Chapter 161: Mexico

The information Lu Xiaoyu dug up was quite impressive.
However, because it consisted merely of internal documents, it could not be used as formal evidence.
This was likely a massive scandal for USA Track & Field as well, which was why any truly useful evidence had either been destroyed or hidden deep away.
Luo Su took the relevant materials to discuss them with Lu Jinrong. Lu Jinrong also felt that they did not constitute solid proof—at least not enough to directly take down Li Yan—but they served as a valuable warning and a new line of thought.

"We still need to approach this from two angles: the abuse of athletes and doping," Lu Jinrong said. "Especially doping. The moment we have direct evidence, no one will be able to protect Li Yan."
"Direct evidence..." Luo Su had a vague plan, but it was not yet fully formed.
Yet, one thing was certain: the better Luo Su performed and the more influence he gained, the harder things would become for Li Yan.

...

After a week of rest and recovery in Pengcheng, Luo Su raised his 'Strength' attribute to 51.
Because he had secured only one championship and one attribute point at the meet in Budapest, his 'Agility' would have to remain at 50 for a little longer.
Luo Su no longer pursued an obsessive-compulsive balance; losing the 100 meters to the world record holder Powell and the 200 meters to the freakishly talented Usain had subjected him to intense pressure.

There could only be one victor on a running track.
No matter how good your time was, as long as you were not the fastest, you were destined to be a loser.
Unfortunately, between April 15 and 23, there were no races available for Luo Su to win.
It got to the point where Luo Su felt the urge to run a couple of laps whenever he saw a neighboring middle school holding its sports day.
Just wait; once June passed, domestic athletic events across the country would begin springing up one after another. Luo Su could definitely look forward to that. Since his victory at the Pengcheng Municipal Hospital Cup had been recognized by the status bar, surely no competition was off-limits, right?

...

On April 22, Luo Su and Tian Shiwei arrived in Mexico City.
The Mexican Grand Prix, a silver-level meeting of the 2005 IAAF World Athletics Continental Tour, was set to be held at the city's Olympic Stadium.

Riding in a taxi upon entering this North American country, Luo Su immediately felt the heat.
It was not the ambient temperature that was scorching, but rather the bustling crowds surging through the streets. It was exceptionally lively, and particularly as they drew closer to the Olympic Stadium, they could see huge promotional banners hanging outside the venue.

Luo Su spotted two Black men on the advertising banners.
"Greene... Montgomery... The Grudge Match?"
Team leader Si Rou read out the text on the billboard.
Both athletes were on the entry list for this Grand Prix.
Yet, the sheer scale of the hype genuinely surprised Luo Su.
He had never witnessed a city thrown into such a frenzy over a mere 100-meter race.
Was Mexico City always this immersed in an athletic competitive atmosphere?
Gazing at the gangsters wearing floral shirts and tucking firearms into their waistbands along the roadside, Luo Su decided it probably wasn't.

"Whoa, guns!" Tian Shiwei stared out the window as if he had discovered a new continent.
"Stop moving around!" Lu Jinrong gave Tian Shiwei a light slap.
Si Rou smiled faintly at the sight, then said in a very official tone, "Public safety in the main districts of Mexico City is generally guaranteed, so there's no need for everyone to worry. As long as you don't wander away from the accommodation at night and avoid the slums during the day, there shouldn't be any major problems."

"Indeed, it's 'not very' dangerous, huh," Tian Shiwei remarked. Having lived in China for so long, coming to a place like Mexico City truly felt like stepping into another world.
Before departing abroad, Lu Jinrong had given them special training: Mexico was heavily infested with gangs, so they had to be extremely careful and avoid courting death—because courting death here meant actual death.

Upon arriving at the hotel, Lu Jinrong kept Luo Su and Tian Shiwei confined to their rooms, forbidding them from going out so they could study their opponents' profiles together.
Tian Shiwei found it boring and muttered that no wonder Juno's father stubbornly refused to let her come; he must have known there was nothing fun here and that it was quite dangerous.

Lu Jinrong ignored Tian Shiwei's idle chatter and began briefing them on their opponents for this meet.
Those massive billboards they had passed earlier outside the stadium featured the two strongest competitors of the event.
Greene, 31 years old, with a personal best of 9.79 seconds in the 100 meters set a decade ago. He was also the indoor 60-meter world record holder, being the first runner to break the 6.40-second barrier in the indoor 60 meters.
Montgomery, 29 years old, whose personal best of 9.78 seconds in the 100 meters—set at the 2005 IAAF Golden League—had broken the world record previously held by Greene.
Of course, the current world record holder was Powell, whom Luo Su had raced against, with a time of 9.77 seconds.

"These are the kings of world track and field, generation after generation," Lu Jinrong could not help sighing as he spoke.
Old kings, new kings, and even newer kings cycled and succeeded one another on this track that represented the ultimate glory of humankind.

Having finished his reflection, Lu Jinrong turned his focus back to emphasizing the backgrounds of these two men: "Both of these sprint legends have been embroiled in scandals."
Rumor had it that these two former world record holders had both been clients of a laboratory named BALCO.
Greene had once remarked to Montgomery during a competition: "You went over there too, didn't you?"
At that very meet, Montgomery snatched the gold medal away from Greene.

"That's why I feel this race is a bit unusual," Lu Jinrong said. "I've never seen a city get this worked up over a hundred-meter dash. If something is genuinely wrong, I will exercise my authority as a coach to withdraw you both from this race."

Luo Su did not speak.
He looked over the profiles of the two former world record holders.
Both were hovering around thirty years of age.
Greene's best time this year was 10.01 seconds, and he had previously been sidelined by a hamstring pull.
Montgomery had even spent two years in prison.
Could they still break the 10-second barrier?
Could performance-enhancing drugs help them dip back under 10 seconds?

...

Next, Lu Jinrong contacted the embassy to inquire about the nature of the celebrations currently taking place in Mexico City.
...
"This is likely a massive gambling operation," Lu Jinrong said. "Some gangs have opened bookmaking markets betting on whether Montgomery or Greene will win the 100-meter gold. Many world-renowned track and field stars are unwilling to entangle themselves in this kind of mess, which is why athletes like Powell and Gatlin didn't participate in this event."

Clearly, coaches and athletes who regularly competed in international IAAF circuits had their own inner circles where information circulated rapidly. Since Luo Su and Lu Jinrong were only just entering this upper echelon, their information flow was inevitably a bit constrained.

"What should we do?" Luo Su asked.
Lu Jinrong was also hesitant. Once the embassy learned they were there to compete, they didn't foresee any imminent danger; aside from the football league, which could be hazardous, no unexpected accidents had ever occurred during other sporting events in Mexico.
The IAAF Continental Tour was a major worldwide event, and the city had to maintain its international standing.

"Since we've already come all this way..." Tian Shiwei ventured.
That was essentially Luo Su's sentiment as well. Having come all this way, were they supposed to just pack up and head straight back? Putting aside the funding provided by the Pengcheng Sports Commission, the nearly full week spent traveling back and forth would be completely wasted.

"Let's race first, and if any problems arise, we'll pull out," Lu Jinrong decided.