Chapter 156: The Wolf King of ‘Dance Night’ [Part 1]
Who was superior and who was inferior was obvious at first glance.
There were people on the spectator’s grandstand that were shouting the name of the racer Udoze replaced loudly and waving his hologram. The so-called experts nitpicked the scene just now, and they showered that racer with even greater praise.
None of these were known to the racers who were competing right now. They only knew to put all of their concentration on the competition, for even the slightest misstep meant a horrible death.
The circuit of sandstone area had almost been finished, and the next circuit was the Seven Joined Lakes.
As usual, the red flying car was the first to plunge into the lake. The underwater monitoring devices recorded the race beneath the lake as it was. Some medias also had stake out points underwater to analyse and report the race in greater detail.
Although there were no sandstorm beneath the lake water, but factors such as drag, buoyancy, water pressure and so on would affect a flying car’s travel. The drivers had to prevent their oxygen supply system from being damaged as well.
Every circuit required the racers to mull over problems from different angles, and employ different responses to them.
“Look, a water monster!” a kid pointed at a long creature that looked like a green anaconda on the screen and screamed loudly.
Yes, not only were there annoying water plants inside the lake, there were also all sorts of living creatures living inside it. If a flying car accidentally got tangled up with them, it would not be easy to pull free. Worse, they might even become food for these underwater creatures.
However, it was obvious that the racers were used to this already. There were only very few racers who got played or became a little too careless and ran into trouble.
Udoze continued to take the lead. Outside the water, he could rely on the wind to make judgments, and inside the water, he could utilise the water flow itself to make judgments. The lake water of the Seven Joined Lakes would not be in a completely still state, and the presence of the underwater creatures and the flying cars would cause quite a bit of commotion. Moreover, the water flow of the connecting passages between the lakes would be faster, so they could all become a helping hand if them used it right.
There were plenty of people who could not imagine just how exactly the racer inside the red flying car had managed to perform to this extent. It was just like how they could not imagine that the true driver of this flying car was in fact a seventeen years old boy who was cast to the edge of the city, and could only practice using an old, shabby car.
Day after day he underwent practices that were almost harsh, and he did not let down his innate gift. He utilised all external forces he could utilise to create even more miracles.
The critics were looking at the time. In past records, the shortest time used to finish the sandstone area was five hours and twenty one minutes. However, Udoze did not use even five hours at all to complete that part of the circuit. His time was more than twenty minutes shorter than the current record holder. Even a second shaved could make people go crazy, much less twenty or so minutes. Right now, everyone was waiting for him to break the second record.
And the result did not disappoint. The time he used to complete the Seven Joined Lakes circuit was sixteen minutes shorter than the record. When the red flying car burst out of the lake, the people even thought that it would rise straight into the sky and be free of any external forces.
The third circuit, stone forest.
The wind in the stone forest was not much better than the sandstone area. While it wasn’t as violent as in the sandstone area, it was definitely as strange. Winds that lacked any specific orientation could even blow towards you from a certain part between the stones while you weren’t paying attention, disrupting the car’s balance and causing it to crash or fall from the air.
The saying that those who were inexperienced were not suited for Acallela’s competition made sense. It was because the act was no different from suicide.
The red car’s body was a clear contrast against the white stone forest in the background. The last part of the circuit was almost entirely the red flying car’s solo performance. The cars behind him had already been shaken off far, far away, and the three holograms at the center of the spectator’s grandstand which had the best view angle were reserved for this red figure alone. It looked like a soul that led the way of an era.
The car rolled within the stone forest looking like it could not find its balance, and every time the viewers thought that he would crash, they would see him smoothly avoiding a rock pillar in the next second. The car’s body was just centimeters away from the rock pillar. Even as observers, the people were unusually nervous. Sweat appeared on many people’s forehead, but they were not from fright, but from excitement. In the end, there were many people who noticed that the racer of this car only looked like he was in a difficult situation. In reality, he was handling the situation with ease.
The waves of shouts were only louder than the last. The racing team ‘Storm’ was already starting to promote that racing star and selling souvenirs. The many large images were all filled with that racing star’s appearance.
The existence of a body double was even more saddening when compared to the bright brilliance of a racing star.
By now, Tang Qiuqiu had lost the impassioned emotions she was feeling earlier. She felt that Udoze was very pitiful.
This was because the entire circuit was on the same latitude. Therefore, they would return to the spectator’s grandstand that was also the finish line once they they had gone through a full circle. When the red flying car burst through the finish line and entered the spectator’s grandstand, the entire place boiled over as the spectators stood up and roared the racing star’s name.
The flying car entered Storm’s specially prepared workshop. Udoze got off the car and passed the seat to the fully equipped racing star. He ignored the person in charge’s ‘you ran well, I’m raising your salary’ bullshit, took off his jacket, changed into casual clothing at the dressing room, tossed down the clothes that did not belong to him and walked out of the racetrack.
The racetrack continued to heat up as usual. The cheers of crazed racing fans could be heard from afar.
Udoze let out a long sigh and raised his head, walking towards the distance. However, when he saw the debit card Cillin raised in the air, Udoze’s depression subsided by a lot.
Cillin waved his hands, “Today’s rewards is pretty good. Let’s go make a transfer!”
“Okay.” Udoze moved his arms for a bit to make his tensed muscles relax.
“Udodo, you won a lot of money this time.” Tang Qiuqiu giggled. She had also invested a portion of her money from the free mission into the bet this time, but the reward was a tremendous pleasant surprise that she had not imagined.
“Three hundred thousand, right? It’s enough for me to participate in a lot of races.” Udoze sighed.
“No, you missed an order of magnitude.”
Udoze’s walking movements abruptly froze. He turned around stiffly and looked at Cillin, “Didn’t you bet that the red car would win?”
“Yeah, I did. But I also bet that it would break records.” Cillin said smilingly.
“So… so that means…” Udoze swallowed his saliva. He was so nervous he almost bit his tongue. He wasn’t this nervous even when he was competing in the race.
“It means, the payout is multiplied by thirty times.” Tang Qiuqiu gave him the answer directly.
Thirty times meant that the final sum of the payout was three million!
Udoze panted hoarsely for a very long time. Then, he suddenly crouched on the ground, hugged his head and cried.
Cillin, Tang Qiuqiu, the gray cat: “…”
Cillin knew that they could not understand Udoze’s feelings.
All of his grievances, all of his unwillingness. What he thought was an unattainable dream the day before, when he had almost sunk into numbing darkness, he realised that the sun was behind him all this time, and hope was within reach the second he turned around.
Udoze had not cried even the time he crashed into a mountain rock, suffered grievous injuries and almost died. At this moment, he suddenly felt that everything was worth it!
So he had no fame, no trophy cups of his own and all of his efforts botched by his racing team’s PIC with insignificant bullshit…
So what!
After he was done crying, Udoze raised his arm and wiped his snot and tears away with his sleeves, “I’m treating today. No one is going to snatch the bill with me, get it!”
“You don’t say!” the gray cat said with a matter-of-fact tone.
“Hehe…”
Udoze had walked airily almost all the way to the city center of Wind City Vento while smiling like an idiot. It was there Cillin transferred Udoze’s won bet to him. Since the money was transferred through Cillin’s hands, the government would not find out that Udoze had participated in the gambling even if they were to investigate his account. Udoze was absolutely certain and assured on this point.
After staring adoringly at his card like – no, more than he would stare at his lover for half a day, Udoze finally recovered his wits. However, he still could not withdraw the smile on his face. Suddenly, he thought of something and scratched his head. He told Cillin, “It’s still early. I’ll bring you guys to a great place tonight, but before that I need to visit a person. Oh right, maybe I can introduce you guys to each other. He is a medicine maker.”
“A medicine maker?” Cillin said in surprise.
“Mm, he is a really great medicine maker!” Udoze wore a look of infinite adoration on his face.
“Let’s go together then. Let’s have a look at this great medicine maker of yours.” Cillin was rather curious about the person Udoze spoke of.