Chapter 97

In the interview area of the sports field, Duke hesitated for a moment before taking out his phone and making a call. After a long wait, Duke cautiously said, “Chief, it’s me, Duke.”

“Damn it, Duke, do you know what time it is in the U.S. now? You’ve disturbed my sweet dream! I was just about to get into bed with Britney!” The voice on the other end sounded furious, and then continued, “If you can’t give me a good reason, I’ll fire you!”

“Sorry, Chief, there’s a special situation here,” Duke cleared his throat and continued, “The Chinese athlete, the one named Zhang Guan, he broke the world record!”

The chief on the phone was stunned for a few seconds before he started cursing, “Damn it, Duke, you damn fool! Of course I know the Chinese athlete broke the world record, and I also know he won the Olympic gold medal! Are you still living in the Middle Ages? I don’t need you to tell me news from a month ago! I swear, I’m going to fire you!”

“Chief, no, it’s not the Olympics, it’s just now. I mean, just now, at the IAAF All-Star event, the Chinese athlete Zhang Guan broke the 100-meter world record again! His time was 9.76 seconds!” Duke hurriedly explained.

“What did you say? You said ‘again,’ did I hear that right? Oh God! It’s only been a month! The Chinese athlete broke the world record twice in a month! How is that possible? No one in the world can do that!” The chief seemed to be fully awake now, muttering to himself like a chatterbox.

A minute later, the chief finally finished his rambling and started scolding Duke again, “Duke, what are you still standing there for? Go and interview him! A new world record in the men’s 100 meters! This is front-page news. Yes, we need to make this the front-page headline!”

“Chief, what about the doping scandal? You promised me that the Hungarian doping scandal would be the sports headline!” Duke said.

“Hungarian doping scandal? To hell with the doping scandal! The U.S. has several doping scandals every year! What’s so special about it? It’s just a change of names! What I need now is a report on the world record, Duke, do you hear me? A report on the world record! In the face of a new 100-meter world record, no one will care about the doping scandal of that damn hammer thrower! Who are those doped Hungarians and the Japanese who got the gold medal by default? I don’t even know who they are! I don’t want to know who they are! What I need now is news about the ‘fastest man in the world’!” The chief calmed down a bit and continued, “Duke, a doping scandal can at most be the sports headline, but a new 100-meter world record deserves the front-page headline! The front-page headline, do you understand, Duke? Your report has the potential to be the front-page headline of our newspaper!”

“Front-page headline!” Duke was suddenly excited. As a sports journalist, he envied those political reporters who could easily get so many front-page stories. In political news, even a handshake between the Japanese Prime Minister’s dog and the U.S. President’s dog could make the front page. His hard work often ended up in the back sports section.

The temptation of the front-page headline instantly overwhelmed Duke, and he said, “Okay, Chief, I understand. I’ll go and interview Zhang Guan right away!”

“Very good, Duke. Throw that damn doping scandal aside, don’t think about it, and go interview Zhang Guan. Breaking the world record twice in such a short time, no one has ever done that! You are a journalist, you need to interview what the audience wants to see, that’s how you show your value.” The chief started rambling again.

“Chief, I understand. Please stop talking. You should go back to sleep; Britney is still waiting for you in your dream!”

...

When Duke quickly ran to where Zhang Guan was, Zhang Guan was already surrounded by a large group of reporters.

Breaking the men’s 100-meter world record twice in a month, no one had ever achieved that. At the world record level, advancing by even 0.01 seconds might take years.

“Congratulations, Zhang Guan, you’ve broken the world record again! You’ve created another miracle!” a reporter said.

“Miracle? No! At the Olympics a month ago, I said this isn’t a miracle!” Zhang Guan waved his hand. “I have the ability. I am the fastest man in the world, so of course, I will break the world record!”

The reporter who asked the question immediately blushed. He didn’t expect Zhang Guan to answer like that. Every athlete who broke a world record usually looked as if they had been kissed by the goddess of luck, not like Zhang Guan, who seemed to take it for granted.

Then Zhang Guan continued, “I’ve seen some people say that my Olympic gold medal and world record were a coincidence, a matter of luck. So today, I broke the world record again. If you still think it’s a coincidence, there will definitely be a third, fourth time... So, don’t talk about coincidence, luck, or miracles. I only believe in ability! I believe that soon, the world will get used to me constantly breaking new world records!”

“Oh... What is this? A speech after breaking the world record? How can someone have such a speech? Too arrogant! But also too unique! I like this kind of personality!” Duke was surprised, his mouth wide open. Then he realized that American young people would definitely love such a unique star. Pursuing individuality and self-expression is the mainstream culture of young people in America and around the world.

...

Kondo Laboratory.

This All-Star event was different from the Olympics. The organizers collected samples from all athletes, and they were now testing the urine samples of the eight 100-meter sprinters.

“Are the results out? Any signs of doping?” Kondo Kizan asked anxiously.

“They’re about to come out.” The assistant in front of the computer screen was carefully watching for the results.

“Make sure to detect it, make sure to detect it!” Kondo Kizan started praying. He was so worried that they wouldn’t detect any doping, which would not only be a failure but also a blow to his confidence.

“They’re out!” The assistant pointed to the test results on the computer screen and shouted, “Detected, detected! There’s a reaction in one of the samples!”

“Really detected, what is it?” Kondo Kizan immediately asked.

“From the molecular structure, it’s a steroid.” The assistant said.

Kondo Kizan immediately walked over and carefully examined it, then said, “It’s tetrahydroethylhydroxydienogestrel, a very complex and advanced new type of steroid. No wonder it wasn’t detected at the Olympics. Even Japan can’t produce this, and I thought only the Americans could develop such a new steroid. I didn’t expect the Chinese technology to advance so quickly!”

After saying that, Kondo Kizan immediately picked up the phone and called the deputy minister’s office. The call was connected to the deputy minister’s office in less than a minute.

“Deputy Minister, this is Kondo Kizan.”

“Dr. Kondo, how is the situation? Did you detect anything?” the deputy minister asked.

“Yes, we detected a doping reaction. It’s tetrahydroethylhydroxydienogestrel, the latest type of steroid. This is a very complex and technologically advanced substance, even the Americans might not be able to detect it.” Kondo Kizan said proudly.

“Great, Dr. Kondo, prepare the test report immediately. We need to hold a press conference and inform the world of this scandal!” The deputy minister’s voice became excited.

“Don’t worry, Deputy Minister, I’ll prepare the test report right away.” Kondo Kizan hung up the phone and said, “Prepare a detailed test report.”

“Sure, Doctor. All of them?” the assistant asked.

“Of course. Wait, what do you mean by all of them?” Kondo Kizan asked.

“I mean all the reports. We tested eight samples, and the one with the doping reaction is the fourth sample. So I’m asking if we should also prepare reports for the other seven samples.” The assistant explained.

“Just prepare the report for Zhang Guan.” Kondo Kizan said.

“Sure.” The assistant checked the athlete list and then said, “Prepare the report for sample number five.”

“Wait!” Kondo Kizan shouted, “Didn’t you say the problem was with sample number four?”

The assistant nodded, looked at the list, and continued, “Zhang Guan is indeed sample number five, and he’s fine. Sample number four is Justin Gatlin...”

“What!” Kondo Kizan almost jumped up. He ran to the computer and started operating it, and the result almost made him cry. Zhang Guan’s urine sample was normal, but Justin Gatlin’s sample tested positive for the steroid.

“Why didn’t you tell me it was Gatlin earlier? I don’t want Gatlin, I want Zhang Guan!” Kondo Kizan roared.

“Professor, our equipment sorts by number, and only the numbers appear on the computer. We just detected the doping reaction and hadn’t had time to match the numbers to the athletes.” The assistant said, looking aggrieved.

“What should I do? What should I do?” Kondo Kizan suddenly felt an urge to commit seppuku. He was supposed to investigate Zhang Guan, but he ended up investigating the U.S. If this result were to be published, it would be like slapping the Americans in the face.

The Japanese can offend the whole world, but they dare not offend the Americans.

“Maybe we should switch the test results for Zhang Guan and Gatlin!” Kondo Kizan had a sudden impulse, but he immediately rejected the idea. The urine samples were stored in two parts, and if the first sample tested positive, another institution would test the second sample. The entire process, from sample collection to testing, could be supervised by coaches and athletes. If the two test results were different, the truth would quickly come to light. So switching the test results would be useless.

“I need to call the Deputy Minister right away and cancel the press conference!” Kondo Kizan hurriedly picked up the phone...

---

Chapter 2 delivered, please give me a recommendation. Thank you to the readers: Expert $Xiao Tian Tian, Reader 160130140329784, Emperor Ruo, North Wind, Moon’s Madness, Spring 18, Zhu Lu Yan, 9922392, Big Face Fa, Night’s Storm, Time’s Zen Poem, Big 1 Cheng, Ruan Shi He Jie, Gigiliu5277, Little Man’s Growth, Jiang Yan, Bukq, Strategist YXQ, Pupil’s Blood Battle. Thanks.

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