DTTM 9

Chapter 9: Nod And Say You Understand

Corresponding to the different liveries of each team, 26 neuro-navigation pods of various colors were laid out in the center of the huge circular stage. Unlike the junk from Zengcheng, these were the latest and highest-performing neuro-navigation pods on the market, and were even two-person pods specially customized for GTC.

While greeting the audience, each driver and navigator was guided by a hostess to their respective neuro-navigation pod.

“Upon entering the metaverse, the navigator will immediately conduct a two-hour track survey. During this time, the drivers will have the opportunity to participate in our favorite Q&A session! Please use your terminal to bid for the Q&A session right. The highest bidder wins. Let’s see who can break the record set by Zong Yanlei, the main driver of the Sun God Racing Team last season, for the highest price ever paid for the Q&A session right!”

While the navigator surveyed the track and created a route book, the drivers could only rest in the waiting room. To increase the fun and interactivity, a Q&A session for the drivers was created.

By registering for the auction through the terminal, you’ll have the opportunity to ask the driver one or more questions. These questions are open to all tastes, from casual to critical, and often generate some sensational and trending topics.

For example, last season, the highest-priced Q&A rights transaction in GTC history was 39 million, which was just to ask Zong Yanlei a boring and vulgar question, “What position does he prefer in bed?”

GTC’s rule is that you have to answer any questions asked.

“I prefer the other person to take the lead.” Zong Yanlei didn’t look offended and answered very calmly.

That evening, “39 million” and “I prefer the other person to take the lead.” became top trending search terms online.

When Xiang Ze shared this gossip with me, I was grafting a rose bush. My hand trembled, and the blade sliced my finger, making a cut about two centimeters long. Blood trickled out, and I stared blankly as it bloomed into bloody flowers on my work apron.

“Damn it, Jiang Man, what are you doing!” Xiang Ze glanced over, then turned pale with shock. He quickly took off his T-shirt and pressed it against my wound. “Keep pressing on it, don’t let go. This cut is so long, I think we need to go to the hospital to get it treated…”

In the end, the side of my left index finger required 5 stitches, and there is still a light white scar on it.

“Now, contestants, please enter the pods and prepare to enter the metaverse!” At the host’s command, everyone jumped into action.

This was my first time entering a two-person neuro-navigation pod, and it felt both novel and strange. Zong Yanlei and I were extremely close, close enough that I could reach out and touch any part of his body, close enough that… I could smell that unforgettable perfume scent once again.

This time, without the interference of smoke and alcohol, the scent assaulted my nostrils more directly, a subtle blend of leather and metal, along with some dry, sweet woody notes.

It smelled quite nice. I wondered if he’d tell me the brand if I asked him. However, it might be custom-made by a perfumer. Wuxi Li’s perfume was specially made for her by the best perfumer in Penglai because she disliked wearing the same scent as others.

Lost in thought, the hatch closed, and nerve tentacles connected to the chip at the back of my neck. In the blink of an eye, Zong Yanlei and I were in completely different spaces.

It looked like a VIP lounge, with plush sofas, delicate refreshments, magazines to pass the time, and… a cheerful male voice broadcasting.

“Navigators, take your positions! We’re about to begin inspection track!”

“Okay, I won’t be so impulsive next time…” Yi You and Tan Yunmei also appeared in the waiting room at this time.

“Xiao Man!” The golden retriever, who had looked like he had done something wrong, immediately beamed when he saw me and greeted me as he walked over. “Are you alright? You shouldn’t be nervous, right?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Zong Yanlei and Tan Yunmei already getting into their usual routine. One of them went to the bookshelf and started flipping through magazines, while the other headed for the tea station to get a soft drink.

“It’s okay, I’m not nervous,” I said.

“You’re really amazing,” he whispered in my ear, “When I first participated in GTC, I was so nervous that I almost peed my pants.”

“The portal is open. Navigators, please enter in turn… The portal is open. Navigators, please enter in turn…” Unlike the male host’s energetic voice, this time the broadcast was delivered in a colder, more mechanical voice.

As soon as it finished speaking, a pitch-black door appeared out of thin air on the wall, sparkling like it was inlaid with thousands of diamonds.

“Finally here! I’ve been waiting for this for so long!” Yi You eagerly pulled open the black door and vanished from the waiting room in the blink of an eye.

I looked at the dazzling silver-white beyond the black door. Just before stepping inside, I turned to Zong Yanlei, who had already chosen his magazines and was about to sit down to kill time.

“I’m leaving.”

The footage from the waiting room will be broadcast live, and if he doesn’t want such a terrible rumor of “racism” to circulate in the first game, he can’t very well ignore me.

As expected, he paused for a moment, and raised an eyebrow: “…Be careful on the road?”

With a satisfied smile, I walked towards the black door, waving my hand behind me and saying, “Thank you for your kind words.”

Stepping out of the black door, I was greeted by another darkness.

In the dim forest, apart from the starlight overhead, there was only the rustling of leaves in the wind and the occasional chirping of insects and birds.

It’s a night mode mountain forest track…

“Jiang, over here!”

As I was looking around, two lights suddenly shone in front of me, the blinding light forcing me to raise my arms to shield my eye as I moved toward them.

Standing beside the convertible hover jeep was the staff member who had been responsible for showing me around the track. She had her long hair up, wore a suit uniform, and white gloves, looking every bit the concierge.

“Is this your first time participating in an official GTC race? Let me explain. The next two hours will be your time to survey the track and write down your route notes on your own. The footage from here will be broadcast live outside, but of course, your partner won’t be able to see it. You can’t use any other method to record the track conditions besides handwriting. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me, and I will answer them to the best of my ability.” As she spoke, she opened the passenger door for me.

For the next hour and a half, under her guidance, I thoroughly surveyed the track twice. On the second survey, I discovered another hidden route. Although this route was closer to the finish line, it was fraught with danger, with a deadly trap set up almost every short distance.

One path was easy but long, the other was difficult but short. How should I choose?

I folded the top corner at the beginning of the hidden route and put a big question mark on it.

I closed the route book, took a deep breath, inhaled the abundant oxygen in the mountain and forest, felt the slightly cold breeze on my face, and stretched.

“My route book is complete. Please take me back.”

The staff member driving the car was taken aback upon hearing this, and after checking the time, said, “There’s still half an hour before it reaches two hours. You can inspect it one more time. Visibility is very poor when driving at night. This is your first competition, so it’s better to be more careful.”

“Thank you for thinking of me, but it’s really not necessary. I’ll hand in my paper early.” Every blade of grass and every tree on the entire mountain was already in my mind. I wanted to go back as soon as possible to discuss the next steps with Zong Yanlei.

When the staff realized they couldn’t persuade me, they had no choice but to lower the hover jeep and put me down.

No sooner had my feet touched the ground than the black door shimmering with starlight reappeared in the distance.

I waved goodbye to the staff and returned to the waiting room. Yi You hadn’t returned yet, and Zong Yanlei was still sitting in the same spot I’d left in. He didn’t seem too surprised by my early return, only glancing at me as I entered before quickly refocusing on the magazine in his hands. Tan Yunmei, on the other hand, was completely absorbed in her card-folding game, ignoring all external noise.

“27 million going once, 27 million going twice, 27 million…” The enthusiastic male voice on the radio continued, and coincidentally, I caught up with Zong Yanlei’s Q&A session auction.

The tea bar against the wall was stocked with various self-service teas and drinks, with dozens of varieties of coffee beans and tea leaves alone. I chose a coffee bean variety that I was familiar with and made myself a cup of freshly ground black coffee. Then, with the remaining coffee, I made a latte with milk and sugar, just to suit Zong Yanlei’s taste.

In the real world, my stomach isn’t very good, and I haven’t had coffee in a long time. But in the metaverse, since all the senses are fake, it won’t hurt to have a little.

“Sold for 27 million! Congratulations to the viewer with the ID ‘Glutinous Little Chick’ for winning the Q&A session. Let me see, their question is: Contestant Zong and Princess Chu Luo have been separated for a long time. Is it because their relationship has been strained for a long time, and they are only maintaining the marriage for the sake of their families’ reputation? Wow, that’s sharp. I’m starting to suspect you’re a professional reporter. Huh? Wait…wait, wait, wait! There’s still half an hour before the track inspection ends. Why is Contestant Jiang Man back now? Did something happen?”

I stopped halfway with two cups of coffee in my hand, my ears about to be blasted off by the sudden increase in the volume of the broadcast.

“No, no! Nothing happened, I just came out early.” I looked up and smiled at the speaker embedded in the ceiling.

“Early?!” The speaker seemed to vibrate. “Unheard of, unbelievable! Two hours is enough time for some navigators to barely finish their route books, while Jiang Man has already come out ahead of time! Is he just too confident, or is he already giving up before the competition even starts?”

I pushed the latte in front of Zong Yanlei, and sat down opposite him with my own cup. When I heard the host say that I was “giving up,” I was both amused and exasperated.

“You’re being a bit too harsh… I didn’t slack off, I really memorized it all.” I’ve always had a great memory and sense of direction since I was little. I never forget a path I’ve walked once, and I can recite a book word for word after reading it only once. When I was a child, from the age of ten to sixteen, Zong Yanlei would take lessons at home, and I would go with him. We learned everything very quickly, and sometimes the teacher couldn’t even keep up with our learning speed when preparing lessons.

Before going to university, I thought all children were like us, knowledge flowed into the brain as easily as drinking water, and then gradually accumulated into a vast and deep ocean.

After I went to university at sixteen, I realized that other kids were different from us. They couldn’t memorize the content of textbooks at a glance, they had to take notes on everything they learned, and even hard work didn’t guarantee good grades.

The university that Zong Yanlei and I attended was one of the best in Baiyujing, where the students were all from wealthy and noble families, each with an astonishing sense of self-esteem. To avoid standing out too much, I started pretending to take notes, getting low scores on tests, and even sleeping in class. Zong Yanlei didn’t understand my behavior and felt that I had shamed him. During that time, he was always finding fault with me. But he never considered how disastrous it would be if a Penglai nobleman were to feel jealous of a lowly commoner like me.

“GTC doesn’t have a rule that navigators have to survey the track for a full two hours, right?” As he said the first word, Zong Yanlei kept his eyes downcast, looking at the latte in front of him. As he said the last word, he pushed it away.

“Uh… there isn’t really such a rule, but according to common sense…”

“Since there’s no violation, then shut your noisy mouth now…” Zong Yanlei was smiling, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes. He rudely interrupted the other person’s incessant chatter, casually tossing the magazine aside. “Let’s continue with my Q&A session?”

The host was speechless for several seconds after he said that, perhaps because he muted his microphone to vent. A few seconds later, he came back and his tone had returned to normal.

“Alright, let’s continue with the Q&A session! Contestant Zong, please answer Glutinous Little Chick’s question: Have you and the princess already fallen out of love, and are you only maintaining the marriage out of consideration for the reputation of your respective families?”

“No, I respect her very much, and we have a very good relationship.” Zong Yanlei’s gaze swept across my face almost imperceptibly, meeting mine for a moment before quickly passing by. “My marriage to the princess was based on mutual consent, and neither of us were forced. We are separated because our youngest daughter, Chu Yi, suffers from severe allergies and can only stay in Xuanpu, where the air is better. My son, Zong Yinzhuo, was born with a genetic disease and needs to be injected with medication every two days to stabilize his condition, so he cannot leave Baiyujing.”

His answer was flawless, leaving no room for criticism.

A bitter taste spread through my mouth. I wondered if it was because I hadn’t had coffee in so long, but suddenly I found it hard to swallow. Perhaps, in any world, I should try to give up things that make me feel uncomfortable.

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As Zong Yanlei’s Q&A session came to an end, the host quickly left our waiting room. Finally, with peace and quiet, I put down my coffee cup, took the prepared route book from my inventory, and spread it out in front of Zong Yanlei.

Tan Yunmei’s poker fortress had already reached the third layer. Without saying a word, Zong Yanlei pinched the bottom most card between his fingertips and gently pulled it away, causing the entire fortress to collapse. Tan Yunmei was stunned for a moment, and just as she was about to get angry, Zong Yanlei threw the Ace of Hearts at her: “Come here and listen to the route notes.”

Tan Yunmei caught the card and then noticed me: “Jiang Man? Why are you back so early?”

I shrugged: “I’m good at remembering directions.”

“Oh, that’s really impressive.” She accepted my comment very easily.

Afterwards, I described the track I had surveyed to them in detail. When Zong Yanlei learned that there were two routes, he chose the more dangerous one without hesitation.

“Should we reconsider?” This season is of great significance to both of us, and I think it would be better to play it safe.

Zong Yanlei crossed his arms and leaned back against the sofa, staring at me with his blue-green eyes without saying a word.

Silence speaks louder than words; this was his way of saying it was non-negotiable.

“Okay, whatever you say.” I smiled and obediently crossed out the question mark on the route book.

“Wait a minute.” Tan Yunmei raised her hand. “Shouldn’t we wait for Yi You to come back before we discuss this?”

Oh, I almost forgot about him.

Zong Yanlei stared at the route book for two seconds, then raised his chin, pointed to the crossed-out question mark, and asked her, “Do you think Yi You can discover this hidden route?”

Tan Yunmei fell silent.

Yi You returned at that moment, bouncing around as if he had just come home from a spring outing: “Hey, everyone’s here~”

“How many routes did you memorize in total?” Zong Yanlei asked.

“One,” Yiyou replied happily.

Zong Yanlei scoffed and looked at Tan Yunmei: “Did you hear that? We’ll take the hidden route, you take the other one, and try to get both cars into the top ten.”

“Hidden route? What hidden route?” Yi You was confused for a moment, then realized what he meant and hurriedly flipped through his route book. “A hidden route? Where is it? Did I miss it? Ugh, I knew this route was so long and boring!!”

Seeing that he looked like he was about to cry, I quickly pulled him aside and patted his shoulder reassuringly: “It’s okay, it’s okay, I’ve remembered it all.”

I patiently reiterated to him the decision Zong Yanlei had just made and checked their itineraries.

“This is left 4, 20… then there’s a small slope here… there’s a small pothole here, the tires can easily slip…” I circled and corrected the small mistakes in his route book one by one. After not hearing Yi You’s voice for a long time, I looked up and saw him resting his chin on his hand, looking at me with starry eyes.

“Xiao Man, you’re amazing!”

“This……”

Just as I was about to say it was nothing, I suddenly heard the sound of porcelain shattering. I looked towards Zong Yanlei’s direction and saw that the already cold latte had somehow fallen to the ground, the coffee-colored liquid spreading out in an irregular shape on the mosaic floor. Porcelain shards were scattered everywhere, some even splashing as far as Yi You and me.

Seeing Zong Yanlei bend down to pick up the porcelain shards, I reflexively stopped him, “Don’t move, let me do it.”

Zong Yanlei didn’t listen to me. After a brief pause, his fingertips stubbornly picked up the porcelain shard at his feet. After picking it up, he straightened up, held the porcelain shard, and looked at me, as if telling me with his actions that he was no longer the fragile tofu doll I remembered, and no longer needed my meticulous care.

He no longer need me…

“Why bother cleaning up? This is the GTC competition, the metaverse, have you guys forgotten? This trash will be gone soon.” Yi You looked at me, then at Zong Yanlei.

As he spoke, both the porcelain shard in Zong Yanlei’s hand and the coffee liquid on the ground gradually turned into dust and disappeared.

Zong Yanlei twirled his fingers: “So you knew it was a competition?” He launched an attack on Yi You without warning, “How can you still laugh in this state?”

Yi You deflated, his smile instantly freezing on his face. He grabbed his route book and ran to hide behind Tan Yunmei, not coming out again until the competition officially started.

The waiting room quieted down. Zong Yanlei picked out another magazine to read. Tan Yunmei tirelessly rebuilt her poker fortress while Yi You desperately memorized the route book. I watched him diligently study the route book, but my thoughts had already wandered far away. Everyone was busy with their own things, and no one spoke anymore.

An hour later, the public address system came on again.

“Hello, everyone, are you ready? Our race will begin in five minutes. Please take your positions now, leave the waiting room, and head to the starting area! GOGOGO! Let’s get moving!”

The black door, as dark as the night, reappeared in the waiting room. Zong Yanlei stood up before the others, rubbing the back of his neck and turning it left and right as he walked towards the black door.

“It’s so slow,” he complained softly.

Yeah, it’s so slow, I almost fell asleep.

I tossed the route book back into my inventory and got up, followed by Yi You and Tan Yunmei.

A white light flashed, and my body passed through the black door without any special feeling, but when my consciousness returned, my body had automatically changed into a racing suit and arrived at the starting area.

All unnecessary accessories were removed, and the red, white, and black racing suit clung to my body like a second skin, forming the most basic yet solid and reliable safety barrier.

Looking at the helmet I was holding, I touched my face with my other hand and found that the ornate eye patch had also been removed.

The huge searchlights illuminated the starting grid like daytime. The starting order of the 26 cars was based on the points standings from the previous season. The two cars from the Sun God team were both in a rather far back position, but fortunately, the portal teleported us to the nearest starting position.

Zong Yanlei and I walked towards the red and black race car with a huge red sun logo painted on its hood, not far away. Just before getting in, Zong Yanlei suddenly grabbed the car door and said, “Never stop reciting the route book under any circumstances.”

I was taken aback, wondering what “any circumstances” meant, when he continued, “Nod and say you understand.”

Oh, this is an order, not a discussion.

I could only swallow the words that were about to come out of my throat, nod with a fake smile, and then tell him that I understood.

“Very good.” After saying that, he put on his helmet and climbed into the driver’s seat.