Dust flew everywhere.
In the old factory cluttered with garbage, Youye sat on a wooden crate, ravenously eating cold meals from a dented and rusty lunchbox.
This wasn’t the first time he had to ask others for food, but after many years, now a professional rider, he indeed felt somewhat uncomfortable.
But what could he do?
From participating in the race, to the accident, and then to the duel with Trudge, he hadn’t eaten anything at all.
As an athlete, his appetite was already large, and after all the turmoil, he was truly starving.
While eating, Yusei didn’t forget to glance into the distance, where his D-Wheel and racing suit were hidden in a small alley.
Seeing no one heading that way, he felt considerably relieved.
In just a few minutes, not a single grain of rice was left in the iron lunchbox.
Yusei took the water bottle offered from the side and took two sips, then said, “Thank you.”
“We’re the ones who should be thanking you~” The brown-haired youth smiled amicably.
“If it weren’t for you, we’d probably be screwed.
Those guys upstairs wouldn’t have missed the chance to mess with us.”
Halfway through his sentence, the youth suddenly noticed Yusei looking at another lunchbox not far away.
The shortest among them quickly rushed forward and clutched the lunchbox to his chest, exclaiming, “This is my food for the whole day!”
The factories in the Satellite Sector operate day and night.
These young people work the night shift, so even though it was already dark, a new day for them had just begun.
The brown-haired youth gave a helpless smile, pulled out a few dirty bills from his pocket, and then fished out a Duel Card from another pocket, handing it to the shortest one: “Go on, buy some food for everyone and come back.
We really have a lot of work to do tonight.”
Since the conveyor belt was repaired, two people had already been assigned to sort scraps on the assembly line.
However, due to the previous malfunction, tonight they not only had to complete their regular work, but also clear away the mountain of garbage piled on the floor, meaning a truly significant amount of work.
Looking at the Cards the brown-haired youth handed out, Yusei was momentarily stunned and asked, “Do you guys trade with Cards?”
A skinny guy beside him grinned triumphantly, “Of course not!
Dichu De and the old boss of the small shop have a good relationship.
That Card is proof of their connection.
As long as he sees that Card, the boss always throws in a little extra.”
The shortest one grabbed the Cards and, clutching his lunchbox, ran off.
Yusei didn’t get a clear look at what Card it was.
Although common Cards circulate widely on the market, considering this was the Satellite Sector, a place where Duel Cards were a scarce resource, their method of connection was understandable.
The brown-haired youth named Dichu De extended his hand with a smile and said, “Hello, my name is Dichu De.
You helped us a lot today, and I won’t forget this favor.”
“This is Hirata Shun,” Dichu De continued.
“The ones busy over there are Daigo and Liang Ping.
As for the kid who just ran out to buy things, his name is Rally.”
“Don’t say that!” Hirata Shun reminded with a smile.
Dichu De quickly nodded, correcting himself, “Right, right.
Our Rally isn’t a kid anymore.”
Yusei greeted the few people one by one, but upon hearing the familiar name “Rally,” he couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment.
Rally?!
Could it be the friend from the original anime, the one who helped Yusei?
The one who stole D-Wheel parts for Yusei from the factory in the first episode?
Yusei couldn’t quite recall Rally’s appearance from the anime anymore, but one thing he remembered very clearly: Rally was a boy who often wore baggy clothes.
The shortest one who had just run out seemed to be dressed exactly like that.
The ill-fitting clothes made him, already short, look like a mushroom.
Seeing Yusei somewhat distracted, Dichu De waved a hand in front of him and smiled, “Hey, what about you?
New guy, aren’t you going to introduce yourself?
Where are you from?”
Dichu De had tried to be as casual as possible, but Yusei still understood clearly that they were trying to probe his background.
But it didn’t matter.
Before coming to this factory, he had already formulated a story based on his understanding of the anime.
Yusei sighed and replied, “I used to teach people how to drive in other places, but then I offended a security officer, and had no choice but to escape to F17.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Dichu De and Hirata Shun’s expressions immediately changed.
The other two who were working not far away also paused, stopping their work.
Yusei clearly knew what they were worried about.
In this autocratic dystopia, offending a security officer was no different from being sentenced to death.
He gently buckled the nearby lunchbox closed, and stood up, saying, “Don’t worry.
I’ll just hide here for a bit and then leave.
But remember to go find the lost parts, otherwise, the conveyor belt will break again in a couple of days.”
Seeing Yusei preparing to leave so decisively, Dichu De and the others couldn’t help but hold him back.
After a moment of thought, Dichu De wanted to keep Yusei, but before he could speak, Rally’s shouts came from outside the factory.
“Run!
Run!”
“The Wildfire Team is here!”
Rally ran over, carrying a large bag of food, breathlessly handing the Cards back to Dichu De, and urgently said, “It’s bad!
The Wildfire Team is chasing us!”
Dichu De immediately realized something: “Why would the Wildfire Team suddenly show up?
Rally, what exactly happened?”
Rally stammered, but seeing that time was running out, he gritted his teeth and told them what happened: “Didn’t the Wildfire Team steal our parts?!
So I just thought I’d get them back! This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
And then, and then…”
“And then they found you and treated you like a thief, right?!” The skinny Hirata Shun couldn’t help but roar in anger, veins bulging on his arms.
“Rally, why do you always have to cause trouble?!”
“But if we don’t get the parts back, we’ll be punished again in two days!” Rally argued loudly.
“Are we supposed to invite this guy to eat with us every day, and ask him to fix things?
We barely have any money left this month!”
Yusei: “…”
Just as they were arguing, a group of people, armed with various items, rushed through the main gate of the factory district in the distance.
One of them was even riding a D-Wheel.
The gate guards’ security was as useless as ever; seeing people coming to cause trouble, they immediately hid.
Dichu De said with a grave expression, “No time to argue!
Daigo, Liang Ping, lock the factory doors, don’t let them in to smash things!
Rally, you stay here.
Shun and I will go lead them away!”
With that, he pulled out a set of keys and ran outside, even forgetting that there was one more person here than usual.
Yusei knew very well that if he remained with Dichu De and his friends now, the so-called “Wildfire Team” definitely wouldn’t let him off either.
As a newcomer, the most important thing was to have a place to settle down.
And so far, these people were still quite reliable.
Dichu De and Hirata Shun rushed to an old, dust-covered car parked outside the factory entrance, and inserted the car keys.
But before Dichu De could get into the driver’s seat, Yusei ran out and stopped him: “I’ll drive.”
“Huh?” Dichu De was surprised, evidently not expecting Yusei to step forward at this moment.
Yusei nodded firmly, “Leave it to me.
I used to teach people how to drive.”
The Wildfire Team had already rushed over, but the factory’s main doors weren’t locked yet.
Dichu De gritted his teeth and gave the driver’s seat to Yusei.
“I’ll trust you one more time!
After this is over, I’ll treat you to a drink at A13!”
*Click!*
Yusei turned the car key, and the moment his hands gripped the steering wheel, he felt everything return.
While he wasn’t proficient at driving a D-Wheel, a four-wheeled vehicle was a piece of cake!
The roar of the engine filled the air, the high beams flashed, and the three of them sped towards the crowd.
(end of chapter)