DTTM 28

Chapter 28: That Was Satisfying

The soft snow beneath my feet was up to my ankles, and the biting wind, carrying ice and snow, stung my face.

The trees, the ground, the distant mountains, everywhere I looked was a monotonous white. The reflected ultraviolet radiation was astonishing; if I hadn’t been wearing snow goggles, my only normal eye would probably have been blinded in no time.

Xuanpu Station had designed an all-white ice and snow track to match the winter atmosphere.

Compared to the fantastical track at Fantong Station, the track at Xuanpu Station was more realistic and had less randomness.

Maintaining speed on slippery, icy roads and overcoming low grip while avoiding loss of vehicle control were challenges for drivers; accurately judging changes in the road surface and overcoming visual interference in low-visibility environments were challenges for navigators.

It was fair to say that each of them had their own difficulties.

Snow dikes about 1.5 meters high were built on both sides of the track. I grabbed a handful of snow from the dike, rubbed it, and threw it onto the ground. The fine snow was blown away by the wind like sawdust, so light that it seemed to have no weight.

My nose suddenly felt slightly itchy, and I couldn’t help but sneeze.

“Achoo!”

Several raindrop-shaped pearls adorning the surface of the ornate eye patch on my right eye collided with each other, producing a crisp sound.

“Contestant Jiang, let’s go back to the car. It’s too cold outside.” The staff member who was in charge of showing me around the track was hugging herself, her face pale from the cold.

I nodded and returned to the warmer survey vehicle.

Unaffected by road conditions, the hover jeep floated in mid-air and continued to move forward smoothly.

“There’s a surprise ahead.” As soon as the staff member got back into the car, she quickly regained her energy and professionalism. She pointed to the bright track ahead, and said, “This section of the track is the last fifty kilometers. There are only three very gentle curves. There will be an interactive game between the driver and the navigator.”

“Interactive games?”

“Yes, the game is fixed, but it’s a secret. You’ll find out what the Easter egg is soon.”

As the staff member spoke, she turned and smiled at me. Her face was clearly sweet and charming, but I felt a chill.

With twenty minutes remaining, I ended my survey early and returned to the waiting room.

“Okay, 7 million going once, 7 million going twice, 7 million… Sold! Congratulations to the gentleman with the ID ‘Go Die Surname Yi’ for winning the right to answer questions from contestant Tan Yunmei with 7 million!”

This time, I stumbled upon Tan Yunmei’s Q&A session.

I quietly walked to the bar, brewed myself a cup of pure black coffee, and brought Zong Yanlei a vanilla latte with lots of milk and sugar.

“Go Die Surname Yi wants to ask: ‘Xiao Mei, admit it, competing with Jiang Man makes you more excited and happy. You also think that idiot Yi You is completely unworthy of you, right? Replace him as soon as possible, don’t make us lose money anymore.'” After reading the question, the host, never one to miss a good show, clicked his tongue twice. “Such strong aggression! It’s a pity Yi You isn’t here, otherwise we could have enjoyed a spectacular battleground for the Sun God Racing Team~~”

Tan Yunmei was folding playing cards as usual, already three layers, and working towards the fourth. Her silver hair cascaded down her shoulders like mercury. She propped her head up, showing no intention of answering the question for a long time, as if she had completely blocked out the host.

An awkward silence fell over the waiting room.

“Contestant Tan Yunmei!!” The host suddenly roared like a lion.

Zong Yanlei, who was playing a crossword puzzle in a magazine, paused, frowned, and looked up. He didn’t say anything, but anyone who saw his expression could read the disdain and dissatisfaction on his face.

With just one glance, the host deflated, his voice became even softer than usual: “Please abide by the rules of the question-and-answer session and answer the question… okay?”

Perhaps even the Sun God couldn’t bear to see him so humble, and Tan Yunmei’s fourth-floor house of cards collapsed at this moment.

She silently withdrew her hand, which had been hovering in mid-air, sighed, and finally spoke: “I was just thinking about it. Competing with Jiang Man is indeed very exciting, but I think Yi You is cuter. He’s really good at playing with a yo-yo.” She said this while arranging the cards.

This answer reminded me of my daily interactions with Wei Jiarui. One second he’s saying he dream of eating a delicious roast chicken, and the next he’s talking about how his best friend in class is moving away soon, and he still likes those yellow socks. Sometimes even I find it hard to keep up with his train of thought.

“Okay, Go Die Surname Yi, did you hear that? Yi You is really good at playing with a yo-yo.” However, the host, who was used to all sorts of things, didn’t find this answer strange, and even used a deep broadcasting tone for the last sentence.

The auction for Tan Yunmei’s Q&A came to an end, and the host then left the waiting room where we were.

I turned my gaze away from Tan Yunmei and happened to see Zong Yanlei holding a coffee cup, drinking the vanilla latte I had specially made for him.

Thinking back to that cup of coffee he spilled during the opening match, times had really changed. And it took me only two months to get to this point…

Perhaps sensing that I was looking at him, his eyelashes fluttered slightly, and as he put down his coffee cup, his eyes met mine.

In just a moment, I looked away, took out the route book and spread it on the table, and beckoned Tan Yunmei over to listen to the track analysis together.

After the survey ended, Yi You returned to the waiting room. He looked unsteady on his feet and pale, as if he had been through something.

He sat down on the sofa like a lost soul, his back slowly hunching over, his cheeks appearing to have sunken in.

“Yi You hates ice and snow tracks the most,” Tan Yunmei explained.

Even studded tires designed specifically for icy and snowy roads still offered limited grip. Braking distances became extremely long, requiring navigators to accurately anticipate curves and danger zones, otherwise the vehicle risked sliding off the track.

What was even more challenging was that reference points in the snow were blurry, and drivers relied entirely on the navigator’s route guide. So even the slightest error could be a key factor in losing the race.

The pressure on the navigator would become unprecedented, and as was well known, Yi You was not good at handling pressure.

When I revised his route book, he was still in that absent-minded state, and his conversation was even more robotic than Tan Yunmei’s, to the point that I was a little worried about whether he could complete the race smoothly.

“It’s alright, he just has poor stress tolerance, he’s not really an idiot. Once the race starts, he’ll become an automatic route guide.” Perhaps feeling my worry, Zong Yanlei sipped his coffee and explained.

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“Hello, everybody! Are you ready?”

After an hour of discussion, the race officially began with an announcement from the host.

A large white gate, covered in a thick layer of frost and with glistening icicles hanging from its frame, suddenly appeared. Led by Zong Yanlei, the three of us passed through the gate one by one and entered the blizzard-ravaged outdoors.

Due to the extremely low temperature environment, the racing suits and helmets produced this time were quite different from those of the previous two races, the racing suits were thicker and warmer, and the visors on the helmets also had the function of filtering ultraviolet rays.

In the previous race, Zong Yanlei and Yi You teamed up and finished fourth. According to GTC’s rule of only considering the vehicle and not the driver, even though the main car had a different navigator, it still finished fourth in this race.

This was a front-row position, and on this kind of soft snow track, the further forward you were, the better. If you were too far back, the snow on the ground would be constantly compacted, melted, and then re-frozen, eventually turning into a hard ice surface with even worse grip than snow.

“Why didn’t you ask me if I wanted to win the trophy?”

I blinked slowly and looked at Zong Yanlei beside me. We shouldn’t be talking during a moment like waiting for the traffic light to change, when we needed to concentrate.

He kept his eyes fixed ahead and said, “Didn’t you ask that at the last race?”

I realized he was referring to my conversation with Tan Yunmei at the previous race: “So… do you want the trophy?”

“I want it.” He drew out the last syllable, his tone arrogant, as if he knew he would have it if he wanted it. “I want the championship.”

As the last red light went out, his words still lingered in my ears. He stepped on the gas, followed closely behind the car in front, and drove into a white world amidst the wind and snow.

“200, left 3 long bend, follow the center line…”

The icy and snowy track was far too prone to collisions, so to avoid such accidents that could disrupt the race, three branch roads have been set up 10 kilometers from the start to divert traffic. Once a certain number of cars have passed through, a red sign would illuminate at the road to close it, preventing any further vehicles from entering.

These three routes were identical in both design and road conditions, totaling approximately 300 kilometers in length. Each route was assigned 8 to 9 vehicles, and after completing the 300 kilometers, perhaps less than half would remain. This remaining half would then engage in fierce competition in the final 50 kilometers.

Looking in the rearview mirror, I saw that the Maria team’s main car was fifth in the last race, and this time it had been right behind us since the start, hiding in the slipstream like a sticky snot.

“Left 2 then Right 1, 300, watch out for the ice spikes above…”

Ahead, a massive ice archway spanned both sides of the road, with a cluster of menacing, thick ice spikes at its center.

Ice spikes fell continuously at regular intervals; to avoid being punctured by them, you must carefully avoid them.

Just as we were about to safely pass through the ice spikes trap, the pink and blue race car behind us seized the opportunity to accelerate suddenly to our side, slamming us directly under the arch.

Despite his quick reaction, Zong Yanlei was still grazed at the rear. The studded tires struggled to grip the snow, and sharp icicles overhead teetered precariously, about to fall. Zong Yanlei decisively released the brakes, allowing the vehicle to skid rapidly across the slippery surface and onto the outside of the road.

“Boom!”

The ice spikes almost grazed our car, the scattered ice fragments impacting the windshield and creating tiny cracks, further worsening the already poor visibility.

Before the car could stabilize, Zong Yanlei slammed on the brakes again, this time turning around so we could hide in the slipstream of Maria’s main car.

“Right 2 connects to left 3, 400, cross the bridge, watch out for frost…” I continued reading the route book without the slightest hesitation.

Zong Yanlei rapidly shifted gears using the instructions on his hands, his words said with a completely different nonchalance: “I remember, isn’t there a spike trap next?”

“Yes,” I replied when I had a moment.

“Calculate how long it will take them to pass by.”

Zong Yanlei’s request sounded perfectly reasonable, almost like an ordinary matter. If the host could hear the explanation from inside the car, he would definitely be cursing him as a madman.

Asking a navigator who is focused on reciting the route book to calculate the time it takes for the car in front to pass a trap is far too risky, but…

“Now, emerge from the slipstream and ram them on their right!”

However, this was a crazy game; the greater the risk, the greater the reward.

Zong Yanlei immediately accelerated to the outside and used the same method against Maria’s car, slamming it into the rear wheel and sending it crashing into the snowdrift on the left.

The spike trap was about to be triggered; it sprang out menacingly the instant their tires hit the snow, piercing the racing car painted with the image of a nun.

Through the rearview mirror, it looked as if a dozen bright red candles had been stuck on the roof of their car, and the scattered spots on the snow were like glaring candle tears.

“That was satisfying.” The vengeful Demon King on the track commented as he cracked his neck.