Jing Mingqiu received a reminder from Cang Yue and pulled the car over, a smile subtly appearing on his lips.
"Alright, bet on what?"
Andrew Fote was taken aback by Jing Mingqiu's swift reply. He paused for a moment before rephrasing his words and speaking slowly.
"Car range is important, but handling is even more crucial. Our Tesla electric vehicles possess not only a specially designed high-sensitivity traditional axle but also automatic obstacle avoidance technology, which can reduce the probability of accidents and protect the driver's life and safety."
"Although we cannot ship our cars to Dragon Country in a short time, we have professional race tracks here. We can have a cross-border racing competition."
"You drive a Long Jing electric vehicle, and we will arrange for a driver to drive our group's Tesla electric vehicles. On the same course, let's see who is faster."
"According to the information, the track where you are located is only a Level 3 track, with a total length of five kilometers and only sixteen corners, most of which are simple curved turns."
"Considering that Jing Mingqiu, you are not a professional race car driver, we will not take advantage of you. We are prepared to use a Level 1 track, which is not only one-tenth longer but also has double the number of corners, including several high-difficulty S-bends."
"So, Jing Mingqiu, do you dare to represent Long Jing Motors and accept our challenge?"
"Alright," Jing Mingqiu shrugged, "I won't take advantage of you either. Cang Yue, search for a Level 1 race track nearby and help me book it in advance."
Cang Yue's clear, loli voice chimed in, "Okay, brother."
With nothing else to do, while Cang Yue contacted other race tracks, Jing Mingqiu drove the Long Jing sports car around the track several more laps, completely mastering the vehicle.
Jing Mingqiu was no longer an unknown junior; his reputation had long since spread across the land and throughout the world.
Upon receiving Cang Yue's call and learning that Jing Mingqiu would be racing at their facility, the general manager of the Faelon Level 1 Race Track in the eastern suburbs of the imperial capital readily agreed with deep bows and fervent haste.
More than an hour later, Jing Mingqiu arrived at the Faelon Race Track driving a Long Jing electric vehicle. As soon as he entered, he was met with thunderous cheers. The track had been completely cleared, and the referees, service crew, and racing queens were all in their positions, having waited for a long time.
Jing Mingqiu, not wanting to waste time, politely declined the offer for a vehicle inspection and drove directly to the starting line.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Adam Todd, a world-class race car driver, had already changed into his racing suit and put on a custom helmet to conceal his identity, as instructed by Andrew Fote.
"Bang! Bang!"
As the starting gun fired, the two cars shot out like arrows released from a bowstring. In just a breath, both vehicles' speeds exceeded a hundred.
However, it was clear that the Long Jing electric vehicle had a significantly faster initial acceleration and a more stable body compared to the Tesla.
Seeing the Tesla trailing by several car lengths, Andrew Fote quickly reassured himself, "Anyone can accelerate in a straight line. Speed in corners is what truly matters. Adam Todd is the reigning champion of both rally and circuit racing."
"Even if the Long Jing electric vehicle truly has better performance than our group's Tesla, Jing Mingqiu, being an ordinary person, will definitely not be able to outrace a professional driver."
Before he could finish speaking, Jing Mingqiu and Adam Todd simultaneously completed the straight acceleration and approached the first corner.
A light tap on the brakes, a sharp turn of the steering wheel.
Both drivers, without prior agreement, drifted, tracing elegant arcs and smoothly entering the turns.
Seeing this, Andrew Fote's heart leaped into his throat once more.
Helical turns, S-bends, hairpin turns, esses...
As the race progressed, the types of corners encountered by the two drivers increased, and the difficulty grew.
Finally, about a third of the way from the finish line, they both faced the most challenging section of the track.
Jing Mingqiu was confronted with a series of five consecutive hairpin turns, while Adam Todd faced the Schumacher Corner, named after the German Grand Prix champion.
Hairpin turns are generally U-shaped bends, resembling a hair clip when viewed from above, hence their name. They are extremely tricky and highly difficult corners.
The series of five hairpin turns before Jing Mingqiu was not simply five times more difficult.
In comparison, although the Schumacher Corner was not easy, it offered many overtaking opportunities during a race, allowing for spectacular passes. For Adam Todd driving it alone, the difficulty was reduced by at least thirty percent.
With this exchange, the difficulty gap between the two instantly widened by more than a level.
Ordinary spectators couldn't discern this subtle difference; they only knew the race was incredibly exciting, the corners looked incredibly challenging, and the car drifts were very cool.
A few professionals and racing enthusiasts saw the underlying nuances and attempted to explain them through comments, but their messages were quickly drowned out by the massive flood of online chatter.
Adam Todd, driving a Tesla electric vehicle for the first time, lightly tapped the brakes and eased off the accelerator to slow down and navigate safely, aiming for stability.
Jing Mingqiu looked at the five consecutive winding hairpin turns ahead and found it reminiscent of a classic movie scene, which immediately piqued his interest.
Ultimately, instead of slowing down, Jing Mingqiu floored the accelerator, preparing to emulate the movie protagonist and execute a classic "drainage ditch" turn.
Seeing Jing Mingqiu's speed increase rather than decrease, Andrew Fote's heart swelled with excitement. He intently watched the screen, muttering, "Crash! Crash! Crash! Just crash and kill him!"
Joseph Biden was also watching the live broadcast. He was well aware that the mecha Jing Mingqiu wore was impenetrable even to a nuclear explosion, let alone a mere car accident. However, he couldn't help but fantasize about Jing Mingqiu overestimating his abilities and crashing himself to death.
Thus, under everyone's tense gaze, Jing Mingqiu, driving the Long Jing electric vehicle, narrowly navigated the five consecutive hairpin turns. Several times, the car veered off the track, but Jing Mingqiu managed to salvage it each time.
After passing the five hairpin turns, and then several slightly less difficult but still challenging corners that would stump ninety-nine percent of drivers, Jing Mingqiu came to a halt at the finish line.
On the large screen next to him, bold red text displayed Jing Mingqiu's result: one minute and thirty-eight seconds, shattering the highest record of the Faelon Race Track and falling short of the world record by only eight seconds.
The general manager of the Faelon Race Track approached, his expression one of great excitement. "Professor Jing, your driving skills are incredible! You're only eight seconds away from breaking the world record."
"If you were driving a professional F4 racing car, you could definitely break the world record and etch your name in racing history."
"No need for such trouble," Jing Mingqiu waved his hand. "I was just not familiar with the track earlier. Give me another go, and I can easily finish within one minute and thirty seconds, breaking the world record."
Adam Todd, who had taken a full two minutes to complete the entire course, was already resentful of losing to Jing Mingqiu. Hearing this, he couldn't help but take off his helmet and reveal a mocking expression to the camera.
"It's just that I was driving an electric car for the first time, and my handling wasn't proficient, so I luckily won this time. Spouting such arrogance, aren't you afraid your tongue will snap in the wind?"
"On the same track, let's race again. If I lose again, I, Adam Todd, will retire immediately and additionally pay one hundred million US dollars. Jing Mingqiu, do you dare?"
Seeing that Jing Mingqiu was about to agree, the general manager of the Faelon Race Track quickly stopped him, saying sincerely, "Professor Jing, please don't be impulsive. He is the double champion of this year's circuit and rally races, and also the current record holder for Level 1 tracks.
"He's right; your previous win was mainly because he was unfamiliar with the car. Now that he's willing to bet his retirement, it shows he has absolute confidence that he can defeat you in the next race!"