Chapter 189 Hagiwara's Dilemma

Day 12 of the Highway Survival Game!

She was just saying it casually, but the three people in the car couldn't help but change their expressions, each having their own speculations. They were about to exchange their thoughts when the countdown on the game panel in their view ended before they could even speak.

Seeing this, Hagiwara, who had already started the car, quickly stepped on the gas and said while driving, "We'll talk about this when we get back. Right now, the most important thing is to get through today's driving skills competition safely."

"I wonder what tricks the game will pull today. Yesterday's event was already on a world-shaking level, impossible in reality. I hope today's will be even more outrageous!" Matsuda said, seemingly making a sarcastic remark, as he looked at the ice flowers flashing past the car window.

In reality, his expression was very tense, not at all like his relaxed tone. He knew his childhood friend well and knew that Hagiwara had risked his life and was on the verge of an adrenaline rush to get through yesterday's car race.

In the real world, although Hagiwara enjoys trying out different road conditions, he has never driven on such a dangerous road. Coupled with the bad weather that increased the difficulty of the road conditions, the chance of danger was practically maxed out.

Matsuda was somewhat surprised that he was able to finish the race smoothly. He speculated that the crisis and the strong sense of protecting his beloved had stimulated his potential. However, it was lucky enough that this potential was stimulated once; it couldn't be stimulated every day.

Therefore, if the road conditions for today's driving competition are more dangerous than yesterday's, Hagiwara may encounter danger if he continues driving. We'll have to check the situation later, and if it doesn't work, we'll have to suspend the driving competition until the car is upgraded to a higher level.

Fortunately, they consistently lead in distance and overall distance, so there's no need to worry about being eliminated if they stop competing. Hagiwara probably wouldn't risk taking everyone on a futile effort without being certain of success...

Just as he was thinking about these things, after driving for a little over a minute, the road conditions from yesterday disappeared from both sides of the vehicle, and even the constantly falling ice flowers, hail, and snowflakes stopped appearing.

After nothing more fell from the sky, a new racetrack appeared before them. However, the moment they saw this so-called 'racetrack,' everyone gasped in shock.

What came into their view was a 'single-plank bridge' made of frozen ice, less than two meters wide, with bottomless depths on both sides, resembling an abyss. It spiraled upwards at a very dangerous angle, and the end of this 'track' could not be seen at all.

Upon seeing this newest track, Hagiwara instinctively slammed on the brakes, and a bead of cold sweat dripped from Morofushi Kagemitsu's forehead: "Even the most treacherous mountain roads in Japan don't seem to have such a dangerous track."

"Now that the snowstorm has stopped and there are no natural disasters like hail, if it were just a short stretch of frozen road, our upgraded tires would still be able to get through. But this road seems endless and winds its way uphill, the angle of ascent is too dangerous."

"It's not something you can get across with just driving skills. One wrong step and you could slide off the 'icy log bridge' and fall into the abyss on either side. I suggest we suspend the race until the vehicles are upgraded to the level three vehicles you've speculated to be!" Matsuda immediately voiced his thoughts after seeing the road conditions ahead.

"Indeed, the road conditions here are many times more extreme than the extremely dangerous roads in Chongqing, my country. The roadside is frozen with ice, and it's deliberately made so narrow that you can't even turn around if you go up there." Matsuda said this.

Feng Xing Shou agreed, forcing himself to stay focused, and said, "Anyway, we've covered the longest distance in this racing area, so even if we stop for a few days, we don't have to worry about being eliminated at the bottom."

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"No way! This is going to easily lead to a vicious cycle. Don't forget that the blueprints and materials for upgrading vehicles can only be obtained through the competition points here. We ran the furthest but still couldn't fully upgrade to a level 3 vehicle. The points we earned in just over a minute are not enough for the blueprints for other parts."

It's probably impossible to trade ready-made parts with other survivors. Even if other survivors run to the same section of road, the points they can get from trading part blueprints won't exceed ours. As long as they can drive, they'll be able to trade part blueprints.

"They'll probably do what we did, choosing the main components first and then trading the secondary ones. That might actually lead to all the survivors getting stuck on this super difficult section," Hagiwara said.

Deep down, I know that some survivors in a certain area might only know how to drive, not be very knowledgeable about car parts, or not have enough points to redeem secondary parts first.

Actually, we can stop here for now and go back to see if we can trade for other vehicle parts that haven't been upgraded yet, so we can fully upgrade this vehicle to level 3 and improve its performance before trying to cross this 'icy bridge'.

Looking at the road in front of him, he had a vague feeling that he could drive it across. The car felt like his own hands and feet, and he could control it completely. So no matter how dangerous the road looked, he felt he could get through it.

His intuition told him so, but Hagiwara was a rational and scientific person. According to his scientific understanding, this road was simply impossible to pass with human driving skills and vehicle performance.

However, an unprecedentedly strong intuition made him restless. This clash between emotion and rational scientific concepts led him to subconsciously say a few words. At first glance, they seemed fine, but upon closer inspection, it became clear that he was subtly persuading others to let him continue driving.

Matsuda knew his childhood friend very well. He could guess what Hagiwara wanted to say as soon as he opened his mouth. So when Hagiwara said what seemed like a no-brainer, Matsuda realized that Hagiwara had a strong desire to drive this road.

After being separated for several years, Matsuda has been very indulgent towards Hagiwara since they met again. He would never have disagreed with him on other matters, but now he is risking his life.

Not wanting to experience the pain of separation from his best friend again, his usually placid face immediately showed opposition: "No, your plan is too risky."

"Uh... but I think we can drive through." Hagiwara knew his childhood friend was right, but there was always a voice in his heart telling him that he could drive through, making him eager to try.

.

Feng Xingshou watched the rapidly ticking time. They had been standing there for almost a minute. Hagiwara's expression was the same as when his older brother did something and he thought, "How could I possibly succeed? No way, I definitely can't do it," but his brother was very confident and succeeded.

Why is Hagiwara so confident on such a dangerous racetrack? The moment this question arose in her mind, the conversation between the group of them when they came out of the dungeon exit earlier inexplicably came to mind.

She remembered that both Matsuda and Morofushi said they felt dizzy. Matsuda described it as more like the world spinning than dizziness. Morofushi didn't object, and he probably felt the same way as Matsuda. Hagiwara, however, said he felt a little dizzy, like he had been starving...

All three of them were elite talents trained in police academy, and Matsuda and Morofushi had lived in the real world for longer than Hagiwara. In other words, they were originally the same age, but after these events, they had become more mature and experienced more mature life.

In fact, both Matsuda and Morofushi are 4 years older than Hagiwara. They have been working as police officers, so their physical strength has not suffered. Generally speaking, the reason why people feel dizzy when using the dungeon exit is because of insufficient physical fitness.

Hagiwara, being the youngest and having less training time than the others, should have reacted more strongly. However, the opposite was true. In reality, Hagiwara's reaction was very weak, while Matsuda and Morofushi, who were the most physically fit among the four, reacted the strongest. Why?

By the way, why didn't I feel any discomfort from using the dungeon entrances and exits even once from beginning to end? As this question arose, Feng Xingshou inexplicably recalled the time he transferred Hagiwara and the other two from the real world to the game world.

In an instant, it was as if a thunderbolt had cleaved her confused mind, allowing her to sort out a clue: she had no reaction when she first entered the dungeon, and she had not felt any discomfort afterward. She had awakened the skills she now possessed when she died for the first time in the dungeon racetrack.

Hagiwara was the first person I brought into the Survival Highway from the real world, followed by Matsuda, then Morofushi. The rewards for completing major and ordinary missions were all related to the stimulation and cultivation of mental strength. Hagiwara, who entered the Survival Highway first and drove the most, had the weakest reaction to the dungeon entrances and exits...

"I see... Now that I think about it, it all makes sense." Feng Xingshou thought of all this and looked at the time on the game panel, which had already reached the third minute. He immediately said to Hagiwara, "Hagiwara, drive! I believe you'll be fine."

"Okay!" Hagi was originally hesitant and conflicted, unsure whether to choose rationality or trust his intuition. But when he heard Kaze's unwavering and trusting voice, he immediately made up his mind, stepped on the gas, and the car sped towards the 'icy log bridge'-shaped racetrack...

As the car drove onto the racetrack that looked like it was about to crash, Matsuda, Morofushi Kagemitsu, and Kazesei Mamoru inside the car instinctively gripped the armrests of their seats and nervously looked out the window.

Kazesei noticed that Matsuda and Morofushi had glanced at him a few times during this time, and he thought they were angry because he thought that Hagiwara had encouraged him to take risks for the sake of racing points and upgrading vehicles, disregarding the safety of Hagiwara and their lives.

Not wanting the two officers to misunderstand her as selfish and distrustful, she quickly explained, "Officer Matsuda, Officer Morofushi, I had Hagiwara drive up because I just figured something out, there's something..."

"Feng-chan! Now is not the time to talk." Hearing Feng Xingshou address him with honorifics again, Matsuda, with his reasoning skills, could easily guess what she was thinking. He quickly used a more intimate term to call her "Fujii" to signal her not to overthink it.

Morofushi Kagemitsu also told her with concern, "Clench your teeth and don't speak, be careful not to bite your tongue. If Fu-chan is thinking of anything, we'll talk about it when we get back."

"Hey! Why are you all calling her Feng-chan? That's my special nickname for her." Driving on such a dangerous road, Hagiwara still had the energy to fuss over such a trivial matter as how to address someone, leaving the other three speechless.