Chapter 549: Changing Cars
Passing the Tamagawa River, the place names on the road signs changed to Kawasaki.
"This is the first time it's been driven out of Tokyo Metropolis."
She patted the steering wheel.
"It's roaring even happier than I am."
"Then it can really be considered going on a long trip tonight."
"Please don't laugh."
"I'm not laughing."
"I heard it."
The walkie-talkie was quiet for a moment, and a muffled hint of a smile was mixed in the static.
Around Kawasaki, both sides of the road were full of chimneys and oil tanks, and the lights glowed yellow in the water vapor.
In the distance, a fire was burning on top of a tall flare stack. When the wind blew, the flames leaned toward the sea, dyeing the tops of several nearby oil tanks red.
The road surface was old, with seams one after another. When the F40 drove over them, the entire cockpit rattled with a clatter.
Satsuki gripped the steering wheel, her palms vibrating to the point of numbness.
The 911 overtook her from the right at this moment.
It bounced less over the seams than the F40, and was also steadier.
After overtaking her, Shuichi did not accelerate, maintaining just half a car length lead as he went through the corners one by one ahead, the position of his taillights never leaving her field of vision.
Before a long right-hand turn, he suddenly let off the gas.
The F40 closed in, the distance between the two cars shrinking to a few car lengths.
"You've slowed down."
Satsuki pressed the talk button, her words laced with a smile.
"How have I slowed down?"
"Enjoying the scenery."
"Huh?"
"The chimneys on the left look great."
Satsuki laughed so hard she couldn't steady the steering wheel, and the car swayed in the lane. She hurriedly straightened her hands.
"Father, you stole my lines!"
"Who stole them."
Passing Tsurumi, the directional sign ahead lit up with white letters on a green background, reading Daikoku PA, just a few kilometers away.
"Father, there's a PA ahead."
"Stop for a bit?"
"Yeah, grab something to drink."
"Okay."
At the Namamugi JCT, the two cars turned onto the Daikoku Line together.
After turning onto the Daikoku Line, a strip of light lay horizontally across the night sky ahead.
The two bridge towers of the Yokohama Bay Bridge were illuminated to a snowy white, with steel cables pulling down diagonally from the tops of the towers, arranged one by one like two fans, and the sea below was so dark its edge couldn't be seen.
A bit further away, towards Minato Mirai, a crane hung with a red light was mounted on top of a half-built high-rise.
"Is that it?"
"The Yokohama Bay Bridge."
"Oh..."
Satsuki glanced at it a couple more times.
The bridge had only been open to traffic for a few years. She had known about it before, but had never driven here herself at night to see it.
Before long.
The two cars drove into the Daikoku Parking Area.
The time was approaching 10:30.
The parking area was a bit livelier than Satsuki had imagined.
Rows of cars were parked under the lights, including young couples who had just gotten out of their cars, and a few people gathered together smoking and chatting.
Parked on the outer positions were a few Mercedes and BMWs, and a bit further away, a white Soarer could also be seen.
When the F40 had just driven in, quite a few gazes had indeed turned over.
After all, this kind of car wasn't common even in Tokyo.
Not to mention it was accompanied by a remarkably well-maintained old 911.
Satsuki didn't mind.
She followed Shuichi to find two adjacent spots and parked the car in one.
After the engine was turned off, the world instantly became much quieter.
Satsuki pushed open the car door.
The moment one leg stepped out, she couldn't help pausing for a moment.
Her left leg was sore.
Really sore.
She got out of the car nonchalantly, holding onto the door to straighten her body.
Shuichi happened to walk over from the other side.
His gaze swept over her legs.
"How is it?"
"Very good."
"Are your legs sore?"
"No."
"Really?"
"Father."
Satsuki closed the car door.
"Why are you so long-winded tonight?"
Shuichi nodded.
"Then they are sore."
"..."
Satsuki ignored him and turned to walk away.
A row of vending machines stood at the edge of the parking area.
She walked over, looked around, inserted coins, and pressed for a can of hot coffee.
When the can dropped, it made a "thud" sound.
Satsuki bent down to pick it up.
Warm.
Holding the somewhat scalding can, Satsuki didn't head back to the F40, but instead slowly walked a circle around the 911.
There were no superfluous lines on the car body, the round roof sloped down toward the back, and the rear crouched low.
She bent down on the driver's side and looked inside through the half-open window.
Five round gauges were lined up on the dashboard, with the tachometer right in the middle, its needle resting at zero. The steering wheel was very thin, and the seats were thin and narrow, showing obvious signs of use.
"There's nothing inside this car."
"Things that aren't there are superfluous to it."
Shuichi leaned against the car body and pulled the tab of the tea can he had just bought.
Satsuki straightened her waist and looked at him.
"When you entered the corner, the front of your car didn't dip at all. How did you do that?"
"The car is light and the steering is direct. Wherever you want to go, your hands take you there."
"Then back in C1, when did you decide to overtake me?"
"The third corner."
Shuichi took a sip of tea.
"You brake early and step on it hard. Once the front end dips, you have to wait for it to lift back up when exiting the corner."
"How did I step on it hard?"
"You brake way too hard. You throw all the weight onto the front all at once, and your movements entering the corner are too abrupt. By the time the car body stabilizes again, exiting the corner is naturally slow."
Satsuki hugged the coffee can, her lips moving, but for a long time she couldn't think of how to retort, so she just lowered her head and took another sip.
The warmth sank all the way from her throat to her stomach.
She glanced at that thin seat again and placed the can on the roof of the 911.
"Father."
"Hmm?"
"I want to drive it."
Shuichi's hand holding the tea can paused for a second.
He placed the can on the roof, pulled a set of keys from his jacket pocket, and weighed them in his hand.
"The clutch travel is long, and the bite point is different from your F40. Don't let up too fast when starting off."
"When I drove the F40, you didn't remind me how to step on the clutch."
"You found it yourself."
"Then I can find it myself for this one too."
Shuichi looked at her for a moment and smiled.
"Alright, I believe you."
He placed the keys into the palm of her outstretched hand.
Satsuki clutched the keys tightly, reached her other hand into her jacket pocket, fished out the F40's key, and shoved it into Shuichi's hand.
"Then you drive mine too."
Shuichi looked down at the key with the Prancing Horse keychain in his hand, then raised his eyes to look at her.
"Aren't you most precious about this car of yours?"
"That's right."
Satsuki had already turned around, shaking the keys in her hand, "So be careful not to break it, oh, this was given to me by Uncle Tsutsumi."
Satsuki opened the door of the 911, sat down in that thin and narrow seat, pushed the seatback all the way forward, and inserted the key into the keyhole on the left side of the steering wheel.
She placed both hands on that slender steering wheel.
Shuichi walked around to the F40 and lowered his head to glance at the cockpit, which was even lower than the 911's.
"Hey, this girl, aren't you afraid this car will shake me to pieces."
He smiled, shook his head, and slowly squeezed himself inside.