DTTM 60

Chapter 60: The Rabbit Doesn’t Have to Die

In the real world, the state of Wo Province had just been cleansed by a night of heavy rain, and the sky had cleared, with the usually gray air feeling unusually refreshing. However, during the race, perhaps to highlight the environmental characteristics, the sky was deliberately set to a dark gray-black, like that of a mine, heavily shrouding the track.

The air was sticky and humid, mixed with a lot of dust, plus the oil and rubber smell that racing cars always have. As soon as I stepped onto the track, the smell seeped into my helmet through the gaps, like a pair of gray-black hands squeezing my lungs, making every breath difficult.

Twenty-six cars started in three batches, with fifteen seconds between each batch. Since the Sun God team’s main and secondary cars took the first and second place in the previous race, we were assigned to the very front of the first batch. Normally, this should have been considered a first-mover advantage, but in the current situation, this “honor” was ridiculous.

Zong Yanlei arrived too late. I only had two minutes to tell him the most concise version of the core rules of the race.

“The mining track uses a dual scoring system. In addition to the finishing time, there is a mini-game called ‘miner collision.’ Adults are worth 1 point for collisions with vehicles, the elderly 5 points, and children 10 points. In addition, you also need to be careful to avoid the mining trucks that appear from time to time on the track.”

“Miner collision?” As he sat in the car, Zong Yanlei fastened his seatbelt and turned to look at me, his eyes behind his goggles revealing disgust.

“Low-grade,” he bluntly commented.

The truth was far more sordid than he imagined, but now that things had come to this, the prelude had begun, all the actors were in place, and no one could escape this simplistic narrative except to follow the script. All I could do was conceal the truth, lessen the driver’s guilt, and keep the race going.

To achieve the “perfect” ending, some small sacrifices were worthwhile.

The signal lights went out one by one, and no one spoke in the car anymore.

As the last red light went out, Zong Yanlei stepped on the gas, the acceleration pinning me firmly into my seat. The race car, like a comet with a red tail, sped through the gray mist swirling among the mines.

“300 left 4, then right 2, straight line 500…”

As the main car, we had an absolutely clean starting line; everything on the track was laid out before us unobstructed and without any distractions. After navigating two consecutive medium-speed corners, the first mining spot appeared directly ahead.

Miners, dressed in uniform and carrying baskets, moved back and forth along fixed routes, their movements as mechanical as if they were part of a deliberately programmed, low-quality machine.

But I knew they were not programs.

As I watched those “points,” two voices seemed to echo in my ears.

One was Professor Yi’s voice, which compassionately told me: All sacrifices will be remembered, and some paths, once embarked upon, should not be turned back; the other was Wuxi Chen’s voice, which asked me with a mocking laugh: Now that I ignore the suffering of the Wo people, what difference was there between me and the people of Penglai?

The voices of the old and the young, a man and a woman, intertwined in my ears, haunting me like a demon.

“100 right 3…”

As Zong Yanlei rounded a right bend, I suddenly realized I’d given the wrong directions. We should have gone straight, then run over the miners, and then turn left to reach the next “points” concentration area.

To make matters worse, in the rearview mirror, Tan Yunmei and Yi You blindly followed our trajectory, deviating from the optimal integration path together.

“Jiang Man?” After waiting for a long time without any further instructions, Zong Yanlei’s voice came through the earpiece.

“Go straight…” I quickly racked my brain for a way to get back to the optimal route.

But just then, a small figure appeared on the track without warning, right in front of us.

It was a child of eight or nine years old, very small, carrying a basket on his back that almost crushed his body; he was incredibly thin. He seemed terrified, standing stiffly in place, his innocent eyes filled with fear.

And it just happened to be a child.

“Keep…”

The words “keep in the middle” swirled on my tongue, but I just couldn’t get them out.

Ahead, the thin child closed his eyes, like a trembling gray rabbit, waiting helplessly for the pain to come.

Rabbit…

…Rabbit?

In an instant, as if struck by a thunderbolt, I suddenly woke up from my obsession with the championship, the points, and the winning percentage.

As the inner demons dissipated, Zong Yanlei’s voice rang out, but it was not his current voice.

“The rabbit doesn’t have to die.” The first few words were spoken in a younger, boyish voice, but by the last word, the tone had quickly transitioned to adulthood.

Yes, the rabbit doesn’t have to die; the strong never prey on the weak.

Even in lowbrow narratives, heroes must still abide by the laws of heroes.

“Swerve!” The command went awry at the last moment. The car lurched, its tires screeching as it narrowly avoided the child who was right in front of it.

Zong Yanlei steadied the wheel amidst the jolts, glanced at me, and said nothing.

“Right 2, follow the long straight line…” I didn’t explain and continued instructing.

In the rearview mirror, Tan Yunmei also avoided the child. Although his small figure was carried to the ground by the airflow from the passing race car, he should be fine.

We quickly got back on the correct route. However, due to our earlier erroneous deviation, several race cars had already overtaken us and taken the lead.

The track was a scene of carnage, with severed limbs and entrails visible every so often. The air reeked of blood, exacerbating the already unpleasant odors. I clutched my stomach, overcome with nausea.

With most of the miners on the road gone and no longer an obstacle, we were able to pick up speed and catch up with the car in front of us in no time.

The entire body of Maria’s main car was stained red with blood, and the once pristine nun’s paint on the front of the car was now unrecognizable. The sight of her still holding her hands together in front of her chest in devout prayer was ironic.

A miner lay bleeding profusely beside the track, barely clinging to life, struggling to crawl towards safety. Black Diamond’s vehicle sped past from behind, crushing the miner’s head. The next second, only a mangled pool of flesh remained on the ground.

“If it’s just AI and there’s no penalty mechanism, then what’s the point of this competition?” Walking through this hell on earth, Zong Yanlei suddenly spoke, his voice low and cold, “Jiang Man, are you hiding something from me?”

As expected, he couldn’t be kept in the dark.

Indeed, having participated in so many GTC races, how could he not understand the nature of this competition? It could be the driver suffering, or the navigator enduring the pain, but it was unacceptable for “no one to suffer.”

“Jiang Man!” Zong Yanlei grew increasingly displeased at my silence.

To achieve the “perfect” ending, some small sacrifices are worthwhile.

So, let me sacrifice the points from this leg of the race to create a grander, more compelling heroic narrative. Sun God’s current absolute lead in points was just enough to withstand this kind of sacrifice.

“These NPCs… are all real people,” I said with regret.

Almost as soon as the words were spoken, a body that had been thrown into the air slammed onto the front of our car, and then, due to the impact, flew far away again, landing in the pile of rubble beside the track.

On the dashboard in front of the passenger seat, the previously silent electronic scoreboard suddenly flashed and jumped to “10”.

Zong Yanlei slammed on the brakes, turned to look at me, and his piercing gaze seemed to rip a layer of skin off my face. He didn’t lash out on the spot, but slowly pulled the car over to the side of the road. Tan Yunmei stopped as well.

One after another, blood-stained race cars roared past us, disappearing around the corner until there were no more cars behind us. Zong Yanlei got out of the car, looked around the track, and finally walked in one direction. I got out of the car after him, followed by Tan Yunmei.

“How is Yi You?” I looked at the passenger car and saw Yi You lying on the dashboard, his body trembling.

“He was so scared he cried.” Tan Yunmei shrugged. “He’s a very timid person.”

Zong Yanlei found the “10 points” he had just received. He took off his helmet and threw it aside, then knelt down, trying to hug the child who was faintly breathing. But as soon as he lifted the child’s body, blood mixed with internal organs flowed out from the ruptured abdomen. Because of their high scores, these children had become the focus of special “care.”

A stone suddenly struck Zong Yanlei on the forehead, and blood trickled down his face, finally dripping onto the child below, mixing with the child’s blood.

I stood in front of him and looked towards where the stone had come from, and saw a young miner with tears running down his face.

He stood five or six meters away from us, staring at Zong Yanlei with deep-seated hatred: “Demon!”

Before I could say anything, he was dragged away by his fellow survivors.

I looked back at Zong Yanlei, and saw him staring at the child in his arms, who had already lost all hope of survival.

“He’s dead,” I said softly as I crouched down.

“I know.” He gently placed the lump of flesh down.

“I know…” he said again, this time more slowly.

He stood up and looked at the gray-black sky. Blood seeped into his eyes, making one of his eyes look like the red of the Wo people at first glance.

“Based on my principles and moral boundaries, I refuse to continue this race,” he said expressionlessly. “Sun God team requests withdrawal from the race.” As soon as he finished speaking, he was ejected from the neuro-navigation pod.

I immediately followed, and after a moment of dizziness, my vision returned to reality.

Zong Yanlei had already opened the pod and stepped out. Without waiting for me, amidst the boos from the audience and the host’s surprised calls, he went backstage.

I followed him. Along the way, rows of blue indicator lights on the still-operating neuro-navigation pods shone brightly; even without us, the competition continued as usual.

“Get out!” Zong Yanlei roared as soon as he entered the lounge.

Staff, medical personnel, stylists… everyone moved almost instinctively, no one daring to linger for even a second, for fear of being swept into the already sizable eye of the storm.

The moment the door closed, only Zong Yanlei and I were left in the lounge.

I stood three meters away from him, which, in my experience, was a relatively safe distance.

He roughly loosened his tie and took off his rain-soaked suit jacket without looking at me once.

“Do……”

I had only said one word when his jacket was thrown at me.

I dared not hide. The damp, cold fabric covered my head, and I could smell a faint tobacco scent. My vision suddenly became dark.

“How many times has this happened?” His question reached my ears through his jacket.

I pulled the jacket off my face and said in a hoarse voice, “I just wanted you to win.”

“Win?” Zong Yanlei approached step by step, his leather shoes making a heart-wrenching sound on the wooden floor.

When he came up to me, he reached out and grabbed my chin. The grip wasn’t painful, but it was enough to make me unable to avoid his gaze.

“But you know perfectly well that I hate this kind of thing. You know it.”

“I’m sorry.”

I tilted my head back slightly, and this apology was sincere, but the other party didn’t accept it.

“Sometimes I really want to cut your tongue off, and see how you’d keep lying.” He stared at my lower lip with a sinister look, as if he was really considering the possibility. “If you know you’re wrong but don’t correct it, and just keep saying ‘I’m sorry,’ what’s the difference between those three words and chewed gum? What value do they have?”

I lowered my eyes and did not refute.

Because he was right.

“My tolerance has its limits.” Zong Yanlei released my chin, and stared at me for a moment, then he walked past me and back. “I won’t give you a ‘next time’ forever.”

The door was pulled open and then slammed shut.

The lounge fell silent again. I stood there, still holding the damp, cold jacket in my arms. I slumped my shoulders, and sighed wearily.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

The stylist’s voice, coming through the door, was visibly tense: “Mr. Jiang… may I come in to remove your makeup and change your clothes?”

I took a deep breath, composed myself, and skillfully curved my lips into a suitable smile.

“Come in.”

***

Author’s Note

Zong Yanlei actually likes children very much. He thinks that children are the same as small animals; they are all fragile beings that need to be protected.