10:10 AM, Inside the Stadium.
Roars of sound like a tsunami echoed through the circular venue, the air thick with fanatical emotion.
Wade sat in the second row of the audience, mechanically waving his orange and blue inflatable sticks along with the crowd, while his mind had already drifted elsewhere.
To his left was Gill, excitedly swinging her short legs, and to his right was Jade, so nervous he looked ready to crush his inflatable cheering stick.
Gill was deaf to the surrounding noise, stroking the autograph from Queen Maeve on her clothes like a precious treasure.
Her face was flushed with a purple glow as she leaned against Wade: "Maeve was so gentle when she hugged me. My cheek even brushed against hers! I've decided, I'm not washing this panel for the next few days!"
Wade stroked the top of her head and teased with a smile, "Just a brush against the cheek? Didn't take the chance to steal a kiss?"
"Get lost!" Gill gave him a playful, reproachful punch, the smile never leaving her face.
Just then, the stadium broadcast rang out like ice dropped into boiling oil, instantly igniting the crowd's passion:
[Ladies and gentlemen! This is a duel between legacy and the future, the supreme honor at the peak of speed! The two fastest men in the world have gathered in New York—who will emerge victorious?!]
[A-Train is ready to leave the station! His speed exceeds 1,600 kilometers per hour! Everyone, get ready—to board! THE! TRAIN!]
Accompanied by the high-pitched blast of A-Train whistle, A-Train, wearing his blue suit and goggles, appeared on the track.
He waved to the stands on all sides and then struck his signature 'bow and arrow' pose, triggering a tsunami of cheers.
"Woooo—A-Train! The GOAT forever!" Jade let out a howl like a wolf, the veins on his neck bulging. "Did you see how relaxed he looks? He's invincible in this state!"
Wade looked at the track and asked curiously, "How many laps is this race?"
Jade froze for a moment. "A race between speedsters is only one lap—just 400 meters!"
'It'd be a miracle if he ran to exhaustion in 400 meters! I'll have to find another way to collect A-Train's superpower genes later.' Wade felt a bit disappointed, his pupils suddenly contracting for a split second.
In his eyes, A-Train's figure seemed to blur extremely quickly twice before stabilizing.
'Did he dope?' Wade looked toward the high VIP platform on the opposite side, where Homelander stood with his hands behind his back, watching the race.
The speed A-Train was showing now was something he could still catch a trace of in his vision.
So, in the eyes of an existence like Homelander, wouldn't this running look like clear slow motion?
'If A-Train doped, there's no way Homelander's X-ray vision wouldn't see it. Is he... permitting him to cheat? What kind of entanglement is there between those two?'
A-Train was currently standing on the track with hands on his hips, looking around and laughing with his personal coach, occasionally adjusting his goggles, looking a bit... nervous and flustered.
A thought flashed through Wade's mind, and he quietly activated [Blood Sense]. In his field of vision, the deep blue blood flow in A-Train's veins was flowing steadily, completely lacking the boiling and restless phenomenon that should follow a compound v injection.
'He didn't dope!' Wade suddenly realized. 'It looks like Frenchie and the others succeeded!'
His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately pulled out his phone, clicking on a sports betting website based in Nevada.
With less than five minutes left until betting closed, the screen clearly displayed:
[A-Train Win Rate: 65%, Odds 1:1.6
Shockwave Win Rate: 35%, Odds 1:2.5]
Information asymmetry brought a huge advantage and opportunity. Wade's fingertips moved rapidly across the phone screen; he still had a balance of 800,000 in his bank account.
This was all money he had won from bets on the campus arena, transferred into his account through legal channels. He had even asked Harper to help with the tax declarations and payments, so he wasn't afraid of the IRS checking him at all.
Wade didn't lack money now; if he really wanted it, he could just rob someone openly, but that was too inefficient, too troublesome, and he'd have to deal with laundering the loot.
Once Mena's meeting with the military succeeded and the 'Nexus' project officially launched, money would flow into his company like water.
That was the reason and the confidence behind his disdain for petty theft and obsession with money.
'The cards are on the table, might as well have some fun. All in!!' Wade decisively bet all the funds in his account on Shockwave.
Fifteen minutes later, the broadcast sounded again.
[Will all unauthorized personnel please leave the track immediately! The race—is about to begin!]
The broadcast fell silent, and the entire stadium went quiet.
At the starting line, A-Train and Shockwave, who was wearing an orange suit, knelt on one knee, their back feet braced against the starting blocks.
Ready—
The starter pistol fired!
Bang!
Whoosh—Whoosh—
In the span of two heartbeats, the race... was over.
Most people hadn't even reacted yet and could only stare blankly at the instant replay on the giant screen.
In the footage slowed down hundreds of times, the orange figure crossed the finish line first with an eight-step lead!
The announcer's hoarse, lung-bursting shout ignited the venue.
[Shockwave—WINS!! Let's congratulate the new King of Speed!]
[The Orange Flash has replaced the Blue Thunderbolt! He has set a new world record with a speed of 345 meters per second!]
[Can you believe it? He was practically flying! In this moment, the world belongs to Shockwave!]
The audience's clamor and shouts rose in waves.
"Shockwave—Shockwave!" "That loser A-Train made me lose millions! If you can't run, hurry up and retire!"
"Shockwave is what everyone wanted; he should join The Seven now!"
Jade held his head in his hands, his blue cheering stick falling to the ground. "No—! Impossible!!"
Gill, however, was indifferent to the win or loss, still happily holding her binoculars and looking at the opposite platform. "Huh? Leaving already? Maeve looks very unhappy!"
'Information is king!' Wade calmly put away his phone; the bet just now had brought him a return of over a million.
He scanned the boiling crowd and fixed his gaze on Butcher, who was diagonally opposite.
In the audience, Butcher was wearing sunglasses, his eyes fixed intently on the VIP platform.
Homelander was smiling and waving to the crowd, completely indifferent to A-Train's failure, unaware that someone was secretly plotting against him.
'Being watched by thousands of people all day, I suppose he's long since become numb. He doesn't have a shred of crisis awareness.' Wade muttered to himself, noticing Mother's Milk and Butcher following the flow of the crowd, about to leave the venue.
'It's my turn to make an appearance!' He quickly stood up and patted Gill and Jade next to him. "I have some urgent business; you guys head back to school first."
Gill's cold little hand immediately grabbed him, her little mouth pouting. "No! You promised to spend the day with me!"
Wade smiled and extended his pinky, shaking it. "This time doesn't count. How about I make it up to you next time? I keep my word!"
"That's more like it!" Gill huffed and hooked her pinky with his, pressing their thumbs together.
Jade had a long face and sighed repeatedly. "Sigh... A-Train really is old, and my little bit of money has flown away!"
"Relax, that bet just now doesn't count." Wade patted his shoulder and laughed. "You lose every time you bet! Remember to help me sign in for the posture and etiquette class this afternoon."
Upon hearing this, Jade grabbed his arm, his legs going so weak he almost knelt. "Really?! Leave it to me!"
Wade picked up his backpack and waved. "Stay safe, remember to take care of Gill, don't get separated..."
Before he could finish, Gill stepped on a seat and threw two snowballs. "If you dare lie to me, next time I'll... I'll freeze you to death!"
"Buddy, you'd be better off worrying about me." Jade turned into a blur, quickly dodging the flying ice shards.
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