He had to admit, the older, the wiser. Even though Zhang Heng had undergone nine months of special training in Tokyo, his driving skills were still no match for Takeda Tetsuya, who had made a name for himself in Europe and was only one step away from the title of DK.
Especially in the latter half of the race, when the seafood store owner had familiarized himself with the car and his body, he had finally regained his former self.
Sacrificing his life to save Kobayashi's sister was not enough to offset the guilt he felt for his friend's death, but after a near-death experience, he had redeemed himself, and the knot in his heart had been mostly resolved.
Takeda Tetsuya was not someone Zhang Heng could defeat right now.
On the other side, Kobayashi's sister, Kobayashi Yu, who had been preparing for this revenge for more than twenty years, was equally skilled. Not only did she have the delicate control of a woman, she had also inherited Kobayashi's bravery.
But who was it that said only a better opponent could bring out a better self?
Under the stimulation of the two, Zhang Heng unleashed 150% of his ability. The L300 turned into a yellow phantom, speeding through the night.
But in the end, he was still one step behind. As they neared the finish line, the Nissan 180SX and Dodge Viper suddenly slowed down as if they had agreed to it.
Both were obviously giving way to each other, but Zhang Heng did not care. He drove his van and overtook Takeda Tetsuya and Kobayashi Yu, reaching the finish line first.
At the same time, a series of system notifications rang in his ears.
"You have won an underground modified car race, mission completed …
"Will return in 134 days …
"Successfully defeated a professional racer, + 15 game points. You may visit the character menu to view the relevant information …
"Successfully defeated the scenario's strongest racer, Yosuke Tsuchiya, + 25 game points. You may visit the character menu to view the relevant information …
"Successfully completed a Death Race Mode, + 10 game points. You may visit the character menu to view the relevant information …"
…
Zhang Heng was not surprised that Yosuke Tsuchiya was the strongest racer in the Tokyo Drift Quest, but he was surprised that Kobayashi Yu was a professional racer.
Female professional racers were as rare as a phoenix's feather. It was no wonder that she dared to challenge Takeda Tetsuya to a duel. Her true skill level might be slightly lower than Takeda Tetsuya's, but considering that the latter had almost lost his will to fight before her accident, it was hard to say who would win tonight without Zhang Heng.
In fact, it was almost impossible for Zhang Heng to win the championship if he were to compete based on each contestant's strength. However, because of what happened along the way, the atmosphere of the competition was no longer as tense as before. It was equivalent to him taking advantage of the situation and completing his main quest.
The rewards that followed were more generous than he had imagined. Just one match had brought him 50 points. Coupled with the 6 points from before, he now had an additional 56 points.
After that, Kobayashi Yu and Takeda Tetsuya chatted for the whole night. No one knew what they talked about. The next day, Takeda Tetsuya followed Kobayashi Yu to Kobayashi Liang's grave to pay his respects.
Two days later, Kobayashi Yu and her friends who had come to help left Tokyo.
Two months later, Ameko's application for an exchange student was approved.
Zhang Heng drove her to the airport to see her off. The girl would be living and studying in China for a year.
There was still some time before the plane took off. Ameko said she wanted to drink coffee, so Zhang Heng went to the airport's Starbucks to buy two lattes. When he walked up to the girl with the coffee, something soft pressed against his lips.
Ameko was obviously nervous. It was her first time doing something like this. Her movements were clumsy and shy. Their lips parted as soon as they touched.
"Look for me when you come back to China," Ameko whispered.
What she did earlier had drained all her courage. Without waiting for Zhang Heng's reply, she grabbed her luggage and ran to the check-in counter.
Zhang Heng watched as the girl disappeared into the crowd. Suddenly, he felt that such a long time might not be a good thing.
Those tiny, muddled feelings would slowly blossom in the depths of one's heart with the accumulation of time …
However, this was destined to be a promise that could never be fulfilled.
Zhang Heng sat alone on a seat at the airport, quietly finishing his two lattes.
No matter in which country, airports and train stations were places filled with the most emotions.
A trembling old granny sending off her grandson who was going to study, tidying his backpack over and over again. A four-year-old child holding his mother's hand said goodbye to his father who was going on a long trip. He did not know that it would be New Year's next year when they met again. A girl who had just gotten off the plane dashed into her boyfriend's arms in her high heels.
At the same time, someone was returning home, and someone was going on a long trip.
After finishing the last sip of hot coffee, Zhang Heng stood up, zipped up his down jacket, and walked out into the snow.
…
After the race, Zhang Heng had basically switched to leisure mode. His Japanese was almost done, and he even scored full marks in his monthly test, earning him another 3 game points.
However, his biggest reward was the wooden carving in his bag. It was the second game item he had obtained a month ago.
There was one thing that bothered Zhang Heng. Other than the competition seminar, the clubs that recruited new members every two months were very ordinary. The other two clubs that were related to cars, the 4WD Club and the Car Model Photography Club, were just like their names suggested. They were a gathering place for a bunch of chuunibyou and gentlemen.
Zhang Heng patiently stayed in each of them for two months, but all he learned was to shout at his 4WD, "Sprint Meteor, Cannon Messenger!" And how to visually measure a car model's cup size based on a picture.
However, Zhang Heng was still a little reluctant to give up. According to the situation in his first quest, he should have more than one valid option when the cycle appeared. So, he decided to change his way of thinking. He no longer considered car-related clubs and expanded the scope of his search, starting to set his sights on some of the more bizarre clubs.
Thinking of the altar he saw on the island, Zhang Heng chose to join a Mysterious Phenomena Research Club and a Folk Paranormal Incident Club. Even he did not expect the latter to bring him such a pleasant surprise.
The wooden sculpture was the vice president's collection. It was said that he got it from Rakuten (not the one in Korea, but an old shopping website in Japan). He only spent 500 yen on it, and the craftsmanship was very ordinary. It didn't even have a face.
Just like the lucky rabbit's foot, when Zhang Heng came into contact with the wooden sculpture, he heard a notification saying, [Game Item Discovered]. So, he proposed to buy the wooden sculpture from the vice president. The vice president was more than happy to give it to him. Since the Paranormal Society only had three members, the vice president valued the new members very much. Since the wooden sculpture wasn't worth much, she decided to give it to Zhang Heng.
So, without much effort, Zhang Heng obtained another game item.
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