“Vroom—vroom vroom—”
On the straight after the turn, the [C-grade Ship Maiden] driven by Zhou Hang was the first to clear the corner, kicking up a spray of waves.
He was truly bold!
He held the extreme turning angle and only reduced speed at the very last second.
Because of that, he successfully widened the gap between himself and the ships beside him, entering the turn first. Then, by locking in the limit of the turning angle, he exited the corner safely.
Behind his [Ship Maiden], the two other [C-grade Ship Maidens] that had originally been neck and neck with him had already reduced their rotation speed to [20] before even reaching the turn, afraid of capsizing.
After entering the turn, they rotated slowly, not daring to add even a bit of speed.
From afar, they looked like two turtles paddling sluggishly through the water.
There was no helping it!
Cruise racing was not like car racing, where corners still allowed for some margin of error.
Because of a ship’s massive hull, once the speed was too high and the wind direction unfavorable, the entire vessel could flip directly into the sea.
For safety, no one dared to take a turn without slowing down.
Zhou Hang seemed to have an extremely keen sense for corner angles.
That was why he dared to maintain full speed until the final second before the turn, maximizing the distance between himself and the others!
“Good! That was a beautiful turn! Who’s driving that [Ship Maiden]?”
“I heard he’s from the major sea regions? Zhou Hang or something?”
“Damn! With that angle judgment, even if I trained for ten years, I wouldn’t dare drive like that!”
“That’s incredible!”
“…”
At this moment, many spectators stood up and applauded the [C-grade Ship Maiden] that had cleared the turn first.
Anyone with the courage to gamble at a corner deserved praise.
Inside the [C-grade Ship Maiden]’s [Captain’s Cabin], watching Zhou Hang handle the turn so calmly, the [Ship Maiden] pinned beneath him felt her eyes light up.
“Such sharp corner awareness… If I partnered with him… Maybe…”
Lost in her own thoughts, she ignored the red marks on her thigh from being gripped so tightly and stared intently at Zhou Hang.
“Hah~ I am the one favored by destiny!”
With his head held high, Zhou Hang basked in the attention and praise.
“Look, Ruyan! Did you see that?! So handsome!”
“Zhou Hang is so handsome!”
Lin Man shook Liu Ruyan’s arm, completely smitten.
No [Ship Maiden] could resist a [Navigator] with excellent driving skills.
Liu Ruyan stared in the direction of the [C-grade Ship Maiden] and smiled faintly. “Not bad… Only a man like that deserves to enter my [Captain’s Cabin] and race the seas with me…”
“Lin Man, there’s no suspense left…”
“For the remaining laps, Zheng Hao will just be eating Zhou Hang’s wake…”
She slowly lifted her chin, already seeing the ending in her mind.
“Vroom vroom vroom~”
At the same time, beside Yang Fan, a dark red [medium ship] slowly approached.
Standing atop it was a middle-aged man who looked strikingly similar to Yang Fan. He narrowed his eyes as he stared at the leading [C-grade Ship Maiden].
“Oh?”
“I didn’t expect we’d actually find a promising talent today.”
“Fan’er, who’s the driver of that [C-grade Ship Maiden] in first place?”
His deep voice carried over. Yang Fan clasped his fists respectfully. “Father! I heard he’s from the Zhou Family in the major sea regions…”
“The Zhou Family? What are they doing here?”
“Well… I heard Zhou Hang was born unexpectedly, so he left his family…”
“Yes.”
“Hm… His corner awareness is impressive. Much better than the two family disciples we trained. After the race ends… go speak with him and ask whether he’d like to join our Yang Family.”
“Understood, Father!”
“Oh right, Father. Did you see Zheng Hao’s start earlier?”
The middle-aged man nodded. “An interesting start. But that kind of opportunistic trick is meaningless in the face of absolute stats…”
“In comparison, I appreciate the Zhou Family boy’s bold cornering more…”
“This race will probably—”
“Hm?!”
Just as he was about to declare the outcome, his expression tightened as he looked toward the last-place [Demon Ship].
“Vroom vroom vroom~”
The [Demon Ship] showed no sign of reducing its propeller speed. It continued charging toward the corner at a full [40], even closing in on the two [C-grade Ship Maidens] that had slowed down!
“He… he’s not slowing down?”
“Is he trying to imitate Zhou Hang? Push the limit angle? Has Zheng Hao gone mad?!”
The Yang father and son stared at the [Demon Ship] in disbelief.
At the same time, many spectators noticed the anomaly.
“My god! Taking a turn at 40 rotation speed? It’s going to capsize!”
“Is he crazy? Not slowing down at a corner?”
“Does Young Master Zheng know he can’t win, so he’s planning to crash into the reefs?”
“…”
Murmurs spread through the crowd.
Inside the [Demon Ship · Captain’s Cabin].
Zheng Hao’s expression remained calm. His large hand pressed firmly on Mo Yurou’s thigh, never easing the speed.
“Zheng Hao… Zheng Hao… I feel so hot below… the fuel tank… it’s going to burn up…”
Mo Yurou’s face was flushed crimson. Looking at Zheng Hao, she saw his expression was unexpectedly steady and solemn.
When a man truly wants to win, he does not smile.
Seeing the seriousness in his eyes, Mo Yurou exhaled hot breaths and suddenly felt guilty. “I’m… I’m sorry, Zheng Hao… It’s me… I’m holding you back! If my stats weren’t so bad…”
“You should have been the first through the turn… right?”
“I… I…”
“Shh~ Don’t talk.”
“Huh?”
His calm eyes met hers, and her heart pounded violently.
“The turn… it’s almost here…”
“Aren’t… aren’t we slowing down?”
“No need.”
“What?!”
The hull trembled violently. Mo Yurou panicked.
She was afraid!
Afraid that Zheng Hao was truly going to risk everything!
It was true that at [40] rotation speed on a straight, there was no way to overtake a [C-grade Ship Maiden].
But…
If he did not slow down at the turn, while the [C-grade Ship Maidens] reduced their speed to around [20–30], then with [40] rotation speed, they might overtake in the corner and surge back to the front!
However…
Taking a turn at [40] rotation speed?
That was practically guaranteed to cause a capsize!
“Zheng Hao! Zheng Hao?”
Mo Yurou kept calling out, trying to pull him back from what seemed like madness.
“Huh?”
“I’m asking, do you trust me?”
“I… I… I trust you… I think…”
She answered hesitantly, relying purely on instinct.
They had not known each other long. Only their recent interactions made her feel that this man truly liked her. Or more precisely, he liked her ship.
“Fine!”
“At least… he truly likes me…”
“I trust you!!!”
Summoning her courage, the eyes beneath the helm locked onto Zheng Hao.
“Good!”
“I’ll show you that there are no trash [Ship Maidens], only trash [Navigators]! Full speed! We charge into the turn!!!”
His hand pressed down hard on her thigh again. Mo Yurou shut her eyes tightly.
“Alright!!!”
“Vroom vroom vroom~”
“Vroom vroom vroom~”
Waves roared!
[40] rotation speed! Still [40] rotation speed!
Even at the entrance of the turn, the [Demon Ship] did not slow down!!!
“Damn! He’s insane!”
“A madman!!!”
The drivers of the two [C-grade Ship Maidens] ahead panicked, shaking their hulls to create distance.
“Madman!”
“You think that’ll let you catch Zhou Hang?”
“Zheng Hao, you’re insane!!!”
In the stands, Liu Ruyan looked at the accelerating [Demon Ship] with disgust.
In her eyes, taking a turn like that was no different from suicide.
“Father! He’s still not slowing down! He’s entering the turn! He’s entering the turn!!!”
“Is that kid risking his life? This is just a small race!”
The Yang father and son were stunned.
But!
In the next instant!
The rapidly charging [Demon Ship] spun sharply. Its bow lunged toward the exit, and under the violent change in direction at high speed, the entire hull tilted toward the inside, on the verge of capsizing—
Inside the [Captain’s Cabin], Zheng Hao spun the helm wildly, holding Mo Yurou tightly as he felt the whole ship tilting.
He did not panic.
He waited until the bow aligned with the exit of the turn, then suddenly slapped Mo Yurou’s backside. It rebounded with a firm, elastic sound, startling her.
“You! What are you doing?!”
“No… I pressed the [Anchor] button!”
“What?!”
“Boom—”
Just as everyone stared in shock, the hull that was about to tip inward suddenly hurled its [Anchor] outward from the outer side, plunging rapidly toward the seabed!
“Rumble rumble—”
With the anchor deployed, the hull that had been tilting began to stabilize.
At a ferocious [40] rotation speed, it carved a white dragon through the corner and shot straight out of the turn!!!