Back at the starting plaza, the live feed from the roadside cameras flashed across the giant screen.
The crowd erupted.
“Told you.
Mia was never beating Blackwood.” “Think she’s actually gonna pay up if she loses?” “No chance.
Dom would burn the whole city down first.” “Wait…
who’s driving now?” “Hold on…
that’s not Mia.” The cameras zoomed in on the silver Nova as it tore through the straightaway.
A murmur spread through the crowd.
“When did they switch drivers?” “No idea.” “Doesn’t matter.
They’re still too far behind.” …
Inside the Nova, Liam sat calmly behind the wheel.
The engine thundered beneath him as the car surged forward.
For the first time since arriving in this world, he was truly driving.
The vibration.
The power.
The surge.
His blood ignited.
Every sense sharpened.
His left hand guided the wheel with surgical precision.
His right hand flicked toward the passenger side.
Mia immediately understood.
She opened the hidden compartment beneath the dash.
A polished nitrous system came into view.
“Liam, you can’t just—” Click.
He hit the switch.
The Nova exploded forward.
The acceleration slammed both of them into their seats.
The speedometer climbed rapidly.
“That red Toyota…
straight ahead!” Mia shouted.
“That’s him!” Liam didn’t respond.
His eyes remained fixed on the road.
Throttle.
Steering.
Balance.
Nothing else existed.
At these speeds, a mistake wasn’t just losing.
It was death.
The car became an extension of him.
After a few seconds, Liam cut the nitrous.
The engine couldn’t sustain that kind of strain for long.
Ahead, the red Toyota swerved left, then right, blocking the road again.
Liam remained calm.
Mia couldn’t look away.
Every movement he made was precise and effortless.
The road ahead curved sharply.
The first V-shaped corner was coming up.
Mia instinctively tensed.
“Corner ahead.
You need to slow down.” No response.
“Liam, the turn—” Still nothing.
Up ahead, the red Toyota was already braking and hugging the inside line.
Liam’s foot stayed on the gas.
100 meters.
Mia’s breath caught.
Then he moved.
Gas off.
The steering wheel snapped left.
The handbrake locked.
The rear of the car whipped outward.
Tires screamed against the asphalt as smoke poured from the rear wheels.
The Nova slid through the V-shaped corner in a perfect arc.
Mia’s vision blurred.
She couldn’t even follow his hands.
This wasn’t just skill.
It was mastery.
As the rear settled back into alignment, Liam slammed the clutch, downshifted, and floored the accelerator.
The engine roared back to life.
The Nova shot out of the corner like a predator unleashed.
Behind them, the red Toyota vanished into the smoke.
Liam shifted smoothly, pushing the car harder with perfect timing.
Most people knew first gear produced the most torque.
Few understood what that meant in practice.
For a racer, that instant burst of power could stabilize the car, regain traction, and launch it out of a corner at maximum speed.
It was the difference between control and disaster.
That single corner changed everything.
Mia sat frozen, staring ahead.
Then she glanced at the dashcam.
Every second had been recorded.
When this was over, she needed to show Dom.
Because whatever Liam was, he wasn’t just a driver.
At near top speed, pulling off a drift like that?
That wasn’t normal.
It was unreal.