The marathon race was broadcast live. Especially for the leading runners, helicopters followed them from above, capturing their every move. Thus, Ozawa Kanno's image was constantly displayed to the public, as was Lu Ming, who was not far behind him.
These two were the most exceptional, maintaining a sprinting pace and quickly opening up a gap from the others.
Jiang Mengxin watched the giant live screen and remarked, "Lu Ming is truly amazing. He can run so fast. Everyone else can't keep up with that person from the Sakura Country, only Lu Ming can."
This statement immediately drew Jiang Xueyi's derision.
He scoffed, "Daughter, you're being unprofessional here. Marathons are different from 100-meter or 200-meter races. It's not about speed, but endurance! Forty-two kilometers, that's not something you finish in ten or eight minutes. It takes half a day, and it's a true test of a person. For such long-distance running, you must control your energy reasonably. If you sprint from the beginning and exhaust your stamina, what's left for the later stages? You might as well sit on the ground and surrender."
This...
Jiang Mengxin was stunned.
She asked, "Then aren't Lu Ming and the person from the Sakura Country both unprofessional? They're both going to lose."
Jiang Xueyi snorted, "Serves them right, those two fools."
It wasn't just Jiang Xueyi who thought this way; most people present held similar views. No one believed Lu Ming or Ozawa Kanno could last to the end.
In their opinion, they would be unable to continue within fifteen minutes at most.
However.
Ten minutes passed, and the two were still sprinting.
Twenty minutes passed, and they still showed no signs of slowing down.
Half an hour passed, and they were still full of energy, running at the same speed, not even out of breath.
Everyone else was waiting to see them make fools of themselves.
In fact, not only did they not make fools of themselves, but they also widened the gap with those behind them. The third-place runner was already three kilometers behind them!
Good heavens.
If they continued at this pace, these two would win the race with an astonishing lead.
"How is this possible?" Jiang Xueyi was bewildered. This style of running completely defied his understanding. It shouldn't be like this; they should be exhausted by now. How were they still running?
Were they robots?
Everyone was equally confused.
"Damn it, is this real? Don't they feel tired, running at a sprint speed the whole time?"
"Wait, doesn't that person from the Sakura Country look familiar? I feel like I've seen him somewhere... I remember now, isn't he the Sakura Country's marathon superstar, Ozawa Kanno, who has won over ten marathon championships and is known as the 'Iron Lung Runner'?"
"My goodness, it really is him! How did I not recognize him at first?"
"It's over, it's over. Ozawa Kanno's strength is no joke; he's among the very top athletes. He's a monster who has consistently ranked first globally in marathons. They say he has ten lungs and is simply unkillable."
"It's the same everywhere else. He runs at an extremely fast pace, quickly creating a distance from the trailing runners, and never slows down, giving others no chance to catch up. He's incredibly skilled."
"We're doomed. Facing such a monster, our Chinese people are bound to be severely humiliated."
At this moment, every Chinese citizen felt a pang of discomfort, their faces showing expressions of extreme pain. In their eyes, the first place in this marathon was certain to go to Ozawa Kanno. After all, in any race he participated in, he had never come in second!
He was just that strong, inexplicably strong.
And so it was in reality.
Ozawa Kanno took the lead, running fast from the start. The gap between him and others grew wider and wider, with no one able to catch up.
It's all over.
If this continued, the marathon held in Jinling to commemorate the fallen soldiers would become a laughingstock.
In the future, people from other countries would use this to mock us Chinese.
Death before dishonor!
The thought of being ridiculed by outsiders made the Chinese people present feel terrible.
What to do?
At this moment, Ozawa Kanno, running far ahead, revealed an evil smile. He was already contemplating how he would humiliate the Chinese people later.
He said coldly, "My purpose in coming to Jinling this time is to take first place and to humiliate you all severely! Heh heh, I'll fight against ten thousand, stepping all over you. After today, China will have no face left to boast against our Sakura Country, hahahaha."
Just as he was reveling in his triumph, he unexpectedly heard a series of footsteps.
Thump-thump-thump, thump-thump-thump, thump-thump-thump.
Huh?
Someone's there?
Ozawa Kanno was currently running on the wide asphalt road. Theoretically, the runners behind him were at least five kilometers behind. It was impossible for anyone to be keeping up, and there shouldn't be any footsteps.
What was going on?
Driven by curiosity, Ozawa Kanno looked back. It was better if he hadn't looked; he was startled by what he saw!
A Chinese runner was rapidly closing in on him!
Judging by his appearance, it was the same Chinese person who had been boasting and making a bet with him earlier.
It was none other than Lu Ming!
Ozawa Kanno's heart tightened. He muttered to himself, "Good heavens, someone can actually keep up with my speed? Heh heh, I underestimated these Chinese people. But do you think my current speed is my limit? Far from it! You think I'm sprinting, but I'm nowhere near my limit. Now, let me show you Chinese people what the combination of endurance and speed is, what true running is?!"
The sea is vast for fish to leap, the sky is high for birds to fly.
The real competition had just begun.
Ozawa Kanno got serious. He wanted to shake Lu Ming off in one go, so he ran with all his might, determined to leave Lu Ming nowhere in sight within ten minutes.
He thought this, and he acted upon it.
On the big screen, Ozawa Kanno suddenly exerted more effort, increasing his speed by another fraction. Seeing this, the crowd was completely dumbfounded.
"No way, he can still accelerate?"
"Meaning, he wasn't at full sprint before; he was actually holding back."
"A monster, a true monster!"
"The runner behind Ozawa Kanno is already trying his best. Alas, what use is it to be born Zhuge Liang when you have Zhou Yu? No matter how hard he tries, it's futile against a monster like Ozawa Kanno."
"Talent trumps effort!"
All of Jinling was filled with sorrow.
It seemed no one could stop the monstrous Ozawa Kanno. His speed and endurance were far beyond what normal people could match.
What is talent? This is talent!
Ten minutes later.
Ozawa Kanno, smug, laughed heartily, "In heaven and on earth, I alone am honored! You foolish Chinese, surrender at my feet!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, a series of crisp footsteps once again reached his ears.
Thump-thump-thump, thump-thump-thump.
Wh... What?
Ozawa Kanno was instantly dumbfounded. He turned his head to look, and good heavens, he saw that Lu Ming had caught up again at some point!
It turned out that Ozawa Kanno's full ten-minute sprint had been for nothing!
Not only had the gap not widened, but it was slowly shrinking!
Danger!
Danger!!
Danger!!!
Ozawa Kanno felt a chill in his heart. In the realm of marathons, he felt threatened for the first time.