Brian's plan was solid. If Ethan had been just an ordinary young man, he might have really managed to shake him off.
However, Ethan wasn't ordinary. Even after Brian sped along for half an hour, Ethan and Diana's car remained steadily behind him.
What made it worse was that every time Brian slightly slowed down, Ethan would flash his lights from behind, as if mocking him: Keep going, don't stop now.
Unable to contain his frustration, Brian tried two more times, but still couldn't shake Ethan off. He realized that Ethan's driving skills were definitely on par with his. In fact, he had a vague feeling Ethan might actually be better, but he didn't want to admit it.
Eventually, Brian led Ethan to the race location. After parking his car, he remained seated, questioning his life choices.
He suddenly remembered what Harry had told him at noon. Maybe Harry was right—his skills weren't that great after all.
Just as Brian started wondering whether his driving ability could even get Dominic's attention, he noticed Ethan had already walked up to Dominic.
Brian quickly got out of the car and rushed over, just in time to hear Dominic say, "I'm not interested in racing a kid."
"Afraid of losing?" Ethan asked.
Dominic looked like he had just heard a joke. He pointed at himself, smiling in amusement. "You think I'm afraid of losing? You serious?"
The people around them found it amusing. At the same time, they were curious about what this young guy Ethan had to rely on to dare speak to Toretto like that.
No matter what was really going on, the crowd was eager to see a good show. So, they actively encouraged the atmosphere.
"Alright, I'll race you. But you should know, it costs two thousand dollars to enter."
Ethan nodded and casually reached into his pants pocket, pulling out a stack of cash.
"Here's six thousand."
"Six thousand?"
Ethan pointed at himself, then at Diana beside him, and finally at Brian, who had just arrived.
"Any questions?"
Dominic glanced around, then took out two thousand dollars of his own.
"No problem. It's just one race anyway."
He felt like this guy was just handing him money. He really didn't believe anyone could beat him. And the moment Ethan drove his car over, he immediately recognized it as a sample car from Harry's shop.
"Harry's car?"
Dominic shook his head speechlessly. He was increasingly convinced that Ethan was just a rich kid looking for a thrill. He just wanted to finish this race quickly and head home to rest.
Ethan didn't say much. He drove the car to the pre-designated track and quietly waited for the others to block off the road.
This group of street racers would cordon off a section of the road to prevent regular cars from passing. They'd wait until the police were busy with something else, then start racing. Even if the police were alerted, they wouldn't be able to get there in time.
"Drag race?" Brian still seemed a bit confused. He hadn't figured out what was going on and was somehow inexplicably dragged into the race.
Hearing Ethan's words from the car next to him, Brian snapped back to reality.
"Yeah."
Drag races test gear shifting skills and a car's performance. Under such conditions, Ethan's car held no advantage.
"What a boring race."
Compared to speeding on open roads, this type of drag race felt dull to Ethan.
The early movies in this series were low-budget and niche, and only later did they evolve into high-budget action films with increasingly thrilling races.
Compared to those, this initial race felt unimpressive. But that didn't stop Ethan from having fun.
Once everything was ready, Ethan began slowly injecting magic into the car. This would make the car more durable and able to reach astonishing speeds.
In this state, neither Brian nor Dominic had any chance of winning. Although Diana had strong control over her own power, she couldn't execute such precise operations, so she wasn't a threat to Ethan either.
After crossing the finish line, Ethan casually reclaimed the few thousand dollars and looked straight at Dominic.
"If you're not convinced, we can race again. You can choose the race format."
Dominic looked disheartened. He suspected Ethan had cheated, but saying that would make him sound like a sore loser. So he didn't say anything or suggest another race. He simply walked away.
Brian felt even worse. He had wanted to impress Dominic, but the guy didn't even acknowledge him. How was his plan supposed to move forward now?
Because the race ended quickly, Ethan and Brian left immediately. So when the police received a report and rushed over, Ethan and the others were already gone.
Dominic had already returned home. Brian had lost his opportunity to "save" Dominic, and the plot began to shift.
Brian felt frustrated. What made it worse was discovering that Ethan actually knew who he really was.
"I don't get your logic. Why go undercover in their gang? Just to get evidence?"
"What are you talking about? I don't really understand."
Ethan casually tossed Brian a can of beer. Brian didn't see where it came from, but he didn't think much about it. What mattered more was that his identity seemed to be exposed.
"Brian O'Conner, LAPD officer. Assigned as an undercover agent in a joint operation between the FBI and LAPD to infiltrate Dominic Toretto's crew."
"Who the hell are you?"
Brian's identity was confidential. Only the joint task force knew about it, and they were all stationed at a seized mansion. The team wouldn't disband until the case was over. So there was no way they had leaked his identity.
"Just a passerby who finds what you're doing ridiculous. I'm just here to give you a friendly reminder."
Brian was at a loss. Ethan's reply left him speechless. He couldn't help but feel that this guy was looking down on him.
"I don't know how you found out about me, but you'd better not tell anyone," Brian warned, then added, "And you should leave this place as soon as you can."
With that, he got in his car and drove away. He wanted to get as far away from Ethan as possible.
It wasn't until Brian's car disappeared from view that Ethan waved at Diana.
"What do you want to do next?"
"I'll show you a trick."
Since arriving in this world, Diana had mostly been observing the excitement around her. Although she had joined a race, the win was too easy and not fun at all. She had been considering suggesting they go somewhere else when Ethan suddenly said he wanted to show her a trick.
Given Ethan's strength, this definitely wasn't some street magician's trick. She was genuinely curious about what he had planned.
"Stand next to me."
After signaling Diana to come closer, Ethan straightened his left arm, palm facing downward, while his right hand was raised to shoulder height, also open.
As Ethan struck the pose, a green light emerged from the ground. Then, a green magical glow formed a magic circle. Layers of rings and runes rose and slowly rotated around Ethan and Diana as they stood on the circle.
"What kind of magic is this?"
"Time."
As Ethan spoke, Diana noticed that the surrounding scenery was changing rapidly. A moment ago it had been night, but in the blink of an eye, the sun was already high in the sky.
"Why are you doing this?"
Diana quickly understood what this magic represented, but she was puzzled as to Ethan's reason for using it.
Ethan lightly rotated his raised right hand, and the scenery around them began to shift rapidly. The two were no longer standing by the roadside but were continuously "moving" through different places.
Diana realized that although everything around them kept changing, the view was always centered on Brian and Dominic.
Ethan had returned to a normal stance by now, though his hands were still glowing with magical light, indicating that he needed to sustain the spell manually. It wasn't the kind of magic that continued automatically after being cast.
After a glance, Diana turned back to observe the scenes around her. She saw Brian infiltrate Toretto's group and eventually become romantically involved with Toretto's sister, Mia.
As time passed, it was clear Brian's feelings had shifted. He nearly forgot his mission and even began to believe Dominic wasn't the criminal he was after.
But the truth proved him wrong. Dominic and his "family" were indeed the culprits Brian was tasked with apprehending. In the end, when Brian had the chance to arrest Toretto, he let him go.
Unsurprisingly, he lost his job. After letting Dominic escape and losing his position, Brian didn't end up with Mia either. He left Los Angeles and started a new life on the East Coast.
After watching this "play" unfold from start to finish with Ethan, Diana found herself speechless. She didn't even know how to evaluate Brian anymore.
"I thought things would change more, but it ended up the same."
The magical light on Ethan's hands slowly faded. The images around them disappeared first, followed by the light rings and runes. Finally, the magic circle beneath their feet dimmed and vanished.
When everything returned to normal, Diana found they were still standing in the same spot. Their two cars were quietly parked nearby, and it was still nighttime.
(To be continued.)