Future Pet Shop

"All participants, gather at the starting area to receive your position numbers. One car every two minutes. Please prepare yourselves." The announcer’s voice snapped the veteran drivers out of their shock. Their professionalism made them immediately put Shen Yibin and Carmen out of their minds, and they all brought their cars to the starting area to get their numbers.

These position numbers were distributed according to their past results. Since this was Shen Yibin’s first time participating, he had no track record, so he could only be placed at the very back. He vaguely saw that Driver Han seemed to be at the front. ’If I want to get an autograph and a photo for Li Shiqing, I’ll probably have to see if there’s a chance after the test drive is over.’

"Mr. Shen, please be sure to drive slowly on the course. This is mainly to familiarize yourself with and adapt to the terrain, there’s no need to go so fast." The organizers were afraid Shen Yibin would get into an accident, so they repeatedly warned him. This wasn’t like driving on a normal highway; there were no established roads here at all. It was easy for accidents like getting stuck or flipping over to occur. Shen Yibin was a celebrity now, and any accident involving him would be a huge problem for them.

"Alright, I get it. I’ll be careful," Shen Yibin replied casually. He helped fasten the seatbelt for Carmen in the passenger seat, then looked around, feeling like something was still missing in the car. So, he waved Hah’Er over. "Come on, you can come for a ride with me too!" ’How could I leave him out of something this fun?’

"Mr. Shen, I’m afraid that’s not very appropriate, is it?" One Shen Yibin was already enough of a headache for the organizers; now he was adding a national treasure. If something really happened, it would be too late for regrets. The organizers quickly tried to dissuade him. "Mr. Shen, your vehicle’s performance is already much worse than the other competitors’. If you increase the load, your time will probably be even slower. Why don’t you reconsider?" They couldn’t just come out and say it was dangerous, so they had to use this as an excuse, hoping to convince Shen Yibin.

"It’s fine. I’m not planning to aim for any particular rank anyway. I’ll just drive slowly once I’m in. You don’t need to worry." ’After all, I’ve driven on the African savanna and in the Northeast Mountains. I’m not completely inexperienced. As long as I drive carefully, there shouldn’t be any problems. Besides, after being tormented by Shi Gaofei and Xiaoliu, my reaction speed is much faster than before. I should be able to handle any sudden incidents.’

Seeing that they couldn’t persuade him, the organizers could only personally escort Hah’Er to the car, place him in the safest spot behind the driver’s seat, and personally help fasten Hah’Er’s seatbelt before finally letting Shen Yibin go.

Because of the delay, nearly all the competitors ahead had already entered the course. After a short wait, Shen Yibin also received permission to proceed. "Carmen, let’s go. See these points marked on the map? We have to pass through each one in order to reach the finish line on the other side."

"WOOF! WOOF!" Carmen barked twice, looking completely confident. He sat upright in the passenger seat, his eyes fixed on the road ahead without blinking.

"WOOF!" Hearing Carmen’s single bark, Shen Yibin turned left without hesitation.

"WOOF! WOOF!" Two barks meant turn right up ahead. Shen Yibin and Carmen had now developed a rapport; he knew which way to go without asking. If Carmen was silent, it meant floor the gas and charge straight ahead.

"Whoa, is this course really that difficult to navigate?" Shen Yibin hadn’t driven far before he caught up to the first car. They looked like they were lost, struggling to climb a small hill ahead, probably trying to get a better view to find the right path. ’But it makes sense. The terrain here looks extremely similar, with nearly identical dirt mounds all along the way. The original track has been torn up by the cars in front, making it pretty hard to find the correct route.’

But Shen Yibin didn’t have that problem. He wasn’t paying any attention to the surrounding terrain at all. He just needed to follow Carmen’s directions—turn left, turn right, or charge straight ahead—to find the optimal route. Not only that, but Carmen also seemed to be able to predict danger. Shen Yibin saw that the road ahead was perfectly flat and was about to hit the gas when he heard Carmen signal a left turn.

Trusting Carmen completely, he turned the steering wheel without a moment’s hesitation, taking a wide detour before getting back on the main path. After speeding past, he saw in his rearview mirror that the car that had just climbed the hill had decisively chosen to go straight, and then... it drove right into a swamp. Even as the vehicle disappeared from his rearview mirror, Shen Yibin saw no sign of it escaping its predicament.

"Huh? How on earth did you spot that?" Shen Yibin was completely baffled. ’There’s absolutely no scientific explanation for this, is there? Does Carmen have some kind of remote-sensing radar in his brain that can detect hidden tricks underground? It’s a good thing I run a pet shop. If I were a tomb raider, I could bring Carmen and Egg along. One would be responsible for finding treasures, and the other for planning the route. Wouldn’t we be completely unbeatable? I bet even Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum couldn’t stop the two of them, right?’

Maybe it was because they needed to observe the details of the course to prepare for the race in two days, but the cars ahead weren’t moving very fast. As more time passed and he drove deeper into the course, Shen Yibin slowly caught up to them.

Within his field of view, some vehicles were turning left and right, seemingly unable to find the optimal route. Others were laboriously revving their engines, trying to power out of swamps. Very few cars were able to advance at full speed.

But Shen Yibin’s attention wasn’t on any of that. He was currently experiencing an unprecedented thrill of driving. No need to watch for traffic lights, no need to worry about driving off the road—he could drive however he wanted. The feeling was intoxicating, and not even the violent bumps could ruin his good mood.

’No wonder so many people love off-road racing. This feeling of freedom is just intoxicating! I’m even starting to wish the Future Pet Shop would send the next animal to some sparsely populated place perfect for racing, like the African savanna, the Northwest deserts, the Mongolian steppes, or the Australian outback. What a wonderful pleasure it would be to tear across those places with Carmen?’

After driving for more than an hour, Shen Yibin arrived smoothly at the finish area. His "divine car" looked particularly conspicuous parked among a pile of off-road race cars.

Shen Yibin parked the car, opened the door, and got out. Just as he was about to let Carmen and Hah’Er out, he saw Driver Han walking over from a distance. "Yo, buddy! Not a bad drive, huh?"

’Huh? My time was just average, wasn’t it? Why would he say that?’