However, due to recent heavy workloads and overti, I neglected Wang Ye's situation.
Unexpectedly, after just a week of overti, there was an earth-shattering change with Wang Ye.
At the sa ti, Li Weimin also sent a ssage to inquire.
Though they didn't often follow overseas videos, Wang Ye's recent popularity was so high that any related videos would be translated and uploaded to major dostic short video platforms by his fans, quickly becoming viral.
So, it was reasonable they stumbled upon the video so quickly.
After briefing them on his activities over the past few days,
Wang Ye put on a weighted vest and went out to continue training for running.
These past few days, his daily routine had been very simple.
Running, weightlifting, cycling, surfing.
These four activities nearly occupied his entire day.
Although monotonous, Wang Ye found joy in it.
Because he could genuinely see himself progressing.
The more effort he put in, the more noticeable the progress beca.
Unlike other athletes at his level who couldn't make any progress despite training.
Wang Ye could visibly see his advancent, which was quite fortunate.
This indicated that no effort he made was wasted.
As long as he put in the work, he would undoubtedly see tangible rewards.
It's like playing an online ga where you level up, gaining experience, equipnt, and combat power by defeating monsters.
That's why gaming can be so addictive.
Wang Ye now felt like he was playing a ga in real life,
with all attributes and skills he mastered ticulously displayed on a panel.
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Until about the day before October.
Li Weimin suddenly gave Wang Ye a call.
At that mont, Li Weimin seed to be on vacation sowhere, speaking concisely, "Wang Ye, I've received so new information. On October 2nd, there's a press conference in Chicago. You, as China's representative athlete, need to be there for interviews."
"No problem," Wang Ye agreed.
Having a press conference for such a major event was, in fact, within his expectations.
With his current strength and influence reaching international renown, it would be strange if there wasn't a press conference before the competition.
Then Wang Ye and Li Weimin discussed over the phone for half an hour. Their conversation focused on the speech content for the press conference three days later. Initially, there was so disagreent between Li Weimin and Wang Ye, with intense argunts, but after nearly half an hour of discussion, Li Weimin gradually understood Wang Ye's perspective and reluctantly agreed to his requests.
On October 2nd,
Wang Ye arrived at the press conference on ti.
Many renowned dostic and international athletes were already present.
However, Chinese athletes were still in the majority because the Chicago event was close to China's seven-day holiday beginning on October 1st. Many Chinese athletes arrived at the beginning of October for this reason. Those intending to push their PR (personal record) would arrive two weeks earlier to acclimate, such as elite runners like Wang Lianzheng, He Jie, Yang Shaohui, Wu Xiangdong, Dong Guojian, and Sangji Dongzhi.
At the press conference, Wang Ye even saw so popular figures in the running field. They were mainly internet celebrities under "Houlang Interactive Entertainnt," a network of marathon athlete influencers forming an MCN company.
Among them, "Old Zhang's Shoes" was the owner of Houlang Interactive Entertainnt and was also present at the press conference. Well-known individuals Wang Lianzheng and Taisho were internet celebrities under Houlang Interactive Entertainnt as well. In fact, most influential online runners would sign with Houlang Interactive Entertainnt, as having an MCN agency helped increase followers and monetization.
Wang Ye sensed that Houlang Interactive Entertainnt wanted to recruit him. However, he no longer needed such MCN agencies; with his existing large fan base and various monetization avenues, joining an MCN would only an sharing a significant portion of his inco.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with influencers from Houlang Interactive Entertainnt,
Wang Ye began answering questions from the surrounding journalists.
Given his prominence and skill, he attracted a lot of journalists.
One journalist asked:
"Mr. Wang Ye, do you have confidence in your results this ti?"
"Yes." Wang Ye nodded, "I will achieve even better results."
"Are you planning to break the world record again?" The journalist continued in a surprised tone, "Do you have plans to participate in any more competitions, like November's New York Marathon?"
"I don't plan to; I might not compete in marathons anymore." Wang Ye shook his head slightly.
Since acquiring the Divine Speed Skill, regular marathon races have lost their challenge for him.
If he continued competing, he'd only break records again and again, setting them to impossibly high standards, rendering "competition" aningless.
He was seeking competitions where he could challenge equally matched opponents.
These diminishing return style competitions were just a waste of ti and created unnecessary challenges for future athletes.
Wang Ye planned to set a record high enough in value and then retire from the marathon field.
His earlier disagreent with Li Weimin stemd from this.
Yet Li Weimin eventually relented, realizing further competition held no true significance for Wang Ye, although comrcially, it would only benefit him. However, Wang Ye's overwhelming skill would effectively destroy the sport of marathons if he continued breaking major international records, akin to killing the goose for its golden eggs.
Therefore, Wang Ye thought it better to retire from marathons, challenge other fields, and leave his mark in different domains. This would also help bring more advanced sports science to future generations.
This was a choice Wang Ye made with long-term considerations in mind.
After a pause, the journalist confird, "So this competition is essentially your retirent match?"
"You could say that," Wang Ye nodded.
Upon hearing this, the journalists and athletes around were taken aback.
The current marathon leader was retiring?
If Wang Ye were over forty, that would be understandable, but the thing was, he was only twenty-nine! Although not exactly young, and physical abilities were starting to decline, twenty-nine was still considered pri in sports, where skills and physical coordination peaked, perfect for pushing limits and breaking records. For instance, Su Bingtian set personal bests at thirty-two, and Kipchoge continued racing at thirty-nine.
Yet here Wang Ye was, retiring at twenty-nine!?
The athletes and journalists around him cast him curious glances.
But due to the noisy environnt and tight schedule, they didn't inquire further.
After continuing with interviews at the press conference for three hours, the number of journalists gradually dwindled. Wang Ye then exchanged contact information with other athletes and influencers from Houlang Interactive Entertainnt before planning to return to the hotel to rest.
As he was leaving, Wang Lianzheng suddenly approached him, worriedly asking:
"Brother Ye, why are you suddenly announcing retirent? Is there sothing wrong with your health...?"
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