Chapter 88: An Unexpected Conclusion
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Xia Fei was not entirely confident in his hovercar as it was already nearing its life’s end; in fact, it was only a matter of time before it completely gave up.
The engine was making all sorts of noises, and he could tell from these sounds that there were more than a dozen problems with it. Logically speaking, the best solution would be to stop and check it to avoid any possible mishap.
However, Xia Fei did not do that. He had simply given the matter some thought and figured that the probability of something catastrophic happening if he continued until the end of this race was around fifty percent.
Seeing that he had half a chance to succeed, he figured it was worth the gamble; if he won, it would be the heavens looking out for him, but if he ended up losing, he would not have any regrets, either.
The hovercar zipped through the racetrack with reckless abandon, the explosive sounds from his engine were like thunderclaps, causing people to involuntarily feel frightened whenever they heard the noise.
This extremely jarring sound worked well as a weapon, too; as the racers in front of him were afraid that 99 would explode, none of them tried their best to stop Xia Fei.
Since they were unable to put up a fight against such a madman, they figured it was best to just let him past. After all, only the champion of the race would be rewarded, so it was not worth taking the risk for the so-called honor.
“Xia Fei has made it back to the eleventh place—his best result since his hovercar’s first malfunction, but with only two laps left, can he still improve his ranking?” With Xia Fei diving into the race with such insanity again, that red-haired commentator found his spirit and voice anew as he continued to report the situation to his audience.
Truth be told, it was not just him. Almost all of the viewers were ecstatic over Xia Fei’s renewed a.s.sault for the first place.
Champions would always be praised by all, but sometimes, racers who did not manage to win yet gave the audience an exciting performance would also be well-liked by people. After all, being a champion was always reserved for the few, while most would end up holding supporting roles.
“Xia Fei has made it to the sixth position! Oh, no! Twin Dragons’ 0 has managed to catch up from behind! Truly, this team lives up to its name as the five-time champion in the star region. Plenty of racers have already been lapped by them; good luck, Xia Fei; don’t be lapped by Twin Dragons!”
The red-haired commentator seemed to have forgotten his role in all the excitement and was completely biased toward Xia Fei. As a commentator, he needed to a.n.a.lyze the race for the audience objectively, but at this point, he had immersed himself in the race as if he were Xia Fei. Anyone unaware might even think that he was related to the contestant.
In front of Xia Fei were hovercars 73, 21, and 194; the three coordinated well with one another. Nie Wei’s 73 ran right in front, while 21 and 194 worked together to prevent Xia Fei from overtaking them.
At this time, they entered the second to the last of these consecutive hairpin turns, and it would be Xia Fei’s final one following this segment. According to the report from the command room, Bai Ye’s 201, which had already cleared these hairpin turns, was about to enter the gangway.
If Xia Fei wanted to overtake the second placer, Bai Ye, he must cover the distance between them, close in on Bai Ye, then engage the latter in a decisive battle during that last lap.
Any driver would know that overtaking during a turn was extremely dangerous and difficult; this was even more so considering that they were presently on a racetrack.
Not mentioning the fact that the hovercars ahead were all driven by experienced racers, the trio ahead had even joined forces at this time to suppress this common enemy who was hot on their heels.
The moment one revealed a s.p.a.ce, their partner would fill it up, preventing Xia Fei from overtaking any of them.
He very calmly tailgated the trio, sticking right behind 194. He maintained a distance of just dozens of meters, searching for a chance the entire time.
Suddenly, when taking one of the turns, 194 exposed a tiny gap on the outside due to the very tight hairpin turn.
Xia Fei did not hesitate to claim that bit of exposed s.p.a.ce. Tracing the outer lane, Xia Fei let the centrifugal force ramp up his velocity as he tackled that bend. The concrete barricade was just a hair’s breadth away, and even the slightest mistake on his part could result in a direct collision with it.
Hovercar 21 was in the fourth position; the moment the driver discovered that his partner had made a mistake, he quickly steered out of the sidetrack in an attempt to fill the exposed gap.
Once bitten, twice shy; Xia Fei was not about to give them a second chance.
Xia Fei’s hovercar hood was about to align with 21’s rear, but he did not intend to give way. Throwing caution to the wind, he continued his acceleration despite the circ.u.mstances.
Such reckless driving caused quite a fright to the driver behind the wheel of 21. No longer bothering about the gap, this person went in the opposite direction to avoid the foolhardy Xia Fei.
*Whoos.h.!.+*
Xia Fei’s 99 had finally managed to get past 194 and was now roaring right next to 21’s side.
“That’s great! Xia Fei has overtaken two cars in one move, bringing him to the fourth position. In front of him are Nie Wei’s 73 and Bai Ye’s 201, and there’s only one lap left! Will a miracle happen?” exclaimed the red-haired commentator.
Xia Fei could already see the tail lights of 73, which was no more than a hundred meters from him, after his hovercar made it out of that turn.
This gangway linked the third level to the first, and it was a straight track from that moment on. Xia Fei used his speed advantage to close in fast to 73.
Nie Wei knew deep down that he would be unable to hold off Xia Fei all by himself, so he figured it was best to just let the latter pa.s.s and have him fight it out with Bai Ye, instead; there was no reason for him to offend this daredevil.
He grimaced and shook his head, lightly steering the wheels to the side to let Xia Fei through. He muttered to himself, “This is really unlucky… Letting two freshmen overtake me this year.”
Xia Fei’s red hovercar very quickly pa.s.sed by Nie Wei’s, and from the corner of his eye, Nie Wei saw the fledgling send a gesture of thanks his way.
Helpless, he waved his hand, meaning to say: ‘Just hurry along; I’m already despondent enough today as it is.’
After driving for three laps so wildly, white smoke was coming out from his engine compartment yet again, and the temperature of his ion thrusters had shot past the safe range once more.
Xia Fei looked at his back from the corner of his eye and, clenching his teeth, floored the accelerator resolutely.
He had gotten to this point of the race, so he was not about to give up. He acknowledged the overheating, but as long as the hovercar could still move, he would continue his charge onward.
In the distance, Xia Fei could finally see Bai Ye’s 201, and there was half a mile of distance between them.
Xia Fei was able to keep creeping closer to Bai Ye through his speed advantage alone.
800 meters
500 meters
300 meters
Soon, the two cars were within a negligible distance of each other, and neither was willing to let the other pa.s.s.
Bai Ye had very decent driving skills, and his grasp of the track was superb, allowing his hovercar to take the most advantageous position constantly.
If Xia Fei planned to overtake the other, he would have to put himself in a very unfavorable path, and given how thick the white smoke coming from his engine was, he was fairly certain that his automotive was not too far from giving up.
If he was lucky, he could maybe hang for two more minutes. If he was unlucky, his hovercar could very well break down in the next second.
After clearing the one hundred twenty-eight consecutive hairpin turns, Xia Fei was still lagging behind by about two body lengths.
Xia Fei furrowed his brows as his brain began working overdrive. The performance of an overheated engine would normally see a ma.s.sive drop off, and he could already feel that his hovercar was steadily losing the fight with itself.
Originally, this straight gangway they were on would be the best place for Xia Fei’s hovercar to perform. After all, the speed of his hovercar was faster than Bai Ye’s, and he could beat his compet.i.tors through this superior speed alone.
However, due to the overheated engine, the hovercar was only able to perform to about ninety percent of what it normally could, losing Xia Fei this advantage he once had as a result.
Gritting his teeth, Xia Fei placed his hand over a red b.u.t.ton on his dashboard.
This b.u.t.ton was to toggle the self-preservation function for the engine. Once pressed, the engine would disregard self-preservation and instantly put forth all its power two hundred percent
However, such an extreme measure could only last one second, and once this second pa.s.ses, the engine would be completely slagged, no longer able to provide even a centimeter of motion to the hovercar.
With around three miles left until they reached the finish line, Xia Fei saw his opportunity and decisively pushed that b.u.t.ton.
*Whoos.h.!.+*
Xia Fei’s hovercar suddenly jumped.
That was right. Jumped.
The overpowered propulsion had sent the vehicle flying the moment of ignition.
Bai Ye simply could not believe his eyes. Xia Fei’s hovercar had actually soared through the sky like an aeroplane.
“That’s just impossible!” Bai Ye stepped hard on the accelerator as he howled, his eyes almost falling out from his eye sockets
In that moment when Xia Fei had once more done something completely unimaginable, he tried to lean his body to one side, the steering wheel firmly anch.o.r.ed to this.
It was as if the fiery-red hovercar was dancing ballet. It did a beautiful spin in the air before landing squarely right in front of Bai Ye’s hovercar.
Given how sudden everything had transpired, Bai Ye simply did not have time to brake.
*Cras.h.!.+*
The front of Bai Ye’s hovercar smashed right into Xia Fei’s trunk.
*Whomp!*
The front of the hovercar lifted up high. Xia Fei then used the impact from Bai Ye’s collision to force his hovercar forward.
Xia Fei’s hovercar engine should have been completely useless by now, unable to generate any propulsion to continue forward, but Bai Ye crash into his hovercar’s rear had given him a push, and it was through this applied force that let Xia Fei’s hovercar cross the yellow finish line.
“The second place for this race is far too implausible. Xia Fei’s actually succeeded in crossing the finish line, second!” The red-haired commentator leaped to his feet in all excitement. “From the last position to second place—WHAT A MIRACLE!”
“That’s right. From fixing that mechanical failure earlier and continuing to race to finis.h.i.+ng second in this race, that young man has surely left an indelible mark in the history of racing,” The middle-aged commentator, who had been composed the entire time, could not help lauding Xia Fei’s achievement.
On the viewing platforms, the large crowd was tossing popcorn in the air like fireworks to celebrate this result as if this victory belonged to them, too.
Everyone celebrated wildly, throwing whatever they had in their hands up in the air in their jubilation.
A bald and stout man was rubbing his head as he looked back at the crowd behind him. “Who was it that threw a shoe at me?!”
Before he finished his sentence, a bottle of soda came flying out from the crowd and flew right onto his head.
Many lightyears away, a crash of something electronic could be heard coming from Avril’s room all of a sudden, and that aging butler opened the door in alarm and dashed in.
“Missus, are you alright?”
Avril pointed to the already ruined computer on the ground and said, “I accidentally caused the computer to fall off when I got too happy. Quickly bring me another. I want to watch Xia Fei get his prize.”
The old butler pursed his lips. “Understood. Everything is fine as long as the missus is alright.”
Turning to exit the room, the old man muttered to himself, slightly at a loss, “The missus originally only enjoyed ruining her toys; now, even the computer is liable to be damaged. No, I’ll have to hurry up and order a few more AI computers in advance, just in case.”
At that moment when Xia Fei’s red hovercar pa.s.sed the yellow finish line, the entire mechanical system inside the hovercar failed.
Without its suspension system, the body of the hovercar slid far along the track as a trail of sparks appeared from its undercarriage, even livelier than any fireworks display.
Fortunately, the hovercar’s frame was st.u.r.dy, so even after sliding along the track for quite a distance, its structure remained intact, and the vehicle had not caught on fire.
Xia Fei’s hovercar eventually stopped right in the middle of the racetrack. Leaping out from it, Xia Fei tossed his helmet aside and made his way toward Bai Ye’s hovercar.
Bai Ye’s situation was not better than Xia Fei’s. Because the front of his hovercar had smashed into Xia Fei’s rear trunk, Bai Ye lost control of his vehicle that instant and flipped several times on the ground before it ended up resting on the side of the track.
Even more tragic was the fact that, because Xia Fei had very cunningly borrowed Bai Ye’s force to propel himself forward, which in turn caused Bai Ye’s hovercar to stop several meters away from the finish line.
Nie Wei went past them, taking third place. Meanwhile, Bai Ye’s vehicle was now ruined thanks to Xia Fei, so he did not manage to finish the race.
Bai Ye dragged his injured self from the c.o.c.kpit and crawled out. This prince who was popular with the ladies in the training camp simply could not look as das.h.i.+ng as he always was. His clothes were in tatters, and his face muddied by dirt and grime. Even the hair that he was proud of had been messed up.
Xia Fei headed toward Bai Ye with a grin.
“Oh, dear; Prince Bai, are you alright? I lost control of my hovercar suddenly, implicating you as a result. Truly, I can’t be more remorseful,” Xia Fei pretentiously apologized.
Time and again, Bai Ye had been challenging Xia Fei during the trial runs. The latter had endured it. When it was the actual race, Bai Ye intentionally sped past him and tried to hurt him with the wind draft. The second time was when Xia Fei had decided that enough was enough.
As the ancient saying went, ‘Things can’t always be one-sided.’ As such, Xia Fei not only borrowed Bai Ye’s impetus to cross the finis.h.i.+ng line at the last lap of the race, he also paid Bai Ye back in kind for the slights he had endured earlier.
Bai Ye’s face was cold as he spat a tooth out, swallowing a mouthful of blood as he viciously accused, “Xia Fei, you did that on purpose.”
Xia Fei appeared to be innocent. “Prince Bai, please don’t slander my good name; this has all been an accident.”
There was a pregnant pause before Xia Fei continued. “When my hovercar had issues before, you also almost ran me over somewhere around here. Who knows if you did that intentionally or otherwise?”
Bai Ye was stunned for a moment. He suddenly realized that he was standing at the place where he had previously thought to slam into Xia Fei with his hovercar.
That was when Bai Ye knew that Xia Fei’s actions had all been a retaliation—an eye for an eye; even the location of the revenge was the same.
It was just that Xia Fei’s method was a lot more subtle, his manner far more vicious. Had it not been for the many heavy-duty safety systems in place, Bai Ye could very well have lost his life here.
Bai Ye suddenly burst into laughter, his expression returning to normal. “Since it’s a mistake, let’s not mention this matter again. After all, we’re here in the training camp together; there’s no reason we can’t see eye to eye on this. Besides, I, Bai Ye, am not one to bear a grudge.”
The corner of Xia Fei’s mouth formed a smirk as he laughed. “Actually, I dislike harboring grudges, too. I prefer taking revenge on the spot.”