Chapter 36: The End

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: The End

"Damn, what the hell is going on?! Chen Lin can’t beat some little kid?!"

"Hey, stop cursing. Chen Lin can’t beat him, and you wouldn’t be able to either."

"Fuck! Is he even human? He must have driven a shifter kart before! Otherwise, there’s no way he could be this good!"

Seeing the uproar from the higher-class group, Ye Zhaohui and the other two looked at each other, stunned.

"Ling Kang, you were right about what you said before," Zeng Tianyi said.

"What did I say?"

"’Before I met the Boss, I thought I was the best in the world. After meeting him, I finally understood that no matter how good you are, there’s always someone better.’" Zeng Tianyi repeated the memorable line.

The first time he heard it, he thought Ling Kang was just wildly exaggerating. He wasn’t convinced back then, but now? He could only shake his head. Comparing yourself to others was just infuriating.

For once, Ling Kang wasn’t being loud and boisterous. He was silent for a long while, a dejected look on his face. ’Is the difference in talent between people really this vast?’

But this melancholy mood didn’t bother him for long. His very next impulse was to see the look on Ye Zhaohui’s face.

Sure enough, the guy looked like he was constipated; his expression was ghastly.

"So, Ye Zhaohui, how about it? We had a deal before the race. If we see Chen Lin competing again next year, it means you failed." Ling Kang was one step away from bursting into laughter.

"I... I... this..." After stammering for a moment, Ye Zhaohui pointed to the group from the higher class and said, "Wu Shi is just too much of a monster. Chen Lin will definitely use that as an excuse with his family, and all those guys will be called in to back him up."

"Damn, so he basically raced for nothing?" Ling Kang said, dissatisfied.

"Hmph! If you won’t go, I will!" Ye Ningning put her hands on her hips. "Who cares if he’s a monster or not? He’s that old and still can’t beat the Boss. It’s obvious he has no talent for racing. What’s he still doing at a racetrack?"

Ye Ningning’s uniquely high-pitched voice carried over to the drivers from the higher-class group, and they all fell silent.

WHOOSH!

Wu Shi’s kart crossed the finish line in first place.

’Awesome!’

He cheered internally. Driving a kart with a gearbox was a totally different feeling; the traction control coming out of corners was so much smoother than a direct-drive kart.

He completed a cool-down lap and returned to the pit area. By now, everyone who had been watching from the second floor had come down to the first.

"The Boss is awesome!" Ye Ningning cheered.

Louise watched eagerly, wanting to rush over and celebrate, but when she saw her mother and the adult named Sid, she had no choice but to remain composed.

She knew why her mother had brought Sid, so she didn’t want her own rash behavior to displease this important man and affect whether they would consider bringing Wu Shi onto the team.

Wu Shi took off his helmet, and the first thing he did was pound on his lower back.

Damn it. Because the seat was too big and the padding was uncomfortable, he was "lucky" enough to experience something like porpoising, even back in 2007.

"Boss, you’re a badass!" Ling Kang squeezed through the crowd.

"Where’s the other guy?" Wu Shi asked. He’d just heard an engine sound.

The group pushed through the crowd, only to find an abandoned kart parked there, not yet packed up.

"He already took off. Stop looking," one of the drivers from the higher-class group called out to them.

Someone in the crowd—no one knew who—was the first to start laughing. Soon, a cheerful atmosphere filled the entire pit area.

"Good thing he ran off so fast, or I would’ve cursed him out!" Ling Kang said with a swing of his fist.

"..." Ye Zhaohui stood to the side, not saying a word.

Just then, a tall, heavyset foreigner pushed through the crowd and walked over. He addressed Wu Shi in English, "Son, how old are you?"

"Hello? And you are?" Wu Shi asked, looking quizzically at the tall, bald, bearded man.

"Little Wu Shi, let me introduce you. This is Sid Campbell, the financial manager from the Akaki Team in Italy. He happened to be traveling in Hua Country, so I brought him here to take a look," Martina explained.

"Oh, hello, Uncle Sid. I’m nine years old," Wu Shi replied.

"Excellent. Martina told me you’ll be coming to Italy next year. Would you be interested in joining our team?" Sid asked, getting straight to the point.

"Of course," Wu Shi nodded.

For someone from Hua Country, joining a team in Europe was actually quite difficult.

Back in the day, Zhou Guanyu had to go through a great deal of trouble to join the Strawberry Racing Team in the United Kingdom.

That was because they didn’t recognize results from his home country at all, believing that winning a championship among a bunch of rookies proved nothing.

"Oh! When you come to Italy, we can talk in more detail." After speaking, Sid turned to Martina and said, "Although I only watched one lap, I believe this child’s potential is far greater than this. I have very high hopes for him."

"Haha, of course. This child only started with karts this year," Martina laughed.

"Wow!" Sid’s eyes widened, filled with even more disbelief.

In Europe, aspiring professional drivers started with karts as early as three or four, or at the latest, five or six.

And this child in front of him only started karting at the age of nine?

How did he manage to realize his talent so quickly?

Seeing that the two adults were talking business and it didn’t involve him, Wu Shi said a few words to his friends and went to the changing room to take off his racing suit.

As it turned out, on his way back, he bumped into two acquaintances from his past life.

"Hello, little friend Wu Shi."

The person who greeted him had bangs and hair parted to the side, long enough to cover his ears—a very typical male hairstyle for the era.

"Hello, Brother Ma!" Wu Shi said enthusiastically.

"Oh? You know me?" Ma Qinghua was surprised.

"Of course! Brother Ma, you’re a senior to all of us!"

After speaking, Wu Shi looked at the kid standing next to him, whose face was still chubby and round.

"This is Zhou Guanyu. I’m currently teaching him karting. I had originally planned to come watch the race today to prepare him for competing next year, but I didn’t expect to see such a spectacular lap," Ma Qinghua said. For a driver of his caliber, one lap was enough to get a rough idea of an opponent’s skill.

"Hello, my name is Wu Shi."

"Hi, I’m Zhou Guanyu. You’re really strong!" Zhou Guanyu said, a bit shyly.

"Haha, thanks for the compliment. You’ll be this strong someday too," Wu Shi said with a smile.

After chatting with the two for a while longer, they said their goodbyes.

Wu Shi felt a wave of emotion. In his past life, both of these individuals were his seniors on the path to F1. As a junior, he naturally respected them.

But on the racetrack? Sorry, but on the track, the greatest form of respect is to give it your all.

After returning to Peng City from Shanghai, life returned to its peaceful routine.

The final race of the 2007 CKC season was in Guiding, taking place in mid-November.

After being away on a business trip for nearly a month, Wu Zhenlin also returned.

"Son, I’ve arranged for you to be excused from school tomorrow. I’m taking you to go handle the paperwork," Wu Zhenlin said, bringing good news.

"Okay."

"I might be on long-term business trips to different places after this, so I won’t be back much. After the end of the year, I’ll take you there directly."

Wu Shi nodded. He had been expecting this.

"Oh my, Little Wu Shi, you’ll be living with us then~" Martina chimed in with a smile.

"Aunt Martina, I’ll be in your care from now on." Wu Shi bowed his thanks. It was a huge imposition on someone else.

"Hey, why so formal? When you’re at your auntie’s place, just treat it like your own home. If there’s anything you’re not comfortable with, you just tell me, okay?" Martina said, waving her hand dismissively.

Time flew by, and soon it was November 17th.

Wu Shi and his mechanic flew to Guiding. After going through the motions and completing the two-day race, the season came to a successful conclusion.

In the end, he won the championship for the NCJ-A division of the 2007 CKC with a perfect record of six wins in six races, becoming one of the rare drivers to dominate every event in a single year.

The reporter, Zhi Shiwei, wrote a report as usual, but outside of the racing circle, it still failed to make any waves.

Back home once again, Wu Shi felt a tinge of melancholy. Staring at the six trophies, medals, and certificates in the display cabinet, he had no idea when he would be back next.