DTTM 10

Chapter 10: The Eunuch’s People

I fastened my seatbelts, put on my helmet, and the countdown to departure quietly entered its final ten seconds. All the vehicles roared to life, ready to go. The moment the red light went out, like wild beasts breaking free from their shackles in the night, 26 vehicles roared and broke through the silence, whipping up a hurricane as they sped headlong into the deep mountain forest.

“500 km/h straight line…”

The light suddenly dimmed as we left the starting area, but soon after, clusters of dazzling flames appeared ahead. In less than a minute, an accident had occurred. Amidst the surging flames, the pitiful screams of the contestants could be faintly heard. Unlike in reality, there would be no one to offer assistance here; they could only escape this world by enduring until they consciousness lost.

GTC tracks are typically 300 to 500 kilometers long, with about a third of the cars crashing within the first 50 kilometers. Ultimately, only about ten cars manage to overcome all the challenges and reach the finish line. Based on this average, GTC rules stipulate that the top ten will each receive 10 to 1 point, while those finishing after ten will receive no points. Furthermore, even the “near-tenth place” finisher who is just one step away from the line will not finish receive any points if they fail to complete the race.

Zong Yanlei failed to score a single point last season precisely because he didn’t make the top ten in any of his six games.

Zong Yanlei quickly maneuvered around the wrecked car and arrived at the first turn.

“Left 4 long bend, 300 ramp top jump point…” My body slightly lifted off the seat, then plummeted down in the next instant. I steadied myself and read the next part of the route book, “Right 3 connects to Left 5, 200 watch out for rocks, full throttle through…” As soon as I finished speaking, countless rock fell from above, hitting the roof and windshield.

Zong Yanlei floored the accelerator and, using his driving skills, overtook two vehicles and safely leaft the rockfall area.

“100 left 1, hairpin right, bumpy entry into the hidden route…”

A straight stretch of 100 meters, followed by a very small left turn, then a hairpin-shaped right turn, the route was essentially a narrow “S” shape. The vehicle jolted a few times, crashed into a clump of bushes, and then suddenly opened up to reveal another, even narrower path.

“150 narrow bridge, after crossing the bridge, go uphill and turn left 3, watch out for the laser array…”

After crossing a narrow bridge, turn left 60° uphill. Ahead lay a dense array of lasers, crimson beams crisscrossing and weaving a dizzying visual illusion that completely obscured the actual road. These beams were unlike ordinary cat-teasing lasers; they could slice steel in two with just a touch.

However, Zong Yanlei showed no intention of slowing down and led us straight into this dangerous laser field.

“Left 3, 100, Right 4, 50, Left 5…” With my eyes fixed on the front, I no longer looked at the route book and recited the instructions entirely from memory.

As the vehicle passed through the laser array unscathed, a safe straight stretch of about five kilometers lay ahead. I intended to take this opportunity to catch my breath, but Zong Yanlei, who was beside me, glanced at the rearview mirror and suddenly sneered, “Stinking rat.”

I was startled and glanced at the rearview mirror, only to find two cars following us not far behind. If it weren’t for the bright light from the laser array, we wouldn’t have noticed them. Both cars had huge diamond patterns on their hoods. What a coincidence, it was Black Diamond’s convoy!

Black Diamond’s cars should have been in front of us, so why were they behind? Did they deliberately wait at the intersection to let us go first so we would clear the way for them? And to avoid being noticed, they haven’t turned on their lights and have been using ours to keep going until now?

Ha, that’s really cunning.

“Remember what I said.”

Just as I realized what was happening, Zong Yanlei already had a plan. Without giving me any time to react, he turned off all the car lights, not just the high beams for illuminating the road, but also the interior lights above my head.

In an instant, everything around us turned pitch black.

I realized that Zong Yanlei was trying to drive blindly, so I quickly pulled up the route book for the next section in my brain and continued: “Left 2 connects to right 4, short straight road 150…”

The car behind suddenly lost its direction, and a loud bang rang out, it was unclear which car had crashed.

The next moment, high beams came on behind us. I squinted and saw that it was Black Diamond’s secondary car that had crashed, while Qi Zhan was still relentlessly pursuing us.

After taking down one vehicle, Zong Yanlei turned on the headlights again and drove normally.

Perhaps it was the involuntary withdrawal of his teammate that provoked Qi Zhan, because he was like chewing gum stuck to the bottom of our car, no matter how hard we tried to shake him off, he wouldn’t let go. He even bumped into the back of our car several times.

As Zong Yanlei steadied the steering wheel, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. He began to retaliate against Qi Zhan, and the minor collisions between the two cars became more frequent.

If we could receive the commentary in the car right now, we would definitely hear the host excitedly reporting on this intense chase.

“3 to the left, 4 to the right, then 5 to the left again, then continue down the long slope…”

The next second, we practically jumped off the hill. We were suspended in the air for less than two seconds before the car slammed to the ground, the shock absorbers pushed to their limit. Before the shock subsided, Qi Zhan’s car appeared in the rearview mirror.

The light behind us grew closer and closer, and the race car painted with a black diamond was almost touching our rear, its high beams cutting through the night like daggers.

“Trap ahead, 5 to the left to avoid…”

200 meters was just a few seconds for a high-speed race car, so by the time I realized that Zong Yanlei hadn’t dodged the trap as I had instructed, it was too late.

“Left 5, get out of the way! Left 5! Hey…”

Zong Yanlei didn’t respond to me, but simply raised his hand and turned off all the car lights, plunging the entire car into darkness again.

Ahead lay a random trap; anything could happen. As I hesitated between grabbing the steering wheel or resigning myself to my fate and waiting to die, the car suddenly lurched, the wheels screeching against the ground. Zong Yanlei had turned.

But it was too late. The trap had been triggered, and something, accompanied by a terrifying gust of wind, was hurtling towards us in the darkness.

“50 straight, right 3 long bend…” I was reciting the route book for the next section when two wooden stakes, as thick as fists, pierced the windshield like spears. As glass shards scattered, pain tore open my shoulder, making it almost impossible for me to breathe for a moment, there was no doubt that my body had been pierced.

The wind rushed into the car, and fresh blood dripped down the seatbelt, mixing with the strong smell of gasoline to create a strange, nauseating odor.

Qi Zhan, who was right behind us, fared even worse. He was caught up in the chase, his mind controlled by emotions, and he failed to dodge the stakes in time. A deafening explosion followed as dozens of wooden stakes pierced the entire front of Black Diamond’s main vehicle. Qi Zhan’s car, like a metal hedgehog, exploded, the rising flames resembling a giant red lotus reflected in our rearview mirror.

“Continue.”

Hearing Zong Yanlei’s cold urging, I quickly looked away: “Left 6 connects to right 6…” My voice trembled due to the pain.

The car lights came back on, making the wooden stake that had pierced my shoulder clearly visible, it was about two meters long, piercing through my collarbone, shoulder blade, and back of the seat, pinning me to the passenger seat.

It almost pierced my heart.

I mechanically recited the route as I looked up at Zong Yanlei. His cheek and neck were also stained with mottled blood, probably from being grazed by the wooden stake or glass shards. The orange light casted clear lines of light and shadow on his face, making him look like a block of warm ice.

“The Demon King will prioritize sacrificing his partner over speed, so you must be careful.”

I remembered Yi You’s warning, and finally understood what it meant to sacrifice your partner for speed. So, as long as the navigator isn’t dead, as long as they can still speak, they’re fine?

Perhaps the pain was so intense that my body felt I was going to die, and it started releasing adrenaline like crazy. Gradually, the pain subsided. Plus, the wooden stake wedged into the wound blocked the blood vessel, effectively slowing down the rate of blood loss, allowing me to remain conscious all the way to the finish line.

In the end, without a doubt, Zong Yanlei and I won first place in the opening race with an absolute lead in finishing time. Tan Yunmei and Yi You, without needing to assist their main car, sprinted all the way and surprisingly made it into the top ten, securing an impressive eighth place.

As I stepped out of the neuro-navigation pod, the deafening applause and whistles made my ears ring. The pain in my shoulder hadn’t subsided, my knees were weak, and I stumbled, nearly falling to my knees in front of everyone. At the last second, Zong Yanlei grabbed me from behind and caught me by the waist, preventing me from falling and embarrassing myself.

“Thank…”

However, before I could even say “you,” he loosened his grip and took a step back, as if he were eager to shake off a wad of disgusting snot.

“Stand still.” He looked annoyed by his unconscious act of kindness. He closed and unclenched his slender fingers as if he was trying to wipe away some stain.

“Please come with me, both champions.” Fortunately, the hostess arrived in time, breaking the awkward situation.

On the podium, ribbons fluttered and champagne bubbled, but my shoulder throbbed with pain. Then I thought about how 10 points plus first place in the opening match would bring in tens of millions in prize money, and the pain didn’t seem so bad anymore.

In the post-match interview, when reporters held up microphones to Zong Yanlei and asked him to say a few words, perhaps because his adrenaline hadn’t yet subsided after the competition, or perhaps because he had finally gotten his revenge, he made some surprising remarks.

“This year, I will reclaim the GTC championship throne, and I will crush everything in my way, whether it is a car or a person.”

He spoke arrogantly and matter-of-factly, which caused the audience to erupt in cheers. The reporters seemed to be intimidated by his aura and fell silent for a moment before frantically pushing their microphones up. Some even asked him if he had any message for Qi Zhan—whose nervous system was severely damaged, and he had fainted in the neuro-navigation pod and had been sent to the hospital for treatment immediately.

After thinking for a moment, Zong Yanlei smiled and asked, “Who is Qi Zhan?”

The audience erupted in uproar. Reporters wanted to ask more questions, but were stopped by bodyguards. We went backstage, and saw the publicity director, Melanie, trying in vain to explain to everyone that Zong Yanlei absolutely did not mean that.

On the way backstage, Zong Yanlei and Tan Yunmei walked in front, while Yi You and I followed behind.

“Wow, Qi Zhan said those things about our Demon King before and he didn’t say anything. I thought he didn’t care. I didn’t expect him to say something even more infuriating than mine.” Yi You nudged me with his elbow.

I wasn’t surprised. Zong Yanlei had always been vindictive and not a magnanimous person.

Upon returning to the rest room belonging to the Sun God team, Xu Chengye and the others, who were unaware of what had happened outside, came to greet us.

“My God, I’m suffocating from watching this.”

“Congratulations everyone!”

“That was amazing! I almost pinched my thigh raw watching your live stream in the lounge! Jiang Man, are you alright? Should we get a doctor to check your shoulder?”

I shook my head: “I’m fine, it doesn’t hurt much anymore.”

“Good, good, good.” Xu Chengye said with a face full of approval. “By the way, the Crown Prince just sent someone over to invite the four of you to his banquet with me. The banquet doesn’t start for another three hours, so you can go home, wash up, and change your clothes before you go. I’ll send you the address and invitation later.”

“Wow, the Crown Prince hasn’t invited me and Xiao Mei in ages!” Yi You exclaimed excitedly. “Xiao Mei, can you help me pick out what to wear tonight?”

“No, I want to go home and sleep.” Tan Yunmei sat in front of the mirror and asked the makeup artist to remove her makeup.

“You can sleep at my house, I have many guest rooms,” Yi You said, squatting down next to her and continuing to persuade her.

“I have trouble sleeping in unfamiliar beds.”

I sat down in front of another mirror and removed my eye patch myself before the makeup artist could even begin.

“How’s the eye patch? Is it too tight and uncomfortable?” the makeup artist asked me with concern.

“It doesn’t hu…”

“Bang!”

The door to the lounge was pushed open, and Melanie walked in with a stern face. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at her.

She glanced around at everyone, pointed at Xu Chengye, and said, “You stay here. Everyone else, go to the lounge next door.”

If Zong Yanlei was the undisputed king of the Sun God team, then Melanie was the right prime minister, second only to the emperor. At her command, everyone in the room, except for Zong Yanlei who was still sitting, and Xu Chengye, left the lounge.

“What’s wrong?” Xu Chengye asked, looking bewildered.

The last person left the lounge and quietly closed the door, but before everyone could move to the next room, Melanie’s roar echoed in the corridor.

“How could you say such a thing in front of a world-class audience? Huh? You say you don’t know him… How could you not know him! He’s been competing with you for two years, two years!!” Perhaps she was really angry, she even gave up using polite speech when addressing Zong Yanlei.

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Even after I finished removing my makeup, those three people still hadn’t come out of the lounge. Tan Yunmei and Yi You left together, and I followed the others back to the team van. As it drove out of the stadium exit, even with the curtains drawn, a barrage of flashes still pierced through the windows, like a flock of noisy parrots flapping their wings incessantly at my nose.

Back at the dorms, I immediately went to my room to take a shower. When I came out, I found a black tuxedo and a box of painkillers on the living room sofa.

Besides spam ads, my phone was also flooded with congratulatory messages. I sat on a high stool, one leg propped up on the seat, the other dangling down. I replied to the ones I knew, and blocked all the ones I didn’t.

[That’s incredible! At first, I didn’t understand why the Demon King would make a lowly commoner his navigator, but now I get it, he truly is exceptionally capable!]

[It’s only his first match, there’s no need to hype him up like that.]

[Lance could have done it too, many people could have done it, it’s just that not many people found the hidden route in this opening tournament, which is why they took first place.]

[That damned bastard made me lose so much money! Go to hell, I hope he breaks his neck in his next match!]

[I initially thought this was just a ploy by the princess and her husband to win over the Wo people, but it turns out Jiang Man is quite capable.]

[We, the people of Wo, are no less than the people of Penglai; you are far too arrogant!]

As I scrolled through online comments about today’s match, a nerve in my left shoulder throbbed every few seconds. I pulled my collar and looked down, only to find that the painful spot coincidentally overlapped with an old scar on my shoulder.

This scar was quite old; I was bitten by Zong Yanlei when I was fourteen. He bit me very hard, as if he wanted to break my bones and devour my flesh, so much so that even after all these years, the tooth marks were still clearly visible.

I pulled up my collar, jumped off the chair, opened the box of painkillers, and took one with water. Within minutes, the pain in my shoulder had lessened considerably.

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Baiyujing has three districts: the outermost district is Xiacheng (Lower) where commoners live, the middle district is Shangcheng (Upper) where the powerful and nobles live, and the Penglai royal family has always lived in the innermost Zhongyang (Central).

Zhongyang District was not accessible to ordinary people, so the Crown Prince’s banquet was not held at his residence.

When I arrived at the five-star hotel where the banquet was being held in Xu Chengye’s car, Yi You and Tan Yunmei were already there. Tan Yunmei was wearing a red sequined dress, looking absolutely gorgeous, and Yi You was also presentable.

Tan Yunmei was holding a plate in one hand and a small cake in the other, eating with delight. Xu Chengye frowned when he saw this, and stood in front of her, telling her to wipe the cream off her mouth.

“You should also pay attention to your image.” After reprimanding Tan Yunmei, Xu Chengye looked around the room and asked Yi You, “Has Mr. Zong not arrived yet?”

“I didn’t see him. It seems he didn’t come. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess didn’t come either,” Yi You said as he swirled his wine glass.

Before his words had even faded, a commotion erupted at the entrance of the banquet hall. Everyone stopped talking and turned to look in that direction.

The people who walked in from outside could only be described as a gathering of stars.

Leading the procession were the Crown Prince and his wife. The Crown Princess, Dai Yue, was from Daiyu Island, with brown hair and brown eyes, making her easily recognizable. She elegantly styled her waist-length hair into a bun, wearing a light blue imperial gown adorned with rhinestones. The only adornment she wore was a single diamond hair accessory inserted diagonally into her hair, with no other unnecessary embellishments.

Compared to her, the Crown Prince beside her was much more glamorous, and… much more dissolute.

The Crown Prince of Penglai was named Chu Shengcheng, the son of the King of Penglai and his first wife, and was 35 years old this year. Unlike other Penglai nobles who were proud of their hair color, his long curly hair was always dyed a bright red color. He wore long robes with various colors printed with bright patterns, and a pair of cloth shoes. His clothes were always wide open, revealing large areas of his chest and abdominal muscles in a rather indecent manner.

A short distance behind them, beside the Crown Princess, were Zong Yanlei and his son. I don’t know why Zong Yanlei brought the child along, but the little guy sat curiously in his arms, looking around. When he saw me in the distance, he paused for a moment, then immediately buried his head in his father’s shoulder like an ostrich.

Is it really that scary? I touched the eye patch on my face, feeling rather helpless.

Walking beside the Crown Prince… with brown hair and red eyes, dressed in a dignified black robe, was none other than Yu Xuan, the Crown Prince’s eunuch, a member of the former royal family of Wo, whom everyone in Penglai knew.

Perhaps because he was castrated at the age of fifteen, he didn’t have the effeminate air of a typical eunuch; at most, he was fairer-skinned and more handsome than the average man. He was even quite tall, on par with Zong Yanlei and Chu Shengcheng, who were easily over 190 cm.

I was looking at him, and he saw me too. Perhaps it was not easy to meet a fellow countryman in this kind of situation, because he politely nodded slightly to me, and I returned the gesture.

In the Penglai dialect, the Wo people bore two insulting names: “destitute and lowly people from a fallen nation” and “the Eunuch’s people.” The “eunuch” in the second term referred to him.