Racing to the Void
Episode 5 – The Legacy Haters
Chapter 1 – Shadows from the Past
The morning after the Starlight Serpent victory, KiiiD's garage smelled like scorched metal and hot coolant. The AI had already run diagnostics, recalibrating the Vortex Turbine Exhausts from last night's upgrades, when the front door slid open with a harsh shhhk.
Three figures stepped in like they owned the place.
They weren't strangers.
They were the Ashbolt Crew — Drix, Veyra, and Kron — all three Level 1,760 and up. Known for their vicious street tactics, their custom cars had been banned from multiple Void League circuits for "aggressive contact" that mysteriously always ended with their rivals wrecked.
But that wasn't why they were here.
Drix leaned against a tool rack, his metallic visor reflecting the garage lights.
"Your parents thought they were gods, kid. Thought they could just waltz up to two billion and leave the rest of us choking on their fumes."
Veyra circled KiiiD's coupe, her voice a venomous purr.
"And now we've got their little heir thinking he can climb the same ladder? Cute."
Kron cracked his knuckles.
"Problem is, we don't like your bloodline. And we sure as hell don't like you."
KiiiD didn't flinch. He was still leaning against the driver's door, hands in his pockets.
"You done? Or do you actually have a point?"
Drix's visor tilted.
"Race. Today. Three on one. You win, we leave you alone. You lose… you never race the Void League again."
The AI whispered in his ear, "Probability of survival against three racers of this level: 4.7%."
KiiiD grinned. "Good enough."
Chapter 2 – The Triple Threat Circuit
The chosen track was Iron Fang Gauntlet — a jagged, looping course built inside an asteroid mining colony. It was notorious for razor-thin tunnels, sudden drops into low-gravity sections, and no room for error.
KiiiD rolled to the start line, his coupe gleaming with all eighty-seven levels' worth of upgrades from yesterday's grind. It looked like a predator among the Ashbolt Crew's war machines.
Drix's car was a matte-black hypercar bristling with anti-draft panels. Veyra's was a needle-thin vector racer designed for surgical overtakes. Kron's was pure muscle, a wide-bodied monster with reinforced ramming armor.
3… 2… 1…
The tunnel walls blurred as they shot forward. Immediately, Kron swerved, slamming his armored side into KiiiD's coupe. The Mag-Lev Stabilizers from last night's Io race kept him steady, the suspension absorbing the hit like a shrug.
LEVEL UP – 87 → 88
New Upgrade: Reactive Impact Shielding
Thin energy lines webbed across his car's frame, dispersing collision force through the chassis.
Chapter 3 – The Ambush
They weren't racing to win. They were racing to break him.
Veyra cut in from behind, her vector racer scraping his tail lights. At the same time, Drix triggered a micro-flashbang in the tunnel, trying to blind him for half a second.
The AI auto-calibrated:
Countermeasure Deployed – Polarized Visual Filters
The tunnel returned to perfect clarity as KiiiD slammed into a hairpin turn, drifting so close to the wall that sparks rained like fireworks.
LEVEL UP – 88 → 89
New Upgrade: Oversteer Drift Control
Now he could hold tighter drifts at impossible angles.
Chapter 4 – Fighting Back
Halfway through lap two, KiiiD stopped defending and started attacking.
He cut into Kron's draft, used the Quantum Boost Injectors to sling past him, and clipped his front bumper with a perfectly timed sideswipe. Kron's car spun, bouncing off the tunnel wall in a shower of sparks.
The crowd watching from the asteroid's glass observation decks went insane.
LEVEL UP – 89 → 90
New Upgrade: Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS)
The coupe began harvesting every braking motion into stored boost energy.
Next target: Veyra.
Her car was faster on straights, but KiiiD had the Adaptive Aero Kit from the Mars race. He flattened his panels, caught her slipstream, and at the next low-gravity drop, fired his KERS boost.
He didn't just pass her — he flew over her, landing two car lengths ahead.
LEVEL UP – 90 → 91
New Upgrade: Zero-G Traction Clamps
Chapter 5 – The Final Lap
Only Drix remained. His black hypercar was a blur, cutting through every corner with ruthless precision.
KiiiD pushed his coupe harder, feeling the chassis hum like a living beast under him. The AI fed him constant telemetry, but his instincts were ahead of it now.
Last stretch — the Dead Man's Spiral, a triple corkscrew descent with no rails.
Drix went in first. KiiiD followed, hitting the curve at an impossible angle. The Zero-G Clamps bit into the asteroid's surface like talons, holding him steady as he took the inside line.
Side by side now.
Final corner.
KiiiD's Vortex Turbine Exhaust roared, blasting concentrated thrust that flung him past Drix by a razor's edge. The finish line flashed.
Chapter 6 – Aftermath
LEVEL UP – 91 → 92
New Upgrade: Dynamic Threat Detection
Back in the garage, the Ashbolt Crew stood silent, their pride shattered.
Drix finally muttered, "Your parents… they were fast. But you… you're dangerous."
KiiiD didn't bother responding. He was already looking at the race list for tomorrow.
The grind wouldn't stop for anyone.