Chapter 21: Thrilling Speed 07

Chapter 21: Thrilling Speed 07

Pei Yi might really be eliminated. Soon after, he received a system message:

"[Player Pei Yi, for not completing the final two laps, 2 points have been deducted. Your current total points: 3. Note, in the elimination race, zeroing your points will result in direct elimination. Please value this opportunity.]"

"[Regrettably, you have not advanced to the third race.]"

"[Current group ranking 67/100, tied with 25 others at 3 points each. The system has automatically initiated a revival race. Top 50 will advance to the third race. Points required for the revival race: 1. Would you like to participate?]"

Pei Yi: "..." After deductions, he was left with nothing. He clicked yes. As Lu ZaiChuan said, he lost points, but as mentioned, there was still a chance in the revival race.

The system automatically displayed the current points ranking. Chen Mo, who was originally behind him, now, with 6 points, surprisingly ranked in the top twenty, at thirteenth place.

Apart from Lu ZaiChuan leading far ahead with 16 points, another player named Lin Mo achieved 9 points, followed by scores of 7, 6, 5, etc., with many tied scores starting from 4 points.

Lin Mo? Pei Yi thought for a moment, the name sounding familiar. He then remembered, wasn't that a newcomer from his batch? He actually ranked third.

So, everyone made it to the retest except for him?

Only then did he grasp the brutality. The cruelty lay in thinking you could do it but just lacking those few points.

Pei Yi checked his points ranking; 21 points, plummeting thousands of places. The popularity in his live stream also decreased significantly. Not many were comforting him, with so many newcomers, why would they bother with him?

What to do now? Only to give it a shot in the revival race, but who knows what will be compared.

After a while, the system sent another message.

[Player Pei Yi, for assaulting another player, 2 points deducted. Current total points: 16. Note: Points deducted for assaulting another player do not count towards the current instance’s points.]

[The revival race will be held at 8 PM. Please ensure all racers are present on time.]

Pei Yi: "…………"

As expected, he was reported. Points are added by one, but deductions are done freely.

Pei Yi opened the JC rules, which contained various regulations…

Such as unjustified absence from a race,

Voluntary withdrawal,

Cheating during a race,

Leaking race scenarios,

Wait, points will be deducted.

Pei Yi turned off the light screen and covered his head with a blanket. So annoying.

JC forum's Speed and Survival section was abuzz discussing the recent brawl.

"Mourning a Newcomer's Downfall," posted by Sharp Little Wool.

"His performance in HL was remarkable. But in the speed challenge, I only saw Pei Yi's foolishness, arrogance, and disrespect towards JC. Such disdainful attitude comes at a cost!

"First challenge, a quiz, and he doesn't even study, thinking he can breeze through later challenges. Isn't that arrogance? Knowing it'd cost points, yet opting to keep running laps, isn't that foolish? And attacking another player, what's wrong with speaking out?

"In my opinion, Pei Yi is full of flaws. Being eliminated is good for him; better than losing everything. And I'm not optimistic about tonight's revival race."

"It's a pity about his excellent physical condition, but hitting someone really isn't right. If someone criticizes you, just talk back."

"Newcomers should keep a low profile, why bother humiliating yourself?"

"Everyone's talking bad about Pei Yi, let me highlight his strengths," by Dou Jiao Ge.

"Pei Yi's performance in 'Speed,' how to describe it? In short, bad luck. Like the first challenge, who would expect a racing game to test memory? Let Schumacher try. But the game is fair, what you don't know, I don't know either."

"In the second challenge, the single lap speed test, Pei Yi was just too reckless. Assuming JC would play it straight, I guess the system really fooled a lot of people. Being a newbie, that's understandable, right? Calling him foolish really isn't necessary.

"Then there's the incident everyone's talking about where he supposedly hit someone. Without knowing the full story, is it fair to judge him like that? Who knows what was said at the time. It's just because Lu ZaiChuan was involved, everyone naturally sides with him.

"To sum up, Pei Yi just had bad luck, unable to showcase his racing skills. I hope he tries hard in the revival match, I'm still rooting for Pei Yi. Go, Pei bro."

"...Dou Jiao Ge spoke my mind."

"Right. Really just bad luck. If it had been a speed contest, he wouldn't have lost so badly."

"Ah! Yes! Didn't anyone else think he looked so cool racing against Lu ZaiChuan? So cool it gave me goosebumps."

"Maybe the initial intent of the game was to tell us that while you might have strengths in certain areas, you first have to pass the preliminary test, or you won't even qualify to compete."

"That hit home."

……

Pei Yi rested upstairs until after seven. He went downstairs to prepare for the revival race. He didn't really want to go, but he had no choice. The system had already sent a message, saying to get ready by eight o'clock.

As he descended, the racetrack was brightly lit. The stands were also filled with people, including many who had already passed the competition.

Pei Yi: "..." These people, having nothing better to do, came to watch them, the cannon fodder.

Chen Mo and Uncle Guang were there too; he nodded at them.

All 25 participants of Group A's revival race were present, with not a single one dropping out.

"The second revival race for Group A now begins, with the theme 'Parking at the Cliff's Edge.'"

"Game rules: Players will drive a family car and slowly park it at the edge of a cliff. Please note: Failure is declared if the vehicle falls off the cliff, is not parked in the designated spot, or exceeds the allotted time."

"Passing conditions: Park the car within the designated time and spot, ranked by the time taken."

As soon as the announcement was made, the scene immediately became lively.

"Oh my! This is thrilling, especially at night."

"JC really never disappoints."

"This really tests driving skills, can't be too fast or too slow, truly a task for a racing god."

In the midst of conversation, those 25 people disappeared. The audience opened the live broadcast to check their whereabouts; they were already at the edge of a cliff, with fierce black winds blowing, illuminated only by a single street lamp.

If one didn't look beyond the cliff, it might be mistaken for a driving range.

A white rectangle, presumably the parking spot, was marked at the edge of the cliff road. Players needed to drive the vehicle slowly forward, brake in time to prevent it from falling off, then repeatedly reverse into the box.

Just hearing about it sounds difficult, let alone doing it. It's essentially an impossible task.

Pei Yi stood among the group. Next to him was a girl who was crying out of fear. Several boys also broke out in cold sweat.

Falling off the cliff along with the car is not a pleasant experience. Especially awakening back to JC City from the game involves a time difference. Meaning, if one really falls off the cliff, they would undoubtedly feel as though they were shattered to pieces.

"The system has drawn lots randomly. Please check your number and park in turn. Other players must remain quiet during someone else's turn, or face regulation."

"First up, Bai Qi, please park. Countdown: 5 minutes."

It was the girl next to Pei Yi, who screamed in horror. It was a white family sedan, not small by any means, especially for a girl.

Hearing the system's voice, Bai Qi immediately jogged to the car, adjusted the seat, and fastened the seatbelt, as if taking a driving test.

Everyone tacitly understood, "Why bother with a seatbelt at this time? If you fall, you're dead anyway, seatbelt or not." But due to regulations, no one spoke out.

The girl started the car, and everyone saw the bright headlights — she was so nervous she turned on the high beams. Everyone shielded their eyes, fearing she might crash into them.

But she didn’t. Not only did she not crash, but she also managed quite steadily. She started the car slowly, moving towards the front left at a slow speed of about 20 mph, then gently reversed into the side, smoothly turning the car without taking too much time.

It seems her reversing skills were quite adequate.

On closer inspection, everyone broke out in a cold sweat, seeing the tires teetering on the edge of the cliff, with half of them hanging over. Just a bit more, and the car would have plummeted down the cliff.

After parking the car, Bai Qi immediately climbed out and ran back to her friends in tears.

Pei Yi calculated the speed of the attempt, which took a little over five minutes, fairly average.

The second participant was an uncle, appearing to be a seasoned driver in his forties. He took significantly less time, but his parking skills were not any better than the first woman’s.

The following were all men, spending about the same amount of time. Parking on the edge of a cliff seemed dangerous, but since everyone was playing it safe, no accidents occurred.

Until the tenth person, an older lady took the stage.

She was trembling from the start, claiming she couldn't do it and didn’t know how to park. Indeed, as she attempted to steer sideways, she turned the wheel in the wrong direction. Meant to go right, she went left, and as everyone gasped, the whole car fell off the cliff, screams echoing in the night sky.

After a while, the sound of the car crashing and exploding could be heard.

Everyone turned pale with fright.

After the lady's accident, the following ten or so people, perhaps due to psychological pressure, made frequent mistakes: confusing the brake with the gas pedal, gas pedal with the brake, or just steering wildly, leading to three or four accidents and several screams.

With each death, the system announced an elimination. The calls of distress, along with the sound of cars starting, greatly increased everyone's psychological pressure.

By the time it was Pei Yi's turn, five or six had already met with accidents, all falling off the cliff without exception.

At this point, Pei Yi was somewhat nervous, not from the fear of falling off the cliff, but the concern of not making it to the main race and securing a spot in S1. To make a point, he needed to prove himself against the crowd.

——He aimed to stand out as the champion among these twenty-five participants.