ACT 7 – 7000RPM 'Brave Knights of the Streets'
It was 9:50PM, a group of cars had arrived and briefly stopped at the edge of the highway, as the humming sounds of traffic filled the tension in the air, while the road warriors of Zui Hou R rolled up to confront their adversaries. A dark green Pulsar GtiR lay dormant right next to a very familiar looking Lancer Evolution. Lign Luan drove in first and spotted the duo, shocked at first and then briefly opened his window to speak with the adversaries.
The others
drove in, astonished at the very weapon their challengers have
decided to use against them. That looks so much like… Fu Huo's
Lancer…!
Stephen drove in with his FD and closely examined
the new Lancer. "Hey… that girl…"
"The outrun begins
at the R5 tollway just 200m past this point," explained Hokuto,
"From there, whoever is more than five seconds away from the car in
front is eliminated."
"We are ready to begin any time," said
Mark.
"Okay then, let us begin," said Hokuto.
Kanae
remained in the Evo, and as the others began to drive off, she had
then reached for her secret weapon, the duplicated AYUMI System. She
took off last and followed the rest of the group.
She had no time
to get used to the new car's settings, as well as the new
four-wheel layout which she had not much experience driving. The
three D Unit Generals shot out into the main highway, followed by the
GtiR and the Evo VI.
Stephen could see the tollway in his
sights, as Ling took the lead first off and shot his way past the
empty tollbooths. So far, Ling Luan was in front, followed by
Stephen, then Mark and Hokuto side by side and then finally behind
the rest was Kanae in the LanEvo VI.
There seemed to be less
traffic starting off from their position, Ling confidently sped on,
traveling at 175kph and rising. I guess I might not need 'her'
after all…
( 'The Speed Star' – Namie Amuro)
Stephen then quickly geared into fifth, pushing his
FD3S like he was ready to fly, while Mark was busy trying to shake
off Hokuto and his Pulsar.
They continued on, and out of nowhere,
the black Evo VI dived from the other lane and accelerated easily
past Stephen and the rest.
Damn, she's for real!
Stephen
kept his sights on the black Evo as if he had already forgotten about
the others behind him.
The battle arrived at the first bridge;
Ling Luan cleared a sharp turn to the right and steered in
aggressively. He quickly glanced at his mirror and quickly saw the
Evo VI already right behind him.
What the hell? She's so
fast.
Mark was finally overtaken by Hokuto, who seemed more efficient on the curve and using all four wheels of his GtIR to power out of the turn and taking advantage of it's lightweight and agility. Mark held the brake with his left foot as he turned in swiftly, almost swaying right into the Pulsar, while slowly being pushed to the outside.
Kanae's view flooded with data and information and she wasted no time and moved her vehicle to the side, preparing to overtake Ling at such an early period. Ling Luan quickly noticed this, as he tailwhipped his car in the same direction, swaying his vehicle to block the Evo VI. Ling glanced at his mirror again and saw that the Evo VI had disappeared. He found Kanae already at the opposite side in another attempt to pass him.
My
car is already topping out, and I still can't manage to get any
closer to them!
Stephen struggled to keep up with the two
giants in front, as he continued to dodge traffic having to
counter-steer more often out of the turns while flying past diesel
trucks and a couple of vans.
Mark had his own little battle with
Hokuto, whom had problems keeping up with the Pulsar, utilizing
everything he could with his DC5. It already seemed that Hokuto was
playing with him. It was much too different from racing in the
mountains, where Mark had already destroyed Raide in the past. But
Hokuto's mighty GtiR was too powerful and too agile, as he dived
into the other lane and swayed past the oncoming traffic.
Stephen
had also noticed Hokuto slightly catching him. Noticing Ling using
his left turn signal, Stephen quickly slid his car at an angle of
about forty degrees to his left.
Hokuto fell for the trick
and motioned his vehicle the other way through the opening that
Stephen had created, while the two Evo's at front had already
turned into the sharp left that Stephen had prepared his car for.
Ling's Evo VII was somehow still in front, though he seemed to
have been being pushed all night.
He noticed that Kanae always
turns in sharply as soon as he leaves an opening when he corners. He
mindlessly chooses a random path to take the battle, as he stayed in
fourth gear, keeping his revs high and flying past the other
vehicles.
Kanae saw many openings. She ignored the new changes in her driving style and continued to move forward. Tonight is the fall of Zui Hou. I will defeat my enemy at all costs!
The
night grew thick, as Kumiko had left the gas station and continued to
drive along the outskirts of the city. She had finished her
preparations and finally made her way on her own to set stage at the
legendary Route C4 once again. Good luck out there, gentlemen. May
you win a great victory tonight… I'll hold up my end here.
The
3000GT cruised past the lights in slight haste. Kumiko set her sights
nowhere but forward. Though she was determined to give Bao Fu a great
whipping on the road tonight, she felt very nervous. She still felt
quite nervous, even after seeing Bao Fu's face.
I can't let
anything bother me now. This is it. After this one, I'm retiring
for sure…
A few short moments later, Kumiko had arrived at the inbound section of Route C4 rather early. She parked near the starting point by herself and awaited her opponent. Luckily, she did not have to wait very long.
At long last, she caught sight of her true opponent for the first time. The slick and stylish body and presence of the 350GT soon revealed itself to Kumiko, which quickly set itself up into the starting point. A black SUV, containing a few people needed to set up and start the match accompanied the Skyline. After moments of preparation, the sections were finally clear for battle. Kumiko glanced at Bao Fu, through his helmet, and gazed at his mask once more as she lined her car up next to the 350GT.
Bao
Fu shut his helmet's lid and activated the AYUMI program. There
is no other outcome than victory!
He placed his right hand
firmly on the steering wheel and his left on the shift knob. Raide
ran out and stood in between the two vehicles, preparing the racers
for battle.
After the long, chilling countdown, the two cars
had finally launched fiercely out of the line, almost taking Raide's
head off. As usual, Kumiko's four-wheel drive advantage has given
her the immediate lead on start up. Bao did not flinch for a second
and kept on his own line.
Kumiko was ready to withstand C4's
brutal low speed corners once again, as she slammed hard on the
brakes, struggling to fling her car into the sharp right and cleared
the corner with no counter-steer.
Bao Fu seemed to have his own approach, as he quickly tapped the brakes before he turned into the corner, revving his car a little sending it through the rpms as he double clutched his way, keeping up with Kumiko's aggressive turn-in.
You are an absolute fool to redirect the challenge
to C4. It is clearly not a course suited for your car.
Bao
continued to steer swiftly but lightly into the quick S curves,
trying to keep up with the 3000GT's exit speeds. But someone
like you… They say that you are one of those kinds of competitors
who can pull victories out of nowhere… I am so excited to try and
put that theory to the test…
The
white NSX-R lay silent outside at the rear parking area of the Koda's
diner during that night. The beautiful and kindhearted owner had
stepped out of the kitchen, making her way out the door, while her
sister, Minako sat quietly inside her car. She rested her hands on
the wheel and stick shift, sitting silently, thinking to herself with
the headset and visor equipped on her head, though at the same time,
having the engine off.
About a minute later, Minako awoke by the
soft knocking on her window from her sister, Maya.
She rolled down
the windows and took the visor off.
"Hey, there you are,
honey," greeted Maya, "What are you doing out here all by
yourself? How come you are not singing tonight?"
"I'm sorry,
sister. I'm just not feeling like myself tonight," muttered
Minako.
"Oh, is it that time of the month already?" teased
Maya.
"That was a little inappropriate, sister. And no, that's
not the case."
"Well, whatever it is I can't help you with,
just remember, I'll always be here when there's no one lese to
turn to, you hear?"
"Thank you, sister. You know I love
ya…"
"Same to you, Mina. I know that you don't plan on
telling me what kind of mischief you're going to be up to tonight…
But if there's a reason for you to come back safely, let me be that
reason. I'll always be here waiting for you to come back
safely."
Minako chuckled and smiled at her sister, "You're
starting to sound like mother, haha,"
"Hehe… nah, I'm not
that old…"
"Well not yet, but you'd better find
yourself a fine man before you do get old,"
"What about you?
Don't you need a man too?"
"Ooww…! Maybe I can just be a
lonely driver or something…" joked Minako, giving a playful pity
face.
"The Lonely Drifter Mina, live at Koda's! Haha!"
"Hehe…
I guess we're both stuck as two lonely bar chicks huh…"
Maya
reached inside the car and unbuckled Minako's seatbelt for her. She
opened the door and suggested for her to come inside and have a few
drinks with her.
"Just come and relax, if you've got nothing
else to do," continued Maya, "Perhaps you can come and sing some
more karaoke for us in there,"
"Sorry, I gotta stay sober to
be able to pick you up later…"
"So you are going
somewhere?"
"Maybe. I'm not sure yet. Do you wanna see a
movie or something? It's been a while…"
"Sorry hun. I
gotta stay here at the diner. Why don't you join me here instead?
The other Angels are out racing tonight,"
"Okay, just give me
a few minutes, I'll be with you shortly," Minako shut her door
gently, and closed up her windows. She fitted back on the visor and
leaned back, resting on her seat…
Mark
struggled to push his car to the limit due to the traffic traveling
his direction while Hokuto kept on the opposite lane avoiding the
other vehicles going opposite his direction, in which he could react
quicker and clear more on the road. He was falling behind, and fast.
It did not take long for the battle to exit the highway and move on
into the metropolitan area, where the risks were a lot higher.
Ling
continued to lead the group into several intersections, in the
attempt to shake off the others.
The two Lancer Evolution had
seemed to be the more dominant of the battle, while the others held
their group and fought their own battle against the traffic, as well
as each other.
Another intersection, Stephen noticed the lights about to change. Without a second though, he accelerated his FD as the screaming rotary flew past the intersection just before the lights turned red, bring on the other cars from the horizontal path. This was bad news for Hokuto and Mark, who were far too late and was blocked by the uncoming cars.
Damnit! Ling, Stephen, I'll
leave it all up to you!
The DC5 and GtiR have been eliminated
from the outrun, having fallen too far behind.
Stephen continued
on, barely catching sight of the two Evo's taillights. The battle
had stormed into the shopping district, where a busier atmosphere
took place. Ling lowered his speed, avoiding the crowds and other
oncoming cars alike, and took care not to cause too much commotion.
He cruised at around 80-90kph, as he glanced at his mirror and caught
glimpse of Stephen's yellow FD3S.
That's good to see…
but where is our enemy?
Ling made his way past the shopping
district, powersliding at almost a ninty degree angle to the right,
and used his car's amazing traction to counter-steer with just
enough momentum to avoid hitting the street lamp. Stephen followed
his line closely as they stuck together, hunting down her
opponent.
Have we lost her? They should give us a sign to
show that they're either won or lost? Geez, this battle is a bit
screwed up… Or is there a reason?
The Evo VII shot past the
next block, with the FD right behind.
I think we've
won…
Stephen moved his vehicle to the side, pulling up right
beside his ally in the Evo VII and cruised their way
on.
Unexpectedly, Ling caught sight of a slight black figure
ploughing down through the flyover alongside them. It was no doubt
the Evo VI, and it was traveling at full speed.
There she is! Damnit! She took a shortcut!
Kanae exited at a greater
speed than her opponents and easily passed them at 165kph, moving on
back to the downtown area. The AYUMI System showed her all the
possible routes she could take, with the advantage of the global
positioning system, revealing all the different and shorter ways
around the city.
Little by little, Kanae began to breathe heavier
and heavier. I… I can still go on… I will win this! For Master
Bao Fu!
Ling turned up his pace and accelerated harder,
flying past the hard right that Kanae had just cleared, while Stephen
had powerslided around the outside, avoiding the van on the way.
As
soon as Ling set his car back on track, the Evo VI had already chosen
a different path that was difficult to see for the others.
All
Ling and Stephen could do was follow the sight of her taillights.
Man, this one's too fast!
Stephen began to have
trouble maintaining his grip after powersliding through various
intersections. He noticed the gap between his car and Ling's was
slowly widening up while focusing on Kanae and the Evo VI.
Ling
continued to observe Kanae. Just watching such precision taken
avoiding the cars and quickly choosing an alternate path had
overwhelmed him a little. Why… is she so good?
The wider
the gap, he more built in frustration began to catch on. He already
noticed Stephen falling behind, and he was caught in between.
His
frustration lead to cause a bit of panic, affecting his concentration
and eventually, Ling had began to confuse the Evo VI's taillights
with other cars, as the the distance between had grown
longer…
Meanwhile, Bao Fu thought about nothing but the car in front. He had always had a thing for Kumiko's rear, and that also seemed to apply on the road. However, he was already at a hundred percent of his effort yet he felt a little bit of struggle in this particular chase. He could see Kumiko's turn-ins, such an elegant and glorious sight, and everytime he had seen her GTO dive into a curve, Bao felt s if he was not doing good enough. I see… now you show your true colours. But just wait 'til you see mine!
Kumiko slammed hard on
the brakes, while tapping the throttle with her heel as she hauled
her vehicled back into position and prepared for the sudden S curves
ahead. What if… I can't lose him on the corkscrew?
She
was now becoming more aggressive through each curve, putting up with
the raw power of her GTO coupled with it's mediocre handling. But
she knew exactly where she could take her chances.
The 350GT tailed the GTO relentlessly through each and every corner. It was as if the gap had never changed since the duration of the match. Suddenly, Bao recognized an opening; a slight gap had cleared just opposite to his opponent's angle, while he momentarily gained momentum, sending his car parallel to the apex as he geared down and sent his revs to the desired rpm. As he set back his vehicle into the immediate turn-in to the opposite direction, Bao Fu knew that the clearance was just a simple trick Kumiko had devised to lead him into understeering.
Amazing. You're able to keep up with AYUMI
somehow.
Bao Fu had also realized that he would need to put
in a lot more than he was now. The battle was no joke. Of course,
knowing the consequences he should face if he loses the match, there
was not a doubt in Bao Fu's mind that he would surely win if he
really tried. But in fact, he is already trying.
The next few sections were no less tight and never gave either player a single moment to relax. Even Kumiko herself had begun to sweat. He's trying to use the system to calculate the results of each and every move I make. Perhaps it would be best if I just simply try to outrun him… My tyres are fine, and I've cleared this course many times before… I cannot afford to lose at such stakes!
Without braking, Kumiko sent her car straight ahead, steering mildly at the next set of S curves almost making her vehicle aim at a straight line. She caught a glimpse of the 350GT's headlights in her side mirror, as she closed in to block her opponent on the exit.
Damnit!
This could be much harder than I thought!
Bao Fu could not
grasp on how and why Kumiko is somehow able to counter-react to
AYUMI's strategies. Though the more frustration that is suppressed,
his excitement has tended to build up.
Every time Bao Fu has
taken the chance to overtake, Kumiko would always just pin him back
and cause him to lower his speed.
Kumiko attempted to tap her
brakes on the straight-away, in the hopes of fooling her opponent
that a sharp curve is coming up by swerving her vehicle in a certain
direction.
Nice try.
But all Bao Fu saw from AYUMI
was his absolute victory. Fully concentrating ahead, he did not
attempt to follow any of Kumiko's own tactics and accelerated
ahead. Unexpectedly, the 3000GT moved back in the way, all the way to
the outside line, then quickly turned back into the opposite
direction, executing a feint motion and at the same time, stalling
the 350GT.
The two matched each other's abilities like they were
each other's equals. Kumiko was as good as Bao had expected and he
was pleased. The struggled only urged him to turn things up and
continue the fight.
On the other hand, Kumiko had a different
perspective to the situation. It was definitely a must-win situation
for her and there would be no better moment to pour everything she
had and steal the victory.
Even with both the 350GT and the AYUMI
System, it took a lot of effort for Bao Fu to wear her down.
But at last, the Neon Serpent had begun to struggle to catch her breath, as the fatigue had started to grapple over her adrenaline. Such a rare occasion would have Kumiko feeling slightly dizzy and a bit shaken from the constant violent swaying and extreme angular movement sequentially almost without a single breather.
However, Bao Fu
was feeling the same effects. Yet his focus never let down for a
second and though noticing Kumiko's slight drop in pace, Bao had
continue to push hard and attack Kumiko at the slightest chance she
would inadvertedly give him. And he did.
Kumiko weakly steered
into the hairpin; her vehicle moved from the inside, then slowly
swayed into the outside as the 350GT suddenly popped out from behind
and swerved into the apex, stealing the inside line.
Bao Fu
fully accelerated out of the curve side by side with Kumiko's car.
It was about time for you to let your guard down. But I can't go
easy on you.
The 350GT soon overpowered the other car, as Bao
Fu took advantage of Kumiko's mistake and easily shot past the
3000GT…
