Chapter 116: Low Speed, High RPM

Incredible!

Miss Lin had never seen anyone drive like this before.

When a car encounters a narrow right-angle turn that it cannot negotiate while moving forward, the solution is to turn halfway, then find a way to spin the car in place by half a revolution, bringing the front end out of the blind corner. That solves the problem of insufficient space.

This was absolutely the sort of maneuver that could be accomplished only in theory. In real life, there probably were not many people capable of actually pulling it off.

And Mo Shu was attempting it for the very first time. He had never studied this passage before, nor had he even walked through it or gotten out of the car to inspect the actual road conditions.

“Wow! That’s amazing!” Xiao Yao could not help praising him. Through the drone’s aerial footage, he had watched the entire spectacular performance of Mo Shu sliding the car sideways.

“Hm? What’s so amazing about it? Driving at a snail’s pace? Turning at a snail’s pace? I might be able to do that too.” The assistant director still wore an ignorant, overconfident expression as he voiced his disdain for Mo Shu.

Xiao Yao raised his brows, feeling rather helpless. He had no choice but to explain.

“It’s like riding a bicycle across a narrow log bridge. If you’re traveling in a straight line at a moderate speed, most people could probably make it across safely.

“But if the path were curved and you could only ride slowly, then you would need much more precise judgment of distance, along with constant, minute adjustments in the way you controlled your body.”

“Um... forgive me for saying so, Director, but even then, there may well be someone among us who could ride a bicycle across a curved log bridge. Wouldn’t you agree?” After all, he was the assistant director, one rank below the chief director. If he wanted to debate the matter with the chief director, he needed some support from the others.

“That’s right, that’s right. Director Xiao, please explain it to us a little more. We don’t really understand what makes Mo Shu’s driving so remarkable. Aren’t racing drivers supposed to compete on speed? What’s so special about taking a turn slowly?” one of the assistant director’s staff members chimed in.

Xiao Yao gave another helpless, wry smile before speaking again.

“You all drive to and from work every day, don’t you? How can you not understand such basic knowledge, yet keep claiming that you can handle every kind of variety show? In my opinion, if our channel launches a racing program in the future, every one of you will be unqualified and will need to be transferred elsewhere!”

“But we really don’t understand. Please enlighten us,” another female colleague with a sweet appearance said, half teasing and half pleading.

“How should I put it? Do you know what a launch start is in racing?” Xiao Yao asked.

The group shook their heads repeatedly. What on earth was a launch start? Some kind of rubber-band takeoff?

“A launch start is a racing technique in which the driver raises the engine speed while the car is stationary, then suddenly releases the brakes at the right moment to achieve a higher initial speed. There are three key elements: high engine speed, a low gear, and the racing car lunging forward violently. That should make it easier to understand.

“Mo Shu’s current maneuver also involves the first two elements—high engine speed and a low gear—but he has gone against the usual practice. Instead of allowing the car to surge forward, he has kept it moving at an extremely low and stable speed. He is using the force generated by the tires spinning in place, combined with subtle steering adjustments, to alter the angle of the car little by little. That allows him to overcome the awkward problem of having an insufficient turning radius in these two right-angle bends. Do you understand now?”

“Ohhh...” The group listened with varying degrees of comprehension. They decided that simply understanding it as incredibly impressive was probably good enough.

“Let me put it this way,” Xiao Yao sighed as he looked at them. “You’d better not try this with your own cars. This technique requires an excellent feel for vehicle control, as well as a great deal of accumulated experience, before there is any chance of success.”

“Understood. Thank you for the instruction, Director Xiao.”

“Okay, I definitely won’t try it with my own car. That thing is worth two years of my salary.”

After Xiao Yao’s explanation, the group that had been egging on the assistant director moments earlier now cast admiring looks toward Mo Shu inside the passage.

Seeing this, the assistant director could no longer forcefully argue the point. He did not really understand the technical details Xiao Yao had explained either, but it certainly sounded extraordinarily impressive.

Through the monitors, everyone saw that Mo Shu had already made it safely through the first right-angle bend. With the experience he had gained, the second bend should pose no great difficulty.

Everyone also noticed that while Mo Shu was slowly negotiating the turn, the two members of Team Heavenly Kings had greatly narrowed the gap between them.

In fact, before Mo Shu completed the second bend, Team Heavenly Kings had managed to take a small lead thanks to their formidable leg strength.

Fortunately, immediately after the second right-angle bend, the passage opened into a broad, roughly two-hundred-meter straightaway. This was where the two teams would finally settle the outcome.

In the other passage, Zhang and Zheng had no idea what was happening on Mo Shu’s side. However, relying on the continuous roar of the engine reaching their ears—and on Zhang’s many years of experience driving and playing with cars—they had worked out that when the engine’s roar gradually faded, it would mean Mo Shu had cleared the most difficult section. Team Heavenly Kings had to reach the finish line before that sound disappeared.

Otherwise, over the remaining two hundred meters of straight road, even if Team Heavenly Kings drew almost level with the finish, Mo Shu would need only a light press of the accelerator to defeat them in an instant.

“Faster! Old Zheng, we need to push harder. I have a feeling that driver is about to come out of the bend.” King Zhang wiped the sweat from his cheek, completely abandoning the flawless image he had carefully cultivated for years. He did nothing but urge Zheng onward as they prepared for one final effort.

“Brother Zhang, are you sure that young driver is really as incredible as you think?” Truth be told, Zheng also had some doubts about Mo Shu’s ability.

“Don’t worry. If he can apply that much throttle inside a right-angle bend without having an accident, then things must be exactly as I imagined. You should know that back in my day, there was a driver over in our part of the world who possessed the astonishing ability to force a turn in narrow alleyways like this. I still remember his nickname—Ajie, the Car God.”

King Zhang described him as though he were talking about a Hong Kong film centered on racing.

“Okay, okay! Come on, let’s give it everything we’ve got!” Seeing how serious Zhang was, Zheng did not dare slack off either.

He thought back to his days competing in football. Even then, he had never fought with this much determination. Now, an unknown young racing driver had forced a seasoned veteran like him to give everything he had. The thought was truly hard to swallow.

That resentment, however, would last only for a moment. Before long, Zheng would realize that his defeat was entirely convincing—and regret not pushing himself even harder at the start.

At the final moment, King Zhang protected the corn from falling out of the vehicle, while Zheng gripped the flat handlebars tightly with both hands and sprinted all the way to the finish. After they hastily unloaded the remaining bags of corn, they were just about to high-five and celebrate taking first place in the opening round when they discovered Mo Shu and Miss Lin leisurely leaning against the back of their vehicle.

The two of them were gazing at the pair of kings with broad smiles, wearing faintly embarrassed expressions.