The large square on the hill of the Laoshan Highway was absolutely silent. None of the people present spoke as they watched attentively the big screen on the temporary stage.
After about 2 minutes, only a whisper of disbelief was heard:
“The… The Ferrari is now third…”
The problem was not that the Ferrari has surpassed six cars. The problem was that that Ferrari started the race with many seconds of disadvantage and still overtook six luxury supercars as if nothing had happened!
***
While watching the other two supercars ahead of him competing, a smile outlined on the corner of Xie Feng’s mouth. He rapidly speed up as two sides of the terrain brushed backward. He quickly realized that another U-curve was just ahead of him. He fiercely controlled the steering wheel, releasing the hand on the gear to grab the handbrake and then pressed the brake with his foot. After a beautiful drift, he counter-steered the wheel as his foot deeply pressed the accelerator to slip through the space between another supercar and the cliff.
Time fleeted by.
Relying on his skillful driving control technique, precise judgment, and extraordinary speed of reaction that was beyond that of an ordinary person, Xie Feng had shaken off three other competitors in just five minutes. The Ferrari he was riding also began to bite the tail of Hou Zi Yang and Nangong Chen.
The road ahead was an S-shape. It was undoubtedly a good opportunity to beat both cars. At the end of the S-shaped road, there were two more U-curve arches. In short, Xie Feng only had three chances left to surpass Hou Zi Yang and Nangong Chen.
However, the scene in front of him made Xie Feng reconsider his plans.
Hou Zi Yang’s silver Porsche and Nangong Chen’s yellow Lamborghini were close together, constantly hitting each other. The left side of the luxury Porsche and the right side of the Lamborghini had been crashed and many parts had been broken completely.
Although something like this was not too strange in street racing, what was strange was that to begin hitting cars so close to a cliff was undoubtedly foolish. Anyone who fell off that cliff would turn into a meat paste when their body hit the ground at the bottom of the mountain.
Confused and clueless, Xie Feng focused his senses on the cars in front of him, trying to hear something. As he focused, he could hear both of their words and easily judge which voice belonged to Nangong Chen.
Soon, the silver Porsche, yellow Lamborghini, and black Ferrari reached the S-shaped curve. The Porsche and Lamborghini stopped hitting each other to get through the curve. As for Xie Feng, he kept a close enough distance to both, but without surpassing them. His objective was never to win this race in the first place.
The more he heard the Porsche driver’s curses followed by the mocking voice of Nangong Chen, the more Xie Feng was surprised. But soon, all that surprise turned to anger. His eyes cooled and the temperature inside the Ferrari dropped many degrees as if a freezer had been opened inside the car.
Apparently, in the past, Nangong Chen visited Hong Kong with a group of friends. One day, while he was visiting a nightclub, Nangong Chen saw a beautiful woman wearing simple clothes.
A little drunk along with his natural arrogance, Nangong Chen approached the girl and began to flirt with her. The girl ignored him and simply told him that she was waiting for her boyfriend to finish his work, as his shift would soon be over.
In the end, Nangong Chen tricked the girl and forced her to do things against her will. After getting bored, he simply left her in an empty alley and disappeared.
The girl couldn’t take it and committed suicide, not before leaving a letter of apology for her boyfriend. In the letter, in addition to apologizing and telling him how much she loved him, she also told him what happened.
That girl’s boyfriend resulted to be the Porsche’s driver.
Hou Zi Yang went to the authorities and tried to get justice. But… is there really justice in this world?… He was just a normal worker, he came from a family that worked every day to feed themselves. How could he, a normal man, make the youngest son of one of the highest authorities of a superpower like China be punished?
Faced with an insurmountable wall created by money and power, Hou Zi Yang got nothing. At the end of the day, he was lost in alcohol and racing. He tried to kill himself many times, but in the end, he did not. Not out of cowardice, his only reason for living was for revenge.
Today was the day that Hou Zi Yang waited for a long time.
***
*Huff… Huff… Hufff*
Xie Feng’s chest went up and down, his breathing was so heavy that one could hear it clearly even with the constant impact between the two cars just a few meters ahead.
With his eyes still on the road, Xie Feng picked up the cell phone on the passenger seat and sent a text message. It was a message with only three words;
“Do it now”
_____________________
Pudong Shangri-La East Shanghai, Grand Tower, Room #707.
Yin Yue had successfully hacked into the camera security system on the Laoshan Highway. She had a slightly proud smile as she gave Shen Xinya an ‘I told you so’ look. However, Shen Xinya could not be bothered with her.
Shen Xinya’s look was fixed on the monitor. Her bright eyes constantly followed the movement of the dark Ferrari without daring to look away.
When Xie Feng made crazy maneuvers that looked like he would fall off the cliff or crash against the mountain, Shen Xinya would cry out scared and shake in her seat. But the next second, she would see Xie Feng’s car surpass car after car, putting a beautiful smile on her face and unconsciously waving her fist in the air.
Seeing Shen Xinya’s behavior, Yin Yue had a worried look on her face. After hesitating for a moment, she opened her lips: “Xinya, you are….”
Mm?”, Shen Xinya did not take her eyes off the screen and responded casually.
“That handsome guy… Forget it, it’s nothing”
Yin Yue also noticed that Shen Xinya was not paying attention to her, as her eyes were fixed on the luxurious black car. In the end, Yin Yue did not finish her question, but she was still worried.
“Ah! What happened?”
The cry of surprise, followed by Shen Xinya’s annoying words, made Yin Yue turn her gaze to the monitor quickly.
Yin Yue’s eyes were opened wide when she saw that, at some point unknown to her, a message with huge letters appeared on the screen, covering the image of the race.
“I am surprised that there is a Digital Esper unknown to the Chinese government. Although it’s a pity I couldn’t find your IP, I advise you not to stick your nose into this and forget what you saw tonight. It’s not good to spy on people (:”.
Yin Yue’s face turned pale and without hesitation, she closed the screen of the notebook computer.
Under Shen Xinya’s astonished gaze, Yin Yue crossed a distance of many meters in just a few seconds, an impossible feat for a normal human being. When she reached the window of the room, she opened it and without a moment’s delay dropped the laptop to the river running beneath the hotel building.
Seeing her act that way, Shen Xinya frowned and asked quietly, “Yin Yue, what happened just now?”
Yin Yue did not answer her question, instead, she asked, “Xinya, you have to be honest with me. Mr. Shen Duan contracted me to ensure your welfare no matter what the consequences, but this matter is a bit serious”.
“What do you mean?” Shen Xinya was stupefied. She just didn’t understand what was going on. Although she suspected that Xie Feng was trying to do something crazy, the race was about to end but everything was going very smoothly for him.
Yin Yue took several deep breaths and explained slightly: “As you know, I am a special Esper. Digital Esper like me not only have the ability to break any computer defense barrier, but we also have a physical body capable of resisting low-caliber bullets”.
Seeing Shen Xinya nodding in confirmation, Yin Yue continued: “The governments of all countries in the world are so afraid of Digital Esper because as long as they have a little time, they can hack into and obtain any kind of information. For this reason, all Digital Espers are taken to the side of the government of that country, by hook or by crook.
Your father, Mr. Shen Duan is the richest person in the entire Asian continent and, along with his contacts and intelligence, he managed to hide me from the rest of the world. However, that guy… Xie Feng, is not just a normal university student. That message from before was sent by a Digital Esper like me”.
Shen Xinya’s eyes visibly trembled. She understood what that meant. According to Yin Yue’s previous explanation, only the most powerful governments in the world had Digital Esper under their command. So, doesn’t this mean that Xie Feng was an important person for the government of China?
“Wait, wait a minute! It could be the Nangong Family supporting Nangong Chen!” Thinking that Xie Feng might be in danger, Shen Xinya got scared and turned pale as a sheet.
Seeing her about to collapse, Yin Yue sighed: “Xinya… if the Nangong Family wants to deal with a normal student, why would they go to so much trouble? Clearly, one of the other four families is colluding with this guy Xie Feng to kill Nangong Chen”.
