Chapter 587 - 411 Number 1, Becoming Famous!_2

The rivalry between the north and the south is indeed not limited to tofu pudding, zongzi, tangyuan, mooncakes, and the accompanying dishes of hot pot oil and sesame paste.

But no matter what you call it, for Comrade Fang Huai, it’s all in a cinch, as you can witness his confident smile, the moment he locks eyes on Jiang Yonghui’s hand gesture and makes his move, clenching his fist, he beats his opponent’s scissors!

"Oh!"

The comrades from the north let out a sound of disappointment.

Okay, it’s Jiang Yonghui’s turn now.

Jiang Yonghui is ferocious. At the sound of the referee’s command, he dashes into the blacksmithing area with rapid steps, picks up the sledgehammer, and delivers a fierce series of blows.

Onlookers from the north silently count for him, not giving the referee any chance to call a foul.

Very smooth!

The judge watches as his 50 rounds of hammering are nearing the end, quickly stepping back a bit!

An experienced referee, he anticipates that the contestant might drop the hammer on his own foot!

The contestant lifts the white bucket and chooses to carry it on his back, bending over as he enters the smoke tunnel.

Quickly! He circles around, then turns back!

A perfect performance.

Next is the cumbersome 120-pound dummy. Will it slow him down?

Not at all!

Jiang Yonghui bends down and hoists the dummy onto his shoulders with ease!

His signature northern stature carries the dummy with no trouble!

Uh... he slows down a tiny bit when turning back, moving too fast caused the dummy to slip, but with a shake of his hands, he steadies it once again!

This is a mistake any aggressive contestant rushing forward would make, and it hasn’t affected his speed!

As he turns back towards the three-meter barrier, he adjusts his hat toward the northwest direction—a gesture surely laden with meaning!

...That’s the direction of Beijing! It’s a salute to the closing Paralympics!

In such a tense and exciting environment, he insists on paying tribute to the north. At this moment, only a poem comes to mind!

Setting aside your three layers of heavy snow, who in the world can match in white clothes!

Wait, he adjusts his hat again.

It seems to have been loosened while carrying the dummy.

But, it hasn’t affected his speed!

He charges forward, accelerates, reaches the platform, grabs the rope, and wobbles a bit.

Onto the platform!

Secures himself, turns, and dismounts perfectly!

Fang Huai finishes the first event of the Ironman Competition, the Firefighting Obstacle Course, and the referee shouts out the score!

minute, 34 seconds, 65!

Uh...

An astonishing score!

Many are calculating whether they still have a chance to compete with such a time!

Sometimes you can’t blame them for popping champagne mid-match. Just this small event within the Ironman Competition, even for Grand Martial Arts Competition contestants, the slower ones take 1 minute 50 seconds to two minutes to complete, and some even fail in their rush to beat the clock!

The next contestant, Fang Huai, readies himself and with a shout of "Ironman," gains applause from both sides!

Consequently, as Fang Huai raises his hand and shouts approval, he wins another round of cheers!

The entire south is driven, chanting "Number 1"!

The scene below, "Chapter Four Hundred and Thirty-One — Through Three Challenges," has been played before, and viewers interested in watching it are advised to go back and watch the replay.

Oh.

No no no, the director cuts back to the scene!

What just happened?

That figure, what was it?

He’s gotten faster!

He’s shocked everyone!

The scene shifts to the southern cheer squad representative Zeng Jieyi’s face, his pupils dilating! From his eyes, we see a flying figure!

Their cheers of support are forgotten, and on the composed face of Chief of Staff Hu Peizhou from Hunan, we see surprise, tension, excitement, and other emotions that furrow his brow!

Fang Huai speeding across the field, lifts the dummy with one arm, securing it, while his other hand is still propelling him forward!

Oh!

The three-meter barrier is like mere steps to him!

He briefly steps in the air before losing his momentum, grabs the rope, then rolls off the top platform of the three-meter barrier!

Did he... fall?

No, no, he’s back out, waving to the audience on the field!

The referee announces the time!

One minute! 30 seconds, 96!

...

The field falls silent.

As the Firefighting Obstacle Course unfolds, it’s as though a commentator is shouting in everyone’s mind.

The competition has only reached the first quarter, with three more to go: the comprehensive firefighting drill, the laying and disassembling of the water hose, and the loaded sprint up ten flights of stairs. Yet, having witnessed the incredibly swift figure, everyone feels the outcome is already decided.

The most challenging Firefighting Obstacle Course, where top contenders are least likely to create a gap, has been widened by Fang Huai by a chasm of 3.7 seconds.

Everyone feels like there’s no need to continue the competition.

Those nearby don’t see any technical tricks at play.

He’s simply fierce!

Feeling just as hopeless as Jiang Yonghui, are not only those from the north but also from the south.

The Hunan Team finally understands why Zeng Jieyi kept saying that in endurance events, there’s no chance against Number 1, the longer it goes, the harder it is to win.

And in Zeng Jieyi’s heart, he’s on the verge of tears.

I said he was fierce, but I never imagined, he’s fiercer than I described!

This f*cking guy is getting more and more monstrous!

I finished the Firefighting Obstacle Course in 1 minute 34 seconds too; stepping into the arena, am I not going to be crushed by this f*cking guy?

The Guangdong General Team had prepared their ace in the hole, happily pulling out sunflower seeds, cracking them while watching the spectacle, even when Jiang Yonghui’s score of 1 minute 34 came out, they were not amazed but instead analyzed the time wasted on his superfluous movements.

But Fang Huai’s performance stopped their talking.

The sunflower seeds in their mouths began to taste bitter.

No matter how they calculated, their strongest record in the obstacle course, 1 minute 32 seconds 9, could not possibly improve by such a vast two seconds.