At this moment, the entire space of the Haizhu International Circuit is filled with the roar and rumble of engines. One race car after another whizzes by, racing to achieve its fastest lap time.
On the stand above the professional repair area, Qin Lianjie and the captain of the Light Point Team, Cao An, have arrived early, waiting.
They are watching the laps of the professional drivers while chatting.
"I don't know what Chen Xiangbei, that high school kid, is thinking. Choosing to race against Che Laoquan on the track — didn't you tell him his opponent is a professional driver?"
Cao An asked Qin Lianjie, feeling perplexed.
The track is the home ground for professional drivers. Since the Haizhu International Circuit was built and put into use in '96, it has essentially become the main practice track for drivers in the Pearl River Delta.
Moreover, it hosts professional races from Hong Kong, the Australian Grand Prix, and the Asian Le Mans Series, among others.
They all use the Haizhu International Circuit as a training and testing base.
Although Che Laoquan is a "German-trained" driver, he ran this track quite often during his early days racing formula cars.
In comparison, Cao An suspected that Chen Xiangbei might not have even set foot in a formal racetrack often, let alone be familiar with the Haizhu International Circuit.
Street racers battling professionals don't usually have any chance of winning, and now he's running on the opponent's home ground. Does Chen Xiangbei feel he's not losing fast enough?
"Not only does he know Che Laoquan is a professional driver, but he also knows the opponent drives dirty."
"As for why he's running on the track, it's said that Shaiminghui offered ten thousand to make Chen Xiangbei race this one."
Regarding the feud between Shaiminghui and Chen Xiangbei, Qin Lianjie was merely an observer.
Even though he and Shaiminghui are teammates, he genuinely has no respect for this rich second-generation who uses racing as a tool to impress women. They actually have no personal ties.
But with just a dozen or so people on the team, coupled with Shaiminghui's big mouth, it's hard not to know anything at all.
"Does Chen Xiangbei, who can afford to drive a Subaru Impreza and has done carbon fiber weight reduction modifications, lack money that much?"
Cao An countered, even without mentioning the Subaru Impreza, the car skills alone would cost a fortune to develop.
Ten thousand yuan seems like a lot, but for a master of Chen Xiangbei's caliber, it might just be pocket change in car expenses.
"That Subaru Impreza isn't even his. In fact, Chen Xiangbei doesn't even have a car."
Qin Lianjie replied with a smile, having been present when Shaiminghui previously mocked Chen Xiangbei for always driving a Corolla.
"You're joking, right?"
Cao An wasn't there for the first Nanyun Mountain race, so naturally, he wasn't aware of the grudge between Shaiminghui and Chen Xiangbei.
"Of course, I'm not joking. This kid's driving skills seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, maybe there's really something to the saying about being naturally gifted."
When Qin Lianjie said this, he was somewhat resigned; in front of a genius, it seems that effort becomes worthless.
Just as the two were discussing Chen Xiangbei, a Mitsubishi EVO 6 drove into the pit lane, with Che Laoquan in the driver's seat.
Qin Lianjie had no interactions with Che Laoquan, but his Mitsubishi EVO6 was notably a hot topic in the Guangzhou underground racing scene as a high-performance car.
The Mitsubishi EVO and Subaru Impreza STI are dubbed the "Rally Twins," meaning it's also a performance car with pure racing heritage.
Moreover, in comparison to the Impreza STI, the Mitsubishi EVO is even more renowned and has greater modification potential.
The reason for its fame, besides the EVO's impressive rally track record, is similar to the Civic Type-R, in that its civilian model sales success boosted the reputation of the performance version.
Earlier, Southeast Motor and Mitsubishi Motors produced a series of models like Galant, Lancer, and Winged Soldier, all of which shared a common point: with simple exterior modifications, they could transform into an "EVO".
At the most outrageous times, Mitsubishi EVOs were everywhere on the road, yet none were authentic...
Regarding its modification potential, it lies in the Mitsubishi EVO's engine, code-named 4G63, with an extraordinarily robust and durable cast-iron cylinder block, offering high playability.
Comparable to it is the Toyota Supra (Bull Demon King), equipped with the 2JZ engine. Both are revered as legendary engines in the domestic car modification scene.
Che Laoquan's Mitsubishi EVO6 is rumored in the underground community to be nearly race-class modded, with the power alone exceeding 400 horsepower.
But this is far from the limits of the 4G63 engine, which, when pushed hard, can surpass 1000 horsepower.
Yes, you read the number right. It can top 1000 horsepower, overwhelming the dynamometer!
Qin Lianjie is familiar with performance car modifications. Often, just by listening to the engine roar, he can roughly guess which parts have been modified.
Looking at the Subaru Impreza driven by Chen Xiangbei, while the carbon fiber parts seem impressive, Qin Lianjie knows that the power hasn't been much altered.
In other words, under normal circumstances, Che Laoquan's Mitsubishi EVO 6 has a power system lead that exceeds the Subaru Impreza's by over 100 horsepower.
If it was a mountain pass, especially downhill, this power gap might not matter as much.
After all, whether it's 300 horsepower or 400, in some sense, it's redundant for mountain runs — it's just not needed.
But on the track, even a few horsepower, or let alone ten horsepower, could be the key to victory or defeat.
Comparing the two cars this way, the gap becomes quite large.
"Heh, Che Laoquan really has no integrity, relying on car performance to bully a high school student."
Cao An couldn't help but mock upon seeing this famous Mitsubishi EVO 6 in the car circle.
Despite being a German-trained professional driver racing on a track, Che Laoquan's intention is clearly to overpower his opponent with performance, isn't it?
"I don't think his intention was to bully."
Qin Lianjie shook his head and responded.
"Then what is it?"
"He's scared."
Scared?
Upon hearing this from Qin Lianjie, Cao An's expression was surprised. Does Che Laoquan, a professional driver, have any reason to fear a high schooler?
Just as he was about to ask, from afar, a flatbed truck slowly entered the pit area. On it was a blue-black colored Subaru Impreza STI, indicating the identity of its owner.
Chen Xiangbei jumped down from the passenger seat of the flatbed, looking at the Haizhu International Circuit in front of him. He felt both familiar and strange.
In the early stages of his previous life's career, he also trained and tested on this track. Now it is like "revisiting an old place," yet everything is different.
The driver, Liang Chi, naturally didn't know what was on Chen Xiangbei's mind. He started the hydraulic system of the flatbed to unload the Subaru Impreza.
As for Zhang Zhicong, he directly drove the Audi A6 into the professional team's repair area. Being a former CCC event organizer, he was quite familiar with the management teams of domestic professional racing teams.
Honestly, if it weren't for Zhang Zhicong's face, even with Liang Chi backing him, Han Han might not agree to race against Chen Xiangbei, a high schooler, given that they don't seem to be on the same level at all.
As Chen Xiangbei and Liang Chi were unloading the vehicle, a Mercedes G55 approached, carrying "old acquaintances" Ma Minghan and Shaiminghui.
These two endured a lot to get Chen Xiangbei to race this time, and now, with the chance to see him humiliated, there's no way they'd miss this show.
Upon seeing Chen Xiangbei unloading the car, Ma Minghan immediately began mocking, "Hey Shaiminghui, look, this pauper doesn't even dare to drive on the road yet pretends to be a professional on the track."
"Today I'm just waiting to see how this deadbeat Chen Xiangbei loses!"
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