8:35 PM.
Inside the abandoned Packard factory, thirty xenon headlights pierced through the congealed oil mist.
Zhang Jie's camaro ss was parked on rusty crane tracks, its tachometer needle trembling slightly at 2000 RPM.
The LS3 engine, heavily modified by Tej, now spewed out 503 horsepower, enough to grind the dignity of a stock Hellcat into pulverized concrete.
"Seatbelt."
Zhang Jie said to Aria in the passenger seat.
Her slender fingers pulled the five-point harness, and the metal buckle clicked shut with a clean, swift motion.
"Don't get distracted. I still want to spend a good night with you."
Zhang Jie's left foot precisely controlled the clutch pedal, keeping it in a half-engaged state.
His right index finger lightly caressed the gear shifter, feeling the subtle vibrations of the gearbox gears.
This was the effect of Driving Lv2, a skill Zhang Jie had learned and improved through self-study, allowing him to determine the optimal shifting time purely by mechanical feedback and the tachometer.
She stared ahead, her voice somewhat seductive, "Razor is in the third lane; his GTR has a new turbo."
She shared the information she knew.
"Razor's GTR has a single turbo conversion, but the low-end response will be 0.3 seconds slower," Zhang Jie murmured, his right foot hovering between the accelerator and brake, keeping the engine RPM in the optimal torque range.
Aria raised an eyebrow: "I underestimated you, strong boy. I hope your strength matches your words."
The signal light at the starting line suddenly went out.
The first second... three Dodge Challengers shot out like cannonballs, their superchargers screaming, refracting into a metallic storm between the concrete walls.
The moment the signal light went out, Zhang Jie's left foot fully released the clutch, and his right foot pressed the accelerator directly to 70% open.
This was a technique Zhang Jie learned after studying with Wood: full throttle would cause tire spin, while 70% was just at the edge of maximum grip.
The camaro shot out like a cheetah unleashed from its chains, its rear wheels slipping slightly before immediately regaining traction.
"NOS, now!" Zhang Jie shouted.
Aria understood, and the instant she pressed the red button, Zhang Jie's right hand had already completed the downshift and rev-matching action.
The tachometer needle precisely landed at 6200 RPM, the optimal boost range set by Tej.
The NOS nitrous oxide tank, welded on by Tej, hissed with a 'whoosh' sound, and the rear wheels instantly dug out two rubber trails with sparks.
G-forces pressed the two of them firmly into their racing seats, but Aria's breathing showed no sign of disorder.
The third second... the camaro's front end was almost about to collide with the leading wide-body Mustang, when Aria suddenly yanked the steering wheel: "Left is a dead end!"
The car scraped past collapsed steel beams and plunged into a narrow path; a bone-jarring metallic tearing sound came from the rearview mirror as the Mustang got stuck between the steel frames.
The first corner arrived!
Facing a 90-degree right turn, Zhang Jie employed a late braking technique, braking fully only 30 meters from the apex, using weight transfer to cause the rear of the car to lightly swing out.
The steering wheel was quickly counter-steered in his hands; the push-pull steering method with his left and right hands allowed the car's front to precisely cut into the apex.
"Beautiful..." Aria's right hand tightly gripped the grab handle, unable to help but sigh softly.
She could feel the car dancing on the edge of its limits, yet it never lost control.
This was the difference between Driving Lv2 and an ordinary driver: not brute force, but millimeter-level control to keep the vehicle in a critical state at all times.
The fifty-seventh second... a dazzling white light suddenly flashed in the rearview mirror.
Car number 7 was a GTR with a roll cage welded in, its owner, "Razor," known for ramming opponents before the finish line.
As Razor's GTR approached, Zhang Jie deliberately slowed his corner entry speed, enticing the opponent to take a more aggressive line.
The moment the opponent's front end poked into the inside line, Zhang Jie suddenly downshifted, using engine braking to briefly lock the rear wheels.
The camaro's tail swung out like a whip, perfectly blocking the GTR's overtaking line.
"Wow! That's amazing! Did you calculate that?" Aria shouted excitedly, her eyes wide open, "That's f*cking thrilling!"
"Basic class," Zhang Jie chuckled, his right foot having already completed two consecutive heel-and-toe actions, keeping the RPM consistently within the power band.
But the car behind still pursued relentlessly.
When its carbon fiber front lip was only twenty centimeters from the camaro's rear bumper, Aria also began her performance, pulling a flare gun from her underwear and pulling the trigger through the sunroof.
The moment the burning magnesium flare exploded on the workshop ceiling, all the drivers instinctively hit their brakes.
Except for Zhang Jie's car; Tej's modified titanium alloy exhaust valves were now fully open, and the camaro shot out like a cheetah that had been kicked, the V8's roar creating a sonic boom in the enclosed space.
Who says underground racing is just pure racing?
This is also a prop race!
The last lap.
Only Zhang Jie and "Razor" remained in the lead.
Razor's GTR gradually closed the gap, thanks to its horsepower advantage.
"What's this?" Aria asked, pointing to another red button on the center console.
"A little surprise Tej gave me," Zhang Jie replied casually.
As they approached the corner, when the GTR was only half a car length from Zhang Jie, the GTR suddenly fishtailed and swung sideways, clearly intending to repeat its old trick.
Zhang Jie suddenly tapped the brake, causing a forward weight transfer, then accelerated at full throttle. The camaro shot forward like a racehorse that had been whipped, 503 horsepower perfectly transmitted to the rear wheels through the meticulously tuned differential.
At the same instant, Aria pressed the second red button on the center console, Tej's "surprise."
Two-meter long flames suddenly shot out from both sides of the car's rear; it wasn't nitrous, but gasoline mixed with nitromethane drawn directly from the fuel tank.
The GTR's windows were instantly blackened.
The camaro scraped past its door, crossing the finish line with a 0.3-second advantage, its tachometer just touching Tej's set redline, 7200 RPM, not a single revolution off.
Zhang Jie clearly saw "Razor" giving him the middle finger from inside his roll cage.
Outside, the crowd waiting at the finish line let out an incredulous roar of cheers, watching the camaro steadily stop at the finish line.
Who didn't know Razor was one of the overlords here?
That modified GTR with a new turbo, rumored to have taken down a Ferrari in Chicago last week.
And now?
He was instantly defeated by the camaro!
Even if it was only 0.3 seconds, what did it matter?
Winning is winning.
"Is this your secret?" Aria unbuckled her seatbelt, a smile on her face.
The title of Goddess of Victory once again fell upon her.
"No," Zhang Jie turned off the engine, "This is just a warm-up."
"Oh really? Then tonight I'll have to properly test your true capabilities," Aria smiled, looking even more alluring in the lights.
Opening his car door, Razor Jack looked at Zhang Jie with an annoyed expression, "Welcome to hell, bastard!"
Although his tone was rough, he still stepped forward and shook Zhang Jie's hand, "Good driving!"
Then, Jack turned to Aria, "You should have been in my car tonight."
Aria tilted her head noncommittally, a smile brimming on her face.
"Hehe, I didn't think you'd actually do it, but I bet on the right horse, haha," Tej excitedly approached, his gaze lingering on Aria for a second before turning to Zhang Jie.
"But your car also needs some serious work," Tej got into the car to inspect it, "Damn! You drove even more violently than I imagined!"
Zhang Jie grinned.
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