Chapter 19

"Good work," the intercom voice praised in Lily's ear, before cutting off abruptly.

Lily grinned widely as she observed that the front of her car had received no damage from the impact. The one-of-a-kind vehicle had cost her millions to customize. It could probably survive an impact with a train, much less another race car.

This was what the Blue Clan deserved for hurting Zhong Ni.

The other racers that had harbored plans of usurping Tom Hanks in the race retreated immediately upon witnessing what just happened to Streaming Falcon. Going against her was a death wish.

Her rose gold car knocked its opponents out of the race one after another like dominoes. The air was punctured by sounds of impacting cars as they flipped in the air, crashed into one another, taking turns in the undirected chaos. Soon, the stadium bloomed with radiant red and yellow as explosions took over the arena. Everyone's screams were obscured by the roaring sounds of the cars whizzing past each other.

And yet despite all the chaos, the race was still proceeding according to the profession's unspoken rules. Everything had just occurred a little more dramatically than usual.

Underground racing was a game of life and death. It wasn't founded upon morality, it didn't follow any laws, and the racers were not meant to be courteous to one another. It was a bloody battle, especially this particular race, thanks to the stakes at hand. F1 Stadium was currently hosting the world's premier, most bloodthirsty event.

"What is this?"

Su Luo attempted to placate Xia Lin, who was nearly convulsing in fear. He raised an eyebrow and threw a glance at Zhong Ni. "That's how these races are supposed to go?"

Zhong Ni's eyes were following the rose gold car as it made its way around the rack, mesmerized. At Su Luo's voice, he raised his head to observe the other cars on the screen. "I'm not sure. I've never participated in a race where everyone was scrabbling to be the King of Racing."

In all his time as an elite racer of the sport, he'd never had the opportunity to race for the title.

"If you joined the race," Shu Kori asked suddenly, "would you be able to come back alive?"

Zhong Ni didn't respond for a while. Then, he shook his head. "I don't know, but it would be dangerous."

"Why not?" Xia Lin looked startled. "You can't be like her?"

Zhong Ni shifted his eyes back towards the victorious rose gold blur on the screen. "Girl," he said with his brows raised, "do you have any idea who she is? She's Tom Hanks! She sits at the apex of underworld car racing. Her vehicle has been customized by the best of the best. You saw yourself just now… none of those repeated impacts made even a tiny dent in the car. Who in their right mind would fight with her?"

"Besides, this Racing King title affects a lot of people. Trying to win against her is like an egg wrestling with a rock. Who do you think would win? No one wants to try ramming their car into hers. And they couldn't even if they wanted to. Look at her speed, it's out of this world."

Everyone heard the implication behind Zhong Ni's words. A person would have to be extraordinarily confident to attempt to ram their car into Tom Hanks's, but if he were to get on the race track, the situation would be different. Everyone would come onto him, and considering how insane the race had become, who knew whether he'd survive or not?

"Does she remind you guys of anyone?" Su Luo was also following Tom Hanks's car.

Shu Kori turned to look at him. "Who?"

Zhong Ni, who had always idolized Tom Hanks, scrunched his brows and contemplated Su Luo's words. "That 360-degree turn was perfectly executed," he said. "I feel like I've seen it somewhere before."

"The day we were running away from those people, right?"

"That's right! Yes! That day it was a 180-degree turn, and today's was 360. I knew I'd seen it somewhere before! But her… could it be?" Xiao Yup suddenly slapped his leg and jumped up in excitement, his eyes glittering ecstatically.

At his words, Shu Kori shook his head slowly, and unconsciously, his gaze softened warmly as he continued watching the car. Lily was apologizing in her own way. She was reckless and impulsive, but she wasn't heartless. He felt his heart skip a beat over such a woman.

~~~

Lily's car came to a full stop with an ear-splitting squeal in the position of first place. She smirked smugly and go out of the car, sauntering slowly to the front of the vehicle. A soft, pleasant breeze swept her raven black hair into the air as she leaned against her car, reveling in the thunderous cheers from the spectators.

She smiled widely. It'd been a long time since she last raced and she was a bit out of practice. At least she was doing it for the sake of the territorial war, so it couldn't really be considered an actual car race — she wasn't racing for the sake of it. There was an actual purpose behind the necessity to win first place, so she didn't feel too bad for nabbing first place and sending the other cars in a perilous game of bumper cars.

Lily leaned against the car and smoothed her hand over its surface. Last night, she managed to get it shipped from New York to Washington using Di Clan's people. She hadn't seen her precious baby in years, but it still possessed its radiant gleam. She couldn't help blowing a kiss to her beloved vehicle, which sent the audience into another round of roaring cheers.

Suddenly, amidst all the noise and bustle emanating from the crowd, Lily felt a piercing stare coming from the main podium. She raised her head in its direction and saw that all its occupants were getting out of their seats and getting ready to leave. She was too far to see clearly, but she could feel that the powerful, overbearing stare came from the man right in the center whose commanding presence everyone seemed to be circling around.

Eyebrows furrowed, Lily turned and got back into her car and raced off, leaving behind nothing but a cloud of dust.

~~~

Back at the hotel, Shu Kori stood in front of an empty room and said, "No one's here."

"Could something have happened?" Xia Lin stressed. "Lily left the stadium before all of us."

Su Luo looked from Shu Kori's somber expression to Xia Lin's worried fretting and was just about to go and tell them not to worry, when Zhong Ni came out of the room. "There's a note," he said.

Shu Kori grabbed it from his hands. The note had only one line:

I'm sure we'll all meet again someday.

Shu Kori's face clouded, and a desolate silence descended upon the room.

Las Vegas, gambling capital of the world. Millions of colorful lights cast neon shadows on the stream of people in the casinos, and the air was rampant with a cacophony of voices. The city that never slept pulsed with the excitement, disappointment, and impulsivity that dominated its gamblers.

Lily was standing in front of a game of roulette, watching the little white ball fall into the pocket adjacent to the one she had bet on. She huffed and kicked the machine in consternation. It had been an entire day, and she hadn't won once. In the beginning, she'd been unwilling to believe that she couldn't win even one game, but now, looking at the measly $50,000 she had left from the million she began with, she felt like sulking.

"Can't you go play another machine? You're not sick of roulette after all those hours?" The question came from a laughing voice behind her.

"I'm not done yet," Lily ground out from between clenched teeth. She took all her chips out and prepared to go all in.

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