That evening, MP Motorsport did not hold another celebration dinner.
Sander waved his hand and gave everyone the afternoon off, letting them do whatever they wanted.
Julian politely declined the engineers’ invitation to go to a bar and turned back toward his hotel room.
Dennis stood by the elevator not far away, holding his key card.
He watched Julian turn and run toward the elevator.
His lips moved slightly, but in the end, he said nothing and walked into the other elevator.
Julian took a hot shower, changed into loose clothes, and collapsed into the soft bed with a comfortable sigh.
The nerves that had been tightly wound on the track all day finally relaxed completely.
The muscles in his neck, which had endured heavy G forces, felt a faint ache.
His chest was a bit red from the friction of the seatbelt harness.
But his mood was lighter than it had ever been.
He pulled out his phone and opened WhatsApp.
Toby’s messages had already exploded.
Holy crap Julian you are insane!
I saw the chat in that illegal stream.
Everyone was spamming your name!
I do not really understand racing, but judging by how excited the streamer was screaming, I know you must be awesome!
I was watching at the internet cafe.
I got so excited I almost smashed my keyboard.
The manager came over and yelled at me!
You are famous now, do you know?
TikTok is full of videos of you!
Hello???
Reply to me!!!
Julian looked at the screen full of messages, and the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously.
He rolled over onto his stomach, held his phone with both hands, and slowly typed a reply.
Just finished my shower.
These past few days have been exhausting.
Send.
Toby replied instantly.
Toby: Exhausting my foot!
Get online!
My mechanics are feeling great today.
I will carry you up the ranks!
Julian: …Do you not care about my health at all?
Toby: Care about what?
You are leading second place by a huge margin.
How can playing a game exhaust you?
Get online!
Julian could not help but laugh out loud.
That was Toby.
He always managed to steer every conversation back to gaming.
He exited WhatsApp and opened Wild Rift.
A party invite popped up.
Julian tapped accept.
Toby’s voice exploded through the earpiece, carrying the manic energy of someone staying up late.
Here we go!
Today big brother is going to carry you to the stars!
You carrying me?
Julian lazily replied while picking his hero.
Who was the one begging me to carry them after going zero kills and seven deaths last time?
That was an accident!
My state is amazing today!
Toby instantly locked in Jinx.
You stick with Lee Sin.
We will do jungle bot synergy and destroy them!
Fine.
The game loaded.
Julian glanced at the ping value.
One hundred and three.
Still the same old story.
But he was in a good mood today, so he did not bother complaining.
The match began.
Julian’s Lee Sin started at the blue buff.
He used his second skill to wall hop, his first skill to knock up the monster, and his smite to secure it.
His movements were fluid and seamless.
A ping of one hundred and three was something he had long since gotten used to.
That tiny bit of latency actually reminded him of a certain feeling when driving.
As a driver, he needed to adapt to it, predict it, and then master it.
Compared to driving an F2 car, a one hundred and three ping was nothing.
Holy crap Julian, that counter jungle invade was so slick!
Toby’s voice came through the earpiece.
The enemy jungler has nothing left but his underwear!
Julian did not speak, but the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
His Lee Sin wall hopped from the enemy red side.
He chained his second skill into his first, used smite to precisely steal the enemy red buff, and then flipped over the wall without looking back.
The enemy jungler chased for two steps, only to watch helplessly as Lee Sin disappeared from view.
The game reached the eighth minute.
Julian’s Lee Sin was already two thousand gold ahead of the enemy jungler.
Toby’s Jinx was dealing massive damage in the bottom lane, chatting nonstop.
See that?
See that?
This is real skill!
My positioning in that team fight made the enemy marksman quit the game mentally!
Be careful.
The enemy jungler is heading bot, Julian warned.
What is there to fear?
I—
Before he could finish, Jinx’s corpse was already lying on the ground.
Toby: …
Julian: Told you to be careful.
Toby: …They are targeting me!
Julian chuckled and did not say anything else.
His Lee Sin burst out of the river brush.
He used his first skill to knock up the enemy marksman, spun his ultimate, and dumped all three segments of damage to secure the kill.
Then he wall hopped away, used smite on the low health support, and secured a double kill.
Awesome Julian!
Toby respawned and rushed out of the base, his tone full of admiration.
With hand speed like that, no wonder you can drive F2!
Driving race cars does not rely on hand speed, Julian said seriously.
Then what does it rely on?
Julian thought for a moment.
It relies on feel.
Toby was silent for a second.
…You sound so pretentious when you say that.
Julian laughed.
Twenty minutes later, the enemy nexus exploded.
So satisfying!
Toby let out a long breath.
One more!
The two of them won three more games in a row.
Julian’s Lee Sin was MVP every single time, and Toby’s Jinx finally earned a gold medal for best marksman in one of the matches.
At one in the morning.
That is enough.
I have to wake up early for my flight tomorrow.
Julian yawned.
Last game.
Deal!
The final game was exceptionally intense.
Both sides fought for twenty minutes.
The Storm Dragon spawned twice.
In the end, Julian’s Lee Sin camped beside the dragon pit for a full minute.
He seized the moment the enemy marksman made a positioning error, knocked him up with his first skill, followed up with his ultimate, and instantly deleted the core damage dealer.
Then he led his team to push and destroy the enemy nexus in one wave.
We won!
Toby’s voice was full of accomplishment.
Four win streak!
Julian, you are my lucky star!
Julian exited the game and rubbed his slightly sore eyes.
Alright, alright.
I am going to sleep.
Wait!
Toby stopped him.
Julian, seriously, you are famous now.
TikTok is full of your highlight reels from today.
The comments are all saying Chinese genius driver and Tire preservation monster.
Have you seen them?
No, Julian answered honestly.
Are you not excited?
You are famous!
Julian thought for a moment and said seriously.
Being famous or not does not matter.
I am not a celebrity.
I do not need fans.
I just need to be allowed to drive properly.
Toby was silent for two seconds.
You know what, Toby said, his tone unusually serious.
When you talk like that, you are really asking for a beating.
Julian smiled.
Goodnight.
Goodnight goodnight.
Do not be late for your flight tomorrow.
He hung up the call, and the room fell silent.
Julian placed his phone on the nightstand but did not go to sleep immediately.
He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
A beam of moonlight slipped through the gap in the curtains, casting a thin silver line on the carpet.
He closed his eyes and summoned the system panel in his mind.
The pale blue light screen gradually floated in his mind, the data clearly visible.
Host Information Panel
Name: Julian Vance
Age: 17
Physical Conditioning: 58 (Unchanged)
Endurance Consistency: 63 (+2)
Wet Weather Pace: 26 (+1)
Race Starts: 46 (+1)
Overtaking Technique: 49 (+1)
Defensive Driving: 68 (+1)
Tire Preservation: 91 (Unchanged)
Free Proficiency Points: 0
Julian’s gaze swept over the numbers row by row.
A sense of indescribable solidity welled up in his heart.
Three days of winter testing.
Four practice sessions.
One race simulation.
Countless repetitions of throttle, brake, steering, and shifting.
These numbers were the proof of all his efforts.
Although each point increased very slowly, every jump in the numbers was a reward for his hard work.
Only Tire Preservation remained at that unmoving ninety one points.
Julian touched his chin, lost in thought.
On the track today, he had finally figured out why his tire preservation was so good.
It was not some mystic art, nor was it magic.
It was because, since he first sat in a kart at six years old, he had subconsciously been sensing the state of his tires.
Temperature, wear, grip, slip ratio…
Data that others needed instruments to measure, he could perceive precisely with his body.
He would unconsciously adjust his racing line, throttle, and braking to keep the tires in their optimal working temperature and wear state.
This was a talent carved into his bones, something others could never learn no matter how hard they practiced.
Julian’s gaze finally landed on the Wet Weather Pace line.
Twenty six points.
Still too low.
He thought back to the rain on the first day of the winter test.
He remembered the embarrassment of spinning out on the spot.
He remembered Dr.
Marko’s disappointed tweet and the overwhelming criticism online.
It is okay, Julian whispered to himself.
There is still time.
When he returned to the MP Motorsport base in the Netherlands, he would add another half hour of training every day.
No, make it one hour of wet weather simulator practice.
One day, he would fill this shortcoming.
He closed the system panel and lay down.
Tomorrow he would fly back to the Netherlands.
In three weeks, they would return here for the opening round of the 2023 F2 Championship.
By then, he would use a thrilling victory to shut up all those who doubted him, make his supporters cheer, and ensure the entire paddock remembered his name.
Julian closed his eyes, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
In his dream, he drove the red car across the finish line.
In the stands, flags waved and the national anthem played.
And in his hands, he held a steaming double beef burger trophy.