Chapter 53: The true meaning of winning lies not in defeating the opponent, but in conquering oneself!-Desafio de transmissão ao vivo: Cem vezes entrando por engano em cenas de crime(Gato de rua)

Lu Xingzhou's original task for today included carrying a bicycle around the beltway greenway.
Running it entirely by himself would have been quite dull, but now...
Dragging along a major sucker to accompany him made it immensely enjoyable.

Jiang Wenpeng's offline fans watched as Lu Xingzhou hoisted his bicycle and strode away, then turned their gazes toward Jiang Wenpeng.
They seemed to be asking, "Aren't you going to chase after him?"
The fans in the live stream might not all be genuine, but the offline fans were definitely veterans.
Moreover, the price of a carbon-fiber road bike long ago surpassed the concept of a mere commuting tool, starting at one hundred thousand and going up without a ceiling.
In other words, this was a group of wealthy and idle hardcore fans.
If he let this crowd down, his streaming career would essentially be over!

Gazing at Lu Xingzhou's increasingly distant figure, Jiang Wenpeng pumped himself up.
"Running fast doesn't necessarily mean running far! Who doesn't sprint hard when their stamina is high? Just watch me overtake him in a moment."
Gritting his teeth, Jiang Wenpeng hoisted his own road bike and gave chase in the direction Lu Xingzhou had taken.
Although Jiang Wenpeng usually relied heavily on staged photoshoots, he was not a complete couch potato; his physical fitness was above average, and he had some familiarity with long-distance running.
Watching Lu Xingzhou's frantic pace from afar, Jiang Wenpeng curved the corners of his mouth.
Running slowly didn't mean running a short distance. Over a hundred-kilometer endurance run, he would surely catch up eventually—hadn't they ever learned the story of the tortoise and the hare?

Jiang Wenpeng's live stream was likewise filled with supporters.
<Pfft~ Hilarious! Running that fast, just wait and see him looking miserable pushing his bike later!>
<This is a hundred-kilometer run, you know? At that speed, he'll collapse from exhaustion before even two kilometers!>
<Total idiot, just showing off because there's a crowd. Don't end up exposing your backside instead of saving face later!>

It was late July, and east of the Taihang Mountains, even the early morning brought only a stifling, scorching foehn wind.
By the time Lu Xingzhou rode all the way from the North Second Ring Road to the beltway greenway, his clothes were already soaked through, clinging tightly to his bulging muscles.
This drew a chorus of greedy, covetous glances from the female cyclists.
"I'm going to catch up with that handsome young man ahead and check out the situation! Besides, I noticed he doesn't carry much water, and I've got several bottles right here."
"I have some too, and if it's not enough, I can swing by a side path to buy more later."
"As if only you two have it—I've got some too!"

As road bike after road bike accelerated forward, Jiang Wenpeng noticed that the riders around him were dwindling, all of them speeding off in the direction of Lu Xingzhou.

Meanwhile, for Lu Xingzhou running at the front, the situation was the exact opposite.
Before long, he was surrounded by bold female cyclists.
"Handsome, are you free tonight? Big sister has a long-term suite at the hotel."
"Interested in grabbing a Martini later? The blended flavor is simply wonderful, you know."
"Slurp! Look at those muscle lines and that perky backside—absolute perfection."

No way?
Are wealthy women really this unrestrained when discussing such matters?
I've even turned off my lights!
Even if you have to spend a bit of money for this kind of thing, spend... wait, you guys are actually spending real money?!

Lu Xingzhou suddenly noticed his live stream being flooded in an instant by a dozen high-level accounts between level 60 and 70, starting right off the bat with several "Streamer Number One" super-gifts!
Judging by their profile pictures, they were undoubtedly the very women right in front of him.
<Why should you newcomers fight us for our man?! Do you think you're the only ones with money? I'm wealthy too!>
<I'm from Shanhe City, and I'm already on my way to the beltway greenway!>
<What's the use of just talking big? Trying to steal my man—I've already driven over to deal with them in person!>

The new and old fans in the live stream quickly split into two factions and erupted into a massive battle.

Initially, no one—from the viewers in the live stream to the cyclists trailing Lu Xingzhou—believed he could carry a bicycle and complete the 100-kilometer beltway greenway run.
Ultra-distance running was never something accomplished on a whim.
It was extremely difficult, a test of the limits of human endurance.
It required repeatedly adjusting one's breathing, strength, and pacing through countless training sessions.
During the first five kilometers, both the live stream audience and the surrounding cyclists maintained a lighthearted, bantering attitude.
All the viewers assumed that covering five kilometers with Lu Xingzhou's fitness level would be a breeze.
As a retired mixed martial arts fighter, agility, strength, endurance, and speed were all indispensable to him.
Everyone had already grown accustomed to his daily live-streamed 5-kilometer morning jogs.

However, the audience soon realized something was amiss.
Ten kilometers!
Twenty kilometers!
Thirty kilometers!
The distance Lu Xingzhou covered while sprinting with a bicycle gradually approached the milestone of a full marathon.

His formidable physical strength made Lu Xingzhou's broadcast effects every bit as riveting as encountering a murder case.
The water he had prepared was already gone, but fortunately, the surrounding cyclists took turns relaying water and supplies to him.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it. We're witnessing the limits of humanity.
Though... Jiang Wenpeng has already given up. Are you really going to run a full lap around the beltway greenway? You've already won this wager."

Lu Xingzhou raised his head, the sunlight striking the crystal-clear beads of sweat and refracting a multicolored glow.
"Winning against an opponent is meaningless. Winning against the goal you set for yourself is what matters."

The live stream chat fell silent for a moment.
Having spent a long time on the internet, fabricated and genuine stories alike had long since become Schrödinger's cats.
Everything was a gimmick, a tool for making money; what kind of noble or pathetic sob stories hadn't they seen?
Yet, they had truly never witnessed someone like Lu Xingzhou who actually practiced what he preached, pushing back and forth against the absolute limits of human limits.
It seemed Lu Xingzhou was perpetually living out his original vow: *Towering peaks pierce the purple firmament, building fairy bridges at the very end of the road!* He constantly challenged the utmost limits accessible to mankind!

<Wait, why am I suddenly getting a little emotional?!>
<Damn it! I feel like the streamer is scamming my little pearls~ Wuwu~>
<Streamer! Keep it up! There's still a corpse waiting for you up ahead doing mad crunches!>
<Crap! Who sent that comment about "a corpse doing crunches for the streamer"? I had finally gotten into an emotional state, and you made me burst out laughing again!>

Chasing far behind, Jiang Wenpeng's face was flushed crimson, his brain was starved of oxygen, his lungs felt as though they were burning, and his feet felt as heavy as lead, making every inch a struggle.
Yet, as far as the eye could see, there was still no sign of Lu Xingzhou; catching up remained an endlessly distant prospect.
At this point, only his own team members remained by his side, offering him words of encouragement.
"Wenpeng! You can do it!"
"Wenpeng! You're about to catch up!"
"Wenpeng! Hurry! Hurry!"

He now regretted the race condition he had proposed more than anything in the world.
His physical condition was indeed superior to that of an average person, but compared to a professional athlete like Lu Xingzhou who practically carried a cheat code, the gap was simply too vast.
By now, besides his own crew, not a single other cyclist remained near him.

*Forget it, I'm not running anymore! I can't run another step!*
The moment Jiang Wenpeng gave up mentally, his legs went completely soft, and with a dull thud, he collapsed flat onto the ground...

(Thank you to all my fathers and mothers for urging updates and for your support! More chapters are being typed out frantically right now~~~)