The night enveloped the sky, a few scattered stars hanging in the night.
In the early hours of H City, the city center was as quiet as a ghost town, let alone the highway leading to the subordinate county town, Minshan Highway, which was even quieter, as if it was a path leading to Hell.
Only tall trees lining the road swayed gently in the breeze, making rustling sounds occasionally, while occasionally wild animals would call from the forest.
Judging by the sound, it seemed to be wolves...
Screech, screech...
Suddenly, the jarring sound of tires screeching against the ground erupted on this silent road, making it incredibly grating.
A white classic pickup truck came into view, executing a perfect drift at the curve, its headlights illuminating the road ahead, speeding forward rapidly.
The howls of wolves on both sides of Minshan Highway seemed intimidated by the sound, falling silent, and it wasn't until the white pickup gradually drove away that the howls resumed, as though venting the anger of being startled...
...
Screech...
The white pickup tightly hugged the mountain wall at a curve on Minshan Road, drifting around it and then accelerating straight, rapidly reaching an acceleration of 150 per second.
Quickly, the speed of this pickup truck, worth 50,000 yuan and seemingly outdated, soared to 200 km/h, rapidly climbing further.
When the pickup's speed soared to 230 km/h, it finally stabilized.
Inside the pickup, Ye Qiu leaned an arm against the window, steering with one hand, calmly controlling the pickup which didn't match its original speed, nearly reaching sports car levels, entirely unfazed by the pickup's velocity.
Swish.
As a curve appeared ahead, Ye Qiu steered and then tapped the brakes, the seemingly dilapidated pickup completing a perfect drift. After passing the curve, Ye Qiu resumed single-handed driving with a composed expression.
"It's almost one in the morning now, I need to go even faster."
Ye Qiu glanced at the time, noticing it was nearing one in the morning, feeling a bit anxious, thinking even though the pickup had accelerated to 250 per second, that most would think it's flying, he found it still slow.
"Dad didn't suggest switching cars, if I were driving that Porsche, I estimate I'd be at Minshan County by now."
After pushing the pickup to its limit at 280, Ye Qiu arrived at the end of Minshan Road, noticing the sign read Minshan County, he thought internally.
If ordinary people knew Ye Qiu's thought process, they would likely be frightened to death.
Considering that, the full length of Minshan Highway from H City to Minshan County spans a total of 130 kilometers.
For ordinary people driving at highway speeds, it would take nearly three hours, even under unobstructed conditions at full speed.
Even for professional racing drivers, under unobstructed conditions, it would likely take a top driver an hour and a half.
Yet Ye Qiu driving this nearly scrapped pickup only took less than 40 minutes, to be precise just 39 minutes and 37 seconds, and he still thought it slow and believed with a better vehicle, the time taken would be even less.
It's fortunate Ye Qiu keeps this thought to himself, had others found out, they would likely not believe it even if struck dead.
"This time you were clearly 5 minutes faster..."
As Ye Qiu's pickup entered Minshan County, heading towards his home, Fle's voice sounded in his mind.
"Hmm, seems this year driving for delivery over this road has given me complete mastery. Driving this pickup is likely reaching its limit…"
Ye Qiu commented, since the incident in the United States and being expelled from the Highway Hero Team, returning to Huaxia over this past year, driving this pickup daily, transporting goods from Minshan County to H City every morning.
The route was naturally the 130-kilometer-long Minshan Highway.
Initially, Ye Qiu's first run nearly took 2 hours, understandable since he was freshly discharged from the hospital and resistant to speeding, hence slow.
Over time, under his dad's pressure, his speed had to increase, because he had to rise by half-past four in the morning, drive from Minshan County to H City to deliver goods, then straight to school, explaining why Ye Qiu was always tired in class.
However, today, it only took him 39 minutes, not even 40 minutes, such progress is truly terrifying.
"Fle, can you tell if my truck has been modified?"
Ye Qiu naturally knew this pickup's speed didn't match, but after thoroughly inspected, found no discrepancies.
Though aware of ordinary pickup speed, engine power 130, maximum speed reaching only 130KM, his pickup was distinctly different, with power reaching over 250, and now showing the needle passed the red line reaching 280 could compare to some sports cars.
"Currently, I can't see that!"
Fle was aware of these facts, yet couldn't discern any differences, it was undeniable.
"Alright," Ye Qiu helplessly nodded.
"Maybe… you should ask your dad for clarification!"
After a while, Fle suddenly suggested.
"My dad?"
Ye Qiu was surprised but soon noticed he reached his home, and saw at the brightly lit entrance, standing a middle-aged man wearing large shorts, dragging worn-out slippers, sparse hair, messy, with a face exuding authority without anger, yet rife with a sense of downfall. Seeing this figure, Ye Qiu's heart skipped.
"Dad, still not asleep?"
Ye Qiu swallowed a mouthful of saliva and slowly parked the car beside a two-story small building located at the edge of Minshan County.
Although it was a two-story building, it was not worth much in a county town, and judging by its shabby appearance, it seemed to be quite old. The old sign hanging at the entrance, which read Tianxiong Tofu Shop, also indicated that the owner of this shop was not very wealthy.
Humph.
The white pickup slowly stopped at the entrance of Tianxiong Tofu Shop. Inside the car, Ye Qiu looked at the face outside that was currently filled with anger, tightly grasping the steering wheel, his expression grim.
Bang.
As Ye Qiu was considering how to explain, he felt the car shake—it turned out the man had kicked the car door, and a voice that made Ye Qiu shudder sounded out: "Get out! What are you hiding in the car for?"
"Ah, he's here after all..."
Ye Qiu sighed, then opened the door and got out, glancing at the man glaring at him, and walked over with his head down and his steps faltering.
"What time is it?"
As Ye Qiu approached the man, he smelled a strong smell of alcohol, which he found somewhat pungent. Hearing the authoritative voice of that middle-aged man made Ye Qiu lower his already bowed head even more, and he whispered, "Almost, almost one o'clock..."
"Hmph, where did you go?"
"I..."
"Better tell the truth!"
Ye Qiu hesitated for a moment, then sighed inwardly and recounted everything that had happened earlier, though he left out the details about the System Fle.
"Racing with others?" The man's face, naturally commanding even when not angry, clearly showed a moment of surprise as he looked at Ye Qiu nodding with his head down. A hint of joy flashed in his murky eyes but disappeared quickly. He sternly asked, "Did you win or lose?"
"Huh?"
Ye Qiu was taken aback, but seeing the face of this middle-aged man, he hurriedly said, "Won, I won..."
After saying this, the man fell silent, and Ye Qiu dared not speak, staring at his sneakers.
"Let's go back; we still have to deliver goods later."
Ye Qiu twitched the corner of his mouth. It was already one o'clock, and with a delivery set for four-thirty, there was little time to sleep.
Thinking this, Ye Qiu heard the sound of the man leaving and slowly looked up. Gazing at the back of the middle-aged man walking away, he hesitated and shouted, "Dad, could you stop drinking from now on?"
The middle-aged man was the owner of this Tianxiong Tofu Shop, and also Ye Qiu's father, Ye Xiong.
Ye Xiong, who was intending to leave, paused at his son's words, then suddenly turned and strode towards Ye Qiu, shouting angrily, "You're daring to manage me now?"
Ye Xiong stood nearly 1.8 meters tall and in two steps was in front of Ye Qiu, raising his hand to hit him.
But when he saw Ye Qiu's face raised, and those eyes filled with tears glaring at him, Ye Xiong's eyes widened too. After a moment, his raised hand slowly lowered and he turned away, muttering, "You've really grown up, growing wings, left some food for you, heat it yourself."
Ye Xiong's figure disappeared from Ye Qiu's sight, but Ye Qiu stood frozen there; his father's final words stirred something deeply within him, filling his heart with strong familial affection.
Wiping away the tears that had gathered at the corners of his eyes, a smile surfaced on his face as he stepped into the house.
...
"Ah, when will Dad stop being so sloppy!"
After entering the house, Ye Qiu looked at the messy layout. He felt quite helpless, recalling his efforts to tidy up before leaving in the morning.
But, despite the grumble, he quickly started tidying up. However, when he touched a covered photo frame, his hand paused. Picking up the frame, he saw a beautiful middle-aged woman in the photo, and a hint of longing surfaced on Ye Qiu's face.
"Mom, are you doing well now? Why didn't you come back to Huaxia with me back then?"
Looking at his mother's photo, Ye Qiu was filled with curiosity. In the end, he sighed, placed the photo frame back on the cabinet, and after tidying up the room, he turned off the light and went upstairs to his room.
Ye Qiu's room was on the second floor, not very large. There was a computer with many books on it and a bed with blue sheets beside it.
Ye Qiu liked blue because Lin Xirou liked it.
Upon returning to his room, Ye Qiu was hit by a wave of drowsiness and felt extremely comfortable lying in bed.
However, turning his head, he saw the photo frame on the computer desk, in which a beautiful girl was smiling at him, and a sincere smile of joy appeared on Ye Qiu's face: "Xirou, are you doing well now? I have some news for you..."
Ye Qiu got up, picked up Lin Xirou's photo, then lay back in bed and said to the photo, "I've started driving again, I raced someone today and won. Also, I have a Car God System now. It's high tech and can help me become stronger. Do you know its name? It's called Fle, haha, like a dog's name, don't you think it's funny?"
"Ye Qiu, you bastard, my name is Fle, not Flea...not a dog's name..."
Ye Qiu, who was laughing, was startled by Fle's angry voice and quickly covered his mouth to apologize.
After Fle calmed down, Ye Qiu looked at Lin Xirou's photo again and said, "Xirou, you should be beyond SSS-level by now, maybe even stronger in the realm of Bronze Chariot King. And Aik must be really strong too. But don't worry, I'll catch up to you soon enough. One day we'll meet again, so you must wait for me..."
Saying this, Ye Qiu gently kissed Lin Xirou's photo, and then, with joy on his face, he cradled the photo and slowly fell asleep.