Chapter 23: Chopping Melons and Slicing Vegetables

Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Chopping Melons and Slicing Vegetables

Wu Shi had anticipated this situation even before entering the combination turn.

So when he overtook this driver, he was completely unfazed, merely noting his new position.

He was now in fourth place. With only three karts ahead, it meant he likely wouldn’t have to deal with complex packs of drivers anymore.

And in one-on-one situations, these drivers stood no chance of stopping him!

Coming into Turn 8, Wu Shi pulled out again, attempting to seize the inside line for an overtake, but the third-place driver naturally defended the center line.

The overtake was impossible, of course. They entered the wide curve of Turn 9 one after another, arriving at the double-apex T10.

Wu Shi pulled out once more, planning to use late braking to snatch the apex. The third-place driver repeated his old trick, defending the center.

But this time, their racing lines were slightly different.

The third-place driver entered the apex from the center line; to get a faster exit, he was bound to go wide.

And although Wu Shi reached the apex later, he dove straight for it, giving him a much faster exit speed than the third-place driver.

Combined with his extraordinary control over his grip, his kart was in front of the third-place driver’s in the blink of an eye.

"Beautiful!" a coach exclaimed, clapping.

"A perfect crossover overtake!"

"Tsk, tsk. Not only was the timing perfect, but his control over the kart was flawless too!"

"This young driver is too strong!"

Off the track, the coaches’ praises were endless.

Zhi Shiwei blinked her big eyes. ’Is he really this ridiculous?’

’This kid told me he was just bragging before the race, but he’s been carving through the competition like it’s nothing. In the blink of an eye, he’s in third place. Such a liar!’

’Still, getting to first place will be difficult, right?’

The top two were quite a bit faster than the rest, and they already had a lead of nearly two seconds.

On the track, Wu Shi didn’t even glance at the driver he’d just passed. He only defended his position for the first corner after the overtake, then immediately went back to his qualifying line and charged ahead.

His mastery of the vehicle far surpassed these young drivers. He could always gain a bit of time on them in the very same corners.

Thus, after just three or four turns, he had already opened up a 0.5-second gap on the driver in fourth place.

Next, his target for an overtake was the second-place driver, Zeng Tianyi.

He didn’t know the exact gap to the driver ahead, so he could only drive at his absolute fastest.

WHOOSH!

One lap later, he was right behind Zeng Tianyi.

"Tsk, that’s terrifying! He shaved off more than a second in one lap."

"Yeah. How long do you think second place can hold him off?"

"At least two or three laps. He was overtaking quickly before because it was chaotic in the pack, and there were openings to exploit."

"I bet one lap."

"Heh, no way!"

"Loser buys late-night snacks tonight?"

"Deal!"

The two coaches had barely finished speaking when a stunning scene unfolded on the track.

When Zeng Tianyi heard the roar of the engine chasing him from behind, he glanced back and was so scared he nearly jumped out of his skin. He completely missed his braking point for Turn 1 and veered onto the outside line.

Wu Shi couldn’t care less about what looked like a courtesy move. He launched his attack, seized the advantageous racing line, and pushed his tires to their absolute limit. By the exit of that single corner, he was already right behind the first-place driver, Ye Zhaohui.

"Holy shit! You’re cheating!" one coach yelled.

"Hahaha! One corner! I’m gonna fleece you for everything you’ve got tonight!" the other coach roared with laughter.

On the track.

Unlike Zeng Tianyi, the sight of Wu Shi ignited a fiercely competitive spirit in Ye Zhaohui. But his unwillingness to yield couldn’t bridge the real gap in their skills.

VROOOM! WHOOSH!

By the entrance to Turn 3, the two karts were already side by side.

Wu Shi was on the right, while Ye Zhaohui, on the left, had secured the apex of Turn 3.

But the next corner was a right-hander, putting Wu Shi back in the advantageous position.

Past Turn 4 was a combination turn, with an apex first on the left, then on the right. After the exit of the combination turn lay a long straight.

The two karts went through the corners side by side, the gap between them perpetually on the verge of contact. They traded the lead back and forth until the exit of the combination turn.

Because Wu Shi was on the inside line on the right, he held a slight lead, but not enough to pull away. So he quickly squeezed to the left, and Ye Zhaohui instinctively swerved left in response.

But he immediately realized his mistake. ’I’m too close to the left edge of the track! There’s no way I can make the next left turn!’

It was too late, however. The outcome was set. He wanted to squeeze Wu Shi to the right, but he saw that his opponent had no intention of yielding an inch.

He knew that his instinctive dodge on the corner exit had cost him the initiative.

WHOOSH!

On Turn 7, Ye Zhaohui was practically hugging the left side of the track as he turned. Wu Shi, on the other hand, had a huge amount of space on the right to exploit before entry. He easily entered and exited the corner at a higher speed, pulling decisively ahead.

"Wow! He’s in first place!" Zhi Shiwei covered her mouth, in complete disbelief.

"That’s astounding!"

"He climbed that many positions in just five laps?"

"It’s unbelievable. Or rather, he’s terrifyingly strong, far beyond the other drivers!"

The coaches in the viewing area were all full of praise.

"That was truly brilliant!"

"Yeah, even though I don’t get all the details, I still think it’s fascinating! No wonder my son loves to drive."

"I have no idea how he did that. How did he just drive past, make a turn, and suddenly take the lead?"

The parents were mostly amazed by the excitement of the race, unable to see the technical skill behind it all.

And as Wu Shi returned to the lead, he immediately began pulling away from the driver behind him, gaining three-tenths of a second per lap.

The race was only just past its halfway point, but everyone already knew who the champion would be.

Without a doubt, in terms of sheer excitement, this race was on par with higher-category events, thanks mainly to Wu Shi’s overtakes.

Zhi Shiwei was starting to regret not bringing a video camera to record it all.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The twelve-lap race ended quickly. When Wu Shi’s white kart with big red eyes crossed the finish line, applause erupted from off the track.

"Get the shot!"

Zhi Shiwei yelled hurriedly to the cameraman.

"I know!"

As a veteran cameraman, his sensitivity to the action on the field was extremely high.

The moment he heard the gasps and cheers from the crowd, he knew he had material for a news photo!

CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!

He snapped photos frantically.

He even crouched down at the entrance to the pit lane to get a shot of Wu Shi as he drove in.

And then he was dragged away by race officials to be penalized.

After Wu Shi had parked his kart and finished with the weigh-in, Zhi Shiwei immediately ran up to him. "You were incredible! Were you confident you could get first place from the very beginning?"

"Hm? I seem to recall telling you before that I was going to take first place," Wu Shi replied with a question of his own.

"Er, I thought you were joking," Zhi Shiwei said with an embarrassed laugh.

"Well, I wasn’t completely sure, to be honest," Wu Shi said with a smile.

"Tsk, come on now. Humility from an overwhelmingly dominant champion just comes off as disingenuous." A familiar voice chimed in.

"Eh? Ling Kang?" Wu Shi looked over and saw the young man with his left arm in a bandage.

"It’s been so long, and your injury still hasn’t healed?" Zhi Shiwei asked, recognizing Ling Kang.

"Ah ha, well, this is from falling off my bike," Ling Kang said, scratching his head in embarrassment.

"Ling Kang, it’s not my place to say, but there are two sports we should probably avoid," Wu Shi said meaningfully.

"Which two?"

"Cycling and skiing," Wu Shi said.

"Huh? Why? Is it some kind of secret, unwritten rule in the karting industry?" Zhi Shiwei asked, pressing relentlessly, as if she’d just sniffed out a news story.