The abnormality of the floor was not hard to notice, especially when the soles of the feet touched the muddy swamp, the feeling of being pulled downwards became more and more obvious.
Soon, the wet mud covered the shoes, making the legs feel heavy, and the stomp kicks splashed mud as they slid through the mud.
In no time, he was covered in mud.
The plastic coach in front seemed completely oblivious to the mud in front of it, shouting encouragement incessantly, "Faster! Five more minutes! Hang in there for the last five minutes! The music's about to speed up, five, four..."
The rhythm suddenly quickened, and the drumbeats that used to be once per second became twice per second.
Cheng Shuang could barely keep up at first, but the further she went, the slower she became. After all, her short legs created a cruel distance between her and the adults.
As the stationary bike slowly slid downhill, her feet were now completely submerged in mud, making pedaling even more difficult. With her legs trembling, Cheng Shuang gritted her teeth, took out a card, and slapped it on herself.
Then Liu Juan and the others heard the little girl let out a miserable scream. They quickly looked over and saw Cheng Shuang's whole body flicker. The moment her ears changed into cat ears, they instantly returned to normal. A card with a black cat drawn on the front suddenly appeared and stuck tightly to her face as if it were alive, seemingly still trembling.
Cheng Shuang's face turned ashen. She tilted her head, caught the card in her mouth, and shook her head at the group while still holding the card in her mouth.
Everyone was in bad shape, but she was falling a little faster than usual.
So she originally planned to use the characteristics of the cat card to reduce her own weight and increase her stamina. She only considered that the bear cub's fur couldn't get wet, completely forgetting that the card 'Luna's most reliable little friend, the black cat Difio' was essentially derived from a black cat. Cats are afraid of water, and even more afraid of sticky things, and mud gets on them.
The little girl, her ankles soaked by the mud, huffed and puffed as she pedaled her bike, whispering to Black Cat Card with a headache, "One powder pill!"
The card remained unmoved.
Three pills?
Five?
Six pills!
Seeing that the card remained unmoved by external forces, Cheng Shuang, in a fit of despair, became furious. "I know you're different from other cards. Think about it yourself: are you going to perish with me, or do everything you can to help me!"
Black Cat Card is still feeling wronged!
It could see clearly that the human cub in front of it had four elite soldiers under its command, one of whom was a fierce, clumsy bear whose strength far surpassed that of other species. Why use it? It was furry too! Even though it was possessed by her, it was still governed by its nature and could still be disliked!
"Six pills once, six pills twice, six pills..."
Before she could finish speaking, the card flew out and hit Cheng Shuang's mouth, instantly possessing her. The cat-eared girl swung her long, straight black tail and felt a surge of new power flowing into her body. She sped up and finally caught up with the rhythm the coach had called out.
The four people who had been observing her from time to time secretly breathed a sigh of relief, looked ahead, and focused their tense faces on the rhythm of their footsteps.
The small, dark room was filled with the murky smell of sweat and mud, the first wave of music finally ending as the mud seeped up to my calves.
The plastic coach called a halt, nodded with some satisfaction, clapped his hands on the floor, and said, "Take a minute's rest. In the second round, pay close attention to the rhythm of the music."
Again?! The five of them were exhausted, slumped over the handlebars of the bicycles, their legs dangling from the pedals and resting on the front bar. Their minds were blank; they quickly pulled out some pills, swallowed them with water, and this time no one hesitated. If they didn't recover their strength soon, after experiencing ten activities, they'd be completely worn out. Forget about finding the tickets and the Gate of Reincarnation; they might not even be able to get out of bed tomorrow…
The second wave of music started, and the group, all ready to go, once again embarked on the arduous journey of pedaling. However, this time it wasn't just mud; on the black wall behind the instructor, a rhythmic line and symbols appeared, just like those that appear above the lyrics on a TV screen when singing in a karaoke room.
If they keep up with the rhythm and hit the corresponding beat, the symbols on the wall will flash briefly; if they are a step behind, the entire song will be played again, infinitely extending the duration of the piece.
Cheng Shuang almost wanted to scream in her hands; this level was definitely her nemesis!
Even if she were ten centimeters taller than she is now, she wouldn't have had such a difficult time passing the test.
To pedal more effectively, the little girl stood up, leaned forward, her clothes soaked with sweat, strained her legs, and straightened her tail to keep up with the others.
This was the first time she had sweated so much that she was in a shower-like state, and it was also a very unpleasant day for her.
Especially when she thought about how she had slowed everyone down and caused the song to be played indefinitely, the little girl pedaled with all her might. Her spirit earned her praise from the coach!
This also led to Cheng Shuang, who, exhausted, falling off the car as the music ended and the closing slogan sounded.
With the powder pills replenishing their energy and strength, the exercise bike was much easier than they had imagined. When the mud receded, they all breathed a sigh of relief and failed to notice the little girl's unusual behavior until they heard a thud.
Du Jun and Liu Juan quickly got out of the car and helped the person up, while Du Lanshan was a step slower, quietly panting, "I'll carry her to the rest room!"
The "plastic coach" had seen this situation many times before. He calmly wiped his sweat and got off the bus, saying, "Yes, you can take a break now. Look at all that sweat, haha, feels good, right? Sweating it out is the true essence of fitness!"
None of them wanted to exchange pleasantries with it, but Du Lushu reluctantly agreed, "Yes!"
"She fell asleep from exhaustion. You didn't drink the right amount of water." The coach didn't care about their attitude and pointed out the problem. "Just give her some energy drinks to replenish her salt."
It was the first to leave the indoor cycling room and go to the rest area.
The gym's lounge is divided into two parts. The front area has snacks, fruits, and regular lounge chairs, while the back area has several rows of single beds. On one of the beds lies a plastic mannequin, which the trainer helps massage its muscles to prevent muscle soreness the next day.
After Du Lanshan settled Cheng Shuang on a bed on the edge, Liu Juan took out wet wipes to wipe the little girl's sweat. Du Jun took off her mud-covered shoes and socks, and also took a wet towel to wipe the mud off her legs.
Du Lushui's physical strength was not much better than Cheng Shuang's. He lay limply on the bed next to him, kicked off his shoes, didn't even wipe his sweat, and was so tired that he almost fell asleep instantly.
Du Lanshan followed the coach to get drinks and bananas. When he returned, Du Lushui was already snoring softly.
He frowned slightly, taking a moment to assess his own energy levels. The intense fatigue wasn't just a side effect of overexertion; there must be something they had overlooked.
Or rather, if the powder pills hadn't been replenished in time, they probably wouldn't even know how they died.
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