area51novel Chapter 72 I'll Bet with You
Chapter 72 I'll Bet with You
Chapter 72 I'll Bet with You
The mountain road, the last bend.
As dusk fell, only a sliver of orange remained in the west. The streetlights along the mountain road lit up one after another, their dim, yellowish light barely outlining the contours of the asphalt road.
The taxi stopped.
"We're here." The driver stepped on the brake, leaned out to look around, and said, "It's completely blocked up ahead. You'll have to get off here."
Cai Yingying was the first to jump off the bus, standing on tiptoe to look around.
Li Rui emerged from the other side, her legs buckled, and she almost knelt on the ground.
He clung to the car door, his voice trembling, "I swear, I'll never come out again this weekend."
However, no one paid any attention to him.
Yu Chen paid the fare, got out of the car, and looked up at the road ahead.
There were far more people than expected.
Dozens of motorcycles, red, green, and blue, were parked crookedly along the roadside, reflecting glaring light under the dim streetlights.
Groups of three or five people gathered together, smoking and laughing, the roar of idling engines mingling with the echoes in the valley, buzzing against their eardrums.
"What's going on?" Cai Yingying was a little confused. "Racing?"
"It seems so." Yu Chen took two steps forward. "Let's look for Xu Zhi."
The three people moved forward along the side of the road.
Li Rui followed behind, looking around: "Wow, this car is so cool—it must have cost a lot of money to modify—hey, that one is even more outrageous—"
Cai Yingying ignored him, her eyes quickly scanning the throng of people.
"Have you seen Xu Zhi?" she asked.
Yu Chen shook his head.
There were too many people and it was dark, so I couldn't see anything.
As we approached a slightly wider bend, a burst of laughter suddenly erupted ahead, mixed with whistles and strange shouts.
All three of them looked over at the same time.
A small group of people surrounded several locomotives, with two standing in the middle.
A boy with dyed yellowish-brown hair looked at the person in front of him with an unpleasant expression, while several companions behind him also looked gloomy.
There was someone standing opposite him.
A black car, black clothes, hair slightly disheveled by the mountain wind, but back ramrod straight.
It's Xu Zhi.
Rewind to two hours earlier.
5:30 p.m.
Xu Zhi parked her car on the side of the road and took off her helmet.
A few strands of hair on my forehead were damp with sweat, and a cool mountain breeze blew by.
She unscrewed the bottle of mineral water and took two gulps.
Several cars pulled up nearby, and someone whistled at her, saying, "Wow, you're fast!"
Xu Zhi didn't respond and put the helmet on the seat.
The man didn't seem to care and walked away with his companion, laughing and joking.
The sun set quickly, but the number of people on the mountain path increased.
Xu took out his phone and glanced at it.
The screen was full of messages, but she didn't know how to reply.
She locked the screen, put her phone back in her pocket, leaned back in the car seat, closed her eyes, and let the wind blow on her.
"Hey, girl, you're still here?"
A voice cut in from the side.
Xu Zhi opened her eyes.
In the afternoon, the blond guy came over, followed by two others, looking nonchalant and with smiles on their faces.
"How many laps did you run this afternoon?" The blond-haired man leaned against the guardrail, tilting his head to look at her.
Xu screwed the cap on the water bottle.
"Three laps."
"Sure," the blond-haired guy chuckled. "We're exhausted after two laps, but you can do three. You've got great stamina."
Xu Zhi did not respond.
The blond-haired man didn't seem embarrassed at all, and continued, "There's a gig tonight, you know?"
Xu paused for a moment.
"Like that, a mountain race." The blond guy gestured with his chin towards the winding mountain road. "One lap to decide the winner, bets are up to you. Want to try your luck?"
Xu Zhi tossed the water bottle into the storage basket at the front of the car.
"I'm not playing."
"No way!" The blond guy took a small step forward. "We're already here, it would be a waste not to come. Don't worry, the prize isn't big, it's just for fun."
Xu Zhi looked up at him.
The streetlights had just come on, casting a dim glow on his face, obscuring his expression, but the glint in his eyes was unsettling.
"I said I'm not playing."
She turned around to get her helmet.
Huang Mao suddenly chuckled.
"Scared?"
Xu Zhi's hand stopped in mid-air.
The blond-haired man turned to the two men behind him and said, "See? I told you, these girls are fine for riding around on the street, but when it comes to a real situation, they're all cowards."
The two men joined in the laughter.
Xu Zhi withdrew her hand and turned around.
"What's the prize?"
The blond-haired man stopped laughing.
He turned back, his smile deepening.
"That's more like it."
As expected, Xu Zhi won the first lap.
She was holding a helmet in her hand, quietly looking at the other side.
Yellow Hair spat, his face flushed, and amidst the jeers of those around him, he mumbled something indistinctly and quickly.
"Haven't eaten? Can't you hear me!" someone shouted from the side.
The blond-haired man glared fiercely at the man, then looked at Xu Zhi with venomous eyes. But under everyone's gaze, he still raised his voice slightly and squeezed out three words through gritted teeth: "Auntie!"
The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in that small area.
"Hey—!" The onlookers around, drawing out their own words, joined in, making the laughter even louder.
Xu Zhi showed no expression, simply nodded, and turned to leave.
"Stop!" The blond-haired man suddenly stepped forward, blocking her car. The embarrassment on his face turned into a fierce rage. "You think you can just walk away after winning a game?!"
Xu Zhi paused, looked up at him, and said, "The bet is over."
"That's the bet from earlier!" The blond-haired man grinned, his smile somewhat sinister. "Dare to play another round? The stakes are higher, ten thousand yuan, one round to decide the winner! I'm asking you, do you dare?"
He deliberately emphasized the last three words, his gaze filled with provocation and disdain as he scanned Xu from head to toe.
The surroundings were silent for a moment, then erupted into an even greater uproar.
"Ten thousand!"
"Go for it! Weren't you so cocky just now?"
Xu Zhi's fingers tightened around the helmet, her knuckles turning white.
She knew it was a trap. Her opponent had lost a round and lost face, and this was a way to force her into a bigger scheme so they could get their revenge.
Ten thousand yuan is not a small amount for her.
Reason was screaming at her to refuse.
"What? Scared?" A tall, thin man behind the blond-haired guy chuckled. "Weren't you pretty cocky just now? You think you can run away after winning one round?"
"Women are no good, if you can't handle it, don't play!" another chimed in.
Xu Zhi's breathing became slightly rapid.
Looking at Huang Mao's face, which was full of malice and ill intent, and at the eyes of those around her who were either making a fuss or watching the show, the irritability and frustration she had suppressed while running alone in the mountains that afternoon, as well as something deeper, suddenly surged up and made her ears burn.
"Xu Zhi! Don't agree to him!" Cai Yingying's scream pierced through the noise and came from the outer edge of the crowd.
Xu Zhi was startled and turned around abruptly. She saw Cai Yingying and Li Rui squeezing in, and Yu Chen following behind them with a calm expression.
A look of surprise, embarrassment, and a hint of panic flashed in her eyes.
"Oh, reinforcements' here?" The blond-haired guy also saw Yu Chen and her group, but seeing they were just three students, he didn't take them seriously at all. He sneered, "What, do you need to ask your parents? Little girl, go home and drink your milk before you're weaned. This isn't a place for you!"
Laughter erupted again.
Xu's cheeks instantly burned, and blood rushed to his head.
That string called reason snapped.
"Okay." She heard her own voice, cold as ice. "How do we compete?"
"Xu Zhi!" Cai Yingying had already squeezed to the front and wanted to pull her, but was intentionally or unintentionally separated by Huang Mao's accomplices.
A cunning glint flashed in the blond-haired man's eyes as if his scheme had succeeded: "Same as always, from here to the old locust tree at the top of the mountain, the first to arrive wins."
"Use your own car, is that fair?"
Yu Chen's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
His gaze quickly swept over Xu Zhi's black Kawasaki Ninja 400, and then over the few guys with shifty eyes who had been loitering around Xu Zhi's car behind the blond guy.
Xu Zhi didn't look at Cai Yingying's anxious face, nor at Yu Chen's calm gaze.
She put on her helmet, got on the bike, and revved the engine.
The roar of the engine drowned out the surrounding noise.
Huang Mao also rode on a Yamaha R6 that was obviously modified and had a larger engine displacement, with a sneer of confidence on his face.
A girl wearing a leather skirt and heavy makeup walked between the two cars and held up a red silk scarf.
All eyes were focused on the waving red cloth.
The red cloth fell!
Like beasts breaking free of their restraints, the two motorcycles roared as they charged into the dark mountain road, their taillights leaving two streaks of light as they quickly disappeared at the end of the bend.
The roar of the engine echoed through the valley, growing ever more distant.
Cai Yingying was so anxious that she stomped her feet, tears welling up in her eyes.
Li Rui also craned her neck nervously to look around.
Yu Chen stood beside them, casting the light in the direction where the race car had disappeared, and listened intently.
The intermittent roar of engines, carried by the wind, was high-pitched and violent, indicating the intensity of the race.
Time passed slowly amidst the anxiety.
The walkie-talkie crackled with excited, broken shouts from the forward observation post: "Entering the bend! The two cars are almost parallel!"
"Black car (Xu Zhi) inside! Great job! Got half a parking space!"
"Accelerate out of the corner! The R6 caught up! Overtook on the straight!"
"We've entered a series of bends! The black car has caught up again! They're really sticking with us!"
"The last S-curve! The black car is in the lead! R6 is on the outside—trying to overtake! Dangerous!"
Suddenly, the voice on the walkie-talkie turned into screams and a cacophony of static!
Immediately afterwards, a heart-stopping, dull thud mixed with a sharp scraping sound came faintly from the mountain road below!
The sound wasn't loud, but it hit Cai Yingying's heart like a heavy hammer.
"A car crashed! A car crashed! It's an unlicensed taxi!" A clear and urgent shout finally came through the walkie-talkie.
"Xu Zhi—!" Cai Yingying screamed and rushed down the path like a madwoman! Li Rui paused for a second and quickly followed.
Yu Chen's face darkened, and he quickly glanced at Huang Mao's accomplices who had stayed behind.
They didn't show much surprise on their faces, but instead exchanged knowing glances. One of them, wearing a gray jacket, even subconsciously wiped his hands.
Yu Chen noted this down and quickly followed Cai Yingying.
The scene at the exit of the last S-curve was horrific.
Xu Zhi's black Kawasaki overturned on the side of the road, sliding a long distance away. The body scraped against the guardrail and the ground, leaving large, jagged marks. The rearview mirror was shattered, and the body shell was damaged.
Xu Zhiren was thrown closer to the mountainside, curled up, her helmet rolled to one side. She was trying to prop herself up, but her left leg was obviously bent unnaturally. There were several abrasions on her face, blood mixed with dust, and her forehead hair was soaked with sweat and stuck to her pale skin.
She bit her lower lip tightly, not uttering a groan, but the violent trembling and cold sweat on her forehead betrayed her pain.
The yellow-haired Yamaha R6 crossed the finish line and came to a stop with a stylish drift.
He got off the vehicle, took off his helmet, and his face showed an undisguised smug and cruel smile.
He strolled slowly over to Xu Zhi, squatted down, and lightly tapped her shoulder with his helmet: "Hey, grandma, why didn't it work this time? The mountain road is slippery, young lady, you shouldn't play such dangerous games in the future."
His accomplices behind him burst into laughter.
"Xu Zhi!" Cai Yingying cried and rushed over, wanting to help Xu Zhi, but dared not move.
Li Rui also stood in front of Xu Zhi, shouting at the blond-haired man with a fierce but weak voice, "What are you thinking! She's injured!"
"What are you doing?" The blond-haired man stood up, dusted off non-existent dust, and pulled out a crumpled cigarette pack paper with the bet written on it from his pocket. "A bet's a bet. Ten thousand dollars, give it to me."
He stretched out his hand and waved it.
"You—" Xu Zhi endured the excruciating pain and tried to stand up to argue, but a piercing pain in her legs made her fall back down, covered in cold sweat.
"We—we don't have that much money right now!" Cai Yingying said, her voice trembling with tears, as she protected Xu Zhi.
"No money?" Yellow Hair raised an eyebrow, his smile turning lewd. "Weren't you pretty tough just now? No money? No problem." His gaze swept over Xu Zhi and Cai Yingying. "Come down the mountain with us brothers for a drink and some karaoke, and this debt—we'll settle it slowly, how about it?"
"You're dreaming!" Cai Yingying was so angry that she trembled all over.
"That's not up to you then." The blond-haired man gave a wink, and several of his accomplices immediately surrounded him, their faces grim.
Just then, a calm voice broke in, not loud, but strangely it made the tense atmosphere freeze for a moment.
"She lost, I'll pay for her."
Everyone looked over and saw the handsome young man who hadn't said much.
Yu Chen had finished inspecting the wrecked Kawasaki at some point and was now standing up from beside the vehicle, still holding Xu Zhi's helmet that had rolled off.
He walked up to the blond-haired man with a blank expression.
"You?" The blond-haired man glanced at him sideways and sneered, "Kid, trying to be a hero? Can you come up with ten thousand yuan?"
'
Yu Chen ignored his sarcasm, his gaze sweeping over the blond-haired man, then over the gray-jacketed man behind him with shifty eyes, and finally back to the blond-haired man's face: "Ten thousand yuan in cash, I don't have it right now."
"You're messing with me?" The blond-haired man's face darkened.
"But I can bet with you," Yu Chen continued, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather. "I'll bet you 100,000. We'll have a contest on this mountain road, all the way to the old locust tree at the top. If I win, her debt and the repair costs for this car will be wiped clean. If I lose, I'll give you 100,000."
100,000!
This word was like a bomb, stunning everyone. Even Xu Zhi, who was in pain, suddenly looked up at Yu Chen, her eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
Cai Yingying and Li Rui were also stunned.
The blond-haired guy was stunned for several seconds before bursting into laughter as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world: "One hundred thousand? Kid, do you even know how much one hundred thousand is? You think you can gamble your life like that?"
"Can't afford to gamble?" Yu Chen retorted, a faint yet extremely unsettling hint of mockery in his eyes. "Or are you scared? Scared of losing to someone like me who's barely grown up yet?"
The blond-haired man's laughter stopped abruptly, and his face darkened.
He stared at Yu Chen, as if trying to determine whether he was bluffing.
But Yu Chen's eyes were too calm, so calm that it sent chills down one's spine.
Moreover, the temptation of 100,000 yuan is too great.
"What kind of car are you comparing it to?" The blond-haired guy glanced at the wrecked Kawasaki. "This pile of scrap metal?"
"We'll use this one." Yu Chen pointed to the beat-up car. "You can use any one of them. Dare to take it?"
An uproar erupted around them.
Using a broken-down car that just crashed to challenge the blond guy's modified R6?
This is absolutely insane!
Yellow Hair stared at Yu Chen for a long time, then suddenly grinned, his smile full of cruelty and excitement: "Fine! I'll play a big game with you today! 100,000! I'll write it down! If you lose and can't come up with the money—" A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, "I'll break your leg!"
"Okay." Yu Chen nodded, his face still expressionless. "But if I win, besides what I just said, I also need to know about her car," he pointed to Xu Zhi's Kawasaki, "what exactly happened."
The blond-haired man's expression changed slightly, but he immediately retorted firmly, "What else could it be? She fell because of her own poor technique! Enough talk, let's put it in writing!"
A new bet, amounting to 100,000, was hastily written on another piece of paper, witnessed and encouraged by even more people.
This time, even the people on the blond guy's side seemed a bit excited and nervous when they pressed their fingerprints.
Yu Chen walked back to the overturned Kawasaki and tried to right it. The body was deformed in many places, but the main structure seemed to be able to support it.
He straddled the chair and pressed the start lever.
The engine made a few weak coughs, but didn't start.
A chorus of boos and laughter erupted from the crowd.
The blond-haired guy laughed so hard he almost fell over: "That's it? You think you can compete with me?"
Yu Chen ignored him and stepped on it again.
This time, the force and rhythm of his footwork were subtly different.
"Boom—Boom—Boom!"
A hoarse roar sounded, and a thick plume of smoke billowed from the exhaust pipe. The battered motorcycle had actually started up again!
The sound was rather distorted, far less powerful than the roar of the yellow-haired guy's R6.
Yu Chen sat in the car, feeling the machine beneath him tremble and groan.
The moment his hand gripped the handlebars and his foot stepped on the gearshift, an indescribable, instinctive sense of familiarity and control spread from his fingertips throughout his entire body.
Everything about locomotives.
Throttle response, braking force, weight distribution, cornering trajectory, and even the "temperament" and limits of the damaged machine beneath him flooded his consciousness like a tide.
This is not a memory, but more like a talent that is instantly activated and deeply rooted in the body.
[Ding! Detects that the host is about to engage in high-risk racing.]
[Universal (Advanced) Activation for Racing Skills.]
[Current vehicle: Damaged two-wheeled fuel-powered locomotive.]
[Road conditions: Complex mountain road (nighttime).]
Overall assessment: High risk.
[Side Quest Triggered: Speed Race]
[Mission Objective: To win first place in this competition.]
[Mission Rewards: Provincial-level official relationship x1, Achievement Points 10000, Xu Zhi's favorability increased.]
The system notification sound flashed through my mind.
Skill triggered.
At this moment, Yu Chen could even "hear" what each noise from the engine meant.
You can "feel" which part of the frame's deformation will affect cornering.
He looked at Xu Zhi, whose face was pale and whose forehead was stained with blood, and nodded slightly to her.
Then, he turned to the blond man with a disdainful and cruel smile and twisted the accelerator.
The engine roar, sounding like a broken gong, suddenly rose in pitch, even taking on a hint of ferocity.
"We can begin."
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