"The sky is still pitch-black."
Ji Jue looked up, staring into the dark, murky vault of heaven at eight in the morning, feeling an inexplicable pang of oppression.
"The long night arrived early this year. I'm afraid it won't be light until after eleven," the local receptionist sighed. "Years ago, there used to be a gradual transition. It was never this drastic.
"In recent years, the winter nights have grown longer and longer, and the days shorter and shorter. A lot of locals couldn't take it anymore and migrated inland. But there aren't many good places inland, either. The drought over in Liangcheng is getting worse by the day, Kunwu can't grow a thing—not even potatoes—and even Yacheng is getting hotter. I heard last summer lasted six months?"
"A little over five months, but it was indeed hot," Ji Jue nodded. "The winter has been warmer than before, too."
"The experts claim the sun's orbit shifted, entering some kind of mini-whatever period. We folks can't make heads or tails of it anyway," the receptionist said. "Mr. Ji, forgive me for nagging, but are your fuel and warm clothes ready? Once the long night sets in, the ice plains get brutally cold. Last year, some places dropped to tens of degrees below zero."
"Don't worry, we're well prepared."
Ji Jue waved a hand with a smile. "I've never been afraid of the cold by nature. A drop in temperature won't bother me."
A Celestial Chosen at the Metamorphosis stage was already immune to ordinary thermal hazards. Besides, even if he were cast naked onto the ice plains, Ji Jue still possessed the blessing of Crucible Blood. He was a walking heat source—why would he fear a little nip in the air?
Still, the desolate undertone in the receptionist's voice made him acutely realize that the consequences of climate shift might run far deeper than he had anticipated.
Compared to these places, Yacheng, with only a slightly hotter summer, was practically a blessed paradise.
"Let's go."
Ji Jue cast one last glance at the gloomy night sky overhead and the ribbon of emerald-green neon winding its way from the north, then turned and walked toward the venue.
It was the opening day of the Desert Sea Rally.
Outside Heihe—or more precisely, atop Heihe.
Amid the freezing snow and ice outside the small city, the Heihe River—which surged relentlessly for half the year and froze into a solid, winding highway of hard ice for the other half—was packed with throngs of people beneath flashing lights.
The high-pitched roar of engines resonated continuously. Laser lights on the stage swept in all directions, dynamic singing and dancing went on without pause, and the grand opening performance whipped the atmosphere to a fever pitch.
Beyond the surging VIP ticket holders dancing to the electronic beats, crowds continuously gathered along both banks of the several-hundred-meter-wide riverbed. Wherever one went, people always loved a spectacle—especially a triennial extravaganza like this, a major sporting event that drew the gaze of enthusiasts across the entire Federation.
Drones took off and dipped through the air, while high in the gloomy sky, helicopters equipped with cameras captured highlights.
Reporters inside the venue had already begun their interviews.
Even a small local manufacturer competing for the first time, like Haian Auto Works, drew a considerable amount of buzz.
After all, they had the compelling story of a sudden resurgence after reviving in a short time, the novelty of the factory director racing in person, and, above all, Ji Jue had a rather handsome face.
In just a few days, he had gained quite a following online. Most of them, however, were scrappers and modding fanatics like Ji Jue himself, or settlement members and nomads from the wasteland... Aside from those, the majority were anti-fans who delighted in making meme edits.
Still, bad publicity was better than no publicity.
For the sake of his teacher's mission, Ji Jue was perfectly willing to become an internet celebrity making quick cash by hawking goods every single day!
"Mr. Ji, as the driver for Team Haian, what expectations do you have for this race?"
The reporter held out the microphone, looking hopeful. "Could it be that you're aiming straight for first place, ready to make a stunning debut that takes everyone by storm?"
"Not at all, not at all. Friendship first, competition second, right?"
Ji Jue offered an honest, simple smile and nodded at the camera. "I hope everyone drives in style and shows their brilliance. Speaking of which, our Haian Auto Works has also introduced an off-road model called the Radish, perfectly suited for conditions like this—unfazed by wind and snow, fearless before bitter cold, tearing through realms of pain and darkness. This is a tool and a partner tailored specifically for challengers, and right now..."
"Uh, *cough, cough*."
The reporter tugged with all her might, barely managing to yank the microphone back to cut off Ji Jue's seamless sales pitch, a strained smile plastered on her face. "As both the director of Haian Auto and the driver for the team, Mr. Ji is remarkably young. I'm sure our audience before the screen is curious—could you introduce yourself?"
"Ji Jue, male, twenty-one years old, single. But for single folks looking to meet their commuting needs, there's really no need to cram into subways and buses. The mini-model Huanggua is currently selling like hotcakes. If you inquire right now, you can receive a gift set valued at nineteen hundred and eighty-eight—"
*Are you ever going to shut the hell up?!*
The young reporter completely lost her composure. Just as she was about to fish for a new topic, she heard an uproar not far away. The teams from Echo and Tiancheng were entering, and countless reporters instantly swarmed over like flies.
Even the young woman in front of Ji Jue had her eyes light up. Muttering a few polite platitudes, she yanked the microphone away from Ji Jue's relentlessly advertising mouth and hurried off into the scrum.
At the dead center of the crowd stood a hulking figure with slightly dark skin and an expressionless face, towering among the crowd like a crane among chickens—a veritable giant.
His aura was dense and low, projecting an unceasing wave of pressure. He was clearly a Celestial Chosen of the Desolate Ruins who ranked in the Regeneration stage. Yet according to Ji Jue's assessment, this was merely the result of deliberate restraint; the man's spiritus and raw strength were already as vast as a volcano, ready to erupt at any moment.
Clearly, he had already set one foot past the threshold of Exaltation.
Formidable. Excessively formidable.
What sent an even deeper chill down Ji Jue's spine was the navigator beside him from Team Tiancheng: a rare mixed-race woman with blonde hair and an hourglass figure who seemed naturally born to capture every gaze. She handled the interviews with effortless poise, but for a fleeting moment, her eyes seemed to sweep in his direction.
Those emerald-green eyes, like gemstones refracting a crystalline glimmer, silently swirled and shifted, plunging Ji Jue into a hollow daze. But in the next instant, he snapped awake.
The tinder in his eyes flared abruptly. Sensing the stealthy intrusion that had nearly crept in unnoticed, it surged with restless intensity, incinerating that glimmer of faint light into complete oblivion!
Heart Pivot? Or Ascension?
Or perhaps both—a composite matrix paired with equally covert abilities had nearly caught Ji Jue off guard.
Faced with this slight setback, the navigator seemed to smile faintly, entirely unbothered. Instead, she raised her right hand, pointed two fingers toward her own eyes, and then pointed them toward Ji Jue.
It was a mocking gesture, telling him: *I'll be watching you.*
Yet from start to finish, it seemed like nothing more than an illusion. To everyone else, she hadn't moved at all. No one noticed, and not even the cameras captured the exchange.
Ji Jue impassively stared at the silhouette vanishing into the crowd. After a long while, he gave a wave of his hand, and the missile rack rising inside Little Niuma's cabin silently retracted.
There were too many people at the opening ceremony. Turning it into a terrorist attack wouldn't look good.
He pulled his gaze back.
"Want me to take her out for you, Brother Ji Jue?"
Behind him, An Ning, who had been following silently, smiled. "How about cutting off her head and stashing it under their hood? When they pop it open, it'll drop right out—quite a surprise for everyone."
"Nice creativity, but let's hold off on crashing anyone for now," Ji Jue smiled. "I'll handle the crashing later."
As he spoke, he realized his hand had drifted upward. Subconsciously assuming the person behind him was Xiao An, he had intended to rub the boy's head, only for his palm to freeze awkwardly in midair.
"What is it? What's wrong?"
An Ning leaned closer, smiling and batting her eyes, waiting expectantly.
Then she saw Ji Jue crook a finger on his raised hand and flick it unceremoniously toward her forehead.
Unfortunately, it missed—she slipped out of the way.
An Ning let out a playful "Ehe," trailing behind Ji Jue with an even broader smile.
The staff member who had gone to draw lots with the organizing committee returned, looking rather anxious. "Sorry, Mr. Ji, bad luck today. We only drew the fourteenth starting position."
The first wave to start was the 2000cc+ Modified Division, with over twenty teams in total. Drawing fourteenth was already quite far back.
The second wave would be the Stock Division of the same displacement, starting in the afternoon. The second and third days were for other displacements, followed by motorcycles later on...
According to the organizing committee's plan, to bring the race closer to the audience, make ticket buyers feel they had gotten their money's worth, and provide plenty of photo opportunities, there would be a ceremonial start.
The starting point of the first stage was the three-kilometer short track on the ice directly before them.
In the order determined by the draw, the participating teams would launch at thirty-second intervals. During this phase, drivers usually performed stunts for the spectators or showcased performance features as requested by their manufacturers—essentially an exhibition race to heat up the atmosphere.
The order of departure was actually meaningless in the grand scheme, since scores were calculated from the time of departure to the time of arrival at the Kunwu relay point three days later.
Furthermore, for a challenge as severe as the Desert Sea Rally, a minute or two hardly mattered.
Even so, for the competitors, launching earlier naturally captured more audience attention, which was far more cost-effective for the sponsors footing the bill.
"It doesn't matter. Just being here to compete is already advertising," Ji Jue comforted the others with a smile upon noticing their dissatisfied looks. "Rankings are secondary. Simply arriving here is already a victory for us.
"What comes next is just a matter of how big of a win we can take."
With that, he patted the staffer's shoulder and headed up to the stage for the group photo.
Right in the corner, of course.
Paying no heed to the cold or sullen glares around him, he flashed a cheerful, expectant smile, throwing up a V-sign with an innocent look, as if completely unaware of how perilous the world could be.
The hulking giant of a driver glanced his way and paid him no further mind. Beside him, Tiancheng's navigator smiled bewitchingly, her eyes glittering. But when she looked back over, her gaze momentarily froze.
Her eyes subconsciously bypassed Ji Jue and landed on the sweet face beside him looking right back at her.
An Ning.
A hunter's cold eyes met the gaze of the Heart Pivot for a fleeting fraction of a second. The female navigator's expression faltered almost imperceptibly before she pulled her eyes away.
Ji Jue, on the other hand, never looked their way at all.
His gaze drifted into the distance, settling beneath a massive pillar of smoke that reached straight into the heavens from far within the city—the towering silhouette looming in the darkness: a battleship-class volcano engine.
A shame time was short.
Otherwise, he would have loved to shave off a piece of that prize...
Up ahead, a wave of cheering broke out.
The lead car launched!
A massive off-road vehicle roared out from the starting platform, launching off the ramp into midair. After clearing dozens of meters, it landed solidly. The snow tire chains ground against the surface, kicking up countless shards of ice.
The echo of that engine was sheer music to the ears. Amid the restless rumble, not a single anomalous vibration could be heard; it sounded seamless, like the roar of a living beast, utterly intoxicating.
Team Chonghui, rolling out!
From the passenger window, the stubble-faced navigator Shi Ran leaned out to wave at the spectators on both sides. In the midst of the hustle, he seemed to turn back toward the crowd by the platform and wave.
Toward Ji Jue.
He gave a thumbs-up: *Good luck!*
Just like that, the vehicle sped off between the cheering crowds and vanished into the distance.
Next came Echo. Though the driver looked like a giant, the vehicle's dimensions were equally exaggerated, resembling a rampaging fortress. Spiritus circuits surged and shifted intricately within, radiating an overwhelming aura borne of ascending spiritus.
The crowd's cheers rose in wave after wave.
With each subsequent launch, the atmosphere climbed higher, growing increasingly frenzied and intense.
Amid the roar, the thirteenth car lined up to start.
Team Bailong.
A young driver with a buzzcut was somehow bare-chested despite the freezing cold, plastered from head to toe with logos of automakers and sponsors. His muscles bulged as he bared his teeth in a grin at the camera.
Both rows of teeth were made of black metal, embossed with raised pinyin of profanities.
As the car passed by, the driver let out a wild laugh, glanced back at Ji Jue waiting in line behind him, and casually raised a hand to drag a finger across his own throat.
Finally, he flipped the middle finger.
Ji Jue's brow arched, and he smiled.
He remained completely unfazed, as if he hadn't seen a thing.
Beside him, however, a chill glinted in the girl's indifferent eyes.
And within the darkness of Ji Jue's own eyes, a hellish tinder flared.
Those two pairs of eyes—completely different yet remarkably alike—made the speeding driver blink in astonishment. A sudden shiver ran down his spine, and he cursed under his breath.
*Damn psycho...*
Ji Jue watched him pull away, then turned to the side and waved.
He called over a mechanic in the corner and pointed to the cigarette that had just been lit between the man's lips.
"Give me that."
"Huh?" The mechanic reached into his pocket to pull out a fresh one, but Ji Jue waved his hand. "No need, that one will do."
The dazed mechanic froze. He wanted to say something, but upon meeting those pitch-black eyes, his body moved on instinct. He took the freshly lit cigarette from his mouth, hesitated, wiped the filter on his clothes, and carefully handed it over filter-first.
"Thanks."
Ji Jue pinched the glowing cigarette between his fingers with a faint smile.
*BOOM!*
In the distance, amid a screech of metal on ice, the sound of a violent crash erupted alongside screaming spectators—an accident!
Team Bailong, barely a kilometer into their run, suffered a blowout without any warning. The car skidded across the ice, spinning helplessly before slamming headlong into the barrier and burying itself in a snowbank strewn with gravel and mud, nearly plowing straight into the crowd.
The safety marshals waiting on either side stood dumbfounded. They were brought in every year just to fill headcounts and go through the motions—who could have expected an accident this year of all times?
Stunned speechless, before they could even signal, they saw it...
A dazzling burst of light surged out from the launch platform alongside the high-pitched roar of an engine.
Steel bellowed.
Amid the cheers of the crowd, the sinister, pitch-black Little Niuma vaulted into the air and slammed heavily onto the ground. The matte paint on its armor reflected countless flashes of light as its massive, heavy wheels crushed the ice, rocketing forward once more!
Roaring and charging!
That unprecedented, piercing shriek was like a monster abruptly manifesting from the dark, howling at the top of its lungs right into everyone's ears!
After a split second of dead silence, the entire venue erupted into a roaring tide of cheers and chants, whipped into pure delirium!
Ignoring the voice of the organizing committee staff over the radio, Ji Jue rested one arm on the windowsill and floored the accelerator. Little Niuma roared in pure exhilaration, relishing the cheers and awe. In just a few seconds, it hit one hundred and ninety kilometers per hour, flashing past the spectators on both sides like an oncoming storm.
By the time the sluggish crowd managed to cheer, their open mouths caught only a mouthful of ferocious, howling frost!
It tore across the short track in brazen glory. Then, a fresh wave of screams broke out—the hurtling Little Niuma suddenly appeared to slip, its chassis swaying violently.
Then, carried by the momentum of the slide, it went into a mad spin!
Under the glare of helicopter searchlights, the crowd's shouting reached a fever pitch as they watched the spinning black vehicle slide across the ice like a rolling boulder, hurtling straight toward the stranded Bailong!
Inside the Bailong cabin, the navigator and driver sat frozen, paralyzed on the spot.
Their twisted expressions were illuminated by the harsh glare of headlights. Instinctively, they scrambled to unbuckle their seatbelts and bail out.
Yet in the next instant, the eerie black vehicle from Haian seemed to defy all laws of inertia and gravity, screeching to a dead halt without the slightest warning.
With an effortless fishtail, it churned up countless shards of ice and mud from the ground, sending a grayish-black wave splashing directly over the two stunned faces that had just poked out the windows.
Directly into their eyes, ears, mouths, and noses.
Drenched to the bone!
The blinding headlights glared right into their faces, highlighting every detail of their utterly pathetic states.
Magnified by the cameras, the scene was broadcast across every live-stream screen.
Only then did the ear-splitting screech of friction cut off entirely. The gap between Little Niuma's body and theirs was less than a single centimeter.
The two faces twitched, turning from pale to flushed and livid, nearly roaring in fury.
"Sorry, couldn't find a trash can."
A hand resting on the window frame lifted, casually flicking a half-smoked cigarette onto their hood. With a crisp flick, sparks burst and promptly fizzled out in the mud and slush.
Behind the window, Ji Jue offered a genial smile. "When you head back to the dump, do me a favor and take this with you."
*Roar!*
The engine thundered into reverse, spraying another wave of slush and snow powder.
Then, amid a tidal wave of screams and cheers, it accelerated once more, leaving behind a thick trail of exhaust.
Arrogant and unrestrained, it sped straight toward the snowy plains!
Chapter 354