The Diomas Nilo slowly appeared at the parking lot exit.
Its imposing body and roaring engine immediately made it the center of attention on the street.
Leon had just turned out when he saw the black-and-white AE86 ahead.
The carbon fiber black hood made the car look extremely stylish, creating a striking visual contrast.
Leon froze slightly. How is an AE86 here?
A notification appeared in his head like a video game:
"Side quest triggered: Defeat AE86 before reaching Detroit. Reward: +1 Level, full-car firmware defense upgrade. High-value reward!"
Leon's interest spiked. It was like discovering a treasure.
A reward for a side quest — full firmware reinforcement would double the car's defensive capability, protecting all components from major damage.
Otherwise, the car's body and glass might survive an attack, but internal components could still get destroyed — a nightmare scenario, especially since Leon had already faced Hellfire missiles before.
Elena, seeing his expression, shivered.
"You're not really going to push this to top speed already, are you?"
Even before starting, her face was pale with fear.
Sitting in Leon's car with a weak heart, she could easily be scared to death.
Hattie and Gisele were equally nervous, quickly buckling their seatbelts.
Nine hundred kilometers per hour was nearly supersonic. At that speed, one kilometer passed in the blink of an eye.
If seatbelts weren't fastened, the passengers would be literally thrown from their seats — no divine intervention could save them.
Shaw, sitting in the passenger seat, scoffed.
"Look at you all scared. I'm not worried. Speed is nothing to fear."
He hadn't experienced Leon's driving yet. Soon, he would find his legs trembling.
Hattie silently bet that Shaw would regret volunteering for the front seat.
Leon smiled slightly, driving slowly next to the AE86.
He rolled down his window. The AE86 reciprocated.
"Takumi Fujiwara?" Leon asked.
"Yes. You know me?" Takumi nodded.
Compared to the anime, this Takumi looked even more handsome — a clean, refined face without stubble, brown hair neatly styled, radiating calm confidence.
Leon nodded.
"I've heard of you — the drift god of Akina. Your drifting is legendary: 30 corners in three minutes, shaking the entire racing world."
Takumi's daily routine had been delivering tofu on the AE86 along the steep slopes of Akina.
Because the Fujiwara family's tofu was very delicate and the mountain roads treacherous, poor technique often led to broken tofu — resulting in repeated scolding from his father.
Through self-training, Takumi mastered drifting, especially his signature five consecutive hairpin turns, slicing through curves at high speed without slowing down, overtaking top racers like Keisuke Takahashi and Nakazato Takeshi.
His talent made him a legend, capable of defeating high-performance supercars with just his AE86.
Leon smiled slightly.
"Tonight at midnight, there's a race in Detroit's metropolitan area. Come play."
Takumi blinked in surprise, then nodded.
He was quiet by nature, but once he committed to something, he always followed through.
"No rush. It's only twelve now. Driving to Detroit from here will take you at most seven hours." Leon's grin widened.
"You're strong?"
"Average," Leon replied, unusually humble.
The women in the car giggled quietly. Leon's modesty was clearly a tease — he was clearly the fastest in America, except for the Guinness-recorded 1,600 km/h event. From 700 km/h to 900 km/h, no vehicle could catch him or drift as effortlessly as he could.
Shaw, trying to keep a straight face, reassured Takumi:
"Don't worry. Your AE86 is an old-school car; he won't catch you."
Takumi, slightly baffled, nodded.
A supercar driver calling an AE86 "slow"? He instinctively knew this was either underestimating him or Leon had unmatched skill.
Closing his window, Takumi's expression turned serious.
Amu, his friend, asked nervously: "Feeling okay?"
"Very strong!" Takumi admitted.
Even with his AE86, upgraded and battle-ready, Leon's car exerted overwhelming pressure. No wonder Takumi looked tense — the sheer presence of Leon's vehicle was intimidating.
Amu sighed.
"Leaving Japan, facing the world, I realize all our previous opponents were kindergarten-level. Here, we finally meet real competition."
Takumi quietly shifted gears, stepped on the clutch and accelerator, revving the AE86.
Its engine emitted a refined, artistic roar — subtle and gentlemanly, in contrast to the wild beastly growl of the Diomas Nilo.
The traffic light countdown began: 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…
Vroom!
Both cars shot toward Detroit at insane speed.
~~----------------------
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