022: Just That Resilient

"This is bad. It's so hard to breathe, my lungs feel like they're on fire!"

Tang Jian pushed himself to finish the fourth lap, feeling like he was about to collapse. His legs were like lead, incredibly heavy and sore, and every breath of oxygen felt like a burning flame in his lungs.

This was mainly because he had sprinted too hard earlier, which consumed his stamina much faster. Now, he could barely keep going.

No, this won't do. It seems if I don't cheat, I won't get that five thousand yuan bonus. I have to cheat.

Tang Jian was panting like an ox, his eyes red. He ran like an old lady out for a stroll, his butt swaying.

He couldn't help it; his physique was simply too poor, even worse than Yang Mao's. And this was a competition of speed and endurance. Even though he used to be a Card Master, his current body was so weak that he was at the bottom among Card Users.

He was just too weak.

He Chong, whom he was about to catch up to earlier, was now getting further and further away.

He Chong looked back at the slowly jogging Tang Jian and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

If he, the third-ranked person in Class 32 of senior year, were to be overtaken by this sudden appearance of a kid, it would be too embarrassing.

Behind Tang Jian, Yang Mao, who had already overtaken Wang Lele and Jia Ling, was catching up fast. Seeing Tang Jian's speed slow down, jogging like he was drunk, Yang Mao couldn't help but reveal a "just as I thought" smile.

"Serves you right for rushing ahead earlier, heh heh heh. Three-second man, you can't keep up now, can you? I'm the one with endurance!"

Yang Mao was overjoyed, running even harder. He zipped past Tang Jian in a flash, even turning his head to taunt him proudly.

"Bro, I'm heading on ahead."

Tang Jian was drenched in sweat. He watched Yang Mao overtake him but paid him no mind. He continued to jog slowly, concentrating his thoughts on his eyes.

Suddenly, the attribute panel for his eyes quickly appeared.

Owner: Tang Jian.

Card Energy: [14/46]+

Spirit: [3/6]+

Physique: [6.5]+

Special Functions: 1. ??? (???)

2. Dream. (???)

Current Energy: [0]+

As expected, my stamina consumption is too high. The Card Energy that was almost fully recovered this morning has dropped significantly now.

Tang Jian understood immediately when he saw the data on the attribute panel.

The stronger the physique, the easier it was to cultivate Card Energy.

Card Energy was directly linked to one's physical fitness. If a person's stamina was heavily depleted, their Card Energy would also decrease and weaken.

Conversely, if Card Energy recovered, stamina would also recover accordingly.

Currently, Tang Jian's stamina was severely depleted, so his Card Energy naturally dropped sharply.

"There are two choices before me now: first, use an Energy Card to restore Card Energy and enhance it; second, use an Energy Card to directly enhance my physique."

Tang Jian jogged slowly, feeling the two Energy Cards in his pocket, pondering.

This morning, before leaving home, he had created one One-Star Blank Energy Card.

Then, under Sun Yiying's urging, he made another One-Star Blank Energy Card.

Both cards were now in his pants pocket.

With these two cards, Tang Jian could cheat.

However, if he directly used an Energy Card to enhance his physique, Tang Jian wasn't sure how much energy it would take to improve his physique even slightly.

If his physique improved, his Card Energy might not immediately increase; he would need further cultivation.

But if his Card Energy increased, his physique would naturally improve under the nourishment of this peculiar internal energy.

Generally speaking, normal people would first improve their physique and then cultivate Card Energy with a strong physique. It was difficult to cultivate Card Energy first and then use Card Energy to strengthen the physique.

This was like finding firewood first and then using the firewood to start a fire. It was difficult to start a fire out of thin air and then find good firewood for a strong fire.

However, Tang Jian had the Red Card cheat, which allowed him to achieve this super-difficult, flashy operation directly.

Restoring Card Energy with an Energy Card is a known quantity for me, but improving physique is unknown. I should choose the option I'm confident about.

Tang Jian had never tried to directly improve his physique. If the two Energy Cards in his pocket weren't enough to improve his physique, that would be a bit awkward, although the possibility wasn't very high.

Just as Tang Jian was thinking this, Wang Lele and Jia Ling also caught up from behind, overtaking Tang Jian's "old lady" style of running.

"Tang Jian, I told you to run slower. Now you're out of energy, aren't you? Can't you last a bit longer?"

Wang Lele jogged along, panting as she called out to Tang Jian.

Jia Ling, on the other hand, ignored Tang Jian completely. But as he overtook Tang Jian, the chubby guy felt a bit uneasy, Is this guy playing the pig to eat the tiger again?

"Brother, keep running! Your teacher is such a kind person, beautiful and generous. Five thousand yuan prize money!"

A student from another class ran past Tang Jian, cheering him on, clearly envious and jealous.

Tang Jian managed to return a smile, concentrating his thoughts on the energy option.

The next moment, the two One-Star Blank Energy Cards in his pocket were completely used up.

At the same time, the "0" energy on his attribute panel immediately turned into "199."

One of the two One-Star Blank Energy Cards had been used to charge a lamp, consuming 1 point of energy.

However, this didn't affect Tang Jian's next move.

His consciousness quickly focused on the Card Energy option, furiously pressing the "+" sign next to it.

All 199 points of energy were instantly consumed.

Tang Jian shivered, nearly collapsing to his knees.

He felt a surge of energy shoot from his head throughout his entire body, and a feeling of fullness and power washed away all his fatigue.

His leaden legs regained their lightness and strength, and his previously drained body felt as if it had been injected with a powerful maca and stimulant.

At that moment, only one thought filled Tang Jian's mind.

A man must be this strong!

The attribute panel data rapidly changed, then settled.

Card Energy: [47/47]+

Energy: [0]+

All energy was depleted, but his Card Energy was now full.

Cheating successful!

Full health, full mana, fully revived!

"Burn, my calories!"

Tang Jian roared like a bull in heat, transforming from a slow, shuffling gait, like an old woman strolling through a park, into a powerful, surging sprint.

Jia Ling, the first person Tang Jian overtook again, nearly stumbled to the ground. Tears streamed down his face as he watched Tang Jian's receding figure, then he started jogging behind, eating his dust.

"You damn scoundrel, you were Playing the Pig to Eat the Tiger all along!?"

Soon, Wang Lele also shrieked as Tang Jian, fast as the wind, overtook her again. If she had been wearing a skirt today, there would have been quite a scene when Tang Jian passed her.

"What's going on?"

Yang Mao, ahead of him, heard Tang Jian's roar and looked back to see Tang Jian's charging speed. His momentum was so overwhelming that overtaking him would only take minutes. Yang Mao was practically on the verge of tears.

"Bro Jian? Bro Jian, I was wrong!! Did you take some kind of super tonic today?"

The next moment, Yang Mao was, without surprise, directly overtaken by Tang Jian.

"Ahhh!—" Yang Mao was filled with shame and indignation, chasing fiercely behind Tang Jian.

On the steps near the rostrum, Gao Shang watched the sprinting Tang Jian with a somewhat stiff smile, then glanced at Sun Yiying beside him, feeling his face burn with awkwardness.

This kid, he just rested for a short while, and he's already recovered such strong explosive power?

Sun Yiying's beautiful eyes were fixed on Tang Jian, who was powerfully sprinting on the track. She felt puzzled, but then a wave of relief and joy washed over her.

On the track.

A man, fast as the wind, roared as he sped past.

On the sixth lap, Tang Jian directly overtook He Chong.

"Scoundrel!!"

He Chong roared and sprinted for a bit, trying to overtake him, but ultimately discovered with shame and indignation that his stamina was failing him. He could only watch Tang Jian run further and further away.

On the seventh lap, under Gao Yang's unwilling roar, Tang Jian's figure swept past him, overtaking him.

By this point.

Both of their speeds had slowed down. Even Tang Jian, who had just replenished his energy, felt tired again.

He gritted his teeth, his face contorted, as he forced himself to move, persisting in running the final stretch, completing all ten laps.

"Tang Jian, you're amazing! You're a true man!"

Liu Kun, who had already finished the entire course within eighteen minutes and was standing at the finish line, greeted Tang Jian as he ran up. He looked extremely surprised and gave Tang Jian a thumbs up.

Unexpectedly, the moment Tang Jian crossed the finish line, he deflated like a punctured balloon and collapsed.

Liu Kun was startled and quickly reached out to catch Tang Jian, preventing him from falling.

Sun Yiying watched Liu Kun supporting Tang Jian from afar, a victorious smile gracing her pretty face. She then lowered her head to check her watch, her beautiful eyes glancing at the stiff-faced Gao Shang beside her.

"Teacher Gao, you've lost. My student completed the entire eight thousand meters in 19 minutes and 33 seconds."