Night Rose

Zhou Zheng laughed at his naivety, shrugged, and walked away with his arm around Wang Tianle's shoulder.

The blond-haired man rushed up, his voice excited, "Brother He! The Zhou family sent people to watch the match! It must be because President Zhou is interested in you that they sent them!"

"The Zhou family? Who's here? Aren't they always uninterested in racing? Why are they suddenly paying attention to me?" He Zhangxing's eyes searched for his target in the audience.

"The person who came was Mr. Zhou's secretary, named Wu Ting. It must have been at Mr. Zhou's behest. Brother He, all your hard work over the years has finally paid off!"

He Zhangxing raised his chin, his tone tinged with arrogance, "The Zhou family should have known long ago that investing in me was the right choice."

In the front row, a secretary in a suit was fiddling with a camera, adjusting the settings. When He Zhangxing greeted her, she smiled slightly and pointed the camera elsewhere.

A strange feeling welled up in He Zhangxing's heart. The secretary clearly wasn't taking pictures of him anymore. Was he just testing the waters?

"Brother He, what are you spacing out for?" Huang Mao asked excitedly.

He Zhangxing waved his hand, frowning. "Get in the car. Since the Zhou family is here to watch the competition, let's show them the results."

He stared coldly at the blond-haired guy, "If you can't get first place, you'll be the first one out of the team!"

Huang Mao shuddered; the overwhelming joy hadn't subsided before the cold water was poured over him.

It's a good thing that Zhou noticed their convoy, but if they don't perform well, He Zhangxing will definitely make them the first to be sacrificed!

"Click-clack".

Zhou Zheng's ears twitched slightly, and he turned around curiously to look at them. Not far away, a barrage of cameras were pointed at them, and the sound of shutters clicking incessantly.

"Someone is filming me," Zhou Zheng whispered.

Wang Tianle looked around, then lowered his voice to mimic him, "Brother Zhou, they're all filming us. Who are you talking about?"

"Unsure." Zhou Zheng glanced around, examining the people around him, but didn't see anyone suspicious.

But he had a feeling that someone was secretly filming him. Not filming him and Wang Tianle, but specifically targeting him and taking pictures of him.

That person's filming method was different from these reporters; that person was shady and sneaky.

Unfortunately, he didn't have time to figure out where the person was. The host's voice came from the speakers, accompanied by loud music that blasted throughout the venue.

"Hello, viewers! All racers are in position and ready to go!"

There can only be one championship trophy. Who will lift it?! Will it be the strongest of the top-ranked spirits, or some dark horse that has emerged victorious? Without further ado, let's find out on the track!

Driver number one, get ready! Start your engine and let the roar fill the entire arena!

The five departure lights lit up red in sequence, then went out simultaneously.

After a moment of silence, the deafening roar of engines exploded like a thunderclap from a clear sky, and the first race car shot off like an arrow, whipping up a whirlwind and heat wave, instantly plunging into the first corner.

The mountain road twists and turns, and the navigator's route book must be accurate. The navigator must keep their eyes glued to the road even as the car shakes violently. Every time a race car driver brakes and turns, they must precisely enter the curve to avoid the car skidding off the track.

As the first vehicle came into view, viewers could only track it using footage transmitted from helicopters near the winding mountain road.

Two minutes later, the second race car, poised to go, set off!

The cheers of the audience were drowned out by the roar of the engines, and the gusts of wind whipped up by the passing race cars almost blew the hats off the spectators.

Some people screamed and grabbed their hats, some covered their coats, and others tried to block out the noise.

The cars of the Zhuling team were very eye-catching, and they were greeted with cheers from many spectators as soon as they appeared. Those people were fans of Zhuling who had come from other places to watch the race.

After the spirits issued their commands, an inconspicuous car slowly drove to the starting point.

Someone in the stands stared at the car in surprise, "Is this a race car?"

The classic rear wing of a race car told him, "Yes, this is a race car."

But this was so different from the racing cars he remembered. At least... it wasn't that fancy at all, and the features were completely unrecognizable.

Compared to the race cars of the spirits, this car is quite ordinary.

"It looks like a minivan. Is this some kind of joke? How can this win?"

"What if we win?"

"If I win, I'll eat shit!"

The noise from the audience didn't reach the race car; Zhou Zheng and Wang Tianle wore helmets, isolating them from outside noise.

"Don't be nervous. You're already familiar with the track. You can make appropriate adjustments where you're confident, but don't be too aggressive where you're not. Just take it one step at a time and finish the mountain road." Su Jin's voice came through the headset.

Her voice was steady and gentle, giving people a sense of reassurance.

Zhou Zheng sat in the race car, staring intently at the electronic screen in front of him, his eyes unblinking.

"Snapped!"

The departure lights went out! The fifth car departed!

Zhou Zheng floored the accelerator, and the car's immense momentum slammed him into his seat.

He gripped the steering wheel tightly, able to clearly feel every bump and turn the car made on the road. The roar in his ears and Wang Tianle's calm commands mixed together, inexplicably offsetting his tension.

On his first time on the rally track, Zhou Zheng was highly focused, his eyes fixed solely on the rapidly receding road ahead.

The numbers on the dial continued to climb, just like Zhou Zheng's adrenaline, silently boiling within him.

Wang Tianle stared calmly at the road map tied to his thigh; the handwriting was distorted by the shaking of the car.

"500 meters, right 4, then left 5, the road narrows!"

"receive!"

Zhou Zheng downshifted precisely, the car smoothly gliding along the apex of the bend, the tires screeching as it sped along the outer edge of the mountain road, kicking up clouds of dust.

"Two hundred meters, high jump, then left 2, watch out for the throttle," Wang Tianle said, glancing ahead but not saying anything more.

Su Jin's voice came through the earpiece, serious and calm.

"Zhou Zheng, that was too risky. Don't be so reckless with your braking. It's better to brake a little earlier than to throw yourself off balance!"

"Tsk," Zhou Zheng responded.

He didn't throw a tantrum during the race, and afterwards he eased off the throttle at every corner, no longer taking corners at the extreme like before.

"Where is He Zhangxing?"

"It's normal for him to pull ahead of you on the bend when he's 500 meters ahead of you. Wait until the second stage before you really let loose. Take it easy on your tires; changing them would be a waste of time." Su Jin stared at the various data on the screen, as well as the position of each car.

The last two cars also started, and all the racing cars turned into a red dot, speeding across the screen in front of Su Jin.

She couldn't feel the excitement of the race car drivers or hear the cheers of the audience. All she saw were countless key data points jumping around. She extracted important information from the massive amount of data and interpreted and analyzed it.

"Su Jin, how do we determine the winner? Who crosses the line first?" Tu Ying stared nervously at the little red dot on the screen, shaking his finger anxiously.