Chapter 99 - 29: There Really Is an Anomaly

Chapter 99: Chapter 29: There Really Is an Anomaly

Early the next morning, Wu Shi woke up ten minutes before his alarm went off.

It seemed to have become a habit. Upon waking, his right arm was numb. He turned his head and saw Louise lying on her side, her head almost completely buried in his arm.

"Doesn’t she feel like she can’t breathe?!" Wu Shi muttered, speechless. He gently lifted Louise and placed her on the pillow, then got out of bed and swung his right arm to restore circulation.

Looking down, he noticed his morning wood—a natural human reaction. But it didn’t matter. A splash of cold water on his face would take care of it.

By the time he came out of the shower, Louise was already sitting on the bed, her eyes heavy with sleep.

"What time is it?"

"A little past six forty."

"Ah? So early?"

"Yeah, I’m heading to the team garage now. Do you want to come with me?"

"Of course!" Louise nodded and immediately hopped out of bed to wash up.

Outsiders were not allowed to casually enter the pit garages of the various racing teams. However, that only applied to actual outsiders. Louise had an ID pass that Wu Shi had helped her apply for, so the race officials let her in after a quick check.

The team principal’s stance on the matter was simple: if you could show such immense talent, you could invite your uncles, grandpas, and all your distant aunts, and it still wouldn’t be a problem.

"Wu, the weather is nice today, and the car is in excellent condition," the team principal greeted.

"Yes! Let’s hope for a pleasant Sunday!" Wu Shi was also in a great mood. Two victories were extremely important to him. Never letting a single win slip away and never underestimating any opportunity—these were the rules for becoming a world champion. If someone was always praised for their strength but could never seize an opportunity, then they weren’t truly strong. They merely had the potential to become strong.

"Oh! Aren’t you going to introduce the lady beside you?" the team principal teased.

"This is Louise Calabria. We grew up together," Wu Shi introduced her. After speaking, he realized that the situation was a bit complicated. His relationship with Louise had never been officially defined.

This was mainly the fault of the older generation. As far as he knew, his father, Wu Zhenlin, had held a wedding ceremony with Martina. From a legal perspective, it was just a ceremony, but in their eyes, they were already husband and wife. So what was his relationship with Louise? Legally speaking, they had no relation at all. But factually, they were step-siblings.

HISS!

Wu Shi scratched his head.

"Hahaha! Just like the shy young men I met when I traveled to Hua Country!" The team principal gave a knowing look.

After greeting the team staff, Wu Shi began preparing for the upcoming race. He saw Louise standing there with her arms crossed, looking a bit cold and rather bored. He took off his custom-made team jacket, draped it over her shoulders, and said, "Do you want to go to the grandstands and watch the race with Ophelia and the others?"

"No need." Louise shook her head. Reaching out, she pulled the jacket tighter around herself and smiled. "I want to be the first person you hug after winning the championship!"

Wu Shi was slightly taken aback, but then he chuckled. He tapped her nose and said, "Then watch me bring home the victory!"

Louise wrinkled her nose at the ticklish sensation and watched as he walked toward the locker room.

As soon as he arrived in the back area, Verstappen asked, "I thought she was your stepsister?"

Facing Verstappen’s bluntness, Wu Shi finally understood how reporters felt. However, since these things would eventually be made public anyway, he didn’t really mind. "We just lived together when we were kids. Legally, we don’t have that kind of relationship."

"Oh!" Verstappen nodded.

"What about you? Still haven’t found a girlfriend?" Wu Shi asked with a smile.

"Haha, not yet. Right now, I just want to secure a podium finish. Everything else is out of my mind." Verstappen laughed.

Wu Shi laughed along with him. He truly was a pure racer.

The third race of the weekend was often the most boring. After the battles in the first two rounds, most drivers had become more familiar with the track and had gained a deeper understanding of their opponents, leading them to drive more conservatively.

However, as Wu Shi and Verstappen walked out together, Verstappen suddenly said, "I have to get on the podium."

In the previous race, Verstappen had finished sixth. Although he scored points, he wasn’t satisfied—or rather, when he talked to Jos on the phone that night, he had been chewed out again. But now, old Jos no longer said such harsh words or did such extreme things to Verstappen as he had during his karting days. After all, Verstappen’s skills were improving rapidly, and by now, his performances were finally starting to satisfy Jos.

"Good luck!"

"You too! After this race, you’ll have three victories, meaning you’ll have completed one-seventh of your goal." Verstappen was quite happy to wish his childhood companion well.

"Thanks. See you on the track."

"Whoa, that’s a great wish. I hope to see you on the track too." Verstappen reached out and fist-bumped Wu Shi.

Wu Shi realized that if the two of them were to meet on the track, wouldn’t that mean Verstappen had chased all the way up to second place? It wasn’t an impossible feat. If it were Wu Shi, he could certainly pull it off, though it might pose a difficult tire management problem.

His flying laps caused immense wear on the tires. The engineers at Han Tai had already fed the sample data from qualifying back to the team. This was exactly why Wu Shi always used only two sets of fresh tires for his flying laps out of his three new sets. He stubbornly saved one set just in case an accident during a flying lap cost him pole position, which would force him to use fresh tires to catch up during the race.

After the usual procedures, the twenty-six cars took their positions on the grid. Then, Wu Shi received some rather bad news over the team radio.

Alan TR: "Limit the engine power."

Wu Shi TR: "Copy. But please tell me, why?"

Alan TR: "There’s an anomaly in the monitoring data."

Wu Shi TR: "Alright, I’ll pay attention to it."

Wu Shi felt the car carefully. What anomaly? Oh! There really was an anomaly—the sensors were acting up!

He was startled, but whatever decision he made had to be communicated with the team. So, Wu Shi said, "I still need normal power for the start."

The crew stayed silent for a moment before replying.

Alan TR: "Agreed. Once you secure the lead, please limit the output immediately."

Wu Shi TR: "OK."

The five-second countdown yellow board was displayed, and the red lights illuminated. They stayed on for a full two seconds before turning off!

Having learned his lesson the hard way during the Florida Winter Series, Wu Shi was fully prepared. His reaction was lightning fast—a response time of just 0.149 seconds!

VROOM!

The engine roared.

"The third race has officially started! We can see that Wu’s start is still incredibly swift! His lightning-fast reflexes have already given him the upper hand right out of the gate! Second-place Focca is slightly slower. The gap between him and O’connor is merely 0.016 seconds, and they’re already battling it out at Turn One!"

"Max’s start was excellent! He took the outside line incredibly fast, directly overtaking Latifi to snatch fourth place!"

The commentator’s voice was impassioned. In the Van Amersfoort Racing Team’s pit garage, Louise listened through her headset. Her tightly clenched fists finally relaxed. Every time the race started, she was even more nervous than he was.

Alan TR: "You’ve opened up a 0.3-second gap."

Wu Shi knew they were urging him to limit the engine power, but he couldn’t. Perhaps it was because this was the final push for the championship, but Focca’s car was exceptionally fast—he might have cranked up to a higher power mode.

Wu Shi TR: "I feel the car is perfectly fine. Please check the data again!"