Having just finished the cool-down lap, Alex Sun unfastened his six-point harness. His arms were still aching and numb after enduring sustained 3–5G lateral forces.
His racing suit was completely soaked through, plastered tightly against his back. Sticky sweat ran down his neck into his collar, mixing with the lingering smell of fuel and rubber inside the cockpit. Every breath felt heavy and constricted. He didn't bother wiping the sweat away, simply raising his hands to remove his helmet.
The moment the helmet came off, mechanic Mark's impatient gaze met his head-on.
The British technician, crew-cut hair and oil-stained tattoos covering his arms, slammed a clearly printed lap-time sheet onto the pit garage workbench with a sharp smack.
"1:46.613!" Mark's voice was laced with undisguised sarcasm as he jabbed a finger at the numbers.
"Two seconds slower than reserve driver Robert Shwartzman, and 1.95 seconds slower than Oscar Piastri! The sponsors sent you here to test, not to go sightseeing!"
The surrounding mechanics all turned to look. They weren't strangers to slow drivers, but a three-second gap to teammates was something none of them had seen before.
Piastri, who had just finished his own run, passed by and overheard the remark. He cast a brief, indifferent glance in Alex Sun's direction and said nothing, clearly not giving this "slow teammate" any thought at all.
The original driver had already been teetering on the edge of replacement due to mediocre talent. Now, Alex Sun's performance seemed to confirm the verdict that he was destined for elimination.
Alex Sun picked up the lap-time sheet, his fingers brushing over the cold numbers. Guanyu Zhou sat at the top with a 1:43.848. Robert Shwartzman was tenth at 1:44.613. Oscar Piastri followed closely in eleventh with a 1:44.663. And he himself was dead last among the twenty-two drivers.
He pulled up the system panel.
Launch Control 40.
Driving Technique 50.
Resource Management 30.
Track Tactics 40.
Physical Endurance 30.
Emergency Reaction 30.
Weaknesses across the board—like a deep chasm blocking his path forward.
Fortunately, the reward from his first mission had already arrived: ten free ability points and the F2 driver base physical enhancement.
Alex Sun didn't hesitate. He immediately activated the enhancement and poured all ten points into Driving Technique.
A warm current surged through his body. The mental fog left behind by the high G-forces cleared noticeably. The problems from his previous lap—corner by corner—and the corresponding fixes rapidly took shape in his mind.
He took the tablet Mark handed over and compared his telemetry with Robert's data. Turn 1: braking point delayed by 0.1 seconds. Turn 3: inaccurate apex entry causing poor exit speed. Turn 10: an overly conservative line through the downhill blind corner. Individually minor, but together they added up to a full two seconds over a single lap.
[Main Quest Triggered: Establish Yourself in F2]
[Quest Requirement: Win the 2021 F2 Drivers' Championship]
[Quest Reward: 50 Free Ability Points; Unlock Team System; Unlock Trait [Guardian of the Machine] (Reduces vehicle consumption by 10%)]
[Failure Penalty: F2 Driver Status Revoked; Return to Original Parallel World]
As the cold system prompt faded, another notification followed immediately.
[Side Quest Triggered: Basic Ability Adaptation]
[Requirements: Complete three training tasks within 48 hours:
Neck G-Force Resistance Training (Standard: Stable vision ≥8 seconds under 5G load);
Core Strength Training (Standard: Isometric core stability ≥45 minutes);
Bahrain Circuit Simulator Training (Standard: Error-free lap ≤1:42, Track Proficiency ≥75%)]
[Rewards: Physical Endurance +5; Driving Technique +5; Free Ability Points +5]
[Early Unlock Bonus: Trait [Diligence Pays Off] (Each valid practice lap increases current track proficiency by 5%)]
The appearance of the side quest laid out a clear, tangible path forward.
The early unlock of "Diligence Pays Off" was especially critical. Bahrain was the core venue of F2 winter testing, and proficiency at key sections directly determined lap-time potential. With this trait active, every lap of practice would be far more efficient.
Alex Sun took a deep breath, clenched the lap-time sheet, and met Mark's eyes.
"Give me forty-eight hours. I'll close the gap."
Mark let out a snort, folding his arms as he looked him up and down.
"Forty-eight hours? If you can get it under one second, I'll personally go through the data corner by corner with you. Disappoint us again, and once winter testing ends, you can start packing."
That afternoon, Alex Sun headed straight into the team's private gym. Team doctor Carlos was already waiting.
"Neck G-force training for F2 isn't about brute force," Carlos said, handing him a resistance rig with calibrated weights. "Start with three kilos—simulating 3G. Fifteen reps per set, forty-five seconds rest. Gradually work up to five kilos. Focus on the trapezius and sternocleidomastoid muscles. That's how you keep your vision from blacking out mid-corner."
The base enhancement had already boosted his Physical Endurance from 30 to 60, but the neck training was still pure torture.
A three-kilo weight was fixed to his helmet via the rig. Every flexion sent sharp pain through his muscles as the fibers stretched, especially during lateral bends simulating cornering forces. The muscles along both sides of his neck trembled violently, barely holding the helmet up.
After just three sets, his neck had stiffened to the point he could barely turn it. Sweat fell like broken beads onto the mat, spreading into dark patches.
"Three seconds at 3G lateral hold," Carlos called out from the side. "Passing line is eight seconds. Keep going."
Alex Sun didn't answer. He slowed his movements, making sure every exertion was precise. When the load increased to five kilos, he had to gulp air after each repetition. Sweat streamed down along the helmet straps, pooling beneath him.
After twelve sets—one hundred and eighty reps in total—he collapsed onto the mat, barely able to lift a finger.
Carlos immediately stepped in to loosen his muscles. The soreness rippled along Alex Sun's spine, but he clenched his teeth and made no sound.
Subsequent 5G simulation testing showed that his vision blackout time had dropped from three seconds to 1.2 seconds—just a hair away from the standard. Hearing the result, a faint trace of relief finally appeared on his exhausted face.
After dinner, Alex Sun didn't dare rest. He went straight to the simulator room.
Data engineer Lina had already prepared everything. When she saw him enter, she pointed at the screen and explained, "Prema's simulator is built to F2 specs. Vibration feedback, G-force simulation, cockpit view—it all matches the real car. I've imported Piastri's and Robert's telemetry so you can compare in real time. Focus on the differences in throttle and braking timing. That's where your biggest gap is."
Alex Sun nodded, put on his helmet, and gripped the steering wheel. He switched to the true driving perspective and began setting reference points corner by corner. Turn 1 used the red-and-white curb on the left as the braking marker. Turn 3 used the edge of the advertising board at the apex. Turn 10 relied on the distant lighthouse as a visual guide.
Once ready, he launched straight into a flying lap.
The first attempt failed. At Turn 10, unfamiliarity with the reference point made him brake 0.05 seconds too late. The front-left tire locked and the car slammed into the wall.
"Brake pressure decay needs to start 0.1 seconds earlier," Lina's voice came over the intercom. "Look at Robert's telemetry—linear release. You're braking too deep, which kills your exit speed. That's the difference."
On the third flying lap, he lost rhythm through the Turn 6–7 sequence. Entry speed was too high, causing understeer and sending him off track.
Alex Sun stomped on the brakes, ripped off his helmet, and immediately replayed the telemetry, comparing his throttle trace with Robert's frame by frame.
He realized Robert used a "throttle flick" technique through the sequence—slightly lifting and reapplying throttle at each apex to stabilize the car. Alex Sun's constant throttle input had caused the slide. Once he identified the issue, he put his helmet back on and went again.
By the tenth flying lap, prolonged focus left his eyes burning. Two missed shifts alone cost him 0.2 seconds. He wiped sweat from his forehead, downed half a bottle of sports drink, shook out his numb fingers, and refocused.
The [Diligence Pays Off] trait remained active. The "Bahrain Circuit Proficiency" indicator steadily climbed from 30% in the corner of the screen. He stopped chasing immediate results, treating every mistake as a chance to refine his line, braking force, and throttle application.
At one in the morning, the simulator room was still brightly lit. Alex Sun's eyes were bloodshot, his fingers trembling slightly from gripping the wheel for so long, yet his control grew sharper with every lap.
On lap eighty, he completed a clean flying lap at 1:44.559. By lap one hundred, the screen flashed 1:44.293—nearly 2.32 seconds faster than his initial run. The system panel showed Bahrain F2 track proficiency at 80%, both figures well beyond his expectations.
Lina nodded as she looked at the data. "That rate of improvement is incredible."
Alex Sun removed his helmet and let out a long breath. He was exhausted to the core, but his eyes were steady and resolute.
Early the next morning, just as dawn broke, he returned to the gym for core training.
Carlos had the equipment ready. "For F2 drivers, the core is the stabilizer. Under 3–5G lateral forces, only a strong core keeps your upper body steady and prevents control distortion. Today's plan: plank variations. Static hold for forty-five minutes. Dynamic rotations—add five reps every minute."
Alex Sun lowered himself onto the mat, elbows planted, body locked into a straight line. Ten minutes in, his abdominal muscles began to burn, sweat dripping from his face onto the mat.
He consciously tightened his core, switching to a steady rhythm of inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth, forcing his body to stay stable.
At twenty minutes, his legs started to tremble. He stared at the grid lines on the floor, repeating three words in his mind—I can't lose—to fight the pain.
By forty-five minutes, his arms were numb and his body teetered on the edge of collapse, but sheer willpower carried him through.
The dynamic training that followed was even harder. Every rotation demanded precise core engagement while keeping his body perfectly still.
Alex Sun gritted his teeth through each set. Sweat soaked his training clothes, clinging uncomfortably to his skin, but he didn't spare a second to wipe it away.
After the final thirty-minute set, he collapsed onto the mat, chest heaving. Yet he could clearly feel it—the control in his core had undergone a qualitative leap. Where his body used to wobble during rotations, it now stayed straight and stable.
After checking the data, Carlos gave his verdict. "Core stability meets the standard. Your operational stability under high G-forces has improved by at least forty percent."
The brutal forty-eight hours passed in a blur. Alex Sun pushed his body to its absolute limit and completed every task. Leaning against the gym wall, his muscles screamed in protest and his mind hovered at the breaking point, but his gaze only grew firmer.
On the third day came the on-track flying lap—the final day of winter testing.
It was the only proof of those forty-eight hours of effort, and the first true step from amateur to professional.
There was no way back.
Only forward.