"Seeing so many people cheering, I feel like if I don't give it my all and win a spot, I'd be letting myself down! I'd be letting down this whole audience!"
Zhang Ye seemed to be talking to himself. When no one responded, he turned and saw Huang Zhong sitting in his seat, shaking slightly, his eyes a little red.
The sports student beside them, Li Wei, seemed perfectly normal, though he was staring intently at the competition props in the large, open area at the center of the venue.
Zhang Ye patted Huang Zhong on the shoulder, signaling for him to relax a little.
In the middle of the arena were twelve competition lanes. A steel scaffold stood at the center of it all. Above each lane, a rope hung from the structure, attached to a massive, plain concrete ball at the bottom.
At the opposite end of each lane, a thick iron chain was wrapped around an iron ball that was about half a man's height. The other end of the chain was connected to a large sledgehammer.
