Chapter 4: Thunder Under the Night Sky

  Lougu District Di Jing Cheng Community

  When Zhang Yi took a taxi to the entrance of the community, he saw Lu Xiaodao with a lewd face, staring at the beautiful women passing by and drooling.

  "Brother Yi, you're here!"

  When he saw Zhang Wei arrive, Lu Xiaotao's eyes lit up, as if Zhang Wei's attraction to him was even stronger than those beauties, and he eagerly approached him.

  Zhang Yi laughed and said: "Don't stand here making a fool of yourself, haven't you seen those beauties? They're all avoiding you! Hurry up and take me to see the car."

  Lu Xiaodao rarely saw Zhang Yi give him a good face, but now seeing Zhang Yi with a hint of a smile and a playful tone in his voice, he suddenly felt a thrill in his heart, thinking that Zhang Yi had been moved by his sincerity.

  "Alright, let's go now. I just had that car serviced and it's going to be a blast to drive."

  Underground parking garage.

  Zhang Yi stood in front of a red Ferrari, his eyes gleaming with irrepressible excitement. He had seen this model in magazines before, but it was the first time he saw it in real life. After all, the retail price of this car was already close to five million, and after handling various procedures, wanting to truly own such a cool ride would be impossible without spending over five million.

  Lu Xiaodao smiled with a pleased expression, raising his chin and saying: "Wei Ge, isn't this car awesome? Cool? Trendy? I had to beg my grandfather and grandmother, and spent countless efforts to persuade my dad to buy it for me. Using it to pick up chicks is simply unbeatable."

  Zhang Yi smiled and said, "It's a great car. The Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano is a two-seat grand tourer designed by Pininfarina, which debuted at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show to replace the Ferrari 575M Maranello. This car has a series of revolutionary advanced technologies, many of which are applied for the first time in a mid-front-engined Ferrari two-seater, and set new standards for handling, driving pleasure and design among its peers."

  Lu Xiaodao stared at Zhang Yi with a dumbfounded expression, he only knew that this car was awesome, cool and a godly tool for picking up chicks, but his understanding of the car itself was almost zero.

  "Anything else?"

  Zhang Wei walked around the car twice before continuing:

  "It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds, with a top speed of over 330 km/h. With a displacement of 5999 ml, the power-to-displacement ratio reaches 103 horsepower per liter. The engine provides a peak torque of 608 Nm/5600 rpm, maximum power of 620 hp/7600 rpm, and the engine's redline is at 8400 rpm/min. If you speed up, ordinary highways can't support it at all. This car occasionally drives on national highways without issue, but if you show off, you'll be in trouble. Of course, if you're on a professional racing track, it's extremely cool."

  Lu Xiaotao swallowed hard, his face full of shock. He gave Zhang Yi a thumbs up and exclaimed: "Brother Yi, I'm impressed! You're so professional with your data, you can recall it so clearly, I'd like to give you another deep bow!"

  Zhang Yi couldn't help but roll his eyes. He really liked cars. This guy was into using cars to pick up chicks, could they be more different?

  "Where's the key? Let's drive to that Six Pan Mountain racing track you mentioned and give it a try."

  Lu Xiaodao immediately took out the key and threw it to Zhang Yi, then ran to the front passenger seat, opened the door and got in.

  Zhang Yi sat in the driver's seat, started the car and stopped the engine sound for a moment, secretly admiring it. Although his driving skills were excellent, after all, it was his first time driving such a good sports car. He also had some apprehension in his heart, familiarized himself with the gearshift and internal performance, and drove out of the underground parking lot.

  On the racing track of Liupanshan, one after another sports car whizzed by, and the thunderous engine roar echoed under the night sky.

  As the day of the underground car racing championship approaches, car enthusiasts from all over Suzhou Province and even surrounding provinces are flocking to participate.

  So many people came to test drive.

  Halfway up the mountain.

  The edge of the square next to the track. On the stepped chair built as a viewing platform, Tie Yang, deputy director of the Lou Drum District Public Security Bureau, silently smoked a cigarette, his eyes moving with one speeding car after another.

  Gaunt and frail, Tonghu looked sickly as he limped over from afar. He was dressed in a racing suit, still clutching his helmet, and plopped down in the chair beside Tieyang, taking the cigarette offered to him and lighting it up before asking faintly:

  "What's so urgent that you came looking for me?"

  Tie Yang's eyes flickered with a complex expression as he smiled wryly and said, "I have news about Xiao Yi."

  "Where is he?"

  Tong Hu's face showed joy, and he hastily asked.

  Tie Yang shook his head and said: "I don't know, but I do know that he is a freshman at the Medical College of Jingnan University this year. And two days ago, he caused a huge stir in the political circle of Jingnan City."

  Tong Hu was startled and asked: "What's going on?"

  Tie Yang smiled wryly and said, "I'm telling you, you might not even believe it. When I first heard his name, I was also very surprised. After my investigation, I even went to their school to investigate his file records, only then did I confirm that it was him! Two days ago, he got into a conflict with someone else and beat the other person badly. As a result, when our police brought him back to make a record, just as we arrived at the Public Security Bureau, our director personally came out, nodded and bowed to Xiao Yi, and immediately announced that Xiao Yi was fine, didn't need to make a record, and could leave directly. But the kid he beat up is still being detained in our police station."

  "Does he know your director?"

  Tong Hu puffed on his cigarette and asked with a worried face.

  Tie Yang smiled wryly and said, "I didn't know. I also found out later from the director's mouth that at the time when Xiao Yi came to the police station, our director received seven or eight phone calls. Each of the callers was a big shot from the municipal committee, provincial committee, and even the powerful figures in Beijing. Their purpose for calling was to ask our director to take care of Xiao Yi."

  "Hiss..."

  Tong Hu couldn't help but take a cold breath.

  If he hadn't known that Iron Yang wouldn't fabricate such a story to deceive him, he really couldn't believe it, and yet such an unbelievable thing had happened. As for Zhang Yi's family background, they were very familiar with it; so many big shots made phone calls, asking the head of the Lou Drum District Public Security Bureau to take care of Zhang Yi - what was this all about?

  "What has Tie Yang and Zhang Yi done in recent years that is so earth-shattering? They have been taken care of by so many big shots in the political circle?"

  Tie Yang bitterly smiled and said: "You ask me, I go ask who?"

  The two fell silent at once.

  After a few minutes, Tong Hu slowly asked: "He is a freshman this year, doesn't he live on campus? Or is there no contact information in his file?"

  Tie Yang shook his head and said: "There is no record in his file, I have sent someone to find the class teacher of his class, I believe they will have communication records."

  "Find him and notify me at the first opportunity."

  "Good!"

  At the foot of Liupan Mountain, at the entrance to the runway, a checkpoint had been set up. Eight burly middle-aged men wearing black suits stood on either side, their faces cold and unyielding.

  On the roadside, a table was placed there, and two girls were sitting behind it chatting.

  When Zhang Yi drove the Ferrari to a stop in front of the barrier, Lu Xiaotao, who was sitting in the passenger seat, got out with a smile and walked up to the two girls, saying with a grin:

  "Two beauties, check in."

  One of the girls pointed to the registration form on the table and said: "Fill in the license plate number, driver's name and passenger names, contact information."

  Lu Xiaodao seemed to have known this procedure all along and quickly filled in his and Zhang Yi's names and contact information before returning to the driver's seat.

  "Registration is complete, let's go in!"

  Zhang Yi didn't understand the rules here, so when he heard Lu Xiaotao's words, he looked at the front electric boom barrier slowly rising and nodded immediately, driving towards the mountain road.

  Lu Xiaodao laughed and said, "Once we get here, you can let go and drive as you please. As long as your driving skills are good enough, even if you push the speed to the limit, no one will care. However, you must be careful not to crash into anyone else's car. We only have this one car, and if it gets damaged, we won't be able to participate in the championship cup competition. Besides, I'm still young and don't want to die prematurely. There are many beautiful girls waiting for me to love them!"

  Zhang Yi rolled his eyes, and with the gear shift, he stepped on the accelerator, and in the roar of the engine, the Ferrari sports car shot forward like an arrow off the string, sprinting towards the curved highway.

  On the viewing platform at the waist of the mountain, Tie Yang and Tong Hu were smoking cigarettes and chatting idly. Their gaze would occasionally follow a sports car speeding by in front of them.

  "Humming..."

  A bright red sports car came speeding from a distance.

  "Hmm, that car is quite fast! And it's even drifting? Tsk tsk... looks like this year's underground racing championship cup is going to be interesting."

  Tong Hu flicked the cigarette butt flying, and a few shades of surprise flashed across his thin face.

  Tie Yang's eyes narrowed slightly, and he nodded slowly: "Not bad, the driving skills are extremely sophisticated. At first glance, it's clear that you're an old hand. Did you notice that the car's trajectory is very interesting? The right wheel tire has been following the right side yellow line all along, accurately to the point of being eerie."

  Tong Hu nodded slowly and said faintly: "It's interesting, should be a formidable opponent."

  Tie Yang burst out laughing: "You know, those who dare to sign up for the underground car racing championship must have some skills. With so many cities' drivers, it's normal that a few are tough. Otherwise, let's go get acquainted with that kid after he stops his car."

  Tong Hu was silent for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "Not interested."

  Tie Yang rolled his eyes and hummed: "You don't go, I'll go, and I'll also invite that guy to brutally crush you in the car race!"

  Tong Hu said calmly: "True gold is not afraid of fire refining. If he really has this skill, let him come over."