Monday morning. Assembly.
Chu Fei looked at the mountain trail and thought quickly:
To improve his rank in the morning run, blindly pushing himself wasn't enough. With strict "motivation," no one dared to slack off.
His mind recalled knowledge about biomechanics and ergonomics, then outlined the running route.
Gradually, he built a rough big data model for the morning run.
Limited by his abilities and lack of detailed data, he could only make fuzzy calculations.
Once his thinking was clear, Chu Fei immediately used a drop of Wisdom Dew.
In an instant, the world became especially clear. He began calculating.
Chu Fei raised his right hand and stuck out his thumb, alternating closing his left and right eyes. His mind flashed with concepts of the "Eye-Jump Method" and trigonometric calculations. He calculated one fuzzy data point, then another, and another...
In the blink of an eye, Chu Fei had calculated dozens of data points, covering the next ten-plus meters.
Cao Liwen glanced at Chu Fei's strange behavior. His eyes lit up and he blew his whistle. "Ready, run!"
Almost the moment the whistle sounded, everyone charged forward.
But Chu Fei's direction seemed slightly off.
His figure leaned slightly, running on rocks by the roadside. A few steps in, he leaned forward and "fell" downhill, landed on the dirt trail, took a couple of steps, then leapt back onto the rocks.
Chu Fei's movements were clearly different from the others.
While the students were still confused, only Cao Liwen saw it clearly:
"At the start of a sprint, stepping on stones instead of dirt maximizes friction and recoil, reducing reaction time.
When reaching the end of the steps, leaning forward uses gravity to conserve energy.
The drop allows a brief moment to catch his breath.
Landing on dirt provides cushioning.
These effects are subtle, but they add up!"
While Cao Liwen analyzed this, Chu Fei had already "floated" down the mountain path.
In just over fifty meters, Chu Fei had pulled ahead of Li Honggang by about three meters.
The rest were still bunched together.
Chu Fei's strategy finally drew everyone's attention.
Li Honggang narrowed his eyes, his pace involuntarily speeding up. Lu Hong beside him did the same.
Chu Fei didn't look back, just kept running his own race.
His eyes scanned the surroundings, hands moving as his thumbs extended to take more measurements—performing fuzzy calculations over and over.
The Wisdom Dew was being consumed rapidly.
Chu Fei didn't use it as a physical boost but as computational fuel, using it to calculate data.
Wisdom Dew is a consumable; once it's gone, it must be replenished.
But the data produced through calculations could be reused.
That is knowledge.
Chu Fei's thumb-raising movements finally caught the attention of Li Honggang and the others.
Who was he looking down on? They'd all learned the Eye-Jump Method in class!
Lu Hong was the first to imitate it, followed by Li Honggang, Zhang Xuan, and others.
As more and more students began mimicking and calculating, Cao Liwen smiled.
Big data cultivation should look like big data cultivation. This was good.
Even better was Chu Fei.
His movements flowed smoothly, the gap between him and Li Honggang steadily widening.
3.1 meters, 3.2 meters...
By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, the gap had grown to nearly five meters. Chu Fei was far ahead.
At the foot, Chu Fei slowly turned, stretching his legs. When Li Honggang neared the finish, Chu Fei smiled slightly, then began his return uphill.
Due to the "motivation," Chu Fei didn't dare slack off for too long.
Going uphill and downhill required completely different calculations, but with the Wisdom Dew, Chu Fei still managed to calculate fuzzy estimates quickly.
Downhill, his average step could reach about 0.85 meters, but uphill, steps had to be within 0.7 meters—or even shorter.
Smaller steps eliminated the need for cushioning and instead raised concerns about slipping on dirt.
One fuzzy calculation after another—or rather, "approximations"—flashed through his mind as Chu Fei's figure drifted up the mountain trail.
Behind him, Li Honggang's face turned red from exhaustion—and anger!
Li Honggang cursed inwardly: if he didn't adjust immediately and manage his stamina well, he wouldn't make it to the finish.
But seeing Chu Fei so far ahead, his heart trembled.
No! I'm gonna get whipped!
He turned to look at Lu Hong beside him, slightly relieved—at least he wasn't suffering alone.
Time passed quickly. After 25 minutes, they had run three laps of the mountain trail. Chu Fei had opened a ten-meter gap over Li Honggang!
Chu Fei had even held back.
Why run so fast? If tomorrow's results didn't match today's, that'd just invite trouble.
All that calculating was exhausting too, okay? So when Chu Fei acted tired, it wasn't fake.
But just as Chu Fei was about to stop, Cao Liwen suddenly called out, "Keep running!"
"Me?" Chu Fei pointed at himself.
Cao Liwen said coldly, "After nearly half a month of training, everyone's physical ability has improved. Starting today, four laps."
Was he exposed?
I already acted exhausted—why keep pushing?
But looking at the flushed faces of Li Honggang and Lu Hong, Chu Fei suddenly smiled—he just had to perform better than them.
Sometimes, it's worth taking risks—and Chu Fei had a great idea.
He would slack off openly: conduct research and experiments!
He turned and ran back down. This time, Chu Fei's pace was slow, using the Eye-Jump Method constantly to measure data.
Every time Li Honggang and the others caught up, Chu Fei would sprint a few steps, then go back to calculating.
When Chu Fei had "dawdled" to the final hundred meters, he suddenly sprinted at full speed, reaching the finish line just before anyone could catch him.
After the fourth lap, Chu Fei hunched over, gasping for breath, but his eyes inevitably turned toward Cao Liwen—
And also toward the four elders behind the plaza.
Then Chu Fei looked at Li Honggang and the others.
After four laps, everyone was exhausted like wet noodles.
Morning runs were dangerous. Falling behind meant getting whipped.
Once everyone had arrived, Cao Liwen announced the results:
Li Honggang—fell one rank, two lashes.
Lu Hong—fell one rank, two lashes.
Zhang Xuan—no change, no punishment.
...
Zhang Shaojie—fell one rank, one lash.
Tang Yong...
As each name was read, the four elders would give one lash.
But when Zhang Shaojie, who also fell one rank, received only one lash, Li Honggang shouted, "Teacher, why does he only get one? Lu Hong and I got two!"
Cao Liwen replied calmly, "As class president and vice president, you're supposed to lead by example."
Li Honggang felt dizzy. He suddenly pointed at Chu Fei and shouted, "He was slacking! He was clearly slacking!"
"The first-place runner is not punished. And Chu Fei also initiated the correct path of big data cultivation. He is awarded 100 yuan."
"..."
Chu Fei accepted a sleek "metallic note," his face glowing with a radiant smile.
It was a nanometal bill—durable, flexible, and hard to counterfeit.
But when he noticed the cold stares from Li Honggang and Lu Hong, a flicker of coldness flashed through Chu Fei's heart.
On the surface, however, he maintained his bright smile.
As a hunter, one must know how to hide!
(End of Chapter)