Her launch was smooth and practiced, without the slightest hesitation.
Her timing was excellent. The instant the starting gun fired, she had already applied full power.
Vanessa's opening move alone was enough to shock Derek Su.
Three months. Even with Blazing Wind assisting her, reaching this level was astonishing. To put it bluntly, the details in her Launch Control alone were enough to outperform ninety percent of the drivers out there.
Then came the first turn.
Inside Blazing Wind's cockpit, Vanessa calmly pulled the handbrake.
She did not wait until the last possible moment to brake. Instead, she slowed down early.
It was not because she lacked the confidence to brake later. She simply needed time to familiarize herself with the course.
Derek Su had made the track extremely narrow, and they were not allowed to touch any of the traffic cones. Without first getting a feel for the layout, it would be easy to make a mistake.
Screech—!
Blazing Wind swung her rear toward the apex, tracing a graceful arc.
"Impressive!" Derek Su struck his fist against his palm, unable to hold back his praise.
Beto Ming did not know much about racing, but even he found the maneuver beautiful to watch.
"What do you think? Was Vanessa's turn just now really that good?"
"It was." Derek Su nodded. "She did not time the braking point perfectly, but the turn itself was extremely stable. Her rear end passed less than a fist's width from the traffic cones, and her exit was very smooth. Unless that was just luck... Vanessa may be a natural driving prodigy."
Beto Ming's eyes lit up as he followed Blazing Wind across the course.
As her father, nothing made him happier than hearing someone praise his daughter.
Especially when the praise came from Derek Su, the Champion King.
The internet had already gone wild over him.
People were saying that Derek Su might become the strongest driver of the past decade. Even former world champion Tania seemed to have no choice but to yield the spotlight.
But Vanessa was far from finished.
Just as Blazing Wind approached the Z-shaped series of hairpin turns, she suddenly accelerated.
Derek Su's eyes widened in surprise.
At the first turn, Vanessa had moved her braking point forward for safety.
This time, however, she had placed it dangerously close to the limit.
Could she still make it through?
Before he could finish wondering, Blazing Wind was already drifting through the turn. The row of traffic cones trembled in the tire smoke and the gust of wind created by her passing, but not one of them fell.
That meant Blazing Wind's rear end had passed extremely close to them.
After clearing the consecutive hairpins smoothly, Vanessa continued through the rest of the course without incident.
The seconds slipped away.
Nine minutes and forty-seven seconds.
Vanessa glanced at the timer.
Only thirteen seconds remained.
"Vanessa, one hundred meters ahead. Sharp left into a downhill turn!" Blazing Wind warned in her cool voice.
She had no intention of deliberately failing in order to keep Vanessa off the track.
Like Vanessa, she regarded racing honor as something worth her life.
She felt torn. She wanted to race with Vanessa and help her fulfill her dream, but she was also terrified of putting Vanessa's life in danger.
Yet when Vanessa gripped the control sticks with both hands, when the two of them became one and their emotions connected, Blazing Wind felt the longing and blazing passion in Vanessa's heart.
At that moment, there was only one thing she could do.
Go forward.
The downhill turn stretched for eighty meters, and Blazing Wind was already moving quickly.
She would gain even more speed on the descent.
To take the turn safely without striking any cones, she had to slow down.
But if she slowed down...
Vanessa gritted her teeth.
The turn was right in front of her, and only ten seconds remained.
In that instant, she made a decision no one had expected.
She floored the accelerator.
Roar—!
The engine howled.
Pale tire smoke scattered in the wind.
"Vanessa?!" Blazing Wind cried out.
There was no time to ask what she was doing. Vanessa's resolve was absolute.
The instant they entered the turn, their speed surged past 460 km/h.
Then Blazing Wind launched off the slope with Vanessa inside, flying straight toward the finish line.
The Knox Rally did not include jumps, so Vanessa had never practiced one.
This was her first.
She had no idea what a race car was supposed to do once airborne.
But instinctively, she kept her foot on the accelerator and tightened her grip on the control sticks.
[Ten, nine, eight...]
Everyone in the stands stared in disbelief as Blazing Wind soared through the air.
For a moment, the entire world seemed to slow down.
The scenery streaked past Vanessa's vision. The finish-line flag rapidly grew larger, as though it were rushing straight toward her.
She could hear nothing.
Only the countdown.
[Five, four, three...]
Boom—!
Blazing Wind slammed back onto the ground.
The impact sent a violent jolt through her body, and she instantly lost control, skidding sideways toward the finish line.
Time seemed to return to normal.
Amid the roar of the engine, Vanessa heard the final count.
[...Two, one!]
At that exact moment, Blazing Wind crossed the finish line.
Several traffic cones went flying and rolled across the ground.
Vanessa straightened the car and applied the brakes. Blazing Wind finally came to a stop at the far end of the pier.
Hot white smoke swirled around her body.
Inside the cockpit, Vanessa and Blazing Wind looked at each other and smiled.
It was their silent way of congratulating each other for finishing the race.
Unfortunately, although they completed the test within ten minutes, they had struck the traffic cones at the finish line.
According to Derek Su's rules, they had failed.
"We were so close." Blazing Wind straightened up and turned toward Vanessa.
She gently stroked Vanessa's head and gave her an encouraging smile.
Vanessa rubbed her reddened eyes and pouted.
She wanted to cry.
She had worked so hard.
Yet in the end, she had still fallen short...
But she was already a pilot.
How could a pilot who would one day become the Little Magician and the Little Champion King cry?
So she stubbornly drew several deep breaths.
She did not want Blazing Wind or the others to worry, so she forced her tears back.
"Yeah... We were just a little short."
She forced a smile.
"Just a little."
...
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