The spectators gaped at the two planes. They had never seen a plane with an engine failure in the last second of the race. "What a coincidence!" Said some of the spectators. "Yes, and they have exactly the same mileage. Get ready for the show!" Said another spectator.

"Please, Robertson the chief umpire, announce the champion." Shouted one of the men on the judging panel.

It was a new experience for Robertson, too. While he was in a dilemma, Rebecca went up to him and signaled that she wanted to say something. He agreed.

"Honorable judges, dear competitors and spectators," Rebecca said, clearing her throat, "many of you know me. Yes, I am Rebecca, the plane that has won the tryouts consecutively. Today was my first race and I got the most mileage. By the rules I should be the champion this year and that is why I am so excited.

"But as you can see, poor Jackson, who is next to me, is not looking good. Let me explain to you. From the beginning of the race, he had been flying as fast as he could in order to get a good result. I think he must have kept overloading the engine over and over again.

"In fact, I have mixed feelings right now. You must know how much I have worked for today. Therefore, I cherish very much this first championship in main draw. But I also feel a lot of sympathy for Jackson. He is able to have the ability to catch up with me at the last second, which shows that his efforts are not less than mine. I didn't overload for a long time while he was even at risk of quitting at any moment! All this made me feel that it was not easy for him as it was for me. Therefore, I make the following recommendations to the judging panel:

"If there can be two champions, I will urge Jackson and me to share the honor. If there can only be one champion, I'd rather be the runner-up. I hope the judging panel can accept my advice! Thank you very much!"

The spectators were in an uproar. "What happened to Rebecca?" Asked one puzzled fan, "Has she been silly? She wants to give away the champion she has won?" Other spectators also voiced disbelief, including William and Jackson.

"Are you mad, Rebecca?" Jackson asked, "You want me to be the champion when I've crashed?"

"No, Jackson!" Rebecca was losing control, "I... I even feel sorry for you!"

"Why, ha ha ha." Jackson smiled helplessly, "Don't you know that if a plane quits the race, its mileage will be invalid? And I have to chase you in order to get good grades. I don't know why you think so."

"Oh, Jackson! I do hope you're all right..." Rebecca's crying voice became more and more pronounced. Jackson was very sad.

Several judges on the judging panel were discussing heatedly what to do. Robertson the referee thought that there should be two champions, but a few judges didn't agree. They debated for a few minutes, yet they still could not come to a decision.

William rushed to Rebecca. "Rebecca, you can't give up the champion like this!" He shouted, "Don't you remember how hard we trained? Don't you remember how rudely Jackson spoke? And now you're going to give that honor to your opponent?" He almost growled, and finally, in a fury, he said, "NO sympathy is needed on the field!!"

For a moment, everyone froze and gawked at furious William and Rebecca with tears streaming down her face.

"No... Why? Why can't I sympathize with opponents! WHY!" Rebecca shouted sadly, "I understand how you feel, Master, but how would you feel if you were Jackson and saw 100 hours of performance and an untold amount of training going to waste in a race? Woo......"

All of them felt a sudden sympathy. They now thought that it was a shame that Jackson didn't finish the race, even though he had the same mileage as Rebecca. "Rebecca is right, Master." Said Photon, softly coming up to them, "As her coach, I know what she means."

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William did not calm down, though he began to understand her, "But I still can't bear to see such a good competitor achieve a result that does not meet her strength!"

"No, not this time." Robertson exclaimed, attracting all eyes. "I've got good news and bad news. Which do you want to know first?" He said mysteriously.

"Bad news," Said William.

"OK. The bad news is that, according to the rules of the race, the result of any competitor who quits is invalid. So, under normal circumstances, Jackson would be the most unfortunate competitor."

"So... The good news... ?" Rebecca asked, sobbing.

"The good news is that, after much discussion, we have unanimously decided that there will be two champions this year! They're Rebecca and Jackson who covered 61,125 kilometers at the same time!"

"Woo-hoo!" "Good!" "Let's cheer!" Cheers rang through the air. Everyone was excited by the decision. Rebecca's tears were now the result of her joy, and William's mood was calmer. "It's really a happy decision," He told Ranran.

"The reason we made this decision," Robertson said, "was that we were struck by Rebecca's sympathy for Jackson. At first we didn't think Rebecca would be so kind, but now we know that it's her kindness and compassion that makes her such a good competitor -- she has both integrity and talent. That's what we're looking for in this race."

"Now let's have the champions make their acceptance speeches." Said the judge again.

"Jackson can't make it up to the podium." Rebecca said, "But I'm sure he has something to say. Let him come first."

So Robertson put the microphone down beside Jackson. "Hello, everyone." Jackson said, "I myself am shocked that Rebecca could be so kind. As for myself, before the race I had boasted that I was certain to win... I'm so out of line. I only have excellent strength, but not excellent moral level. I regret having offended you in that way, Ms Rebecca, so please accept my apology. I promise to respect the other competitors, including you, and to be a competitor with integrity and ability. Thank you."

There were tears of emotion in Rebecca's eyes. "I accept your apology." She said, "We will always be friends."

It was then Rebecca's turn to speak. "Everybody...... Well, I'm glad the judging panel made such a humane decision. I am proud of myself, but more proud of my opponent. I have changed my mind now. Before, I always thought that according to my ability, only when I won the championship would this race be meaningful. However, I now understand that the race is not about getting good enough results; as long as you do your best, even if you quit at the last second, you deserve to be respected. Because with your actions you show the world that I am the champion who will never fail."

The applause was thunderous.

"So, in the end, please allow me to make this decision." Rebecca raised her voice a little, and everyone fell silent.

"This is my first and last race." She uttered every word clearly.

"What?" "No, is it true?" "Rebecca doesn't want to continue? Isn't she a powerful competitor? Looks like we're missing out on another piece of history." The spectators were filled with different voices.

Rebecca continued, "I know people are speculating about my reasons for doing this, but I want to tell you the exact answer.

"Yes, I'm good, which I'm proud of. But I think that since the race is to select the so-called 'competitors that have both integrity and talent', there should be a space for all who are qualified to fly. I don't find overlords very useful; on the contrary, in my opinion, the old players should leave room for the new ones. In this way, the race can become dynamic, show vitality because of the replacement of competitors, and write more legends.

"So... I know some of the competitors, and I admit they're no worse than me. I'm going to give this chance to them, because we all have dreams, and we all want to go for them to make our lives shine. I hope the judge panel will agree with my suggestion. Thank you all!"

Applause again. "Agreed." Replied Robertson. Rebecca thanked him.

"Robertson the chief umpire, please present the prize." Said the man judge.

Robertson walked to the podium carrying a huge gold trophy. "Honor to you and your opponent!" He shouted to the spectators. "Hooray!" Cheers rang out.

"We'll add a trophy, Rebecca. Jackson will pick it up." He whispered in Rebecca's ear. "Well, OK." She smiled.

She looked at the trophy. Its base was a circle, and there were two huge wings on both sides, each of which was covered with diamonds. The rim was shaped like a six-petal plum blossom. At this moment it was shining in the light of two mother stars, even brighter than two mother stars.

The race ended successfully and the spectators left in an orderly fashion. "I'm glad to get to know you again, Rebecca. It's my honor to be your master." William embraced her and gave her a gentle kiss on the propeller.

"Oh, hee-hee..." She smiled shyly.

Jackson was loaded onto Connor and ready to go to the repair factory. There he would spend three to five days, after which he would be able to fly again.

The sea breeze kept blowing, and the waves were dancing excitedly. The windmills of Hans the engineer were spinning fast, and the green monkeys in the forest were jumping and playing among the branches. Everything on this planet celebrated that the race produced two champions.