Including Chloe Sinclair, there were only ten competitors in the race.
The rest of the crowd all stood on the viewing platform, from where they had a crystal-clear view of the 300-meter course.
Down below, the ten competitors stood in a line. Each wore protective gear and a helmet, which was also fitted with a camera to record the race.
On the viewing platform, many people had already started recording videos with their phones.
Chloe Sinclair and Summer Beckett were standing toward the right. As they prepared, Summer lowered his voice. "Just do your best later. Safety is what's important."
"Tsk, it's not too late to give up now."
Wilder Rhodes, standing to the side, sneered, "When people start live-streaming this online, you're the one who'll be embarrassed."
Summer Beckett shot him a glare. "Get lost!"
Wilder's expression hardened. "Hmph, you'll see what's coming to you."
The bet between him and Summer Beckett had now become a three-person affair.
As long as he beat both Chloe Sinclair and Summer Beckett, he would easily walk away with ten million.
At that thought, the tension in Wilder's face eased slightly.
'I'll make them pay when the time comes,' he thought.
When the race began, Summer Beckett and Wilder Rhodes were neck and neck.
As they cleared the first railing, Wilder was half a beat slower, but it wasn't a major delay.
In contrast, Chloe Sinclair was hanging back near the end of the pack, but among the group of amateurs, she looked completely at ease.
Sasha was an internet celebrity who usually partied with the rich kids in her circle. Her being here to watch the race was a complete coincidence.
The pressure of her daily live streams was high, so sometimes she'd do parkour with her friends, though she was a total rookie. However, she knew quite a few experts, so she could tell who was strong and who was weak.
Wilder Rhodes had been practicing parkour for years. He wasn't a professional, but he was better than the average person.
Although he'd made a small mistake, landing on the ball of his front foot, he was still on par with Summer Beckett. His movements were just a bit superfluous.
Sasha shook her head and turned her gaze to the last few competitors.
Chloe Sinclair was the only woman among the contestants. She was small and slender, a whole head shorter and physically smaller than the others.
And yet, despite this, the young woman ran with incredible ease. When she reached the first obstacle, she leaped lightly, landing on the balls of her feet before bracing herself with her hands on the ground. The landing was clean, sharp, and exceptionally light.
Sasha's eyes lit up, and she took out her phone to start recording.
Meanwhile, on the course, the others had already cleared seven or eight obstacles, and their stamina was starting to fail. Chloe slowly began to exert herself, surging into fifth place.
Not far ahead was a three-meter-high iron railing. Chloe pushed off, her body rising. She planted her right foot on an indentation, used her hands for leverage, and brought her left foot up. In less than a second, she was at the top. She then executed a side flip and landed perfectly.
"Damn, that girl is so cool!"
"This girl is incredible! Daring to do a side flip from that high up? She must be a pro, right?"
"Is that really impressive?"
While everyone was showering her with praise, a girl who knew nothing about parkour suddenly asked.
"Of course it is! For an amateur, pulling off seven or eight techniques in ten-odd seconds is already their limit. Didn't you see how Rhodes's and Summer Beckett's speeds have dropped? But look at this girl—she's actually getting faster, and her movements are both cool and steady. It means she was just conserving her energy on the first few obstacles."
As they spoke, Chloe Sinclair had already moved into third place.
"Holy shit, a running side flip! Another side flip! That's so badass!"
Cheers erupted from the viewing platform. Wilder Rhodes couldn't see what was happening behind him and assumed they were all cheering for him, which made him feel incredibly smug.
Summer Beckett's stamina was starting to give out. As long as Wilder finished the whole course, first place was his for the taking.
But then, he suddenly glimpsed a familiar figure shooting past him. A closer look revealed it was Chloe Sinclair.
Her speed was incredible, and her face showed no signs of fatigue. Instead, her gaze was resolute as she cleared the obstacle in front of her with absolute ease.
He was momentarily stunned.
This brief moment of distraction, however, gave the lagging Summer Beckett time to catch up.
By the time Chloe landed safely from a four-meter height, Summer had also climbed up onto the iron frame right behind her.
Wilder Rhodes had dropped from first to third, and an unprecedented panic surged within him.
If he lost, he would owe Summer Beckett five million.
Where was he supposed to get five million?
His gaze darkened, his black eyes fixing on Summer Beckett like a venom-laced viper. He quickly scrambled up, seeing that Summer was just about to jump down.
In that instant, a thousand thoughts raced through his mind.
'If Summer Beckett gets injured, he'll be out of the running, right?'
'If Summer makes a mistake on the jump, then...'
Somehow, his hand started reaching for Summer Beckett.
"AHHH—"
A scream shot through the viewing platform.
Chloe's senses were sharp. Her heart dropped as she realized something was wrong. She whipped her head around just in time to see Summer Beckett plummeting straight down.
Chloe's eyes darkened, and she sprinted back without a moment's hesitation.
Just as Summer was about to hit the ground, she caught him.
If Chloe hadn't grabbed Summer's clothes, he would have landed headfirst from the impact.
His helmet rolled away on the ground.
Summer was still in shock, a cold sweat breaking out across his back.
He couldn't imagine what would have happened if Chloe hadn't caught him just now.
"Th... thanks."
Chloe didn't say a word. Instead, she turned her head, her gaze fixed on Wilder Rhodes, who had already reclaimed first place.
"Holy shit!"
Summer was aghast when he saw that Wilder had already taken the lead. He was about to give chase when a sharp pain shot through his leg.
His expression changed drastically, and for the first time, he looked deadly serious. "Chloe, don't worry about me. You go."
Without hesitating, Chloe nodded and ran forward without a backward glance, her speed even faster than before.
It wasn't just the crowd on the viewing platform; even the other competitors were, at some point, left completely stunned.
"My God, how can that girl run so fast?"
"She just did a kong vault! The transition was so natural. And more importantly, did you guys notice? She didn't pause at all. Just how strong are that girl's stamina and power?"
In parkour, if your strength and stamina can't keep up, your training will forever remain at a basic level.
And everyone noticed that Chloe's techniques weren't limited to just flips and jumps. More often, she used skills created by mimicking animals, like the kong vault and the cat pass.
In fact, many people have a misconception about parkour. They think flips or wall hangs are the essence of the sport, that those moves are what make it look cool. But in reality, true parkour mostly involves mimicking animal movements.
For example, moves like the dive roll, kong vault, and monkey vault are all based on animal movements.
Chloe ran fast, and every move flowed naturally into the next. In contrast, while Wilder's movements were textbook, compared to Chloe, they were worlds apart.
In the final fifty meters, Chloe surpassed Wilder Rhodes and fluently cleared four more obstacles, taking a decisive lead.
"Oh my God, that's a lache! The girl actually pulled off a lache!"
It's not clear who shouted it first, but everyone's eyes snapped toward Chloe, their faces filled with utter disbelief.