Chapter 44

At first, Lei Huanxi didn't care about anything, whether he could join the national team or not, whether he won or lost, he just wanted to stay in Xiantao Village peacefully and, if there was a chance in the future, return to Yundong City in glory. Suddenly, he decided to take it seriously this time.

He decided to swim seriously with Qi Xuning, even if he lost, even if he suffered a crushing defeat, he would give it his all. Not for anyone else, just for himself.

Even a fighting crab can give it its all, how much more so for himself?

But no one believed in him, including Shi Shunzhong, who discovered him, and even Lei Huanxi himself.

Originally, according to Shi Shunzhong's idea, it was to be a 100-meter race, with a longer distance, the positions he would fall behind wouldn't be too ridiculous, which might help protect Lei Huanxi's confidence to some extent.

But this time, Yuan Bozhou seemed to be deliberately trying to make things difficult for Shi Shunzhong. After his persistent insistence, the test event was finally set at 200 meters.

The longer the distance, the more positions Lei Huanxi would fall behind, and the more embarrassing the scene would be.

Shi Shunzhong's face turned ashen. He had just taken up the position of deputy head coach of the national swimming team, and his foundation was far from as solid as Yuan Bozhou's. Selecting a player was being restricted at every turn.

If the talent he had personally discovered suffered a crushing defeat, his position in the national swimming team would be strongly challenged.

The only hope now was that Lei Huanxi wouldn't lose by too much...

Almost all the players participating in the national swimming team's training camp were fans of Qi Xuning, and he had always enjoyed great popularity and prestige in this team.

But on Lei Huanxi's side, there were only two pitiful cheerleaders:

Annie and Mo Fat!

Since the last fight with the crab, Annie had been full of confidence in Lei Huanxi, almost to the point of blind faith. She knew nothing about sports and didn't even know who Qi Xuning was, but she knew one thing:

As long as Brother Huanxi participated in the race, he would definitely win.

Annie's shrill screams drew everyone's attention, and Qi Xuning also looked over. If the jealousy in his eyes could kill, Lei Huanxi would have been killed many times over.

"Please be quiet, the race is about to start. Do not interfere with the athletes' preparation."

It wasn't until Yin Hao intervened that Annie finally quieted down...

On the side, Mo Fat, who had more knowledge about sports than Annie, clearly believed that Lei Huanxi's strength and Qi Xuning were not in the same league. He opened his fourth bag of chips and continued to stuff them into his mouth.

Lei Huanxi and Qi Xuning were already standing on the starting blocks.

When the two men, wearing only swimming trunks, stood side by side, Qi Xuning's once proud physique seemed to pale in comparison.

Annie almost couldn't resist screaming again...

Peng Zhewei, holding a whistle, stood by the pool...

A whistle blew, and two figures simultaneously dove into the water.

Qi Xuning's movements were graceful and beautiful, but Lei Huanxi was no less impressive. Despite never having received any training, he had a natural yearning for the water.

From the first second, the pool seemed to exert a tremendous attraction on him. He seemed to have an inexplicable passion for the water, and only by entering its embrace could he fully release himself.

It was a completely instinctive action.

Several coaches couldn't help but exchange glances.

From their perspective, Lei Huanxi's entry into the water was very unstandardized, completely that of an amateur. But how to put it? From the moment Lei Huanxi jumped into the water, they all had the same feeling:

Beautiful!

It was really too beautiful, more beautiful than any coach could train. They could even confidently say that no coach could train such perfect movements.

Once in the water, Lei Huanxi didn't know to use his peripheral vision to observe his competitors, nor did he know how to swim the first 100 meters or the last 100 meters.

All he could do was fully exert his strength to avoid losing by too much.

But the faces of all the coaches and players watching the pool were filled with great surprise.

Qi Xuning, determined to crush Lei Huanxi, moved like a bolt of lightning in the water, but Lei Huanxi beside him was like...

Lightning!

He was the lightning in the pool, the flying fish in the water!

Even Peng Zhewei, who had always been skeptical of Lei Huanxi, first showed surprise, then shock, and finally ecstatic joy.

A genius, just as Old Shi said, he really discovered a genius.

He could see that Lei Huanxi's swimming posture was not standard, indeed, he had not received any training, and in their terms, he was a wild player, relying entirely on his instincts in the water.

But the most important thing was that he had already taken the lead over Qi Xuning at the 30-meter mark!

When he reached the first 50-meter turn, Lei Huanxi turned first, with a clumsy and ugly action that wasted a lot of time, a typical sign of someone who had not received specialized training. This allowed Qi Xuning, who had been trailing, to quickly catch up.

But once he successfully turned, Lei Huanxi instantly became a flying fish again.

He swam faster and faster, gradually pulling away from Qi Xuning.

The cheers had long since stopped, and everyone was staring at the water with their mouths agape in disbelief.

Qi Xuning had already been left behind by more than half a body length in less than 100 meters.

At the second turn, Lei Huanxi again used his clumsy and comical turn, wasting a lot of time, and finally giving Qi Xuning some breathing room, allowing him to catch up some distance.

But this didn't matter anymore; in the eyes of all the coaches, this was no longer the point.

The point was that Lei Huanxi's speed in the water could only be described as ghostly.

Since the establishment of the national swimming team, in a long time, they had never encountered such a player: unstandardized jump, unstandardized swimming posture, unable to turn in the water, relying solely on his natural talent.

But this talent was a true genius, one that had not been seen in a hundred... no, a thousand years!

After the initial shock, Yuan Bozhou's face was filled with tension, and he couldn't help but shout loudly at his increasingly lagging disciple:

"Faster, faster!"

Shi Shunzhong tightly clenched his fists, trembling slightly. He couldn't even describe his own feelings at this moment.

On the other side, Xie Kunhong and Yin Hao had already stood up to watch the race.

A genius, just as Shi Shunzhong said, he really discovered a genius.

A player who had not received a single day of training and was already 22 years old, who in the eyes of any coach in any country would have no future, but who actually had boundless potential!

The final 50 meters arrived.

After Lei Huanxi's comical turn, Qi Xuning lost the last hope of catching up.

Lei Huanxi swam faster and faster, and in everyone's eyes:

He was flying in the water!

A flying Lei Huanxi!

Even Qi Xuning's teammates joined in the cheering, giving their enthusiastic applause to Lei Huanxi without reservation.

Not to mention Annie and Mo Fat, who were shouting and screaming like madmen.

Mo Fat didn't even notice that his chips had fallen to the ground...

Qi Xuning was completely despairing, seeing no hope of catching up.

In the final 10 meters, Lei Huanxi's speed clearly slowed down, but he still touched the wall first with a lead of more than one body length.

The cheers that had been ringing out suddenly fell silent.

One body length? In a swimming race, this was an unattainable gap, a difference between two levels.

Qi Xuning, the holder of an Asian record and the winner of two Asian championships, had suffered a crushing defeat in this manner.

When Lei Huanxi's head emerged from the water and looked at the just-arrived Qi Xuning, he seemed somewhat disbelieving: "Coach Peng, did I swim 50 meters less?"

"Who cares?" Peng Zhewei answered with a non sequitur.

Who cares.

Xie Kunhong, Yin Hao, Shi Shunzhong, and a group of coaches hurried over. Shi Shunzhong couldn't wait to ask: "How much time?"

Peng Zhewei swallowed hard and answered with some difficulty: "1 minute 47.09 seconds."

"How much?" Everyone exclaimed in shock.

"1 minute 47.09 seconds." Peng Zhewei repeated the number.

"1 minute 47.09 seconds?" Xie Kunhong exclaimed again: "Did he break the national record?"

"Yes, he broke the national record." Peng Zhewei was very sure: "I've been coaching for so many years, and I can't even remember how many students I've had, but in a simple team test, and with only two people competing, he broke the national record. My God. Old Shi, you really discovered an incredible genius!"

"Amazing, amazing." Yin Hao said in a daze: "Although there is still a 4-second gap from world-class standards, this is just a simple test, and this is Lei's first race... If he receives systematic training, I can't even imagine what his limits will be..."

Xie Kunhong said nothing, but he looked at the pool, his eyes shining as if he had discovered a treasure.

"Director Peng, I protest." Yuan Bozhou was not willing to give up: "Look at Lei Huanxi's turning action, it seriously affected Darning's performance, which is not allowed in a race."

"Who cares?" Peng Zhewei said these four words again, but then realized it might not be appropriate: "Old Yuan, unstandardized actions can be corrected. Think about it, how much time did he waste on his three turns? If he could master the turning action, I think he could swim into 1 minute 43 seconds, which is a standard time to place in the top three in world competitions!"

"Make every effort to retain him." As a leader, at this moment, Xie Kunhong immediately thought of this issue: "Old Shi, I'll leave this matter to you. Whatever requirements Comrade Lei has, find a way to meet them!"

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