Unexpected

"Got it!" Cheng Shuang was overjoyed, her hands trembling so hard she could barely hold the vial of spiritus tonic from her bag. More than half of it spilled across her face, but the instant a sliver of spiritus recovered, she raised her hand once again toward the Kunpeng. To the naked eye, the speeding supercar suddenly seemed to lose all power, rapidly shedding velocity. Stripped of its earlier nimbleness, it allowed the Mustang to overtake it before coasting crookedly to the roadside, coming to a halt. The engine cut out. "Mwah, baby, aww~ give me a hug~" In the driver's seat, Chen Yubo grinned foolishly, completely oblivious, submerged in the sudden illusion with drool practically pooling at his lips. "Hmm? You want hugs too? Group hug, group hug... "Who's the cutest little kitty in the whole wide world? Our Ah Fu and Sheriff, of course, right? "Mua~ Mua~" Beside him, Ji Jue wasn't faring much better. The moment he had sensed the anomalous spiritus fluctuation, he had braced his defenses, but the blessing originating from Heart Pivot and Mirror dragged him into a phantasm in an instant. He had completely forgotten where he was. Through the haze, only crisp, silver-bell laughter echoed in his ears. Enveloped in a rosy-pink radiance, someone held his hand, strolling with him through a bustling night market, sitting beside him on a Ferris wheel to gaze at the romantic vista. Pressed close against one another, embracing, kissing—so intimate. Yet Ji Jue could not see her face clearly. No matter what, he couldn't tell who it was. Her tall figure and spirited smile felt like Sister Wen, comforting and reassuring; yet those clear, sparkling eyes resembled the senior's, like distant moonlight that naturally drew longing while remaining forever out of reach. Then she shifted into someone petite and delicate, looking just like Xiao—Holy fuck! Within the hazy dream, a sudden chill ran down Ji Jue's spine, and his eyes snapped wide. Instantly! Jarred! Awake! No, no, no! Anything but that! Absolutely not! The rosy light coiling throughout the cabin shattered silently like a burst bubble beneath his surging outrage and shock. And just ahead, in the Mustang's passenger seat, a bloodcurdling scream erupted. Without warning, the kaleidoscope exploded! Like a bomb, jagged shards of iron and mirrored lenses blew outward, shredding into Cheng Shuang's face and instantly leaving her attractive features dripping with blood. Immediately after, thick, dark blood began seeping from her nose and mouth. Cheng Shuang shrieked in terror. In that split second, as the alchemical creation ruptured out of control, a tempestuous, terrifying backlash tore through the spiritus connection, bringing with it a distant, hideous vision that completely swallowed her whole. "Fire! Fire! Help me, so much fire!" Cheng Shuang screamed, thrashing and howling in terror against the restraint of her seat belt as if she were about to be consumed by flame, plunging into a fathomless tide of fire. The sky burned; the earth turned to a smelting furnace. All things in the world, utterly destroyed. Only despair and ruin remained amid the ashes... Even with the buffer of an alchemical creation, she could not dissipate that horrifying aura. In a mere instant, it had been indelibly branded into her soul, impossible to forget and impossible to erase. Mercifully, the torment did not last long. Amid her hysterical screeching, she swiftly lost consciousness, convulsing once before slumping into a dead faint. Without the blessing's enhancement, the Mustang, which had been hurtling forward at breakneck speed, began to shudder. Strange rattles surfaced, and the vehicle showed signs of losing control. Worse yet, Mu Jiang caught sight of the Kunpeng in his rearview mirror—the car he had left far behind was reappearing. Its speed was even faster than before! Cutting straight across the entire S-curve, the car boldly slammed through the guardrail... And took flight!!! As if soaring on invisible wings, the Kunpeng sailed through midair, easily utilizing the two-meter elevation drop to leave the entire S-curve behind. It touched down smoothly. After merely two slight bounces, its ridiculously formidable suspension and balance completely negated the downward momentum. Once again, it was breathing down his neck! Mu Jiang could already faintly make out Chen Yubo's face in the driver's seat, spewing furious curses. "Fuck, fuck, fuck... what the hell is that?!" Drenched in cold sweat, Mu Jiang cursed incoherently while frantically shoving Cheng Shuang, but he couldn't wake the completely unconscious woman. "I'll take you down with me!" He squeezed the pendant around his neck—an alchemical artifact he had paid a fortune to purchase from the Empire. Bearing the blessing of the Ascension lineage, it accelerated his mental processing to produce the bizarre sensation of time slowing to a crawl. The cost, however, was a splitting headache after every use, and repeated activations risked schizophrenia or complete madness. Yet he had no room to care anymore. A glow flared once more in his eyes. A reaction speed far surpassing any professional racer's asserted itself again. The Mustang's rear swung as it swayed left and right across the narrow road, ruthlessly shutting down every overtaking lane for the car behind. "Pass me then! Try passing me!" Mu Jiang bared his teeth, tasting the sweet tang of nosebleed trickling into the corner of his mouth, and rasped with venom, "The drainage ditch on the corner ahead doesn't even have a fucking cover! How the hell are you gonna pass me?!" Immediately after, as the Mustang entered the turn, a deafening engine roar erupted behind it. The pursuing Kunpeng was accelerating yet again! *Bro, check out this move!* Accompanied by wild laughter echoing from deep within the engine, the revitalized Kunpeng unleashed its power with violent abandon. On the dashboard, paddle shifters, assorted buttons, and differential lock switches shifted in a flash, as if manipulated by a multitude of invisible hands. Then, before Mu Jiang's dumbfounded gaze, the speeding Kunpeng's left wheels rolled over roadside gravel and bounced violently upward! Just like that, the heavy chassis tilted upward on its left side... transitioning from four wheels on the asphalt to balancing on just the two right wheels in a stunt bicycle ride! Where the fuck did this stunt driver come from?! Amid throbbing spikes of agony in his skull, Mu Jiang's vision blurred. The only clear image was the roof of the Kunpeng exposing itself right before his eyes as it overtook him... Was he hallucinating? Or had he accidentally popped something before the race? It happened in the blink of an eye. Blasting forward at 341 kilometers per hour on two side wheels, the Kunpeng completed an inside pass! All without shedding a single bit of speed. Then, like a magic trick, the Kunpeng, positioned directly in front of the Mustang, snapped into a violent drift and pirouette. Its spinning tires suddenly reversed direction, kicking up a plume of blue smoke. In the span of a breath, the Kunpeng had 'turned around,' running in reverse directly in front of the Mustang at full tilt, and switched off its headlights. Instantly, the scene inside the cabin was illuminated by the Mustang's high beams. Reeling from dizziness, Chen Yubo instinctively turned back to look at Ji Jue. The two exchanged a smirk, raised their heads toward Mu Jiang, and thrust their hands up. Four gleaming middle fingers jutted out, searing themselves permanently onto Mu Jiang's retinas. In the glare of the lights, Chen Yubo glimpsed the livid face behind the opposite windshield—the nosebleed, the frantic cursing, the picture of impotent fury! Then, with another high-speed drift and spin, the Kunpeng whipped its nose forward, pinned the throttle, and stopped bothering with the smoking, clattering Mustang. Down the winding mountain pass, it roared away. Fading into the distance. "Fuck! Fuck! God dammit—" Mu Jiang roared, stomping on the gas pedal again and again, but the engine's whine grew shriller and shriller until a violent bang blasted from beneath the rear hatch. Thick smoke billowed. Losing speed, the car skidded violently, slammed into the guardrail, smashed right through it, and crashed into the woods, completely wrecked. Only hoarse shouts and curses drifted out of the darkness. Until finally, silence fell. A minute and a half later, at 6 minutes and 51 seconds from the start of the race, the Kunpeng crossed the finish line beneath the watchful gaze of the overhead drone, completing the run. "Holy shit?" The club members waiting near the finish line stared at the familiar car. Even after watching the entire sequence relayed through the drone feed, they were still left dumbstruck. "He actually won?" For real? Old Chen won?! Did the sun rise in the west?! "Whew, haha, hahahaha!" Chen Yubo, who had looked half-dead just moments ago, stepped out of the car with a flushed face, dancing in wild jubilation. "Fuck yeah! That was fucking amazing!!" Downing an offered flute of champagne in one gulp, he ignored everyone else, turned around, threw his arms around Ji Jue in a massive bear hug, and slapped him heavily on the back. "Thanks, bro!" His eyes shone with excitement. "I've been messing with cars for years, and this is the first time it's ever felt this thrilling!" "Don't mention it. My help was trivial; it all came down to your hard work, Brother Chen!" Ji Jue smiled modestly, giving the client all the validation he could want: *Even if you looked pathetic clutching a trash bag and puking earlier, the way you're about to wire my final payment looks mighty handsome.* *Come again next time, boss!* After a round of polite pleasantries, Ji Jue looked up into the night sky at another drone concealed in the darkness. Under the control of Deus Ex Machina, it departed silently, heading in the direction where Mu Jiang had crashed. He still had a score to settle with that subcontractor lady... Along the drive, the overhead view of the track and road conditions relayed by the drone had been routed through Ji Jue directly into the Kunpeng's consciousness. It was precisely because of that aerial reconnaissance that he had felt confident enough to let the Kunpeng make that astonishing leap across the S-curve. Now, through the drone's vantage, the midnight scenery of Mount Lianhua looked vastly different from the daytime, far more treacherous and brooding, like a crouching beast. The winding ribbon of streetlights failed to pierce the surrounding dark; the mountain lay quiet in the night, never swayed by the petty joys and sorrows of mortals. Absorbing the aerial view, Ji Jue thought to himself with casual appreciation: *There are a few great vantage points up here. If I set up a heavy sniper rifle, I could lock down every single head at the finish line—even Sovereign Virtue couldn't save them! Wait, shit—* In that split second, through the drone's lens, he caught a glimmer of faint light. Like the glow of a phone screen, it faintly illuminated a blurred silhouette prone on the ground, along with the heavy, blackened barrel in the figure's hands, steadily aiming in their direction... —A rifle?! In that instant, Ji Jue threw himself to the ground without a second thought, simultaneously kicking Young Master Chen viciously behind the knees and sending him sprawling into the dirt like a tumbling gourd, unable to get up. "Hey, Old Ji, what the..." Chen Yubo instinctively moved to flare up in anger, but his expression softened the moment he saw who had kicked him. He was about to say that Old Ji was taking the joke too far. Before the words could leave his mouth, the earth nearby shuddered violently, accompanied by the shrill screech of tearing steel. A gaping, mangled bullet hole burst through the tilting lamppost beside them. A chill plunged straight to his bones. A sniper!!!