Zhuifeng exhaled deeply, his eyes fixed on the dashboard. "Alright, let's do this!"
As he floored the gas pedal, a Mazda RX-8 suddenly cut in ahead of him, forcing him to slam on the brakes. "Damn it! Are you trying to kill me?"
Yamamoto, glancing at the Audi in his rearview mirror, sneered. "Trash."
---
"…Unbelievable! The lead that the Wind God worked so hard to secure has been effortlessly reclaimed by Japan's Yamamoto!" Mu Xin emphasized the word "Japan" deliberately, her tone clearly disapproving. "Honestly, I'm finding it hard to believe this is the so-called Wind God everyone's been hyping up…"
"Brother Liu, did we make a mistake?" Yaoyao murmured anxiously as she watched Zhuifeng's battered performance on screen.
"We didn't," Liu Tang replied, clenching his fists tightly. "Because he's my boss. He's the Wind God!" But the uncertainty in his voice was unmistakable.
Yaoyao could hear the contradiction in his tone, and her worry only deepened. Unable to do anything else, she silently prayed for Zhuifeng's success.
---
Zhuifeng's frustration was quickly boiling over. He was still just a young man at heart, and his mounting irritation soon transformed into anger. You wanna play dirty? Fine. I'll play along. Let's go crazy!
Unclipping his seatbelt, he gripped the steering wheel tightly, his eyes burning with determination. "You asked for this."
Shifting into sixth gear, Zhuifeng pushed the car to its limit, hurtling toward the Mazda at 270 km/h.
---
As the corner loomed ahead, his heart began to race. Sixth gear into a corner at this speed—this was madness!
Zhuifeng had never even experimented with drifting in fourth gear before, let alone sixth. While part of him wanted to blast through the corner without braking, instinct kicked in, and his hand reached for the emergency brake.
---
"Unbelievable! Is this really the underground racing legend they call the Wind God?" exclaimed a sarcastic voice from Zhongshen Racing Team's crew.
"Shut up, Suiying!" the team director barked, shooting him a glare. "No more interruptions!"
But privately, the director couldn't deny the sentiment. Zhuifeng's awkward maneuvers were enough to make even a casual observer cringe.
---
Due to his anxiety—and the fact that he was attempting to steer with only one hand at 270 km/h—the rear wheels locked up, causing the car's nose to swing wildly out of control.
"Damn it, Zhuifeng! What the hell are you doing?" he berated himself, slapping his own cheek hard. "Sure, I'm in sixth gear, but this speed is equivalent to what I used to hit in fourth! What the hell am I panicking for?"
Whether out of shame or the sting from his own slap, Zhuifeng's face flushed as red as a Fuji apple.
Shaking off his frustration, Zhuifeng refocused on the race. Emerging from the corner, his eyes glinted with a newfound intensity, sharper than ever.
---
"Stay calm. Stay calm," he muttered, taking deep breaths. "I'm in sixth gear, but I'm only doing 270 km/h. That means I can handle these corners in fourth gear!"
As another turn approached, Zhuifeng tightened his grip on the wheel and steeled himself. "Screw it! Let's do this!"
At 270 km/h, Zhuifeng aimed directly for the apex and shot forward.
---
"…My god, what's he trying to do?!" Liu Tang's voice was laced with panic. "Boss! Boss! Can you hear me? You can't do this—it's suicide!"
---
What did 270 km/h into a corner mean? It meant courting disaster.
In three different locations, Zhao Jie, Yaoyao, and Xu Nianran all collapsed weakly to the ground, clutching their chests as if their hearts had been squeezed tight.
"What's wrong? Why isn't the boss responding?"
"He turned off his earpiece!" Liu Tang's expression darkened as he tore out his own earpiece and hurled it to the ground. Unsatisfied, he stomped on it a few times for good measure.
"Liu, look!" The shorter team member grabbed Liu Tang's arm, his eyes glued to the screen in disbelief.
---
Zhuifeng wasn't stupid—of course, he wasn't actually going to take the corner at 270 km/h.
As he approached the apex, he yanked the handbrake and downshifted to fourth gear in one fluid motion, turning the wheel sharply. The rear wheels locked up from the sudden change in speed, and inertia took over.
A plume of smoke rose from the back of the car as the tires skidded, leaving a trail behind him.
---
With the angle of the car now perfectly aligned, Zhuifeng slammed on the gas. The Audi roared back to life, its body gliding smoothly through the drift before accelerating out of the corner at full throttle.
---
"…What…"
Liu Tang was stunned.
Suiying was stunned.
Zhang Song was stunned.
Even the three girls, who had closed their eyes in fear, were stunned.
It wasn't quite
---
After a long silence…
"He did it. He did it! Boss, I have to say, you're a damn genius! You managed to adapt so quickly—it's insane! I'm impressed!" Liu Tang shouted, his excitement overflowing as he scrambled to pick up his discarded earpiece and yelled into it with abandon.
---
"What now?" The director of Zhongshen Racing Team turned to Suiying, the one who had mocked Zhuifeng earlier. "Suiying, could you do that?"
Suiying scratched his head awkwardly. "…Uh…"
The director sighed, looking around at his team. "Do any of you still think these underground racers are beneath us? Zhang Song, go talk to those guys over there. Find out everything you can about this Wind God. I don't care if he's 050302 or not—I want him on our team."
---
Mu Xin stared at the screen, speechless for a long time. "Am I imagining things? That clumsy mess of a driver from earlier just managed to take a corner beautifully at what looked like 175 km/h. Could this have been his strategy all along—playing weak to throw off his opponent? Is this the real Wind God finally revealing himself?"
Seriously?! If Zhuifeng had heard this, he'd probably be fuming. "Playing weak"? Give me a break!
---
"Wind God! Wind God!" Xu Nianran suddenly screamed, her clear voice cutting through the stunned silence of the mountaintop.
Li Ning, noticing the stares from people around them, quickly tugged at Zhao Jie's arm to calm her down.
Zhao Jie turned to look at Nianran, confusion in her eyes. "…?"
Realizing what she had done, Xu Nianran froze, her cheeks flushing as she wished for a hole to crawl into.
But her outburst had awakened the crowd from their shock. Suddenly, the mountaintop was alive again with chants of "Wind God! Wind God!"
---
Meanwhile, on the mountain road, Zhuifeng exhaled deeply. "Damn, Zhuifeng, you're a genius. You can do this. Let's keep going, partner."
As soon as he hit a straightaway, he shifted into sixth gear. Once a corner loomed, he dropped back to fourth.
Within moments, Zhuifeng had closed the gap and was right behind Yamamoto.
---
"What… what's going on?" Yamamoto stared at the Audi in his rearview mirror, his voice shaking. "There's no way he caught up this fast—it's impossible!"
His hands trembled, and the car's nose wobbled with his unsteady grip.
---
"Surprised?" Zhuifeng's cold eyes bore into the Mazda ahead of him. "Yamamoto, the race is just beginning."
The Mazda swerved left and right, blocking Zhuifeng's attempts to overtake. Growing more arrogant, Yamamoto sneered. "Keep tailing me if you want, kid! I don't believe you can shake me!"
As he approached a series of tight 'S' curves, Yamamoto recalled how difficult this section had been during his first run here. A smug smile spread across his face.
---
Seeing the upcoming hairpin turn sign on the roadside, Zhuifeng's blood surged with adrenaline.
"Alright, let's settle this in the hairpin, where you Japanese racers think you reign supreme. I'll show you what Chinese drivers are truly capable of. You think you own the corners? Think again."