Star Rank Hunter-Chapter 268: A Few Strangers and Two Animals (2)

All in all, things went pretty well during the dessert circuit. Vege-Fritter was still among the top four, and Naimi was driving faster after he shedded his anxiety and injected himself with a boost of excitement. Sadly, he finished the circuit at fourth place, falling behind his opponent by one centimeter despite being in good form. The third place of this circuit was Aero, the second place was Lightning, and the first place was Spearhead.

Five out of seven parts of the race were over already. Right now, the current score of the top four racers were: Aero - 150 points, Lightning - 145 points, Vege-Fritter - 145 points and finally Spearhead - 140 points.

The point difference wasn’t so big that a decisive victor could be spotted. It was still anyone’s game since there was no telling what might happen during the last two circuits.

Naimi felt a little depressed because he came in fourth place. Moreover, he was seriously dehydrated and fatigued due to a prolonged period of high tension and concentration.

His amazement towards Cillin had climbed to a whole new level, however. He was already feeling this way after finishing just one circuit, but earlier Cillin had flown through four circuits without rest. If this was the level of concentration and mental power a racer must maintain throughout the whole race, then he must admit that they were incredibly capable. In fact, Naimi thought that some racers and navigators must have switched positions mid-race just like them. Not anyone could stand or master an endurance race like this, and it was pure torture for those who were unqualified.

It wasn’t like Naimi had never participated in an endurance auto race before, but his competition was so-so, and the obstacles blocking his way weren’t particularly difficult. That was why he was able to endure until the end. But now that he was fighting in the Winds of Freedom for real, he could only sigh at his own powerlessness. He needed more training and experience. In the past, he and a bunch of noble youngsters thought that racing on a safe road from one circuit to another was an incredibly simple task. It’s just driving! It’s just an endurance auto race, right?

Bullshit!

Naimi insisted on entering a repair station for maintenance before he told Cillin everything about his thoughts.

“I give up, Cillin. You should take the driver’s seat. Right now I’m not good enough yet.”

Cillin gave it a thought and agreed, “Okay, I’ll drive.”

Vege-Fritter wasn’t the only automobile in the repair station. In fact nearly every participating vehicle was planning to visit the repair station because the sixth circuit would take place under the sea. Death was a real threat if anything were to happen to their vehicle while they were driving underwater, and there was no guarantee that the rescue team could get to them in time every time. It was definitely better to be safe than sorry.

One of the top fours, the blade-shaped car was the only automobile currently parked at Spearhead’s repair station because they had arrived earlier than most. For example, Tobia and Naimi hadn’t shown up yet.

While the repairmen were busy performing emergency maintenance to their car, Spearhead’s racer and current captain of the Spearhead racing team, Danny was talking with his navigator.

“Something’s off about that Vege-Fritter earlier. It was still very fast, but it didn’t feel as hair-raising as before.” The navigator said.

Danny nodded in agreement. “True, it’s almost like it was a different racer altogether…”

It was at this moment both men recalled that Naimi, a member of the Sizer Family was also participating in the race as a navigator. Although Naimi was young, he had participated in many flying car competition before. Even if he had no experience in a grand race like the Winds of Freedom, he should’ve no problems racing in his racer’s stead!

“So Naimi, that young master from the Sizer Family was driving during the last circuit?”

“You’re probably right.”

“But Danny, do you think the actual racer will switch back during the last two circuits?”

“It’s possible, no, it’s very possible. As long as their racer isn’t wounded, they’ll definitely switch back during the next circuit. We need to work harder, that racer is an insane driver.”

A similar conversation was happening between Aero and Lightning’s racer and navigator as well. They had all figured out that Naimi and Cillin must have switched during the fifth circuit.

They had finally arrived at the final two circuits, the mad dash that would decide who would be the victor…

“Time to go!”

When the top four flew out of the repair station, the rest of the competitors were just making their way in. The gap of skill was absolutely clear.

The lit signs of the circuit led the flying cars down a cliff and into the sea. All four vehicles had already made the necessary adjustments and settings to minimize water resistance as much as possible prior to entering the sea.

The most troublesome part of this circuit was the big fellows roaming under the water. Although the authorities had done their work to remove them from this part of the sea, they could just as easily swim back during the race. The good news was that the circuit didn’t lead into the deep sea, so the chance that a racer would run into a big fellow wasn’t high.

Of course, some racers had run into this problem in the past, and there was nothing they could do except to dodge out of the way and hope for the best. However, the act of dodging itself was time consuming, and one second was all it took for the lucky competitor in front of them to gain a sizable lead.

The sea was very beautiful since there weren’t many industrial facilities or man-made pollution on this planet. There were plenty of coral reefs on the sea floors, and the strange fishes and sea creatures going about their business beneath the sea looked very lively. Contrary to expectations, the sea was quite the lively place.

Cillin didn’t stop enjoying the scenery around him just because he was racing. It was because sights like these never failed to invoke emotions that were beyond his control.

A colorful cast of countless sea creatures coexisted in the sea, and the surrounding coral reefs made it look like they were living in a sea carnival. It was a beautiful, natural ecosystem that Cillin rarely saw in his life. Even the coral reefs could be separated into two different kinds, the ones that swayed like flowers and the ones that were as tough as rocks. The sea was the playground of these creatures and their home.

There was a big turtle leisurely moving its forelegs, there was a huge grouper swaying its tail clumsily and honestly forwards, there was a parasite opening its big mouth and allowing small fishes to clean its oral cavity, and there was a goby and a mud lobster building a home they would share while the other stood guard…

Anytime Cillin saw a scenery like this, every time he saw a scenery like this, he would recall the myth-like era the people spoke on TV. After he had left Planet Brown Earth, Cillin witnessed many “myth-like” sceneries that were pure creations of nature that were completely unblemished by man or science. But as beautiful as they were, some people would never get to see them in their lives.

Cillin was enjoying himself, but Naimi was experiencing quite the anxiety attack. It was because Cillin was looking at three windows — the front screen, a live view of the corals, and a wave diagram he knew nothing about — at the same time!

If Naimi wasn’t afraid before, he was definitely afraid now that he had taken over the driver’s seat once for a full circuit. Three windows! Cillin, haven’t you heard the saying that one shouldn’t divide their attention into two, much less three!

Every time Vege-Fritter brushed past a big fish, Naimi felt like his breathing had slowed a beat.

This… this is just too worrisome!

And so Cillin drove, watched, and checked for any abnormal activities on his wave diagram all at the same time. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean, a figure emerged from beneath the seawater and walked to the shore.

The man’s body was covered in scales, and some of them looked damaged and worn. In fact, blue colored blood was seeping out of the less serious wounds, although a scab quickly formed over them. The man shook his arms once after he left the water, his hand never letting go of a certain object he had dug out of a robot’s head.

Swearing under his breath, the man’s scales receded into his body until he looked more or less like a human. Luckily for him, there was no one around to catch sight of him, or they would be screaming about a naked man on the beach.

The man produced a communicator from seemingly nowhere and made a call after he was sure that there was no one around him. He didn’t turn on the video feed though.

“Hey, it’s me, Sediya. This place has been taken care of… Yes, I know, no one saw me… I know, I know, I should pay attention to my image, right? Of course I’m not going to streak, do I look like that kind of person to you? Stop accusing me of immorality and unprofessionalism, will you… right. I got the best sample possible out of all possible targets, I’ll deliver them to you in a moment… Sigh. It’s nothing, it’s just a few hits deep enough to see the bones and a copious amount of bleeding. I’m telling you, you’ve gotta gimme a raise this time… Seriously, I’m not lying! Didn’t you notice that the sea is particularly blue today…”

Cillin didn’t pick up any abnormal machine language activity this time, so the sixth circuit ended in relatively smooth fashion — assuming that the giant squid that had appeared out of nowhere during the middle of the race, and the giant school of fishes who were probably chased over by sharks during the latter half of the circuit didn’t count as an obstacle, that is.

When Vege-Fritter burst out of the sea and claimed first place like it was on steroids, the three competitors following right behind it thought: As expected, that racer’s back in the driver’s seat.

“Hell yeah! Let’s hold onto this momentum and finish this final circuit with a bang, Cillin!” Naimi was so excited that he couldn’t stay seated, although he was a young man in his twenties, so it couldn’t be helped. How anyone this young be expected to stay calm in a situation like this?

Then Naimi glanced at the zombie-like Cillin next to him and scratched his own head. A stranger might’ve thought that Cillin was much older than Naimi judging from his reaction or lack thereof, when in reality they were pretty much the same age. Just why were they so different?

Cillin didn’t stop for a maintenance check this time because one, Vege-Fritter was doing fine and two, he had a rough idea on what really was going on with Black Viper’s robots and was no longer as worried as he was before. He thought to himself: Let’s get this over with.

Cillin activated every squamous propulsion engine there were in Vege-Fritter as his hands kicked into a blur across the control panels. Naimi subconsciously clutched onto his seat the second he saw Cillin’s movements, and a moment of thought later stuffed a pill into his mouth for the first time since the beginning of the race. Naimi’s reaction was understandable considering the impression Cillin had left him during the first circuit, and the young master had a feeling that things would go very badly for him if he had chosen not to take the appropriate measures.

He was right. The last circuit was set on a mountainous, rocky terrain, and a collision here was nothing like a collision against sand dunes. One single mistake might mean the end of the entire race.

The closer the racers were to the end of the race, the more cautious they became. No one wanted to see all their efforts go down the drain.

The sky had gotten dark again, and this without a doubt added to the difficulty of the circuit. Moreover, the lit signs indicated that the racing track were encircling a mountain, so the racers must race around the mountain several times before they reached the bottom. Assuming that the racers made a poor judgment during their flight, they would either slam into the sharp corners in the best case scenario or explode into a ball of fire in the worst, killing both man and car at the same time.

The closer they got to the mountain, the shorter the track became, but the risk associated with danger also grew proportionally bigger. Racing in such an environment demanded a lot of skill, and it was why Naimi felt like his heart would jump out of his throat every time Vege-Fritter brushed past the protruding rocks on the face of the mountain. Just now Naimi took a peek at his analysis data and discovered that they were less than five millimeters away from collision during that last turn!

A lot of racers could’ve done this in the norm, but this was a race and Cillin was flying as fast as he was during the first circuit!

Naimi felt like he could faint at any moment, and a nauseous feeling was sitting firmly in his stomach. Was this the legendary carsickness the normies were talking about? He would be laughed all the way to his death bed if a member of the Sizer Family were to hear about this! A Sizer Family member experiencing carsickness, is that a joke?!

Naimi wasn’t the only one who thought that his situation was ridiculous, the racers behind them were just as astonished. Was he seriously flying in a circuit like this at that speed? Was he trying to win or was he trying to commit suicide?!

Every time Cillin made it past a mountain, the people waiting at the finish line would cheer like mad. It was nighttime now, but the live feed on the giant screen was processed so that every flying car was marked with glaring highlights, so everyone could see the Vege-Fritter that was highlighted in silver zooming past the screen like a literal beam of light.

Gen Xingming was yelling “go faster” and “charge” like crazy, not caring at all if Cillin could even hear his cheers. The people around him didn’t care that it was the nth time he shouted “that’s my bro!” either. Everyone was screaming and cheering like they were in a carnival.

Brielles stared quietly at the giant screen at the center of his vision for a very long time before he chuckled quietly and shook his head. His followers didn’t know what his reaction meant. Everyone here was aware that Brielles, Naimi and a young boy had made a bet with each other, and it looked like that relic Vege-Fritter was actually going to win the race. If that was true, then Brielles was going to lose 100 million MB. 100 million… It was literally the sum of years worth of pocket money. Had they been in Brielles’ position, they would probably have to roam the streets as beggars.

It was only natural for Brielles to feel terrible after losing so much money in one go. That was why no dared to speak up for fear that they would become Brielles’ practice target.

Brielles suddenly got up to his feet and caused everyone of his followers to quake in fear. However, the young man paid no heed to their reaction and turned to his servant, “Prepare the money.”

“About the general…”

“I’ll speak with him about this.”

“Yes, young master.”

Done speaking about money, Brielles waved his people away and walked into his private lounge. Then, he made a call on his communicator. It didn’t take long for a figure both Cillin and Bel were very familiar with to pop up on the screen. It was Nuhatch Tousen.

“What’s wrong? Judging from the time, is there some shit you need me to wipe off your ass again?” Tousen was wearing his military uniform and looking a little travel-worn, but overall he looked pretty spirited. He had probably just come back from a mission not long ago.

Brielles smiled at Tousen before saying, “I lost money today, brother.”

By now Tousen was very familiar with this line already, so he asked carelessly while cleaning the dust on his clothes with a cleaner, “How much?”

“100 million.”

“That’s ok… what did you say?!” The cleaner shattered into countless pieces in his hand as veins popped out of Tousen’s forehead.

“100 million MB.”

Tousen sucked in a deep breath to calm himself. Oh no, I feel like running to the other side and end that little bastard once and for all.

He inhaled deeply again, and once more.

When Tousen finally got his emotions under control, he started talking with barely suppressed anger, “Did you mistake our family for a business-based family like the Sizers?! You lost 100 million in a goddam race?! Do you think 100 million falls from trees or something? Do you know how much allowance I get from the military, and how little I get from bounties despite hunting down a dangerous criminal?! Do you know…”

In the middle of throwing a bunch of “do you know your bro, I”, “do you know our papa” and “do you know our family” at Brielles, Tousen suddenly noticed that something was amiss. In the past, the little bastard would’ve cut him off impatiently with a wave of his hand, but today… something wasn’t right. Something really wasn’t right.

Tousen looked closely at his younger brother’s image. It was just a video feed, but it was enough for Tousen to tell that Brielles was acting strangely.

“Were you… bullied?” Tousen asked tentatively. Money was money; it was something that could be earned as it was spent. But bullying was a different story altogether because it was something that was tied closely to a man’s pride. At a certain level — to borrow his momma’s words — it was something that affects a growing man’s mentality, especially a young man who was already kind of twisted already.

Brielles shook his head and smiled, “No, I just realized a few things during my time here.”

In the past, Brielles had always thought that his brother and his father were just making excuses when they made him pilot flying cars instead of battleships. After all, a battleship was a battleship and a flying car was a flying car; how could they possibly be the same? To make a comparison, a flying car was a land coward and a battleship was a space hero. It was why Brielles had always hated flying cars, his grudge extending even to Naimi of the Sizer Family. It was the main reason they often butted heads against one another.

But now after that match, Brielles felt like he found something he had lost a long time ago. The feeling of being so fast that time itself seemed to freeze in limbo — he felt like the boy who saw a battleship for the first time again. Flying cars weren’t a mistake. He was.

If he kept fooling around like this, where he stood right now might be where he was ever going to be for the rest of his life. He would always be watching others fly from a viewing platform, unless he changed this with his own hands.

At the 23rd military zone, Tousen suddenly felt goosebumps all over his body. What did he just hear? Did his little bastard of a brother really say he “realized a few things”? Did I run into a ghost today*?!

*meaning something like “the sun rises from the west”

“You, you’re watching that winds of something, right? Don’t think too much and don’t do stupid things, okay!? Just stay there and wait for me!”

Tousen turned off his communicator and contacted Brielles’ men immediately; they were all people his papa had sent over to guard his little brother. Unable to question anything useful from their mouths, Tousen ordered them to watch Brielles’ every move and stop him in case he does anything stupid at all cost.

After that, he immediately rang his papa at the imperial capital and exclaimed the second the call went through, “Papa, this is bad, Brielles said he’s realized some things!”

“What?! Did he suffer a shock or something?! Tell the men to stop him from doing stupid things, quickly!”

…

Meanwhile, Brielles stared at his communicator while feeling a little confused. Shouldn’t his brother feel happy for him? So why had he looked at him like he was about to commit suicide?

By now an ear deafening cheer was shaking the world outside, and Brielles put away his communicator after he read a message he received. Then, he beckoned over his servants and subordinates and left the place. The cheers were loud, and the atmosphere was exciting, but it was, after all, not a stage that belonged to him. If he couldn’t walk away from someone else’s stage, if he always lived under the shadow of another’s stage, then he would never truly be able to take a step forwards.

…

When Vege-Fritter raced past the finish line, Gen Xingming literally ran over the people in front of him to reach Cillin.

Cillin had parked Vege-Fritter at a private parking lot to avoid the overly excited crowd, but that didn’t stop Gen Xingming from racing towards him the second he got out of the vehicle. Bel and Ulaganuo were following closely behind him, and Cillin caught a glimpse of Sula somewhere amongst the crowd too.

Sula gestured for him to follow her later, and Cillin gave her a nod before he welcomed Gen Xingming and the others. After receiving a fist-salute congratulations from his friends, he mentioned that he needed to leave a bit for business.

Gen Xingming had seen Sula and a couple of people waiting since a while ago, so he didn’t try to stop Cillin. Then, he turned to look at Naimi still sitting inside Vege-Fritter.

“Hey Naimi, what are you waiting for? Come out already! I’m so excited not even shouting three times can quell the boiling blood in my veins!”

“Yeah, Naimi, come out and party with us already!”

“Naimi, the prize, don’t forget to claim the prize! And don’t forget to wear and handsome formal attire and show off later!”

Naimi looked a little pale even after he looked up in response to their chit chat, but there was no mistaking the excitement in his eyes.

“I want to go party too, but my legs are completely numb after such a long ride! Give me some time to catch my breath first, I’m not a robot like Cillin.”

It was a lie. His legs were in fact shaking with fear, not numbness, but it wasn’t something that Naimi was going to admit readily. Still, his scalp tingled like that of a character in a fairy tale who barely escaped through the gap of a devil’s teeth. Seriously, he would’ve fainted already if he hadn’t wisely taken that pill earlier.

On the other side, Sula led Cillin to a room while saying, “Black Viper had sent their greetings, and we were here to help you. However, your master Guan Feng was the one who really did all the work.”

When the door opened, Cillin was immediately greeted by several unfamiliar faces and two animals.