the Olympic Games, any athlete who made it into the final is subject to a urine test. The collected samples are separated into bottle A and B. Sample A will be tested while sample B will be stored. The minimal time for the sample to be stored is eight years. During this period, the sample will be randomly picked to be tested. Athletes who did not make it into the final are subject to a randomized urine test. Apart from that, the International Olympic Committee also conducts spot check urine tests, and the Anti-Doping Committee will suddenly appear to have a spot check while athletes are training," Dai Li answered.

"That's right, but there is a hidden rule in the urine test of the Anti-Doping Committee. Any athlete who was previously found to be doping, as well as athletes who are suspected of doping, they pay special attention to. Take for an example the Olympic races that you mentioned; if Alexander didn't make it into the final, but because he used to dope, it would be almost certain that he would be chosen to be tested. And then for the spot checks that you mentioned, the Anti-Doping Committee would come to the US, and nine times out of ten they would conduct a test on Alexander," Blake explained.

"I understand. Those who have a criminal record are naturally to be focused upon. I do think that it's fine since I don't plan on giving my athletes any performance enhancing drugs. The Anti-Doping Committee can do whatever test they want!" Dai Li said without a bother.

"You won't use it, but what about the others?" Blake then continued, "Can you guarantee that the other coaches aren't giving their athletes any performance enhancing drugs?"

Upon hearing Blake's words, Dai Li opened his mouth in shock. He had a very daring guess in his mind.

"You mean to say that those so-called top-class track and field coaches, the reason they are worried about the spot check urine test is that they are afraid that Alexander would bring them down since he would attract the attention of the Anti-Doping Committee?" Dai Li asked immediately.

"I can only say the same thing. I don't have any direct proof. I can only hypothesize." Blake lowered his voice and said, "Alexander already has the special attention of the Anti-Doping Committee, and it is a given the Anti-Doping Committee will conduct a spot check on him. When the officer from the Anti-Doping Committee arrives, wouldn't it be a waste of time to only conduct the test on Alexander? Would he not also conduct the test on the other athletes on the way? If some coach had given his athlete performance enhancing drugs, then wouldn't these 'on the way' checks get detected? From this perspective, wouldn't this Alexander be a time bomb buried right next to you?"

"I understand what you mean. Alexander is definitely subject to a spot check urine tests, and the coaches who use performance enhancing drugs on their athletes are worried about being dragged into the tests, so they rejected Alexander. But there are so many outstanding track and field coaches in the US, Alexander should be able to find a coach who is willing to coach him, right? Unless everyone is using performance enhancing drugs, but how is that even possible?" Dai Li shook his head as he finished his sentence. He looked doubtful.

"What's there to be impossible?" Blake laughed scornfully. "That's why I said, you've been in America for a long time, but you still don't understand sports in America."

Dai Li initially thought that Blake was only joking, but after seeing Blake's expression, he instantly realized that he was not kidding.

"Is what you said true?" Dai Li asked in disbelief.

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Chapter 447: Unfair Competition

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

A lot of people misunderstand and think that performance-enhancing drugs are only temporary. That using it before the competition would only yield a short-term boost.

In truth, as technology advanced, performance-enhancing drugs were more like a drug one consumed to fight against chronic diseases. Athletes had to use it every day, and since the daily intake amount was very small, the body would quickly absorb it through metabolism.

Performance-enhancing drugs were also no longer used during the competition or match period. The effects built up during the entire process, from training to competition. For example, using performance-enhancing drugs before training would help reduce the fatigue during training, allowing the training to last longer and improving the effects of the training. As the effects of the training improved daily, through months of accumulation, the personal ability of the athlete would naturally improve drastically.

It was just like losing weight; as long as one lost a little weight daily, after a long time of accumulation, a lot of weight would have been cut.

In the beginning, when the International Olympic Committee started going against performance-enhancing drugs, they were divided into four primary categories, but as technology advanced, different kinds of drugs were developed. When Dai Li agreed to train Alexander, there was a total of seven categories.

The earliest type of performance-enhancing drug was the stimulant. This type of drug stimulates the central nervous system or the muscles to improve the performance of the athlete. Things like caffeine, amphetamine, and ephedrine were all categorized as stimulants.

This type of performance-enhancing drug fundamentally has a half-life lifecycle. As long as it remains within its half-life period, it can be easily detected using a test strip. With amphetamine as an example, its half-life was between two and 24 hours. The fluctuation of the time period is because the metabolic rate of each individual is different and the variations in dosage.

In the last century, athletes in China used to employ methods such as eating watermelon or drinking a lot of water to facilitate urination and increase metabolism to remove the drugs from their bodies to avoid being detected after using this type of performance-enhancing drug. During those times, a lot of watermelon farmers delivered watermelon to sports teams specifically. A larger sports team solved a lot of livelihood problems for a lot of farmers.

However, as technology advanced, these stimulants were becoming easier to detect. Thus, stimulants became the lowest-level performance-enhancing drug. Now, no high-level athlete would be dumb enough to use stimulants.

The second type of performance-enhancing drug were the Anesthesia and Analgesia, like morphine, heroin, cocaine, etc. These were already considered drugs, and even normal people had to stay away from them, not to mention athletes. Besides, there was no legitimate way of purchasing these things, so no athlete would use them.

The third kind of performance-enhancing drugs were the diuretics. The diuretics don't really stimulate the central nervous system or the musculature of the human body; at most, they only enhance the rate that the body excretes water, reducing weight as a result. But using diuretics increases metabolism and reduces the metabolite residue left behind by other performance-enhancing drugs, helping athletes avoid detection as a result. As such, the diuretics were always used in coordination with other performance-enhancing drugs.

The fourth kind were the beta blockers. They could selectively integrate with the beta adrenal gland, and stimulate the body. More than a decade ago, the beta blockers were rarely used in sports, but more and more athletes began using them later as the beta blockers could treat high blood pressure and arrhythmia. An athlete only had to produce a diagnostic report that stated that the athlete had heart problems to be able to apply for the approved use of drugs with beta-blockers with the International Olympic Committee.

The fifth kind was the endogenous peptide hormone, such as the human growth hormone, insulin, erythropoietin, androgen, etc. These were all hormones produced by the human body. Since the body originally had them, if the dosage wasn't high, it was impossible to detect. But if the dosage was too low, then these hormones wouldn't produce the desired stimulation effect. So the dosage for this sort of drug had to be high, which made it easier to detect.

The sixth type of performance-enhancing drug was blood stimulants. It was also known as blood doping. It was conducted by transfusing blood to the athlete, thus increasing the ability of the blood cells to carry oxygen. In the eighties and nineties of the previous century, there was a golden age of sprinting and new world records for sprints were being set continually. The number of exceptional sprinters kept increasing, and many of the athletes back then used precisely this technique.

The seventh kind of performance-enhancing drug were the synthesized steroids. It was the most varied and widely used performance-enhancing drug. It was also the most technologically advanced, as well as the hardest to detect. Athletes who used this type of performance-enhancing drug were nine times out of ten from countries with highly developed biotechnology, such as the US, Great Britain, Australia, etc. Countries with weaker technologies didn't even have the research capability to develop such high-level performance-enhancing drugs.

This was the type of performance-enhancing drug that Justin Alexander had used."Is what you are saying true? You mean to say those reputable track and field coaches are actually using performance-enhancing drugs on their athletes?" Dai Li asked with a bemused expression.

"Is that odd? Not just the United States, but a lot of countries in the world are like this," Blake said with a calm face.

"Of course it is odd. I've been a track and field coach before, and I was even in the national team of China. At least back then, I never found any coach using performance-enhancing drugs," Dai Li said.

Blake smiled. "I think it might be the gap in technology standards. The technological standard of the US is top notch globally, and when it comes to pharmaceutical research, a lot of technology companies and research laboratories in the US like to play on the edge. Even more, they prefer to utilize their technological advantage as a sort of time gap."

"Take a biological lab for example. Their technology is more advanced than that of the Anti-Doping Committee, so they can use this lead to continuously provide new products to the athletes. And as the Anti-Doping Committee lags behind in technology, they are unable to detect the new performance-enhancing drugs."

The underlying meaning behind Blake's words was that the technological level of China was too low, so they didn't have the research strength to develop pharmaceuticals that couldn't be detected by the Anti-Doping Committee.

"Perhaps there is also another reason," Dai Li suggested. "Our country's coaches are supported by the government; they are considered civil servants, and they have stable jobs, stable incomes, and stable welfares. Even if the results of an athlete aren't good, they don't have to worry about losing their jobs. At most, they receive a lower bonus, and their career advancement opportunities diminish. Although it can't completely remove the usage of performance-enhancing drugs, the number of people willing to take risks is relatively lower."

"Yeah. Using performance-enhancing drugs has its risks. The detection skills of the Anti-Doping Committee continue to advance, and every technological breakthrough enables them to detect a large number of performance-enhancing drugs and increase the number of athletes suspected of using these drugs. It also forces the research labs to continue developing new products. Four years ago when Justin Alexander was found to be using performance-enhancing drugs, it was precisely when the Anti-Doping Committee had a technological breakthrough. The Anti-Doping Committee suddenly improved upon their THG detection technique. Alexander clearly did not notice and continued using THG. The end result was him stepping on a landmine."

"It's like a game of tag. As the saying goes, while the priest climbs a post, the devil climbs ten." Dai Li sighed, but he suddenly thought of another problem.

"Oh yeah. What about the review of the B sample? The B sample has to be stored for at least eight years. With the speed of technological advancement being what it is, it doesn't matter if it's the most advanced biological laboratory. When faced with the Anti-Doping Committee, there's no way for anyone to have an eight-year technological advantage," Dai Li asked.

The urine samples of athletes in international competitions had to be separated into A and B samples. The A sample was used for immediate testing whereas the B sample was stored. An athlete might not be found to be using any performance-enhancing drugs, but after several years, as the Anti-Doping committee improved their detection techniques, it was possible to detect residue of the performance-enhancing drugs in the B sample.

"Eight years is too long. For an athlete, that might be the entirety of his professional career. Athletes use performance-enhancing drugs at the peak of their careers, and make millions. That would be enough to last an athlete the rest of his life. Even if the Anti-Doping Committee were to discover it at a later time, it would still be worth it. Moreover, it is 'if' it was detected. Sometimes, they are unable to make the detection," Blake explained.

The professional career of an athlete was short. After eight years, the athlete might have already retired or be nearing retirement. The athlete would have obtained both fame and fortune by then, earning what could be earned, and being found out to be using performance-enhancing drugs might only take away the glory from before. To the athlete, there wasn't any real material loss. An athlete could sincerely apologize and express his desire to change, and use the rest of his earned money to live a luxurious life.

Blake then continued, "Apart from this, athletes also have legal methods of drug use, which help them avoid getting caught with many types of the performance-enhancing drugs."

"You are talking about immunity for using drugs on treatment, right?" Dai Li asked.

"Yes. When Alexander first got caught using a stimulant, didn't he argue that he was using it to treat his ADHD? Of course, a lot of athletes really do use drugs to treat diseases; for example, it is widely known that swimming is effective in treating asthma, so a lot of people practice swimming to treat asthma and end up becoming athletes. However, the drugs used to treat asthma contain compounds found in performance enhancers, so a lot of swimmers have to apply for immunity for using drugs for treatment."

Blake paused a moment and continued, "There are also a lot of athletes who capitalize on the loophole provided by the drug use immunity, using disease treatment as an excuse to continue using performance enhancers. The exact number of people doing this, I don't know. But I can give you a statistic; the number of athletes applying for drug use immunity in the US last year was around 700, and the number of athletes who went to the Olympic Games last year was only approximately 500 people. You can make the comparison. Among those who go overseas for international competitions, more than 70% of them would apply for drug use immunity from the International Olympic Committee."

"That many?" Dai Li was surprised.

The US is the world's number one when it comes to sports, and American athletes are also among the best in the world. The athletes who could make it through the trials and appear on the international stage were without a doubt the best of the best. Among them, many were world-class athletes.

If one were to say that each of these high-level athletes had a disease, it was still normal, but to say that over 70% of them were sick enough to require pharmaceutical intervention, it was obviously impossible. How could it be possible that these super sick athletes were much stronger than normal athletes? It was biologically implausible.

Or perhaps the body condition of the average American citizen was terrible, and super sick people was the norm, so the athletes who appeared in trial competitions or races were all sickly individuals. But how could this explain the fact that the US was the world's number one country in sports? If the citizens of the world's number one country in sports are all so sickly, why were they still into sports?

The only answer was that they were manipulating the rules so that they could legitimately administer performance-enhancing drugs.

However many people would help justify the actions of American athletes online, stating that they really were trying to treat their diseases. But if one were to really analyze the situation, it would be simple to get an answer. If every single one those exceptional athletes had a disease, and they needed to administer drugs for treatment, then what made them world-class? Did they really think that American athletes were practicing the "Sunflower Bible," where self-castration would make one invincible?

Blake then continued, "Of course, not all 700 of these people get approval; about one-third of the applicants don't get the drug use immunity. However, one thing I am certain of is that track and field athletes are the ones who possess the most immunity."

Dai Li took in a deep breath and said, "You mean to say most track and field athletes are actually using performance-enhancing drugs?"

"And it's through any means necessary," Blake added. "I'm saying all this in the hope that you can understand. What's in front of you is unfair competition. I know that you have a high training standard and great ability in track and field training, but the levels of the other coaches aren't bad as well, not to mention your opponents are extremely likely to be using performance-enhancing drugs."

"You think that I can't best these 'Pharmaceutical Coaches'?" Dai Li asked.

"It's difficult. To tell you the truth, I really don't favor your chances." Blake shook his head. "Before his suspension, Alexander was touted 'the second fastest man in the world,' second only to Kittel. His comeback will definitely garner attention. If the result of his comeback is terrible, there will definitely be a lot of questioning voices, which will affect the reputation of our training center, as well as your personal reputation."

As Blake finished his sentence, he glanced towards Dai Li, but he only found Dai Li smiling with confidence. Both his eyes showed that he was ready for battle; it was as if victory was almost in hand.

Unfair competition huh? The other coaches have performance-enhancing drugs, while I have the bonuses from the system. To them, it sure is unfair! Dai Li thought.

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Chapter 448: Utterly Convinced

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

On the side of the track, Dai Li looked at his stopwatch and couldn't help but reminisce about his days in the national team a few years ago.

"Back then, I was only a young man who didn't know anything. Feeling satisfied simply by being on the national team. And now, I have a large chain of training centers, and what's more, I'm training world-class sprinters like Justin Alexander."

Dai Li glanced at the number on his stopwatch again. "No wonder he was the second fastest man in the world. Although he has been suspended for four years, his results are still among the best in the world."

"Coach Li, how did I do just now?" Pant… Pant… Alexander walked over. The full-strength sprint just now made him pant a little, but from his expression, Alexander was still rather satisfied with his performance.

However, Dai Li displayed a contrasting expression, and he said in a serious tone, "There's a lot of problems in the details."

Alexander was stunned slightly. He obviously knew what the "details" Dai Li mentioned were.

For sprinters who could finish the 100m sprint in 10 seconds, there were no longer any shortcomings in their overall techniques, and their sprinting methods were certainly also the most suitable to them. If that weren't the case, it would be impossible for them to break through the 10 second barrier. Not to mention Alexander used to make it in 9.80 seconds. His sprinting techniques had long become the textbook approach that other sprinters emulated, and he was an object of study for coaches around the country. As such, even though Alexander was suspended for four years, his sprinting technique was immaculate.

This sort of world-class athlete no longer had any shortcomings in their technique. When it came time for the race, the primary factor that affected results was the execution during the race, as well as personal details. A good detail might only improve the time by 0.01 seconds. That difference might seem small, but for the 100m sprint, the gap between athletes were recorded in the hundredths of a second. In the 100m sprint, every 0.01 seconds was a difficult gap to close.

And in Alexander's case, he had not participated in any race for four whole years. He had already lost the feel for a race when it came to details, and he was no longer the person from before. When placed in a real race, he would also not be able to find the feel for the race.

It was at that moment that a coach could show his effectiveness.

It was a question that tested Dai Li's coaching ability.

Dai Li coughed and said, "Let's first talk about the start of the race. Your starting reaction and your coherence after the start were fine, but your starting rhythm was terrible. To be precise, your body's adjustment and adaptation to the starting rhythm did not match with your start reaction and coherence. It is like when you are starting a car; you turned on the car and accelerated without any problems, but you were not fast enough in shifting gears. It makes you lose speed.

I've only run once, and he's already uncovered it. This Coach Li sure knows his stuff. It looks like I've made the right choice. Alexander removed his final bit of reservation and began listening attentively to Dai Li, who pointed out his weaknesses.

Dai Li continued, "Next, let's talk about your step frequency in the first 20 meters…"

"You have to pay attention to maintaining tenacity when your right leg swings forward in force…"

"In the process of your sprint, your abdominal contraction affected your breathing rhythm. This might have a minimal effect on your final result, but it affects the transition from the middle of the race to the final dash…"

"And, when you're making your final dash…"

Dai Li said a lot of things in a talkative manner while Alexander's expression gradually increased in seriousness. In the end, he even had a slightly shocked expression

Coach Li got everything right, and among them are problems that even I hadn't noticed. This Coach Li is amazing. With this kind of observation skills, he's definitely not inferior to Sebastian. No! He's better than Sebastian! I've seen a lot of world-class track and field coaches, and their observation skills are just as accurate, but they were definitely not this fast! Alexander thought.

Alexander knew the phases that he did not perform well in, so he knew what Dai Li said was extremely accurate. Especially when it came to the details, there were even problems that Alexander didn't pay attention to, but after Dai Li's reminder, he immediately became aware of their existence.

It was also the standard of world-class sprinters; just a little advice and reminder would help them realize their errors. Even on the 100m sprint, the kind of sport that seemed simple, to become a world-class athlete, one could not simply be a simple-minded brawn. They were good not only because they were faster than others, but also because their understanding of sprinting allowed them to stand above the others.

Alexander listened to Dai Li's guidance with full conviction. Alexander might have chosen Dai Li because of superstition previously, but now he had been awed by Dai Li. Even if he did not have his discussion with the priest at the church, he would have still chosen Dai Li as his coach.

Dai Li continued, "Alright, I've finished talking about the detailed problems in your sprint. Next, let's talk about the other aspects."

"There are other aspects?" Alexander was slightly shocked and did not understand Dai Li's meaning.

Dai Li, instead, looked at Alexander's waist and asked, "What's with your lumbar muscle sprain?"

"How did you know?" Alexander looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

The previous afternoon, Alexander had gone bowling with a few of his friends and accidentally sprained his back. It wasn't a serious injury, only a simple muscle strain.

As a track and field athlete, his muscle density was very high, or to put it in simpler terms, the muscles were tough. This sort of muscle sprain wouldn't do much damage to someone like Alexander, and he didn't even need a rehabilitative massage. It would heal automatically in a few days, so Alexander hadn't paid too much attention to it.

Alexander hadn't told anyone about it, not even the friends who went bowling with him, but Dai Li brought it up.

How did Coach Li find out, it's just a normal muscle sprain. It shouldn't be possible to discover this from appearance alone. Besides, I never told anyone about it, but Coach Li knows about it. Have I really met a prophet?Two weeks passed, and Sebastian still had not received any reply from Alexander.

The end of Alexander's suspension is getting closer, but how there isn't any news on him. Could it be that he's not prepared to make a comeback? Or perhaps he has found another coach? That's impossible, right? With Alexander's condition, he is definitely going to become the focus of the Anti-Doping Committee. No coach would want to work with him!" As Sebastian thought of that, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

"Tom, it's me. It's been a while…"

"To look for a news-clever journalist like you, of course, it is to inquire about something!"

"Relax. I know. I'll make it worth your while…"

"I'd like you to find out about Justin Alexander. His suspension is coming to an end soon, and I want to know if he has found a coach."

"What? You know? Alexander went to Coach Lee's Physical Fitness Training Center? Which Coach Lee's Physical Fitness Training Center? He needs a professional track and field coach right now, not some fitness coach."

"You mean the fitness training center that discovered the 'Blade Warrior' Philip? That Chinese coach? He was able to train Philip, he does indeed have some mettle in track and field training…"

Sebastian ended the call and sat there alone. He began to ponder.

After half an hour, Sebastian stood up and walked deliberately to the side window and shut it. He then dialed another number.

"Mr. Franklin, it's me, Sebastian. Are you free to talk? Alright, I'll wait for you."

Sebastian held his phone and waited for around two minutes before the other person told him that he could speak.

"Mr. Franklin, do you know about the fitness training center operated by the Chinese coach? Yeah, that's the place. How well do you know that place?"

"Oh, your laboratory hasn't worked with him?" Sebastian seemed much more relaxed, he then continued asking, "Then do you know if this Coach Li has any relationship with the other labs? Yes, those rivals and competitors of yours. Are they working with him?"

"No! They're not affiliated with any labs?" Sebastian let out a long breath before smiling.

Nowadays, without the support of a research lab, how big a wave can you set off! Alexander, you've made the wrong decision this time! But it's also for the best. When you grow tired of losing in races, you will naturally understand that coming to my training camp was the best choice, Sebastian thought gleefully.A suited gentleman was seated in front of Blake. He was a salesman who specialized in selling nutrition products.

"I've heard of the products of your prestigious company, especially the osteocollagen. It has received great reviews from consumers, and a lot of gyms are using it." Blake shook the product manual in his hand and continued, "But we have already got four different brands of nutrition products, so…"

"I understand!" the salesman immediately said. "Our company can increase the sales commission by 2%. From what I know, the other four brands don't have such preferential conditions."

"But the products of your company are more expensive," Blake said.

"Isn't that better? The higher the price, the higher the commission after a successful sale," the salesman smiled eerily.

"That is indeed the case, but we will not forcibly recommend your products to our clients, even if the commission you give is high. Here at our place, you can only compete fairly with the other brands. I accept your products, but it is only to provide our clients with more choices," Blake said. He then continued, "The main reason I brought up the price is that I wanted to inform you that compared to the other four brands, your product has no competitive advantage when it comes to pricing. If the sales volume of your product is low, I cannot guarantee that we will let your products remain."

"I understand, I understand…" The salesman nodded awkwardly. Then he leaned forward and whispered, "In truth, we have a few other products. The kind that improve an athlete's results."

"We don't need that kind of stuff." Blake obviously knew that the other products that the salesman was talking about were performance-enhancing drugs, so he replied without any hesitation.

"Mr. Blake, I know that you have your worries, but your worries are unfounded. Our company is a long-time sponsor of the Hoffman Lab…"

Blake interrupted the salesman, "I've said it before, we don't need that kind of stuff. That's a rule set by our boss; performance enhancers are a taboo that we must avoid at all cost! If any one of our coaches dares to break the rules, he'll be kicked out immediately! So what you've just said, I'll pretend that I didn't hear it. But if you really want to continue with that conversation, I will have to ask security to escort you out."

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Chapter 449: Leg Length Discrepancy

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

Eugene is located in the State of Oregon in the US. The place has a unique nickname, the Tracktown. The best track and field coaches, as well as the best track and field athletes, were born there. It was also the birthplace of the world's largest sports brand, Nike, and even the Diamond League of the IAAF specifically set up a race in Eugene.

As the city of track and field, the number of races held each year in Eugene was always the highest in the US. These races include world-class races such as the Diamond League of the IAAF as well as amateur competitions organized for sports enthusiasts.

Today, the competition organized in Eugene was a small track and field competition. Every event of the competition was a track race, and there were only four. The 100m, 400m, 1500m, and the 5000m. Adding the male and female races together, there was a total of eight races.

It was also Justin Alexander's first race after his comeback!Oregon was north of California, not far from Los Angeles, so Dai Li followed Alexander to arrive at Eugene.

"This competition doesn't seem very big. Why did you choose this place as your first race after coming back?" Dai Li asked, slightly puzzled.

"I was criticized a lot for using performance enhancers, and it could even be said that I was universally condemned. I didn't want my first comeback race to be stressful or high profile. That is why I chose this sort of competition."

Alexander paused briefly before continuing with his explanation, "Don't look down on the competition just because it doesn't have a huge scale; a lot of strong competitors take part as well. This is, after all, Eugene. The only thing that Eugene doesn't lack is track and field experts. So even if the scale of the competition isn't big, the competition atmosphere is still pretty good. I can also find a feel for the race here. You should know, it's been four years since I participated in any race. I've almost forgotten the feel of competitions already."

As soon as Alexander finished his sentence, he lowered his voice and said, "There is another reason. The organizer of this competition promised to give me a 20,000 dollar appearance fee."

Dai Li smiled in good faith. In truth, Dai Li knew that when Alexander was at his peak, his appearance fee was ten times that. It was only after the suspension that Alexander's value dropped so much. It was fortunate that Kittel had retired. Alexander had a massive opportunity to become the fastest man in the world, and once he obtained that title, recovering his previous value wouldn't be difficult.

Alexander then continued, "I have to run three races today; the preliminaries at 11 o'clock, the semi-finals at half past two, and the final at six o'clock. It's been a while since I ran three races in a day… Eh? Isn't that Shawn Ford? He's also here for this competition."

Following Alexander's gaze, Dai Li saw a black man with a mustache.

"Shawn Ford. I remember him. He was the World Championship winner for the 200m sprint. But I haven't heard of him since." Dai Li only remembered this man after hearing his name.

Alexander nodded. "Yup, that's him. He won the world championship for the 200m sprint in a dramatic way. He was initially placed fourth in the trials and had no chance of joining the world championship, but one of the contestants got injured, so he replaced him and participated, and ended up as the champion. After that, he never reached the same kind of result ever again. It was even hard for him to qualify for the US domestic trial competitions."

"Why? A person who could win the world championship shouldn't be that weak. Were his opponents weak during that world championship?" Dai Li asked.

"How could the opponents of the world championship be weak! Actually, Shawn Ford's time when he won the championship was perfect. He finished in 20 seconds, but no one would have thought that the result was his peak. A lot of people felt that his championship was obtained due to extraordinary form, or said that he used something he shouldn't have used. His actual ability could never reach the level of a world champion," Alexander explained.

"There aren't any 200m sprints today. Looks like he's entering the 100m sprint. He's going to be your opponent in the race." Dai Li used the motion detector on Shawn Ford as he spoke. Later, when Dai Li saw the result of the detection, his expression relaxed.

"You don't have to worry about him, he can't beat you," Dai Li said.

Shawn Ford had the talent potential grade of A in sprinting, but his personal ability value only just passed the 700 mark. Such a level was sufficient for one to represent a nation in Asia. However, in a country like the US with tons of track and field talents everywhere, in a popular event like the 100m sprint, a personal ability value of around 700 was perhaps sufficient for the preliminaries of the domestic trials of the US. Qualifying for the semi-finals was a difficult task. A level like that wasn't enough to pose a threat to Alexander.

Dai Li continued reviewing the results of Shawn Ford's detection, and parts of the description made Dai Li fairly happy.

A talent potential of grade A, easily a world champion level, but he actually has a defect on his body. Congenital scoliosis. It makes his right leg shorter than his left leg by not more than half an inch. This sort of leg length discrepancy won't affect a person's daily life, but for a sprinter, it's not good news.

There are many causes for leg length discrepancy, such as a traumatic fracture, polio, or nerve damage that leads to the uneven growth of both the legs. Medically speaking, treatments for leg length discrepancy are much more conservative, and include the use of an insole, custom-made shoes, and long-term rehabilitative sports treatment among other things. Few people would use surgery as a treatment method.

For an adult of average height, a one-centimeter leg length discrepancy could not be determined from the outside, and the life of the person would not really be affected. At most, the knee wear of a particular leg would be more than the other, and there would be a higher chance of getting osteoarthritis. For example, some people liked to cross their legs, which could lead to the dislocation of the hip joint, which is likely to cause a one-centimeter leg length discrepancy.

However, for a sprinter, a leg length discrepancy is a fatal shortcoming. Leg length discrepancy would result in an uneven force distribution with the legs, and the time it takes for the feet to touch the ground would also be different, the width of each step was different, and the rhythm of the steps were also unbalanced. There was a 100% chance that it would reduce the speed of the sprinter.

From a time point of view, the effects of the delay were minimal. The delay for a 100m sprint would be around 0.1 seconds, so an ordinary person could completely ignore it. However, when it came to a sprinting competition on the global scale, being 0.1 seconds slower in a 100m sprint meant a difference of several levels. It was like the A standard and B standard of the 100m sprint in the Olympic Games; the A standard was only 0.06 seconds faster than the B standard, yet the 0.06-second difference had obstructed thousands of sprinters from reaching the Olympic stage.

No wonder he hasn't been getting any satisfactory results all these years. The effects of a leg length discrepancy for an athlete of his level is just too great. This Shawn Ford guy sure is unlucky, having a talent potential grade of A in sprinting, but he has to be in the US, the country that is strongest in track and field. He has access to the best training atmosphere and conditions, but he has a leg length discrepancy! The athlete's patch should have an effect on this physical defect. An athlete with an A grade talent potential, should I scout him over?

As Dai Li thought of that, he suddenly frowned.

This doesn't make any sense. His leg length discrepancy was caused by his congenital scoliosis, which means that when he took part in the world championship back then, he already had the leg length discrepancy. Then how did he become the world champion? If he slowed down 0.1 seconds per 100m, then 200m would mean he lagged behind 0.2 seconds. A gap of 0.2 seconds in the final of a world championship. Nothing can supplement something like that.

Dai Li couldn't help but bring out his phone. He began looking for Shawn Ford's result in the world championship.

19.79 seconds! He won the championship with a time of 19.79 seconds, that result would win any competition as long as he didn't meet with that crazy Kittel. But from this result, Shawn Ford had obviously overcome his leg length discrepancy back then. How did he do it? It can't be that this guy also has a cheat like the system!

The information Dai Li obtained had already exceeded his understanding of sports. So Dai Li lowered his head and went into deep thought.Alexander bent his body and stepped firmly on the starting block. He waited for the sound of the gun.

The moment the gunshot was heard, Alexander rushed forward away from the starting line without hesitation and ran towards the finish line.

He was one of the most famous and most influential athletes among all the contestants. And this was also his first race since coming back. It was natural that he garnered a lot of attention. Almost every eye was staring at Alexander.

However, Dai Li did not do that. He did not pay attention to Alexander's race because he knew Alexander's victory was certain.

Dai Li kept stared attentively at Shawn Ford, and at the same time, he also took pictures of Shawn Ford's race.

Ford's performance wasn't great. In total, eight contestants made it into the final, and Ford fell into the seventh place in the middle part of the race. There was not a hint of a world championship winner left.

Alexander was the first to run past the finish line. His lead was pronounced, so, during the final phase, he slowed down slightly. His final result was 10.07 seconds. It wasn't a tremendous 100m sprint result, and it was actually still some distance away from the 10-second barrier. But in this sort of small-scale competition, it was enough to make him the champion.

Alexander was an athlete with an S grade talent potential; even if he didn't use performance enhancers, as long as he trained diligently, he could achieve world-class results. It was unfortunate for him that he had met Kittel, a sprinter who was in a realm of his own. Even when Alexander used performance enhancers, he still couldn't catch up to Kittel.

It wasn't because Alexander was weak, it was because Kittel was just too strong, ridiculously strong.Alexander stood on the podium to receive his reward joyously. Although the cash reward for first prize in this sort of small competition wasn't much, for the first competition since his comeback, it was obviously an excellent encouragement for Alexander.

In the stands, the audience was discussing Alexander's comeback. Only Dai Li was immersed in his cell phone, reviewing scenes of Shawn Ford's performance during the race.

I keep feeling that something isn't right. Perhaps I should also watch videos of Shawn Ford when he won the world championship. I should be able to find the video online. Dai Li searched on his phone for a while and finally found a video of Shawn Ford winning the world championship from a few years ago.

So fast! Although it's the 200m sprint, Shawn Ford was much faster than he was today. Especially in the earlier bend, he has already established a clear advantage. But from the size of his lead, he sure doesn't look like an athlete with a leg length discrepancy… Hold on a minute!

It was as if Dai Li had thought of something. He immediately rewound the video and reviewed Ford's race in the final of the world championship. The video of the first 100m bend. He then closed his eyes and thought of Ford's appearance today.

I understand! So it's like that. Ford doesn't even need the athlete's patch, it's just that he hasn't found the correct method to sprint!

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Chapter 450: Leg Length Discrepancy Has Its Advantages Too

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

In the athlete's lounge, Shawn Ford seemed withdrawn. He changed his outfit while seated in the corner. The athletes around him were chit-chatting with each other without noticing his existence.

He used to be the champion of the track and field world championship. He had been one of the best 200m sprinters in the world, but now, he had long left the glories of the world championship behind. Ever since that world championship tournament, he had never achieved a decent result again, and he couldn't even make it through the domestic trial tournaments in the US.

The tan flower appears only briefly. That was people's general assessment of Shawn Ford. Looking across the sports industry, there were many athletes like that. Ford wasn't the first, and he wouldn't be the last. However, athletes like Ford who stood at the peak of the world and then immediately fell from grace were few and far between.

When mentioning Shawn Ford's name, everyone would be reminded of the world championship that he won, as well as the unfruitful career that came after. They would look at Ford with a peculiar look in their eyes. Within it was sympathy, regret, and even delight!

It was especially true when other athletes saw Ford. The most prominent feeling was a sense of delight. After all, being in the same line of work meant that they were enemies, and there was always only going to be one winner. If someone won first prize, then someone else couldn't. Weakening an opponent who was better meant that the person was one step closer to winning the championship.

Ford hated those strange stares, but he couldn't control the behavior of others. All he could do was distance himself from them. He held onto his peace of mind by not seeing. It was more like avoiding the issue, and at the same time, it made Ford increasingly withdrawn.

The sound of footsteps drew nearer and stopped in front of Ford. Ford lifted his head to see the face of a Chinese man.

Ford recognized Dai Li. It's that Coach Li from LA.

In track and field, Chinese coaches were a rarity. So in the afternoon, when Dai Li appeared in the athlete's locker room, he attracted the attention of all of the athletes. After exchanging information with each other, everyone found out quickly that the Chinese man was the owner of Coach Lee's Physical Fitness Training Center, the famous Coach Li of Los Angeles.

"Shawn. Is it alright if I call you that?" Dai Li was the first to speak.

"It's alright, Coach Li. This is probably the first time we've met. Is there anything I can do for you?" There was a slight hint of hesitation in Shawn Ford's tone, as if it had been too long since he last talked to a stranger, which made him forget how to speak.

Dai Li said straightforwardly, "Shawn, are you interested in coming to my training center?"

Ford was instantly baffled. He never would have thought that Dai Li was there to look for clients for his training center, but what surprised him most was that the client Dai Li searched for was himself. That was because there were many athletes who were more affluent than him. Not to mention that Dai Li was the boss; he didn't have to act like a salesman looking for clients.

As if Dai Li knew Ford's thoughts, he added, "Don't misunderstand, I'm coming here as a track and field coach. I just want to ask if you are interested in working with me, and letting me be your coach?"

Ford finally understood. He asked, "There are so many athletes here. Some of them are younger than me, more talented than me, and have better results than me. Why have you picked me?"

"In this room, it is true that there are people who are younger than you and have better results than you, but when it comes to talent, that might not be the case." Dai Li smiled and continued, "You have congenital scoliosis, which made your right leg half an inch shorter than your left leg. This has affected your speed. I'm right, aren't I?"

"How did you know this?" Ford looked surprised, but calmed down immediately after. "It's normal for you to now. All my previous coaches knew this, so it's not odd for you to have found out."

"Which is why I believe that my training suits you. I can help you solve this problem," Dai Li said.

"How would you solve this?" Ford looked at Dai Li half suspiciously. His leg length discrepancy had been troubling him constantly. Now that someone suddenly told him that it was possible to solve the problem, Ford's first reaction was to not believe him.

"I definitely have a solution, but I can't tell you yet." Dai Li shook his head and said, "But I would like to ask you to believe me. I really can solve your problem. Your trouble is only a leg length discrepancy. I've seen more serious situations, like having no legs at all!"

It was then that Ford remembered, Dai Li was the one who groomed the "Blade Warrior" Barron Philip. Dai Li had helped a disabled person without both legs to appear on the stage of the world championship. Compared to Philip, Ford's leg length discrepancy was nothing.

This Coach Li can help a disabled person without both legs to appear on the stage of the world championship. The "Blade Warrior" had a more severe problem than me, so perhaps this Coach Li really is better at training athletes with physical defects. As Ford thought of that, he was slightly moved.

However, in the next second, Ford shook his head and said, "Coach Li, I'm sorry, I'm currently in Coach Thomas's training camp."

"Thomas's training camp is similar to my place, so why not try out at my place? The equipment of my training center is top-notch in America, and I can guarantee that you will be afforded a lot of individual guidance," Dai Li said.

"What I mean is that I don't have that much money…" Ford said awkwardly.

The US did not have provincial training teams like in China. Athletes who had money would naturally hire specialized coaches to provide personal training services. Some might even spend money to create a coaching team. Athletes without money could only join training camps by other coaches or train at some clubs.

It was the same for coaches. Wealthy coaches could own and operate a training center, and reputable coaches could also open up clubs under their names, or rent a place to conduct training camps while recruiting athletes. It was similar to the private training courses in China. Coaches who weren't as good could only work for others at these sports clubs.

Ford was obviously not a wealthy athlete. Although he had won the first prize in the world championship once, he hadn't achieved any good results since then. An inconsistent achievement like that didn't earn money. He couldn't hire a specialized coach, as well as an agent. He knew better than anyone he couldn't afford the expensive training fees.

Ford said that he didn't have money. However, Dai Li laughed without paying it any notice. "Perhaps we can change to a different payment method. You don't have to pay my training fees, but the bonuses that you earn in the future, and your appearance and endorsement fees as well, you have to share your earnings with me. The same amount that you would pay an agent!"

It was rare for a coach to demand profit sharing, but it did happen, especially among big shot coaches. They would ask for various things, including a profit-sharing scheme with the athlete. In truth, a lot of athletes were willing to accept this sort of payment method. The more the athlete earned, the more the coach earned. The prerequisite of earning more was that the results had to be good, so the coach would definitely put more effort into training the athlete.

However, Ford shook his head. "Coach Li, with my current condition, it's practically impossible to win any rewards, and I barely pay attention to the appearance fees the organizers pay me. As for advertisement and endorsement fees, the amount is so minuscule that it is depressing. If I told you, I'd be afraid you would laugh. My current main income is from my part-time job at a track and field club. There is no profit to share."

"That is why, to avoid making losses, I have to train you into a world champion, isn't that right?" Dai Li smiled confidence.

"World Champion?" Ford opened his mouth slightly without saying anything.

After all this time, the words "world champion" sounded like an insult to Ford, stating that he hadn't achieved any good results since getting the world championship.

As the title slipped out of Dai Li's mouth, a dark cloud loomed over Ford.

Ford stared at Dai Li. Dai Li's confidence came through his smile like sunshine on a winter morning, suddenly giving Ford hope.Blake shook the contract in his hand and asked, "You're sure about only taking 20% of his income? And only for income above 10,000 dollars? You're sure we won't lose money like this? With Shawn Ford's current form, it's difficult for him to attract any advertisement sponsorships, not to mention getting any prizes from races."

Dai Li paid it no heed and said, "Ford won the world championship once, that should count as having proven himself before."

"That's true, he has had one victory. The one, and only, victory! After that world championship, it was difficult for him to even make it through the domestic trial races of the US, so the world championship win for him does not prove that he is talented. It's just like winning the lottery; it can only say that your luck was great on that day, but it doesn't prove that you're good at making money," Blake said.

"Then I will let you in on a secret." Dai Li lowered his voice and said, "Ford has congenital scoliosis. It makes his right leg half an inch shorter than his left leg."

"There's such a thing?" Blake was surprised. "But this shouldn't be regarded as a secret, right? The coaches who trained him should know about this. It's something that can be found out, not a real secret. Besides, I've trained in track and field before, so I know that for a sprinter, a leg length discrepancy would affect speed. This sort of congenital defect is fate, and it can't be remedied no matter by training. No matter how he trains, there is no way for Shawn Ford to become faster."

"You think so too?" Dai Li's smile was brighter than ever.

Blake looked at Dai Li with a face of puzzlement. From what he knew of Dai Li, when Dai Li looked like that, he already had a plan in mind.

"Did you discover some special circumstance?" Blake asked with interest.

Dai Li nodded and said, "Because of his leg length discrepancy, it is fate that the time for each of his feet to touch the ground is different when he is running. The time on the ground for his shorter right leg will always be shorter whereas his longer left leg will touch the ground longer."

Blake nodded. "I understand that the length of time the feet touch the ground affects the landing force, which ultimately causes an imbalance in stride. In sprinting, an imbalanced stride would slow-down the runner's rhythm, and in turn, affect the speed."

"That's straight-track running. What if it were at the bend?" Dai Li took out a blank piece of paper and a pen, and explained as he scribbled. "At the bend, the athlete has to turn to the left. Due to the centripetal force, the body will naturally tilt towards the left. If the left leg stays longer on the ground during this time, the left leg will generate more force, and the body will become more stabilized, have a stronger centripetal force, and a faster speed during the bend. Which also means that Ford's condition where his left leg is slightly longer than his right leg will give him an advantage that no one else possesses. Especially during the acceleration process, this advantage will become more obvious."

"You mean to say, back then, the reason he won the 200m sprint world championship was that he ran better than everyone else in the bend? It was precisely because it was a 200m sprint, his speed advantage during the bend made him win the first prize during the world championship," Blake said.

"I believe that is the case. Ford is faster during the bend, but exactly how much faster, I am not sure. I'm also not sure if the speed he gains during the bend is enough to offset the speed he loses in the straight track." Dai Li continued, "According to my research and understanding, I think that there is a need to change Ford's sprinting method. I've observed his race videos, and he's been chasing after a balance in timing for both legs when touching the ground, but because his left leg is slightly longer, he intentionally tries to shorten the amount of time the left leg stays on the ground. I don't think he needs to do that, and it is also my future training direction for him."

"I understand. You mean that there is no need to intentionally decrease the time the left leg touches the ground to make sure that the striding rhythm of both legs matches each other. You want him to run exactly the way he feels comfortable, even if it means that he will lose a stable stride rhythm?" Blake said.

"That's exactly what I mean. I'm guessing Ford's previous coaches all knew about his leg length discrepancy, and their training for Ford all tried to remedy his physical defect in the hope of achieving a balance of force in both legs, and as a result, a balance in running rhythm. But what never occurred to them was that it had adversely affected Ford's speed." Dai Li paused and continued to explain, "Ford's body already has a defect. Regardless of the method or technique used to remedy the defect, it would never reach a normal person's level. It is impossible for techniques to make both his feet the same length. Instead, attempting to force a balance in his running rhythm made him slower. I believe what Ford needs is a running rhythm that suits his leg length discrepancy, and not to simply pursue a balanced rhythm."

"That's reasonable. But are these your deductions? Or are they results that have been proven?" Blake asked.

"Of course it's only deductions. Isn't the contract agreement in your hands? We've just signed the contract, where would I have found a chance to prove it." Dai Li pointed towards the contract in Blake's hands.

"Then, have you ever thought about if your deductions are wrong? If Shawn Ford's results don't improve, we will have made a deal that loses money." Blake was still expressing his worry.

"Just relax, even if my deductions are wrong, I still have a plan B!" Dai Li said with confidence.

Dai Li's plan B was to use the athlete's patch. After all, Ford had a talent potential grade of A. If one could use the athlete's patch to remedy his physical defect, he could still become a world champion level athlete.

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Chapter 451: A Different Coach

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

Standing with Shawn Ford by the side of the training ground, Dai Li pointed to the video and said, "What you need now is more time for your left foot to touch the ground. That is what our following training will be aimed at."

Will it work? Ford was confused. Dai Li was contradicting all of his previous coaches. They had asked him to shorten the time of his left foot touching the ground as much as he could. But Dai Li asked him to increase it.

"Coach Li, I once went through a test in a research institution. My left leg is longer, so my left foot touches the ground for a longer time than my right foot. The time is around 14% greater," Ford replied immediately.

Then Dai Li asked, "Your previous coaches told you that you should shorten the time of your left foot touching the ground to balance your rhythm, didn't they?"

Ford nodded honestly. He never thought that was wrong. The balance of steps was fundamental to a sprinter. The more balanced, the better. No one would like his own steps to be sometimes quick and sometimes slow. That was common sense even to beginners of sprint.

Dai Li continued asking, "When did you get that test in the institution? After you won the world championship?"

Ford nodded and said, "Yes. I won the world championship of the 200m program. And then I got some advertising endorsements. So, I was rich at that moment, and I spent a lot on finding ways to enhance my performance."

"Sure enough!" Dai Li sighed and then he said, "Normally, it's reasonable to pursue the balance of steps. But you are different. Your left leg is longer than your right leg, which means the torque on your left leg will be bigger when you are running. According to physics, the force multiplied by the length is the torque. You have to decrease the force you lay on your left leg when you are running or increase the force on the right leg to reach the balance of your steps."

Ford nodded. Previous coaches trained him in that way indeed.

And Dai Li added, "Your left foot touches the ground earlier in running since the left leg is longer. And therefore, it touches the ground for a longer time. Your coaches before must have told you to make your left foot leave the ground earlier to balance your stride frequency. But I think such a method is a bad influence on the integrity of your running."

"Do you mean I shouldn't pursue the balance of steps?" Ford asked in surprise. He didn't understand Dai Li. Dai Li's ideas were contrary to traditional theories on sprint.

"Correcting the asymmetry of your legs doesn't increase of your speed, and it backfires. Your legs are not the same in length. To you, running with balanced steps is unnatural." Dai Li paused and then added, "The peak force of a top sprinter's single foot touching the ground can be five times as much as his own weight. Such a peak of force shows up within 0.03 second after touching the ground, and it's an important source of energy in running forward. It's even decisive to the final score."

"The stride frequency of normal sprinters is coordinated. The peak force of each leg touching the ground should be approximately the same. And the difference between the two peaks should be smaller than 3%. But you are different. The difference between your two peaks is bigger than 10%. Do you know why?" asked Dai Li.

"Is it because of the previous training?" asked Ford, thinking about that.

Dai Li nodded and said, "Right. As I just said, your training in previous years decreased the force of the left leg or increased the force of the right leg to balance the arms of force of the two legs. Meanwhile, the intentional shortening of the time that your left leg touches the ground led to a decline of the strength of your left leg. Years of such training caused the peak force of your right leg to be much higher than that of your left leg."

"In your case, your shorter right leg has a higher peak force while touching the ground. That goes against usual principles of exerting force. The normal way of running doesn't fit you. For you, the logic way of running is to make your left foot stay longer on the ground and then your left leg will exert force for a longer time, which will produce a stronger centrifugal force to enhance your speed."

"At the same time, such a way of running can accelerate you on the bend. Running on the bend requires your body to lean towards the left to keep balance. If your left foot stays on the ground for a longer time, your running on the bend can be more stable and you can make better use of the peak force of your right foot touching the ground to give yourself more kinetic energy and greater acceleration on the bend."

"That makes sense!" Ford nodded. But then he said regretfully, "So, my training to make my stride frequency balanced through these years was totally useless?"

It was more than useless. It was like you were stabbing yourself with a knife. Dai Li looked at him with sympathy. He knew what Ford was feeling.

As an athlete, Ford had spent many years, much money, and hard work on training to improve himself. But suddenly he was told that all he had done was counterproductive. That must be a huge mental shock.

"Don't be so upset," said Dai Li to comfort Ford. "It's not too late for us to remedy. We still have time to prepare for the tryout in late June for the Olympic Games. I will send you to the Olympics!"Shawn Ford's training was a medium to long-term process. It was hard for a skillful athlete to change his way of running since the change was not simply to running method, but to many small details. Normally, it was quick for an athlete to adjust to a new way of running within one year.

The case of Shawn Ford was unique. His former way of running focused on remedying the defect of his legs with various lengths. Viewed from Ford's body integrity, that kind of gait was unnatural. And Dai Li's training for him was trying to bring his natural gait back. So, the training efficiency was really high.

It's just like if you forced a left-handed person to use chopsticks with his right hand. He would with no doubt feel unnatural about his movements, but he would get used to it after practice. However, the left-handed person would still find it easy to use his left hand again after years of using the right hand. That's because it was the nature of his body.

From this point of view, Shawn Ford's previous way of running was wrong, and Dai Li was just getting him back to his nature.

Meanwhile, Justin Alexander was achieving more and more. After two small-sized races, he had his competitiveness back. He participated in some medium-sized races, and he won them all.

Alexander was once "the flying man ranked second in the world." It is a piece of cake for him to get a good ranking in medium-level matches even in America, the superpower of track and field.

He finished within 10.05 seconds in three consecutive medium-sized track and field events, which made him very confident. He decided to participate in some bigger and more important competitions.The Pennsylvania Track and Field Elite Competition.

This competition was half an invitational tournament. Five of the eight participants in the 100m sprint program were invited to the competition, while the other three got access to it through qualifications.

Alexander didn't get the invitation, which might have been because of his bad reputation of being banned for using stimulants, or his comeback without new big achievements. And he had fought through qualifications to get an opportunity to join the formal competition.

Alexander heard a familiar voice from behind just after he changed his clothes in the changing room for athletes. "Justin, why are you here? I don't think I saw your name on the invitation list this time!"

Without looking back, Alexander knew it was his former coach, Sebastian, who was speaking.

"I heard that you are in the training center of the Chinese coach now. Why didn't he come with you?" Sebastian asked and looked around for Dai Li.

Located in the east of America, Pennsylvania was far from Los Angeles. So, Dai Li didn't come here.

Alexander didn't answer. He didn't want to interact with Sebastian any more. Even a word was needless.

But Sebastian was a chatterbox. He said with contempt, "I've heard that you took part in several small competitions. I cannot imagine that you, once the greatest sprinter in America, now have to participate in those small competitions."

Alexander heard the sarcasm in Sebastian's voice, but facing his former coach, Alexander was humbled. So, he decided to ignore Sebastian's words.

But his silence never stopped Sebastian. The coach pointed at a black young athlete behind him and said, "I want to introduce this man to you. He is Warton, 'the Miami Lightning.' You must have heard about him. I have trained him for one year. And in all the consecutive five races he has run recently, he got scores within 10 seconds, including a score of 9.88 seconds."

Oh, he is Warton, the talented sprinter in Miami! Alexander had heard about this guy. He looked at Warton, and he knew sharply that this young Warton would be his strongest rival in the competition.

It was truly a great achievement for a sprinter to get scores of less than 10 seconds in five races consecutively. And a score of 9.88 seconds might lead the sprinter to the gold medal in a world-class competition. The data showed that the man named Warton was at the top of 100m sprint program worldwide.

Warton was a new talent who rose up rapidly in recent years in the field of sprint.

He got the championship of the American Youth Games when he was young, and he got the championships of the American College Students Games for two consecutive years. And he often got excellent achievements in professional games. He was from Miami, so everybody called him "the Miami Lightning."

His cooperation with Sebastian helped him make great progress. Sebastian was once awarded the Best Track and Field Coach in America. And he had trained many to be world champions. Although his moral quality was not so good, his training methods ranked the top in the world. The cooperation between the two was an alliance between giants.The 100m race was going to start. The eight participants were standing on the starting line.

Sebastian looked at Warton confidently. He thought Warton would definitely win today's race with his perfect condition.

Among the participants today are some skillful ones. But they will be defeated by Warton. Warton's fastest performance is less than 9.80 seconds.

A score within 9.80 could win the gold medal in the Olympics and also in the world championship.

But it was also true that practices were different from competitions. Athletes' performances in daily practices were usually better than their performances in competitions. It was a success for an athlete to show 80% of his real strength in major sports events. However, a score within 9.80 seconds in practices still showed the great talent of Warton.

Warton should be the best sprinter in America now. I will get him to be the number one sprinter in the world. Kittell has retired. The field of sprint will be ruled again by several giants. It is an opportunity that we must seize fast.

Sebastian couldn't help thinking of Alexander.

Warton's talent is great. But Alexander used to be better than him. I think Warton will be the second Alexander at the best. Unfortunately, Alexander didn't follow me. But that doesn't matter now. Today, Alexander is nothing…

Bang!

The starting gun went off, interrupting Sebastian's thoughts. At the same time, the sprinters ran forward from the starting line. And Sebastian was focused on Warton.

Sebastian's prediction was right. Warton was faster than the other seven. After running for 30m, he had more a body-length lead compared with the sprinters at his left and right.

We win. Sebastian relaxed, but soon he found a man on the outermost track who was as fast as Warton.

That's Alexander! Sebastian felt nervous suddenly. It was like his heart was pinched by someone invisible.

In the 100m sprint, the two tracks in the middle were the best choice for the sprinters while the outermost track was the worst. Alexander, as a participant from the qualifications, was set to the track by the side of the field.

But such an arrangement didn't stop him from showing his surprising speed.

After 60m, Warton stood out from the participants and the only one who was competing with him was Alexander.

The live audience were becoming more and more excited. No one liked a game with a fixed winner. A situation where two athletes were competing and no one knew the final result? That was the most exciting.

But by the side of the field, Sebastian was frozen. He did not have a good feeling about what was happening.

Sebastian was once Alexander's coach. Therefore, he knew Alexander deeply. Alexander was his most brilliant student. And Alexander's excellence at the peak of his career still remained in Sebastian's mind.

And Alexander's performance of that day was the same as his best state in Sebastian's memory.

No! When this word came to Sebastian's mind, the sprinters on the field were very close to the finish line.

Warton leaned his body forward to try to use his head to cross the line.

But Alexander just lowered his head.

Alexander knew that he had the lead, which allowed him to not make big movements to cross the line.

In a blink, the sprinters crossed the finish line and began to slow down.

On the screen on site, all cameras were focusing on the champion.

That champion was Justin Alexander!

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Chapter 452: Measuring Other People's Corn by One's Own Bushel

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

"Alexander has won!" Sebastian cried in surprise.

From Sebastian's perspective, it wasn't surprising to see Alexander winning a competition. But it was beyond his imagination that Alexander had defeated Warton to win the race.

Was Warton too slow today? Thinking of that, Sebastian looked at the big scoreboard on the wall.

It showed that Warton's score was 9.91 seconds, a pretty good score which could possibly get the gold medal in a race held by the International Association of Athletics Federations.

Warton was not slow, but he was defeated. Then, the only reason was that Alexander's score was great. Sebastian found Alexander's name on the scoreboard with his score beside it: 9.87 seconds.

A gap of 0.04 seconds was not enough for a blink and was too short to be felt by humans. But 0.04 seconds in the score of a sprint, especially in the score within 10 seconds, was a chasm.

Sebastian recalled the flying Alexander on the track. That man seemed just like Alexander at his peak four year ago!

Has he recovered to his best state? No. That's impossible, totally impossible! Even if he could recover, he couldn't be so fast. I couldn't train him to be so fast. How could that Dai Li be better than me at training him?

The Sebastian's self-confidence seemed to take a hit. He always considered himself the best track and field coach in the world. He thought what he couldn't do must be impossible for other coaches as well.

But reality taught him a lesson. Alexander's score of 9.87 seconds was telling everybody clearly that he had recovered his best state, as powerful now as he had been four years ago.

The Chinese coach is only a fitness coach. He is not a professional coach for sprint. How could he be better than me? And why could Alexander recover so quickly? Sebastian thought about that, rolling his eyes. Maybe the Chinese coach used something illegal! Yes! That makes sense!

His eyes were filled with the fire of hope again. He firmly believed that Alexander used stimulants to recover in such a short time to his state from four years before.

The champion must go through a urine test. He will be found out if he used a stimulant. He will be found out! Sebastian comforted himself.The next day after the competition finished, Sebastian asked for the results of the urine test for the competition again and again. But he was disappointed by the fact that no one was found to have used stimulants.

He was unhappy about that, but soon he calmed down after he thought about it.

American biological labs usually had technologies that were more advanced than the technologies of the Anti-Doping Committee. For example, the Franklin Lab that was cooperating with Sebastian had a technology that was two years ahead of the Anti-Doping Committee of the IOC. The stimulants invented by the lab couldn't be detected by the Anti-Doping Committee for another two years.

Products of the Franklin Lab could not be found out in a short period of time. So, it was possible for the product of other labs not to be found out either.

But what made Sebastian upset was that Alexander's recovery was too fast.

Is the stimulant he is using more effective than the product of the Franklin Lab? Right. I see. It is the effect of the stimulant that has allowed him to recover so fast! He refused my partnership because he had another choice.

Sebastian helped athletes with stimulants. Therefore, he thought that Dai Li would also use stimulants. And Alexander's outstanding performance made him believe more firmly that Alexander had used better stimulants.

But as I know, the products of the Franklin Lab are the best in the world. Where does Dai Li find the better stimulants? Is there another research institution that is working with him secretly?

Suddenly, he was very worried. He knew that Alexander would outachieve Warton greatly with both his talent and stronger stimulants.

The Franklin Lab's technology has fallen behind others. I must tell them about this as soon as possible. And I must ask them to get Alexander's body fluid sample!

Thinking about that, Sebastian took out his mobile phone and called the Franklin Lab.Alexander walked to the door of the men's room, only to find an "Out of Order" sign hanging on the door.

Out of order? He thought. But before he left for another toilet, the door opened and a young man dressed as a plumber came out.

"Sorry. The pipes inside weren't working right. I'm repairing them. I have already repaired the first urinal, so you can use it, if you want," said the plumber kindly.

"Okay. Thank you." Alexander walked in and came to the first urinal.

"Yes. That one," said the plumber, gazing at Alexander. It seemed that he wanted to watch Alexander pee.

It was very strange for one to be watched when he was peeing. Alexander couldn't help squinting at the plumber.

Why does this guy keep staring at me and focusing on my dick? Is he homosexual? I must protect my *sshole. Alexander got goosebumps all over with this idea and he even found it difficult to pee.

At that moment, the plumber felt awkward, too. So, he turned around, pretending to be calm and trying to act like a stranger.

Alexander finished as quickly as he could and pressed the flushing button, and he found that it didn't work.

"I haven't fully repaired it yet," the plumber said.

"Okay." Alexander nodded and pulled his pants up quickly and then he ran out of the toilet.

He relaxed when he left the toilet and got to the corridor. He didn't discriminate against gay men. But he didn't want to be alone in a room with a gay man, especially when the gay man was staring strangely at his penis.

Clack.

The sound of a shutting door came from behind Alexander.

The door is locked? Alexander looked at the door of the bathroom. The "Out of Order" sign was conspicuous.

A strange plumber! Alexander shook his head and walked out with big steps.Andrew was an investigator of an investigation company. His job covered a wide range of tasks, including investigating hidden wealth, extramarital affairs, and the whereabouts of a specific artworks.

Andrew's assignment that day was to get the urine sample of an athlete.

Andrew had seen many strange clients and gotten many strange assignments. But it was his first time on an assignment like this. However, as an experienced investigator, he would never be stopped by it. And what's more, the commission of the assignment was a lot of money.

So, he disguised himself as a plumber, disabled the urinal, and hung a repair sign on the door of the toilet to wait for the athlete.

Everything went well. That athlete came to the toilet and peed in the urinal that Andrew had "repaired" in advance. And finally, Andrew got his urine sample.

The only thing that made Andrew unhappy was that the athlete thought he was gay!

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Chapter 453: A Little Bit Expensive

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

In a Mediterranean villa, Kevin Taylor walked in the yard with a large fresh steak in his hands.

"Sweetie, you can eat the steak now, I bought a fresh piece of steak for you!" Kevin Taylor walked up to a tiger.

This tiger was raised by Taylor when it was a baby, and it was his favorite pet. When Taylor was on the verge of bankruptcy, he had to sell a lot of his property, but he still tried to feed his tiger.

Ding dong… The doorbell rang.

"Someone is coming, I'm going to open the door!" Taylor threw the rest of the meat to his tiger, turned back, and walked to the door.

In front of the door was a first-generation 1968 Ford Mustang.

Ford Mustangs aren't very expensive, since they are popular sports cars. But the first-generation Mustang is a classic that was produced more than fifty years ago, so it's much rarer than many luxury cars. In addition, the Mustang produced in 1968 was a favorite, so people who can afford to drive a classic like that are not ordinary people.

In front of the door stood a balding white man, who was over 1.8 meters tall and in his thirties. His face was thin.

"Jimmy, why did you come here!" It obvious that Taylor knew Jimmy, and he opened the door to let him in.

"Kevin, long time no see." Jimmy gave a gift box to Taylor and said, "I hope you'll like the 2003 Clos du Bois."

Clos du Bois is one of the top 10 wineries in the United States, and it is located in Sonoma, California. Although it enjoys a great reputation, it's wine is relatively cheap and fine compared with other famous wineries.

"Thank you." Taylor took the gift box and invited Jimmy to the middle of the living room.

They sat down and began to talk; the white man was the first to cut to the chase.

"Kevin, I'm going to come back!" said the white man.

"Why? You have been retired for three years, and it's time for you to enjoy your life. Why do you want to come back?" Taylor was very surprised.

"I have to make money. I have run out," said the white man.

Taylor looked at the white man in surprise and asked, "I remember that you didn't gamble and you didn't have many friends, so what did you do? Where is your money?"

As was known to all, pornography, gambling, and drugs could easily bankrupt people. But Taylor knew well how much money Jimmy had. If Jimmy used his money to go whoring, it would be impossible for him to run out of money. If Jimmy had taken drugs, he could have supplied himself with drugs until his death. What's more, Jimmy didn't know how to gamble, and he didn't have many morally-bankrupt associates, so he shouldn't have spent his money so quickly.

"I made a failed investment, and I put almost all my money into it. Soon I will lose everything," said Jimmy.

"So, what did you invest in? And things are different now from the financial crisis of several years ago, even the Wall Street's evil capitalists are wary now. Some investments may cause losses, but only a few investments would make you lose everything," said Taylor.

"I invested in oil, shale oil to be exact," Jimmy said helplessly. "I invested in the exploitation of shale oil with my cooperative partners. In the beginning, we made much money, but then OPEC started to increase oil production, so the price of oil fell sharply. We can't get profits from our wells, and we lose money whenever we produce a barrel of oil."

Shale oil was once a resource that was difficult to exploit, but the development of technology, especially the progress of hydraulic fracturing technology, drastically reduced the exploitation costs of shale oil. What's more, with the further improvement of technology, the exploitation costs were expected to decline further.

The time of return on investment of shale oil was very short, and the pre-investment cycle was only two or three months. The investment cycle of a traditional oil field was five to seven years, which made the exploitation of shale oil a very popular investment project.

The cost of exploiting shale oil in America was between $40 and $60 per barrel, and it varied from region to region. When the oil price was high in the world, exploiting shale oil could bring in high profit and gain quick rewards, so investing in shale oil was very popular in the United States.

Lots of shale oil was exploited in America, which meant America got an increase in its oil production. Thus, it naturally reduced America's dependence on oil imported from OPEC. In addition, with more shale oil being exploited in America, it even planned to export shale oil to other countries, which would have turned America from an oil importer to an oil exporter. That also meant that instead of being one of OPEC's customers, America would now become its competitor.

So, OPEC decided to fight back by increasing the supply of oil and lowering the price. Taking the Middle East as an example, the exploitation cost of their onshore fields was less than $10 per barrel, so they were not afraid of a price war.

When the price war broke out, the oil price began to plummet, and the oil price of OPEC was even lower than the exploitation cost of shale oil in America, which meant all shale oil in America suffered heavy losses.

Hydraulic fracturing techniques were used for the production of shale oil, which meant that it couldn't stop. The principle of the hydraulic fracturing technique was to inject fracturing fluid into the oil reservoir to produce pressure, which would create cracks through which the oil and natural gas would leak through into the drilling hole. In order to keep the cracks open continuously, a type of propping agent needed to be injected into the cracks together with the fracturing fluid. Once stopped, the pressure inside the oil reservoir would decline and the cracks also would shut, which meant everything had been done in vain.

As long as the exploitation of shale oil continued, the investment in shale oil would continue. Even if the investors would suffer losses, shale oil still had to be exploited from the wells. In other words, if a businessman bought a lot of goods only to find that he couldn't sell his goods at all, he would be forced to sell his goods below cost. The businessman would take a loss, he would take a much larger loss if he didn't sell his goods at all.

Now, Jimmy was faced with this dilemma. He had invested in shale oil, and even if the market price of oil was below the exploitation cost, he still had to put money into his investment, so he could hold onto his investment until the oil price went back up. But if he stopped his investment, he would lose all his money.

The white man continued to say, "So I'm going to come back to make some money. If I can participate in the Olympics again, that would be great. At least I could get some advertising sponsorships."

"That's for sure. You have won six gold medals in three Olympics, so as long as you are in the Olympics, there will be sponsors for you," said Taylor.

"I'm confident in my physical condition, but I'm 34 years old now, so it's something I can't ignore. That's why I came here. You have been back to your peak physical condition before, so I would like to ask you for help!" Jimmy said earnestly.

"I got back to my peak physical condition because I have a great fitness coach. You may have heard of him, he runs a chain of fitness training centers in Los Angeles." Taylor smiled and continued, "I can recommend him to you, but I have to tell you, his charge is a little bit expensive."

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Chapter 454: The Former Ruler of the 400-meter Sprint

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

"What? Jimmy Aylwin plans to came back?" Blake said in surprise, but he was also a little excited.

Dai Li nodded. "Yes, Taylor told me that Aylwin invested a lot of money in shale oil and he suffered heavy losses. So he wants to came back and participate in the Olympics again, and he wants me to help him to return to his competitive condition."

"Oh my god, I think it must be the most sensational sports news of this weekend! He won the championship in the Olympics three times. With such brilliant achievements, as long as he will be in the next Olympics, there will be some top sponsors for him!" Blake exclaimed.

Jimmy Aylwin was a white track and field athlete who focused on the 400-meter sprint.

Black athletes had an absolute advantage in sprint events, whether in the 100-meter sprint, the 200-meter sprint, or the 400-meter sprint. Especially in the World Championship and the Olympics, almost all the finals of sprint events were monopolized by black athletes.

But in the finals of the 400-meter sprint, the ruler was a white man named Jimmy Aylwin.

Jimmy Aylwin also had a similarly brilliant record in the World Championship. He participated in two World Championships, and each time he was the champion of the 400-meter sprint and the four-by-400-meter relay. In addition, he also won numerous championships in many tournaments, such as the IAAF Super Grand Prix, the IAAF Golden League, and the IAAF Diamond League.

The 400-meter sprint was less popular than the 100-meter sprint, so Aylwin didn't enjoy the same reputation as Kittell, "the world's first fleet-footed runner." But Jimmy Aylwin was a household name in the United States, and he was even more influential than the NAB superstars.

Aylwin's fame was due to the rise of sprinting in Central America and the Caribbean in recent years.

America had been the ruler of sprinting since the beginning of 1980s, but due to the rapid rise of Jamaican sprinters after the 21st century, Jamaican sprinters competed with American sprinters in several years.

Then the top sprinter, Kittell, suddenly appeared, and his ability overwhelmed all the other sprinters, which also gave American sprinters a fatal blow. After that, American sprinters had never won the championship as long as Kittell participated.

Apart from Jamaican, countries in Central America and the Caribbean also paid attention to sprint. The ethnic talent of the black athletes, the natural environment, and the unique climate in Central America and the Caribbean created a large number of top sprinters. Such small countries as the Bahamas, Grenada, Trinidad, Tobago, Saint Kitts, and Nevis were able to challenge American sprinters in the International arena. There was a time when American sprinters couldn't win the fourth place if Justin Alexander didn't participate in the match.

But America was still the ruler of the 400-meter sprint, because they had Jimmy Aylwin. His ability was far more than other 400-meter sprinters; thus, he was the idol of many Americans.

People like to praise winners. An athlete, no matter how excellent he is, can never be successful if he doesn't win the game all the time. For example, Justin Alexander could never be the winner as long as Kittell participated in the game, even though Justin continuously created better records and constantly renewed the record in America.

Because Jimmy Aylwin was always the winner, he was more popular than Alexander. From the perspective of others, Alexander could be regarded as a world top athlete, while Jimmy Aylwin was a "great" athlete.

More importantly, Jimmy Aylwin was a white.

White people dominated mainstream American society, and the elites in American politics, economy, culture, entertainment, science, and other industries were white. The vast middle class in America was white, and even in the sports industry, the most influential athletes were not the black superstars in the NBA, but the white quarterbacks of the NFL.

As a white, Jimmy Aylwin had congenital advantage in gaining influence, and the function of this influence was to attract sponsors, in particular the top advertising sponsors. Aylwin had won three championships in the Olympics, so as long as he passed the qualification trials in America and entered the Olympics, he could easily get millions of dollars in advertising sponsorships.

Blake was very excited when he found out Jimmy Aylwin planned to come back, and he asked Dai Li in a hopeful tone, "Would you like to help him?"

"Helping these athletes who have been retired for several years return to their competitive condition is very difficult. Aylwin is now 34 years old. Sprinting has a strict requirement for physical condition, and very few athletes can hold up to 34 years old. You know that age is a terrible enemy for athletes." said Dai Li.

"So, you won't help him?" Blake said disappointedly.

"No, I just want to emphasize the difficulty. Because it's so difficult, I will charge more money!" Dai Li paused and said with a smile, "As usual, I want a revenue share for the next three years!"

For Dai Li, Jimmy Aylwin was definitely worth three age-reduction cards.

In the 1990s, Franklin, a professor in a prestigious university, left the university's laboratory to set up a company. He built up a joint laboratory called Franklin Laboratory.

On the surface, the main task of Franklin's laboratory was to research how to manufacture nutrition. Their flagship product aided the circulatory and excretory systems and replenished the body with vitamins and minerals. Meanwhile, more covertly, Franklin's laboratory had been working on the latest steroid doping.

The scientific name of the steroid was epinephrine. The adrenal glands naturally secrete a certain amount of the steroid every day to maintain the normal physiological operation of the body. This steroid also had a variety of clinical functions, and could be used to treat a variety of common diseases, such as cancer, brain edema, rheumatism, skin diseases, sepsis, meningitis, and so on. It could be used in the treatment of almost all diseases.

So, the development of steroid derivatives had become a research topic of high commercial value. With a bit of luck, a new kind of derivatives could be a new medicine, which would then bring hundreds of millions of profits to the developer.

By turning their research products into performance enhancers for athletes, they found free experimental subjects to test their products, and they obtained a lot of experimental data to continue their research and development. But once athletes started doping, they were afraid to speak out in public. Even if there was something wrong with their bodies, they would choose to solve it privately in the laboratory rather than through legal channels.

It has to be said that the doping in Franklin's Laboratory was very effective, and it couldn't be easily detected by the Anti-Doping Committee. Over the past two decades, Franklin's Laboratory had become more famous and popular, and many famous coaches and athletes went to Franklin's Laboratory and asked for help. When they obtained brilliant achievements, they became an accidental advertisement for Franklin's Laboratory.

Sebastian was the most faithful partner of Franklin's Laboratory, and he had been the friend of Dr. Franklin for many years. But today, they seemed to be at odds over something.

The door of Franklin's office was closed and the blinds were drawn down, and it looked as if they were discussing something secret.

"There were no traces of enhancers found in Alexander's sample? How could that be?" Sebastian assumed an air of disbelief.

"We have used all of the tests, but all the results show that everything is normal for Alexander; there was no evidence of doping in his samples. To be exact, there was no evidence to suggest that Alexander used any performance enhancer at all." Franklin handed Sebastian the test report.

"That's impossible! Is there anything wrong? Something was forgotten in the process of the test?" said Sebastian.

"We tested it three times." Franklin shrugged his shoulders. "But we found nothing."

"How could Alexander run so fast without doping? Did he get back to his competitive condition in such a short time? That's impossible, there is no training that effective in the world." Sebastian shook his head. "He must have doped, but we haven't found it yet."

"It's theoretically possible that Alexander used a new type of drug, but we can't detect it at all. But that's only reasonable in theory. If we can't detect it, we must have fallen behind in technology." Franklin showed a confident expression and said, "My laboratory may not be the number one in the world, but it must be a top laboratory in the world. It is impossible that other laboratories would be so far ahead of us in technology! So, I think there is another possibility."

Franklin stretched out two fingers and then said, "The second possibility is that Alexander didn't dope, but finished the game within 9.90 seconds through his ability."

"He was suspended for four years! It's impossible for him recover his condition in such a short time," Sebastian said confidently.

Franklin's face was gloomy. He was unhappy with Sebastian's attitude, and he said in a tone of a scientist, "Athlete's training is not my field. You are a professional, so you would know better than I how long it will take Alexander to return his competitive condition. But I am sure that people must have both good conditions and bad conditions, and it's possible for an athlete to present an extraordinary performance in a match."

Sebastian frowned. He was not Alexander's coach now, so he didn't know Alexander's current condition, and he couldn't judge whether Alexander's performance was extraordinary. But there was no denying that what Franklin had said was possible. Alexander might have presented extraordinary performance in that match.

Franklin went on. "Anyway, I didn't detect doping at all, and I thought if I couldn't detect doping, neither could other laboratories. Even if Alexander doped, there's no sense talking about it, because we can't detect it and you can't do anything to him."

"I see!" Sebastian nodded helplessly and his eyes were full of unwillingness.

"Well, my friend, do not pay much attention to Justin Alexander. We should focus on the qualification trials of the Olympics. I hope more athletes can pass the qualification trials and participate in the Olympics by using our products!" Franklin eased the atmosphere and then said, "I heard that the head coach of the US track and field team hasn't been decided yet, and you're one of the candidates?"

"Yes, I am one of the candidates and I'm likely to be the head coach." When Sebastian thought of this, he was not so helpless, and he was in a much better mood.

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Chapter 455: Three Trump Cards

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

With continuous shutter sounds and flashes in the studio, a ground crew was holding flash reflectors next to a big and strong black man, who was making all kinds of postures with a plastic bottle in his hand.

This black man was Justin Alexander, who was now advertising a poor popular sports drink.

"Good, this set is done. Next, we will shoot the picture of you drinking it," the director said.

"No problem." Alexander walked to the green cloth as asked and received a new drink from the staff.

"Wait!" Alexander stopped the worker. He shook the drink and said, "Would you please replace it with water?"

That man was surprised at first, but soon he understood that a professional sprinter dared not drink something he didn't know, even the product he endorsed.

A few minutes later, the staff returned with two new bottles of the drink, both containing water.

"Okay, ready to shoot. Justin, you need to turn around your head, with the side of your face to me. Yes, that's it. Lift your head, 45 degrees, a little higher. Well, that's it…" The director started to direct.

Advertising actually was really tiring, especially for those who were not entertainers. As top professional player, Alexander often appeared in media interviews, but he didn't need to perform at all, which was totally different from advertising. It was difficult for people who hadn't received special performance training to be natural before cameras.

However, Alexander still performed with professionalism. Although he didn't have a good feeling of being an actor, he earnestly followed the direction of the director just like a diligent bee.

Because this was his first advertisement after recovery.

Unlike professional players of ball sports, track and field athletes didn't get fat salaries from their teams. Their competition prizes were also not too high. As for average international track and field events, such as the Grand Prix of IAAF, the prize of the division champion only was ten thousand dollars, and the final champion was also less than fifty thousand dollars.

The highest prize of the track and field events was from the Gold Grand Prix of the IAAF, which was one million dollars. However, the conditions were extremely strict. The winner must get every division championship in the Gold Grand Prix. The prize was gone if even one division championship was missing. Beyond that, if several athletes reached that condition, they needed to share the prize together.

In fact, those who won the prize were all dominating players. For them, the one million prize was not much at all. They could earn tens of millions quickly by advertising.

The main income of top track and field athletes was from advertising endorsements. Alexander also had received advertising endorsements with for more than one million dollars before he was suspended. However, his reputation had suffered as a result of the doping scandal. It was even great that these previous sponsors didn't ask him for compensation. As for new advertising sponsors, many would pretend not to know Alexander when they met him.

After coming back to the public, Alexander had attended several competitions. His results were becoming better and better, and he also won several championships in a row. What's more, he even got several times within 10 seconds, which drew the media's attention.

It was common in sports. Although one or two inspirational stories would attract the public occasionally, that was transient. People soon would be attracted by other things. Only great results would be remembered for a long time. As an athlete, even though his behavior was very controversial, he could still gain a large number of fans if his performance was good enough.

Now Alexander was preferred once again by advertising sponsors, and he also cherished this chance. Just as the old saying goes, cherish what is lost.Jimmy Aylwin had just visited Dai Li's training center. As far as he was concerned, it was not special at all, with no difference from other fitness training centers.

Actually, Aylwin was a little depressed. When he visited Taylor before, Taylor seemed to view Dai Li as a god. That was why he had high expectations of Dai Li. But after visiting the training center, his expectation was fading away. Besides, he even started to doubt it and become nervous.

Then, Dai Li led Aylwin to a track and field training ground outside.

"I just bought a new electronic timing system. We adjusted it yesterday. In other words, this training ground totally simulates the electronic timing of formal competitions, so we have a more accurate understanding of athlete's performance," Dai Li explained to him.

At the starting point for the 200m run, a starter was placed and a wire was attached to it. A coach was playing with his starting gun.

A black man was standing before the starter. Aylwin thought he looked familiar, and after he watched him more carefully, he realized that black man was Shawn Ford.

Is that Shawn Ford? I nearly didn't recognize him, because I haven't seen him for five or six years. I heard that Justin Alexander was here for training, but I didn't think there was anyone else, Aylwin thought in his mind.

Aylwin had also attended the World Championship and won two gold medals for the 400m and the 4x400m, and Shawn Ford had won the championship for the 200m. Therefore, they knew each other, but they were also very different in status. Aylwin was a great athlete, as famous as a legend, while Ford had been forgotten as quickly as he got his reputation.

At that moment, Ford stood on the starter and the coach beside him also lifted the starting gun.

"Well, let me check the effect of the electronic timing system. I didn't see anyone use it after it was adjusted," said Dai Li.

As Dai Li said this, the gun fired, and Shawn Ford started to accelerate.

Aylwin stood beside the track without any expression on his face. He didn't expect anything at all. The 200m and the 400m were two totally different sprint events, and Aylwin and Ford were also so different in status. Just like a legendary player of the NBA seeing a match of the CBA, it couldn't be duller.

On the track, Ford was serious. Soon he made his way from the bend into the straight and then crossed the finish line.

At the end of the track, a liquid crystal display was placed casually on the grass outside of the race track. Ford's result flashed across it.

19.98 seconds, less than 20 seconds. Shawn Ford is so fast! Aylwin was so shocked that his face expressed it out uncontrollably.

In terms of difficulty, it was more difficult to get within 20 seconds for the 200m than within 10 seconds for the 100m, for the former also required skills for a curved track. Judging by the final result of the current Olympic Games, it was possible to gain a medal with a result within 20 seconds for the 200m. Compared to this, it was impossible to enter the final with a 10-second score for the 100m.

That result is the level of a world champion! Looking at Ford, Aylwin was full of doubt.

After that World Championship, Ford never got another good result. If he could run so fast, he could easily pass the qualification trials for the Olympic Games and the World Championship. But why did he become depressed for years and nearly disappear? Did he just outdo himself? Yes, it must be so, Aylwin thought in his mind.

However, at this moment, Dai Li shouted at Ford, "Shawn, you should have run faster. Just now at the bend, you made several detailed mistakes…"

Dai Li walked to Ford and talked to him for about three minutes. Ford nodded and walked slowly to the grass beside the track and sat down. Dai Li ran quickly back to Aylwin.

"Will he run again?" Aylwin asked.

Dai Li nodded. "He just made some detailed mistakes which affected his speed, so I asked him to run again. But he needs ten minutes to rest. Jimmy, wait a moment. I need to do a massage for him."

Affected his speed and within 20 seconds? You just keep bragging! A big mouther! Could you be a little practical? Aylwin didn't believe Dai Li at all.

At that point, Aylwin thought that Dai Li and Ford had just been putting on a performance to keep Aylwin himself there for training.

Dai Li's massage was still very effective. Even though Ford just ran a 200m, after his massage, he soon recovered and got rid of his muscular soreness.

Ten minutes later, Shawn Ford stood on the starting line again. Dai Li stood beside him, repeatedly telling him to focus on some details.

After the gunshot, Ford rushed forward once again. Unlike the previous time, this time Aylwin made the count in his mind.

Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty… The moment when Aylwin reached twenty, Ford passed the finish line.

This time, the result on the scoreboard was 19.97 seconds.

0.01 seconds faster than the previous run! Aylwin looked at the electronic scoreboard in astonishment.

Aylwin would never believe that someone could run the 200m twice within a couple dozen minutes if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. Besides, the second run was even faster than the first, both of which were within 20 seconds.

It was also tiring for a professional athlete to run a 200m with all his strength. It was impossible to fully recover with a 10-minute rest, so the second time should've been slower than the previous one. Therefore, major matches would only schedule one 200m match on one morning or afternoon to let the athletes to restore their strength.

But today, Shawn Ford ran twice within twenty minutes, and he even ran faster in the second run than the first. To Aylwin, he only saw two possible explanations for this.

First, Ford didn't try his best in his first run. He kept his strength so that he could have even more strength for his second run.

However, Aylwin denied that at once. If his first result was not good, that possibility might be reasonable. But his first result was within 20 seconds. It couldn't be possible if he didn't try his best.

Second, Ford indeed performed better than the previous run. Thus, even without the full strength of his previous run, he still could run faster because he adjusted his skills.

After carefully thinking, Aylwin suddenly realized the second option was the only possibility.

As a legendary athlete, Aylwin was experienced both in sprint knowledge and experience. He knew that strength sometimes was not the most crucial aspect of the 200m run. Even excellent bend skill could cause a few tenths of a second difference in speed, while an inadvertent mistake could also mean the end of the game.

The next second, Aylwin suddenly thought of the words that Dai Li said to Ford.

Coach Li just said Ford should have run faster because he made several detailed mistakes. Then he gave him some guidance for a couple minutes and Ford became faster. Therefore, Coach Li's guidance made Ford faster? When Aylwin realized this, his attitude toward Dai Li was totally different.Dai Li was typing before his computer. He was making a training plan for Jimmy Aylwin.

I have Justin Alexander for the 100m, Shawn Ford for the 200m, and Jimmy Aylwin for the 400m. I'm holding all three trump cards for the next sprint events of the Olympic Games!

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Chapter 456: Why him Again

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

After changing his way of running, Ford improved greatly. It was easy now for him to get within 20 seconds. In terms of results, he seemed to become the 200m champion of World Championship that he had once been.

Of course, training and competition were two different things. In official competitions, especially international games, it was regarded as a stable performance if an athlete could perform at 80% of his training level.

It also verified Dai Li's speculation that the reason Shawn Ford couldn't run fast wasn't because he didn't have talent or he didn't work hard enough, but because he had problems with his way of running.

All of Ford's previous coaches tried to make up for his defect of leg length discrepancy with skills, but the result was totally opposite. Ford didn't become faster for this. On the contrary, he became slower.

However, Dai Li believed that there should be a different way of running for a player with leg length discrepancy. It would be better to develop the strength brought by its advantages rather than to attempt to offset the defect's disadvantages. From this point of view, Ford's overall speed would be improved if the strength brought by his advantages was enough.

Ford was faster in the bend than normal runners because of his leg length discrepancy, but his performance was also affected in straight. If the leg length discrepancy made Ford 0.1 seconds slower, but he could be 0.2 seconds faster in bend, Ford would actually be 0.1 seconds faster than before.

Thanks to Ford's left leg being shorter than his right one, he could gain more power in the bend for any race that was anticlockwise. If the races had been clockwise, even God couldn't save him.

Yet Ford's progress had not been tested. It was not because he didn't want to attend competitions, but because he didn't have any chances.

The 200m sprint was really rare. Generally, only large games could have the 200m event. Compared to this, the 100m dash was much better, because any all-around game would contain a 100m dash.

They had too much in common, and many athletes could attend them both. Some athletes for the 100m dash would not run the 200m for they might not have good skills in the bend, while some athletes for the 200m could also run the 100m dash because they had no problem in the straightway.

Therefore, the organizers of the games would consider athletes' physical strength when they set events. Thus, in large games, these two events would not be held on the same day and athletes couldn't support the consumption for the two events.

That was why in the Olympic Games or the World Championship, the 200m match was usually held after the end of the 100m dash. In those one day invitational tournaments or the Grand Prix, they only had the 100m and didn't arrange a 200m event at all.

With fewer games, more athletes only focused on the 100m dash, while athletes who only ran the 200m became fewer and fewer. As athletes for the 100m dash became more plentiful, organizers would pay more attention to the 100m dash and less to the 200m.

That was a vicious circle actually. If one event was good, more athletes would work on it, and vice versa.

The United States held the most track and field games in the world, including hundreds of games at the state-level and above. Among all those games, however, not many were 200m events. These games usually lasted one day, so they only had the 100m sprint.

Fortunately, the Olympic Games were this year, so there were many more games in the first half of this year. Especially close to the qualification trials for the Olympic Games, USATF would hold some big games to let athletes gain more points and experience for the qualification trials.The Miami Open Tournament in Florida.

The Miami Open Tournament was a four-day event, well-known in track and field. With plenty of time, this event included a 200m, as well as other running events like the medium-sized 800m and 1500m, and the long-sized 5000m and 10000m.

At the final of the 200m, Shawn Ford walked to his starter and bent to adjust his starter.

No one around paid any attention to him. Even when the commentator introduced him, there was only a cursory round of applause.

That World Championship had been so long ago that the public had already forgotten him. There were several young athletes today, and Ford was an old athlete who couldn't attract any attention at all.

Ford kept calm as if he had gotten used to it.

When he won the championship that year, he was really noticed. When he appeared on the track, the public would give him cheers and applause and some even loudly shouted his name.

But soon, expectation turned into doubts, for he never performed well anymore. As the public got disappointed with him, the applause and cheers vanished.

The World Championship was gone, and Ford was soon forgotten by the public. Although he attended competitions continuously, the applause for him became less and less. Young audience members even couldn't remember his name, and he became an average athlete among others. But he himself just got used to it.

It was normal in sports. People would remember the first prize, the second, and sometimes even the third, but those beneath them would never be remembered at all.

The referee's voice stopped Ford's thoughts. Ford was ready and calm now, focusing on his track only.

After the gunshot, Ford rushed out. He started, accelerated, and turned. When he reached the straight, he was in first, and the other seven were far behind him.

At that moment, the crowd focused on him because he was the fastest today!

"Shawn Ford is ahead!" the commentator called out this strange name, which was vaguely familiar to him.As a famous coach, several athletes of Sebastian also attended the Miami Open Tournament, but he himself didn't make it there. At this time, he was attending an interview in Polis, Indiana. The interview was held by the USA Track and Field in order to select the chief and deputy chief coaches of the national track and field team to lead the team to attend the next Olympic Games in August.

There were fifteen voting chairmen on the board of the USA Track and Field, and they were the interviewers today. There were nine coaches attending it, all famous coaches in the United States. But Sebastian was the most popular candidate because he had won the National Coach of the Year before. Compared to the others, Sebastian had much better achievements, experience, and personal qualities. What's more, he had strong personal connections in sports circles.

Although he could win the interview, he still prepared a lot for it. The process was very smooth. At the end of the interview when he walked out of the room, Sebastian felt that he had definitely become the chief coach of the national team.

Sebastian walked to the parking lot with an uncontrollable smile on his face. When he reached for his car keys, he accidentally touched his phone. He remembered that he had muted it before the interview.

Don't know if anyone called me. He took out his phone and saw two missed calls, both from his assistant, who should have been at Miami leading his athletes to attend the Miami Open Tournament.

"Is it the result?" Sebastian called his assistant back.

Soon, the voice of his assistant came from the phone, "Coach, Warton got fifth place."

"Quite good. Warton didn't train long enough and he mainly focused on the 100m dash. This result is good for him," said Sebastian.

Warton was defeated by Alexander not long before, but he was still one of Sebastian's trump cards. At the beginning of his training, Sebastian also let him practice the 200m. This young athlete had earned his reputation and achieved great progress. Now he got the fifth place in Miami, which reached Sebastian's expectation.

Sebastian felt good about his athletes, and he continued to ask, "Who is the champion?"

"Shawn Ford," the assistant said on the phone.

Sebastian thought this name seemed familiar, but it took him a long time to recall the name.

"Is Shawn Ford the one who won the 200m championship in the World Championship?" Sebastian asked.

"Yes, that was him," the assistant answered.

"I know him. I haven't heard about him for a long time, and I nearly couldn't recall it. He hasn't retired yet. He came back for the Olympic Games!" Sebastian said in a tone of derision. To Sebastian, Shawn Ford won that championship by luck. Such an athlete wasn't worth cultivating.

However, the assistant on the phone continued, "His result was 19.93 seconds, and he just broke the best result of the US this year."

"What? So fast!" Sebastian was shocked. As a top coach, he knew what the result meant. It was close to a world championship.

"Is it a result of wind-assistance more than 2m/s?" Sebastian asked at once.

"No, the wind speed was 1.2m/s. It wasn't," the assistant answered.

"Then why? After that World Championship, he has never run so fast. How could it be today? Did he change his coach?" The experienced Sebastian soon found the key.

"I just checked. His coach and Justin Alexander's are the same person, the Chinese coach in Los Angeles. As for how long he trained, I don't know yet," the assistant answered.

"Why him again? That Dai Li again!" Sebastian had been in a good mood, but now he seemed to fall to the bottom.

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Chapter 457: Still Him

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

Sebastian was holding the steering wheel but he didn't start the car. His favorite jazz artist was coming through the stereo, but the sound seemed harsh and distracting.

19.93 seconds! That's the result of a world champion. Since Kittell has retired, this result could bring a gold medal in the Olympic Games, or at least a medal.

Shawn Ford got 19.93 seconds, which shows that he is in a good state. If he keeps that state, even if he goes a little slower, he will pass the qualification trials of the Olympic Games. In other words, he has already reserved one seat in the 200m.

But the question is, why can he suddenly run so fast? What he has done this year to let him run so fast? Let alone within 20 seconds, even someone within 20.10 seconds could win nearly any championship in America!

After that World Championship, Shawn Ford didn't perform well at all. I almost forgot him. But now he has come back without any warning. There must be something strange! There must be! If I am right, the Chinese coach is the key.

It could be viewed as luck or coincidence when Alexander returned to his former state. But now Shawn Ford is achieving again. How could it be possible that both these changes are by chance? Dai Li must be giving excitants to them, or they couldn't improve so fast.

Thinking of this, Sebastian suddenly felt annoyed that Dai Li's excitant must be powerful enough that even an old athlete like Shawn Ford could regain his status.

No, I need to notify Franklin's Lab at once. I must figure out what the h*ll Dai Li is using. Sebastian took up his phone and called Franklin…After a whole day training, Ford was tired and walked close to Alexander.

"Justin, could you take me to the station? My car is in the shop," Shawn Ford said apologetically.

"Sure, I'll give you a ride." Alexander nodded. "But wait for me for five minutes, I need to go to the bathroom."

"The men's toilet in the bathroom over there is broken. One hour ago, when I went there, workers were examining it. You'd better go to another bathroom outside," Ford said casually.

"Broken again. It's really frequent." Alexander continued, "Not long ago, the toilet was broken and a plumber was repairing it, but that guy was gay. He stared at my dick when I had a pee. That was really awkward."

"Was he about so tall, with thin with brown hair and a beard on his upper lip?" Ford made some gestures as he said.

"Yes, that's him." Alexander obviously hadn't forgotten the plumber's appearance, and he continued to ask, "You met him too?"

"It seems like we met the same guy. D*mn it! Of course we met a gay guy right when we had to pee, and he stared at us for so long…" Ford started to talk dirty. Obviously, he didn't like gays at all.Andrew was an investigator of a research company. He had met many weird clients and also received many strange commissions. For example, he was asked to get an athlete's urine sample not long ago.

That investigation was not as good as Andrew expected. He pretended to be a plumber and got the athlete's urine sample successfully, but at the same time, the athlete thought he was gay.

Andrew didn't think that he could get another similar commission. However, to his surprise, he got one again not long after to get another athlete's urine sample.

Therefore, Andrew pretended to be a plumber again.

As a man and a temporary-urologist, it was really embarrassing to watch another man peeing.

Still, he succeeded at gaining the sample, but he would never forget the athlete's face when he looked at him.

The athlete's face was full of irony, disdain, and disgust. There was no doubt that the athlete this time also treated Andrew as a gay.

Andrew felt that his dignity had been trampled.

D*mn it! I swear that I will never accept such a commission again!Franklin was holding a detection report but his face looked serious.

"How is the result? Anything wrong?" Sebastian asked eagerly.

Franklin shook his head. "The result of Shawn Ford is as normal as that of Justin Alexander."

Both of them were silent for half a minute. Franklin spoke first. "Can you be certain that Shawn Ford used excitant?"

"What else? I can't figure out another possibility." Sebastian continued, "Last time it could have been luck for Alexander, but could it possible that this time was luck again? Moreover, Ford was different from Alexander. Before he was suspended, Alexander was a top sprinter in the world, known as the fastest athlete of America. But how about Shawn Ford?"

"These years, he has been unknown to the public, only an average athlete. But after changing coaches, he suddenly becomes world championship level. If Ford was good enough, why didn't he perform well these years? So, the only thing I can think is that the Chinese coach let them dope excitant so that they could improve more quickly!"

Franklin sighed. "I admit it makes sense. One time could be coincidence, but two times in a row suggests a high probability that it was caused by human factors. However, we didn't detect anything related to an excitant at all!"

"Maybe Dai Li holds more advanced technology?" Sebastian asked.

"No way! Our technology is the most advanced in the world." In terms of technology, Franklin felt very confident.

"Should it be possible that he uses a new excitant, which is beyond the seven varieties we already know, and it is very effective, just like…" Sebastian thought a while and said, "Just like the serum used by Captain America, which could strengthen bodies!"

"That only exists in cartoon and film. It's not reality." Franklin suddenly paused as if he had thought of something. He lowered his voice and continued, "But what you said does make a certain kind of sense. It is said that the military researched the so-called 'super soldier' during Cold War. It was the Soviet Union that started to use steroidal drugs, which were designed to create more powerful soldiers. However, the research was eventually applied to athletes."

"That sounds terrifying," Sebastian said. His generation experienced the Cold War, when the powerful Soviet Union could surpass the United States in military power. Therefore, hearing about the Soviet Union made Sebastian afraid, even though the Soviet Union had collapsed decades ago.

Franklin continued, "In the United States, Europe, and even Japan, the process of many labs is transparent. Of course, it doesn't mean it's real-time, but these labs will show the public their achievements in scientific research at short intervals. Not only can they give their investors a mandate, but also, they can gain more money for research. But it is different in socialist countries. Their labs belong to the government and the government funds them. The processes of many labs are classified. If they don't register a patent, we don't even know what they are studying. As far as I know, Dai Li comes from that kind of country. So, we can't exclude the possibility that he indeed has a new excitant, not as powerful as that of Captain America, but still good enough."

"So, what can we do now?" Sebastian asked.

"The first thing we need to know is whether he really has a new type of excitant." Franklin looked at Sebastian seriously as he said, "I'll continue to send a private investigator to investigate him, but you also need to help me."

"What can I do?" Sebastian asked.

"You will become the chief coach of the USA national track and field team soon, right? I want you to get more information with that new identity," said Franklin.The national office of the USA Track and Field in Polis, Indiana.

The CEO of the USA Track and Field, Williams, handed a letter of appointment to Sebastian personally, and said, "Coach Sebastian, congratulations! You are the new coach of our national team."

"Thank you. I will try my best to get a good result in the Olympic Games." Sebastian accepted the letter of appointment.

Williams said with a smile, "Coach Sebastian, even though the qualifiers of the Olympic Games haven't started, I want to know your opinion on our national team, especially on which aspects we can expect breakthroughs. You know, the public concentrates on this. They want to see that we can make progress and our athletes can achieve ever greater things."

"I think in terms of men's sprint events, we will perform better than the previous two Olympic Games, even regain the gold medal," Sebastian said. "During the last few Olympics, Jamaica has always surpassed us in sprint events. But now, Kittell has retired and he will not attend this Olympic Games. Therefore, we definitely can get gold medals in men's 100m, 200m, and 4x100m. Next, my focus will shift to these three events. I'll get the gold medal back!"

"The association thought just as you said. In fact, you were chosen as the chief coach this time because you have rich experience in sprint events. We hope you can make a breakthrough in this event for the national team." Williams nodded with a smile and continued to ask, "How about the 400m? Do you have anything to say?"

"We are always excellent in the 400m event. We have dominated the 400m in Olympic Games for about thirty years, and we even got all the three medals in one Olympic Games. In this event, our athletes are all world-top, like Brown, Andrew, Francois, Stephenson… Any one of them has the strength to get the Olympic championship," Sebastian said.

"How about Aylwin?" Williams continued to ask.

Sebastian was shocked. "Aylwin? You mean Jimmy Aylwin? Didn't he retire three years ago?"

"It seems that you still don't know. You must have missed the news this morning," Williams said with a smile.

Sebastian nodded. "Yes sir. I came here on an early flight today and didn't have the time to check the news. What happened?"

"Indeed. Jimmy Aylwin announced that he is coming back!" Williams answered.Sebastian felt conflicted about the idea of Aylwin coming back.

Aylwin was a legendary athlete, but Sebastian was not a legendary coach, which made Sebastian feel that he wasn't good enough to train a big-name athlete. Sebastian was afraid that he couldn't dominate Aylwin.

Aylwin was retired for three years, and he is about 35 years old now. In terms of his age, his career should have ended! Maybe I think too much. He may not pass the qualification, let alone the national team.

Thinking of this, Sebastian's phone was ringing. It was from his assistant.

"Coach, I have checked it out. Early this morning, Jimmy Aylwin announced that he is returning on his social media, and that he would attend the qualifiers of the Olympic Games. According to the grapevine, Aylwin started his training several months ago," the assistant said.

"Several months? I didn't expect them to keep it a secret so well. Is he training by himself or with another coach?"

"Yes, Aylwin is training in the Chinese coach's training center in Los Angeles," answered the assistant.

"Dai Li? How could it be him again? Why is he everywhere?" Sebastian could not help shouting. His mood became much worse.

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Chapter 458: The Taste of Youth

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

Aylwin was optimistic about his return.

As the former dominator of the 400m event, Aylwin was indeed much stronger than other athletes, outstripping them by multiple levels.

In previous Olympics, the athletes who entered the final could be classified into three categories. The third category were those who were not Americans. They could usually get within 45 seconds. Those who could get within 44.50 seconds were top athletes, who could compete for the bronze medal.

The second category were American athletes. The United States had absolute dominance in the 400m event. Therefore, all the athletes who attended the Olympic Games had to get within 44.50 seconds, even close to 44 seconds. They were among the best even in America.

And the first category was only Jimmy Aylwin, who could get within 44 seconds, even 43.50 seconds if he performed well.

Athletes who entered the final of the Olympic Games were supposed to be at the same level. Even if there was a difference, it was unlikely to be large. But if one got 45 seconds while another got 43.50 seconds with a gap of 1.5 seconds, that meant 0.4-second slower every 100 meters. That was a big gap.

On that condition, Aylwin felt that he still could attend the Olympic Games again, even if he was about 34 years old.In late June, the US track and field championships were held in Eugene, the holy land of track and field. It was also a qualification trial of the Olympic Games.

For American fans of track and field, every time of year was important for track and field. Especially in the year of the Olympic Games, it was quite important for the selection of Olympics athletes. Athletes had worked hard for four years in order to attend the Olympic Games. Moreover, the difficulty for American athletes was even higher.

As the strongest country of track and field in the world, the United States also had the most athletes in the world. It was no exaggeration to say that there would be just as many athletes competing in the US qualification trials as in the real Olympic Games, and the competition might be even more fierce than the Olympic Games.

The 400m sprinting was divided into preliminary, quarter-final, semifinal, and final, with one round every day. The event in the Olympic Games only consisted of three rounds, one less than the US qualification.

In the preliminary competition, there were nine groups with forty places for promotion, which meant that over half the athletes would enter the quarter-final. It was not difficult.

Naturally, it was also not so attractive to the audience. Because of the gaps among different athletes, powerful athletes would move up easily. There would be no fierce competition at all, let alone the existence of a dark horse.

But today was totally different. Not only was there a large audience here, but it was also the last game of the preliminary that would be broadcast live in the United States.

Because Jimmy Aylwin would appear in that round.

It was really exciting to know that Aylwin would return back, but people didn't know how Aylwin would do now. For a senior athlete about 34 years old, it was really difficult to attend the Olympic Games, let alone the extremely fierce 400m sprints.

When Aylwin stood on the track with the camera on him, all the audience stood up and cheered for him. At this time, all the other athletes became indifferent to each other and their relative positions on the track. Nobody cared about such things. They all focused on Aylwin. The audience hoped that he could achieve a good result.

Aylwin was calm now. He was a little nervous, even a bit uneasy, maybe because he hadn't attended any games for a long time.

Not far away, the referee looked at Aylwin carefully as if he was asking Aylwin: Hey, big name! Are you ready? Let's start if you are ready. It's okay if not, we can wait for you.

Obviously, the referee knew what kind of game he was playing. As a referee with enforcement power though, he had to wait until a legendary athlete like Aylwin could get ready fully.

All the other athletes beside Aylwin on the track were looking at him with respect. Two of the young men even came to Aylwin and took a photo with him. Only Aylwin could make other athletes ask him to take a photo with them before the competition.

In the eyes of all the other 400m athletes, Aylwin was their goal and idol. The athletes with him might not be qualified for the next round, but it seemed more important to them that they got to run on the same track as Aylwin.

Aylwin was ready and the referee nodded. As the referee gave the order, all the athletes stood on their starting blocks.

Aylwin felt a little rigid. In fact, he didn't have enough confidence either. As a 34-year-old athlete, he didn't know how he would perform after three years off the track.

Standing outside, Dai Li began to use the age-reducing card on Aylwin.

Aylwin was at his peak when he was 26 years old and got 43.50 seconds. If I want to reduce his age to 26, I need to reduce 8 years for him, but that wouldn't be worthwhile because the duration of the card would be too short.

He was 30 years old when he won the championship four years ago in the Olympic Games with a result of 43.85 seconds. He was quite good at that time. Well, I'll use the first age-reducing card to reduce six years to return his body to 28 years old. His body then must have been better than at 30 years old.

According to the formula of the age-reducing card, subtract six from 13, we get seven, and multiply seven by three to get 21. So, the duration of the first card is 210 days, enough to make it to the beginning of next year. The next two age-reducing cards can return him to 30 years old. He can dominate the world with that.With the gunshot and crazy shouting, Aylwin rushed off the starting line.

The moment Aylwin stepped out, he suddenly felt that all the cells in his body were starting to activate, pumping power into his arms and legs continuously. He felt vital instead of rigid.

What happened? I suddenly feel that I am years younger. This feeling is so familiar, really familiar.

Aylwin thought about it for a while, and finally he remembered that it was exactly what he felt when he ran before retirement.

I feel the taste of youth! I haven't felt it for a long time! I even feel that I'm returning back to my peak time. Is it an illusion?

Aylwin didn't believe that with 34 years old, he still could return back to his peak. After all, time was irreversible.

The next second, however, he suddenly realized that Kevin Taylor had also found his peak again despite being in his thirties.

I went to Coach Li in order to return to the state of my youth. Oh my God! I made it now! Incredible! Coach Li is incredible! Aylwin was so excited. Dai Li was a god to him now.Sebastian was also watching this game from the central stand. He wanted to know how Aylwin would perform now.

Four years ago, Aylwin won the championship at the Olympic Games with 43.85 seconds. , Now, four years later, his result must be worse than four years ago. And that's not even taking his long retirement into account. After all, he is Jimmy Aylwin. I believe he can get within 45 seconds. However, this is just the preliminary. I don't think he will try his best unless the other competitors are powerful enough.

Sebastian stared at Aylwin. Aylwin had entered into the straight.

His sprinting is still fast. Why do I think that his speed at the first straight today was no different from four years ago? Sebastian suddenly felt nervous.

After the straight, Aylwin entered the bend again, which was his advantage.

During the 400m event, the most difficult period was between 200m and 300m. After running for 200 meters, an athlete's body had already been in a hypoxic state, and his muscles would become sore and his body would be exhausted. But the next 100 meters was a sprinting period. Therefore, an athlete also needed to save strength for this period. Actually, it was against the body's physiological system to store strength in a hypoxic state. That was a huge challenge to athletes.

Normally, athletes would slow down at this period. Aylwin, however, was different. He still ran fast in the third 100 meters, and he also could store strength. He was still much faster than the others in the last sprint. Therefore, it was quite common that Aylwin took the lead as he entered the last straight and crossed the finish line.

Today was no different. When he entered the last straight, he was far ahead.

Aylwin is still so fast! Sebastian was so shocked that Aylwin was nearly the same as four years ago.

Aylwin deliberately slowed down in the final sprint. Since he could be qualified to advance to the next round, it was unnecessary to waste more strength. Therefore, Aylwin's final result was 45.36 seconds. Judging by his peak time, it was really bad. But everyone present knew that Aylwin slowed down on purpose at last.

Sebastian's expression became complicated. As the chief coach of the national team, he naturally hoped that Aylwin could keep a good state. It was better if he could perform as well as four years before, which could assure that the US would get the gold medal in the 400m sprint.

However, the better Aylwin's state was, the more Sebastian would think that Dai Li had a new type of effective excitant, which couldn't be detected by existing technology.

Dai Li must have a new type of excitant. As things stand now, that excitant is so effective that it even take a retired player back to youth. If I don't do anything now, it will be not long before Dai Li surpasses me and becomes the best coach in the United States! No, I must get that excitant. The most advanced excitant in the world! Only I deserve it! Sebastian thought fiercely.

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Chapter 459: Return of the King

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

On the fourth day of the Olympic Games trials, the event finals began one after one. Runners earned prizes and the right to a spot on the Olympic team.

At this time, the competition finally became more heated. In the United States, no average athlete could enter the final of the trial. In some highly competitive events such as sprint and hurdle, the level of the finals could be as fierce as that of the Olympic Games. Other finals were also world-class.

The last two games on the fourth day were even more important. In one event, the legendary athlete Aylwin would attend the final of the 400m sprint. If he entered the top three, he would attend the Olympic Games as an American athlete for the fourth time.

The other was the 100m sprint. This event had always been one of the most popular sports in track and field. A lot of star athletes would attend it, and the person who won the first place would become the new American flying man. Aylwin was wildly popular now. Every time he appeared on the field, the audience would shout crazily. It was natural for him to be qualified to attend the Olympic Games again.

Aylwin was also excited now. Before he appeared on the field, he received a message that a famous sports brand would provide him with an endorsement contract of fifteen million dollars for two years on the condition that he could attend the Olympic Games.

In track and field sports, it was out of imagination for any athlete to receive such a high endorsement contract. Even many all-star basketball players couldn't receive such a contract. Once Aylwin got that money, he would feel less pressed financially. Even if the oil prices kept falling, Aylwin didn't need to worry about the shale oil.

Besides, it was only a start for Aylwin. As one of the greatest athletes in American history, he would get continuous income as long as he appeared in games. It would be better if he could win several championships.

To the left of Aylwin, a black man with a mustache on his chin was secretly watching Aylwin.

This black man was called Brown, and he was five years younger than Aylwin. Before Aylwin retired, Brown once won two second prizes in the 400m of Olympic Games and one second prize in the 400m of the World Championship. He didn't win the first prize, not because he wasn't fast enough, but because Aylwin was there.

It was also the same in other games. If Aylwin attended, then Brown could only win a silver medal. However, Aylwin attended all the international games, so Brown was constantly the runner up. But in the 4x400m event, Brown had won a lot of gold medals as he followed the US national team.

Aylwin was nearly invincible in the 400m event. No matter how hard Brown had tried, he couldn't beat Aylwin. Until three years ago, when Aylwin chose to retire. After that, Brown started to learn how it tasted to be a world champion without Aylwin in his way. Brown was the first place in the last track and field World Championship, and later in the World Championship, he won the gold medal of 400m.

Obviously, Brown's goal was to win a 400m gold medal in this Olympic Games. In fact, he was so close to that goal, because being the champion of USA in the 400m was almost the same thing as being the champion of the world.

However, Aylwin had returned. The high mountain that Brown would never cross, the demon Aylwin, had come again!

At this time, Brown's feelings were complicated. On one hand, he didn't think it possible that Aylwin could be in his previous state despite being in his thirties, so Brown still had the chance to defeat him. On the other hand, the shadow caused by Aylwin was like a nightmare, haunting his mind.To the right of Aylwin was a young black man named Andrew, a new star in recent years. Andrew had great talent. He was only 23 years old, and he was just second to Brown. Besides, he was still making progress. The previous year, he even got within 44 seconds.

Unlike Brown, Andrew was extremely excited now that his idol had returned! For Andrew, this was a game and also a pilgrimage.

When Aylwin got his first Olympic gold medal, Andrew was still a pupil. It was no exaggeration that Andrew grew up watching Aylwin's games. Because of Aylwin's influence, he chose to work on the 400m event. As a young 400m athlete, Aylwin was definitely Andrew's idol.

Four years ago, Andrew also attended the qualification trial and entered the final. Unfortunately, he didn't pass the trial. He still remembered on that day when he entered the last straight and started to sprint, Aylwin had already been ahead. His back was just like an insurmountable mountain in Andrew's mind, flashing all the time.

Four years later, Andrew could get within 44 seconds now. Gradually, he had followed the footsteps of his idol with four years of hard work, and now he could challenge his idol in the competition.Aylwin stood on his track. He didn't say anything to the others and showed no emotion.

He just stood there, looking at the track before him. Just like a lord standing at the top of his castle and overlooking his manor.

Everyone could feel the sense of confidence upon Aylwin, just like a sword, which would split anything before it.

Aylwin at this moment not only found his playing status again, but also found the feeling of being the number one of the 400m event.

That was a winning feeling, which meant that he would dominate the track as long as he stood on it.

He was the dominator of the track.

Aylwin took a deep breath and stood upon the starting block. He was ready and waiting for the gunshot.The audience on the stands were silent, as if they had all become deaf. There was no applause at all, only the faint noise of shutter sounds.

Bang! The gun fired.

Then, the shouting rang out across the stands as if it was a mountain torrent. The audience stood up and continuously shouted at the track.

As the athletes started to run, the crazy shouting made them feel like they were in an ancient battle and would fight against terrible enemies.

No one could clearly hear the shouts of the audience, but this shouting sound made them excited, which brought more morale to the competitors.

Brown was inspired by the sound. At this time, he only felt that he was full of strength, which made him run forward with nothing to fear.

Brown could feel that he was in a good state. He couldn't help turning to see Aylwin next to his track.

I'm faster than him! Brown suddenly realized.

He became increasingly excited in his mind. Throughout his career, he was always defeated by Aylwin and always won the second place. But at this moment, he seemed to see the hope of victory.

Aylwin is 34 years old now. He can't be as fast as four years ago. I can win! I can win today! Brown began to inspire himself. He wanted to mobilize himself and turn this positive power into momentum.Andrew was not so excited as he was before the start of the race. Professional athletes had to adjust their state as soon as they entered the race, letting everything go and only focusing on the game.

I'm almost as fast as Aylwin. I am not behind him.

Andrew uncontrollably thought of the qualification trial four years ago. At that time, he also entered the final of the qualification and for the first time he could compete with his idol on the same stage, trying to show himself confidently before his idol. However, he only could see the back of his idol far ahead of him.

At that time, Andrew was like a piece of grass, while Aylwin was a tall tree. The gap between them was too large.

But now, the grass had also become a tall tree. Now he could compete with the one who could only be respected in his mind before.

Andrew became excited again. This time, he was not a young man who could only chase his idol anymore, but an athlete who could show himself well, challenge him, and even defeat him!

Nothing could be more inspirational.Aylwin had realized the two competitors on both sides of him were excited. They were fast, like two leopards which were chasing after their prey.

The thought just flashed through Aylwin's head, but it annoyed him very much. If they were two leopards, Aylwin was the prey they were chasing after.

In Aylwin's career, he was always the dominator of the 400m event, the absolute king. If others could be leopards on the track, Aylwin should be the king of leopards.

A king couldn't be a prey!

Aylwin knew that he should and must react to them. He should tell those challengers that he was not old, that he was still the king of the 400m!

The best reaction was to defeat them on the track. Defeat them thoroughly.

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Chapter 460: The King's Glory

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

Aylwin would react to his challengers, but he didn't accelerate now. He still ran in his own rhythm, because he knew that he had no advantage in the first half.

As a white athlete, he couldn't beat a black athlete in terms of explosive power and speed. Even when he was at his peak, he wasn't the fastest in the first 200 meters.

Aylwin needed to use his advantages and avoid his shortcomings. In the first 200 meters, Aylwin didn't pursue faster speed, but instead focused on improving his pace frequency and adjusting his strength in order to express his advantages in the last 200 meters.

Aylwin didn't choose to waste his strength in the first period when he was young, so he had no need to compete with others now that he was 34 years old now. He was no longer an aggressive young man, with reckless impulses.

Finally, the first 200 meters was over and the athletes went into the bend again. The most difficult period of the 400m was coming.

As for Aylwin, however, it was just the beginning of his advantage.The fast run in the first 200 meters nearly made Brown exhausted. In the next bend, he needed to adjust himself and store strength for sprinting the last 100 meters.

Brown turned around slightly to watch Aylwin next to him, and suddenly realized that he himself was in the lead.

Great, I'm ahead of him. Today I am faster than Aylwin. I can win the race today. Next, I need to keep this lead and not make any mistakes.

Thinking of this, Brown found that Aylwin wasn't slowing. In the previous 200 meters, Brown was much faster than Aylwin, but now he felt that Aylwin was surpassing him.

Aylwin is becoming faster! No, I'm slowing down. After all, he is Jimmy Aylwin. Even though I am ahead of him, I can't take it seriously. He is 34 years old now, but according to his performance now, I really can't defeat him if I don't try my best.

Thinking of this, Brown tried to keep his speed and maintain his lead to the final sprint.He is worthy of being my idol. He indeed has caught up with me! Andrew also realized that Aylwin was gradually narrowing the gap.

Maybe at the end of the bend, the gap between us will be gone. At that time, we will enter the last straight at the same time and sprint together.

Thinking of this, Andrew only felt more morale. It was aspirational for Andrew to compete with his idol and to cross the finish line with him.The final competition began as the athletes entered the last straight.

Opposite the end of the straight was the main stand, the area with the most audience. At this time, the audience in this area were nearly crazy. Everyone was standing up, waving banners, and shouting to the track.

Brown was the first to enter the final straight and he started to accelerate. The final 100 meter sprint would determine who was the champion today, so Brown didn't keep back anything and he tried his best.

In the track next to Brown, Aylwin was starting to accelerate nearly at the same time.

Moreover, he was faster than Brown.

Just entering the straight, the two were nearly at the same place after one breath, but after the second breath, Aylwin surpassed him.

He surpassed me! Brown was shocked at first and then he tried to accelerate in the next second and regain his lead.

However, in the next second, the distance between them widened.

In the final sprint, Aylwin clearly had stored much more strength to allow him to run fast.

A sense of powerlessness rose in Brown's heart. He had tried his best, but he was still falling behind.

I lost again! Though it was not the first time that Brown had been defeated by Aylwin, he couldn't be more depressed.

He is already 34 years old and has left the track for three years, but I still can't beat him. Today is no different from previous races. No matter how hard I try, I just can't beat him…Only fifty meters left, and Andrew could only see Aylwin's back. Just like four years ago, the difference was that this time the back was closer.

Andrew had tried his best, but he still couldn't catch up with Aylwin. The situation that he could pass the finish line together with his idol didn't happen. Aylwin didn't give him the opportunity to run together, and left him far behind.

As he closed towards the finish line, Andrew's body had reached its limits. He had used so much of his strength that it was very hard for him to take one more step. The distance between them was becoming farther and farther.

Andrew felt depressed, as if he was nearly out of breath. This pressure was from Aylwin. His back was still ahead, as if he was telling all his challengers that he was still the unbeatable king of the 400m.

Today, Andrew was not that little blade of grass, but Aylwin still was that tall tree.The commentator was also explaining and shouting. The sound around was so noisy that even with the help of a microphone, the commentator wasn't sure that all the audience could hear his voice.

"Next is the final sprint. Who will be the first one to the straight? Brown! Andrew! Aylwin! Those three entered the straight together! Who is the fastest in the final sprint? Who? Who? Aylwin! Aylwin is ahead. Aylwin is faster! The lead distance is increasing. Aylwin is still accelerating! He must win! The line! Aylwin! Jimmy Aylwin is the champion! After three years, Aylwin still won!"

"Aylwin's final result is 43.82 seconds. That's an incredible result. It's even 0.03 seconds faster than four years ago when he won the championship at the Olympic Games! It's incredible! Aylwin can still run so fast even though he is 34 years old!"

At that moment, the noise in the stadium suddenly increased by decibels, and could be heard kilometers away.Aylwin crossed the finish line. He opened his arms and started to celebrate.

He had done that gesture many times. Every time when he posed that, he could feel a special excitement.

It was the feeling of victory. Every victory was different, even in the same competition and facing the same competitors, but the sense of victory was unique.

Aylwin turned back to the scoreboard. The score of 43.82 seconds on it made Aylwin feel shocked.

So fast! I just ran so fast? Aylwin blinked few times to make sure it was real.

I know I performed well just now, but I was faster than four years ago? How could it be… Aylwin looked at himself subconsciously. He was four years older than his previous self, but his performance was better than it was four years ago.

However, the journalists didn't give time for Aylwin to think about the reason. They had already surrounded Aylwin and stretched their microphones towards him.

As the most famous competitor of the Olympic qualification, Aylwin was also closely watched by journalists. Those journalists catch any action of Aylwin's that they could on, even including Aylwin going to the bathroom. Now that Aylwin was qualified to attend the Olympic Games again by winning the first prize in the qualification, journalists naturally would rush to him to get the first-hand information.

Faced with plenty of cameras and journalists, Aylwin didn't want to think about why he was faster than four years ago. At this time, he was starting to enjoy the victory.

The king of the 400m event was still creating his glory.Dai Li also looked relieved at the edge of the field.

It seemed correct to reduce his age by six years. The body of a 28-year-old is indeed better than that of a 30-year-old. That's why he performed better than four years ago. I think it could be better if he tried harder, Dai Li thought.

For ordinary people, there might be no difference between 28 years old and 30 years old in terms of body function. Men's bodies tended to decline after 30 years old. Therefore, people were at their peak at 30 years old.

But it was different for sprinters. Sprinting was simple, but the requirements for the body were extremely strict. There would be a significant decline in performance if the physical condition was a little bit worse. For players who played basketball or football, their career could be quite long if they took good care of their bodies. For those who liked to play health-maintenance basketball, they could even play into their forties in the high-intensity physical confrontation of the NBA.

However, there was no concept of health-maintenance sprint. Sprinting was a constant pursuit of extreme explosive power and speed, a challenge to the limits of a body. Under this condition, every day in his peak was valuable. It could even be totally different between 28 years old and 30 years old.

Next is the 100 meter sprint. Looking at the athletes' passageway, Dai Li just happened to see Alexander coming out of it.

No weak opponents in the final. Alexander is really stressed this time!

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Chapter 461: The Coach Who Beats Time

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

The 100m race hadn't started yet. The eight participants were just on their tracks to make preparations. At the same time, the audience were all talking about Jimmy Aylwin's most recent victory.

What the common audience saw was Aylwin's comeback to win the 400m race. But professionals focused on his score of 43.82 seconds.

In the TV studio, the commentator with ESPN couldn't help saying, "Aylwin is still so fast! It's beyond my imagination that a 34-year-old coming back three years later after retirement can still finish the race within 44 seconds. His physical condition has seen no decline through four years. I really want to know his secret of keeping such a good physical condition!"

The question of the ESPN commentator was also confusing many coaches. In their opinion, it was impossible for an athlete aged 34 who came back after three years of retirement to get a score of 43.82 seconds. They would consider it a delusion if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes.

"How did he do that?" Every coach on site couldn't help thinking about it. Many coaches were discussing it."To tell you the truth, I think there are two possible reasons for Aylwin to keep so fit. One is that he was born physically gifted. There are some people who are born to run faster and jump higher than others. It's impossible for an ordinary person to copy the brilliance of a talent," a black coach said. He added after a pause, "The second reason may be the training. A more scientific training method can keep the athlete's physical condition good."

But a Spanish coach beside him shook his head to say, "The training? That's hardly possible. That's a score of 43.82 seconds. A 34-year-old sprinter must have gone through a severe physical degeneration. No training will help. Training can make a man stronger, but it cannot rejuvenate him. So, I believe in your first inference that Aylwin is gifted just like the mutants in X-Men. He is unique and cannot be replicated."

"Your words about rejuvenation remind me of another man. Do you remember the boxing king, Kevin Taylor? Everyone was optimistic about his comeback. Taking his age into consideration, all people thought it was impossible for him to fight so aggressively. But the reality, Taylor shows a better physical condition than before. It's a real rejuvenation," a coach with a beard said.

"Maybe that's just a coincidence," the Spanish coach denied stubbornly. "And boxing is different from sprint. There are many professional boxers in their forties. But sprinters are considered old athletes when they are more than 30 years old."

"But Ted's way was in pursuit of extreme explosive force, which is similar to the aim of sprint," said the coach with a beard. He seemed like he might have a problem with the Spanish coach.

"Okay. Let's suppose you are right. Training can rejuvenate athletes. Could you please tell me what kind of training can achieve that? No? So, Kevin Taylor and Jimmy Aylwin today are both just unique cases. Never forget that we are just coaches. We cannot beat time!" the Spanish coach said.

"If I may speak," the black coach who started the topic interrupted the two, looking at his mobile phone. "According to my search just now, Jimmy Aylwin's fitness coach is also Kevin Taylor's fitness coach."

"So, this coach has helped two athletes regain youth?" the bearded guy said with the expression of someone who had just won an argument. And he added, "One athlete's rejuvenation can be called an isolated case. But I don't think we can still use the term 'isolated case' since we have found the shared key point in the two cases."

The Spanish coach asked skeptically, "Who is that coach?"

"Dai Li, and you must have heard of him. Chinese names are few in our field," replied the black coach.

"It's him! The man in Los Angeles!" Obviously, the Spanish knew Dai Li.

Track and field were traditionally the weakness of Asians. Asian coaches were fewer than pandas. So, everyone knew of Dai Li.

"As far as I know, he is also the coach for the 'Blade Runner,' Philip. I met Dai Li in the last World Championship tryout," the coach with a beard added.

"Philip, Taylor, and now Aylwin. Their achievements cannot be analyzed by common theories. They are not isolated cases. This Coach Li must have a special way of training." The black coach paused and then he said, "I think he really has beat time to some extent!"Sebastian's expression was very serious. Aylwin's score of 43.82 seconds went beyond his imagination. He believed that Dai Li had a more effective new drug.

I must have that new drug! And I'd better get it before the Franklin Lab gets it. And I can make an exchange with the Franklin Lab to get benefits. I must figure out a way. From his seat on the main stand, Sebastian looked over the coach rest area by the side of the field and found Dai Li.

Asking Dai Li directly will not work. No coach will admit he provided drugs for athletes. That's silly. And even if he admitted it, he would never give it to me. A new type of drug, which is so effective. That's priceless.

So, I need to think of something to make Dai Li give it to me. If I can find the evidence of his providing drugs to athletes, I could threaten him with it to get the new drug. If he refuses, I could take it public to make him notorious. Okay. Good idea! And a direct one!

But the problem is how to find the evidence? Should I hire an investigation company? The Franklin Lab has done that, but it hasn't got any information. And nothing was found in the urine samples of Alexander and Ford after several rounds of tests. And I think they would be equally useless on Aylwin.

Or should I talk with athletes to seek some information? No. They are athletes, not fools. Admitting that they used drugs would be too silly. Their mouths are zipped on the issue of drugs. It's meaningless.

What should I do? Sebastian thought.

I know! The urine test found nothing, but other tests may find something. The blood test! But it's very complicated to set up a blood test… Suddenly Sebastian got an idea.

That's fine. I am the Chief Coach of the National Track and Field Team of America. Winning the qualifications, Aylwin and Alexander are all going to be promoted to the National Team soon. It will be so easy to get the blood samples when they are all under my control.

Thinking of that, Sebastian smiled happily.Under most circumstances, athletes were required to take urine tests. Some migh be asked to take blood tests. But there were just few cases of blood tests. Take the International Anti-Doping Organization for example; during ten years, it set blood tests for only 5000 athletes, most of which went through batch tests. Many high-level professional athletes needn't take blood tests for several years.

When athletes used drugs, the metabolites of the drugs would be conveyed through the blood to the organs and tissues where they would function. So, the blood test was quicker and more accurate than the urine test. The urine test just examined the metabolic waste of humans, but the blood test was a real-time test of athletes' usage of drugs.

Many illegal drugs, including peptides, some kinds of hormones, erythropoietin, the human growth hormone and so on, could not be found by the urine test. Because they were natural hormones of the human body and so were their metabolites. The urine test couldn't identify the evidence of those drugs as long as the hormones didn't exceed the limits too much. But the blood test could solve this problem.

The blood test was more accurate, but its process was very complicated. According to the IAAF regulations, reasonable cause and a written notice with the athlete's personal signature for confirmation must be presented for a blood test. It was more complex than the urine test.

According to the rules, athletes were allowed to refuse to offer their blood samples immediately, as long as they offered the samples within one week. So many changes could take place in one week with current technologies.

And the athletes had to hand in the list of drugs they used over the last ten days and records of any blood transfusions in the last six months. The two requirements gave the athletes room for playing tricks. Some of the athletes might make deals with doctors to give themselves a temporary prescription to confuse the results of the blood test.

Because of all of the reasons above, the blood test was not a usual option. Generally, only when an athlete was under suspicion of using drugs, or when the athlete was the top three of a high-level competition such as the Olympic Games, would blood tests happen. Usually, the urine test could solve all problems.Having made his plan, Sebastian relaxed to refocus on the field.

The 100m race was going to begin. And his student, Warton, "the Miami Hurricane," would take part in the race.

Warton made great efforts these last two months. I think he will not be defeated by Alexander.

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Chapter 462: The Surprising Progress

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

Alexander looked around, recalling his last participation in the Olympic Games.

At that time, Kittell was at the peak of his career life. And the most important task of the American Team in the Olympic Games was to challenge world-class Jamaican runner. But their efforts were in vain. The American Team led by Alexander spared no effort, but they couldn't beat the great Kittell. And the 4100 meter relay witnessed Kittell outrunning the American Team at the final baton. And America was defeated by Jamaica.

Many years had passed, and everything had changed. None of Kittell's teammates in that Olympic Games attended this tryout. And many young faces showed up.

Although Alexander knew them, they felt like strangers.

So many young people this time! Alexander shook his head slightly. He was only 30 years old then. He was still strong, though as a sprinter, he was at the end of the peak of his physical condition. He was still able to get good achievements. But compared with those young athletes around him, he was already an old man.

Competition in the 100m sprint was always ruthless. And sprinters had a fast turnover. An athlete's physical peak lasted for several years, and he would be active in races in those years. And years later when he was out of the period of his physical peak, he would be out of the competition, too.

And America was the greatest track and field superpower in the world, with endless good athletes. A large number of young people chose to be professional athletes every year. So, the generations of athletes cycled very quickly.

100m sprinters in other countries who achieved Olympic A Level were allowed to take part in the Olympic Games twice. At least they could take part in one Olympic Games and one World Championship. But in America, a country full of competition, taking part in the Olympic Games twice was a great achievement, which could be talked about proudly for a lifetime.

What's more, the former king of the 100m sprint Kittell had retired, which made many 100m sprinters dream of being the next king. No one could challenge him when he was active in the field, but he had retired and left an empty throne behind. Every top sprinter in the 100m program hoped to replace Kittell as the new king of the 100m sprint, the fastest flying man in the world.

The Olympic Games was the best stage for the enthronement of a new king. Therefore, this tryout for the Olympic Games saw many athletes in the program of the 100m sprint. And those sprinters were more skillful than sprinters of previous years. The same thing was happening in other sprinting powers, especially Jamaica. Sprinters were competing fiercely for opportunities to take part in the Olympic Games. Each of them wanted to inherit the crown of "the fastest flying man in the world."

While Alexander was reminiscing about all the changes, he sensed a hostile stare from one of the tracks beside him.

He is the talented sprinter, "the Miami Hurricane," Warton. I beat him in the previous race. He must be dissatisfied with the result. He is seeking revenge this time!

Seeing Warton reminded Alexander of his former coach, Sebastian.

That coach is a "pharmacist." But he is now the Chief Coach of the American National Team. I will be under his management again after I'm promoted. That's terrible.

And this guy, Warton, is very good. I'm afraid he is as fast as I was in my youth. I might lose to him if he performs better today.

Foreseeing a hard race, Alexander took a deep breath to erase all thoughts and then he stood on the starting block to get himself fully prepared.The starter raised the starting gun and asked all participants to be on their marks. Then the gun went off to mark the beginning of the 100m race.

Every sprinter in the 100m sprint final was brilliant. The eight sprinters in the final all had the ability to finish the race within 10 seconds. That was to say, each one of them could be the champion of Asia in the field of sprinting.

So, for the first 20 meters, they stayed very close. Tiny gaps among them were just the evidence of their different start reaction time. Sprinters whose start reaction time was shorter ran slightly ahead while those with a longer reaction time fell behind slightly. Only "slightly."

It became a competition of acceleration after 20 meters. A faster acceleration led to an advantage. Some sprinters with a higher stride frequency had a greater advantage in acceleration.

An experienced sprinter ran in his own rhythm. The slight falling behind didn't change his rhythm of running. And new sprinters were easily interrupted by their rival's rhythm.

Sprinters in the final were all experienced. So everyone knew that the advantage in the first 50 meters was useless unless one could change this advantage into a victory.

In fact, the 100m sprint nowadays was a competition of strength in the latter part of the race, when the abilities of sprinters were almost the same.After 50 meters, Alexander and Warton were almost at the same position.

Warton has grown faster since the last race! Alexander realized.

It had been several months since his last race with Warton. Alexander had been training hard for these months and he had fully recovered to his condition before he was banned. So, he was now more powerful.

Alexander would, of course, win against Warton if he ran the same speed that he had several months ago. But in this race, Warton wasn't slower than Alexander, which showed that Warton had made great progress in these months.

It's not surprising that he is called a talented sprinter. His progress is great after just a few months. If he keeps making such progress, it will lead him to be the champion of the Olympic Games this time.

Other sprinters besides Alexander and Warton also showed their strength. During the period from 50 meters to 70 meters, all participants stayed very close.That Warton runs so fast today. I think he is as good as Alexander now. Just a few months have brought such great changes to him! Dai Li thought.

Dai Li was confident about his own training ability. It was his effective training that let Alexander make obvious progress these months.

But then Dai Li saw that Warton had made greater progress. A few months ago, he had been weaker than Alexander. But it turned out that he was likely to outperform Alexander in this race.

Something is wrong. My training is arguably the most effective with the help of the system. But Warton is making progress faster than Alexander. It means that the training he has received in recent months is more effective. I remember his coach Sebastian, who is also the coach of the American National Track and Field Team. That shows Sebastian is skillful enough. But it can hardly be possible for him to be better than me plus my system!

Alexander was the number two sprinter in the world. I just helped him recover, which is much easier than making a new athlete be the best. An experienced athlete already knows what he should and should not do. And his previous achievements made him more confident. A new athlete hasn't gone through enough competitions, so he cannot rise to the top in a short time. And sports training is a step-by-step process that allows no sudden rise.

While Dai Li was thinking, the participants on the track entered the final sprint.

Alexander was still neck and neck with Warton. But the two were ahead of the other participants. The winner would be one of the two.In the final 20 meters, Alexander had sped up to his limit.

And at the same time, he found that Warton was faster than him. Warton had a half-body-length lead.

He outran me! Alexander felt worried and tried his best.

Warton was faster than Alexander. Warton's advantage was larger and larger as he reached the finish line.

The next moment saw the two crossing the line at almost the same time. The gap between the two was not big, and both crossed the line very fast. But it could be recognized that Warton crossed the finish line first.

Warton won!Sebastian smiled from the main stand with satisfaction.

Alexander, do you still think that Warton is the same today as he was a few months ago? Is that beyond your imagination that he can make so much progress within these months? Do you regret refusing me? If you had chosen to be trained by me, you would have been the winner today. As I said before, the Franklin Lab is the best in the US!

Thinking of the Franklin Lab, Sebastian was a little guilty at the bottom of his heart.

By the way, the new product of the Franklin Lab is so effective. It applies well to young athletes like Warton who are still developing. It can activate their physical potentials more quickly. The Franklin Lab would not have given it to me in advance if it were not for Dai Li's actions. But its effect is not so good on physically activated old athletes. So, I must have Dai Li's new drug to cover both young and old athletes. I will be invincible!"Warton won. He defeated Alexander in the final 20 meters to get the championship of the 100m sprint! His score is 9.83 seconds. A score at the top of the world, and very close to 9.80 seconds. I just looked up to find that it is the best score of the 100m sprint this year! And it ranks third among all American sprinters in history. I think he will be the Olympic champion if he can keep this score in the Olympics!" the commentator said. Immediately the audience broke into applause to congratulate Warton on the annual best achievement.

"And Alexander is the silver medalist with a score of 9.86 seconds, 0.03 seconds slower than Warton. Bad luck! But congratulations, too!"

Meanwhile, the screen on site showed all participants' scores, and the wind speed, 1.7 m/s against the wind.

Being in the second place, Alexander won the opportunity to take part in the Olympic Games successfully. But he was not so happy, not only because he lost to Warton but also because that Warton's fast progress had made Alexander afraid.

It was not so difficult for Alexander to win the last race between Warton and him. And at that time their scores were close. Alexander got 9.87 seconds and Warton got 9.91 seconds. Just a gap of 0.04 seconds.

But Warton was 0.03 seconds faster than Alexander this time. So, it was a gap of 0.07 seconds in total. But it only cost him a few months to get this gap. It was surprising progress. It was too surprising to be believable.

Is that because they ran against the wind? Is Warton better at running against the wind? Looking at the scoreboard, Dai Li was confused. Alexander got a score of 9.87 seconds last time with the wind. And he got 9.86 seconds this time against the wind. 0.01 seconds faster. But given the wind speed, Alexander had made a progress of more than 0.01 seconds.

In fact, for a sprinter who could finish the race within 9.90 seconds, being 0.01 seconds faster was a great achievement, which could be celebrated with a bottle of champagne.

But Warton was 0.08 seconds faster. His score was 9.91 seconds last time and 9.83 seconds this time.

Within the same period, Alexander would celebrate for an enhancement of 0.01 seconds. Warton's improvement of 0.08 seconds deserved a special ceremony.

It's abnormal! Did Sebastian provide Warton with drugs again? Alexander knew Sebastian's tricks. So, he thought of the possibility at once,and became furious.

It's okay if I lose to him because of strength, like I lost to Kittell. But I lost to such tricks. D*mn it!

Alexander's eyes were filled with anger for a moment. But he knew there was nothing he could do against Sebastian. As he knew, Sebastian would not be trapped. The drug would not be found out as long as he dared to use it.

And what's more, he was the Chief Coach of the American National Track and Field Team!I can't believe that Alexander lost to Warton. Alexander's performance was good enough today. The score of 9.86 seconds means that he has fully recovered to his best condition. But he lost. Maybe his rival had a better luck today and performed better. Dai Li shook his head with regret. And then he looked to other scores on the scoreboard.

As the track and field superpower, America has many talents of track and field. Except for the eighth, all participants finished the race within 10 seconds. Generally, the final of the American Tryout reaches a higher level than the final of the Olympic Games.

The 100m sprint ended, and tomorrow will be the preliminary competition of the 200m race. It's lucky that Warton won't take part in the 200m race. A strong rival won't be there. So, Shawn Ford, you must try your best to be the champion!

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Chapter 463: The Worst Champion of the World Championship Ever

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

It's true that Dai Li hoped Shawn Ford to win the championship, because it was not just an honor, but a business opportunity.

Dai Li and Shawn Ford signed a revenue-sharing training contract. To be brief, if Ford could obtain more advertising sponsorship, then Dai Li would get more shared revenue. Athletes' endorsements income was related with their reputation, the best way to promote reputation was to get better performance, and athletes' reputation would become more famous if they got more titles and more recognition of the audience

But Alexander and Dai Li signed an ordinary training contract, although Dai Li had high salary, it was not revenue share. For Dai Li, it would be much better if Alexander could win the championship, but it didn't matter if Alexander couldn't win the championship. As long as he could get a good result, it was enough to prove Dai Li's training was effective.

The contestants of 200-meter race was slightly fewer than that of 100-meter race, and so was the number of the rounds, but it was more competitive than 100-meter race. It's just that Shawn Ford has an absolute advantage, so he could easily pass the preliminary and repecharge without trying his best.

Shawn Ford began to take it serious in the semifinals, and he finally made it to the final with the best results in the group.

The 200-meter final was scheduled for the final day of the Olympic trials, and it was the finale of this Olympic, and this day happens to be the weekend. So, the stadium was already full of audiences and the television rating was greatly improved, which was obviously good news for the 200-meter final.

In general, the finale of large-scale track and field events is the relay race, but the track and field events in the US were signed up by individuals, so there would be no such team events as relay race.

The athletes' locker room was empty, after all, there was only one race left and only eight athletes participated in the race, so there were only about 20 people, including coaches, in the locker room.

Foster, who come from Boston, is probably one of the most celebrated players among these contestants. As a 25 years old sprinter, he was at the peak of his career, and sprinters at the age of 25 are often the strongest.

In the 100-meter sprint three days ago, Foster was second only to Warton and Alexander, he won the bronze medal, and got the qualification places of the 100-meter sprint, which was the proof of his strength. Today he had to fight for the qualification places of the 200-meter sprint. Since neither Alexander nor Warton have participated in the 200-meter sprint, so Foster would be the only player in the US to participated both the 100-meter and 200-meter sprint once he was in the top three.

At this point, Foster was sitting on the bench and lacing up his running shoes, his coach stood by and whispered something to him.

"You have to keep an eye on Mayer, although he didn't make it to the final of the 100-meter sprint, he was very good at the curve, so he has a strong strength in the 200-meter sprint. His advantage was exactly your weakness, so if you fall behind him on the curve, do not be panic and try your best to sprint forward. Come on, with your strength in the 100-meter, you can beat him and win the championship!"

Foster nodded and asked, "I heard there was a champion of the World Championship in the final?"

"You mean Shawn Ford! I haven't seen him on the field for a long time, I thought he was retired. Anyway, when he won the championship in the World Championship, you didn't become a professional athlete, did you?" Foster's coach asked.

"I was in high school at that time, I was in the senior grade four and I was preparing for the college entrance interview. I wanted to go to a good college, where I could get the full scholarship, so I didn't pay attention to the World Championship that year," then he continued to ask, "Should I pay special attention to Shawn Ford? After all, he was once the champion of the World Championship, he should be strong in the 200-meter sprint."

"Strong? Then why didn't you meet him in the race in recent two years?" Foster's coach smiled, "you don't have to pay attention to him at all, he hasn't got any good results after the World Championship, and he only participated in some small unknown races in recent years. Thus, many people knew that he won the World Championship just with good luck. I remembered that someone gave him a nickname a few years ago, but it was known by only a few people. Can you guess what the nickname is?"

"What is it?" asked Foster.

"The worst champion of the World Championship ever!" Foster's coach replied with a smile, "so you don't have to worry about him, he has no strength at all. It was said that he finished a race within 20 second in Miami a few days ago, but he can't so lucky every day!"

Shawn Ford took a deep breath, and there was a kook of enjoyment on his face, the atmosphere of the final gave him a thrill.

He hasn't appeared in the final of such a large-scale track and field event for a long time.

There were not so many 200-meter races, so Ford also took part in 100-meter races in recent years. But due to the disadvantage caused by his leg length discrepancy, he couldn't participate in any large-scale track and field events. So, he had to participated in some unknown races. Just like in computer games, you had to go to low-level dung eons when you only had a low level and bad equipment.

But it was Ford who was forced to participate in these unknown races that gave him the chance to be seen by Dai Li.

Even though Ford was now in the final of the Olympic trials, he was still the least impressive, he hasn't achieved any good results for many years. His name was no longer known to people, those audiences who knew him has already forgotten him, and these new audiences would not recognize him as a former champion of the World Championship.

Sebastian, a coach who has always been active on the front lines of track and field. When he heard the name of Ford, he had to spend a long time to recall who Ford is. So, it was reasonable for these common audiences to forget Ford.

On both sides of the track, most of Ford's opponents looked at him with a curious eye. They didn't understand how Ford made it to the final. The so-called the worst champion of the World Championship ever, who has been out of date for many years,

Ford was at peace of mind. The previous champion of the World Championship was now worthless. He has been used to being questioned and ridiculed by others over the past years. More often than not, he even wants to be forgotten by others, at least, people would not look at him with strange eyes.

But accustomed of being questioned and ridiculed by others didn't mean he had to make compromise, and it didn't also mean he had to give up himself.

Ford has always wanted to prove himself with his strength, he wanted to be focused by others again, and he wanted to say to everyone: I'm back!

Ford has been working hard for it. Even though his efforts never paid off, he kept insisting, and he never thought about giving up.

But today, he finally got a chance to prove himself again.

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Chapter 464: The Joy of Being a Coach

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

The eight participants were on the track. And their coaches all stood within the rest area by the side.

"Long time no see, Li!" Dai Li turned around to find a white-haired older man standing behind him.

That man was called Duke, and he was 68 years old. He was a senior fitness coach living in Seattle.

"Hello, Coach Duke." Dai Li walked to him to say hello immediately.

After exchanging greetings, Duke asked, "I've heard that Shawn Ford is now being trained by you. That true?"

Dai Li nodded and said, "Yes, I've been training him for a few months."

"Is it hard to help him improve?" Duke smiled and then he added with a lower voice, "I was once his fitness coach. There is no problem with his strength. His problem is the defect of his body."

By "defect of his body," Duke was referring to Ford's leg length discrepancy.

Dai Li nodded again and said, "I found that, too. So, I set some targeted training for him. And that worked."

Dai Li wouldn't tell others about his training methods. Training methods weren't patented. High-level coaches would never leak out their training methods, and in this way, they could avoid having their training methods used by others.

In fact, the so-called training method was actually a coach's understanding of a specific sport. Different understandings or different depths of understanding led to different training methods. Such an understanding needed to be formed with a great deal of experience, thinking, and trials of a coach. It was the most valuable secret of a coach. And no coach would like to let someone else steal it.

But Duke didn't believe in Dai Li's "that worked." He thought Dai Li was bragging to save face. So, he asked, "Coach Li, which rank do you think Shawn Ford will get this time? Is it possible for him to pass?"

"He will be the champion, of course!" replied Dai Li confidently without any hesitation.

"The champion?" Coach Duke laughed suddenly. In his opinion, it was a surprise that "the worst champion of the World Championships ever" could enter the final of the tryout. It was impossible for him to be the champion.

Dai Li got the irony in Duke's smile. But he knew that the old man meant no harm. So, he explained, "Not long ago, Ford finished the Miami Open in 19.93 seconds."

"19.93 seconds! So fast!" Duke took a deep breath. He knew Ford could pass the tryout with such a score.

Coach Duke lived in Seattle in Washington State. Miami, Florida was about as far away from Coach Duke as it was possible to be in America. So Duke didn't know about Ford's achievement in the southeast.

And then, the referee asked the athletes to be ready on the starting block. The race was about to begin.Vincent was a high school student in Eugene. And he was a master of sports, especially sprinting and long jump. He might be a star in high schools of other cities. But Eugene, the Capital of Track and Field, saw numerous high school students who were good at track and field just like Vincent.

It was the weekend, so Vincent came to the competition site with his friends to watch the race and cheer for the athlete he liked.

"The race is going to start. Which one do you think will win?" asked a friend beside him.

"Mayer, of course. I think he's the best runner there," replied Vincent without hesitation.

But his friend shook his head and said, "I prefer Foster. I have a poster with his signature on it!"

"Foster is good, but he cannot outrun Mayer. He runs terribly on the bend, and always falls behind. Compared with him, Mayer's skills are more comprehensive," Vincent argued at once.

"But Foster is faster on the straightaway. He is good at spurting. And I think that would be a remedy for his weakness on the bend," his friend argued back.

As the two argued, the sprinters readied themselves on their starting blocks. The starting gun went off as usual, and all participants spurted forward instinctively.

"Let's wait and see. Mayer will win!" Vincent sneered and refocused on the race.

"Cheers! Foster!" his friend suddenly cried out.

"It's too noisy. He cannot hear you. Save your energy!" Vincent scorned.

Every sprinter on the field was trying to move as far left as they could to shorten their running distance as much as possible. That was a test of a sprinter's running skill on the bend. High-level athletes like them wouldn't make a mistake such as stepping on the line, but some of them might lose control of their steps and waste their time.

Suddenly, the audience who sat in front of Vincent started to wave an American flag. Vincent's sight was blocked.

"You blocked my view!" Vincent cried at the audience in front of him.

They looked at Vincent, apologized, and then put down the flag.

When Vincent looked at the field again, he found that all participants were running on the straightaway instead of the bend.

However, he found that the leading sprinter was neither Mayer nor Foster. The leading one was an athlete unknown to him. And more importantly, the guy had a great lead. It seemed that he was fixed to win.

"Who is he?" asked Vincent with surprise.

The man was Shawn Ford, of course.Why does he have such a big lead? Sebastian was shocked.

Sebastian knew that Shawn Ford got several impressive achievements recently. And it was acceptable to Sebastian that Ford became a temporary leader in the race, but the fact that Ford was holding such a safe lead wasn't acceptable to him. From the professional perspective, Sebastian thought it was meaningless for the race to go on. The advantage Ford got when he ran out of the bend had already made him the winner.

A single bend gave him such an advantage. How did he do that?

But then Sebastian found that Ford's speed was slower than the other participants' on the straightaway.

Is he only good at running on the bend? Sebastian calmed a little.

But his advantage is too big on the bend. Other sprinters cannot outrun him within such a short distance. Shawn Ford is going to win! Dai Li's new drug is effective for old athletes. Even the weak Shawn Ford got rejuvenated.The bend was going to end. And Mayer thought he performed well on the bend. He had made no mistakes. And he believed that he would be the leader when he ran out of the bend.

Mayer's explosive force ranked in the middle among all top sprinters. So, he wasn't very good at the 100m sprint. But he had a good running skill on the bend, and he was able to run persistently. Therefore, he found his place in the 200m program. He took part in the World Championship two years ago as a representative of America, and he won a bronze medal with a score of 19.89 seconds. The champion of the World Championship that year was the top flying man in the world of the time, Kittell.

Mayer was confident that he could pass the qualifications. But whether he would be the champion depended on whether he could defeat Foster or not

Foster's running skills on the bend weren't very good. But his ability to spurt on the straightaway was great. And Foster got the third place in the 100m race. In Mayer's opinion, Foster was the strongest rival on his path to being the champion.

Finally, Mayer got on the straightaway and he was indeed ahead of Foster.

But Mayer wasn't in first place. A man was running ahead of him.

Shawn Ford! How could he be ahead of me? I didn't make a mistake on the bend! I should be the fastest one. How could it be possible for him to be faster than me?Foster got on the straightaway and immediately found that ahead of him were Mayer and Shawn Ford.

More importantly, while Mayer was just a little ahead him, Shawn Ford was holding a great lead. Foster even thought about giving up, taking Ford's big advantage into consideration.

The gap between Mayer and me is small, and I can catch up with him. But I can never catch up with Ford. His lead is too large. The race is meaningless. He will cross the finish line before I get closer.

Foster at that moment recalled his coach's remarks about Shawn Ford. His coach said Ford was "the worst champion of the World Championship ever."

"'The worst champion of the World Championship ever'?" Can the worst one run so fast? Can the worst one hold such a safe lead? If he isn't the worst, will he be one or two seconds faster than me? Was my coach kidding me?Ford wasn't the fastest on the straightaway, but he built so much lead on the bend that no one could catch up with him. So, he finally got to be the champion of the 200m race.

Ford's time was 19.85 seconds, 0.08 seconds faster than his time in the Miami Open. According to the situations of previous years, 19.85 seconds deserved a medal in the Olympic Games. Whether it was a gold one or not depended on the performance of other participants.

"A bend brought him such a great advantage. It's my first time witnessing this in my career life as a coach," Duke said to himself.

Other coaches around also looked at Ford with surprise. No one in the final was weak. To be a fixed winner by running on the bend of the first 100 meters was rarely ever seen in a final.

Dai Li showed a happy smile. In his opinion, that wasn't only Ford's victory but also his victory.

At one time, Dai Li would've used the Athlete's Patch to make up for Ford's leg length discrepancy without any hesitation.

But this time he chose another way. He used his experience and understanding of the 200m program along with his unique ideas to make Ford change the way he ran.

He thought the achievement this time was not made with the magic of the Coach System. It was made by his own abilities.

Dai Li had a sense of achievement.

It was like playing a game. When you cheated to beat your rivals, you could get satisfied along with joys of winning. But the victory you gained by cheating was so different from the victory you got by yourself. Many cheaters would stop being interested in the game after a short time of excitement. But those who won with their own efforts would carry on because that they could experience more joy and a greater sense of achievement after their victories.

Dai Li had been a "cheating gamer" since he got the system. In fact, Dai Li's joy of being a coach had disappeared as both the upgrade time of the system and the time intervals between the awards became longer.

But this time, he found remembered the joy of being a coach through training Shawn Ford.

Looking at Ford, who was celebrating on the field, Dai Li exclaimed in his heart, It's joyful to be a coach!

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Chapter 465: The Father of Prohormone

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

On the plane back to Los Angeles, Aylwin and Alexander were seated together.

"Justin, did you hear that the national team asked us to provide our blood samples?" asked Aylwin.

"Yes, I've been informed." Alexander nodded. "I've heard that they are going to make personal biological information files for athletes, so they have to collect blood samples for that."

"What the hell is a 'personal biological information file'? I have been in the national team for several years, and I've been to the Olympics three times, but I've never heard of it," said Aylwin.

"I was confused too, so I called the staff who are taking charge of it and they told me that they made it with the aim to keep us safe. They seem to be worried about kidnappings or terrorists during the Olympics." Alexander shrugged.

"We're just athletes, not politicians. Terrorists won't bother us!" Aylwin complained.

"That's not necessarily true. This Olympics is being held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the security isn't good. So we Americans are just like walking wallets there." When Alexander said this, he stopped and looked at Aylwin with a smile. "Especially you, you are the world's top sports star. If I were a terrorist, I would kidnap you!"

"If someone kidnaps me, I'll run. No one can surpass me within four hundred meters," Aylwin joked."I made an excuse to get the blood samples of Jimmy Aylwin, Justin Alexander, and Shawn Ford. And I've asked very reliable people to send the samples to you, so please be ready to receive them," Sebastian's voice came over the phone.

"I see. I'll ask someone to follow up," Franklin said.

Sebastian asked, "What should we do if we can't find anything in his blood sample?"

"If we can't find any problems in his blood sample, we can do something else. I'm waiting for the investigation's results," said Franklin.

"Is there any progress from the private investigation company?" Sebastian asked eagerly.

"Nothing. They even sent someone to pretend to be customers in Dai Li's training center, but they still found out nothing." Franklin sighed and continued, "You're now the head coach of the national team, so can you use your authority to help us."

"I see. There will be an assembly for training two days from now, and I will try to ask them some questions. Hopefully I can get some information." When Sebastian said this, he heard a knock at the door.

"Someone has come to visit me, so I need to go. Please let me know if you have any news." Sebastian hung up the phone eagerly.

The creation of personal biological information was an excuse, Sebastian just wanted to get the blood samples of Aylwin, Alexander, and Ford. As the head coach of the US team, Sebastian had the authority to do this.

In front of Franklin sat a man in his 60s with a long face and deep-set eye sockets. But the most obvious feature was his big aquiline nose, which resembled the nose of Penguin in a Batman movie.

When Sebastian talked with Franklin on the phone, it was obvious that he didn't know there was someone else in Franklin's room. If he had known, he would never have talked to Franklin, because they were talking about something that couldn't be overheard by others.

The only reason that Franklin let the man remain in the room was because the man was already an insider.

When Franklin put down the phone, and he immediately explained to the man, "That was a call from Sebastian. He has the blood sample, and it can be delivered today."

"As soon as the blood sample arrives, we can test it at once. I hope we can find some clues," the man with the aquiline nose said.

"I'll try to. But I couldn't find any problems in their urine samples, so I'm worried that we might not be able to find any problems in their blood samples either," said Franklin.

"Don't worry, just go ahead and do your job. And please remind the research firm not to stop their work; it might be crucial for finding other clues. I still have plan B," the aquiline nose said.

"As you wish, Mr. Blecher," Franklin answered.

If Sebastian had been in the room, he would have been very surprised when he saw the aquiline nose. And then Sebastian would have chosen to leave at once and stay away from the aquiline nose, and he would have chosen to terminate his contract with Franklin's Laboratory.

The name "Blecher" was well-known to sports coaches and athletes, and they weren't allowed have any contact with him.

Blecher was a scientist and the owner of a pharmaceutical company. And his nickname was "the father of prohormone."

Prohormone was a kind of synthetic metabolic hormone formed by enzymatic transformation in the body. Prohormone could increase the circumference and strength of muscle, reduce internal fat, and improve sexual function. Once they entered the body, they would be transformed into steroid analogues. For athletes, Prohormone was a kind of performance-enhancing drug.

Since he could be called "the father of Prohormone," then there was no doubt that he was the most senior expert in this field; what's more, he was a world-famous expert with many research achievements under his belt.

As a scientist, there was nothing wrong with engaging himself in the research of prohormone, but what Blecher had done has beyond the limits of ethical science.

During the cold war, the United States and the Soviet Union competed in politics, economics, military, science, and other fields, including sports. In order to achieve better scores, Athletes in both countries began to take various drugs, which resulted in the rapid development of performance enhancers drugs.

The International Olympic Committee launched a campaign against doping in 1968, but it didn't work. Especially in the 1980s, when doping was rampant among athletes, there were many incredible world records, and thanks to doping, some of them weren't even broken for a couple decades.

Blecher was active in that era, and when he was a doctor, his research project was prohormone. He even had patents on it.

After getting his PhD, Blecher turned down a number of offers from many pharmaceutical companies. He sold his patent, found some sponsors, and set up a small laboratory to continue his prohormone research.

Blecher's research went well, and he made numerous research advancements and gained more sponsors. In addition, his small laboratory became a big laboratory. His research in prohormone was highly valued by large-scale pharmaceutical companies, so he was paid a lot of patent royalties. Then Blecher started his own pharmaceutical company in the mid-nineties.

Blecher's excellent performance and research achievements earned him the title "the father of prohormone."

He was very famous at that time. His had his own research achievements, he had great fame and his pharmaceutical company, and it was obvious that he was a successful scientist. In addition, he often donated money everywhere with the aim of packaging himself as a philanthropist.

But great changes took place in 1990, when the World Anti-Doping Agency Council was established in Lausanne. And at the same time, the International Olympic Committee announced that it would provide the World Anti-Doping Agency with the full cost of doping control in the next two of three years. In 1999, the International Olympic Committee gave $2,500 to the World Anti-Doping Agency for anti-doping.

In 1999, $2,500 meant you could do many things; for example, setting up a special committee to take responsibility for out-of-competition drug tests, setting up a research group to research new types of drugs, and buying new equipment to upgrade the existing techniques of drug tests.

With the money given by the IOC, the World Anti-Doping Agency made several achievements. In 2000, many American athletes were found doping by the World Anti-Doping Agency, and some of them were former world champions and world record holders. It even alarmed the FBI.

Soon, the FBI found that the sudden deaths of some athletes in recent years had been related to the usage of performance-enhancing drugs. If athletes just used the drugs in competition, then it was only a moral problem that violated the fairness of the competition. But if there were many cases of deaths, then the situation was more serious than anyone had realized.

As the investigation of the FBI went further, Blecher became the focus of the FBI, and the truth began to surface. The FBI found that Blecher not only provided drugs to many athletes, but also provided them with drugs that had never gone through clinical trials. What's more, many kinds of drugs had shown obvious side effects in animal tests, but Blecher still provided them to athletes. This was also the cause of the sudden death of some athletes.

Apart from providing athletes with drugs, Blecher also collected athletes' body indicators as experimental data for his further research. It meant that he used the athletes as guinea pigs, which also equivalent to conducting human trials without any safety measures.

In recent years, Blecher's rapid progress in prohormone research had also benefited from his disregard of proper clinical trials. Other scientists conducted their research step by step, but Blecher ignored the safety of athletes and conducted his experiments on living athletes, which was definitely faster than normal research.

His behavior violated not only the law, but also the basic morality of human beings. It caused a great sensation in the US that year, and Blecher turned from a successful scientist into a person hated by everyone. He was suddenly facing legal punishment.

But the law is biased towards the rich in many cases, and a wealthy man such as Blecher could hire the best lawyers and find plenty of scapegoats. Most of the charges against Blecher ended up being untenable, and he was eventually sentenced to only six months in prison. But several coaches of the athletes who died were suddenly accused of manslaughter and forced to serve several years in prison.

After this, Blecher became a pariah in the eyes of coaches and athletes. His lack of morals allowed him to provide athletes with drugs that had not passed animal experiments, and the drugs he provided to these athletes were fatal. Although all athletes were eager to improve their performance, their lives were more important than performance.

Blecher was blacklisted by sports coaches and athletes, and even Sebastian, who provided drugs to athletes, would never be willing to contact Blecher or talk with him. Blecher's reputation was so terrible, if a coach had contact with him, then the coach would instantly become the target of the World Anti-Doping Agency, and his athletes, fearing for their health and lives, would choose to be far away.

But Franklin's Laboratory, which he had worked with for several years, was actually being sponsored by Blecher. If Sebastian had known that Franklin's Laboratory had always been sponsored by Blecher, he would never have dared to use any of the products of Franklin's Laboratory.

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Chapter 466: The Poor Investigator

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

The investigator, Andrew, came to Dai Li's training center once again. This time, however, his task was no longer to obtain the urine samples of athletes, but to investigate whether coaches here provided drugs to their athletes.

This time, he didn't pretend to be a plumber, but a client of the training center. After paying a great deal of training fees, he succeed in entering Dai Li's training center and beginning his training. Of course, he didn't use his real name, he gave himself a fake name: Jack Delmar.

After several days of investigation, Andrew didn't find anything unusual. All the training in Dai Li's training center was carried out on a regular basis. The coaches showed no signs of using illegal drugs. In a word, Andrew found nothing.

There was no progress in Andrew's investigation, so the client who commissioned Andrew began to urge him. Andrew knew that his previous measures hadn't worked, so he decided to take the initiative.

Chris Payton had become Dai Li's most useful assistant, as well as the core member of this training center. He even took responsibility for most of the high-end clients of this training center.

On that day, when Payton sent off his last client and was about to go to the locker room to change, he was suddenly stopped by a voice.

"Coach Payton! Just a moment, please."

Payton looked back immediately and recognized the man who called him. The man, Jack Delmar, was a new client at the training center. From the application materials, Payton knew that Delmar was a lawyer. Since he had a high salary, Payton had to get along with him.

For the sake of money, Payton stepped toward Delmar with a bright smile on his face and asked, "Mr. Delmar, what can I do for you?"

"Yes, I'd like to talk about my recent training with you." Andrew nodded.

"Well, let's go to the lounge," Payton said at once.

In the lounge, Payton made Andrew a cup of coffee personally, and asked, "Mr. Delmar, do you have any questions about the recent training, or any other requirements?"

Andrew nodded. "All of your coaches here are very professional, and I can feel that the training is pretty effective, but I think it's too slow."

"Too slow? You mean the training rhythm or the training time?" asked Payton.

"I mean the training effect. I want my abilities improved. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean that the training here is not good enough, I just want to have more results and faster progress," said Andrew.

"Mr. Delmar, physical training must be carried out on a regular basis. No training can be effective immediately, so if you want to get better results, you must persist for a long time," Payton explained.

"Coach Payton, I know what you said, I just want to know if there is a shortcut?" asked Andrew.

"There is no shortcut for physical training," Payton answered without hesitation.

"That's not necessarily true. I've heard that many athletes use some auxiliary methods to improve their performance." Andrew paused, lowered his voice and then said, "For example, drugs."

"I'm sorry, but we don't have those here." Payton shook his head.

"Mr. Payton, I just want better training results. If you can provide some effective drugs to me, I will certainly pay extra," Andrew continued.

"Mr. Delmar, we really don't have these drugs. As a coach, I don't want our athletes to use drugs. Doping has side effects, which can damage our health, and I don't want our clients to be harmed," Payton said seriously.

Andrew went on to ask, whine, and cajole. He almost put his credit card in Payton's face. But Payton insisted that the training center would never provide drugs to its clients.

Payton saw Andrew off at the door of the training center personally.

"Mr. Payton, are you free tonight? How about going for a drink with me?" Andrew still didn't give up. He wanted to find any connection that existed between the training center and doing, and he thought that a dining table might be a better opportunity.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Delmar, I still have work to do today. My boss has given me a lot of tasks recently, and I'm afraid I have to work late tonight," Payton said helplessly.

"That's a pity, let's go for a drink another time," Andrew said bye to Payton and turned away.

Just then, a black man walked into the door of the training center, and he met Andrew.

The man looked at Andrew with an expression of surprise, and Andrew immediately recognized the man. He was Shawn Ford, and Andrew had once been commissioned by others to obtain Ford's urine sample.

Oh no, will I be recognized? It's been a long time since I saw him last time, maybe Shawn has forgotten me. Well, no one is likely to remember the appearance of a plumber!

When Andrew thought of this, he pretended to be calm and stepped out of the door.

If Andrew was an ordinary plumber, Shawn Ford might not remember him. But Alexander had reminded him that Andrew was gay, which made Andrew very memorable to Shawn. So, when Ford saw him, he was a little bit nervous, and he recognized Andrew immediately.

No sooner had Andrew left than Ford walked over to Payton.

"Chris, who was that man?" asked Ford.

"New client," Payton said vaguely. He would not give away the information of his clients to anyone, including Shawn Ford, who he knew well.

"He's a client?" Ford was quite surprised, and he continued to ask, "Is there some sort of discount at the training center? Or a membership lottery?

"No, we never do that." Payton was a little bit confused. "Why do you ask?"

"I wondered how a plumber can afford such expensive training fees. Did he win the lottery?" Ford said.

"What did you say? He's not a plumber, he's a lawyer," answered Payton.

"A lawyer? Impossible, he's a plumber. When I was training in the athletic field, he came to repair the pipe for us when the pipe in the toilet was broken." Ford added, "I'm not kidding you. Justin saw him too, and he can confirm what I'm saying."

Ford's confidence made Payton feel that he wasn't lying, so he asked tentatively, "Could you have mistaken him?"

"Nope. He made an impression, because he was gay and he kept staring at my penis when I was urinating." Ford pointed at his lower body and added, "Justin told me that he had the same experience, and he kept looking at Justin while he was urinating. What normal person would do that?"

Payton looked very serious and said warily, "I don't know whether he is gay or not, but Jack Delmar's occupation is listed as "lawyer" in his application checklist. If he was a lawyer, why would he want to be plumber? But if he was a plumber, he could never afford such expensive training fees. So he must have secrets!"

"I don't know if he's a lawyer, but if he can afford such expensive training fees, he can't be a plumber!" said Ford.

"But why did he pretend to be a plumber?" Payton asked dubiously.

"It is obvious that he has some secrets!" Ford said seriously.

Payton glared at Ford with disdain, then suddenly thought of something.

"You said that he was gay, but maybe he's a psychopath, pretending to be a plumber to find targets in the male toilet? Once he found someone suitable, he would take action right now!" said Payton.

"Do not scare me! If what you say is true, then he has found the right target; a member of our training center! So he chose to come here to receive training! Oh my God, could it be me?" Payton unconsciously covered his *ss.

"Don't be scared. If he kept staring at your penis, it means he should be the passive one. Otherwise he would stare at your ass," said Payton.

"D*mn it, I'm not a gay! I have to keep away from him." Ford was so scared that cold sweat began to gather on his forehead.

Payton nodded sympathetically. "I have to keep away from him, too. He just now asked me to go to the bar with him tonight. I'm afraid that he wants to do something to me! Thank goodness I didn't promise him. By the way, I have to remind other coaches to be careful about him. His behavior of pretending to be a plumber showed he's not only gay, but also a psychopath."

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Chapter 467: Occupational Injury (Part 1 of 2)

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

Early the next morning, Payton called another coach to him in the coaches' locker room.

"Tom, is the new client, Jack Delmar, in your charge?" Payton asked.

The coach nodded. "Yes. He comes here frequently, and every time he stays in the training center for quite a long time. What's more, he is talkative and he always asks me something about our training center."

"Talkative? Just with you, or the same with others?" Payton asked.

"Mr. Delmar is very kind to others. He talks to anyone," he answered.

He is looking for a new target as expected! Payton nodded with worry.

Andrew had come as part of an investigation, so it was natural that he would ask for information as much as he could. Therefore, he talked to others frequently to get more useful information. However, Chris Payton had misunderstood his intentions and thought that he was looking for a gay lover.

"Coach Payton, is there anything wrong with Mr. Delmar?" Coach Tom asked.

"Yes, you should be careful with Jack Delmar. He is gay…" Payton said in a low voice.

Tom smiled and said indifferently, "Chris, I'm straight, but I don't discriminate against gays. After all, everyone has the freedom to pursue love."

"I didn't mean you discriminate against gays. I want to remind you that he is gay, and he is… well, a psychopath. He came here not for training, but for hunting love." Payton moved closer to Tom and told him about what happened to Ford and Alexander.

"Did you say that he pretended to be a plumber and lurked in the men's bathroom?"

Payton nodded. "Both Alexander and Ford met him, and I don't think they were lying to me!"Beside the water dispenser, Tom handed a bottle of water to his client and said, "Carrey, I just saw you talking with Delmar for quite a long time."

"Yeah, baseball. He's an Angels fan too," the client said.

"Well, I have to remind you that Delmar is special in terms of sexual orientation. Also, he has something wrong with his mentality," the coach said.

"You mean Delmar is gay and a psychopath?" The client was shocked.

"As a coach, I shouldn't disclose my clients' information, but considering we have known each other for such a long time, and we are friends… As your friend, I want to remind you that I don't want you to be in trouble. For a muscular man like you, you are likely to be his target!" the coach continued.

"Thank you, Tom. Don't worry, I'll be careful of him," the client said.

"And don't tell others I said so, or I'll lose my job."The training center lounge not only provided coffee and fruit juice but also fresh fruits for free, to help clients to regather strength after training.

Two clients had just ended their training and walked together into the lounge. One got himself a cup of coffee, while the other got some fruit.

"You know what, the lawyer Delmar is a gay!" one client said.

"Really? I talked with him yesterday! He didn't seem like a sissy," the other said.

"Not all gays are sissies!" the first client continued. "Besides, I heard that he is a psychopath."

"But he looks normal. He is a lawyer and he should be sane," the second client said.

"Of course you can't tell from his looks. Those perverts in the movies all look like good people, and most of them are doctors or lawyers in disguise." The first client continued to say, "Anyway, just stay away from him in case he finds you and plays some weird games with you!"As a saying goes, good things don't go out while bad ones spread far, which means that gossips spread quickly. Several days later, many people in the training center knew that new-comer Jack Delmar was a mentally-unstable homosexual.

Moreover, the rumor was growing quickly. Soon there were many versions of the story about Andrew.

Everyone had a different view of homosexuality. In Europe and the United States, a more inclusive society, many people with normal sexual orientations wouldn't discriminate against gays at all.

But it was different with psychopath. There were many criminal cases involving psychopathy in USA, and many directors adapted them into movies, which had brought them many awards. Therefore, people would exclude those psychopaths. Only psychologists wanted to deal with psychopaths. They might even take out a gun and kill you if what you said annoyed them.

A psychopathic gay was much more dangerous than psychopath. Anyone would stay away from them.At nine o'clock in the morning, Andrew came to the training center and started his investigation again.

"Morning, Chris!" Andrew greeted someone he knew.

"Hi." Seeing Andrew, he just responded politely and left quickly.

Why so quickly? Andrew was confused.

Andrew entered the equipment training room and saw another acquaintance, so he went to him.

"Phil, did you watch the hockey game yesterday? Predator defeated Jet 2 to 1!" Andrew said.

"Oh, I was busy with other things and didn't watch the game." After saying this, he suddenly took out his phone and said regretfully, "Sorry, Jack. I nearly forgot, I have a phonecall to make. Excuse me."

Then he turned around and left quickly.

So quickly. It seems to be urgent. Andrew shook his head and walked to the coach.

"Coach, shall we begin the training?" Andrew asked.

"Sure, no problem. Do some warm up's first as usual." The coach nodded.

"Stretch first? Yesterday the stretch was effective. It made my legs very relaxed." Andrew pointed to his legs.

However, the coach misunderstood him. He thought that Mr. Delmar was pointing to the important organ at the lower part of his body. Thinking of the rumor about Delmar recently, he suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"Mr. Delmar, wait a moment, I'll fetch my gloves," the coach said.

"You didn't wear gloves before when you stretched," Andrew said with confusion.

"Well, the training center has a new rule that in order to offer our clients better hygiene, the coach should wear gloves while stretching." After saying this, the coach ran quickly for gloves.

He thought in his mind that this Jack Delmar was a psychopathic gay, and that he must avoid skin-skin contact in case Delmar tried something immoral.Andrew clearly realized that it was totally weird today. He usually got along easily with others, and he could talk about anything.

But today, everyone he met in the training center was deliberately staying away from him. They would ask to leave before they could even start a conversation.

What happened? Why do I think everyone is staying away from me? It can't go on like this. How can I get information if no one talks to me?

Andrew was confused and depressed. He had become acquainted with others over his time in the training center, and he had thought that he could get information about the drugs based through these connections. But suddenly, no one would speak to him.

What should I do? Continue or find another way? Andrew considered with his head lowered.

At this time, a big hand appeared on Andrew's shoulder.

"Hi Jack! You're done with your training courses today, right?"

Andrew turned around and saw a tall white man, nearly two meters in height and about 125 kg in weight, with long hair and strong muscles. He looked like a brown bear.

Andrew knew this guy. He was William Wood, a professional wrestler.

After a long day of being shunned by others, it was rare to get someone who wanted to talk to him. Andrew felt excited and said sincerely, "Yes. How about you, William?"

"Me too." William Wood smiled and asked, "You want to go for a drink?"

The wrestler has stayed here for quite a long time. I heard he has won five times in a row recently. Maybe he knows something about the drug. And I can get something from him. Thinking of this, Andrew nodded immediately. "Sure, let's go. I'll change my clothes."

"See you at the gate. I know a great bar!" Wood winked at Andrew.In the bar, the singer was half-naked, hanging his guitar from his bare shoulder. The song was slow and his voice was soft also.

Not many people were there in the bar, whether whispering to each other or drinking alone.

A great bar? Too quiet. No atmosphere at all! Besides, everyone here is male, not a single woman! Looking around, Andrew complained in his mind. If it wasn't for getting information from Wood, he would never come to such a place.

The bartender knew Wood and when he saw Wood, he greeted him warmly.

"William, you brought a new friend here, aha?" His voice was high and effeminate.

"Yes, my new friend, a lawyer!" Wood said with a smile.

"Lawyer!" The effeminate bartender looked at Andrew and said to Wood, "William, you are so lucky to find such a handsome lawyer friend!"

Andrew didn't notice how the effeminate bartender stressed the word "friend."

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Chapter 468: Occupational Injury (Part 2 of 2)

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

After a few drinks, Wood seemed a little drunk and he began to talk more.

Andrew also drank a lot. He felt dizzy, but he had to keep drinking in order to get useful information from Wood.

Several rounds later, Wood was drunk and in a daze.

Andrew felt it was the right time and he asked, "You've been in the Coach Li's Training Center for quite a while. What do you think of the training results there?"

"Very good. I've won five times in a row recently!" Wood answered.

"Did the coach give you some special training?" Andrew pretended to ask him casually.

"Every coach differs from others in terms of training. Everyone is special, so there is nothing special at all," said Wood.

Leaning forward and lowering his voice, Andrew asked, "I mean whether you have gotten something exciting."

"Exciting?" Wood asked softly, glancing at Andrew with interest. "In what way?"

"For example, take or inject something and energize the body or excite the spirit!" Andrew said.

He didn't mention the word doping, but he felt that his implication was clear.

However, Wood, who seemed to be drunk, just watched Andrew and his look made Andrew feel a little guilty. He didn't know whether Wood understood his implication or not.

Minutes later, Wood suddenly sighed and asked, "Do you like that stuff, too? That can excite you, aha?"

"Me? Yes, sure! Absolutely I like it. Well, do you actually use it?" Andrew asked immediately.

"Well, I admit it. I use it occasionally!" Wood nodded.

Finally, I get the clue of the drug! Andrew couldn't be happier in his mind now.

Wood continued, "Besides some by injection or orally, there is something for external use."

External use? I've never heard of a drug that can used externally! Is this the new drug my client asked me to investigate? Andrew was overjoyed now.

As Andrew was wondering how to get more information from Wood, Wood lowered his voice and asked, "Jack, do you want a try?"

How lucky I am! If I can get some samples of the new drug, my investigation this time will be a success!

Thinking of this, Andrew nodded immediately and agreed without any hesitation, "I'd love to try it. Do you have it now?"

"Sure, in my house," Wood said, with a smile on his face.

"You mean, you use it at home?" Andrew asked him with surprise.

"Of course. I am a professional wrestler, a kind of public figure. I definitely can't use it in public." Wood paused and continued, "Jack, don't sell me out!"

"Don't worry, William. I won't tell anyone about this!" Andrew promised to him. He would swear to God if needed.Wood lived on a nice block and his house was on the hillside, where it was quiet with few people.

No wonder I didn't find a clue even after I investigated so many days in the training center. It turns out that these athletes don't use the new drug in the training center, but in their homes. Therefore, if it is exposed, it is only the athletes who would get in trouble, and the training center would appear to have nothing to do with it. Coach Li is smart! Andrew thought in his mind.

They two entered the living room. Wood pointed to the sofa and motioned Andrew to sit down and asked, "You want to something to drink, Jack? Whisky? Or brandy?"

"I just drank enough. I can't drink anything more." Shaking his head, Andrew then asked, "Where is the stuff you mentioned? Right here?"

"You're so hurried!" Wood said. "Well, I'll take you there. Just in the attic."

It is really secretly hidden! Andrew thought, and followed Wood upstairs to the attic.

The attic was so dark that they couldn't see anything.

"I'll go turn on the light!" said Wood as he walked to the corner of the room. Andrew heard the door close and the light above his head flipped on.

All of a sudden, the whole room became a blaze of color, with several kinds of colors constantly changing on the wall. It wasn't a regular incandescent light, but a rotating colorful one.

The next moment, Andrew's eyes finally adapted to the colorful light and he could clearly see what was before him.

It was a bed with four handcuffs attached to its four corners. Right above the bed were several iron chains.

Aside from that, some strange stuff was hung on the walls, like a collar with small steel nails, a whip with little thorns, a headcase with only eyes and mouth exposed, black cord for binding, a ball with a neck collar, and other gadgets.

Andrew looked a little embarrassed suddenly. He was smart enough to know what the stuff was used for.

"William, are we in the wrong room?" asked Andrew self-consciously.

"No, right here. You want to try something exciting? Here it is. I can assure you. You'll be absolutely excited!" Pointing to all the props on the walls, Wood continued, "I have an oral philter here, but I don't think we need that thing."

"We? Wait, William. Did you misunderstand me?" Andrew felt something wrong and he explained hurriedly, "I meant the drug! The drug for athletes!"

"My stuff works better than drugs! I know you like this stuff…" Wood said with a wicked smile.

"What? I like these things? Sh*t! Where did you hear that?" Andrew shouted.

"Well, don't deny it. Nearly everyone in the training center knows it. Jack, we are the same people! You like to be passive, but I like to be active. We are so matched! Come on. Don't waste time…" said Wood.

"We are not the same people!" Now Andrew knew that there wasn't any new drug at all. Wood misunderstood his reference to drugs. Wood thought Andrew was talking about a philter.

Meanwhile, Andrew also realized that William Wood was a psychopathic gay, who liked BDSM.

But it was too late now. Wood just pounced on him.

Surely, Andrew would not surrender to him. He wanted to defend his butt. However, Wood was a professional wrestler. Hard as Andrew tried, he couldn't escape from Wood.

All was over, so was someone's *ss…Andrew limped along the road, with his hands on his butt.

Ordinary people would like to sleep, eat, and play in a day, but Andrew became the one who was beaten and slept.

What happened last night was terrible, but Andrew still didn't know why that psychopath Wood had found him.

I'm just an investigator. I just want to investigate the drug. Why did this0 happen to me! Being an investigator is becoming high-risk work! Ouch! My butt hurts… Occupational injury! It's an occupational injury! I need to apply for compensation for occupational injury!

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Chapter 469: Missions Failed

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

The US National Track and Field Team held its first intensified training in Eugene, the capital of track and field.

In the afternoon, the main track of the field had been cleared out to hold the men's 400-meter test match.

In addition to three Olympians and one substitute, the other four were all training partners, but they would've been strong enough to participate in the Olympic Games in other countries.

You could find high-level training partners in nearly all track events, especially in Eugene, the capital of track and field. Besides, these training partners were willing to train with the national athletes.

Aylwin was standing on the best track, with an unstoppable momentum. Although it was just an unimportant training match, the king of the 400-meter event showed his momentum without any hesitation.

Both the competitors and training partners looked at Aylwin with admiration. For the 400-meter athletes, this training match was also a process of pursuing a star. It would also be a literal pursuit, because Aylwin would definitely be in first place.

The US coaching group were talking about Aylwin beside the field.

"Aylwin's performance has been really good since he returned. I think he seems to be the same as before," said one coach.

"I think if there is a comeback player of the year award, it must belong to Aylwin. He certainly has a chance at the Olympic championship this time. Four Olympic championships in a row. It's really exciting," another coach responded.

"He is 34 years old, yet he is as strong as a young man in his twenties! I don't know how he kept it," said the third coach.

"Genius is genius. We ordinary people will never understand it. I got my beer belly when I was 34." The first coach patted his belly.

"Personal factors are important, but the coach's training is also significant. That kind of training must be very reasonable and effective to make a 34-year-old athlete fresh again. Do you know where Aylwin trained after coming back?" asked the second coach.

"You must have heard of Aylwin's coach. His name is Dai Li, the Chinese coach in Los Angeles," answered the first coach.

The second coach nodded. "It's him! So he's Aylwin's coach too!"

"Too? There's an athlete other than Aylwin under his training?" asked the first coach.

"Justin Alexander and Shawn Ford," responded the second coach.

"Alexander had been suspended for years and his condition is similar to Alexander, but he is younger than Aylwin. He also returned back to his peak time not long after coming back. It seems that Dai Li is an expert in helping those athletes who haven't played games for a long time to come back," the third coach commented.

"What I'm concerned is that all three have the possibility of winning Olympic gold medals judging from their results. That will be awesome if they all could win championships! There are only a few gold medals in track events, right? It's incredible to cultivate one Olympian, but he might have three in just one Olympic Games!" The first coach heaved a deep sigh.

"That's impossible. You know how hard it is to win a championship. If that Chinese coach could make it, then he is definitely the best track coach in the United States!" said the second coach.

But the first shook his head. "Not only in the US; in the world!"

"Hush! You two keep your voices down in case Sebastian…" the third one reminded them.In the meeting room, a group of coaches were sitting around a table. Like Sebastian, they were all recruited by the USA Track and Field to take charge of different events.

Kevin, the vice coach of the US national team who presided over the meeting, waved a sheet of paper and said, "We have held training matches for three days consecutively, and the results are in your hands. The results of the training match basically reflect the real level of the athletes."

"Our scientific research group has input all the results into a computer and compared the statistics with our counterparts in other countries. The comparison had calculated the probability of each athlete of winning gold, silver, and bronze medals in the Olympic Games. Look at page two. Here is the result of the comparison."

"Surely, the computer's calculation can't be taken seriously, considering the many variables in real races. However, the calculation results can be regarded as a reference indicator, which can help us see more clearly and intuitively in which events we might win medals. Today we'll discuss the probability of the various results. Begin with the 100-meter dash!"

They all looked down at the papers in their hands. One coach who was in charge of sprint frowned as he said, "I think the probability of winning is too small generally. Taking Warton as an example, his probability is only 12.5%. We know that his best result now is within 9.80 seconds, which means that he surely can win the championship now since Kittell retired. How could his chance only be 12.5%! The same with Alexander. He is only 12.8%, higher than Warton, but we all know he lost to Warton in the qualification trial. Besides in the three practice matches, Alexander won only once while Warton twice. I don't think the result is reasonable."

Kevin listened to what he said and explained, "The first thing you said is about the low probability calculated by the computer. According to the calculation, all the athletes put together have one hundred percent chance of winning the championship, so the figure will be small for each athlete. But if we add all three probabilities of our runners, the figure is greater than 33.3%, which means that the US will have a one in three chance of winning the gold medal."

"As for the second point, about Alexander's winning probability being higher than Warton's. The fact is that during the data collection, the statistics of athletes' experience and honor also will be included. Alexander has attended many international games, including Olympic Games. He has more experience than Warton. Therefore, the winning probability of Warton is smaller than Alexander in comparison."

After hearing Kevin's explanation, the sprint coach shook his head soon and said, "That's not true either. Shawn Ford's winning probability is 18.1% in 200-meter sprint. That's too high! As far as I'm aware, Ford only attended one World Championship, and no other international competitions. Both Mayer and Foster have richer international experience than him, so why are their probabilities still lower than his?"

Kevin continued to explain, "It's because Ford's most recent three practice matches were so excellent! Three times were all within 19.90 seconds. His state can't be better now. Especially since he is much faster than others during the first bend."

"This result is a half second slower than Kittell in his peak, but it's fast enough. Since Kittell retired, the level of sprint events has declined a lot in the world, especially the 200-meter event with few games and specialized competitors. All the champion results last year were over 20 seconds. Even a 20.10-second result would have won the world championship. Considering this, Shawn Ford definitely has more probability of winning now."

"How about Aylwin? 55%? His winning probability is higher than all the other competitors put together, right?" that coach asked at once.

But Kevin smiled and asked him instead, "Don't you think Aylwin could win the fourth championship consecutively? I'd say 55% is too small."

That coach didn't know how to respond. There was no doubt that Jimmy Aylwin was the most promising athlete in the national team this year. As the king of the 400-meter event, Aylwin's state now was as good as it had been four years ago. Winning the fourth Olympic championship consecutively had become a national consensus.Leaning back in his chair, Sebastian wasn't listening to the discussion of the other coaches, but was thinking of something else entirely.

So many days have passed, but why there is no any new information from Franklin's Lab? The Olympic Games will begin soon!

Sebastian looked at the report in his hands. The probabilities of the report made him so anxious.

Aylwin, Alexander, and Ford—they are all still in a good state. If they remain that way, they will all probably win gold medals. The Olympic championship! D*mn it! How did Dai Li get such a kind of powerful drug? If I had it, I certainly could create an army of world champions!

I can't wait on Franklin's Lab now. I have to take the initiative instead of waiting so passively! Whether or not it works, I must talk to these three athletes. Maybe I can get some information about the new drug if I am lucky.Mission: Gather information about the new drug.

Target one: Justin Alexander.

Sebastian walked up to Alexander with a big smile.

"Hey Justin, nice day today, right?" Sebastian greeted Justin blandly.

Alexander just snorted without saying anything and turned away as soon as he saw Sebastian.

After all, the two were at odds.

Mission failed!Target two: Shawn Ford.

Sebastian walked up to Ford with a big smile.

"Hey! Shawn, nice day today, right?" The same corny greeting.

"Hi, Coach Sebastian. Today is nice for exercise," Ford said politely.

"Shawn, how's your recent training? Is there anything you're unaccustomed to?" Sebastian asked again.

Ford shook his head. "No, I'm used to training here."

"Actually, I'm curious about why you have made such fast progress recently? I know you just performed so-so in recent years until several months ago. There must be some unique training method, right?" asked Sebastian.

"Yeah, I have received some different training." Ford nodded.

"Really? What kind of training?" Sebastian asked, full of expectation.

"Well…" Suddenly Ford remembered that Dai Li urged him before to never disclose the fact that he changed his way of running.

Therefore, Ford said, "That's a secret!"

"Secret? What secret?" Sebastian immediately asked.

"Surely a secret that cannot be told." Ford smiled simply. "Many athletes have their own unique skills. That's a secret!"

Sebastian was being stalled by a simple-minded Ford, but he didn't give up. He continued to ask, "What kind of nutrition and health care products do you use? Fish oil, vitamins, protein powder, or lycopene?"

Sebastian wanted Ford to reveal some information about the new drug, but Ford shook his head, "I don't use those things."

"You don't? Probably not?" Sebastian didn't believe this answer.

However, Ford seemed to have something to say.

Well! Maybe I can get some useful information! Thinking of this, Sebastian lowered his voice and said, "Did you use some niche brand products or special nutritional products? Trust me, you can tell me. I am your coach and we have the same goal, to win the Olympic gold medal. So we are brothers, you can trust me completely!"

"Okay!" Ford sighed, looking embarrassed, and he lowered his voice. "Those special nutritional products for athletes are expensive. I haven't got any good results recently. Without regular income, I even need to do part-time work to support myself sometimes. The usual training is expensive, so I can't afford those nutritional products."

Can't afford… Well… Sebastian suddenly got frustrated. He never thought of such an answer.

Mission failed again!Target three: Jimmy Aylwin.

Sebastian walked to Aylwin with a big smile.

"Hey! Jimmy, nice day today, right?" Also the same greeting.

"Coach Sebastian! What's up?" Obviously Aylwin wasn't as polite as Ford, for he was a legendary athlete.

"Nothing important. I just want to know your recent training," said Sebastian.

"Everything is okay, the same as before," Aylwin answered.

"Actually, I'm curious about why you became so successful after coming back? To be honest, I never thought that you could run as fast as a young man in the twenties since you are 34 years old now. I have never seen such a condition since I became a coach. You really surprised me! I guess you must have used some very special training methods to return back to such a good state, right?" Sebastian said as he watched Aylwin's face intently. He wanted to find some clues.

To Sebastian's disappointment, Aylwin's face didn't change at all.

Aylwin said, "Actually, there is no special training. I think it has something to do with my good maintenance. Many athletes don't keep working out hard after retirement, so they lose their shape quickly. I am different. Even after my retirement, I still played sports for two to three hours a day."

Aylwin's response was exactly the same as what he gave in the journalist's interview, not even changing a word. However, it was a perfunctory answer to Sebastian.

Sebastian was certainly unhappy with the answer, and he asked again, "Did you use any dietary supplements? Like fish oil, vitamins, protein powder or lycopene…"

"I seldom use those things, and I mainly rely on getting nutrition from food. My nutritionist changes my diet every week, and I have a special chef for this." Then Aylwin continued, "As for this point, I have some suggestions. I hope the national team can have more vegetables in their food. I mean the variety, not the quantity. Like the lunch today, we only had salad for vegetables, and there are lots of mangoes and strawberries in it. There are not many real vegetables."

"Additionally, I suggest they should supply boiled eggs for athletes, which are boiled directly in water. Although they don't taste that great, they can provide more absorbent proteins. Now we only have omelets in our dining hall, and it's too thin, which allows the eggs to absorb too much oil. It's too greasy for me. As a track and field athlete, I shouldn't eat something so greasy, but I have to because I need protein."

"What's more, we don't have whole grain bread in the dining hall. Milk also contains too much fat. It's more than 2%. Besides, there are so many varieties of red meat, while the varieties of white meat are so few. You know, the saturated fatty acid content in red meat is 3%, while in white meat it is less than 10%. The throwers may need more red meat to maintain their strength, but we sprinters need white meat."

"And I think our dining hall should provide almond tablets…"

"And I'll say something about the training. Our fitness training room actually opens at 8:30am and closes at 5:00pm. It's too short. You know we are basically doing outdoor training during this time. When we need to use the training room, it's closed."

"And about the training partners…"

"By the way, about the coach's training plan…"

"Coach Sebastian, next let me give you a little bit of personal advice…"

Sebastian nodded helplessly as he listened.

Other athletes wouldn't dare talk to the chief coach of the US track team. But Aylwin was different. He was a legendary athlete. Since his status and position in sports was much higher than Sebastian's, Aylwin was well qualified to advise the chief coach of national team.

"Well, that's it for the moment! It's getting late. Coach Sebastian, I need to train now." Aylwin finally ended giving his tips and turned away, leaving Sebastian standing there still.

I came here for information, not for suggestions! He just listed dozens of suggestions, huh? Is he the chief coach or am I the chief coach?

Mission failed for the third time!

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Chapter 470: Toast or Forfeit?

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

Blecher, the famous father of prohormone, was sitting in his office, looking at the latest quarterly financial statements.

The situation was not optimistic. His company's loss increased again during the last quarter.

In industrial production, quantitative change would cause qualitative change. In any industrial product, the cost of production would be reduced as long as it was produced in enough quantity, and the same was true with drugs. The per unit costs of producing one million pills and one hundred million pills were totally different. If nothing else, the costs of research and development, shared evenly across one million pills and one hundred million pills, would create a hundredfold difference.

Mass production always belonged to big pharmaceutical groups. Small pharmaceutical companies like Blecher's were different from them. They couldn't mass produce drugs. In terms of producing the same drug, the cost of small company like Blecher's would be much higher, which would be less competitive in the market.

Therefore, Blecher's pharmaceutical company made money mainly by producing a small number of special-interest patented drugs. These drugs were profitable, but with less demand, so big companies would not set up a production line for it. What's more, research and development costs were also needed in drug production. A single drug would sometimes require several patents. Therefore, it was not worthwhile for big companies to invest precious resources into this type of development.

This also gave small pharmaceutical companies like Blecher's enough space to survive. In fact, Blecher did have some advantages, for he had plenty of patents. His pharmaceutical company only produced the drugs, of which the patent was contained by him, which also could save a lot in patent costs for his company.

Blecher had actually studied the subjects of these patents in the 1990s, when he was a scientist specializing in the study of prohormones. At that time, he performed experiments on athletes immorally, and he quickly made impressive achievements. He also succeeded in turning these achievements into economic gains.

During the last decade, Blecher didn't get any notable research results. Blecher had been removed from the science community because of his human experiment scandal. His reputation was so bad that nobody would talk to him. Even the lowest-level researcher would not be willing to work with Blecher.

No matter how great Blecher was, he couldn't operate the whole lab. As the saying goes, one can't make brick without straw. Therefore, Blecher had to shut his lab, stop scientific research, and manage his pharmaceutical company intently.

Blecher was indeed a genius. His company soon became famous just relying on the savings in patent costs.

But in recent years, Blecher had encountered a problem.

The patent protection duration for an invention was 20 years in America, but Blecher's patents were basically all received in the 1990s. Now his patents would expire soon, which meant that other pharmaceutical companies could produce the same drugs and ignore Blecher's patent.

Blecher could outshine others in the market with his patents, but now he lost his advantage. With more and more competitors, the price would fall sharply. Blecher's pharmaceutical company had no advantage in production cost, which naturally would cause a huge loss.

Blecher hadn't performed any new research for years, so his company hadn't launched any new products, which directly put Blecher's company in trouble. This was really successful for patent and failed for patent too.

Naturally, Blecher would not just wait and do nothing. He wouldn't let his years of effort be lost. He had to save himself. The best way to save himself was obviously to launch a new product. However, in pharmaceutical production, a new product undoubtedly meant a great deal of research.

In recent years, Blecher had been secretly funding many biological labs. Although he was removed from the scientific community, that didn't mean other scientists would refuse him when he could provide funding. No matter how high a scientist's integrity was, he still had to eat. No one wouldn't need money.

People would beat a rat in the street, but if the rat carried carats of diamonds, the first reaction would not be to beat the rat, but to lure the rat and take the diamonds.

Unfortunately, all the labs funded by Blecher didn't achieve any research results he wanted.

It was true for scientific research. You couldn't always get payback on your work. It was common to gain nothing after huge investments.

When Blecher felt hopeless, a message from Franklin's Lab rekindled Blecher's hope.

A new drug appeared!

As the father of prohormone, Blecher knew what a new drug meant. Blecher had become a multimillionaire just for studying prohormone and its derivatives years ago. If a new drug existed, it would probably mean hundreds of millions of dollars.

The main purpose of a drug was not its use for athletes, but the biotechnology behind it. Maybe it was a new synthetic technology, or a new extraction technology and hundreds of derivatives. If there only existed one derivative for pharmacy, it would bring huge wealth.

Blecher believed that if he could get that new drug, he could make a comeback. Not only could he save his company, he could also make a lot of money.

According to Franklin's Lab, the new drug was owned by a Chinese coach.

Therefore, Blecher started to investigate Dai Li and his training center, but several months later, he still got nothing for all his efforts and the huge amount of money he had paid. The research company he hired couldn't find any clue, and Franklin's Lab didn't find anything useful in the athletes' samples either.

Blecher had thought that there was no new drug at all, and that Franklin's Lab and Coach Sebastian had made a mistake. The fact that an athlete regained his competitive state from his youth might just be a special case.

However, one athlete after another became powerful again and showed world-class performance after Dai Li's training, which meant it wasn't just a special case. It also made Blecher believe the existence of such a new drug. What's more, he was more certain that the new drug was his only hope.Looking at the quarterly financial statements and the loss figures on it, Blecher felt his heart bleeding. If the loss continued, his company would go bankrupt soon.

Franklin's Lab received so much funding from me, but they couldn't even detect the new drug. They were so unreliable at the critical moment. And that Coach Sebastian is also unreliable. Although he is the chief coach of the national team, I don't think he can get that new drug from the athletes.

It seems that I should rely on myself! Blecher heaved a deep sigh. He put down the financial statements and started to consider carefully.

The athletes who used the drug must be insiders. But they just use it passively, and the initiative is held by the supplier of the drug, which means that Chinese Coach Dai Li is the core leader of this event.

Therefore, it's just a waste of time and vigor to investigate those athletes. I'd better contact Coach Li directly. Maybe I just complicated this before. I might as well give the money to Coach Li directly rather than spend money and time on hiring a research company. It's much simpler to buy it directly!The girl at the reception desk stopped Dai Li as soon as he entered the gate.

"Boss, there is a Mr. Derrickson calling to make an appointment to see you," said the girl.

"Derrickson?" Dai Li thought carefully and went on, "I don't know him. Is he an athlete? Does he want to train here?"

"According to Mr. Derrickson's self-introduction, he is not an athlete but a representative of a pharmaceutical company," responded the girl.

"For nutrition promotion again? Hand it to Randy. He negotiates the products." Obviously Dai Li was not interested in representatives of a pharmaceutical company.

"I have informed Mr. Blake, and he also spoke with Mr. Derrickson by phone. But Mr. Derrickson wanted to see you," continued the girl.

Dai Li nodded. "Well, make an appointment for me."Only Derrickson and Dai Li were in the reception room of the training center.

Derrickson pushed a check to Dai Li and said, "Coach Li, please don't refuse it so quickly. Look at the check first. We are very sincere."

With a glimpse of the seven-digit figure on the check, Dai Li was shocked.

This pharmaceutical company is really willing to spend money, Dai Li thought.

"Many people will not earn so much in their whole lives," Derrickson said. "Coach Li, you only need to give me ten grams of that new drug that you have. This check is yours. I will never disclose the deal between us after leaving here. You don't need to take any risk."

Dai Li sighed reluctantly. "I've told you, we don't have any illicit drugs here, and I've never used a drug on athletes."

Derrickson, however, ignored Dai Li's explanation and kept saying, "It seems that you aren't satisfied with the figure on the check. How about this. You just offer your price, and I will see if I have the right to accept. Even if it is beyond my authority, I will report it to my boss. We can negotiate the price."

"I really don't have anything here you want. I repeat again, I've never used any illicit drugs," Dai Li explained again.

"Coach Li, my boss is really sincere. If you don't think it proper to talk about the price directly, we can also discuss about the matter of sharing. You give the new drug to us and we'll take the research. If we achieve the patent and turn it into money, we can give you a bonus. Coach Li, this is the last concession we can make," Derrickson said with an honest face.

Did I speak in English just now? He doesn't seem to understand what I said. It's like casting pearls before swine. Dai Li didn't think he could communicate with Derrickson normally. He already had the intention to see him off.Derrickson walked out of Dai Li's training center with an unhappy look on his face. He took out his cell phone and dialed Blecher's number.

Soon Blecher was on the line. "How's it going?"

"He refused it," said Derrickson.

"Why? Did you tell him all our offers?" Blecher asked at once.

"Yes, I did. He refused everything, including the matter of profit sharing," responded Derrickson.

"Isn't our offer high enough? This guy is too greedy! What on earth does he want?" Blecher asked angrily.

"He didn't quote a price at all. He just refused it directly," said Derrickson.

"He isn't willing to talk about it, right?" Blecher became angrier. He repressed his anger and asked in a low voice, "Did you tape your conversation?"

"According to your instructions, I taped all the conversations. However, unlike our previous plan, Dai Li has always denied using drugs. So there is nothing substantive in the recording. We can't threaten him with the recording." Derrickson went on, "Unless we edit the recording."

"That doesn't work. With today's technology, a computer only needs one second to identify whether a recording is edited or not." Blecher heaved a deep sigh and continued, "Forget it. Come back first. I'll see what else I can do."

Putting down his cell phone, Blecher sat alone in his executive chair.

In Blecher's view, his offer was high enough.

If Dai Li wanted cash, Blecher directly offered a seven-digit figure and indicated that it was also negotiable.

If he wanted long-term income, Blecher offered revenue sharing of the research results, which was even unavailable for research scientists.

Blecher had thought that with such a good offer, Dai Li absolutely would accept it and give him the new drug. However, he just refused and stated that he didn't own any new drug at all.

I thought the worst result would be that he would ask a price so high I couldn't accept, then I would threaten him with the recording to force him to lower his price. I didn't expect that he wouldn't admit it at all. He just closed the door of the negotiation. That is to say, there is nothing to talk about. You just refused a toast only to drink a forfeit. You push me to take plan B.

Blecher's eyes were cold suddenly.

The next second, Blecher stood up and walked to the wall.

An oil painting was hung on the wall. Blecher took it down, revealing the safe behind it. Blecher input the password and used his fingerprint to unlock it. The safe behind it opened with a click.

Blecher took out a small card, which contained a phone number on it.

Blecher took a deep breath and dialed the number on it.

The phone connected quickly.

"Hi, Leon, this is Blecher. As I mentioned to you last time, I need a few men and one expert in interrogation."

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Chapter 471: Kidnapping

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

Randy Blake was kind of addicted to cigars lately. After lunch every day, Blake would get himself a cup of coffee, light a cigar, and sit quietly in the lounge, enjoying a moment of leisure.

Blake, after all, was the training center's Number Two, so few people would disturb him except Dai Li.

Dai Li came into the lounge, holding an extra-large tea cup with Chinese big-leaf tea in it. Dai Li had developed this habit in the Chinese domestic training team, where many coaches got a large tea cup with a handful of big tea leaves and enjoyed it the whole afternoon.

"Hi Dai Li, I heard you saw Derrickson. What did he want?" Blake puffed at his cigar and went on, "That guy didn't say what he wanted, just that he wanted to see you. I don't think he just came here to promote products, right?"

"He didn't come here to promote products, but to give me money. Really generous. He put a seven-digit check in front of me," said Dai Li with a smile.

"Did he come for training? A seven-digit check? Our training fee is not cheap, but it's not that expensive! What position does a pharmaceutical representative have within the company, exactly? Is he from a super-rich family?" Blake asked several questions in succession.

"He wasn't here for training. He wasn't some rich guy. He came here to buy something," said Dai Li.

"What can we sell him? The most advanced training equipment here is not worth that kind of money. Maybe he wants to buy the whole stadium? That's what real estate agents do. But this guy is just the pharmaceutical company's representative," Blake said with curiosity.

Dai Li put down his large tea cup and said unwillingly, "He wants to buy a drug."

"Drug? We don't have anything like that. I guess Derrickson must have something wrong with his mind," said Blake.

"He firmly believes that we have a new drug." Dai Li shrugged his shoulders. "I explained to him many times that we have never used illicit drugs here, but he just didn't believe me. At last, I really had no more to explain to him, so I sent him away. He seemed to be indignant when he went out."

"This guy isn't a journalist, pretending to be someone else and trying to trick you into something, is he?" Blake sat up straight and looked serious. He continued to say, "You didn't say any words that might be used against you, right? If he was indeed a journalist, he probably taped your conversation secretly."

Dai Li recalled the details of their conversation, then shook his head. "I don't think there should be any problem. My response was not perfect, but I didn't say anything against myself."

"That's good." Blake gave a heavy sigh. "To be honest, I would also have suspected you of doping the athletes if I hadn't seen you train them with my own eyes."

"Is it because of Aylwin's successful comeback?" asked Dai Li.

"Aylwin is just one of them. All three of them, along with Alexander and Ford, are back to their peak performance. And a little while ago, after being trained by you, Kevin Taylor even performed better than when he was young," answered Blake.

"Taylor was different. Coach Ayres also did a lot," Dai Li said modestly.

"Ayres was only be responsible for technical guidance and developing tactics, but you took care of the physical training." Blake took a heavy puff on his cigar and went on. "However, it also reminds me that we should be careful in case other people try to do something bad for us. I'll tell the security company later to install more surveillance cameras in our training center."Blecher entered his company with a black suitcase.

His secretary said at once, "Boss, a Mr. Leon said he had an appointment with you and now is waiting for you in the reception room."

"Yes, I did. I'll head there right now." Blecher walked towards the reception room, but he turned back halfway and said to the secretary, "From now on, nobody can enter my reception room without my permission."

"Yes, boss." The secretary suddenly thought of something and asked with his voice lowered, "Boss, one more thing. What about the man we caught last night?"

"Didn't you lock him up?" Blecher frowned and asked.

"Yes, in the storeroom, but we can't keep him in that way all the time! Should we turn him over to the police?" asked the secretary.

"If we needed to do so, we would have done it last night. Why it would have to wait until now? When we caught him, we didn't send him to the police but locked him up privately. That's false imprisonment. Therefore, we can't turn him over to the police," said Blecher coldly. "Just wait. I'll tell you what to do later."

With these words he entered the reception room with the black suitcase.

On the sofa in the reception room sat a man with black hair, who looked very fierce. The long scar on his face made everyone look away from him.

"Long time no see, Leon," Blecher greeted him.

Leon didn't make any kind of response but asked directly, "Have you got the money?"

"It's all here. Count it." Blecher placed the black suitcase in front of Leon and opened it. Inside were piles of cash.

Seeing the stacks of bills in it, Leon's eyes were burning. He took out an ultraviolet fluorescence detector and began to test the authenticity of the money.

"Don't worry. It's all real. By the way, the fact that you never accept check or transfer of account is really inconvenient for me. I need to make an appointment at the bank in advance to get cash, and then I need to walk around with so much money," Blecher complained.

As he counted the money, Leon said, "Since we are doing dirty work, receiving cash is the safest thing. If the money went into a bank account, the police might watch us. We don't want to be caught by the police."

"Without bank account transactions, you don't even need to pay taxes. I really envy you," said Blecher with a smile.

"The money is good." Leon closed the suitcase and continued, "I've found an interrogation expert for you. He is a Colombian illegal immigrant and worked for a Colombian drug trafficker before. He knows not only techniques of interrogation, but also skills in torture. My men are ready now. When do you want to begin?"

"The sooner the better," said Blecher.

"Well, I'll go back now and tell my men what to do." Leon picked up the suitcase and stood up to leave.

"Wait a moment!" Blecher stopped Leon and continued, "It's not because I don't trust you, but I want to see if the interrogator is really worthy of his name. I want to test him first."

"How?" asked Leon.

"Last night, I caught a guy sneaking into the lab. He isn't an ordinary thief, because he was sneaking into our computer control room, where there were many core secrets. Therefore, I concluded that he was a commercial spy who was dedicated to stealing business intelligence. I didn't send him to the police, because if I did so, he would be released on bail soon, at best for trespassing or theft."

Blecher continued, "but I want to know who sent him here and what he wanted from me. Thus, I'm going to hand this man over to you and the interrogator. I think he can help me find the answer, right?"

"No problem. Give me the spy, and you'll know the answer soon. I'll do it for you free of charge," Leon said with a confident expression.Ding dong! The doorbell rang.

"Who is it? It's so late." Dai Li went to the door, and through the screen of the intercom, he saw two strange policemen outside.

Dai Li opened the door and asked, "Officers, what can I do for you?"

"Someone reported that you had hidden illegal immigrants here," one of the police said.

"Hiding illegal immigrants? Definitely not. This must be a false accusation." Dai Li shook his head. "Sir, I think you know, the people who live in this block are all people with high social status. The security around here has always been very good. It is impossible for illegal immigrants to come here."

"But if someone reports, we have to do something. We need to get in and check," said another policeman coldly.

"Alright." Dai Li couldn't help but nod and make way for them. "Please come in."

The two policemen entered the house, and when Dai Li closed the door, he found that there was only a black van outside, with no police car in sight.

Dai Li became suspicious immediately. The police were supposed to drive their car on duty, and they would be seen from a distance with the flashing lights.

"How did you get here without a police car?" said Dai Li as he turned back.

Suddenly a series of splutters rang out.

Then one of the police took the taser in his hand and rushed to Dai Li and reached it directly to his neck.

The blue light of the electric shock device flashed across Dai Li's eyes, and the next second, Dai Li felt a sudden pain on his neck and then a sense of paralysis spreading over his body.

Oh, no. They are not cops! The moment when Dai Li thought of this, he lost consciousness.

The two men dressed as policemen stepped forward to grab Dai Li immediately and carry him out of the house. The black van drove over to them and its door was quickly opened.

The two policemen threw Dai Li into the van, and then jumped in themselves. The van quickly drove away…Leon dialed Blecher's number.

"Mr. Blecher, we succeeded in catching him. It went well and nobody noticed, including the police, but he isn't awake yet. And the man you asked me to interrogate has confessed," said Leon.

"It's not safe to talk about this on the phone. I'll go to your place now." Blecher put down his cell phone and clenched his fists in excitement.

The new drug! I'll get it soon!

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Chapter 472: Giving Up Resistance

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

When Dai Li opened his eyes slowly, he felt a bit dizzy. There was a burning sensation from the part of his neck that had been shocked.

Where am I? Dai Li tried to look around, but wherever he was, it was very dark. His eyes couldn't adjust to it for a moment.

He intended to raise his hand to rub his eyes only to find he couldn't move his arms at all.

I'm tied up! Dai Li realized.

He wanted to call for help, but he found that his mouth was covered with tape so that he couldn't make any sound.

What's going on? Dai Li began to recall what had happened.

I remember, two cops said I had hidden illegal immigrants. One cop hit me with a taser. Besides, I didn't see any police cars outside, and the police would not attack me for no reason. I think I met fake police! D*mn it! There are fake police in America, too.

I'm tied up now. Could it be that I was captured by the two fake policemen? Or I was kidnapped by them! Quite possibly. The robbers disguised themselves as policemen for kidnapping and extortion. I remember there was a sensational kidnapping case in America, where a man and a woman pretended to be policemen and kidnapped a rich man in a brownstone district. I didn't expect that I could get the same treatment today. What should I do?

Dai Li was somewhat flustered at the thought of being kidnapped by bandits.

Calm down! Calm down! Don't panic. Dai Li forced himself to calm down and at that time he found that his eyes had gradually adjusted to the darkness around him.

He started to look around and, immediately on his right, he saw an operation desk with a shelf on it, the kind that was often seen in a chemistry lab. The operation desk was very old, and the shelf on it was covered with dust. Some tilted test tubes and glass bottles on it were faintly visible.

It was a laboratory before, but now it's abandoned, Dai Li decided.

Looking to the left, Dai Li was startled suddenly. There was a chair and a man sitting in it, whose hands were tied to the back of the chair and whose feet were tied to the legs of the chair. But to his horror, the man was covered in blood. Some of his wounds had even turned black.

The man's head was hanging down so that his face couldn't be seen at all, nor could his age be recognized. He was tied there still. Dai Li didn't know whether he was alive or dead, and he couldn't even feel his breath.

He is so miserable. Is it because he didn't pay his ransom that he was tortured? Is he alive? A sudden fear appeared in Dai Li's mind, and he didn't want be like this.

To survive is important. If these kidnappers just want money, I will give it to them to buy my life. Money can be earned again, but life can't. Moreover, I'm not short of money. It is worthwhile to buy a life with millions of dollars.

Dai Li now had given up resistance. He was not a superhero who could save the world. Particularly, he was shocked by the man next to him. All of a sudden, he intended to give up resistance and spend his money resolving the trouble."Mr. Blecher, you're finally here." Leon walked to him, pointed to a man behind him and said, "Let me introduce you. This is the interrogation expert you wanted. His name is Santos, from Colombia. It only took him an hour to interrogate that guy who had infiltrated your company. The guy confessed everything."

Blecher looked at the man. He was an Indo-European. That ethnicity was common in Central America and South America. In Colombia, most people were Indo-European.

Santos was neither tall nor strong, even a bit thin. He his appearance looked very ordinary, but his eyes were completely different. His eyes were so bright and so sharp that others wouldn't dare to look at them directly. Blecher even had a feeling that his eyes were like those of an eagle, constantly staring at distant prey.

"Truly an interrogation expert, unlike those before." Blecher felt that he found the right person and then asked, "Which pharmaceutical company sent this commercial spy here, and what did he want from me?"

"He is not a commercial spy," responded Santos.

"Then what did he do? Why did he infiltrate my company if he was not a commercial spy? He couldn't be an FBI agent!" said Blecher guiltily.

Blecher was investigated by the FBI twenty years ago and spent half a year in prison. He had done some dirty things over the years, so he was afraid that the FBI would investigate him again.

"He is not from the FBI. He is an investigative journalist," Santos answered.

"Just a journalist!" Blecher took a deep breath, but he suddenly frowned at the thought of investigative journalists.

Investigative journalists were mainly journalists who were engaged in investigative reporting. Unlike ordinary journalists, investigative journalists tended to go into the front line to unveil shady deals of public power authorities, powerful enterprises, and criminals mostly.

It was actually a very dangerous occupation. Investigative journalists often took unconventional means to unveil the truth, such as disguise, infiltration, undercover work, and so on. During investigation, once the identity of the investigative journalists was discovered, they would inevitably suffer from the target's retaliation, which could even threaten their lives. So, in many countries, the registration of investigative journalists was separated from that of ordinary journalists. And those who dared to engage in this profession were usually people who had a strong sense of justice.

Blecher knew that his company contained some disgraceful things, so he asked immediately, "What did the investigative journalist get?"

Santos answered in English with a South American accent, "He said he was investigating the use of illicit drugs by athletes. He found that many biological laboratories were providing illicit drugs to athletes, including many famous athletes. The illicit drugs developed by those biological laboratories are more advanced than the anti-doping agency. Therefore, even if athletes use these drugs, it is difficult for the anti-doping agency to detect."

"This investigative journalist infiltrated your company because, according to his previous investigation, he found that your company was the initiator behind those biological laboratories. And many of your patents were used in the production of those illicit drugs. Based on your criminal record of supplying the drug to athletes, he targeted you. He thought you were the boss behind those biological laboratories, so he sneaked into your company's information center, hoping to download the data stored there to prove his suspicions."

Blecher's face clouded. The investigative journalist was right. He was indeed related to those illicit drugs. He provided funding and patents to those biological labs in the hope of gaining scientific results. Giving athletes drugs was just another way to do clinical trials.

"Well, Mr. Blecher, are you satisfied with Santos's work?" Leon asked smugly.

"Yes, very good!" Blecher continued, "Then can we go and interrogate Dai Li? I want his new drug!"

"No problem! Come with me," said Leon, with a gesture of invitation. "When we caught him, we stunned him with a taser. We don't know whether he is awake or not. But it doesn't matter. Santos has several ways of waking him up. It will be better for him to be unconscious!"

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Chapter 473: No Way Out

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

The heavy steel door opened, and Leon came inside with Blecher.

Blecher caught the strange smell of blood. And then he saw the bloody man tied to the chair.

Blecher was frozen suddenly. He turned to Leon for an explanation.

Leon started to explain immediately. "This is the investigative journalist who infiltrated your company. He was tight-mouthed and refused to say anything at the very beginning, so Santos taught him a lesson."

"Still alive?" Blecher whispered.

"He was alive just now, but at this moment, who knows." Leon didn't care.

"I don't want to get into trouble," added Blecher.

Leon nodded. "Don't worry. I will handle it. This investigative journalist will disappear in the way water evaporates. No one will ever see him again."

"Fine," Blecher said, and then he turned to the other chair on which Dai Li was tied. Dai Li was watching them in a panic.

"It looks like he is awake," Leon said and took a few steps forward to get closer to Dai Li.The steel door was opened from the outside. Then, Dai Li saw several people walk in and then have a small discussion with each other.

Afterward, a scar-faced man came over.

He should be the head of kidnappers. Dai Li tried to calm down and then he asked, "How much do you want as the ransom for letting me go?"

Being too nervous, or maybe extremely afraid, Dai Li's voice was trembling.

"Ransom?" Leon was puzzled at first and then he laughed out, "Haha! He thinks we are kidnappers!"

Dai Li was surprised by his words. What does he mean? Aren't they kidnappers? Didn't they kidnap me for the ransom?

I must figure out why they kidnapped me! Thinking of that, Dai Li asked immediately, "Why did you take me if you don't want ransom money?"

"We kidnapped you for money. But you needn't pay the money yourself. Somebody has paid for you," Leon said with satisfaction.

"Is someone paying to hire you to kidnap me?" Dai Li squinted his eyes and asked at once, "How much did he pay you? What's my price?"

"You needn't know," Leon said coldly.

"No matter how much he gives you, I will double the price. Just let me go!" replied Dai Li.

The word "double" ignited the greed in Leon's eyes. To him, it was very attractive.

Dai Li found that Leon hesitated a little. So, he continued, "Set me free and I will give you twice the money. And you can give your original hirer a refund. Tell him you didn't complete the mission. You won't suffer any loss. What's more, you can make some money for free. Or, you can have all the money, three times the ransom in total. In short, I give you money and you let me go. And then we forget about it. Does it sound okay to you?"

"Mr. Li, I must admit that your suggestion is attractive. I am regretting that I did not come to meet you in advance. You are so unlucky. The hirer comes with me." Leon squinted at Dai Li and then turned back to Blecher.

He whispered near Blecher's ears, "Mr. Blecher, did you hear that just now? Mr. Li is willing to give me twice the money. But I didn't accept. I kept my word. Maybe it's your turn now to show your sincerity."

"I will double the price, too. Come to my company to get the other half of the money tomorrow afternoon," replied Blecher, gnashing his teeth.

Blecher knew clearly that one who accepted such a dirty task must be money-oriented. If he was stingy, it might make Leon set Dai Li free for the money Dai Li had promised.

Dai Li is still troubling me at this moment! I have to double my expense! Blecher stared at Dai Li bitterly.

Meanwhile, Dai Li was staring at Blecher, too.

Is this guy the hirer? I don't know him. In fact, I haven't even met him before. Why did he ask people to kidnap me? What's the problem between us?

Searching in his memory, Dai Li was sure that he had never seen this guy before.

Blecher walked up to Dai Li. Smiling with scorn, he said, "Coach Li, I never thought our first meeting would happen like this."

"So, you are the hirer? I don't know you. Who are you? Why did you hire people to kidnap me? In what way have I hurt you?" asked Dai Li immediately.

"You didn't know me before, of course. But you'll know me from now on. My name is Blecher," said Blecher. He observed Dai Li's facial expression, only to find Dai Li totally confused.

He then added, "It seems that you aren't familiar with me. Let's put it this way. I have a pharmaceutical company and one of my representatives whose name is Derrickson once visited you. So, do you recall him, Coach Li?"

"You are the boss behind Derrickson!" Dai Li realized at once.

So, that Derrickson wasn't a disguised journalist trying to find out my secrets. He was a real representative of a pharmaceutical company. But he insisted that I have a new performance-enhancing drug and he wanted to buy it. Did they kidnap me for that imaginary new drug? Dai Li guessed.

However, he decided to ask, "Why did you kidnap me? I am running a physical training center and have nothing to do with pharmaceutical companies. I don't think I have ever annoyed you, have I?"

"Coach Li, haven't you understood? I am taking you as a hostage for your new performance-enhancing drug. Give it to me and I will set you free. Otherwise…" Blecher smiled evilly.

"I told Derrickson many times. I really don't have the drug," said Dai Li innocently.

"You don't have it? Then what's your explanation of the fact that all the athletes you've trained made great progress?" Blecher asked dismissively.

"That resulted from scientific training methods and the athletes' efforts," Dai Li said. "I am a coach. It's my job to strengthen athletes through training."

"Then what happened to Jimmy Aylwin? He has been retired for three years, and he is 34 years old. But he is doing as great as a 24-year-old boy. Justin Alexander, who was banned for so long, took only a few months to recover to his condition before the ban. And Shawn Ford. If he were able to run so fast, he would have gotten numerous championships throughout these years. How could he be totally refreshed with your training? Don't you provide them with illegal drugs?"

"I don't!" Dai Li shook his head immediately. And he said, "Aylwin ruled the 400m race before. Alexander was once the flying man in the world who was only second to Kittell. They are all the greatest talents in the sports world. It is normal for them to be faster than average people when we take their physical talents into consideration. As for Ford, he was born with a leg length discrepancy. And I just taught him a way of running with his leg length discrepancy."

"Do you think I will believe that?" said Blecher coldly. "Coach Li. We all understand what's happening. I don't think we need to beat around the bush."

"I swear to God that I have no such new drug," Dai Li said, more innocently. He added, "I know you may not believe me. But think about it! I have been taken by you. Why should I lie to you? Given my situation at this moment, I would give the drug to you if I really had it."

"Would you? I think you are so stubborn!" said Blecher with a cold facial expression. "It's your final chance now. Will you give it to me?"

"I can't give it to you! I don't have it!" Dai Li replied sadly.

"It seems that our talk has to be ended. You are going to take my words as a joke if I don't show you some violence," Blecher said and walked back to Leon.

"Santos, you are an expert of interrogation. I give him to you. Make him hand over the new performance-enhancing drug," said Blecher.

"No problem, Mr. Blecher. Please go out for a cigarette and have a rest. I will handle this," said Santos easily.Blecher and Leon left the room. And only Santos stayed behind with two strong black men. Santos had a leather case in hand, and one of the two black men carried a pistol on his waist and the other took out a long gun.

Dai Li was still tied up there. He was extremely worried. He felt that death was approaching.

This is a dangerous situation, probably a fatal one. Kidnapping is a felony. The sentence may be many years. Normally, the kidnappers are not willing to let hostages see their faces. But these guys don't care about all that. And Blecher showed me his face and name. It seems that he isn't worried about me calling the police.

So, there is only one possibility. He doesn't plan to let me leave alive. He is going to kill me, so he doesn't care about whether I know his name or not. If I really had that new drug, I would be killed the moment I gave it to him.

But if I don't give it to him, they will torture me. And I will be like that guy! Dai Li looked at the bloody man tied to the chair nearby. He still hadn't moved. It seemed he was dead.

I am going to die. There is no way I can get out of this. What should I do?

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Chapter 474: Fishing

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

Dai Li had thought that the kidnappers were taking him for the ransom. But he realized that it was more complex this time.

Before he met Blecher, Dai Li didn't plan to resist. He would pay the kidnappers the ransom. But that was before he knew the kidnappers were going to kill him.

It was a deadlock!

At this critical moment, Dai Li put aside the idea of paying to be safe. He knew his only option was to spare no efforts to live.

A man's potential would burst out when his life was in danger. It was the same for Dai Li. At that moment, he became extremely calm and thought actively. Many plans occurred to him.

I must escape. But it doesn't seem practical. They have a lot of hands and guns. So my only way is to call the police for a rescue. The key point is that I must, first of all, subdue the three here. However, I'm not likely to win a fight against all of them.

Luckily, I already have Kevin Taylor in my Athlete Illustrated Handbook. I can use a copy card. And I will have 70% of the strength of Kevin Taylor. In that way, I might be able to beat them down as long as they fight with their bare fists. But the two black men have guns! Even though I can subdue one of them, I will be killed by the other black man's gun. No matter how skillful and strong I am, the gun will be fatal to me.

More importantly, my hands are tied now and I can't move my hands. I must find a way to free my hands.

While Dai Li was thinking, Santos, the expert of interrogation, had already put his little case on the table and then turned back to ask the two black men, "Would you like to appreciate my interrogation again?"

The two men's faces turned pale immediately.

"I never want to watch you interrogating again. It's so disgusting. It almost made me vomit. D*mn it! I can't even stand the sight of meat now," one black man said.

"Don't mention meat! It makes me sick, too! I'll go first!" said the other black man.

"Me, too! I don't want to stay with you weirdo!"

They left firmly and closed the big steel door.

God bless me! Dai Li was happy. He had just thought of a way to win the fight against the three. But two of the three left together with their guns, which made Dai Li feel that his escape was going to be easier.

The two with guns have left. My only trouble now is that my hands are tied. I must find a way quickly to free them, Dai Li thought quickly.

The fear of the black men made Santos satisfied. He turned his back to Dai Li and opened the leather case. He said to Dai Li with a South American accent, "Do you know? I once learned medicine. I wanted to become a surgeon. But I'm unlucky in that my family was poor, and my father was an alcoholic who spent every penny he had on drinking. And my mother left me when I was a small child to marry another man. I had to earn my college fees on my own."

"College fees are so expensive. And learning medicine was more expensive. I couldn't afford it with normal jobs. So, I chose a lucrative job. I planted marijuana in a basement secretly. Later I was caught by the police, and I was ordered to quit school."

"Then, I got a night shift job in a mortuary. That was a job with extra income. There were always some people who accidentally died when they were delivering drugs. And I would slit their bellies and stomachs to get the drugs out and return them to drug dealers for a big reward. Sometimes, people dying would be sent to me," Santos said.

He turned to Dai Li with a facial expression of hysteria, and then he added, "But I still slit their bellies and stomachs when they were not dead. Do you know the cool feeling of dissecting a living person? I could see his heart beating, his lungs breathing, and his stomach contracting. I could see the desperation on his face, the fear in his eyes. And his face was contorted with pain. That's awesome! That's great art!"

Dai Li watched Santos in terror. He realized that this skinny guy was a psychopathic murderer.

And then Santos walked over and pointed to the leather case opened by him. He said, "These are my best friends who want to touch you closely. Choose one."

Dai Li looked at the leather case. Inside were small knives, small saws, small awls, small hooks and so on. They were all instruments of torture. They were shining terrifyingly in the dim light. All these made a man frightened.

Dai Li finally understood how the man in the chair became so bloody.

Santos continued saying, "It's hard to make a choice, right? Never mind. I will choose for you."

Santos took a small knife and a small hook and said, "This knife will cut your skin, and I am going to carve a star on your skin and use this hook to pull the star up."

He leaned closer to Dai Li and showed Dai Li the instruments. And then he added, "I don't know if you have learned about the Visual Analogue Scale, a method to measure the degrees of pains. According to it, pains are divided into 10 levels. 0 means painlessness while 10 means the worst pain. And I can guarantee you that these two devices in my hands will give you a pain of Level 8."

"No! I will tell you. I will tell you the whole thing!" Dai Li cried out suddenly.

"Er? You will? That's not interesting. I would like to use the knife. You Chinese always act like this. You coward! You give up fighting when you are facing a tiny threat." Santos curled his lip disappointedly and then he asked, "Tell me then. Where is the new drug?"

"In the safe box in my office," replied Dai Li.

"What's the code of the safe box?" asked Santos.

"To tell you the truth, this new drug is produced by a new technology and many of its ingredients haven't been revealed to the public." Dai Li suddenly switched to another topic.

"Don't try to fool me. I am asking you for the safe box's code. You don't want me to draw a little star on your chest, do you?" said Santos, showing his knife.

"I just want to tell you that it is very complex to make this new drug. You can't produce it in a short time, even though I will give it to you now," said Dai Li.

"It's the hirer's job to see if he can produce it or not. My job is to get it from you. Now, tell me the code," said Santos.

Dai Li added immediately, "I want to let you know that it's valuable, maybe priceless! Your boss spent a lot of money on hiring you to get it. You know that."

"So, what's up?" asked Santos.

"I can tell you the recipe of the new performance-enhancing drug. The core secret of making it. Having the recipe will shorten the time for study and counterfeiting very much. And it will be much easier to make it," continued Dai Li.

"His study on it is none of my business. Tell me the code, now! Otherwise, I will use violence." Santos's knife got closer to Dai Li.

"Think about it. How much will the hirer pay for the core secret!" Dai Li cried out at once.

Mentioning money stopped Santos's knife. And he asked, "What do you want to say?"

"That hirer spent a lot of money on hiring you to get a sample of the new drug. Do you think he will be willing to buy it if there is the core secret to the new drug? To you, the speed of study never matters. But to him, isn't the speed a very important factor? You once went to college. You should know that time is more important than money to scientific researchers!" Dai Li spoke so hurriedly that his speech was incoherent.

However, Santos understood him.

"You are right. We should make more money." Santos moved the knife away from Dai Li's chest. And he added, "Then tell me. What's the recipe for the new drug?"

"OK, listen to me carefully," Dai Li cleared his throat and said in Chinese, "Qing, Hai, Li, Pi, Peng, Tan, Dan, Yang, Fu, Nai, Na, Mei, Lv, Gui, Lin, Liu, Lv, Ya, Jia, Gai…(Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon, sodium, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, argon, potassium, calcium…)"

He repeated from memory the Periodic Table of Elements in Chinese. And Santos was totally confused.

"D*mn it! What are you saying? I don't understand at all," Santos shouted.

"I'm reciting the core elements of the new drug. You can't understand it. That's because I recited it in Chinese!" said Dai Li.

"You are fooling me! It seems you want to be taught a lesson. Okay, I will respect your choice. You will soon beg me to kill you!" Santos raised his knife again.

"No, I'm not fooling you. Let me explain," Dai Li said at once. "I brought this new drug from China. And its instruction manual is written in Chinese. I'm not a chemist. I'm a coach. I cannot translate those chemistry terms. I can only tell you the Chinese version."

"But I don't know Chinese. It makes no sense to me," said Santos angrily.

"I can write it down for you. And you can find someone to translate it into English for you later. And you can also use the translation app on your mobile phone," said Dai Li.

"Okay, good idea." Santos nodded, and he found a paper and a pen. And then he looked at Dai Li to find that Dai Li was tied up and couldn't write.

So, Santos walked up and stood behind Dai Li.

"I'm going to untie you. Don't try to fool me, or I will hurt you. Don't try to escape. You're surrounded by my men here. You can't escape!" said Santos. And then he lowered his head and untied Dai Li.

Dai Li was so happy. My efforts are not in vain. The fish has swallowed the bait, finally.

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Chapter 475: Break Out

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

Santos untied the rope on Dai Li's hands, and Dai Li waggled his wrists to ease the numbness of his hands.

Meanwhile, Dai Li used a copy card. He copied Kevin Taylor's information on the athlete's illustrated handbook and used the card on himself.

He then instantly acquired seventy percent of Kevin Taylor's strength.

My legs still are tied up. I can't move now. Only when Santos enters my attack range can I attack him. If I miss, he will retreat out of my attack range. That is to say, I only have one chance and I must beat him down.

Realizing this, Dai Li cooled down. He knew that the following dozens of seconds were vital to his life, so he couldn't be hasty. He had to concentrate.

"Write down what you know!" Santos walked close to Dai Li with a piece of paper and a pen in his hands.

Dai Li leaned forward and reached out his hands as if he wanted to take the pen and paper, but as Santos came near to him, Dai Li suddenly clenched his fists.

Whoosh! The fierce fist broke out and headed for Santos.

Dai Li hadn't thought that Santos could react to it quickly enough. However, to his surprise, a disdainful expression appeared on Santos' face as Dai Li punched out. The sarcasm in Santos' eyes seemed to tell Dai Li that he had already known that Dai Li would play tricks.

As expected, Santos had prepared for it. He immediately started to dodge as Dai Li threw his punch.

Although Santos was a psychopathic murderer, he was not a fool. Usually, the intelligence quotient of this kind of people was relatively high. He surely would be wary of Dai Li.

Additionally, Santos had worked for the Colombian drug trafficker for many years and experienced many things. Although he looked quite thin, average people were no match for him in a real fight. Therefore, Santos believed that he could easily get Dai Li under control even if he untied Dai Li's hands and legs.

However, he never thought that he would be facing not Dai Li, but seventy-percent of Kevin Taylor.Dai Li punched out and Santos also began to dodge immediately.

D*mn it! He dodged! Dai Li felt sick. He knew that he only had one chance. If he missed it, it would be difficult to trick Santos again.

However, while Dai Li was feeling hopeless, his other fist also punched out to the side which Santos was dodging to.

It wasn't consciously controlled by Dai Li, but by the natural response of his body, or the instinctive reaction of Kevin Taylor's body with seventy-percent strength.

Santos escaped Dai Li's first punch, but he didn't dodge the second. The Dai Li's second punch slammed into Santos' temple.

Santos was rocked with pain, and it took him a split second to realize he had been hit.

What's going on? I should have dodged away! He had just thought of this through his shock when Dai Li punched him a third time.

The third punch hit Santos on his chin, and almost at the same time, Dai Li punched out for the fourth time.

The fourth punch also hit him! Then the fifth punch! Santos had passed out. Dai Li's punching was too fast. He hit the man's face several times before he fell down.

What was Kevin Taylor's best attack pattern? Undoubtedly, it was the fast and stormy combination blow, which meant that the second punch and the third would come as the first punch was recoiling. Even the most experienced heavyweights would only choose to dodge when they faced this combination blow. If an ordinary person took this combination blow of seventy-percent Taylor to the head, there was only one result: severe concussion.

Dai Li gasped for breath after punching out a set of combination blows. He looked at Santos lying on the ground and ensured that he was completely unconscious. Then he picked up the knife Santos had dropped and cut the rope tied to his legs.

Dai Li stood up to stretch his legs. His feet were numb being bound, and he could feel the prickles all the way to his thighs. He couldn't move freely at all. Fortunately, Dai Li had the ability to relax his muscles through massage. He immediately massaged himself for a while and his legs recovered quickly.

This one is finished, two left outside with guns. Dai Li walked quietly to the iron door and listened at the door, hoping to find out what the two men were doing outside.

At that time, the two black men were smoking and talking about romantic topics.

They both have guns while I have this stuff. Definitely I will lose if I face them. Dai Li was looking at the leather case on the table, in which there were several knives, a hammer, scissors, and so on. The tools were numerous in number, but useless for him. They might be suitable for peeling an apple or cutting an orange, but it was completely useless to fight against opponents with guns.

It's even not as useful as my fists. I'm seventy-percent Taylor now. I can knock someone down with punches. But the point is that they have guns and I definitely can't win when facing them. I must make a sneak attack.The two black men at the door were talking about women when the iron door opened slowly.

"Did Santos finish so soon? That guy seems to have confessed pretty quick," said one black man.

"Better to confess fast than to suffer," said the other black man as they looked inside. However, the chair to which Dai Li had been tied was empty and Santos was lying on the ground.

"D*mn it! We got a problem!" that black man shouted and rushed into the room with his gun immediately.

The other black man also took out his pistol and entered the room following him.

When the first black man entered the room, he could only see the bloody man and Santos on the ground. Dai Li was gone.

"Where is he?" The black man looked around and suddenly he heard something behind him.

He turned around only to see his partner falling down towards him.

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Chapter 476: The Coach Is a Good Boxer

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

Dai Li had been hiding behind the door. He opened the door slowly, deliberately letting the two black men see Santos on the ground.

As Dai Li expected, they rushed inside at once.

Surely, they didn't immediately look behind the door. Normally, when entering a room, nobody would make sure whether there wasn't a person behind the door. What's more, their eyes were looking down to Santos lying on the ground, without noticing Dai Li hiding behind the door.

Dai Li rushed out unhesitatingly and threw a combination blow to the man in the rear.

The back of the head was a quite vulnerable part. Even a great fighter who was good at resistance couldn't stand an attack to vulnerable back of the head. In some Chinese folk performances, some martial artists could smash bricks and beer bottles with their heads, but no one could perform this with the back of their head.

After the punches landed, the black man behind fell down before he even knew who attacked him.

Since he was attacked from behind, he fell forward, right into the black man in front.

The black man turned around as he heard this and saw his partner falling down to him. He unthinkingly reached out to grab his partner, which also gave Dai Li a chance to attack him.

This black man was carrying a civilian version of the Remington 700, which had a long handle and couldn't be operated with one hand. Since he was now trying to hold up his partner, the gun in his hand became nothing but a stick.

Dai Li seized the chance. He pounced on him and punched him. The black man also saw Dai Li. He wanted to dodge, but one of his hands was holding his partner. Under this condition, he was not flexible enough to dodge Dai Li's punch.

Therefore, he had to block with the other hand, the one with the gun.

Dai Li hit him on his arm, and the man dropped his gun because of the pain.

The man reacted quickly, however. He pushed his unconscious partner in Dai Li's direction and retreated rapidly.

Dai Li was blocked by the unconscious black man. He pushed the black man aside, but his opponent was already several steps away from him now.

"You did this? What a surprise! Santos was defeated by you!" Taking a look at Santos on the ground, the black man growled, "Boy, I'll kill you!"

"Maybe I'll kill you!" Dai Li had been ready to fight. At that time, the black man's gun was on the ground. They both were unarmed. Dai Li was not afraid of him at all.

However, the black man was staring at Dai Li with a disdainful expression.

"Boy, you want to fight with me? Let me tell you, I almost became a prizefighter before! If my fists hadn't been so heavy and nearly killed someone, I might be another Kevin Taylor now!" said the black man fiercely.

"Yeah? I trained Kevin Taylor!" said Dai Li, and he slid forward sharply and began to attack the black man.

The black man had boxed before. He really knew something about boxing. Therefore, when he saw Dai Li's slide forward, he was shocked immediately and he could see that the slide was so standard that only specially trained boxers could use this.

This guy really knows boxing! The black man snorted. Meanwhile, Dai Li's fist was coming at him.

"I'm not afraid of you." The black man dodged quickly.

To his surprise, it was a feint, and the real punch was following.

Bang! Dai Li punched the black man on his chin.

The black man backed up a few steps, but he didn't fall right away.

Didn't fall down! Dai Li wasn't satisfied with this result. The man's resilience was beyond his expectation.

Taylor at seventy-percent is still not powerful enough. If it was Taylor himself who hit him on his chin, he would've dropped like a rock, Dai Li thought reluctantly.

The black man spat out blood as well as a tooth. Dai Li's punch was quite powerful. The black man's tooth was knocked out.

At the sight of this tooth, the black man became so angry that he shouted and punched Dai Li.

Bang! Bang! The black man stepped back, pressing his rib. This time he was not hit on his head but right beneath his ribs. It was as painful as being hit on the head.

Why is he so strong? With an amazed expression on his face, the black man stared at Dai Li.

Just now, the black man was completely defeated by Dai Li with boxing techniques. It was absolutely unbelievable for the black man.

He was an amateur boxer before and he almost became a prizefighter. Therefore, the black man was confident with his boxing techniques. He had never met someone before who was a better boxer than him. But today, he was defeated by Dai Li.

Is this guy really just a coach? The boxing technique he showed just now was absolutely the top. In terms of his flexibility and discretion, he was just like an experienced professional boxer. I didn't even have a chance to fight back! The black man had realized the gap between them.

He was powerful as an amateur boxer indeed, and he was quite great among amateur boxers. However, the gap between an amateur and a professional in any sport was the difference between heaven and earth. Those amateur players who seemed to be very powerful would be completely defeated by real professional players.

There were also huge skill gaps between professional players. Huge gaps existed among ordinary players, high-level players, and top players. If an ordinary player met a top one, he would definitely lose.

Kevin Taylor was one of the most dominant boxers of his generation, the most powerful of the top boxers. It was not an exaggeration to say that a seventy-percent Kevin Taylor would certainly win a gold belt in an ordinary boxing league.

Now Dai Li was a seventy-percent Taylor. As a champion of an ordinary boxing league, he could easily beat an amateur boxer.

Dai Li also felt that he could defeat this man. During their fight, Dai Li could beat him just based on his instinctive reaction without any thinking. Therefore, Dai Li didn't hesitate to attack.

Ten seconds later, the black man slumped on the ground. His eyes and mouth were bleeding and his nose bridge seemed to be broken.

"You were a professional boxer before?" asked the black man as he gasped.

"No, but I was Kevin Taylor's coach before!" said Dai Li.

"Just a coach? How could that be! How could a coach be so good? Your boxing skills are more powerful than many boxers!" the black man went on.

"Who told you a coach must be less skilled than his players? How could I become Taylor's coach if I was not good enough?" Dai Li snorted. Dai Li directly punched him in the face. The black man's head tilted back as he fainted.

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