Sunday. 14:00 Local Time.
Bahrain International Circuit.
Air Temp: 38°C. Track Temp: 52°C.
Over one billion eyes were glued to the screen.
The starting grid.
Usually, the Pole Position slot was occupied by a scarlet Scuderia Fire or a deep blue Crimson Energy machine.
Today, it was a white Hawk VF-25.
It looked out of place. Like a stray dog that had wandered into a wolf pack.
Ye Tian sat in the cockpit. The heat was suffocating.
Through his visor, he stared at the empty stretch of asphalt ahead.
This was the view of a King.
No exhaust fumes. No gearbox in his face. just heat waves shimmering off the tarmac.
"Ye, listen." Gary's voice crackled, nervous. "The start is everything. Hamson (Fire) is on your back left. Vesper (Crimson) is on your back right. Their Launch Control systems are at least 0.2 seconds faster than ours. When the lights go out, they will try to eat you alive."
"Let them come."
Ye Tian gripped the wheel. His gloves creaked.
[System: The Legend S Instincts — Maximum Alert.]
His senses expanded. He could hear the low rumble of the 19 monsters behind him.
He could feel the hunger of the Seven-Time King.
He could feel the rage of the Four-Time Tyrant.
In the stands, Snow Jiang held her breath. Her hands were sweating.
This was history. The first time a Chinese driver started from Pole.
Just leading for one second would be a legend.
BEEP.
First red light.
The revs rose. A deafening scream tore through the desert.
BEEP.
Second light.
11,000 RPM.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
Five red lights. The world held its breath.
OUT!
BOOM!
In that thousandth of a second, Ye Tian's body moved faster than his brain.
Reaction Time: 0.09 seconds.
Human limit broken.
"Perfect launch! Ye Tian reacts instantly!" The commentator screamed.
But physics is cruel.
Reaction time is one thing. Horsepower is another.
The Hawk VF-25 had a budget clutch and a weak hybrid deployment. The Crimson Energy and Scuderia Fire cars behind him had millions of dollars more in their engines.
"Welcome to the big leagues, kid!"
Max Vesper sneered inside his helmet. The dark blue RB21 launched like a missile.
Vesper swerved right instantly, forcing his nose up the inside line!
On the left, Louis Hamson in the red car did the same.
The scarlet machine surged forward, taking the outside line!
One Left. One Right.
Red and Blue.
They sandwiched the white car in the middle!
The Pincer Move.
This was a classic bullying tactic.
Usually, the car in the middle has two choices: Lift off the gas and surrender, or keep going and get crushed into a carbon-fiber pancake.
"He's done!" A fan in the stands screamed. "It's the Sandwich of Death! He has to lift!"
Ye Tian didn't lift.
He pressed his foot harder.
You want to squeeze me?
Let's see whose balls are bigger.
The gap between the three cars was shrinking. Millimeters separated their wheels.
If tires touched at 280 km/h, all three of them would fly into the grandstands. It would be a catastrophe.
Ahead. Turn 1.
The braking zone approached rapidly.
Vesper and Hamson were veterans. They knew the braking point. They prepared to slam the pedals.
But the white car in the middle... was still accelerating.
He wasn't braking?
"MANIAC!!!"
Max Vesper looked to his left. He saw the white nosecone still surging forward. His pupils dilated in terror.
He's not stopping.
If I turn in, he'll T-bone me and kill us both.
This was the "Mutually Assured Destruction" line.
You want to pass? Fine. We die together.
In a game of chicken at 300 km/h, whoever fears death first, loses.
Vesper was a ruthless driver. But he was the defending champion. He had points to lose. He couldn't die here against a rookie with nothing to lose!
SCREECH!
Vesper slammed his brakes early! He bailed out!
Hamson, on the outside, saw the madness and widened his line frantically to avoid being clipped!
They flinched.
Ye Tian didn't.
But now, Ye Tian was way past the braking point.
He was going too fast to make the corner.
"He's going off!" Snow Jiang gasped. "He can't stop!"
Ye Tian's eyes flashed.
[Skill: Absolute Braking Control.]
He slammed the brake pedal with 150kg of force.
Instead of locking up all four wheels and sliding straight, he modulated the pressure perfectly.
He locked only the inside front tire for a split second!
SMOKE!
A puff of white smoke exploded from the tire.
The car didn't slide straight. The locked wheel acted like an anchor, whipping the car's nose into the apex violently!
He forced the car to rotate using a controlled lock-up!
It was ugly. It was violent. It was brilliant.
The Hawk shuddered, dancing on the edge of disaster, and sliced across the apex curb like a knife.
He made it.
He kept the lead!
"HOLY..." The commentator choked. "Did you see that?! That was a 'Death Brake'! He bullied two World Champions into backing off!"
"Ye Tian! The bandit from the East! He is telling everyone: This position is mine! Come and take it if you dare!"
On the radio, Max Vesper was smashing his steering wheel.
"He's crazy! He's a f*cking lunatic! Does the GIA see this?! He tried to crash me! That was a divebomb!"
His engineer replied, voice weary: "Max, calm down. Data shows... he stayed within the white lines. It was dangerous, but legal."
Ye Tian exited Turn 1. He checked his mirrors.
The red and blue cars were scrambling to recover.
He smirked.
"Is that the best the Gods have got?"
"I expected more."
Lap 2.
The initial chaos settled. Now, the real nightmare began.
DRS (Drag Reduction System) was enabled.
If a car is within 1 second of the car ahead, they can open their rear wing on the straights to gain massive speed.
The Hawk VF-25's weakness—its draggy, slow chassis—was exposed.
Ye Tian was a sitting duck.
Behind him, Max Vesper had recovered. The dark blue Crimson Energy car was angry.
Vesper closed the gap effortlessly.
0.8 seconds.
0.6 seconds.
0.4 seconds.
"Ye! He's coming! He has DRS!" Gary shouted. "He's 20 km/h faster than us on the straight! You're going to be eaten!"
Ye Tian watched the blue monster growing in his mirror.
The raw mechanical difference was too big. No amount of skill could make a slow car go faster in a straight line.
Or could it?
"Straight line speed?"
Ye Tian narrowed his eyes.
"Fine."
Just as Vesper pulled out of the slipstream to overtake, Ye Tian did something baffling.
He steered the car slightly to the right.
Off the racing line.
"He's giving up?" The crowd wondered. "He's opening the door?"
No.
Ye Tian drove his wheels onto the "Dirty Side" of the track. The part of the asphalt covered in sand, dust, and rubber marbles (tiny bits of shredded tires).
And then... he tapped the brakes.
[Dirty Tactic: Sandstorm.]
WOOSH!
A massive cloud of desert sand, dust, and rubber pellets kicked up from Ye Tian's rear diffuser!
It was like a smoke screen!
Max Vesper, who had just opened his DRS wing and was accelerating to pass, drove straight into the cloud.
CRACK! PING! PING!
Hundreds of tiny rubber bullets and sand particles smashed into Vesper's helmet visor and into the sensitive air intakes of the Red Bull!
"ARGH!"
Vesper screamed. "I can't see! I can't see sh*t!"
The dust coated his visor. The dirty air choked his front wing aerodynamics.
The Crimson Energy car instantly lost front grip. Vesper had to lift off the throttle to wipe his visor!
Momentum lost.
Overtake failed.
Ye Tian swerved back onto the racing line, keeping P1.
"Welcome to Bahrain, Max."
Ye Tian chuckled coldly on the radio. "It's a desert. Watch out for sand."
Lap 8.
The defense was heroic, but the reality was grim.
This "Dirty Defense" could only work for so long.
Behind Ye Tian, a train had formed.
The Ye Tian DRS Train.
P1: Ye Tian (Hawk) - Driving a tractor.
P2: Vesper (Crimson) - Furious.
P3: Hamson (Fire) - Watching.
P4: Norris (McLaren) - Stuck.
P5... P6...
Seven of the fastest cars in the world were stuck behind the slowest car.
Ye Tian was parking the bus at 300 km/h.
"This is hilarious!" The commentator laughed. "Ye Tian is single-handedly destroying the race pace of the top teams! It's like a traffic jam on the highway caused by a grandpa, but the grandpa is drifting!"
In the Scuderia Fire cockpit, Louis Hamson watched the angry Vesper fail again and again.
The Seven-Time King decided it was time to school the kids.
"Max is too emotional," Hamson thought. "I'll show them how it's done."
Hamson faked a move to the left, forcing Vesper to defend, then dove down the inside of Vesper!
Beautiful move!
Now, Hamson was P2. Right behind Ye Tian.
"Okay, kid." Hamson narrowed his eyes. "Let's see if your dirty tricks work on me."
Hamson knew the Hawk's weakness: Tires.
The Hawk ate tires for breakfast.
Ye Tian had been sliding and defending for 8 laps. His Soft tires must be dead.
Turn 4.
Hamson set up the "Old Fox Pendulum" move.
He feinted left.
Ye Tian's car twitched left to cover.
Gotcha.
Hamson instantly switched to the right, diving for the open inside line!
His front wing was alongside Ye Tian's rear wheel.
The pass was done.
But just as Hamson thought "Checkmate"...
Ye Tian didn't turn in.
He hit the brakes hard while turning the wheel violently.
Weight transfer forward. Rear grip broken.
[Skill: Dragon Tail Swing.]
The rear end of the Hawk car swung out sideways!
Like a massive baseball bat!
It swung directly across Hamson's nose!
"sh*t!"
Hamson slammed on the brakes, locking up his tires. Smoke poured everywhere.
If he hadn't braked, his expensive carbon fiber nose would have been smashed off by Ye Tian's rear wheel!
Ye Tian had "slammed the door" shut. Literally.
He parked the car sideways in the middle of the corner!
"Is he insane?!" Hamson shouted, heart pounding. "He nearly took my nose off!"
On the radio, Ye Tian's voice was lazy. Mocking.
It was broadcast to the world.
"Gary. Tell Louis."
"He moved to Ferrari, so he should take care of the car. Parts are expensive."
"And tell him to go back to driving school. His braking reaction is a bit slow."
PFFT!
Hamson heard the message and nearly choked.
Me? Slow?
You cut me off with a drift, and you call me slow?!
The King's composure cracked.
Ye Tian had successfully pissed off two World Champions in 10 laps.
But in the garage, the data screens were flashing red.
[TIRE CRITICAL]
[WEAR: 90%]
"Ye!" Gary yelled. "Stop playing! The tires are gone! You have no rubber left! We need to box (pit stop)! Box now!"
If he pitted now, he would come out in P15. The train behind him would disappear into the distance.
Game over.
Ye Tian looked at the sky.
Dark clouds were gathering over the desert.
[System Weather Radar: Active.]
"No."
Ye Tian said firmly.
"What? You'll be overtaken in one lap!"
"I'm not pitting."
Ye Tian gripped the wheel, fighting the sliding car.
"Stay out."
"I'm going to drive these tires until they explode."
"Because a real God of Speed..."
Ye Tian looked at the first drop of rain hitting his visor.
"...doesn't need dry tires."