Barrett Walker was completely capricious in his actions at this moment, leaving no trace of his madness. No one knew when he would go insane and when he would return to normal. A kick to Wade Kim's buttocks may not have been a big deal, but with the live broadcast in front of the entire nation, especially after his bold words, the situation became significant. In a broader sense, it was arrogance, and he was truly arrogant.
He walked to his position and waited, growing impatient as the journalists continued to take photographs. Turning around, he asked, "Are you finished yet?"
"Hehe! With an opponent like you, it will certainly be very exciting!" Baron disregarded the photographers and stood next to Barrett, saying, "I will not let you win... nor will I save face for you!"
"Neither will I," Barrett proudly declared, indifferent to any fraternal sentiment or impact.
"Very well! Count me in," Danny also stepped forward.
The others who despised Barrett had no choice but to walk to their respective match positions as the camera flashes continued to sparkle. At that moment, they had to give Barrett face. As long as they defeated him, Barrett would be disgraced, and their glory would be magnified countless times. Therefore, this match was of great importance.
"The championship will surely be mine," Barrett declared, looking at the assembled crowd, and then signalled to the teachers and referees to begin.
Bang! The gunshot rang out, and the viewers in front of the television were on the edge of their seats. However, what they saw made their hearts clench: Barrett did not move, but instead looked around in confusion. The others had already run far ahead, and he made a helpless grimace at the camera before finally starting, but had fallen behind the first-place runner by nearly 30 meters.
"Barrett Walker is definitely going to lose! What's going on? Is someone tampering with the race? It's too obvious!"
"Barrett Walker is going to lose, and I'm afraid the entire God of War Academy will become a laughingstock!"
"How could he lose?! I was rooting for him! Who dares to challenge the Federation, and how could he lose? What's wrong with these referees?!" The viewers in front of the television were so eager to understand what was happening and why Barrett had fallen behind so much before even starting.
This was Barrett's small retaliation! He had just let the referee start, but the referee had fired the gun before he was ready, clearly trying to embarrass him. Barrett deliberately delayed for some time, exposing the incident, as a means to win in a very elegant way, killing two birds with one stone!
Barrett moved, creating a powerful whirlwind. His speed was enough to astonish people. The high-speed camera reserved specifically for him also moved, but his legs were moving so fast that even the high-speed camera found it difficult to capture his steps. It felt like a gust of wind had passed, and in the blink of an eye, Barrett had already surpassed the person 30 meters ahead of him, and then surpassed Wade Kim. Watching the blurry figure on the television, the viewers felt a surge of excitement, as if they were Barrett Walker at that moment, and the blurry figure on the track continuously overtaking could not be described as anything less than thrilling. Of course, many who were not fond of Barrett, who had gone from excitement to dejection, could not find words to describe their emotional rollercoaster.
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Barrett felt neither joy nor sorrow in his heart. Compared to a lieutenant general and a group of colonels with average abilities, he hadn't even exerted his full effort. But just because he thought this way didn't mean that others would. At least the seniors and the current geniuses in their first year, watching Barrett fall so far behind and effortlessly overtaken by each one of them, could only feel a heavy sense of helplessness. They would probably carry this shadow in their hearts for the rest of their lives. It was too much of a bullying, how could they leave him so far behind?
As Barrett Walker approached the finish line, the mech unit's position marked the end point. At this moment, over five thousand people of the mech unit focused their attention, preparing to cheer loudly for Barrett Walker. Closer! Passed! The exuberant cheers surged like waves, sweeping through the entire stadium. The breakthrough of the gold medal was significant, but more important was their support for Barrett Walker.
From start to finish, it was only a matter of seconds for Barrett Walker. This was intentional, as he did not want to end too soon, as that would be too dull. Barrett Walker calmly awaited the journalists, and as expected, before the people arrived, the camera flashes were already blinking incessantly. Today, Barrett Walker was the most well-known person in the entire federation. No journalist paid attention to the second-place finisher, or perhaps something had happened on the field. What they needed were quotes from Barrett Walker, to once again release bold statements that would shock the entire federation. That was what the audience enjoyed.
"Why did you delay your start for so long? Was it due to overconfidence, wanting to make them run a little longer?" "Was it to humiliate your opponents, or to create publicity?" The reporters clamored with their questions, clearly having received instructions from their respective television station bosses to get Barrett Walker to speak, in order to excite the entire federation.
Surrounded by so many journalists, Barrett Walker was annoyed by the incessant noise ringing in his ears, as if countless ducks were being let loose. Barrett Walker impatiently gestured for silence, and to his surprise, it worked. The world finally fell silent. Barrett Walker then spoke, "Well! I started so late, as some of the reporters might have captured, because at that moment, I was turning around to signal the referee to start, but he signaled on his own. I don't think it was intentional!" This strategy of turning a retreat into an advance, speaking these words in front of the entire nation, excited the television station bosses so much that they personally ordered a quick replay of the earlier footage. The television began repeatedly playing the scene, while the people had waited for a long time after standing still. Barrett Walker turned to look at the referee, who appeared listless, but as soon as he turned, the referee had already signaled. This was clearly cheating! Anyone could see that.
"As for winning the first place, I don't feel particularly proud. It's too easy. I think as long as I participate in a competition, I'm bound to win first place!" Barrett Walker's confident statement excited the television station bosses, and once this news was reported, there would immediately be a surge in viewership. Whether they were praising or criticizing him, they wouldn't miss this. This was a news figure with the power and ability to attract audiences, more attractive than those politicians.
"Are you saying that you want to participate in all the competitions here, and you want to win them all?" a journalist couldn't help but interject.
"Well! You could interpret it that way, but the premise is that they have to let me participate in the competitions!" Barrett Walker replied cheerfully.
As Barrett Walker answered his question, the nearby journalists were kicking themselves. Why hadn't they seized this opportunity? Otherwise, they could have shown off in front of the audience, a major highlight for their future career as ace reporters.
Arrogant! It was truly too arrogant. Watching Barrett Walker's words on television, countless people who wanted to criticize him immediately started cursing. Who dares to say they want to participate in all the competitions and win them all, when you've only won a 400-meter race? Only a god would dare to say such things!
"Arrogant? This isn't arrogance! This is strength. I will prove it to you," Barrett Walker seemed to have already thought of how to retaliate against the angry insults in front of the television, and calmly said a sentence before making a provocative gesture towards the camera.