[Twenty Minutes Later]
[On the Mountain Roads Outside the City]
Two sports cars veered off the main road and took a side path leading to winding mountain roads stretching across a long mountain range.
At the peak of the first mountain, Zeus noticed some bright lights and faint music in the distance—barely audible.
Gradually, the sound became clearer.
"Damn, I don't have enough money to fix my bike... It's annoying to travel like this," Zeus thought as he sat beside Sam in the front seat of the black sports car speeding in the lead.
…
The two cars came to a stop after climbing the mountain and arriving at a gathering of dozens of sports cars and thousands of gathered spectators.
Zeus got out of the car and noticed many people looking at him—some even pointing directly at him.
As usual, Zeus scanned his surroundings. After noticing that many of them were looking at him with mild shock and obvious admiration, he asked in surprise:
— "I don't remember being this famous."
Sam laughed at Zeus's confusion and spoke with obvious excitement:
— "Dude, you're a legendary racer on this mountain... And there's no way anyone would forget the insane stunt you pulled off in the last race!"
— "What happened in the last race?"
Sam smiled and, after saying goodbye to the rest of the group, led Zeus away.
— "Come on, I'll let you see for yourself."
There was a tall building, ten stories high, surrounded by massive digital screens floating in the air.
On the elevated platform around the building sat the race's DJ and announcer.
Sam climbed up the platform, and when the announcer saw him, he smiled and greeted him warmly.
— "Well, well... Sam... and the crazy racer... So glad to see you both!"
"!! ... What did he just call me?!"
(Sam): — "How's your prep for today's race?"
— "At my best, as always."
— "Mind if I borrow one of the computers, since the race hasn't started yet?"
The announcer got a sudden call, gestured to Sam to go ahead, and walked away from the noise to answer.
— "Check this out."
Zeus watched the footage playing on the screen. It showed eight sports cars lined up in pairs on the same mountain road as today's race.
Sam pointed at the black car at the rear and told him to watch it.
— "Isn't that the same car as the long-haired guy's?"
— "Yeah, but you were the one driving it in this race, two months ago."
The cars raced through the narrow roads, and in the first minute, there were no major changes in position—it looked like a normal race.
But then, Zeus, who was in seventh place, overtook the car in front of him on a sharp curve using a quick-boost system—moving up to sixth.
Twenty seconds later, the cars in first and second place had pulled 50–55 meters ahead of the rest.
— "See the green car in second place?"
— "Yeah."
— "That's our friend Alia driving it... Now watch this moment."
The green car hit the back of the silver car in first, making it lose balance briefly.
But the energy system kicked in, creating side-thrusts to quickly stabilize it.
The delay allowed the green car to pull up beside the silver car, tying for first place. The two began clashing side-by-side.
Back in the lineup, Zeus sped up dramatically at a downhill curve, angled right in a gradually sloping arc.
While the other drivers slowed down—especially the two in front—Zeus did the opposite.
Because of the high speed, half of his car started riding the rocky wall—eventually the entire car was speeding along the wall.
Right before the arc ended, Zeus activated the left half of the car's balance system to thrust the vehicle hard to the right—launching it off the track and flying through the air.
Thanks to this dangerous stunt—one few dare to attempt, requiring a high-level manual balance system and a skilled driver—Zeus overtook all the cars and claimed first place.
Right behind him, the silver car passed the green car once their side clash ended—a natural result due to their close skill level and the silver car's higher speed.
Within seconds, the silver car was right behind Zeus's car, and the green car was just 7 meters behind them.
The three cars drove almost glued to each other, matching every turn and curve identically.
All the other cars were at least 50 meters behind.
— "Was that the move that earned me the 'crazy' title?"
— "Of course not... wait, here it comes."
— "What's this?"
— "The crash that made you lose control."
Zeus watched as the silver car used its boost storage for a huge speed increase over the next ten seconds.
It slammed into Zeus's car from behind, pushing it hard.
As they neared a sharp turn, the green car slowed down significantly.
The silver car kept accelerating and pushing Zeus's car, until Zeus considered letting the madman pass.
But he couldn't do it the normal way—if he tilted even slightly, the silver car would strike the edge, completely throwing him off balance—even with advanced side-thrust systems.
They approached the cliff at high speed, and the crowd held their breath.
The black car slammed into the side barrier and flew off the track—falling down the 100-meter sloped cliff.
Zeus's car began to crash and spin all the way down.
The silver car, using Zeus's car as leverage, managed to slow down just enough to make the turn with minimal damage—faster than if it had slowed naturally like the others.
— "Looks like I'm out of the race."
Sam smiled—and Zeus felt there was something behind that smile.
Zeus's wrecked car was at the bottom of the mountain, while the rest circled down in spirals.
Eventually, the silver and green cars reached the final stretch—a straight road with crowds and the finish line ahead.
Suddenly, Zeus appeared at the side of the road, holding his broken steering wheel.
As the silver and then the green car passed him, Zeus activated a magnetic force in his combat suit's glove—all racers here are gene-fighters.
Wearing a powered suit—only usable by gene-fighters—is a basic requirement in these dangerous, rule-free mountain races.
Using the magnetic force, Zeus shot toward the back of the green car and latched on.
Activating the same force in his foot, he climbed to the front of the car, taking a steady crouched position.
With just 20 meters to go for the silver car and 33 meters for the green one, Zeus channeled all his physical energy into a magnetic repulsion burst—launching himself forward.
The green car's speed plus Zeus's jump sent him soaring past the silver car, holding his broken steering wheel.
He crossed the finish line just half a meter ahead.
— "!! ... Okay, now the nickname makes sense."
In the next moment, Zeus saw himself crash violently into the ground on screen—he lost consciousness then, suffering internal injuries and broken bones.
Unusually, the crowd fell silent instead of cheering. The announcer couldn't even speak.
The video ended, and Zeus asked:
— "So I won the race since I brought my steering wheel with me… right?"
— "Well... there was some debate among the judges, but yeah, you were declared the winner in the end... Damn, the current race is about to start. Let's go."