F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 14 Like waking up from a dream
Shu Long never expected that his father, who he didn't think had ever lost his temper much, had such a trick up his sleeve. However, the fact that Yu Zi was able to be suppressed was a good thing for everyone.

To be fair, apart from Zhang Jinhua, Shu Long didn't dislike anyone in the class, including Yu Zijing.

Although this guy is a troublemaker, he never bullies others. Most importantly, especially in some particularly boring classes, as long as Yu Zijing starts to go crazy, the students can have at least ten more minutes to chat.

So even though the students openly complained about this guy who always dragged everyone into the teacher's wrath, they all secretly thought he was kind of crazy.

Let's forget about it on the track; an uncontrollable savage running amok is no good for anyone.

Shu Long wanted to start the bus directly from the front row because Zhang Jinhua, that rascal, was lingering in the front row and refused to move.

Shu Long pondered for a long time how to properly retaliate against this guy: by forcing him into a corner? By applying pressure on his line? Or by repeatedly overtaking him?

None of them work!

Don't underestimate Zhang Jinhua's thick skin. The above measures might work for someone who knows a little about driving, but on this guy, he might mistake it for him being incredibly awesome. The arrogant Shulong not only couldn't overtake his car, but instead got caught up in a "hard" struggle.

No doubt about it, it's almost certainly true!

Therefore, the only way to tear Zhang Jinhua's thick skin off, throw him on the ground, and stomp on him is to ruthlessly get past him from the very beginning and then leave him so that you can't even smell his exhaust fumes anymore.

Shu Xiong immediately understood the brat's idea when he met his son's gaze, but he didn't agree. Instead, he dragged Shu Long's car to the last row with a wicked grin on his face.

While beginners may not have much value in winning battles, they also excel at creating chaos. Knowing how to quickly make judgments in a chaotic situation to protect oneself or even turn the tide into an advantage is an essential skill for any good driver.

In racing, besides the driver's skill, the ultimate competition is between the cars themselves.

Shu Long's talent allows him to stand out among his peers, and few can make him feel frustrated. However, if Shu Long can truly enter a higher level of racing in the future, it is conceivable that things will not be as smooth sailing as they are now.

Given the opportunity, Shu Xiong would naturally like to create more adversity to toughen up Shu Long's mind, as these experiences might become a valuable asset in the future.

There were no traffic lights installed on the track yet, so Shu Xiong found a green flag and waved it a few times in a proper manner, then gave a whistle as a signal to start the race.

The traffic started moving sparsely.

Children react quickly, but their attention span is short. Many of them were initially stunned on the track, not knowing what to do, and ended up crashing into each other.

Yu Zi was not the source of this trouble. On the contrary, he was unusually obedient because he was intimidated by Shu Xiong. He was the victim of the chaos. Right at the beginning, he was pushed onto the lawn by a car that sped up from behind.

Sitting in the last row, Shu Long seemed to be born with a spotlight, exuding an aggressive aura. Before the chaos had fully formed, he weaved through the gaps to reach the front of the line.

【Sharp Eyes】The 55% unlock rate of the entries is not high, but it still gives him a unique dynamic vision, especially for these recreational racing cars with only a few horsepower. Their possible movements in the next few seconds are all completely imprinted on the track model in Shulong's mind.

To be honest, all in all, this batch of new cars is in much better condition than the old pile of junk. While the power is lacking, the throttle and brake feedback is exceptionally clear.

In short, it's not quite as good as the two-stroke tank that's been with Shulong for several months, but it's more than enough to satisfy a racing itch.

With no obstacles in front of him, Zhang Jinhua charged forward with a roar as soon as the whistle blew.

Putting everything else aside, this guy really has some skills; at least he's daring enough to pull off a big drift on every turn.

The operation was very rough, and the speed was not fast at all. It was completely messing around, but it still gave people the illusion that this guy was a bit fierce.

Yu Mujie in the second row is particularly energetic now, and his desire to perform is extremely strong under someone's sweet offensive.

Just as he was about to step forward and teach Zhang Jinhua a lesson, a dark shadow suddenly appeared out of the corner of his eye from Shen Qian's exclamation from behind, darting into the narrow gap between them and sliding into the apex of the bend with a graceful arc.

"He used inertial drift into the corner, and his car was very fast."

The scene felt somewhat reminiscent of the famous moment in the movie Initial D where Takeshi Nakazato was mercilessly overtaken by a tofu truck. However, instead of using inertial drifting into the corner, Shu Long used a trick he had unintentionally discovered at the club that was more suitable for recreational vehicles.

Unlike two-stroke racing cars, four-stroke cars, because they are not as fast, do not need to use the brakes in some corners. They can simply release the accelerator and use the friction of the tires when turning to achieve sufficient braking. In some low-to-medium speed corners, when the car speed is not high, you can even enter the corner with the accelerator at full throttle.

In other words, when driving a four-stroke race car, techniques like traction braking are sometimes unnecessary and time-consuming. When you can't squeeze the tires to their maximum grip, maintaining engine speed is actually more beneficial for race cars with insufficient horsepower.

Slightly lock the brakes by applying pressure, allowing the rear wheels to slide and help the car spin faster. You can then accelerate before fully entering the apex of the corner to propel the car forward.

In terms of the process, it's more like using a drifting technique to enter the corner, and then using throttle control to smoothly transition the car's dynamics to neutral steering to exit the corner.

Some people drift downhill and end up needing bodywork repairs, while others deliver tofu without spilling a drop of water from their teacup. At this point, even a complete novice can clearly see the fundamental difference in skill.

Driven by his competitive spirit, Yu Mujie wanted to get revenge, but he was quickly outpaced by Shu Long after just two turns. A few seconds later, Zhang Jinhua's loud, foul language could be heard from not far ahead, interspersed with phrases like "You cheated" and "It's unfair."

The crowd had come to watch the spectacle of Shulong, but after following the race for two laps, they lost all interest in Shulong's solitary charge. In contrast, the chaotic scene of other racers on the track was far more interesting.

While others were just past the halfway mark, Shu Long had already completed his goal of 12 laps and entered the pit lane. Sadly, most of his classmates weren't paying any attention to him at all; they were just gossiping about Yu Mujie with great interest.

While feeling somewhat disappointed, Shu Long was also pleased with his leisure time. He took off his helmet and came over to Shu Xiong, who was still posing in the sunlight with sunglasses on.

"Are you crazy? How much did this actually cost?"

"Hmm?" Looking down and seeing his son, Shu Xiong smiled mysteriously with a hint of pride. "I was just thinking of giving you a place to practice driving and keep your skills up, right? It didn't actually cost much."

By track standards, the cost of the bear enclosure is indeed very low.

Zhang Xin reached a cooperation agreement with the park. First, the venue is already available and will be provided by the park itself. They will be responsible for the construction and renovation of the track facilities, as well as subsequent maintenance and operation. As for the revenue, it will be split according to a certain ratio.

The construction team and equipment for the renovation were all spared from other businesses in the family. They bought some racing cars, with cheap recreational cars costing only a few thousand yuan each. Many of the parts were salvaged from old, scrapped cars and could be recycled, so the overall cost was kept very low. Making money was secondary. As mentioned at the beginning, the couple's main goal was to provide Shulong with a place where he could always maintain his racing skills.

Shu Long wouldn't understand much if I explained it further, but you could basically say that his family got a great deal. After briefly explaining the ins and outs of the matter, Shu Xiong winked at his son and then gestured to the small van next to him.

"what?"

"Why don't you just open it and see for yourself?"

With a "whoosh," Shu Long opened the car door, his feelings a mix of emotions, a mixture of gratitude and amusement.

A brand-new two-stroke racing car of the same specifications as his at the club, along with several bundles of new tires of various models and a spare engine, the overwhelming smell of the new car almost brought tears to his eyes.

"Where's my original one?"

"The club has them stored here. If you participate in national competitions in the future, they can help with the transportation and maintenance of the race car. As long as you drive this one sparingly, it will be enough for you to run for several years."

Seeing that it was almost time, Shu Xiong waved his flag and called for the students to come down from the field and return the cars.

Having simply put on rib protectors and gloves, and changed into a racing helmet, Shulong was already quietly waiting at the starting gate of the pit area when no one was paying attention.

Since we're already installing it, we should naturally go for the big one!

As father and son, they naturally share some similarities in personality. Shu Xiong could understand Shu Long's slightly awkward feeling among his peers.

Because I am not good at handling interpersonal relationships, I cherish every hard-won friendship, and I can remember even the slightest unintentional gesture of kindness for a long time.

However, this same personality trait leads them to always have a somewhat ingratiating attitude when interacting with others. Sometimes, even if they are already cursing in their hearts, they will show that they would rather suffer themselves than bother others.

For example, Shu Xiong sometimes only greets the vendor kindly when buying vegetables, and then feels too embarrassed to haggle over the price. How can someone with that kind of personality ever do business? It's a good thing Zhang Xin is there to support him!

Don't let their young age fool you; a few of these little rascals are really infuriating. Just watching them makes Shu Xiong's chest muscles bulge, and he'd love to personally slap them across the face.

There's still a little over an hour before the bus departs at 3:30 PM, and Shu Xiong is determined to let his brat make the most of this last bit of time to show off his skills.

Just like Spider-Man can look directly at his goddess without blushing even when wearing a mask, Shu Long, with his helmet and mask blocking outside vision, seemed to automatically switch to a familiar yet unfamiliar personality as he put his hands on the steering wheel, exuding a cool and fierce aura.

This is exactly what elementary school students of this age like.

Jealousy? Envy? Or perhaps a budding attraction? All sorts of sticky gazes seemed to want to tear a layer of skin off Shu Long.

Seeing that some restless students were about to try out the same activity, before things got completely chaotic, Shu Xiong gestured and quickly released Shu Long.

With so many kids in the class making a mess, how could anyone keep an eye on them all? Confused, Old Wu thought some naughty kid had secretly triggered some kind of fee-charging program again.

"Um... boss?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, teacher! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm the baby's dad."

After all that scheming and going around in circles, wasn't this the very moment we were all waiting for?

On the day the Dragon King returned, he discovered that his child had suffered a great injustice. With a single command, he summoned eight hundred... cough cough!

[Someone got a good time.]

No one could figure out what this eccentric family was up to, but everyone's attention, whether it was the students watching or Old Wu, was quickly drawn back to the dragon on the track.

A smaller track also has its advantages.

The engine roared even more violently, the tires made short, sharp noises as they drove to the edge of their grip limit, and the deadly edge of the track was so bad that just looking at it from the sidelines made your palms sweat!

Completely immersed in experiencing the interaction between the race car and the track, Shulong single-mindedly performed a symphonic waltz of physical phenomena, human technology, and human control for everyone.

No need for exaggerated drifting or fancy skills; the simple arcs drawn by the race car on the track reveal the purest beauty of geometry.

The afternoon sun shone brightly, and the ultraviolet rays from the plateau stung the exposed skin slightly.

The intense, suffocating feeling subtly and imperceptibly consumed Shulong's gradually fading consciousness on the track.
(Don't get confused, the train conductor will remind you that the next stop is back in 2020.)

His muscles twitched violently, jerking the steering wheel sharply, and a muffled groan escaped his dry nose.

The dragon in the flames exhaled a mouthful of hot smoke that nearly burned its trachea. Its consciousness was somewhat swayed by the impact, which was conservatively estimated to be 60G. Finally, after a long wait of about 15 seconds, it managed to find its way home.

A pair of hands, braving the raging flames, reached in and grabbed Shulong's collar, seemingly trying to pull him back from the brink of death, but the unbearable heat quickly made the other party retreat.

Once he regained his senses, Shu Long quickly realized that he had to do something. The F1 racing suit could insulate him from the nearly 800-degree heat for a short time, but the stinging sensation all over his body told him that there was no time to delay any longer.

The helmet's visor was already showing signs of melting under the high temperature. The rolling heat distorted the air, making it difficult to see clearly what was around me. I could only vaguely make out some blurry figures frantically spraying some kind of foam at me.

He quickly removed the steering wheel and seatbelt, raised his hand and reached up to grab the HALO frame, which was still hot to the touch even through his fireproof gloves. In that life-or-death moment, the monstrous strength from his muscle contraction pulled him out of the car.

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(End of this chapter)