Chapter 359: 359: A Dangerous Animal

“Oh! A serious crash!”

“A car has lost control! Eau Rouge! No, no, no, no—this is a terrible accident!”

The world fell into utter silence as the roaring crowd went quiet in an instant. Not a sound, not a movement, not even a breath or a heartbeat remained. Everything was hit with a pause button. Even the voices of Crofty and Martin Brundle were cut off, fading like a valley echo into the distance until they vanished completely.

At this moment, Spa-Francorchamps was still incredibly busy. Following the conclusion of F1 qualifying, the F2 feature race had taken the track to begin its first contest after the summer break. No one expected everything to come to a sudden halt with a devastating crash.

The eyes of the entire world turned toward the scene in a fraction of a second, as if hands had seized their throats. The continuous, boiling heat wave from all directions blurred into a single halo, plunging everything into chaos.

A pair of invisible hands seemed to stretch out from a black hole, tightly grabbing Kai’s ankles and pulling him down with brute force. He froze on the spot, motionless, his body completely rigid. His mind and heart paused as his world went entirely blank.

The terror of a nightmare surged forth.

A cold shiver shot up from the soles of his feet, drilling into his scalp like an electric current.

“Anthoine!”

Kai panicked. An indescribable terror gripped his heart, making it impossible to breathe.

No. No, no, no, no.

Turning on instinct, Kai broke through the surrounding crowd and sprinted toward the end of the pit lane. His mind was blank, devoid of thought. He had no idea what he was doing, running frantically like a fly trapped in a bottle.

He was simply praying—praying that he was acting like a fool who could not distinguish between dreams and reality, and that his gut instinct was nothing more than groundless paranoia.

It was not until he reached the northern end of the pit lane, stopped by a boundary fence, that he looked out toward Eau Rouge. Due to the steep terrain, he could only see the edge of the horizon. He could not see what was happening on the Kemmel Straight beyond the crest of the hill.

“What happened?” Kai grabbed a nearby paddock staff member. “Who! Whose car was it!”

“I… I don’t know.” The staff member looked equally confused, eyes filled with blank uncertainty.

Kai tried to convince himself: Calm down! Stay calm! Don’t scare yourself! Dreams and reality are two completely different things!

Yet last night’s nightmare was so vivid, so distinct, resurfacing in his mind and gradually translating into reality. He could barely breathe.

The ambulance! Where is the ambulance?

In this vast world, the bustling crowds dissolved into a chaotic blur. Faceless shadows surged back and forth around him, acting like a black hole that swallowed his thoughts whole.

Finally, amid the confusion, he spotted a high-hanging display screen. Through the live broadcast feed, he saw two race cars shattered into piles of wreckage.

Debris scattered across the track created a terrifying sight. The burning remains of a car had turned into a heap of scrap metal, with team liveries barely recognizable among the fragments.

Arden. Number 19.

Kai froze completely, standing rigid on the spot. His heart broke free of its restraints and plunged into a bottomless abyss.

Wail… Wail…

The sharp, drawn-out sirens of the ambulances echoed across the Ardennes valley. Though meant to be a hopeful signal of rescue, the terror deep within his heart seeped out uncontrollably.

“We can now confirm that the drivers involved in the accident are Anthoine Hubert and Juan Manuel Correa.”

“The race director has shown the red flag.”

“Following a very severe crash, the session has been suspended. Ambulances have arrived at the top of the hill. At this moment, all we can do is pray together that the drivers are safe.”

Quietly, silently, Kai stood motionless on the spot. Though surrounded by waves of summer heat with heavy beads of sweat pouring down his face, a biting cold pierced through the soles of his feet and traveled upward. Despite his best efforts to maintain control, he could not stop himself from shivering, as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

It was not panic, nor pure fear. It was simply… disorientation.

The world had dissolved into chaos. As far as the eye could see, only shifting blurs of light and shadow moved back and forth. No faces, no figures, only utter confusion.

Kai had always known that racing was a dance with the devil, challenging limits on the razor-thin edge between life and death. Yet the reality had never presented itself so clearly, slamming directly into him.

He stood frozen in place, lost in the chaos, unable to find his bearings.

Then…

A voice surged from afar, aggressively reaching out as if to slam into him. Yet it collided violently against an invisible wall of glass. It felt as though he were floating in outer space, devoid of air to carry sound, leaving all noise blocked outside. Two separate worlds had formed, right next to each other yet entirely out of reach.

It was only when that halo of light slammed hard against the barrier, breaking through it, that gravity surged back like a tidal wave. It dragged Kai’s heart into a free fall toward the ground, allowing an anxious, breathless voice to detonate against his eardrums.

“Kai! Are you okay?”

“What’s going on! What happened?”

His vision gradually cleared as Kai felt his feet touch the ground once more. The surrounding noise flooded back in, filling his ears.

Worry, shock, fear, panic—a thick cloud of unease drifted through the air.

Kai raised his eyes to look at Lorenzo standing before him, his knees suddenly feeling weak. “It’s Anthoine…”

The words squeezed out of his dry throat with immense difficulty, sounding like sandpaper scraping across a chalkboard. The sharp, harsh tone was deeply unsettling.

Lorenzo’s breath hitched. A flash of confusion and panic passed through his eyes as fear surged upward. Taking a deep breath, he barely managed to keep himself composed.

“Anthoine will be fine.” Pausing for a moment, he could not help but add, “Right?” It sounded like a plea for confirmation, as if he were trying to convince himself as much as Kai.

Kai’s heart trembled slightly. He clenched his fists to regain control, squeezing tighter and tighter until he finally found his balance.

“Yeah. He will,” Kai said.

Lorenzo stared back blankly.

Kai met Lorenzo’s gaze, a flash of determination cutting through his eyes. “That’s Anthoine. The relentless, stubborn Anthoine. He’s going to be fine.”

Even when facing hardship or terror, Hubert—who appeared gentle and quiet on the surface—always held his head high. He possessed an unyielding resilience deep in his bones.

“Kai, I want to stand on the F1 grid and have a real, proper battle with you.” That brilliant smile of his had been bright enough to illuminate the world.

Kai believed in Hubert. He held onto that belief with unwavering certainty.

Exhaling a long breath, Kai found his footing once more. Looking around, the entire Spa circuit was blanketed in confusion, with everyone appearing to have lost their direction. He patted Lorenzo’s shoulder. “Let’s go. We’re heading to the hospital to see if we can help.”

In truth, Kai knew the hospital would be in total disarray right now. The race organizers and the FIA would have already dispatched the most qualified professionals to do their jobs, while Hubert’s family would have no energy to deal with anyone else. Yet Kai still wanted to go, even if it was just to show his support.

When they arrived at the hospital, a crowded, noisy scene greeted them from a distance.

A dense, suffocating crowd had formed, creating total chaos.

The last thing the situation needed was more fuel added to the fire, turning an already chaotic scene even worse. Kai was weighing whether he should leave to avoid causing further trouble when, mid-hesitation, he spotted Zhou Guanyu trapped in the middle of the crowd.

Poor Zhou was completely surrounded, with hostile faces on all sides like demons attempting to tear him apart piece by piece.

Kai did not stand by any longer. He pushed the car door open and stepped straight out.

Lorenzo froze. “Kai!”

Before the call could even leave his mouth, Kai had already marched straight forward. Like someone clearing away minor obstacles, he grabbed reporters by their collars and tossed them aside one by one.

The reporters were completely unprepared for this. Caught off guard while focusing on the front of the crowd, they had no power to resist as several were tossed out of the way.

By the time they realized what was happening, Kai had already cut through the crowd to reach Zhou. Lorenzo squeezed his way inside right before the gap closed again, his clothes ruffled, though he had no time to care about his appearance.

Lorenzo tried to shield Kai and Zhou so the three of them could break out together.

Yet Kai had no intention of leaving. Instead, he stopped in his tracks and turned to face the media.

He knew that if Zhou was receiving this kind of treatment, the others were facing even worse.

These drama-seeking journalists were like a pack of bloodthirsty sharks. Having caught the scent of blood, they were not about to go quietly. Their aggressive, twisted expressions closed in on Kai like greedy demons eager to consume him as well.

“Kai, what exactly happened out there?”

“What is Anthoine’s condition?”

“Who is to blame for the crash?”

“Rumors suggest driver error on Anthoine’s part caused the crash. Is that true?”

“Is Anthoine out of danger?”

“Both Anthoine and Juan were unconscious when extricated. Could this be the worst accident in the paddock in recent years?”

Short, sharp questions.

Loud, vicious demands.

Faces closed in aggressively from all sides, while the metallic scent of tension in the air cut down like a blade.

Strike after strike, aiming for maximum impact.

Outnumbered, the three of them stood before a crowd of over a hundred people packed tightly around the hospital entrance. Zhou’s solitary effort, even combined with Kai and Lorenzo, stood no chance against such numbers.

The standard response in this situation would be to avoid confrontation and leave immediately.

Yet today was different.

They could not leave, nor could they back down. Otherwise, these people would only push further. Before any official investigation had even begun, and while Hubert’s fate remained uncertain, these vultures were already eager to throw mud and manufacture sensational headlines. If they fled now, there was no telling what stories would be spun.

“Shut up!”

Kai yelled back.

Yet a single voice could not drown out the noise. His words were instantly slammed back by the overwhelming wall of sound, stuffed right back down his throat.

Kai did not step back. Instead, he clenched his fists, took a step forward, and moved straight toward the nearest camera lens.

“Aaargh!”

A roar erupted from his chest.

“Aaargh! Aaargh! Aaargh!”

Shout after shout, Kai abandoned all attempts at reasoned argument. Like a wild lion, he opened his mouth and aggressively roared back, closing the distance.

One step. Then another. Relentless and uncompromising.

A terrifying glare flashed in his bloodshot eyes, as if he were ready to tear the surrounding hyenas apart alive. The sudden surge of raw, dangerous presence was primitive, harsh, and cruel—driven by pure animal instinct as he pressed forward against the crowd.

Pure lethal energy gripped the air, like a sharp claw held against a throat, ready to draw blood with the slightest movement.

Gasp!

The reporters on the front line froze mid-breath. Cold sweat soaked their backs instantly as their survival instincts pulled their feet backward.

They began to retreat—Help!

The noise and commotion finally began to settle, cracking open a small slit in the suffocating dark clouds.

Kai seized the moment sharply. “Shut up!”

This time, the crowd heard him clearly.

The reporters looked back in disbelief, stunned by what they had just heard. Yet as they realized how timid they must have looked, they quickly remembered that they held the advantage in numbers. Kai had only two people beside him. Straightening their backs, they began to stir again, preparing to push forward.

Kai gave no ground. Without hesitation, he tightened his fist and swung directly at the first person trying to step up.

“Ah!” The target let out a painful yell and tried to back away, only to find a solid wall of people behind him with nowhere to run, forcing him to curl into a defensive ball.

However…

The expected blow never landed. The reporter opened his eyes cautiously, peeking through the gaps in his arms, only to lock eyes with Kai.

Under normal circumstances, Kai came across as bright and approachable, carrying a youthful, almost academic air. His youthful face usually lacked any sense of threat. Yet at this moment, Kai resembled a dangerous predator opening its jaws, his icy gaze locking onto his prey.

Now they understood that Kai had not been joking back in Monaco.

“Ah…” The reporter swallowed his voice back down, his knees trembling as he felt entirely out of control.

Exhaling a long breath, Kai swept his cold gaze across the crowd.

“Shut up! Listen closely: you had better keep your mouths shut. If anyone dares to disrupt the hospital’s work, I will make you regret ever showing up here.”

His tone was biting cold, devoid of warmth. Kai stood like a fully drawn bow, ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

From the back of the crowd, someone relying on the human shield in front called out, “This is our right! The public has a right to know!”

Kai turned his gaze directly toward the sound. The crowd naturally parted to reveal a path, allowing him to lock onto the source of the voice. He shook his head without expression.

“No. You don’t.”

The dissenter squared his shoulders. “But—”

Kai did not bother arguing further. Clenching his fists, he marched straight toward the man with pure aggression.

The journalists panicked. None of them had ever witnessed a scene like this, completely unable to predict Kai’s next move as they scattered like headless flies.

No way, right? Kai wouldn’t actually hit someone in broad daylight, would he?

Yet on second thought, even if Kai did lay a hand on someone, so what? What would happen next?

They were hovering like vultures over a hospital while Hubert and Correa fought for their lives. Their intrusive behavior was crossing lines and interfering with medical operations. Even if Kai used physical force and the media exposed it, public opinion would never side with them. Where would that leave them?

Take it to court? A single week of Kai’s salary could drown these low-level reporters in legal fees. Not to mention, F1 and Ferrari would back Kai without hesitation. In the end, they would take a beating for nothing and end up humiliated on all sides.

In a split second, the reporters scrambled out of the way, creating a wide path straight to the troublemaker like the Red Sea parting before Moses.

The dissenter tried to maintain his composure, but quickly realized Kai was not bluffing. Memories of Monaco surfaced—Kai had been willing to throw hands with Hamilton himself, let alone a nobody like him. Terror gripped his heart. Unable to hold his ground any longer, he turned, pushed through the crowd, and fled the scene.

“Kai!” Lorenzo rushed forward to grab Kai’s arm. “Anthoine, Kai… think about Anthoine—”

Kai finally came to a stop. His cold eyes remained void of warmth, emotion, or movement, sweeping across the crowd as if looking at a pile of corpses.

The crowd fell completely silent. Not a sound remained as everyone pulled their heads back, doing everything possible to shrink out of sight, terrified of drawing his attention.

“Keep order here.”

Dropping the words quietly, Kai did not linger. He turned and ushered Zhou toward the hospital entrance, leaving the surging crowd behind.

The world finally went quiet. Though the crowd outside remained dense, the commotion had vanished, leaving only the quiet echo of footsteps in the hospital corridor.

The silence was unsettling.

Kai turned to look at Zhou, who remained visibly shaken. His face was entirely pale, his eyes unfocused, clearly still processing the shock.

“Guanyu—” Kai patted his shoulder.

Zhou jerked his head up, his eyes wandering before finally focusing on Kai. “He… Anthoine was right in front of me… They were right ahead of me. I saw them as I exited Eau Rouge… But… what happened? Where’s Anthoine?”

His words were fragmented. Zhou had no idea what he was saying, having lost all ability to think clearly under the massive shock of the moment. He had yet to recover his composure.

Only then did Kai realize that Zhou had been trailing right behind Hubert and Correa, nearly getting swept into the crash himself. Everyone’s focus had been on the accident itself, briefly forgetting that Zhou had witnessed everything from the absolute front line.

The impact of a major crash extended far beyond physical injuries; it carried collateral trauma and lingering ripples that settled deep within the soul, forming invisible wounds. Even if unacknowledged, the damage remained, eventually becoming a part of one’s mind.

Even Kai felt his head spinning with a low hum, let alone Zhou, who had been right behind it.

Chaos and noise lingered; nothing could settle down, leaving only a deep sense of unease.

Kai did not offer empty words of comfort. In Zhou’s current state of confusion, verbal reassurance would likely fail to register.

Taking a deep breath, Kai demonstrated a slow rhythm of inhalation and exhalation, guiding Zhou to follow his breathing and regain a steady heartbeat. As warmth gradually returned to his limbs, Zhou seemed to feel the ground beneath his feet once more, staring in surprise.

Widening his eyes at Kai, Zhou seemed unable to process the reality. “Kai… Anthoine—”

Kai gave a firm nod. “We are at the hospital right now, and so are Anthoine and Juan. The doctors and emergency staff are doing their jobs.”

“We are good at driving; they are good at saving lives. So we need to trust their expertise.”

“Guanyu, have you been checked over yet?”

Zhou looked up, a trace of confusion in his eyes. “Me? I’m fine.”

Kai shook his head, his firm gaze rejecting Zhou’s answer. “Get checked anyway. It won’t take long.”

“But Anthoine…” Zhou had still not fully gathered himself, his mind filled with images of the shattered remains of the number 19 Arden car.

Kai nodded gently, cutting in softly. “I’m going over to check on the situation right now. As soon as there’s news, I’ll let you know.”

With that, Kai turned to Lorenzo, casting a quiet look for assistance.

Lorenzo’s brow was deeply furrowed, clearly still worried about Kai.

Yet Kai offered a firm shake of his head. Lorenzo ultimately refrained from saying more, accompanying Zhou to get checked over. Kai stood in place, watching them walk down the hall before identifying his direction, asking the nurse’s station for information, and heading straight for the operating rooms.

Busy, crowded, with people coming and going—the world seemed to be spinning at ten times its normal speed.

Kai’s footsteps paused briefly. He raised his eyes to look at the illuminated “In Surgery” sign. That faint red light seemed to pull at him amid the darkness, while an indescribable terror gripped his heart tight.

The situation is far more severe than imagined.

Kai still remembered Leclerc’s crash last season. Both Leclerc and Alonso had walked away fine, undergoing basic medical checks before quickly receiving doctor clearance. What had looked like a massive crash turned out to be a false alarm, with paddock chatter settling down shortly after.

Thinking back, Kai had been racing in formula cars for a little over two and a half years. Crashes, collisions, and wall impacts were not uncommon, yet an ambulance dispatch… this was a first.

In past accidents, drivers were almost always seen stepping out of their cockpits on their own.

Yet just now—

And it was not just an ambulance. Both Hubert and Correa were currently in surgery.

In Kai’s life, this was the very first time. He had always believed he could remain calm and collected, never losing his footing in the face of any crisis. Yet today, that composure failed him as his pounding heart felt ready to burst.

Unintentionally, his mind drifted back to that afternoon last year when he visited Hervé in Monaco.

His breath caught in his throat.

François Hubert was on the phone, pacing like an ant on a hot griddle. Anxiety and fear were gnawing at his soul. It was obvious he was trying desperately to catch any lifeline available, willing to seek help from anyone, unwilling to miss even the faintest glimmer of hope.

Julie LaRoux—Hubert’s childhood friend—was trying her best to remain calm, asking the nurse for details. Though her eyes were slightly red, her back remained straight, refusing to show a trace of weakness before death itself, her chin slightly tilted.

People rushed back and forth in a frantic scramble. Everything felt turned upside down, making familiar surroundings feel entirely alien.

Kai thought it best to keep a respectful distance. No one had answers right now, and approaching them abruptly would not help. Aside from asking for an update only to be told there was no news, he would simply be adding to the chaos, forcing them to expend energy attending to him.

Perhaps the best expression of care right now was to grant them a quiet space. Hubert needed their support to get through the trial ahead.

Just as he was about to step back, his movement paused. Amid the busy, crowded hallway, Kai noticed a plump figure sitting nearby.

It was a woman with smooth, light-brown hair—identical to Hubert’s. She sat quietly on a bench, her shoulders slouched, staring blankly at the floor. Her eyes lacked focus and light, carrying a quiet disorientation that looked as though it might shatter at a single touch.

There were no tears, no cries, nor any heavy emotional outbursts.

Yet her dry lips were beginning to peel, resembling cracked earth. As she stared silently ahead, her spirit seemed to be draining away bit by bit.

In that single instant, Kai felt almost overwhelmed—

It was Nathalie Hubert-Gabel, Hubert’s mother.

Feeling a deep wave of sympathy, Kai took a quick, deep breath to collect his emotions. He walked over to a vending machine, bought a bottle of water, and after a moment’s hesitation, walked toward Nathalie.

Kai sat down quietly beside Nathalie, unscrewed the cap of the water bottle, and offered it to her.

Nathalie noticed the gesture, pausing briefly before taking it instinctively. A beat passed before she spoke. “Thank you.”

Kai said softly, “You know Anthoine won’t give up, right?”

Nathalie stared blankly at Kai’s profile. Her unfocused gaze gathered slightly, only to scatter again as she drifted back into her thoughts.

Kai felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He tried to say more, yet realized words felt weightless and hollow. Ultimately, he chose not to add anything further, standing up to leave.

Unexpectedly, Nathalie raised her head to look at him. “Are you sure?”

Kai stopped in his tracks, turning to meet Nathalie’s eyes, slightly taken aback.

Then, Kai gave a gentle nod. “Yes. I’m sure.”

“We always used to joke that Anthoine wasn’t the strongest among our group of friends, nor the smartest… and well, not the most naturally gifted either… but he was always the most relentless, the most unyielding driver among us.”

“Maybe his pace was a little slower at times, maybe his steps were smaller, and maybe his path had more thorns than others. But he always kept moving forward in his own way. Even if he had to work harder than everyone else, even if it took him longer, he never faltered.”

“Chasing his dream, pushing his limits.”

Taking a deep breath, Kai forced a small smile. Yet the corners of his mouth felt impossibly heavy, requiring all his energy to lift into a faint arc.

“I like Anthoine because he possesses a pure quality—a purity that none of the rest of us have. Sometimes, I’m even a little jealous of him.”

“Just a little bit.”

As he spoke, Kai gestured slightly with his fingers. A faint smile appeared in Nathalie’s eyes.

“So he won’t give up. He’ll keep fighting, keep pushing, right up until the day his dream comes true.”

The words seemed aimed at comforting Nathalie, yet felt equally directed at convincing himself. Kai tightened his fists, hoping Hubert could hear him.

Nathalie looked at Kai quietly for a long moment. “Now I finally understand why Anthoine was always talking about Kai this, Kai that. He wanted to race on the same track as you in F1 one day.”

Kai’s heart ached sharply, yet he maintained his smile and gave a firm nod. “I’m looking forward to it, too. He’d better bring everything he’s got, because I have no intention of losing.”

With that, Kai turned and stepped away, standing tall as he walked down the hall with deliberate steps.

Nathalie watched Kai’s retreating figure, raised the water bottle, and took a deep drink. The water moistened her dry lips. Unconsciously, she pulled her shoulders back and straightened her spine—

Her Anthoine was still fighting. How could she hang her head in defeat? Until the checkered flag fell, the race was not over.