Chapter 7 - Probability: Negligible
Reiji and P8 were driving behind Potter.
P8 drifted into Potter’s slipstream, measured and unhurried.
Impressive, P8, you are driving so consistently it’s scary.
Potter got defensive and tried to block P8, but P8 danced right through him. Reiji mimicked P8’s movement and they overtook Potter together.
Rinova was relaxing in his race car, Neo-gen autopiloting the car. He was midway through the Linkway tunnel. His hands were on the bottom of his steering wheel. He hummed the GRS theme song, awaiting a sector one victory.
The thunderous roar echoed through the tunnel from behind Rinova.
“What in the–”
A pair of headlights appeared to be coming toward Rinova.
A speck of light.
Never mind.
A whole beacon of light.
Approaching–
Fast.
“HOLY SHIT, NEXI, SLOW DOWN! YOU ARE GOING TO CRASH INTO ME!”
“AUTOPILOT! OFF! NOW!”
Nexi said calmly on the proximity chat,
“Don’t move, Rinova.”
Nexi steered her car into the tunnel’s wall using it as if it were a banking corner. The car’s splitter and side skirts violently scraped against the tunnel wall as the suspension compressed under load.
The car rode the tunnel wall for a few seconds, allowing Nexi to overtake Rinova on the outside. She dropped back down hard– her car slammed onto the road right in front of Rinova
“Holy SHIT— Nexi, you are insane!”
“Owwwww……”
Nexi grabbed her neck.
“As I have already stated, attempting such a maneuver is highly not recommended. Structural damage detected in twenty-three locatio–” Xogic said.
“We made it, Xogic! We are back in first!”
The crowds erupted– cheering echoed throughout the whole block. Jett stood there in complete shock.
“Unbelievable! Nexi uses sheer speed and the Linkway tunnel’s curvature to ride the wall. No GRS driver has ever attempted a maneuver this reckless… or this spectacular!” the announcer said.
Nexi and Rinova exited the tunnel. The sun was shining brightly, a welcoming change from the cold and foggy City-zone B. They made it to the historical District 1 City-zone C: the Eiffel District.
“First to make it to the Eiffel district: Joanna Nexi!”
Elapsed Time: 6:23:23
Winner of timed section: Marshal Rinova.
Elapsed Time: 6:23:07
Nina scratched her head.
“Wait, why didn’t Nexi win?”
“Rinova was released a whole minute later than Nexi and he STILL managed to catch up. It doesn’t matter if Nexi took her position back, Rinova did well on time,” Cipher explained.
Kaito pointed to the screen.
“Guys– Reiji’s back on screen.”
“Reiji is on the final stretch!” Cipher said.
“Oh– they are entering the Linkway tunnel.” Vance noticed.
“He only has to overtake that stupid P8! Then he’ll win!” Nina said.
“He doesn’t have to, they can win this together…” Vance said.
Mikey was watching the screen intently.
P8’s driving… it’s so mesmerising…
Three race cars flew into the Linkway tunnel.
The tunnel was dark and claustrophobic. Lose focus here and it would be catastrophic. It looked straight—until you’re doing more than 200 km/h.
Then the road never stops moving.
Reiji drove in silence.
P8 was ahead.
Another car in front of them–
All three were moving at around the same speed.
Have you already accepted it, P8…?
The three exhaust notes blended into a single harmonic hum.
P8 didn’t weave.
Didn’t probe for a move.
The car ahead mirrored P8’s line, blocking any moves.
Not even going to try, huh…
The cutoff countdown ticked down.
10:00
9:59
…
P8 drifted toward the far left of the road.
The car ahead mirrored them again.
Still no aggression.
Only smooth movements.
Reiji watched closely.
He’s not defending?...
Reiji edged closer.
Half a car length.
He felt P8’s slipstream.
1:00
He could see the lights at the end of the tunnel.
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0:05
Static noise.
P8 opened his mouth.
“Good racing.”
Reiji’s eyes widened.
P8 lifted– just a fraction.
The draft collapsed.
Reiji’s car surged forward.
He pulled out of the slipstream and committed.
In one fell swoop.
He passed P8– then carried the momentum past the car ahead.
0:01
Reiji made it to the finish line before the countdown hit zero.
“Yamada Reiji is the last one to make the cut! All the racers afterward will not advance to the next stage, but their finishing time will still count toward their overall score this season!” the announcer said.
Last to survive the cutoff: Yamada Reiji.
Elapsed time: 6:33:22
Survived: 8 Eliminated: 22
“We will proceed to the next stage shortly!”
Nexi sat in her damaged race car at the pitstop next to other finishers’ pitstops. Race engineers were working tirelessly to fix Nexi’s car.
“Nexi– we wouldn’t be able to fix the car back up fully…”
“That’s fine, as long as it drives.”
Rinova stormed toward Nexi.
“Nexi, what was that! It’s a timed trial! You don’t need to overtake me at the end!”
“I just wanted my position back.”
“Jeez– Nexi, you could’ve killed both of us… You still lost, you know? How reckless!”
GRS coordinator jogged toward Rinova.
“Sir– Mr. Rinova, you are not allowed to leave your race car. Please return immediately.”
“Right– right– I’ll go back now…”
Rinova turned and paced back to his race car.
“Stage 2 will be a circuit race around the Eiffel tower– you will get one formation lap before the race starts to warm your tires and learn the new track. The race will last 30 laps. No pitstops, any request for assistance will automatically result in a DNF. Proximity chat is now disabled, racers, please get into your grid positions,” the announcer said.
Jackson walked out of his private race watchbox. The Neo-gen engineer walked out of the watchbox after him.
“Sir!”
“I’ve seen enough, Joanna Nexi is clearly immature. I don’t need to see the result of the next race.”
“Rinova has won stage 1, sir, an– and– it is highly likely that he will win stage 2, sir!
Jackson chuckled.
“And that’s why I don’t need to watch…”
Jackson said under his breath,
“Child’s play…”
Rinova adjusted his racing gloves.
Reckless idiot.
He exhaled out of his nose.
Garner’s battered race car rolled up next to him.
Rinova gulped and glanced to see Garner’s face.
Garner was looking straight forward, his brows tightened, completely ignoring him.
Jett entered a sports bar. He headed straight to the bartender.
“I need a drink.”
“What would you like?”
An old man slid a glass of whiskey toward Jett.
“He looks like a man who needs hard liquor!”
“Thank you, sir.”
Jett sipped on the whiskey and watched GRS on the TV screen.
“What’s your name, sir?”
“Buckell, what’s your name, boy?”
“Jett Cooper.”
“Sounds familiar!”
Buckell chugged his glass of whiskey and ordered one more.
“Who are you cheering for?”
“Joanna Nexi.”
“It’s easy to cheer for the best, huh?”
“She’s not the best.”
“I sure as hell think she is, and she got trophies to back it up. But Rinova did beat her though, I think I’m going to start cheering for him now– what about you?”
“He might be faster, but Nexi is the only one racing.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Buckell sipped his whiskey and shook his head. Jett didn’t take a sip– his eyes were still glued to the screen.
Back at Tokyo's hideout.
“Alright, I’m gonna go piss. Call me when Reiji loses,” Kaito told everyone.
“Dude! Have some hope in your friend!” Nina said.
Mikey and Cipher both shook their heads.
“I’m sorry, Nina, but I don’t think Reiji can win at this stage…”
“Yeah… the competition is way too fierce!”
“Imma go too,” Vance said.
Vance and Kaito left to go to the bathroom.
“Reiji, fight! Fight!” Nina chanted.
Race countdown of round two started.
3
2
1
Garner’s car launched ahead of everyone.
Nexi’s car jerked forward, the launch was horrible. The electric part of the hybrid system malfunctioned.
“God damn it!”
Xogic beeped.
“I could not communicate with the electric motor, would you like to disable it?”
“Yes, we have to!”
“Disabled. Possible causes of malfunction: damage to battery, aggressive launch.”
“Shit! I scraped it in the tunnel for sure!”
Every other race car on the grid began overtaking Nexi.
“Is there any way to make this thing faster– turn up the boost, Xogic!”
“I have no telemetry data on this car running ultra high boost. Traction control effectiveness will drop sharply. Probability of engine damage: high. Would you still like to proceed anyways?”
“Yes.”
“Increasing the boost from 50 psi to 80 psi.”
Nexi’s car wheelspun.
“I need traction to match!”
“Tread synthesis is not permitted in this section of the race.”
“I’ll work with what I got.”
Nexi closed her eyes and exhaled.
Lap 1/30
Garner led the pack with Rinova following close behind. Nexi wrestled the car behind Reiji.
The Eiffel’s track was long and tight. Narrow straights that open suddenly into wide corners. Blind corners. Deep hairpins. Unforgiving.
Lap 2/30
The turbo spools up loudly, pushing Nexi’s car right up to Reiji’s
“Got him–”
The straight was too narrow. No room to overtake here.
Nexi drifted wide– setting up for the next corner.
She lifted– turbo flutters. Revs dropped lower than she expected.
They turned in–
Reiji surged forward on exit. Electric motors. Instant torque.
Nexi floored it. Nothing.
Boost was building too late. Revs were too low.
“Damn…”
Nexi stared as Reiji disappeared into a blind corner. Out of grasp.
The car I was driving before… Was it really that quick?
…
No sound.
Race cars apexing.
Battling.
Lap 12/30
Nexi was still in 8th. Last place.
Race cars were overtaking each other
Reiji concentrated, climbing his way up slowly.
Rinova was on Garner’s tail.
People tried out new techniques.
Fails.
Time loss.
The steering felt heavier or maybe it was her arms.
Nexi stopped counting laps.
Lap 16/30
Her racing line started losing its sharpness.
Her objectives began to blur.
The six and a half hours of non-stop racing was starting to catch up to her.
Lap 21/30
Expressive drivers sank down the leaderboard.
Only consistency remained.
Rinova.
Garner.
Stalemate.
Lap 28/30
The bar table was covered by whiskey glasses.
“How you feeling? Your racer darling is not doing too hot.”
“She’s fine... it’s fine… The car… it’s broken… the motor… not working… she’ll win.”
Jett burped, he drank a bit too much.
“I get it… We all wanna defend our favourite one. My champ is also stuck behind Garner right now– I wish that he would just pass and win.”
“She… will do something clever… and pass everyone… and win.”
“What if she doesn’t win, will she still be your favourite?”
“I’m… I–”
Jett stared at his empty glass, holding it tightly.
The TV screen cut to Nexi battling.
“Look– Nexi… She’s going to do something…”
Nexi exited a turn and headed straight into a hairpin to confront Cynika in P7.
“Here’s my chance… Xogic, turn off traction control.”
“Traction control: off.”
Nexi entered the hairpin with great speed. She stabbed the throttle repeatedly as she cornered.
The turbo spooled continuously– while her car stays planted.
Come on– just a bit more.
Nexi closed the gap between her and Cynika.
Warning lights blinked, Xogic beeped.
“Warning. Boost pres–”
“I need this!”
Nexi was right next to Cynika. She still had momentum to pass her.
“Boost pressure exceeded the threshold. Cutting power.”
“NO–”
The boost let out– turbo fan spooled down. Nexi’s car stagnated while Cynika’s car pulled ahead.
“Emergency overwrite activated. Preventing catastrophic failure.”
…
“High risk of engine failure.”
…
“Engine seizure would result in wheel lock up.”
…
“Incredible! Rinova cleanly took first position from Garner after a long battle!” the announcer said.
…
“A crash could occur due to wheel lock up.”
…
“Traction control reactivated due to safety.”
…
“Onto the final lap! This is exciting! Will Rinova be able to hold his position?”
…
Nexi was met with a familiar engine hum.
…
“If he wins this Rinova will be the first ever rookie to win a GRS race!”
…
Only now did Nexi notice the sound of the half-shaft clunking and the warped rotor squealing.
She didn’t know when it started making those noises– possibly even at the start of the race.
“And that’s the end of the GRS endurance rally race! After calculating the stage 1 elapsed time and the stage 2 finishing positions…”
The first place winner: Marshal Rinova
Second place: Caleb Garner
Third place: Augustine Proxy
Buckell was jumping up and down on his stool.
“HAH! CHAMP WON!”
Buckell shook Jett, who was fully asleep on the bar table.
“Boy! Rinova won!”
Buckell stopped looking at the TV to see the dozing Jett.
“Aww man you missed it…”
Jett snored in response.
“I’m sorry to hear that your darling didn’t make it, though… the whisky is on me.”
Buckell called out to the bartender.
“I’ll pay for this man’s drink.”
Buckell looked at Jett.
“Is she still your winner, boy?”
Buckell stretched.
“Mannn, good race today!”
Buckell left the bar.
Kaito was in the toilet while Vance waited outside.
“I’m sorry that there’s only one stall, Vance. If you are in a hurry you can try peeing outside.”
Kaito shouted, the door muffled his voice.
“Hell no! I’m never doing that!”
Kaito exited the stall and laughed.
“You are an entertaining leader, Vance!”
“Hah? Whatchu mean?”
“You keep up the brave front but you are quite caring of those two– and wayyy too trusting, who would let a kid drive their RX-8!”
“I see that the kid has potential– also you gave Reiji and Nina their cars right? You are way too trusting too!”
“No no, you are misunderstanding… Those are their cars. They got it from me, but they worked for it. Plus, Reiji and I knew each other for a long time before I trusted him.”
“Well… I am not giving Mikey a car for free either– It’s just instead of him working for it, it’s him working to pay for it…and I’m giving him a bit of a discount– because of… reasons.”
“Gotchu, leader, I’m done pissing– you can go right ahead.”
Kaito gestured at the vacant toilet stall and walked past Vance.
“…And how do you want him to pay?”
Vance twirled her hair.
“By showing me what he’ll do with a car.”
