The Crossover Champion in Sports

"The binding of the Athletic Prodigy System to the host is successful; the scanning of the host's physical condition is now complete."

"The physical attributes of the host are as follows:

Speed: 7

Explosiveness: 5

Strength: 7

Endurance: 12

Agility: 8

Skill: 8"

Born into a family of athletes, Du Ke inherited the excellent sporting genes from both his grandfather and father. From a young age, he showed remarkable athletic talent, starting professional sports training at the age of six under his father's guidance, with swimming being his initial focus.

However, his mother disapproved of just swimming, claiming that their only son should also learn the air pistol. Thus, starting from the second grade of elementary school, Du Ke's schedule became packed: he attended school during the day and trained in the evenings. He swam on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, practiced air pistol shooting on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and swam again on Sunday mornings, followed by air pistol training in the afternoon.

Later, Du Ke's uncle noticed his talent for shooting but felt that he wasn't suited for it. Instead, he suggested archery, so Du Ke began practicing archery under his uncle's supervision.

When he reached junior high, his other uncle and aunt discovered Du Ke's talents in long-distance running and tennis. Thus, from junior high onward, he had to juggle school studies while training in swimming, air pistol shooting, archery, long-distance running, and tennis.

This multi-disciplinary training approach resulted in Du Ke becoming quite versatile; he could dabble in various sports but struggled to progress to a professional level in any one discipline. Despite his remarkable talent, it was impossible for him to excel in every sport. If he had focused on just one sport, he might have achieved greater mastery. However, life is full of uncertainties. Eventually, he chose to take the college entrance exam and attended university.

Surprisingly, even while training in so many sports, Du Ke managed to keep up with his academic courses and was accepted into a prestigious local university, Nan’gang University. During high school, he passed the secondary athlete assessment for the 3000m run, earning an additional 20 points for the college entrance exam, which ultimately helped him gain admission to a key university.

Upon being accepted, Du Ke couldn’t help but reflect on his years of rigorous training in sports while others enjoyed leisurely times. Was it worth it for just that 20-point advantage?

Perhaps having worked so hard in the past, Du Ke felt it was all in vain, as he didn’t continue his training after entering university. He realized that at eighteen or nineteen years old, his physique had already stabilized.

Nostalgically reminiscing about his youthful experiences, Du Ke and Su Yun took a taxi directly to the swimming pool on the campus of Nan’gang University.

After getting out of the car, Du Ke and Su Yun entered the swimming pool.

Located in the southern coastal region, Nan’gang City serves as the capital of Guangdong Province. In early April 2012, Nan’gang was already experiencing warm temperatures, reaching up to 30 degrees Celsius, perfect for swimming. Usually, the swimming pool at Nan’gang University is open to students, who can enter with their student IDs; however, today it was closed to the public because the university swimming team was conducting selection trials. Su Yun held an entry permit, allowing them to enter the facility. She was the captain of the women’s swimming team.

Su Yun directed Du Ke to change in the locker room and asked them to meet in five minutes at the pool area.

Entering the men's locker room, Du Ke found it empty. After stripping down, he walked over to the shower area and took a cold shower for a minute, wetting his hair as part of his pre-swimming ritual.

After his cold shower, he didn’t dry off but put on his swim trunks. Suddenly, he felt that the trunks were a bit snugger than usual. He remembered the last time he wore them was the previous September or October, when Su Yun had dragged him along to swim for a while.

Adjusting his swim trunks, he realized they hadn’t shrunk, but rather he had gained some weight. He patted his rear and humorously mused, “What a fine backside I have.”

Carrying his swim cap and goggles, he made his way to the pool area. As he walked through the path leading from the locker room to the disinfection pool, he stopped in front of a mirror embedded in the wall. Staring at his reflection, he noticed his sharp eyebrows, bright eyes, and crew cut. Standing at 184cm, his body bore a near-perfect 0.618 golden ratio, making him quite pleasant to look at. However, he noted that the eight-pack abs he once had were fading, with a hint of excess flesh starting to appear.

Athletes who stop training often find it easier to gain weight than the average person. Even the legendary Michael Jordan, who once had an extremely low body fat percentage, could not escape the inevitability of aging after retirement. Just as a dull knife will rust, maintaining peak competitive shape and a good physical condition requires consistent training and participation in high-level competitions.

Du Ke hadn’t trained for nearly a year; being young allowed his body to retain its shape to some extent. The system’s rating of him was that of an amateur level, which seemed subjective. His default skill set comprised six items: freestyle, backstroke, air pistol shooting, archery, long-distance running, and tennis, likely related to the professional training he received in these disciplines.

After introspecting in front of the mirror for a moment, Du Ke stepped through the disinfection pool and moved towards the swimming area. The scent of chlorine brought back memories of his childhood when he participated in juvenile swimming competitions, earning a silver medal. His father had been proud for an entire month, while his mother had been reluctantly committed to washing dishes for that same duration.

“Du Ke, over here!”

Su Yun stood on the poolside, waving him over and drawing him back to reality.

Du Ke walked up to Su Yun and sized her up.

With her long hair tucked into her swim cap, Su Yun’s delicate face carried an aura of athleticism. She wore a snug, deep blue one-piece swimsuit, almost matching the color of Du Ke’s swim trunks; both were from Speedo, a well-known Australian brand known for its professional swimwear.

Noticing Du Ke's somewhat inappropriate gaze, Su Yun shot him an annoyed look, playfully scolding, “What are you staring at? Warm up; the coach will be here soon.”

Du Ke chuckled and responded, “Su Yun, I’ve only just realized how amazing your figure is! Those long legs, slim waist, and curvy proportions—you're fit to be a Victoria's Secret model!”

“Only just realizing? You’ve mastered the art of rhyme; you’re truly talented!” Su Yun replied, a hint of pride in her tone.

Du Ke said, “We’re good friends, but I’ve never honestly judged you from a female perspective. Have you undergone a second puberty?”

“Get lost!” Su Yun playfully kicked Du Ke's leg. “Hurry up and warm up; stop chatting.”

After that, Su Yun walked over to a group of girls in swimsuits, becoming the center of attention as the thirteen or so girls clustered around their team captain. They occasionally sneaked glances at Du Ke, chatting excitedly amongst themselves.

Du Ke observed the girls warming up under Su Yun's leadership and noticed two boys in swim trunks warming up in another corner. It suddenly dawned on him that he was likely dragged here just to fill numbers.

Counting the girls in the university swimming team's female division, there were fifteen in total, including Su Yun. Meanwhile, it appeared there were only two members in the men's team. It seemed that the university swimming team was adhering to the common trend in many sports in China, where female participants outnumber male ones.

Du Ke vaguely understood the registration rules for the provincial college student games: if there are fewer than three participants in a category, the event would be canceled. So, Su Yun had likely brought him in to secure the necessary three men for the university's swimming team.

Du Ke waved at Su Yun, signaling her to come over. He asked Su Yun, "Is there only two members on your men's swimming team? That's a bit pathetic, isn't it?"

Su Yun explained, "Originally, the men's team had five members. One of them got injured, another had an emergency at home and went back, and there is a third member who seems to have decided to write online novels and has been missing for months. Our school has a strong male presence in team sports, and any male student with athletic talent has gone to play ball."

"Even if the men's swimming team isn't strong or has too few members, the coach still hopes to send the team to the provincial games. The results aren't important; it's more about participating. If we get disqualified because we don't have enough members, it would be embarrassing."

"Our university, South Harbor University, is a key institution, after all. It's like the Chinese men's national soccer team; even if they aren't strong, they still need to