Chapter 15 Death Race 01

Chapter 15 Death Race 01

The system announcement continued.

Pei Yi couldn't help but take one last gulp of his soy milk.

[Participants are requested to check their group number and gather at the designated location.]

Pei Yi took his dice for a walk, closed his eyes, and thought, fortune or disaster, it all hinges on this throw.

The landlord leaned over to look, "Not bad, this thing's pretty good."

But as soon as he uncovered his hand, Pei Yi silently stuffed it back into his clothing, a bad start. Every dungeon run was marked by misfortune; could he even enjoy the game anymore? Despite knowing the outcome, he remained undeterred, seeking the psychological effect.

"The CG is out," said the landlord.

Pei Yi also clicked into his live streaming interface, indeed finding that the title of the live stream had been changed.

[Death Race] was a one-minute CG.

The camera adopted a documentary style, set at a racetrack where cars sped past, so fast they were almost a blur, impossible to capture on camera.

What kind of dungeon was this? Continue taking photos? But with such speed, what could possibly be captured?

Or was it about driving? As far as he knew, these were not ordinary cars but race cars. A real race car could reach speeds of up to 250KM/H, a velocity unattainable by the average person.

Surely JC wouldn't go so far as to involve actual racing.

Pei Yi walked towards the gathering point with curiosity.

The landlord rambled on, "Su Guang, they all call me Uncle Guang. Little Pei, we're to fight side by side. This dungeon seems quite challenging."

Pei Yi asked, "How do we fight side by side? In the same car?"

Su Guang, in his forties, approaching fifty, with a bald head, broad face, and a sturdy build, was dressed like an average middle-aged man, his eyes keen. The disdain he showed earlier was truly bothersome, but now with a change in attitude, he was less so.

Su Guang laughed, "It might not necessarily involve driving. Maybe it's on a bus? Surely they won't have us actually racing, right? I can't drive."

Pei Yi turned with a faint smile, pulling up his live streaming interface, "Take a good look. Uncle Guang, this is about racing, F1 Formula One cars, not ordinary private cars."

"Oh my God."

As they spoke, they had already arrived at the gathering point. It was indeed a racetrack, right at the start line marked by a red and white warning line, with a group of people already standing there.

A group dressed in black suits. Pei Yi approached and saw that the leader among them was Lu ZaiChuan.

Pei Yi turned to Su Guang and asked, "The Team Castle, do you know what their deal is?"

"Of course! They're currently ranked tenth in total points! A legendary team in JC. They used to be number one, but I heard one of their members mysteriously disappeared."

"No, I mean, do they always act so pretentious?"

"Uh... you mean them?" Su Guang pointed ahead, "They're not all together. Team Castle only has three members; the other one is in a different area. But Lu God and his teammates indeed all graduated from elite universities and have a uniform team outfit.

"Before joining JC, Lu God was a very wealthy young master, quite famous throughout Shangzhou. Exactly how wealthy, I'm not sure, but he even ran an escape room business branded with JC's name. We all say that Lu God is JC's own son. Whether or not that's true, he might as well be.

"Lu God wasn't much into playing anymore, but he joined this S1 because it's important. He's always busy with work, always in suits and ties, so Team Castle's uniform turned into suits as well."

After listening, Pei Yi concluded they were still being pretentious.

"Their team is short of members?"

Su Guang said incredulously, "How could they be? It's impossible to even get in. I've dreamed of joining them. Alas. Their average points are all above 5000. 5000 points! Ordinary people can't achieve that in a lifetime. But Pei Yi, you're different. You broke Lu God's record right from the start. They definitely wouldn't overlook you, right?"

As Su Guang spoke, he seemed to think of something, staring at the distant Lu ZaiChuan and others, suddenly saying, "No way, they've already approached you!"

"I turned them down. If I had known, I would have given the opportunity to you, Uncle Guang!" Pei Yi said, then walked away in his flip-flops, leaving a stunned Uncle Guang behind.

Later, Lu ZaiChuan also noticed him and took the initiative to nod at Pei Yi. Pei Yi was surprised; the man had a good temper. Despite what he had said, Lu was still polite. So Pei Yi, not wanting to be too rude, nodded back.

At that moment, his watch lit up with a message from Chen Mo. Pei Yi shared his location. After a while, Chen Mo ran over.

"Brother Pei! I'm gathering in a different area. In Group B, there must be many groups."

"Hmm." He had checked before coming. He was assigned to Area A, divided into twenty areas in total. With twenty thousand participants in JC this time, Area A would host over a thousand people.

As they were talking—

[Welcome to the Thriller City S1 Warm-Up, themed "Death Race."]

[Thrill Level: One star Mortality Rate: 30%]

[Key Elements: Athletic racing, casual quiz]

[Rules: Players will undergo three days of special training, followed by a real car race on the fourth day.]

[Passing Condition: Surpass 50% of the total points in your area to pass and qualify for the S1 competition.]

[Current Task: All players are to return to their respective race car hotel rooms, two per room, then check the task list on the desk, prepare individually, and gather in the lobby in three hours for assessment.]

Hearing the word "assessment," Pei Yi had a bad feeling. Wondering, he indeed saw a dazzling hotel in front of him, about thirty floors high.

His watch displayed the room card name as 3001, and Pei Yi followed a crowd into the hotel. When he entered the elevator, it was packed with people, making him feel like he was back in the escape room building.

Chen Mo was staying on the second floor, Uncle Guang on the fifth. Pei Yi realized that people with lower points stayed on the lower floors. As the elevator ascended, the crowd thinned, with many people greeting Lu ZaiChuan, nodding, and leaving.

Pei Yi felt odd, wondering if he would be on the same floor as this guy.

Sure enough, the 31st floor. Ding, the elevator doors opened, Pei Yi stepped out, and Lu ZaiChuan followed. The entire 31st floor was just for the two of them.

Pei Yi: ".........."

The two checked their room numbers against their watches, finding themselves assigned to the same room.

Entering the room, a five-star luxurious suite unfolded before them, spacious enough to accommodate ten people with ease. The racetrack was set against a seascape, visible through the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows. The azure ocean was breathtakingly beautiful, almost unreal.

Another balcony offered a full view of the entire racetrack, winding and empty for now. In three days, however, it would be thronged by hundreds of thousands of spectators, all there to watch this group of novices race.

"Pei Yi, your task list."

Pei Yi, unaccustomed to such grandeur and distracted by the scenery, heard Lu ZaiChuan's call and walked inside to find a stack of books on the table.

"What task?"

He picked up a slip of paper from atop the stack, which read, "Browse through these books."

His wristband had updated as well.

Reading? Pei Yi glanced over, seeing about a dozen books. He couldn't finish one in a day, let alone ten...

[Task Updated: Please review the books on the desk. A quiz will follow in three hours.]

Pei Yi: "..." No wonder the thrill level was just one star. To him, it felt like five stars. Pei Yi was troubled; ignoring the task meant forgoing the points, but even given a week, he couldn't digest half a word.

Yet, after years of taking exams, he knew how to appear busy. He flipped through a few pages, finding biographies of racers and professional racing materials. He chose a biography of his idol, Senna, and lay down on the couch.

"Aren't you reading?" asked Lu ZaiChuan.

Pei Yi lifted his book, "I'm reading while lying down."

Lu ZaiChuan: "............"

Pei Yi explained, "I guess this isn't the main task. We'll earn points during the race."

Lu ZaiChuan: "...Not necessarily. In JC, every point matters."

"Didn't you watch the CG? Isn't it obvious we're going to race?"

"But the problem is, are you so confident about scoring in racing? Didn't you hear the name of this dungeon? Death Race. Racing is inherently dangerous, with a mortality rate of 20%. Moreover, we're not professional racers, so the system predicts a mortality rate of 40%."

Pei Yi found this reasoning solid, quickly stood up, walked to the desk, and sat down, "Alright, I'll read. Thanks, big brother."

"Big brother?" Lu ZaiChuan said, "I think I'm younger than you."

"…How old do you think I am?"

"I saw it on the official site. You're 24, I'm 22."

Pei Yi was internally thunderstruck. This guy was handsomer, wealthier, and even younger than him! …Just don't compete with him for a girlfriend!

"Well then. Little brother Lu, I'll get to my reading, and you do your thing."

He hugged the book and went into the bedroom, the bed looking invitingly soft. Might as well lie down to read.

It's not that he didn't want to read; he genuinely struggled with reading, which largely accounted for his poor academic performance. But he couldn't just ignore free points, so he got serious about reading.

And then he fell asleep while reading.

Lu ZaiChuan entered the room to find a handsome man asleep, glanced at him, then turned to leave. But Pei Yi, ever alert, woke up immediately, "Is it time?"

"Not yet, I finished reading. I ordered some food, come out and let's eat together."

Pei Yi, with his strikingly beautiful eyes, thought well of him. Despite his own coldness, Lu treated him quite nicely.

"I'll take a shower." He hadn't bathed the previous night; the dungeon's bathroom was too revolting, and he hadn't tidied up. Seeing the spacious bathroom, Pei Yi dove in, luxuriously bathing and emerging in a bathrobe, his hair still dripping wet.

He walked over and sat down, noticing Lu ZaiChuan watching him.

He looked up, "What's up?"

Now, with his hair wet and a fresh scent lingering, the loosely tied bathrobe showcased his toned and slender physique, exuding an explosive sexiness…

"With people coming and going in this hotel and the game about to start, you're in the mood for a bath?" And you even fell asleep! Lu ZaiChuan's face was incredulous.

Is this guy serious?

"You make a good point. But I haven't showered in days, didn't want to stink up the place." He said this as he lifted the lid, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the food spread.

This must be quite expensive. This mogul with six thousand points surely wouldn't care about a point or two. Not him, though; he's saddled with debts in the tens of millions. But debts must be paid, and they weren't that close yet.

"I'll transfer to you later."

Lu ZaiChuan was about to decline, but Pei Yi said, "Alright, I've added you as a friend."

"…Okay."