Beep!
The starting signal sounded, and all eight athletes leaped into the pool.
Once again, Pan Zhan Le was the first.
And unlike the first round where he had held back, he displayed his absolute dominance of the pool as soon as he entered the water.
This was the world record holder in action, and everyone could see it.
The aura of the world's number one in the 100-meter freestyle, it was absolutely crushing.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
Water sprayed out as his arms churned, leaving many athletes on the sidelines dumbfounded.
"Damn, Zhan Le is absolutely dominating the 100 meters!"
"No, it's scary, it's insane!"
"There's no one else in the world who can match him... "
"He's absolutely in a different league!"
"Damn, he's too strong!"
"He's incredibly powerful, he's already half a body length ahead of Wang Hao Yu as he emerges from the water!"
Countless eyes were fixed on Pan Zhan Le in lane three.
However, Coach Cui Deng Rong's gaze was on the starting reaction times.
Chen Shu, as expected, was last again.
The young athlete was truly relying on his raw talent to swim.
Just like Pan Zhan Le in his early days.
Once these fundamental movements, reaction speed, and other skills are mastered, they will truly unleash their power. That's why Chen Shu's future is boundless, comparable to Pan Zhan Le's.
"Coach Cui, what if Little Chen comes in fourth again this time?"
Assistant Coach Shi Ming Bo asked instinctively. Cui Deng Rong smiled, "Then we let him compete!"
"Ah, you really are going to let him compete...? He's never been in a major competition, his mental strength... he's definitely not as good as the other athletes in that regard, right?"
"Let's see, we've already made our promise, we have to give the young athlete a chance!"
"He's young and fearless!"
"Our swimming team is different from others, the strongest swimmer always gets the spot. Every improvement in position is good!"
Cui Deng Rong didn't feel any pressure regarding the 100-meter freestyle relay.
Just reaching the finals was already a breakthrough in history. What was there to be afraid of?
Cui Deng Rong watched as Chen Shu, the last one in the pool, flipped over, just like in the previous round, finishing eighth.
He was also half a body length behind Niu Guang Sheng who came in seventh, which was a significant gap.
Looking at the world at large, such a gap is difficult to close.
But Chen Shu was an exception.
He could make a comeback and surpass his competitors. Cui Deng Rong admired him for that, because his finishing power was unparalleled anywhere in the world.
This time, although the other seven athletes had been scolded by Cui Deng Rong, each of them had shown more of their usual competition spirit.
Especially Pan Zhan Le, who was in first place, was practically a god among men, already a full body length ahead of Wang Hao Yu in second.
What kind of terrifying concept was that?!
A full body length, almost 2 meters in distance.
And this was in the 100-meter freestyle, it was like Usain Bolt leading by 2 meters in a 100-meter sprint, incredibly exaggerated.
An absolute, unbreakable lead.
"This kid Zhan Le, he's so talented!"
Cui Deng Rong said with a hint of envy.
Assistant Coach Shi Ming Bo beside him chuckled, "Yes, a prodigy rarely seen in the history of Chinese swimming!"
Unfortunately, he wasn't a student of Cui Deng Rong, but a student of Coach Zheng Kun Liang from the Zhejiang team.
Zheng Kun Liang had gone with Zhang Yu Fei and a few others to attend the press conference, so he wasn't there.
Zhang Yu Fei and Qin Hai Yang were Cui Deng Rong's students.
The coaches and athletes were all fixated on Pan Zhan Le who was pulling further ahead in first place.
They didn't notice Chen Shu, who was in the process of turning at 50 meters, catching up with his opponents at an astonishing pace.
Intermediate Acceleration!
The moment the skill activated, Chen Shu didn't feel how fast he was yet.
But after overtaking Niu Guang Sheng and Zhang Zhan Shuo, the Master-level sprint boost allowed him to understand how ridiculously powerful this skill was.
"Holy crap!"
"Is this the power of a Master-level skill?"
Chen Shu himself felt like he was a flying shuttle, rapidly closing in on Wang Shun.
Less than a second later, Wang Shun, the current captain of the swimming team, was left behind by Chen Shu.
Wang Shun, who had been neck and neck with Ji Xing Jie in fourth place, looked up to breathe and saw a dark figure in a nearby lane overtaking him.
"What?!"
"Who passed me?"
His swimming rhythm was completely thrown off.
Then, Ji Xing Jie, in disbelief, watched as Chen Shu suddenly passed him.
He had already given it his all this time, but someone had still caught up?
"Who is it?"
He didn't have time to think, he mustered the last of his strength, using aerobic techniques to quickly swim towards the finish line.
Fourth place!
Chen Shu had overtaken the fourth place when he was still 10 meters from the finish line.
Although Pan Zhan Le had already reached the finish line and secured first place with an absolute speed.
Wang Hao Yu in second place was still less than 5 meters away...
Chen Jun Er in third place was still 8 meters away!
"Coach Cui, look!"
"Chen Shu is in fourth!"
While everyone cheered for Pan Zhan Le's victory, Shi Ming Bo pointed to Chen Shu, "Fourth place, this kid is swimming faster than before!"
"How is that possible?"
Cui Deng Rong stared intently at Chen Shu who was still swimming rapidly.
He was actually closing the gap between himself and Chen Jun Er at the last minute.
"Holy crap!"
"Why do I feel a splash of water coming towards me?"
Chen Jun Er sensed something was wrong. In the pool, you can feel when someone overtakes you by the subtle splash of water. Even the slightest difference is perceptible to someone who swims every day.
Chen Jun Er instinctively took a breath, and saw Chen Shu swimming alongside him. He was completely stunned.
The next second, as Wang Hao Yu reached the finish line, Chen Shu passed Chen Jun Er.
He finished the team selection with a third-place finish.
This time, unlike when Chen Shu and Ji Xing Jie finished at the same time, everyone saw Chen Shu touch the wall with a head length lead, ahead of Chen Jun Er.
"..."
Cui Deng Rong stared blankly at Chen Shu who emerged from the water, while everyone else looked at the final scoreboard.
Pan Zhan Le had already settled onto the side of the pool.
He had the clearest view of the whole thing, from the moment Wang Hao Yu touched the wall to Chen Shu overtaking Chen Jun Er, who was in third place.
"This kid, he's pretty fierce!"
Pan Zhan Le chuckled, turning his head towards his score this time.
He felt like he swam well, maybe he could even break the 47-second barrier!