Chapter 52 Racing Accident
People who came to the racetrack were originally chasing the thrill of speed, so after hearing the quarrel between Shao Qingbai and Apashou, there was only a brief silence, and then the entire racetrack erupted in huge cheers and jeers, urging the two to quickly compete on the track.
As he was talking, Shao Qingbai was surrounded by a group of people and walked towards the stadium. As for Lin Guantang, he followed Shao Qingbai here and was dressed like a goddess. Before he could say much, he was surrounded by Shao Qingbai's friends and sat in the center of the spectator seats, where the view was the best.
As a result, the noise attack is doubled, and it feels like my ears are about to explode at any moment.
Shao Qingbai and Apashou first had a warm-up race on flat ground. Every lap, when their cars ran near the spectator seats, there was a group of people howling desperately, and in between, supporters of both sides shouted at each other, which made Lin Guantang look desperate and regretted not bringing anything more than earplugs.
But with this level of noise, I'm afraid no earplugs will be effective unless he pokes his ears out to deafen them.
Fortunately, the warm-up match didn't last too long, but the cheers after the victory were no less decibel than during the game. Although the losing side was in low spirits, the winner of this warm-up match was Shao Qingbai, so Lin Guantang continued to suffer from the vocal attack.
Amidst the huge cheers, Shao Qingbai pulled off his helmet and leaned against the car door with his hair in disarray. He looked at Apashou, pointed his thumb downward, and made a time-honored, universally friendly gesture in the Empire:
"I told you, you will die miserably. In front of me, you can only be a drowned dog and a featherless chicken."
The defeated Apashou no longer had the composure he had at the beginning. After taking off his helmet, Lin Guantang could see his facial expression more clearly - he stared at Shao Qingbai as if his eyes were on fire, and because he was too angry, his whole body was shaking, as if he was sick.
Lin Guantang subconsciously worried about his health, but when he looked around, he found that no one had any special reaction to this matter, as if they didn't notice Apashou's abnormality.
Even those who supported Apashou were still shouting that he lost just because he was not in good shape, and that he would definitely defeat Shao Qingbai if he had another chance. No one expressed any doubts about Apashou's obviously unwell physical condition.
Soon, Lin Guantang knew why everyone acted as if it was nothing special - he saw Apashou being forcibly dragged off the field, and on the other side, a middle-aged man walked quickly to Apashou with a box, opened the box skillfully, gave Apashou an injection, and took out a few pills from the box for him to take with water.
Shao Qingbai also came over to rest. After just a few words with Lin Guantang, he was surrounded by a group of younger brothers.
Lin Guantang's attention was also more focused on Apashou. Watching the whole process of him taking the medicine, he immediately realized that it was a clue related to his mission. However, as a member of Shao Qingbai's team, it would be difficult to get any results if he asked about the medicine at this time. So he could only pretend to be ignorant and ask curiously:
"What does he eat?"
As the "counter-attacking star" who suddenly became popular in their racing circle, Apashou's every move should be known to everyone. Whether he was trembling all over and pretending to be sick or taking injections and medicine, since he did not avoid the crowd, everyone seemed to be used to it. There was only one reason, that is, the answer was already known to everyone - at least the superficial reason, even the people on Shao Qingbai's side should have understood it.
As expected, as soon as Lin Guantang finished speaking, someone around him answered:
"Who knows, maybe a tranquilizer or something like that? They say it's a special medicine specially formulated for him. He lost to Monkey once before, and this guy was so angry that he was shaking. Then he got an injection and he stopped shaking."
Others say:
"What miracle drug? I think it's just a stimulant, just a nice way of saying it. This isn't a serious competition, so we can only curse him in private if he uses stimulants. Wow, sister, you haven't seen what happened. Originally, this guy's skills were definitely no match for the monkey, but after taking the injection and the drug, he became a completely different person, crazy, and deliberately crashed into him, breaking his bones. He's still in the hospital now."
…
When the people around were talking excitedly, a sudden and angry rebuttal suddenly interrupted:
"I didn't expect you young masters to have such dirty minds. If you can't outrun someone, you can't outrun them. What's the point of accusing someone of doping and deliberately crashing the car?"
As everyone turned their gazes, the bespectacled boy who interrupted looked a little flustered, but he still firmly defended his idol:
"I've already said that medicine is just something to improve your physical condition. You're talking as if you've never taken medicine in your life."
Another person passing by also echoed:
"Exactly. I think you felt you couldn't afford to lose to a patient, so you said it was due to doping. Oh—I see! You also felt Shao Qingbai would lose miserably soon, so you're trying to find a reason for him to lose, right?"
Then Shao Qingbai and his group also fought back, unwilling to admit defeat:
"The brothers are just chatting with my sister, what do you have to do with a bespectacled guy like you? Get out of here, you dog from Appa, look at how ugly you are, don't stand here and embarrass Sister Shao."
…
Lin Guantang: ...
Lin Guantang looked at the two groups of people who suddenly started arguing, and felt helpless and headache for a moment.
Seeing that more supporters of Apashou were attracted by the other side and were walking over, Lin Guantang didn't care about his headache and hurriedly spoke out to mediate. The waiters at the racetrack also followed suit to persuade them, and at least this minor friction was not turned into a large-scale brawl.
As Shao Qingbai's "sister", Lin Guantang thought about it and went to the cold drink place next to the race car to buy cold drinks for a group of people to quench their thirst, which was a way to appease them.
Amid the voices of sisters crying tears of gratitude around him, Lin Guantang looked at the nearly a thousand star points that were swept away in an instant, and his heart was bleeding. He tried very hard to force himself to keep a smiling expression.
He quickly comforted himself that the money was not paid by him, but was used as the task fund for collecting information, and was paid directly from Hexi's account. Lin Guantang didn't even need to pay in advance. Then his mood gradually eased.
It was only about ten to twenty minutes before and after the crowd dispersed. When Lin Guantang looked at Apashou again, he had completely calmed down. He was even in the mood to look back at him and smile at him with raised eyebrows and a crooked mouth when he saw Lin Guantang's gaze.
——It seems that he has really regained his sanity.
But not necessarily.
Because Apashou turned around again and looked at Shao Qingbai with a look that was even crazier than before - even filled with hatred and anger.
Lin Guantang ignored the booing voices around him such as "How dare this kid tease our sister?", "We can't tolerate Qingbai", "You kid, just wait for bad luck" and so on, and thought seriously about the reason why Apashou looked at him like that.
Is there a grudge against Shao Qingbai?
That's not right. He doesn't seem to be afraid of Shao Qingbai. If he really has a grudge against him, he should have provoked Shao Qingbai from the beginning, instead of being so roundabout, finding people to race with, and finally letting this group of defeated men go to fight Shao Qingbai.
——No one would resort to such a troublesome method with uncertain results to seek revenge.
Lin Guantang speculated where Apashou's hatred for Shao Qingbai came from, while responding to what the person next to him said:
"Based on what you just said, could it be that he will also go crazy in a while, and might even deliberately crash the car and hurt Shao Qingbai?"
The people around looked at each other, and seemed to think that this question was a little difficult to answer - the answer was yes, but the person asking the question was Shao Qingbai's sister. If the words were too cruel, it would be terrible if it left a psychological trauma on the sister.
Who knows, he might even get scolded by Shao Qingbai again—even though Miss Shao had never appeared before them, there had always been a legend about her in the martial arts world. Specifically, when Miss Shao was unhappy, she would cause trouble for Shao Qingbai, and when Shao Qingbai was scolded, he would complain to this group of cronies...
So even though Miss Shao herself was actually a stable person, Shao Qingbai's occasional complaints easily left this group of people who had rarely seen Miss Shao with the impression that she was overbearing, had a bad temper, and was someone who should not be easily offended.
Another thing is that although Lin Guantang stated at the beginning that her current identity was Shao Qingbai's cousin, it was obvious that more people simply confused the two.
After all, you can't ask everyone to pay attention to details and remember every word Lin Guantang said, especially in such a noisy place. It's good enough if you can understand the general meaning and avoid any ambiguity.
Finally, one of them pinched his nose and answered in a slightly more tactful way:
"Actually, it's more because Appa's pheromones went wild and Monkey couldn't handle it. But Brother Shao is S-rank and very experienced, so he should be fine. You don't have to worry too much, sister."
"Speaking of which, I'll tell you a secret—everyone thinks this guy thinks he's S-rank, but can't quite reach it, so he's determined to find a track to prove he's far more capable than just A-rank, and could have been classified as S-rank long ago."
"If he can really beat Brother Shao today, I feel like he'll be able to announce his S-rank status to the world tomorrow."
"Bah, bah, you crow's mouth! How could you possibly defeat Brother Shao? Which side are you on?"
…
Amidst the noise, Lin Guantang just listened attentively, sorting out the useful information from the gossip. On the other side, after a short rest, the two of them had already determined the venue for the official competition - that is, a competition along the winding mountain road next to them.
Unlike the warm-up match just now where the entire process could be watched directly, the new round of competition that started along the winding mountain road could only be watched through several large screens. But even so, the spectators held their breath and couldn't help but forget to breathe.
When we first started, we could still barely see the two cars in full view. By the middle of the journey, the two people were driving so fast that only a shadow could be seen. We had to slow down several times to see the car bodies.
It is even more dangerous at various turning points. The huge noise caused by friction with the ground and the flying sparks make it seem as if the car will hit the mountain or fall off a cliff in the next second, or even directly hit people and cars away.
Especially when watching the two cars passing by each other, it was really frightening, making people worry that they would collide directly - because the two people's sides were so close to each other, even Lin Guantang, an outsider, could see several times that it was a deliberate provocation.
It's not just racing, it's more like fighting in this way.
The pitch-black and fiery-red vehicles were testing each other back and forth, like an inky black tiger and a blood-red dragon fighting and biting each other on the mountain road.
When the competition between the vehicles was transmitted to the foot of the mountain through the screen, the two pheromones that were strangling each other had already spread to the foot of the mountain, mixed with the smell of blood, sweeping across the entire racing field.
As expected of an S-rank alpha, when the pheromones are fully released, even at such a long distance, they can cause people to experience various same-sex repulsion and uncontrollable discomfort symptoms.
The racetrack had habitually activated its defenses—strong cold wind blew mist containing the suppressant fluid into the audience seats, as if they were being drenched in a fine, cold rain.
Although Lin Guantang had taken comprehensive precautions before coming, he still felt unwell and a little dizzy. He pressed his eyebrows and couldn't help but worry about the situation on the mountain.
The pheromones of those two people could actually spread to such an extent. Even if they were S-level, it would probably have reached the safety critical point.
But obviously, even if we call a halt now, we can no longer control the situation and it is impossible to stop this struggle immediately.
Just as Lin Guantang said, at a certain turning point, after passing each other again, the car driven by Apashou shook uncontrollably, and then less than ten minutes later, it shook violently from side to side again, and there was no possibility of catching up with Shao Qingbai at all.
Even the pheromones determined the outcome in an instant.
The smell of Shao Qingbai, mixed with the taste of lime and wine, although a little weak and powerless, was still declining steadily. However, the pheromone belonging to Apashou, with a spicy smell like ginger, was almost completely dissipated and shattered in an instant, and the bloody smell became even stronger.
It was like a soaring dragon that had lost its scales, leaving only bloody flesh and bones exposed.
Lin Guantang sounded the alarm in his heart and was about to find someone to ask how to rescue the person whose pheromones were out of control when he heard a panicked scream.
Lin Guantang looked up and saw that the car driven by Apa Shousuo had crashed into the cliff, turned back and forth two or three times on the mountain road, and finally broke through the guardrail and crashed into the nearby forest. Then another round of panicked screams rang out. Various collision injuries are common on the racetrack, but if a life-threatening accident really happens, no one will be so calm.
——Fortunately, we have passed the cliff section, otherwise I would probably have died without a complete body.
Although the current situation is not much better.
Seeing that an accident had occurred, a group of people rushed out, and Lin Guantang also took a car up the mountain to see what was going on.
When they were halfway there, they heard a loud explosion on the mountain. Everyone's expression became extremely solemn. Lin Guantang was also pale, his heart was beating fast, and he was in a panic. He took several deep breaths before he could completely calm down.
When they were about to reach the explosion point, they saw Shao Qingbai's car parked on the side from a distance. There were deep friction marks on the ground, which was enough to show how anxiously the driver braked.
After a group of people got off the car, they found Shao Qingbai sitting against a tree by the roadside, gasping for breath. Next to him was Apashou lying on the ground, dying. Only a few dozen meters behind him was a vehicle that was already burning fiercely.
"Brother Shao."
"Brother Shao, you rescued him."
"It was scary. Fortunately, you reacted quickly and rescued the person. Otherwise, it would have been really tragic. Now I can rest assured."
…
"It's a little early to be relieved—"
Shao Qingbai's expression was very solemn. He and Lin Guantang looked at each other, and Lin Guantang realized that things might not be as good as they seemed.
He pushed through the crowd and walked over, and saw a pool of blood on the ground. Appashou's entire upper body was almost covered in blood.
Soon others noticed something unusual and asked curiously:
"This isn't right. Why is there so much blood?"
"I don't think the collision was that hard."
"You are Shao Qingbai's people, so you think he didn't hit that hard. You are trying to excuse him for killing someone!"
…
"He's not dead yet, can you please keep your words to yourself? Now is not the time for you to vent your personal grudges."
Lin Guantang shouted sternly, took out a pair of gloves from his pocket and put them on, then walked to Apashou's side, watched for a moment, turned him over and made him lie on the ground, and sure enough, he saw the back of his neck covered in blood.
"The fatal injury wasn't the impact, but the gland damage, or—"
"Gland transplant."
Shao Qingbai expressed his uncertain guess for him, pointed to the exposed and protruding part of the body, took a deep breath, looked up at Lin Guantang, and said:
"He had a gland transplant, and the excessive pheromone overdraft caused the transplant to rupture. This is just my guess and may not be accurate. I've already contacted the medical department to have someone come and take a look."
While they were talking, Apashou, who had been unresponsive, suddenly moved, and everyone fell silent. No one dared to say another word, and they watched intently. They saw him struggling to support himself with his arms, slowly raising his upper body and head, then looking straight at Lin Guantang and extending his hand to him.
His fingers bent into claws, as if trying to grab something with all his strength.
Immediately, the people next to him took two or three quick steps to block Lin Guantang, and Shao Qingbai also reached out to grab his arm - he was afraid that Apashou was pretending to be dead just now, holding on to his anger for failure and accident, ready to vent his anger on Lin Guantang.
However, Apashou just stretched out his hand desperately. Although his eyes were looking at Lin Guantang, Lin Guantang felt that he was not looking at him, but at the more distant void.
"I won't die... I will live forever in another world!"
After he finished saying this with his last breath of strength, he lowered his head, dropped his arms, and fell to the ground all of a sudden. There was no sound anymore.
Lin Guantang stood there in a daze. He had never expected that he would say such a puzzling thing. Could he be a religious believer? With Lin Guantang's shallow understanding of the so-called immortality, this was the only guess he could make at the moment.
He and Shao Qingbai looked at each other and saw the same confusion in Shao Qingbai's eyes.
But after Apashun finished saying this, he remained motionless, which made people feel uneasy again, thinking that he had died after saying his last words.
Fortunately, I measured his breathing and pulse. Although they were weak and chaotic, at least he was still alive.
While waiting for the medical staff to arrive, Lin Guantang glanced at the crowd, but didn't find the person he wanted to see. He asked doubtfully:
"Where's that guy, the one who gave Appaso the injection earlier? He should have a good relationship with Appaso, right? Why didn't he come up with us?"
Everyone was panicked by the unexpected appearance of Apashou, and rushed up to see if he was dead or alive. They had no time to look at where the others were. At this time, they were reminded by Lin Guantang and realized that this person did not come up with them.
Someone contacted the person at the foot of the mountain and learned that this person almost succeeded in sneaking away.
The reason why it was almost was that this man was tripping over a waiter who was hiding and smoking beside a narrow unlit alley while running - or he was running too fast and tripped the waiter.
In short, two people bumped into each other because it was dark and the road was narrow. The waiter fell to the ground and the man staggered a few times but was not hurt. However, when he tried to continue running, the waiter grabbed his leg and asked for compensation.
The man wanted to just pay and leave, but the waiter insisted that he had broken a bone and had to go to the hospital for an X-ray and pay for the medical bills.
A group of people who didn't go up the mountain gathered around them to watch the fun. The manager failed to mediate the conflict and decided to fire the waiter who caused the conflict on the spot to directly resolve the source of the conflict.
Then we received the news that both of them were taken back and under control.
Half an hour later, people from the Medical Department went up the mountain to pick up the people, and Lin Guantang and others also felt relieved and went down the mountain to meet the people who were about to escape.
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