Chapter 60: National Youth Record
Previously, Huang Mao had thought a guy carrying a handkerchief was a bit girly, but now it seemed pretty useful.
With the girls’ 800-meter test over, they were given some time to rest.
The boys, on the other hand, had to start the 100-meter dash, the standing long jump, and the 5-meter three-way shuttle run.
For Chen Mo, the 100-meter dash and the 5-meter shuttle run were events he had once trained for relentlessly.
To chase down criminals, it was crucial to improve one’s explosive power off the line and one’s maximum speed over short distances.
The same went for the 5-meter three-way shuttle run, which was an important test of one’s ability to brake suddenly while sprinting.
Chen Mo once had a colleague who was a fast sprinter and could catch up to criminals, but because he ran too fast, he couldn’t stop. Criminals often dodged him by suddenly dropping low and braking.
That colleague hadn’t trained his 5-meter shuttle run well enough. His ability to brake at high speeds was poor, so during a high-speed pursuit, he would often overshoot because he couldn’t stop in time. By the time he turned back, the criminal would have used that moment to pull away again.
This type of chase—where the person in front suddenly stops just as they’re about to be caught, causing the pursuer to overshoot because they can’t brake in time and have to turn back—was actually a common occurrence when classmates were just playing around.
A person who was both fast and possessed exceptional braking control was a truly terrifying pursuer.
As the test began, Tian Jing focused her attention on Chen Mo’s performance.
Since the 100-meter dash didn’t take long, there was no need to rush. The students ran in batches, not all at once in a single group like the 1000-meter run.
Eight students ran at a time on the eight-lane track.
This time, Tian Jing was paying special attention to Chen Mo’s results.
As the other students ran, she calmly recorded their times as usual.
It wasn’t until Chen Mo’s turn that her interest was piqued.
’This kid’s ability to suddenly accelerate in the last half of the 1000-meter wasn’t bad,’ she thought. ’His 100-meter dash probably won’t be too shabby either.’ The veins on the back of her hand bulged as she gripped the stopwatch.
Chen Mo’s fingers dug into the rough, rubber-particle track, his knee a fist’s distance from the ground.
His crouched stance made Tian Jing’s pupils contract—his shoulders and back formed a perfect, streamlined arc, his spine like a fully drawn bowstring, poised to release. Even the angle of his neck, tilted back, was precisely controlled at 30 degrees, the optimal power-generating posture illustrated in sprinting textbooks.
"Ready—"
The instant the whistle pierced the air, the gastrocnemius muscle in Chen Mo’s back leg erupted with astonishing propulsive force.
Without the aid of starting blocks, he launched himself forward purely through the friction between his soles and the track.
Tian Jing’s eyes trembled as she watched the stopwatch—while sneakers didn’t have the same grip as spiked shoes, Chen Mo compensated for the equipment disadvantage by increasing his stride length.
His hip joints moved like precision hinges, pushing his body forward. With every step, the rubber soles of his sneakers compressed and then rebounded like springs as he pushed off.
Within the first twenty meters, he had already pulled half a body length ahead of the other boys in his heat.
The stopwatch felt warm in Tian Jing’s hand. She could clearly see that Chen Mo’s arm swing was strictly controlled at a 90-degree angle, each swing driving his hips further forward.
This method of running, which transferred power through the core muscles, was a technique that students at sports academies typically took two years to master.
"11.18 seconds! Holy shit!" When Chen Mo crossed the finish line, Tian Jing’s shouted curse silenced the entire field for a moment.
That time directly surpassed the members of the school’s track team, who wore spiked shoes. What was even more terrifying was that he still had enough energy for a second burst of acceleration in the final ten meters. Whether it was the wind he kicked up or just a timely gust, a breeze from his final sprint sent the plane tree leaves by the track RUSTLING.
"Teacher, what does that time mean?" With a long-distance run, it was easy to see how big the gap was between everyone, but it wasn’t so simple to judge a sprint. So, Zhao Yuanyuan, who didn’t know much about it, immediately looked curiously at the teacher who had been so excited she’d sworn.
"The current national youth record for the 100-meter dash is 10.26 seconds. For Chen Mo to run a time like this without spiked shoes or starting blocks means that under optimal conditions, and with a certain amount of training, he could even challenge the national youth record!" Tian Jing said, her eyes shining with excitement as she looked at Chen Mo.
"Oh my god, Brother Mo is actually that strong!" Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuanyuan got so excited she squeezed her mineral water bottle, making it CRUNCH.
Su Yuqing quietly recorded the string of numbers in her phone’s notepad.
At this moment, the sports-focused students and the PE class representative were all staring at Chen Mo as if he were some kind of monster.
"What’s up with Chen Mo? Just last week his 100-meter was only 13 seconds. How did he suddenly shave off two and a half seconds? Is he using a cheat?" Zhang Ji said, looking at Chen Mo in complete bewilderment.
"Chen Mo, are you really not considering becoming an athlete? If you can win an Olympic medal in the future, not only will the country give you a cash prize, but your local region will also be proud of you, offering all sorts of financial rewards and public honors.
"You could also become a sports star, get endorsement deals, and all that. Your future income would be just as good as any other profession.
"The key is that the honor of being recorded in the nation’s history is something you can’t get in many other industries." Tian Jing felt it would be a huge waste if such a prodigy went astray.
She desperately wanted to guide Chen Mo back to the path of genius where he belonged.
Chen Mo smiled and said, "I don’t have any plans for that at the moment."
"How can you say ’at the moment’? You’re about to graduate high school, you have to plan your future properly! How are your grades in your academic classes?"
Tian Jing thought that if Chen Mo’s academics weren’t great, he could focus on sports, so his talent wouldn’t be wasted.
"They’re passable," Chen Mo replied with a smile.
"I sincerely hope you’ll consider your future development." Tian Jing didn’t press him further. After saying this, she didn’t say anything else that might make Chen Mo feel pressured.
It was clear the teacher was speaking purely out of a desire not to see talent go to waste.
"Brother Mo, the teacher said you’re close to the national youth record. You’re not going to consider being an athlete? If you become an Olympic champion someday, I can go around and brag about it," Zhao Yuanyuan said with a cheerful grin.
"The glory an athlete has on stage is earned through countless beads of sweat behind the scenes. I’m afraid I don’t have the patience for that kind of tedious training."
The only reason Chen Mo had been so focused and had pushed himself so hard in his previous life was because of a single obsession that supported him.
Now, that obsession was gone. In its place was a new one: to make up for his lost youth.
Rather than focusing on the future, he wanted to enjoy what he should be enjoying right now. Life is short, time flies, and once youth is gone, it never comes back.
No amount of honor or wealth could buy back this fleeting time of youth. In this life, he didn’t want to be so tired again.