Chapter 29: A Race Between Life and Death 15

Chapter 29: A Race Between Life and Death 15

Rain poured down, everyone present watched the screen.

Under dim lights, that handsome and resolute face, now obscured by a red helmet, added a touch of mystery, his eyes deep and captivating, focused intently ahead.

Forward, forward, forward…

The car moved as swiftly as the rain, blurring the view outside into a streak of lightning.

The numbers on the dashboard kept climbing, the RPM reaching over ten thousand, a dangerously high speed. If any part of the car malfunctioned, it could be catastrophic.

After navigating a sharp bend, on a long, straight road with no end in sight, Pei Yi pushed the speed to 400 mph. Witnessed by all, it was a moment of awe and disbelief, commanding nothing but respect.

Bathed in the first rays of dawn, the gentle light spilling onto the asphalt, Pei Yi maintained his pace for 10 minutes. Then came the finish line, the end of the last lap.

He did it! He had achieved it!

Everyone heard the system announcement—

[Player Pei Yi, for maintaining a speed of 400 mph for 10 minutes, is awarded 2 points.]

[Player Pei Yi, of Team 10, with a duration of 12 hours, average speed of 190 Km/h, distance covered 2282 kilometers, currently ranked first. Contribution rate 90%, earning 9 points for speed, a full 10 points, and a total of 19 points. For completing the Race for Life and Death, an additional 10 points are awarded. Total points from the Race for Life and Death: 38.]

Pei Yi slowly pulled over to the side of the road, with the others gradually following. The second place went to Lu Zai Chuan's team, but his teammate lagged, only covering 1800 kilometers. They slowed down when it started raining.

[Leaderboard:

1# Liang Qing & Pei Yi, Distance covered: 2282 kilometers, Average speed: 190 Km/h, Reward: 10 points.]

2# Lu Zai Chuan & Hong Jiu, Distance covered: 1827 kilometers, Average speed: 152 Km/h, Reward: 8 points.

3# Qin Yun & Kong Xin Zhi, Distance covered: 1801 kilometers, Average speed: 150 Km/h, Reward: 6 points.

4# Xing Han Ri & Mao Bei Bei, Distance covered: 1754 kilometers, Average speed: 146 Km/h, Reward: 4 points.

5# Sun Bo & Yan Xia Yan, Distance covered: 1694 kilometers, Average speed: 141 Km/h, Reward: 2 points.

[Player Pei Yi, you have broken the final record in the "Race for Life and Death," setting a new marvel and earning a gold medal.]

[Player Pei Yi, currently ranked 321/1000 in the region, congratulations on qualifying for the S1 competition and earning the right to choose your teammate.]

The system voice announced a series, but what followed was drowned out by the crowd.

Everyone was still reeling from the shock Pei Yi had given them. How could someone who seemed so carefree be so incredible, creating a miracle like that?

Pei Yi emerged from the car, surrounded by people, both familiar and strangers.

"Pei bro, that was fast, incredibly fast. Racing veterans are just different."

"Over four hundred kilometers ahead of the second place, that's amazing!!"

"Creating miracles, Pei bro, team up with me for the S1 instance. You be the team leader."

Liang Qing, who originally looked down on Pei Yi, couldn't help but try to cozy up—since he couldn't team up with Lu God, teaming up with Pei Yi was the next best thing. But someone was quicker, his boss—Qin Yun.

Qin Yun, placing third this time, quickly extended an olive branch to Pei Yi, "Hey, Pei, join my team for S1, I'll give you the deputy position, how about it?"

Pei Yi flatly refused, asking them all to back off. He wanted to show off in front of Lu Zai Chuan, who said he wasn't worthy to be his teammate. Who's worthy now? Look, he's now qualified for S1.

He approached with a smile, only to see Lu Zai Chuan turning away.

The scene had changed back to the original racetrack. Everyone had received their rewards and was preparing to exit the instance. A closing CG would soon play, elevating the game's theme.

In front of them was a giant light board, stating, [How much are you willing to sacrifice for your dreams? Brave ones, are you willing to risk your life? If so, victory is yours; if not, you're destined to fail. Remember, racing is a game for the brave.]

Then the credits faded out, and everyone returned to the initial JC game lobby.

Pei Yi, still holding onto Lu Zai Chuan's arm, couldn't help but say, "What's the matter? Didn't you say you'd pull me into your team? Am I qualified now?"

Lu Zai Chuan clenched his teeth, clearly struggling to contain his anger, and pushed Pei Yi away, "I told you, you're not worthy. I won't team up with a madman, never."

He didn't know why he was so angry, but the thought of Pei Yi losing his life made him uncomfortable. In his memory, that's how his teammates had disappeared.

"A madman?" Pei Yi said, "What are you talking about?"

"Who else but a madman speeds up to 400?"

"It was a straight road. It might seem dangerous to you, but for me, it was logical. I wouldn't have done it if I wasn't sure."

"Pei Yi, you're just a rookie. Where the hell do you get your confidence from, claiming you're sure of yourself? You don't understand JC at all. If you want to risk your life, go do it alone. I don't welcome such a teammate." Lu Zai Chuan shook off his hand and turned to leave.

Pei Yi wordlessly gestured and also turned to leave in another direction. Lighting a cigarette, he was about to leave when Chen Mo caught up, "Pei bro, I've also made it to S1. Can we team up?"

With so many people surrounding Pei Yi just now, he thought he had no chance but still wanted to ask. Pei Yi's strength was just too impressive.

"Sure, I was just worrying about not having a teammate."

Chen Mo nodded happily, "Great, thank you, Pei bro. Also, I have another request. I heard the S1 will officially start in ten days, so let's play another round before that? It's always good to know more."

"We'll decide which one later, I need to go sleep first."

Chen Mo said, "Okay, I saw Lu God going to find the girl he drives with, something Red Nine. Pei bro, I read online, wasn't he looking for you first?"

Red Nine? Who's that? Pei Yi checked the rankings; this woman's speed was decent but still not as good as his. Lu Zai Chuan has no taste, preferring someone else over him. Well, he wasn't bothered.

"Whoever he picks, let's go back, I'm hungry."

Without waiting for their response, the system automatically disbanded the instance.

Pei Yi found himself still standing in front of the food stall, and the time had just passed three days. The instance's time matched the outside world.

Returning to his place, the landlord, Guang, immediately rushed up. Pei Yi then saw a crowd at the entrance of the hall, playing music and making a racket,

"Dong dong dong…"

"Clang, clang, clang..."

"Bang, bang, bang..."

Pei Yi covered his ears.

Su Guang immediately ordered the music to stop, shouting, "Welcome our champion—Pei Yi, securing another gold! Your victories will probably loop on the screen for another seven days, Champion Pei!"

Pei Yi: "...What's this all about, Uncle Guang? This sounds like music for the dead."

"Tsk tsk, what dead music!" Su Guang chided lightly, "This is to congratulate you on reaching the top!"

Pei Yi waved his hand, indicating he needed to sleep. Driving was mentally exhausting, and he was very tired. He entered his room, fell onto the bed, and slept soundly, not caring about anything else. In his dreams, he even saw Lu Zai Chuan, who sternly said, "You're not worthy, not worthy to be my teammate!"

Pei Yi angrily retorted, "Who are you saying isn't worthy?"

The two then fought again, and after a while, bizarrely went racing, fiercely competing. Pei Yi only knew to speed wildly in the rain, and Lu Zai Chuan was equally relentless. Eventually, they collided while jostling for position, with a loud "bang," the explosion was immense, flames reaching the sky.

Pei Yi woke up abruptly from the nightmare, sweating profusely. This person had become his "shadow."

The thought that he would rather choose someone else over him, and actually feeling somewhat irked by it, made him increasingly uncomfortable. Looking outside, it was night, but the underground city was still bustling.

Turning on the light screen to check the time, it had been exactly two days since the last instance. Pei Yi hadn't expected to sleep so long, perhaps due to exhaustion.

After eating a bowl of instant noodles and taking a shower, he comfortably leaned back on the bed. Pei Yi then thought about playing another instance before competing with the big shots in S1, to get some practice in. The elimination round had already shown that everyone was tough competition.

The prize money for S1 was quite attractive.

With that thought, Pei Yi clicked on the JC main lobby page, which featured a selection of instances with a wide array of covers, neatly categorized.

There were categories based on thrill levels, death rates, and even keywords.

It was like choosing a movie, leaving Pei Yi indecisive, suddenly unsure of which one to pick.

Titles like "Abyssal Sharks," "Midnight Spectres," and "Graveyard Encounters" sounded more like horror films to the uninitiated.

After some thought, Pei Yi remembered a post he had read about Lu Zai Chuan's legendary performance in "Snowy Mountain Spectre." Intrigued, he decided to take on the challenge.

Pei Yi typed in the keyword and opened it to find a cover set in a snowy landscape.

It lacked any horror or thriller elements, with heavy snow under dim light, exuding a filmic ambiance. Even before entering, Pei Yi could already feel the aesthetic appeal of the snow hitting his face.

It felt like the cover of a romance film, as snow itself embodies utmost beauty.

Deciding on this, Pei Yi sent the link to Chen Mo. However, he accidentally sent it to Lu Zai Chuan due to a slip of the finger.

Pei Yi's eyes widened in shock.

Surely, the other person must think he was intentionally reaching out.

After a long wait, there was no response from the other side.

Pei Yi felt embarrassed, as if losing face. Unexpectedly, he received a message from the other side, "Don't waste your effort."

Pei Yi thought, "..." He knew Lu Zai Chuan would arrogantly assume he was seeking reconciliation.

"I was looking for someone else to play with, just sent it to the wrong person!!"

After sending the message, the other party was completely unconvinced.

Pei Yi sent the link to Chen Mo, arranging to meet at 8 a.m. the next day to enter the instance.