Aren't we friends? Why are you rushing at me?

Lin Shi bent down and sat in the car, the racing seat enveloping his entire body.

I closed my eyes, and the route of Mount Akina appeared in my mind:

The continuous slopes are undulating, with more than 30 sharp bends connected end to end. The hairpin bends hug the edge of the cliff, and the narrow lanes allow no room for error. Every inch of the road surface is etched with a contest of speed and courage.

Completing the race requires one round trip, which means running the track once in the forward direction and once in the reverse direction, in order to test the driver's overall control.

The current fastest record is 11 minutes and 27 seconds, achieved by Wang Yan, the ace runner of the Xiaye team.

On the wall of the racing room hangs a large headshot of Wang Yan, with the record numbers below deliberately enlarged, the red background and white lettering glaringly obvious.

Lin Shi took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and prepared.

He had great confidence in his master-level driving skills, but after all, he had very little experience. He had only raced with Natsuno once before, and he had just seen the overall map on the second floor.

The race car is also different from the last one, with reduced redundant design protection measures, making the entire body lighter, and the roof is printed with a huge "Number One" lettering.

Lin Shi glanced at Ye Cheng in the passenger seat, wanting to see how she was doing. After all, it was her first time participating in a race, so she must be nervous.

However, Ye Cheng showed no signs of panic. He held a map of Mount Akina in his left hand and a pen in his right, clearly displaying the demeanor of a professional navigator.

When he noticed Lin Shi looking at him, he gently patted Lin Shi on the shoulder, made a fist, and gave him a thumbs-up.

Lin Shi's slightly tense expression vanished instantly.

Turn your gaze back to the front and gently press the accelerator with your toes.

"boom--"

The engine let out a low growl.

Above the arena, five indicator lights lit up one after another, their blinding red lights amplifying the tension in the air to its extreme.

Both the drivers and the spectators held their breath.

The next second, all five red lights went out at the same time.

All the race cars shot off at the same moment.

Lin Shi's starting speed wasn't fast, only slightly better than most amateur drivers, and the cars in the front even seemed poised to overtake.

Lin Shi felt no panic and continued to test the performance of the race car. It would be foolish to drive it rashly without understanding its capabilities.

The audience at the viewing platform was in an uproar, with shouts and curses coming from all directions, especially from a few spectators who wanted to gamble and bet on Lin Shi's victory.

"What a load of rubbish! It's smooth as it is, but why isn't the speed picking up?"

"Hahahaha, this is the master that Natsuno was talking about."

"Let's go have a drink, there's nothing much to see here. Let's wait for the main competition later."

On the field, even the amateur players looked at Lin Shi's "wriggling" speed with some disdain.

They were only allowed to go at the maximum speed by the organizers. But you don't have that restriction, so why be so timid?

The bald racer, driving car number seven, curled his lip, his disdain for Lin Shi growing even stronger: "He's just a pretty boy; I wonder if he's the one who tricked the second young lady of the Xia family."

As I was thinking, a bold idea suddenly popped into my head.

The racetrack wasn't just home to the Xia family; there was also the Li family, their rivals.

If he could directly crush the racing expert whom Xia Ye called a master, right in front of everyone.

The Li family will definitely try to win him over. Even if he doesn't play in the competition, they'll still treat him to good food and drink. They'll also pull him out of the picture every now and then to mock Xia Ye's judgment.

Thinking of this, his hands even trembled slightly with excitement.

After making up his mind, he floored the gas pedal and broke through the group of cars.

"Number Seven is accelerating! He's already exceeded the speed limit, what is he trying to do?!"

Some shouting, almost screaming, voices came from the loudspeakers, drawing everyone's attention back to the screen.

In the footage, car number seven, like a black lightning bolt, closed in on Lin Shi's car number one in the blink of an eye.

"Number Seven is trying to take down Number One! He wants to be 'Number One' too. The first bend is just around the corner, can Number One stop him?"

Everyone watched the match intently, eager to see Lin Shi's true strength.

But they discovered that Lin Shi didn't engage in any battle with car number seven, directly giving him the apex of the corner. The entire car performed a large-angle drift.

"Number one directly gave the apex of the corner to number seven. What on earth is number one car doing?"

Another discussion broke out among the crowd. They had realized that Lin Shi not only lacked skill, but also didn't have the guts to fight.

Countless sarcastic remarks poured out.

What's puzzling is that Xia Ye didn't respond at all. What's even more puzzling is that Li Xuan, the young master of the Li family, didn't make any move either, but simply continued to carefully observe Lin Shi's actions.

There was indeed some distance from the apex of the corner, but the entire drift felt smooth and effortless. Whether it was turning into the corner or straightening the car out of the corner, the movements were exceptionally fluid.

Thinking of this, he turned his head to speak to his younger brother, but his eyes did not move at all.

"Check where this person came from."

Ignoring the changes on the field, Lin Shi watched the vehicles that overtook him, even those that kept blocking his overtaking lane, without any change in expression.

He had already gained a basic understanding of all the attributes of the race car.

It boasts top-notch acceleration and grip, though its top speed is a bit low. It's clearly been specially modified for the Akina Mountain track to adapt to its winding terrain.

Ye Cheng ignored the constant mockery from the No. 7 race car and calmly gave the information for the next bend:

"Left, 110."

Since Brother Lin told her he would win, she should believe him unconditionally and offer her help.

Lin Shi responded with a soft "hmm," then began to accelerate, constantly closing in on race car number seven.

As the two race cars approached the next corner, car number seven began to slow down slightly, attempting to create a perfect arc. However, due to a lack of skill, it still irreparably drifted too far from the inner lane, leaving enough space for the car body.

Lin Shi did not slow down. He first changed to the outer lane, then aimed at the apex of the bend and the open space, and drove straight through.

Because one car slowed down while the other remained constant, Lin Shi used an outside-inside-outside route to easily overtake car number seven.

And because its top speed hadn't decreased, it didn't need to accelerate again, and the distance between it and car number seven continued to widen.

"Number One followed a perfect driving route, leaving Number Seven far behind, and the gap is widening!"

Xia Ye watched the live stream and listened to the radio while sitting on the sofa on the second floor. Turning to the manager standing beside him, he raised an eyebrow, a hint of smugness in his expression:

"How could someone I've vouched for possibly have an accident?"

The manager gave a wry smile, realizing that Xia Ye was mocking his poor judgment, as he hadn't even thought highly of Lin Shi earlier.

You can't blame him for being a little suspicious.

He didn't see the specifics of the last time Lin Shi took Xia Ye for a race.

Now Lin Shi is driving an unfamiliar race car on an unfamiliar track. Even with his excellent skills, he certainly can't completely trust it.

The betting remarks I just made were also to avoid undermining Lin Shi's confidence.

"Yes, yes, Miss is right."

Then he took out the bet he had just placed from his pocket and carefully put it in the inside pocket of his clothes.

That's 35! It's practically free. We can't be careless, we can't be careless.

Looking back at the race car, Lin Shi and Ye Cheng were working closely together, constantly widening the gap between them.

Lin Shi was completely focused on observing the track, even ignoring the system's announcement that Ye Cheng's favorability had increased by 2.

A voice suddenly came through the radio:

"manager."

The message came from Wang Yan in the second navigator car. If Xia Ye in the racing room was the first key, then he was the second most important.

Using him as a navigator is quite suitable; it shows respect for others and allows him to practice beforehand, making it easier for him to practice later.

Upon hearing this, the manager immediately understood that Wang Yan, having witnessed Lin Shi's driving skills, was also itching to test his abilities and wanted to compete with him.

However, this matter was beyond his decision-making scope, so he could only look to Natsuno.

Xia Ye's eyes remained fixed on Lin Shi's race car without moving, but he spoke with extreme arrogance:

"Let him go, he can't win."

Seeing this, the manager relayed a message over the radio:

"Wang Yan, the BOSS has given permission."