250 km/h.

There are barely any cars, except for my opponents. Black Audi A3 3.2 quattro in 4th place. Yellow Mitsubishi Eclipse in 3rd place. White Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII closing in on me from 2nd place. I'm in first place, driving a white Toyota Supra SZ-R (Mk4) with blue stripes.

It was a hazy night on Japan national route 14. Yes, the highway between Chiba and Tokyo. There's about 10 more kms until the finish line and I'm the lead. The guy with the Mitsubishi was about 300ft behind. 200ft. 150. He was catching up to me. Tunel ahead. Curved road.

It seems like I had no choice. Instead of slowing down, I sped up and prayed my handling is going to do the trick. I smoothly raced through the first curve drifting to the left side, then quickly switched to the right to take on the other curve.

And smoothly executed. I checked my screen to see the guy with the Mitsubishi 600 ft behind me, still struggling with the curved road. He apparently pushed his breaks and decreased the speed to be able to cross it safely. Tch. What an amateur. I sped up to 300 km/h, leaving the others 1.000ft behind. Finish line was closing in.

Welcome to Tokyo, read the green traffic sign ahead. There was no stopping it anymore. I won.

I checked my screen. Congratulations, you won. Reward: 1.094.850 yen.

Another race I won. I smirked. I started up with a taxi, and now I'm racking up millions of yen. If any of my middle school or high school classmates saw me now, they'd probably be jealous of the large sums I'm making before judging me for being a hashiriya.

I know, it's crazy. Me, who wanted to marry into a wealthy family and be a househusband, becoming a street racer. Who would have thought, huh? Well, life has ways of twisting its course to the point you won't be able to keep up and by the time you realize it, you're running from the cops at 250 km/h.

Just as I thought that, I spotted a black and white Lexus LC 500 coupe just around the corner. Great, I just jinxed myself... The cop wasted no time, turned on his sirens and began chasing after me. I knew how this thing will turn out, if I don't lose him soon, there's going to be 5 to 10 police vehicles on my tail, making my escape even harder.

I checked the time on my screen. 2:34 am, and I'll have to get back to Chiba by sunrise. And that is assuming I don't get caught in the meantime. I sighed. Sometimes I hate, the life I made

I checked my surroundings. Nihonbashi district, Chuo ward, Tokyo. I'm in a rather deserted zone at the outskirts. There's a lot of factories around, I bet their slaves are working the night shift on something barely above the minimum wage. To work is to lo-... wait, I don't have time to be engaging in one of my eternal philosophical monologues, damn it. I have a cop literally ramming the back of my car and shouting for me to get out now through his radio station.

There's a crossroad at the end of the street. I should avoid getting into overpopulated locations like the Nihonbashi Bridge or Mitsukoshi, locations with directions pointed out in the traffic sign of the road ahead of me. To the left and right, respectively. These areas are roaming of cops due to the increase in illegal street racers in Japan lately.

In the span of a few seconds, I got an idea which could get me out of this situation. It was quite the risky one, but I'm known as a reckless driver among cops and racers alike. When I neared the crossroad, I kept going straight ahead, then at the last second I switched my car to the left, confusing the cop. I used nitrous to speed up ahead to 180 km/h and after the switch left me down at 120 and I sped up on the road ahead. I looked at the sideview mirror; there was no sign of the cop. One look at the ever so present chuuni screen told me I've entered Cooldown mode. Heat level was still 2x.

Damn me if I ever entered heat levels like 4x or 5x. There are people who had reached that level and their tales of 25 cop cars, huge SUVs ramming into you, and the helicopter sending dust your way to help the ground units bust you, was enough to send chills through my spine.

I'm aware everything I'm saying sounds chuuni as fuck to you, dear reader, but just hear me out. I swear the world literally started having RPG elements all of a sudden. It's like I'm in a light novel written after Initial D. With Need for Speed elements like this fucking screen showing me race and pursuit stats to top that well of madness.

I sighed. My life's been rather crazy ever since I "awakened as a player", whatever that meant..

Great. Another cop. His car was parked on the road, as if waiting for some racer to pull up from nowhere. Fuck, this really ain't my day... ugh, night. I turned my car around, landing at a rather close distance from the law enforcer. The busted line on my screen was nearing full red.

However, as the officer got out of his car to apprehend me, I started the engine and pushed my foot on the acceleration so hard I thought I might just break it. Caught a speed of 90 kms/h just from the get go.

My little stunt left said cop far behind me, but the car from earlier was full well in my sight as I returned to the same point in the middle of the crossroad. Fuck.

I quickly came to the conclusion that I should just get back on the national route. I'm sure I'll be able to lose the cops on the highway if I go full speed. I hated going full speed though. It was way too risky. Even someone as reckless as I had a limit... but not today, I guess. All I know is that I'm NOT going to jail tonight. Purpose defeats process. Period.

As I thought that, the cop rammed the back of my car as I was making my way on the road back to the national route. My car stumbled a little, but I was able to regain control and sped up to 150 km/h to put a safe distance between me and the law enforcer. It was about 300 ft, but I looked at my screen to notice that the number of cops chasing me has reached 10, and out of those units, 5 were already deployed.

That must mean 3 others besides the one following me and the one I left behind on the way to Nihonbashi Bridge. Great. Just great. I cursed inwardly as another cop started chasing me as I passed him speeding through this alley full of factories.

Soon followed by another one. 3 cops on my back. A rather tight alley and all of my previous tricks have failed. Even the odds seem to be pointing to me ending up in jail tonight. I sighed. I have to just hold it a little, I guess.

I glanced at the map on my screen. 450 ft. Fuck, Imma speed up. 180 km/h. 300 ft. 200 ft. 150. The cops are desperately trying to ram into my back but I'm too fast for them to land a hit. 100 ft. Just a little more. Just a little more.

And we're here. I slowed down to take the drift on the corner and sped up as I got on the lane. Now's my chance. I pushed the acceleration and used my remaining nitrous for a boost powering me up to 230 km/h. I glanced at the sideview mirrors. No sign of cops. I took a look at the screen. Cooldown mode.

I breathed a sign of relief I didn't know I was holding. I checked the time. 3:18 am. Looks like I still got time to get back to Chiba by the sunrise.

In this crazy world that's spiralled out of control, I knew I couldn't afford to get dragged down– because I'm a player.


The suspect in the white and blue Toyota Supra SZ-R (Mk4) was speeding towards the alley leading to national route 14, followed by a police car.

"Attention division one, we have reports of at least one code six driver followed by police. Suspect is aggressively engaging officers to evade custody."

"I need all available units on this call"

"Suspected is driving a white Toyota"

Even as two more units followed in the chase, the driver seemed to have no intention of stopping.

"Yeah, it's confirmed, he's not stopping. Code three"

The police officers were trying to ram into the speeding vehicle, but the driver sped up, resulting in them nearly colliding with each other.

"This guy is trying to pull away, I'm going to try stay with him"

Then, the driver slowed down to take the corner leading to the lane on the highway, then sped up and quickly disappeared from sight, leaving the three vehicles to try resuming the chase by following at full speed. 150 km/h. They still couldn't catch up.

"Lost sight of the vehicle. Stand by"

"Cancel quarter. I lost the vehicle."

"All units on the pursuit call, suspect was last seen heading east, near national route 14. Containment will be sent ahead of his last known direction travel. This call is still code six, handle on tat three"


4:45 am. Finally, I'm back in Chiba. Now all I gotta do is go to the shop and fix the damage to my car. I don't know why did I think doing a 44 kms race was a good idea, honestly. Oh, right, must have been the 1 million yen. But yeah, I'm not going to do that again in my entire life... Besides, how aren't 27 miles races unrealistic? I thought I long since stopped questioning this bullshit, but it just keeps getting more absurd.

I feel like wrapping my head around it would only generate a looming headache. Things have stopped running on logic ever since this screen first randomly popped out of nowhere, urging me to "get into the game".

I thought of my past. Life used to be so simple in my high school days... The second year was a bit bothersome, with my involvement in Sobu High's Service Club, but I eventually came to care about my clubmates from back then... Yukinoshita Yukino and Yuigahama Yui. What would they think of me if they saw me now?, I wondered, feeling a dry chuckle escape my throat. Things between us have fallen apart by the start of the 3rd year, resulting in the disbanding of the Service Club. And I don't know about how they viewed each other, but I stopped talking to either of them. I spent my third year hanging around Totsuka and Zaimokuza to the point we formed a trio of sorts, so I wasn't that lonely.

But the thing that struck me is how I couldn't find that genuine thing I was looking for. I gave up, thinking it was foolish of me to even cling to that slight hope in a dog-eat-dog world... It was just, too late by the time I realized it.

Then came graduation. And with graduation, my failure to adapt society become apparent. To work is to lose. Driven by that motto, I've kept changing jobs until no one would even hire me anymore. I was deemed a failure. My parents gave up on me and even my relationship with Komachi was a bit strained by the end of it.

And just when things seemed to be heading nowhere... that incident happened. With nothing but a taxi cab, before I even got my drivers license, I started doing races, getting involved with the underground street racing world. It was my only way of doing something, even if I ended up on the wrong side of the law. I didn't care anymore.

Fuck the law, fuck society, fuck everything lol.

To wrap the story up, that's how I ended up questioning if I'm living in the real world or a street racing game. Maybe I'm in one of Zaimokuza's shitty novel attempts, which by a Herculean leap in logic managed to overlap with reality. Didn't know fatty was a racing games fan though. The more you know...

I shook my head, bringing myself out of my internal monologue. I'm currently in a quiet zone of the Midori Ward, about to reach my destination. I could feel the chill breeze of the morning through my window, it was ever so slightly shaking the trees in the area. The sky was getting whiter, a sign that the sun was starting to rise.

I stopped my car in the back yard of a certain workshop, right in front of its gate. The place looked like a total bust down, the metal sheet making for its walls being as rusty as an overused tool, same with the gates. I had to wonder when did he last renovate. Probably 10 years ago...

I texted the old man to let him know I was around and before long, the gate opened up.

I parked my car in the service and got out.

In stark contrast to its external appearance, the shop was perfectly clean and organized. The tools were all over the shelves and the walls had decorations like tires. Don't ask me why would you put a tire on a wall, I had literally no idea...

"Yo, kid. So, whatdya need this time?"

The old man, Tsukase Kenji, asked in a slightly annoyed manner. He was a tall man with long, white hair and solid build. I could swear he was a wrestling fighter in his youth and his muscles are the result of years of steroid injections...

Though he insists he was a racer connected to the infamous Midnight Club. As in, the street racers gang which used to plague the streets of Tokyo before a certain incident got them disbanded. I pitied the cops who used to think street racing in Japan ended with their disappearance. It didn't end with the thousands of arrests made afterwards.

"I need a car wash. And some tire repair, I practically abused these in my last race and they're flat as a board now..."

"What exactly did you get into this time?"

I sweatdropped.

"I ran into cops in Nihonbashi. Took me a while to escape.", I answered flatly.

The old man seemed amused with my answer.

"What's with the youngsters getting into so much trouble nowadays..."

"Not my fault the police is so alert these days"

"Well, whatever. 16.700 ¥ and you'll get your car fixed by the evening"

16.655 yen? Oi, did it ever occur to you that maybe you'd have more clients if you lowered the prices? I clicked my tongue in annoyance. Sucks that the only mechanic I knew in Chiba was an old man farming cash out of simple repairs...

"You thought the prize was too high, did you? Well, good luck finding a mechanic whose not gonna rat you out to the cops"

Tch. I hate to admit the fact that he makes a point...

"Fine", I conceded and handed him the requested prize.

"Pleasure doing business with you", he grinned.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever..."

Man, I was getting increasingly pissed by this conversation.

Just as I thought that, old man's phone ringed.

"Looks like we got another visitor... This should be interesting"

Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. If it is who I think it is, then I'm out.

The gate of the garage opened to reveal a red Mazda RX-8 with black stripes making its way inside. Great. Just what I needed...

In between doing a 44 kms race, being chased by cops on the way back to Chiba and seeing the form of Shirayuki Anika getting out of her car in the same shop as me, I'd never prefer the latter.

It was ridiculous. It's 2021 and this girl of average height is wearing a red racer costume with the black and white flag embroidered on the sides. Woman, we're illegal street racers, not Formula 1 competitors. Not to mention that grey helmet which made her look even more like a robot than an actual human being.

She got her helmet off, revealing a pretty face with an apple-red hair and clear emerald-green eyes. If you ignore her personality, you could say she's pretty.

"Old man, I need–"

"Car wash and tires?"

"Yes..."

I had to stifle a laugh. I actually pitied the old man now.

Imagine having two idiots pop up at your shop, both of them having wrecked their tiers. And handling them. Couldn't be me.

"18.200 yen"

I couldn't help but laugh at that, while Anika was fuming mad.

"Oi, that's WAY too expensive!"

Can't believe the old man, he actually raised the price for this bitch with almost 1.600 yen. Ahahaha, I'm dead.

"Like I said... good luck finding someone who's not going to rat you out"

"Tch. Fine."

My barely suppressed chuckle turned into full blown laughter as I watched this girl begrudgingly handing Tsukase the repair price.

Anand, that's when she finally noticed me.

"Oi, Hachiman, what are you laughing at?"

"Nothing... I just thought... There's so much beauty in this world, you know?"

Anika made a disgusted face.

"Somehow hearing you say something positive is creepy as fuck, so stop that"

"It's not more creepy than your out–..."

"Say something about my outfit and I'll punch you"

"Look, I know you wanted to be a Formula 1 racer so bad, but they don't plague the streets running from the cops, yknow?"

She actually moved to kick me in the stomach. I winced in pain, dropping on the floor.

"Tch... What was that for, you bitch?..."

"You should know by now, roundabout roasts don't work on me"

"Neither does logic for that matter"

And just as Anika was about to answer, the old man felt the need to intervene.

"Ah, young love these days. You two should just drop it... and bone already"

""Never in a million years!""

I resisted the urge to face palm. Our perfect sync in shouting that at the same time didn't help our case. What, are the gods of romantic comedy still toying with me even now?

Should I just confess and get rejected on the spot? Wait, why it's a given that I'd get rejected?

"I rest my case then...", said the old man, sighing tiredly.

Well, we're people in their twenties acting like hormonal teenagers around each other, so I could pretty much guess why the headscratcher.

Still, make it less obvious, Miss Redhead right here ain't so smart.

"You were thinking something rude about me just now, weren't you?"

She had her fist raised as if ready to strike again the next chance she gets. Seriously, what's with women being able to tell that? You have rude thought detectors implemented in you or something?

I rolled my eyes.

"No, I was thinking we should get married and have five kids"

"Oh my god, you're insufferable!"

"It's one of my–"

"One of your 108 skills, yeah, yeah, we know the drill"

You know it's rude to interrupt someone when they're talking, right?

I sighed. I took my phone from my pocket to check the clock. 6:23 am, huh?

"Well, I guess I'll take off then. I'll be back by 2pm to pick the ride."

"Yeah, yeah, see ya later"

The old man waved his hands around in a disinterested manner as he opened the gate to the garage with his remote. Anika eyed me for a moment.

"What? Already tired?"

"Well, I did a race to fucking Tokyo and I got chased by the cops on the way back so yeah, I'd like to get some sleep, thanks for asking."

"Ever getting tired of complaining like a wuss?"

"Ever getting tired of being an uptight bitch?"

She was actually going to strike me. I ran away from the shop, hearing the gate close behind me before she could catch up. Thanks, old man, I owe you one.

Now... it seems like I should get a train back home. God, I swear I miss pedalling...


"Recently, the phenomenon called street racing has spread throughout Japan, stronger than it was during the 90s. The police has stopped a total of 14 races in Chiba and Tokyo. 36 people were arrested during that time", the news reporter announced through the TV.

"Rumors extend from the resurgence of the Midnight Club to the Japanese National Police Agency making a special unit to deal with the illegal street racers.

"The head of the Japanese National Police Agency, Tsukimura Ryuta, has denied claims they had organized a new branch of law enforcers unit tasked specially to pursue speed violators..."

The head of the NPA given his statement to the nationwide broadcast. "The National Police Agency's staff consists of trained professional in the possession of adequate vehicles and equipments with the capacity of stopping offenders of the national laws of transportation and safety without creating a separate unit to deal with the street racing issue!"

Yuigahama Yui turned off the TV, deciding that she heard enough. She finished her breakfast and then went to get changed. A long day at work awaited her, after all.