037 The Impossible Turn

The power of the engine remained steady; the slope made little difference, and in the blink of an eye, they reached the curve. Fe Shangming habitually glanced in the rearview mirror. What he saw shocked him—the red sports car was less than fifty meters behind.

He’s insane. That was Fe Shangming’s first thought.

How could he be so fast? The second.

At that speed, taking such a sharp bend would surely end in a crash—no question about it. Even with five seconds of braking, it was impossible to slow down enough. The red sports car was doomed.

A second doubt arose: Even if he slowed down before the slope, by all logic, the red sports car behind him shouldn’t have been able to close the gap so quickly.

But he had no time to ponder further; the bend was upon him. He pressed the brakes and turned the steering wheel.

In the stands, the dyed-haired girl suddenly voiced her confusion, “How did the red sports car’s speed increase so quickly? Wasn’t it supposed to rise by only two kilometers per minute? Did the system fail?”

The other three were equally puzzled, unable to figure it out.

“I’ve got it!” The bespectacled man clapped his hands, his eyes flashing through his glasses.

“Tell us already!” the dyed-haired girl urged impatiently.

“To come up with such a solution in so little time—the driver of the red sports car is no ordinary person,” the bespectacled man adjusted his glasses.

“Oh, stop being mysterious,” the dyed-haired girl grumbled, tired of his teasing.

He knew her temperament well and took no offense. “There’s only one way the speed could have shot up like that.”

“He turned off the engine and used gravity to accelerate.”

The three suddenly understood. So that’s it.

“But at that speed, taking such a sharp bend is almost impossible. What is he planning?” The bespectacled man was puzzled; from the driver’s earlier performance, he didn’t seem reckless.

Watching his screen, he suddenly reacted, “Could it be…?”

OO7 drifted beautifully through the curve, charging down the slope.

Meanwhile, the red sports car began to slow. (The bespectacled man noticed—it was not on the inside lane, but the second lane.)

After two seconds of braking, the red sports car turned, the whole vehicle swinging sideways under massive inertia. (No, it’s too fast, it’ll flip—the bespectacled man judged.)

Sure enough, one side of the car’s wheels lifted slightly off the ground.

A tidal wave of exclamations swept through the stands; everyone’s hearts were in their throats, eyes widened, fixed on the red sports car.

Would it flip or not?

The wheels on one side of the red sports car rose a few centimeters, wobbled, and then settled back on the ground.

“Wow—!”

The crowd let out a huge sigh, part awe, part regret.

“How is that possible?” The dyed-haired girl cried out, unable to believe her eyes. To take such a sharp turn at that speed without flipping—her worldview was shattered.

The bespectacled man was stunned, then suddenly smacked his forehead, excitement in his voice, “I know how…”

On screen, the red sports car’s wheels spewed thick smoke as it rounded the bend. Through the haze, it shot out like a red lightning bolt.

Closer, closer.

“Yeah—!” Amid the tsunami of cheers, the red sports car overtook the black sports car numbered OO7, sped down the slope, and entered the third section of the track.

Fe Shangming was utterly dumbfounded; his mind was in chaos. His car slid a good distance before stopping, but he didn’t react.

How could this be?

He kept repeating those words to himself.

He must have cheated, anger surging within him as he called the club manager, “You teamed up with others to cheat me! Are you trying to ruin your club?”

He raged, spittle flying, yet still not appeased. Since birth, he’d always outsmarted others; never had he been played like this.

If they didn’t give him a reasonable explanation—well, they’d bear the consequences. He was not someone to be trifled with.

“Mr. Fe, please calm down,” the manager replied coolly. “As far as we know, OO1313 has shown no signs of cheating.”

“What? No cheating?” Fe Shangming sneered. “Then explain how, on a thirty-degree slope, at nearly four hundred kilometers per hour, he managed to take a near-ninety-degree bend without flipping?”

“I’m not an expert, so I don’t know. But Mr. Fe, you are a professional; I suggest you review the footage, maybe you’ll find the answer.”

“If you can provide evidence of cheating, our club will certainly address it.”

“Fine.”

Fe Shangming hung up, now calmer. Since its founding, Mingzhou Club had always favored top drivers like him, but never had he heard of anyone being shown undue favoritism.

The drivers here were all wealthy and influential; no matter how bold the club was, it wouldn’t risk inciting the wrath of so many by helping someone cheat.

He knew a bit about the club’s connections—he couldn’t afford to offend so many powerful people.

Unless… a chill ran through him as he considered the possibility. Unless the owner of the red sports car was so formidable that the club would rather anger everyone else than cross him.

He hoped that wasn’t the case.

He opened the panoramic footage of the red sports car going downhill and studied it carefully.

There was nothing amiss before the slope. Once the descent began, its speed increased noticeably, growing faster as it neared the bend—by then, its speed exceeded four hundred. The acceleration was unnatural.

But soon he discovered the key: the engine was silent.

“Damn, is that possible?”

Fe Shangming nearly cursed aloud in realization.

According to the rules, after reaching three hundred, the accelerator must be kept pressed; letting go would drop the speed back to three hundred.

But even with the engine off, the rule still applied—so long as the accelerator wasn’t released, the speed wouldn’t drop. Was this a joke?

Fe Shangming fumed; this was clearly a loophole.

Still, thinking deeper, it made sense. If you could brake for five seconds without letting go of the accelerator, why not turn off the engine?

Others had thought of this before, but the downhill sections of the track were rare and always accompanied by curves; everyone was too busy slowing down to consider accelerating.

The real question now was: at four hundred, how did the red sports car manage to round that bend smoothly?

He’d discussed it with other top-tier drivers. They all agreed: the fastest safe speed for that downhill curve was three hundred fifty-five kilometers per hour; any faster, and you’d definitely flip.

Yet the red sports car shattered that rule. On the bend, its recorded speed was four hundred ten. Aside from cheating, he could think of no other explanation.

He studied the footage over and over, gradually piecing together the clues. The final conclusion left him utterly stunned.

Note: The thirty degrees refers to the angle between the slope and the horizontal.

Statement: This story is set in the highly advanced planet Davor. The racing sections are purely my own imagination and design; please do not compare them to reality. I will not respond to any doubts regarding the racing in this book. Special announcement.

Finally, happy Dragon Boat Festival—please recommend this book.