Team Hawk Garage. Thick black smoke billowed into the air.
Fire extinguishers hissed, covering the rear of the VF-25 in white foam. The smell of burnt metal and despair was suffocating.
Q3 (The Top 10 Shootout) was starting in 10 minutes.
"It's over... it's all over."
Koma collapsed into a chair, head in hands. His face was gray. "Turbo linkage snapped. Probably took a cylinder with it. We can't fix this."
David, the Chief Mechanic, wiped oil from his face and shook his head grimly.
"Boss, we need to change the entire Power Unit (PU). The rules say if we change the engine under Parc Fermé conditions, it's a grid penalty. He starts tomorrow's race from last place."
Last place.
Ye Tian had risked his life to drag this tractor into the Top 10. And now? It was all for nothing.
Outside the garage, the Chinese fans who were cheering five minutes ago went silent.
In the neighboring garage, Max Vesper took off his helmet. He watched the chaos at Team Hawk and smirked.
"That's the price of driving a shitbox. Luck runs out eventually."
Even Louis Hamson sighed, shaking his head. "A shame. The kid had pace. But reliability is part of the sport."
Everyone pronounced the death sentence.
Even Snow Jiang, reporting live, felt her voice crack. "It is... deeply regrettable. It seems Ye Tian will have to accept the penalty. This is cruel for a rookie who just made history..."
Then.
A cold voice cut through the noise.
"Who said we're changing the engine?"
Everyone turned.
Ye Tian pushed a mechanic aside. He was unzipping his race suit.
He peeled the top half down, tying the sleeves around his waist. He stood there in his black fireproof undershirt, revealing muscular, sweat-glistened arms.
He walked over to the toolbox and grabbed a torque wrench.
"Ye? What are you doing?" Koma shouted. "Stop adding to the mess! You're a driver, not a mechanic!"
Ye Tian ignored him. His eyes were focused. Sharp.
[System Store Open.]
[Spend 500 Shock Points.]
[Exchange Skill: God-Tier Mechanic (Temporary).]
[Skill Active: You see every flaw. You fix what cannot be fixed.]
"Listen to me!"
Ye Tian yelled as he dove under the scorching hot engine cover.
"The turbo isn't dead! The high-pressure bypass valve blew off, confusing the sensors! It thinks the cylinder is gone, but it's just a leak! Re-route the piping and patch the ECU fuel map! It will run!"
"What?" David, the Chief Mechanic, looked at him like he was insane. "Ye, that valve is buried deep in the V6! It's 300 degrees in there! It takes two hours to strip it! We have 8 minutes!"
"That's your speed."
Ye Tian scoffed.
The wrench in his hand became a blur.
"I say it takes five minutes."
The garage went silent.
This was madness. A Pay Driver teaching veterans with twenty years of experience how to fix a car?
"Let him do it!" Koma saw the fire in Ye Tian's eyes. Desperation took over. "We have nothing to lose! Help him!"
What followed was a scene that made everyone—Snow Jiang, the rival mechanics, the GIA officials—question reality.
Ye Tian was playing the engine like a piano.
He didn't look. He worked by touch. His hands moved with impossible speed inside the burning machinery.
"3mm wrench! Now!"
"Heat tape! The gold foil!"
"Coolant! Pass it!"
He didn't use standard parts. He sliced a broken pipe with a knife and performed a crude, violent "bypass surgery" on the engine.
Sweat poured down his face. Grease stained his arms. He looked raw. Primal.
The smell of testosterone and gasoline was heavy.
Outside the barrier, Snow Jiang stared. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She forgot her script.
She had seen movie stars in suits. She had seen drivers in clean uniforms.
She had never seen a man look so... powerfully destructive and creative at the same time.
"This jerk..." Her cheeks burned. "He actually knows how to do this?"
"Two minutes! Q3 countdown is ending!" Gary screamed, his voice cracking.
If he didn't cross the pit exit line before the timer hit 0:00, he couldn't set a lap.
"Done."
Ye Tian yanked his hands out. He threw the wrench on the floor with a clang.
He didn't bother pulling his race suit up. He vaulted into the cockpit, shirtless top still tied at his waist.
"Fire it up!"
Everyone froze.
Would this "Frankenstein" engine actually run? Or would it explode and kill them all?
BOOM!!!
A roar.
Deeper. Angrier. More violent than before.
Blue flames shot out of the exhaust pipe!
"It's alive?!" David fell to his knees, weeping as he looked at the diagnostics. "Intake efficiency is up 5%? Did he... did he optimize the airflow while fixing it?!"
"Move!"
Ye Tian slammed the visor down.
He dumped the clutch.
With 15 seconds left on the clock, the Hawk VF-25 screamed out of the garage like a demon escaping hell!
On the track.
Louis Hamson had just crossed the line.
1:29.500. Provisional Pole Position.
Max Vesper was second. 1:29.600.
The two titans were cruising back to the pits, waving to the crowd. They parked in the P1 and P2 spots, ready for the interviews.
"Good fight, Louis," Vesper said, taking off his helmet.
"Solid lap, Max," Hamson nodded. "Looks like it's just us two this year. That Hawk kid is done."
Suddenly.
The PA system screamed.
"WAIT! THERE IS ONE CAR! ONE CAR LEFT ON A FLYING LAP!"
"IT'S YE TIAN! HE CROSSED THE LINE WITH 1 SECOND TO SPARE!"
On the giant screens.
Ye Tian's Sector 1 time flashed.
It wasn't Green.
It wasn't Yellow.
PURPLE.
"What?!"
Hamson spun around, staring at the screen. His smile vanished. "Impossible! His engine blew up!"
Vesper froze. "Is he driving a rocket?!"
On board the Hawk.
Ye Tian's eyes were bloodshot.
The engine, tuned by his own hands, was running at 110% fuel flow.
It was a ticking time bomb.
But before it exploded, it was the fastest thing on Earth.
"Break... for me!!!"
The final corner.
Ye Tian didn't slow down. He utilized the stiffened rear suspension he had tweaked during the fix.
He ate the curb.
The car launched into the air. Four wheels off the ground.
It flew across the finish line!
The checkered flag waved!
The timing screen refreshed.
Hamson dropped to P2.
Vesper dropped to P3.
P1: Ye Tian (Hawk) - 1:29.100
Faster than the Seven-Time King...
By 0.4 seconds.
Silence.
Total silence for three seconds.
Then, the Bahrain circuit detonated. The roar of the crowd drowned out the engines.
"YE!!!! YOU ARE A GOD! YOU ARE A F*CKING GOD!!!"
Koma was sobbing on the radio. "POLE POSITION! THE FIRST POLE FOR TEAM HAWK IN HISTORY!!!"
Inside the cockpit, Ye Tian breathed heavily. He listened to the engine ticking as it cooled down.
He looked into the onboard camera.
He slowly raised a finger to his lips.
Shhh.
Then, his voice, arrogant and calm, went out to the world:
"Who said I can only drive garbage?"
"Tell the World Champions..."
"Tomorrow. I'll be waiting for them at the front. I hope they like the view of my taillights."