Chapter 26 – Professional? Still Crushed
The two fangirls who had been cheering earlier stared with wide eyes.
They could not believe what they had just seen.
Their Noah had lost.
Not barely.
He had been crushed so badly he could not even see Ethan's shadow.
"How is that possible?" one girl whispered, covering her mouth. "Am I having heatstroke? Am I hallucinating?"
The other opened her mouth but said nothing.
She only stared blankly toward the track.
Only Lina was different.
She held her face in both hands, worship in her eyes.
"He's handsome and his driving is that good. That is what a top-tier man looks like."
The other two wanted to argue.
They could not find a single argument.
Because they knew Lina was right.
Ethan was indeed handsome.
The more one looked, the more dangerous that face became.
As for his driving?
He had placed the proof in front of everyone.
Vivian heard every word from her seat nearby.
She glanced at Lina, then at Ethan on the track, but said nothing.
On the track, Noah Hunt got out of his car as if his soul had left him.
His legs were weak, and he had to hold the door just to stand.
His pale face and sweat-soaked hair made him look like someone pulled from water after too long beneath the surface.
Ethan leaned against his car and held out one hand.
The meaning was clear.
A bet was a bet.
Hand over the keys.
Noah looked up and forced a smile uglier than crying.
"Man, it was just a joke. No need to take it so seriously, right?"
He tried to laugh it off.
That car had been with him for years.
Between the vehicle and modifications, he had poured millions into it.
Giving it away like this hurt too much.
Ethan's eyes cooled.
"Trying to default?"
The sharpness in his gaze seemed to pierce skin and touch the soul.
Noah shivered the moment he met those eyes.
He swallowed.
"Wait. Wait a second."
He stepped back and turned away, pulling out his phone.
While searching his contacts, he kept glancing at Ethan warily.
At last, he found a name saved as Coach Fly and called.
The call connected quickly.
"Fly, it's me, Noah."
He lowered his voice, urgent.
"I ran into trouble at the track. Can you come over?"
"Good. Good. I'll wait."
...
Seven or eight minutes later, an engine roared from far to near.
A black modified car entered the track and stopped steadily in front of them.
The door opened.
A middle-aged man stepped out.
Buzz cut.
Square face.
Lean, hard body.
Professional racing suit.
Helmet in hand.
Everything about him screamed professional driver.
Noah hurried over.
"Fly. You're finally here."
Zach Flynn nodded.
His gaze passed Noah and landed on Ethan.
He looked Ethan up and down.
"That's him?"
Noah nodded repeatedly.
"Yes. That's him."
Then Noah turned toward Ethan, his confidence returning.
"Let me introduce you. This is Fly."
"If you can beat him, not only will I give you this car, I'll add five million dollars. How about it?"
He added the rule with a challenging smile.
"Of course, if you lose, both cars stay."
Ethan answered without hesitation.
"Fine."
Money delivered to his door had no reason to be rejected.
Noah laughed more freely.
"Good. You've got guts."
Then he revealed Zach's identity with pride.
"Full introduction. Zach Flynn. Three-time national racing champion. A top professional driver."
Noah had waited until now to say it because he had worried Ethan would be too afraid to accept.
Now that Ethan had agreed, Noah had no concerns.
"You're finished. Surrender now and you can still keep some dignity."
Vivian stood abruptly in the spectator area.
She had guessed Zach might be a professional racer.
But a three-time national champion was beyond expectation.
It was hard not to worry.
Ethan noticed her gaze.
He looked over and blew her a kiss, telling her not to worry.
Truthfully, when racing Noah, Ethan had used less than thirty percent of max-level driving.
Even so, he had won easily.
After learning Zach's identity, Ethan was only more interested.
He wanted to know how a racing champion compared with max-level mastery.
Seeing his shameless confidence, Vivian could only sit back down.
"Less talking," Ethan said. "Race if you're racing. If not, hand over the keys and leave."
Zach's face darkened.
He took one step closer.
"Young man, don't be so arrogant."
His eyes widened in anger.
"I hate ignorant kids like you."
"Once we're on the track, I'll make sure you never dare touch a steering wheel again."
Ethan ignored him, opened the door, and sat in the driver's seat.
"Arrogant," Zach muttered. "You'll cry soon enough."
He got into his own car.
The two cars lined up at the start.
Exhausts roared.
Flames spat from the pipes.
This race felt completely different from the last one.
Heavier.
More serious.
Noah stood by the track with arms crossed, victory already written on his face.
"Don't worry, Noah," one fangirl said. "Fly is the champion. That guy is finished."
"Exactly. A three-time champion can't lose to an amateur."
Lina said nothing.
She stared at the faint outline of Ethan behind the windshield, worry in her eyes.
Vivian's hands also tightened slightly.
The board began counting down.
Three.
Two.
One.
The horn sounded.
Both cars shot forward almost at the same time.
Zach's start was extremely fast, clearly at a professional reaction level.
Ethan followed closely behind.
First lap.
Zach led by half a car length.
Second lap.
After understanding Zach's level, Ethan began to push.
He stopped driving one-handed.
He caught up.
Then passed.
Zach's expression changed.
He floored the accelerator, trying desperately to chase Ethan.
It was useless.
He could only watch Ethan pull farther and farther away until the silver car vanished around a bend.
A drone tracked the race from above, sending the feed to the big screen.
Everyone, including Vivian and Noah, stared at it.
The two cars flew along the track.
But the distance widened rapidly.
One hundred meters.
Three hundred.
Seven hundred.
Finally, Ethan had lapped Zach completely.
Ethan's car crossed the finish line first.
Zach and his car were still eight hundred meters away.
The number on the screen was blinding.
Noah's mouth hung open.
If he remembered correctly, Ethan had casually broken the track record Zach himself had held for years.
A record even Zach could not break.
"Monster," Noah whispered, voice trembling.
The fangirls were stunned too.
"The champion lost."
"By an entire lap. Doesn't that make him a driving god?"
Lina jumped up excitedly.
"So handsome. Too handsome."
Ethan calmly opened the door and stepped out.
There was no joy on his face.
Only boredom.
Noah and Zach were both pitifully weak in front of max-level skill.
Ethan walked toward Noah and held out his hand again.
"Keys."
Noah froze in place.
This was not the script in his head.
Zach finally drove across the finish line.
His face looked worse than Noah's when he got out.
He walked between them and forced an easy tone.
"Young man, your skill is decent."
"Give me some face. Let's stop here."
He tried to speak like a senior.
"As compensation, I can consider letting you join my team as a substitute driver."
"Substitute?"
Ethan repeated the word.
Then he mocked him without mercy.
"Are you worthy?"
The words struck Zach's face like a slap.
His face flushed red.
"Kid, don't be too arrogant."
He clenched his jaw.
"I've been in racing for twenty years. My connections stretch across the country."
"With one word from me, you will never drive on any track again."
Ethan's eyes did not change.
Slap.
He raised his hand and struck Zach across the face.
Zach spun and fell to the ground.
He covered his cheek, stunned.
Noah froze.
The three girls froze.
Only Vivian was unsurprised.
She had seen enough.
Looking at Zach on the ground, she felt no sympathy.
People like him needed discipline.
Ethan had done nothing wrong.
Worry?
There was nothing to worry about.
Vivian knew better than anyone present that with Ethan's background, a mere three-time racing champion meant nothing.
Even the entire professional racing circle combined was insignificant before him.
Author's Note:
This story will continue updating here.
If you want to read more, you can unlock it here:
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Thank you for reading.