Tom led Julian to the base recovery room for cryotherapy.
The room housed two massive silver cylindrical machines that looked like space pods from a science fiction movie.
Dennis was already standing by the door of one of them, wearing neat protective gear.
He clearly was a regular here.
“These are liquid nitrogen cryo chambers,” Tom explained.
“The temperature drops to minus one hundred and ten degrees Celsius.
You stay inside for three minutes.
It rapidly constricts your blood vessels, reduces muscle soreness and inflammation, and speeds up recovery.
From now on, you will do this for three minutes after every training session.”
Julian looked at the two chambers venting white vapor and swallowed hard.
Minus one hundred and ten degrees?
It sounded freezing.
He instinctively shrank his neck.
“Do not worry, it is completely safe,” Tom said with a reassuring smile, noticing his hesitation.
“I will be right outside watching you.
If you feel uncomfortable, just press this button.”
Julian nodded.
Following the instructions, he changed into a specialized thermal suit, putting on gloves and a head covering until only his face was exposed.
“Ready?” Tom asked.
“Ready.” Julian took a deep breath and pressed his lips tightly together.
Tom opened the chamber door, and a wave of bone chilling cold hit him.
Julian gritted his teeth and stepped inside.
With a heavy thud, the door shut.
Instantly, Julian felt like he had been dropped into an ice cellar.
Biting cold rushed at him from all directions.
He shivered violently, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.
He kept his lips clamped shut, but his teeth still clicked together inside his mouth, making a faint clacking sound.
“Hold on!
Two minutes left!” Tom called from outside.
Julian clenched his fists, feeling like his blood was about to freeze solid.
The door of the adjacent chamber opened.
Dennis stepped out with smooth and effortless movements.
Aside from his cheeks and ears being slightly red, he looked completely unfazed, showing almost no signs of just spending three minutes in the freezing chamber.
Those brief three minutes felt longer than an hour.
Finally, the door to the chamber hissed open.
Julian practically stumbled out.
He felt completely stiff.
His limbs refused to obey him.
He walked with a limp, swaying like a drunk robot.
“Pfft.”
This time, Dennis could not hold it in.
Tom also burst into laughter at the sight.
“Everyone is like that the first time!
You will get used to it!”
Julian was too frozen to speak.
He could only roll his eyes at Tom and shoot a glare at Dennis.
Dennis had already looked away.
He was intently studying the operating instructions on the wall, pretending there was some fascinating new information he had never noticed before.
Julian pulled his thermal suit tight and waited for a long while before he finally thawed out.
“Come on, let us go to the cafeteria for breakfast.
I have a specially prepared nutritional meal for you.”
Julian’s eyes instantly lit up.
He immediately forgot about the cold. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
He walked over to where his jacket was hanging, put it on, and felt a faint warmth from his pocket.
He obediently followed Tom toward the cafeteria.
It was peak dining hours.
Mechanics and engineers bustled around with their trays, making the place lively.
Tom led Julian to a seat by the window and pointed at the table.
“Wait here.
I will get your breakfast.”
Julian nodded obediently, but his eyes kept drifting toward the buffet station not far away.
It was piled with golden crispy croissants, sizzling bacon, and buttery bread and fried eggs.
It made his mouth water.
The burger in his pocket still held a bit of warmth.
He had planned to eat it secretly after training, but he never expected Tom to prepare a custom nutritional meal for him.
I hope the nutritional meal actually tastes good.
Julian prayed silently in his heart.
Soon, Tom returned with a white plate and set it down heavily in front of Julian.
Julian looked down, and the smile on his face instantly froze.
The plate held three perfectly arranged pieces of boiled chicken breast.
There was no seasoning at all.
They looked dry and tough.
Next to them was a small bowl of hard brown rice, a few florets of boiled broccoli that looked bitter and dark green, and a side salad with absolutely no dressing.
The entire plate was just white and green.
There was not a single drop of oil in sight.
“This is the specially prepared nutritional meal?” Julian poked the chicken breast with his fork.
It was hard and dry.
“Yes.” Tom sat down across from him and took a sip of his coffee.
“This is a fat loss and muscle building diet I specifically designed for you.
It strictly controls calories and fat intake.
F2 drivers must maintain an extremely low body fat percentage, otherwise it affects the car weight distribution and your reaction speed.
From now on, I will arrange all three of your daily meals.”
Julian stared at the utterly unappetizing food in front of him, wanting to cry.
He picked up his fork, pierced a tiny piece of chicken, and put it in his mouth.
No flavor.
Absolutely no flavor.
It was like chewing on a waterlogged cotton ball.
Julian chewed with great difficulty before barely managing to swallow it.
He then picked up a piece of broccoli and put it in his mouth.
A faint bitter taste spread across his tongue.
Julian’s face scrunched up into a knot.
He ate slowly while fiercely complaining in his mind.
This was not a nutritional meal.
This was prison food!
It was ten thousand times worse than the burger in his pocket.
Tom sat across from him, watching Julian eat earnestly, and nodded in satisfaction.
He had expected the rich kid to be picky, but he was surprisingly obedient.
Just then, the phone of Tom rang.
He glanced at the caller ID and said to Julian, “I need to take this.
Eat slowly, and do not leave any leftovers.”
“Got it.” Julian nodded obediently.
Watching Tom walk to the cafeteria entrance with his phone, Julian immediately put down his fork.
He looked left and right to make sure no one was paying attention.
Then, he quickly reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the double beef burger that was still slightly warm.
The moment he unwrapped the paper, the rich aroma of beef and cheese hit him.
Julian took a deep breath, feeling his soul ascend to a higher plane.
He opened his mouth and took a massive bite.
The crispy bun, the juicy beef patty, the melted cheese, and the sweet and sour ketchup.
Now this was actual human food!
Julian wolfed it down, terrified of being caught by Tom.
Sauce got on the corners of his mouth, but he did not bother wiping it.
He ate half the burger in just a few bites.
Just as he was about to take the final bite.
“Julian?”
A familiar voice called out from nearby.
Julian jumped in fright.
The burger in his hand almost dropped to the floor.
He snapped his head up to see Sander and Paul walking toward him side by side, both wearing smiles.
Crap.
Julian’s mind went completely blank.
He instinctively shoved the remaining half of the burger back into his pocket as fast as he could.
Then he quickly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, grabbed his fork, and pretended to keep eating the chicken on his plate.
Sander and Paul reached the table just in time to see Julian shove the last piece of chicken into his mouth and flash a deeply satisfied expression.
“Morning, Julian,” Sander said with a smile.
“How is breakfast?
Getting used to it?”
“Yep!
Totally used to it!” Julian nodded vigorously, trying his best to make his expression look sincere.
“It is delicious!”
As he spoke, he pushed the remaining brown rice and broccoli together on his plate, pretending he was almost finished.
Sander and Paul exchanged a glance.
They both saw relief and approval in each other’s eyes.
“This kid is truly a pleasant surprise,” Sander said in a lowered voice to Paul.
“Not only does he have talent, but he is also incredibly disciplined.
Look at him, eating that bland nutritional food with such appetite, not picky at all.
I was worried he could not handle the hardship, but it seems I overthought it.”
“Exactly,” Paul nodded in deep agreement.
“Very few young people today can do this.
A lot of professional drivers sneak junk food when they can.
But he is highly motivated.
It looks like we really struck gold.”
Julian kept his head down, pretending to drink some soup.
His ears were perked up, and he heard every single word of their conversation.
He silently rolled his eyes in his mind.
Delicious my foot.
Disciplined my foot.
You are praising the wrong person!
The burger was pretty good though.
Julian patted the remaining half in his pocket, feeling quite pleased with himself.
Just then, Tom finished his call and walked back.
He looked at the plate of Julian, saw it was almost empty, and immediately broke into a gratified smile.
“Awesome job, Julian!” Tom patted the shoulder of Julian, nearly knocking him off his chair.
“I thought you would not be used to it.
Keep up the good work!”
Julian gave a guilty smile.
“Yeah…
I will.”
“By the way, Sander, Paul, what brings you guys here?” Tom asked.
“I came to tell Julian about the schedule for this afternoon,” Sander said.
“After you finish eating, we are doing simulator training.”