Stas ripped his hands down to his ribs, engaging his lats and core. On the monitor to his left, fifteen thousand avatars in the virtual foundry mirrored his movement. A wave of collective energy seemed to ripple through the network. He could see the global average heart rate on a floating telemetry display.
Stas gritted his teeth. If he stopped to rest, the algorithm would automatically drop the resistance for everyone to prevent injury, ruining the high-score run for the elite athletes in the session. They depended on his suffering to find their own limits. Stas - FitCasting
He tapped his temple, activating his own visual overlay. Instantly, the grey warehouse walls dissolved. He was standing on a metal grating above a river of molten orange steel. Sparks flew around him. "Let's go," Stas whispered to himself. The countdown hit zero. Stas ripped his hands down to his ribs,
