"L-Lawson, I'm not feeling so good!"
Svafa felt like her heart was about to leap out of her throat.
It wasn't that the stunning bar owner had never been in a fast car before. She had expected this underground race to hit maybe 120 mph at most. She never imagined Lawson would push the Viper all the way to 220.
Keep in mind — 220 mph is literally takeoff speed for an airplane.
"Hang in there a little longer, babe! The game's almost over!"
Svafa wasn't sure if he was talking to her or the car, so she just closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing.
"You said that last time, and then you…"
"I'm definitely not lying this time, because I'm about to show you some real skills!"
With that, Lawson flipped open a transparent cover on the dashboard, revealing a red button underneath.
"Time for stage two of the nitrous system!"
Svafa's eyes snapped open.
"What did you say? There's a stage two?"
Before she could finish the sentence, Lawson slammed the red button.
A terrifying surge of acceleration pinned her to the seat. She screamed, but the sound was completely drowned out by Lawson's manic laughter.
"Hahaha…"
"What the fuck! Is the tracker broken? I'm seeing the Dodge Viper sprinting at 250 mph! Damn it, how is he going downhill at that speed without launching off the mountain? I swear, if you glued wings to that Viper, it could take flight right now!"
Lawson's relentless pace put massive pressure on the three cars in the leading pack. Nobody wanted to get overtaken right before the finish line.
While Martin and Dom tried to rely on pure skill to hold their positions, Johnny Tran decided to play dirty.
He tried to block Lawson's racing line, but Lawson didn't hesitate for even a second and simply slammed into him.
That instantly straightened the Korean driver out.
It couldn't be helped. To maximize speed, Johnny Tran's Honda S2000 had undergone extreme weight reduction. It absolutely could not take a hit.
If Lawson rammed him again, the S2000 would probably fall apart.
This was a common issue with Japanese and Korean cars. To cut costs they were built much lighter than American or European models. That lightness came at the price of terrible crash resistance.
Johnny Tran was now paying that price. After taking the hit, his Honda S2000 developed mechanical issues and his speed dropped drastically. He was even passed by Franklin's Dodge Challenger.
In the end, Johnny had no choice but to pull over and furiously kick the guardrail to vent his anger.
"Fuck! Ow!"
He kicked it so hard he fractured his toe.
Meanwhile, Lawson, Martin, and Dom were locked in the final showdown.
With less than three miles to the finish line, the three cars were neck-and-neck.
Martin's Porsche 911 GT2 still held the lead, but Lawson's Dodge Viper SRT-10 was closing fast.
Dom's Mazda RX-7 FD3S had already been overtaken and was now running third.
"Whew! Ladies and gentlemen, this is absolutely the most thrilling race I have ever seen! Formula 1 is complete dogshit compared to this! This is exactly why I love underground street racing! It's got me sweating and talking nonsense!"
"The Mazda RX-7 FD3S is clearly falling behind! Now there's nothing stopping the Dodge Viper SRT-10 and the Porsche 911 GT2 from battling for the championship!"
"Wait! Something's wrong! It looks like…"
Bob's voice suddenly turned to static as the radio signal died.
Lawson knew exactly what that meant.
The LAPD was making their move.
On the final stretch down the mountain, police sirens erupted, helicopters swarmed the sky, and megaphones blared warnings.
"You are surrounded by the LAPD! Stop your vehicles immediately and surrender! I repeat, you are surrounded by the LAPD!"
This was the true test of the underground race.
The remaining miles were completely blocked by barricades, spike strips, and police cruisers. The sprint race had instantly turned into Mario Kart.
Faced with the roadblock, Martin hesitated. His Porsche 911 GT2 began to slow down.
It made sense. An ultra-expensive supercar like the GT2 wasn't built to smash through barricades and police cruisers.
But Lawson wasn't afraid.
"Lawson, what's the plan?"
Svafa remained perfectly calm. It was as if the wall of cops blocking the road didn't faze her at all. Her hand quietly slipped into her pocket, ready to draw her gun and fight if necessary.
"The plan? Smash right through them, obviously!"
Knowing the LAPD would crash the race, Lawson had armed his Dodge Viper to the teeth.
Ramming Johnny Tran's Honda S2000 earlier had just been a warm-up. Now it was time for actual warfare.
Police cruisers were specially modified to be far more crash-resistant than street racers, but Lawson didn't care.
He hit several buttons, shifting the Viper into full combat mode.
A plow-like scoop deployed from the front bumper.
Steel plates slid up over the side windows, thick enough to stop most small-arms fire.
His solid rubber tires rolled straight over the spike strips without a scratch. Then, fueled by a massive blast of nitrous, the Viper charged forward like a lone knight, violently smashing through the blockade of police cruisers.
The LAPD had never expected anyone to be crazy enough to actually ram them, so they failed to stop Lawson's initial breakthrough.
Martin and Dom watched in utter shock, but they didn't hesitate. They gunned it through the gap Lawson had created and scattered to escape.
As long as these drivers got away, they would all owe Lawson a massive favor.
Of course, some guys wouldn't be around to owe him anything — like the ones who had already crashed or flown over the guardrail, and Johnny Tran, whose car had broken down after the rear-end hit.
Having planned the sting in advance, the LAPD unleashed a massive fleet of cruisers to chase down the fleeing racers.
Everyone was now locked in a high-speed pursuit for their freedom. Most of these guys were veteran underground racers who had outrun the cops more than once or twice before.
As the guy who had broken the barricade, Lawson naturally drew the most heat. At least eight police cruisers were glued to his bumper.
Above him, two police helicopters kept their spotlights locked dead on the purple Dodge Viper. He was getting the absolute superstar treatment.
If Lawson checked his phone right now, he would see he was officially sitting at a 5-star wanted level.
Glancing at the relentless cruisers in his rearview mirror, Lawson flashed a wicked smile.
"Hehehe! Now it's your turn to taste the item box race!"
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