Chapter 51: Generous Rewards and the Wager Between Wang Xiaoming and Pan Zhanle

[Ding! Because Phelps has been disqualified, all of his competition records have been canceled!]
[Congratulations, Host! You have completely broken all of Phelps's records!]
[Drawing reward now]
[Ding! Draw successful!]
[Congratulations, Host, for acquiring the skill: (Synchronized Swimming Master)!]
[Congratulations, Host, for acquiring the skill: (Gatorade Time)!]
[Congratulations, Host, for acquiring the item: (Miraculous 502 Super Glue)!]

As the system's voice echoed in his mind, Wang Xiaoming broke into a wide smile.

Never had he expected that Phelps's self-destructive actions would ultimately pave the way for his own success.

What was this called?
This was the classic case of "courting death leads to actual doom."

Moreover, the rewards obtained this time were overwhelmingly powerful.
Two skills and one item!

The confidence Wang Xiaoming possessed when facing Pan Zhanle's doubts stemmed entirely from the skill [Synchronized Swimming Master]!

[Synchronized Swimming Master (Passive): You can effortlessly master and execute any style or type of swimming!]

This was truly timely assistance.
For the butterfly stroke he needed to train for right now, its effect was to instantly elevate him from a beginner to the level of winning an Olympic gold medal.

And it was not just limited to the butterfly stroke.
The subsequent breaststroke and backstroke would also directly make him a master in his own right!

This reward alone was already absurdly overpowered.
Not to mention the subsequent skill, [Gatorade Time]!

[Gatorade Time: Significantly increases the user's stamina limit. Upon activation, it can instantly restore a portion of stamina; the higher the level, the greater the recovery!]

This was also a divine skill!
First, its passive effect would elevate his maximum stamina limit, and when activated, it could actively recover a portion of his physical strength.

Although his physical attributes were already exceptionally formidable after completing previous assassin missions, no matter how strong someone was, wouldn't they eventually reach a point of exhaustion?
After all, he was human, not a god.

However, with this skill, even if he found himself cornered in some besieged situation in the future, he would no longer have to fear running out of stamina.

As for the newly acquired item—
A bottle of super glue?
Its apparent function was to repair any damaged item as long as its components were not entirely missing.
Still, it seemed like a useless gadget for the moment.

Temporarily putting his thoughts aside, Wang Xiaoming looked at Pan Zhanle and said, "Care for a race?"

"Race it is, who's afraid of you!" Pan Zhanle declared with an overbearing swagger.

Meanwhile, Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi looked at the two of them with utter confusion.
Puzzled, they asked Zhang Zhanshuo, "What are those two talking about?"

At first, the two girls had already been quite baffled when Pan Zhanle offered to teach Wang Xiaoming the butterfly stroke.
Wang Xiaoming was practically the god of swimming, yet someone was claiming they would teach him the butterfly stroke.
Just who was supposed to be teaching whom here?

However, Zhang Zhanshuo's next words left the two girls with a head full of question marks.
"Brother Ming actually doesn't know how to swim the butterfly stroke. He only knows freestyle!"

"What?!" Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi were dumbfounded.
"You're telling us Brother Ming doesn't know the butterfly stroke? Are you kidding me?" The two girls flat out refused to believe it.

If someone said Wang Xiaoming wasn't proficient in the butterfly stroke, that might still be understandable.
After all, everyone had their own specialized events.
Take Pan Zhanle, for instance; his specialization was freestyle.

However, as long as one was a professional swimmer, even if you specialized in a single event, your proficiency in other swimming strokes should at least reach a competent level.

Yet now you were telling them that Wang Xiaoming, the god of freestyle, didn't know the butterfly stroke?
Who on earth would believe that?

"I'm not lying to you. Before you guys got here, Brother Ming had already been practicing it for a long time!" Zhang Zhanshuo's serious expression didn't look like he was joking.

Only then did Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi begin to accept this reality.
"Then why did Brother Ming say he was going to participate in the butterfly stroke later?"
"Exactly, that's why he's practicing hard right now!"
"My goodness... sharpening the spear right before the battle?"
"That's right, better late than never!" Zhang Zhanshuo said with a smile.

At this point, Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi were truly rendered speechless.

"Shall we start now?" Wang Xiaoming asked.
He could hardly wait to test the formidable power of his new skills!

All the other teammates stood along the poolside, staring intently at the two of them with burning gazes, eagerly anticipating the upcoming race.

Although Wang Xiaoming was the god of freestyle, having just witnessed his awkward butterfly stroke technique, they figured Pan Zhanle was definitely going to win this one!

Pan Zhanle nodded, and just as he was about to begin, he suddenly let out a loud shout, "Wait a minute!"

"What is it now?" Wang Xiaoming asked.

Pan Zhanle grinned mischievously and said, "Brother Ming, what's the fun in racing like this? Why don't we add some stakes?"

Wang Xiaoming smiled. "Sure! Name it!"

"How about this, Brother Ming?" Pan Zhanle thought for a moment. "Let's not make it anything too big!"
"If you lose, just give me ten signed photos. If I lose, I'll give you ten signed photos!"

As soon as these words were spoken, they instantly provoked the mockery of several surrounding teammates.
"Hahaha, Pan Zhanle, you really have no shame. Can your signed photos even compare to Brother Ming's signed photos? Shameless!"

Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi also joined in the teasing.
For a moment, Pan Zhanle's face flushed red.

However, Wang Xiaoming merely patted Pan Zhanle on the shoulder.

"Your signed photos are pretty good too, but I don't need that many. How about this: if I win, you help me collect the signed photos of every single Chinese athlete participating in this Olympic Games. How does that sound?"
"As for me, however many signed photos you want, I'll give them to you!"

Upon hearing this, Pan Zhanle instantly perked up.
One had to know that his phone was currently ringing off the hook.
Classmates, brothers, friends, relatives—everyone was asking him to get Wang Xiaoming's autograph.
Originally, he had been too embarrassed to ask Wang Xiaoming for that many signed photos.
With this deal, everything was sorted out.

As for what would happen if he lost—
Impossible!
Pan Zhanle had never even considered the possibility of losing!
Freestyle might be one thing, but the butterfly stroke?
Heh.

Meanwhile, aside from Wang Xiaoming's group, Zhang Zhanshuo and the others on the sidelines refused to be left out of the fun.
"Don't just stand there and watch, let's put down some stakes ourselves!"
"Alright!" Wang Shun, one of the older members of the team, volunteered. "I'll act as the bookmaker. Come, come, place your bets!"
"Odds for Xiao Pan are one to zero point five, odds for Xiao Ming are one to ten! Hurry up and place your bets!"

In an instant, Zhang Zhanshuo and the others began placing their wagers.
"I'm betting on Pan Zhanle!"
"I'm backing Brother Le too!"
"Me too!"
"Count me in!"
"..."

Without exception, almost everyone placed their bets on Pan Zhanle to win.
Having witnessed Wang Xiaoming's clumsy butterfly stroke earlier, nobody believed that Wang Xiaoming could defeat Pan Zhanle.

Watching his team members openly gambling, Coach Wang Mu walked over with a huff, his beard twitching in irritation.
"What are you lot up to?"
"Well, Coach, we're just having a bit of fun, nothing major!" Zhang Zhanshuo quickly explained.

To their surprise, Coach Wang Mu expressed his dissatisfaction instead. "You rascals only know how to have fun without me!"
"I'm betting one hundred bucks on Pan Zhanle to win!"

"Why is everyone like this? Not a single one of you believes in Brother Ming?" In the end, virtually everyone had wagered on Pan Zhanle.
Only Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi chose to place their faith in Wang Xiaoming.
"The two of us are betting on Brother Ming to win, also one hundred bucks!"