Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

[Congratulations! You have successfully learned the mountain bike technical maneuver [Dolphin Jump]]

[Reward received: 2 Basic Optimization Value points, +2 to specialized Car Control Techniques Optimization Value, and 1 Heart and Lung Nourishing Pill.]

[Heart and Lung Nourishing Pill: After consumption, this pill can increase the host’s myocardial thickness, improve blood-pumping capacity, further strengthen cardiopulmonary function, lower resting heart rate, and increase maximum oxygen uptake.]

...

After deciding to go with Dewey to Qiandao Lake for the cycling event hosted by Zhou Ming, Huang Chong used the few remaining days to master the last mountain bike control skill taught by Li Zifan.

Afterward, he transferred the same maneuvers to his road bike and earned another 5 points for his specialized Car Control Techniques Optimization Value.

With that, he had learned all five beginner mountain bike control skills:

[Lifting the Front Wheel], [Lifting the Rear Wheel], [Static Bike], [Double Wheel Jump], and [Dolphin Jump].

Furthermore, he had earned 7 points of specialized Car Control Techniques Optimization Value for each maneuver.

This brought his weakest and most glaring deficiency—bike control—leaping up to 73 points, making it his first auxiliary skill to reach the level of a junior Professional Cyclist.

Without a doubt, this rate of improvement was ridiculously and terrifyingly fast.

Anyone who’s ever ridden a mountain bike knows that an ordinary person, training at a normal pace, could never master this entire set of maneuvers without at least a year or two of practice.

But Huang Chong, with the help of his cheats, had done it in less than two weeks.

If Li Zifan, his instructor, knew about Huang Chong’s current achievements, his first reaction probably wouldn’t be admiration. Instead, he would seriously question Huang Chong’s character and sincerity.

After all, completely mastering a whole set of beginner mountain biking skills in less than two weeks?

’What kind of joke is this?’

’This guy must have been practicing secretly for a long time and was just pretending to be a beginner to get close to me and suck up.’

Because that couldn’t even be called genius; it would have to be called monstrous.

Of course, the drawback was that Huang Chong’s current proficiency was only reflected in his ability to complete each maneuver.

He hadn’t used this series of moves in actual mountain cross-country, trail downhills, or alpine downhill races.

It was as if all the pieces were in place, but he had zero real-world experience. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

After finishing his bike control training, Huang Chong took out the Heart and Lung Nourishing Pill and consumed it directly.

Feeling the changes in his body, he fully understood that the person he was now, fully optimized by the system, was worlds apart from the son his parents had raised, the one with only ordinary aptitude.

He knew that if he went to a hospital or a top-tier team’s laboratory for tests on his cardiopulmonary function, aerobic threshold, lactate threshold, oxygen uptake capacity—all the metrics related to cycling talent—he would definitely be on the same level as Pogačar and Vingegaard.

He might even be better.

Right now, the only gaps between him and a world-class cyclist were his FTP Power on his personal panel, and a few auxiliary skills that still needed significant improvement.

A bold idea suddenly sprouted in Huang Chong’s mind:

’Now that I have this fully optimized body, even if the system stops giving me evaluation missions and reward-based cheats, could I reach the level of a World Tour Cyclist just through my own daily training? And wouldn’t it take long?’

’After all, a cyclist’s upper limit is determined by their natural physical talent.’

"No, thinking like that is too one-sided and naive of me."

"It’s like... China might not have a shortage of people with a talent for cycling."

"But without a youth development system like they have in Europe, one that provides professional training and nurtures cyclists from a young age, constantly unlocking their potential... even the greatest natural talent would be hard to realize."

"I might seem to be just one step away from being a Professional Cyclist, but without the system’s help, how to get professional training would still be an insurmountable hurdle."

"Sigh, but I have myself to blame for this too. I’m just too old and got into this sport too late!"

Huang Chong laughed self-deprecatingly.

Then, at around three in the afternoon, he returned home from the bike shop, showered, changed, prepared a clean cycling kit and his bike, and set off with Dewey for Chun’an County, where Qiandao Lake was located.

Although Zhou Ming’s cycling event was scheduled for Sunday, it was summer, and no one would hold a cycling event after the sun was up.

So the start time was set very early: 6:30 AM on Sunday, departing from the starting line for a ride of only 50 km.

Whoever crossed the finish line first would be the winner.

It was a long way from Hangcheng to Chun’an, so Dewey and Huang Chong had to go a day early. Otherwise, to make the 6:30 AM race start, they would have had to set out in the middle of the night.

Compared to the official Tour of Qiandao Lake, which circumnavigates the entire lake, the route Zhou Ming had planned could only be considered a castrated half-lake race.

The participants were also much like those in a group ride organized by a major cycling brand.

Aside from a few invited outsiders like Dewey, it was basically just members of Zhou Ming’s own clique.

Well, rather than "clique members," they were really just Eldest Young Master Zhou’s cycling playmates.

When Dewey and Huang Chong arrived in Chun’an at the resort hotel that Zhou Ming had booked out in advance, they could tell at a glance that this wasn’t even a cycling event. It was a pool party using cycling as a pretext.

"This is a cycling race organized by a rich kid?"

Huang Chong’s mouth twitched as he watched the flock of Riding Beauties. These were the women who usually followed Zhou Ming around, wearing cycling kits and riding Pinarello road bikes that they only used as props for photos. Now, they had stripped down to their bikinis and were flitting about the hotel, singing and dancing.

He suddenly regretted agreeing to accompany Dewey to Zhou Ming’s cycling event.

It wasn’t that he was allergic to the sight of pale, soft flesh, but that in order to participate, he had to take time off from the team he had just joined in his second week.

You have to understand, for a newcomer to take time off before he’d even gotten to know his teammates was very bad form.

"What do you know? It’s a cycling event. Who said we only have to cycle?"

Dewey, who had clearly seen this kind of thing many times, grinned slyly and said,

"I told you before, cycling isn’t just about riding bikes. If you go ’ride’ one of those graceful white mares, wouldn’t that also increase your power and build your core strength?"

Huang Chong’s face darkened.

’If Wu Fang finds out about this, let’s see how you get yourself out of it—’ he thought to himself.

Of course, he wouldn’t actually try to talk Dewey out of anything.

This seemingly extravagant cycling event was, in reality, just a social gathering for Zhou Ming and his cohort of rich kids.

For instance, among those invited by the young master to this cycling event, there were quite a few rich bros from Hangcheng and the surrounding cities who were passionate about cycling.

Huang Chong was well aware that for Dewey, a large portion of these people were also his own customers, who had bikes built and bought gear from his shop.

"Alright, you silly kid. I know you’re not going to ’ride’ any of those white mares; you’ve only got road bikes on the brain."

"But you really need to get used to scenes like this."

"At the very least, you should learn some basic social skills in this kind of environment, right?"

"Let me tell you, don’t those World Tour Cyclists throw parties and go clubbing to celebrate after the Tour de France?"

"When that time comes, you’ll find that foreigners party way harder than we do!"

"Besides, that kid Zhou Ming is really generous. It’s true that the party is real (for doing business) and the cycling race is fake (just to cater to the invited guests’ hobbies), but at least he’s footing the entire bill for you to come here and enjoy yourself, right?"

"And for tomorrow’s race, there’s prize money for the top three, with the champion’s prize being as high as 28,888."

"Isn’t that several times higher than the prize money for a stage win at the official Tour of Zhejiang?"

"As long as you’ve got the skills to take first place, that prize money is yours. Zhou Ming definitely won’t stiff you on the payment."

"So, what do you have to say now?"

"The guy’s not only giving you free food and lodging and pretty girls to look at, but he’s also giving you a chance to win prize money. What’s there to be unhappy about?"

After finishing his long, smug speech, Dewey nudged Huang Chong in the waist and suddenly lowered his voice to say,

"Old Huang, if you ask me, you’re just too uptight. See any white mares that catch your eye?"

"If you like one, just be bold, go hit on her, and then take her back to a room to ’increase your power.’"

"Trust your big brother, these girls know the score. They’re only in it for a one-night stand. They’ll never try to get into a long-term relationship or make you take responsibility."

Huang Chong: "..."