“Left one…”
“Right five…”
“Left four…”
“Right six!”
The gentle sunlight streamed clearly through the glass into the ward.
Yusei held his helmet, looking somewhat surprised at his companion mumbling in his sleep on the bed.
“Nurse, how long has he been in this state?” Yusei turned his head to ask, securely fastening his gloves.
Wearing a bright racing suit, he stood out sharply in the all-white hospital.
The young nurse, holding a notepad, asked curiously in return, “Is he your navigator?”
Yusei smiled, “Yes, a good friend.”
The nurse chuckled softly, “Don’t worry, his injuries are much better.
I reckon he’s just too stressed, which is why he keeps talking in his sleep.”
After completing the final check-up, she gently closed the door and walked out of the ward.
The crisp sound of the door locking echoed, and the patient with his leg in a full cast finally opened his eyes.
His gaze was initially somewhat blank, and after recalling his situation, his expression became filled with loss and self-reproach.
But when he saw Yusei, fully geared up and ready to go, by his side, he immediately forced a relaxed smile: “I told you I’m fine, why did you come over?
The race should be starting soon, right?”
Yusei replied confidently, “There’s still time.
I’ve memorized the route map these past few days, and this time, the championship is definitely ours!”
His companion still sighed softly with self-reproach, and solemnly urged, “This time on the track, just put aside that old way of doing things.
The road conditions are complex, and getting lost without the route map is very dangerous!”
Yusei accepted this sentiment, and smiled faintly, “You still don’t trust me?
Just rest up here, recover well, and the day you’re discharged, I’ll personally carry the trophy to pick you up.”
His companion said no more, but took out a wallet from his bedside table, pulled out a Card he had prepared long ago, and placed it in Yusei’s hand.
It was a Yu-Gi-Oh!
Card.
This card game, which had been popular for nearly two decades, had accompanied the two friends throughout their entire growth.
When they were still in school, they could only save up their pocket money to buy low-quality pirated versions.
Later, when they had some financial stability, they started becoming legitimate players.
The first time they bought legitimate Cards, the two of them instantly opened hundreds of packs, and each chose a beloved monster card as a memento.
After that, every time they participated in a rally race together, they would tacitly carry their Cards with them.
This time, due to an unexpected incident before the race, the navigator, unable to participate, chose to hand his representative Card to the racer.
This was both a hope and an encouragement.
“Magic Striker…” Yusei took out a necklace from his chest pocket, put the two Cards with special meaning together, and then he vowed, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely win the championship, taking your share with me!”
His companion shook his head, “Finishing the race safely is the best gift.”
It was already late, and Yusei had to leave the hospital.
Before he left, his companion, lying in the hospital bed, gave him a thumbs-up.
Yusei also extended a finger in response, but his gesture wasn’t a “cheer” but a “one”—the “one” of “first place”!
On the winding mountain road, dust flew up.
Racers had already departed on the narrow, perilous cliff roads.
Yusei, alone, steadily stopped his vehicle before the starting line.
He glanced at the empty seat beside him, and his resolve grew firmer.
The voice from the control tower rang out, and the coach repeatedly reminded him, “Yusei, this time you’re on the track by yourself.
Just finish the race safely and get an average result; that’s good enough!
Next year, we’ll strive for the championship again!”
However, Yusei’s gaze was somewhat dim: “But this should be Chen Hao’s last race, right?”
The coach froze: “You, you knew?”
Yusei didn’t answer, but continued, “Besides his leg, he also suffered head trauma, so future races will have nothing to do with him anymore.”
The coach gritted his teeth: “But Yusei…
you can still race, the team will find you another navigator…”
Yusei replied firmly, “But Chen Hao only has this last chance left.”
“To win the championship side-by-side, is a dream we’ve shared for seven years.”
“This is his last race, and I must engrave the two words ‘Chen Hao’ onto the trophy!”
The coach fell silent.
He didn’t know how to convince this stubborn young man, after all, how many people who made it this far weren’t truly hot-blooded?
In the end, he could only silently pray for everything to go smoothly.
On this race track, too many accidents had already occurred…
The final countdown began, and the referee walked to the car window for confirmation.
Facing the camera not far away, Yusei first gave a thumbs-up, and then again made the gesture representing “first place”.
“Screech—!”
The tires ground against the sandy earth, letting out a beast-like roar!
Large swathes of rising dust transformed into Yusei’s rushing wind as he galloped forward!
Driving the race car, Yusei simultaneously replayed the route map in his mind.
Every single character was something he had urgently memorized.
But the voices resounding in his mind had all transformed into that best friend who had accompanied him for many years—Chen Hao!
Yusei stared straight ahead.
The winding cliff road rapidly fell behind him.
Everything was no different from training, but the racer’s intuition told him—it wasn’t enough, it was far from enough…
“How many seconds behind first place am I now?” Amidst the chaotic roar, Yusei shouted to the control tower.
The coach hesitated, “Yusei, you maintain…”
“How much is left?!” Charging out of a big turn, Yusei asked again.
The coach took a deep breath, and reluctantly replied, “Eleven…
now it’s already twelve seconds…”
Yusei’s heart sank, and at this moment, his eyes also changed.
The control tower’s monitoring showed that his speed was significantly faster than before, and his performance was gradually closing in on the lead.
Several newcomers couldn’t help but cheer excitedly, but the coach still had a grim expression.
He knew very well that the reason Yusei’s performance today wasn’t as good as in training was because he had to divert some energy to recall the route map.
Now that he had completely abandoned the route map, although his speed had increased, he had put himself in danger!
Relying on his familiarity with the track and years of driving experience, under normal circumstances, it wasn’t impossible for Yusei to finish the race smoothly.
But this was a rally race, and on this track…
Without the assistance of a navigator, and putting all his focus on speed, this was definitely not a good choice…
Yusei’s car speed increased at a visible rate, and he continuously closed in on the championship position.
Charging through turn after turn, the gap between him and the first-place driver had narrowed to less than two seconds.
“Almost…
almost there!”
Yusei gripped the steering wheel, constantly calculating in his mind.
“As long as I get through this turn, we’ll win!”
Along the cliff edge where sand and gravel flew, Yusei’s race car once again drifted almost hugging the cliff wall.
But just as the car’s front passed the steep giant rock, and was about to straighten out from the turn, a sudden rock abruptly appeared directly ahead!
Yusei didn’t notice the fatal rock at first.
By the time he, with his entire body and mind focused, reacted, a loud crash had already come from the front right of the car!
Immediately after, there was a violent, dizzying spin!!
The deadly somersaults turned the entire race car into something like a meat grinder.
Amidst the chaos, the Card necklace flew out from his chest and landed before Yusei’s eyes.
He saw two Cards, one facing up and one facing down, with special meaning, constantly rotating and alternating.
“In the end…
still couldn’t do it, huh?”
In the last second before losing consciousness, Yusei muttered unwillingly.
But just as he closed his eyes, the two Cards miraculously burst forth with colorful light.
A mysterious vortex enveloped him, and what came next was an entirely new yet familiar world…
Veteran’s new book, quality guaranteed.
Currently undergoing internal review, feel free to invest boldly.
New book period update rules are as follows:
Daily double updates, average daily update volume of 4000~5000 characters.
Additional updates after launch, details can be found in the launch announcement.
This book is not Official Card Game-oriented, nor competitive-oriented.
The style leans towards the original anime, belonging to the Soul-type and Hot-blooded genres.
Anime Cards will be used, and generally, no DIY (custom cards) will be made.
Since the 5Ds series is a niche topic, it especially needs the support of my brothers (readers).
I hope everyone can cast more votes and help with continued readership!
I will do my best to write wonderful works to give back to all my readers!
I wish everyone:
One Card shining bright, mountains blocked, seas obstructed, all dueled!
May everything go smoothly, and fortune arrive like a divine draw!
(end of chapter)