It's Not Easy To Be A Man After Travelling To The Future - by Madam Ru

Chapter 29 "The Final Lap"

The superintendent suppressed his surging emotions, putting his full focus on the performance of the ten children on the screen. Finally, he smiled with satisfaction and said, "End their test and let them out."

The officer in charge of monitoring Ling Lan's group wavered, and asked, "Then how shall we score them?"

The superintendent glared. "Do you need me to teach you something so simple? How much time did they take to complete the course? And how is their condition now?"

The officer's eyes brightened. "Understood, Sir."

*********

Meanwhile, on Ling Lan's end, the group of ten had been holding out for another few rounds. By now, even the indomitable Qi Long and Luo Lang were starting to tire. Running with another person on your back was worlds apart from running on your own — after just a few rounds, they had begun to feel the doubled strain on their bodies. Initially, they had thought that they would be able to persist for another ten to twenty rounds, but now they weren't so sure about that.

Among the ten children, Ling Lan was definitely the one in the best condition. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that she was never tired — because from the moment they had started running, Ling Lan had been circulating her Qi.

Ever since she had tasted its fruits in the strength test, Ling Lan had harboured suspicions that the Qi exercises still had secrets for her to uncover. So, she decided to apply it once again during the running test. Clearly, her decision was a wise one — after running for so long, she was still brimming with energy, and her vital stats remained at the same levels as when she was at rest.

These numbers were all supplied by Little Four. While Ling Lan was marvelling at her discovery, Little Four had shuffled over ... To put it nicely, he wanted to help Ling Lan research the Qi exercises and fulfil his role as a contracted assistant ... but in truth, Little Four was just bored because he had no access to the internet here.

Still, with Little Four's help, Ling Lan very quickly understood the secrets of the Qi exercises. Apparently, circulating Qi could replenish the body's energy as it was being expended, as well as repair any damage affecting the body's functions, allowing the body to maintain peak condition over long periods of time.

Of course, Little Four also noted that the current situation, where her body was maintaining a stasis between expenditure and recovery, was only possible because Ling Lan was not using much energy right now. If Ling Lan were to carry someone and run, like Qi Long or Luo Lang, full equilibrium would probably be impossible — some energy would still be expended. That said, Little Four encouraged Ling Lan by adding that the amount of energy recovered by the Qi exercises would increase the more she trained and circulated her Qi, to the point that eventually, she may possibly never have to worry about her energy levels ever again. (Of course, this was only a possibility after several decades of training ... but Little Four decided that Ling Lan didn't really need to know that.)

Ling Lan, who was still as sprightly as ever, looked at the sweat streaming from Qi Long and Luo Lang's foreheads as their steps started to slow. She could tell that their stamina was starting to fail, and that they might soon be unable to go on. Ling Lan was unsure whether she should offer to take over and help them — she wanted to, but she was also afraid that she would stand out too much by doing that. If only there was a way for her to help without being noticed ...

Currently, under Little Four's regulation, Ling Lan's outward condition appeared to be similar to that of Han Jijyun's. Both of them were panting hard, and the backs of their shirts were drenched with sweat. After all, she had been helping the weakest boy in their group all this time — although she wasn't piggybacking the boy like Qi Long, carrying part of another's weight was still naturally more tiring than running solo.