Chapter 260: I’d Like to Participate
Cillin had to admit that he was a little tempted by Fleka’s offer, but he was also aware that his car designing skill was actually incomparable to the latter. At best, he’d be able to rectify and improve the assembly process, but improving a racing car’s design? He knew better than to accept a task that was beyond his abilities.
A car designer must have the right experience and considerable amount of familiarity with flying cars to design a good racing car. However, Cillin had never truly designed a racing car in his life. The things he made at Mo Heng’s workshop were considered parts of a project at best, and he had never handled an entire project in his life. Moreover, he wasn’t familiar with the car racing industry. He might have been told many things about “The Winds of Freedom”, and he himself had read up on the subject, but he still needed actual experience to design a racing car that would be better than the existing ones. Weather conditions, geography, driver habits etc., these were all criterions that needed to be factored into the equation.
After Fleka showed him a couple of documents, Cillin was made even more aware of his current lack of qualification.
The circuit of “The Winds of Freedom” involved terrains such as rain forests, explosive swamplands, howling snowfields, gigantic deserts, meandering mountains and so on. Every section of the circuit had a different terrain, weather and environment of its own.
Complicated weather and geography aside, there was one more thing that separated Cillin’s racing experience with “The Winds of Freedom”: the number of passengers. Every racing car in this race was manned by two people consisting of a driver and a navigator. A driver’s duty was to unleash their extraordinary driving skills to the max, whereas a navigator’s duty was to handle some necessary trifles such as pointing out the right directions and paths to take in each section, identifying the road conditions ahead and so on. The aid of a navigator could greatly reduce the driver’s burden in a long distance race like this.
Nearly all the participants of this race were pairs because it would almost certainly be too much for one single person otherwise. Moreover, unexpected emergencies were to be expected in a long distance race like this. If there was only one person behind the wheels, the driver would have to escape the dangerous situation they were engulfed in and pay attention to any external variables that might alter their situation any second all at the same time. Not everyone had a machine for a brain, which was why having a partner was the best and safest option.
It was no easy feat for any racing team to raise an excellent racer or modify a race car. Naturally, they’d like to reduce the risks they might encounter on their path to become champions as much as possible.
Which leads back to the point: if a two-man racing car wished to gain a bigger advantage in the race, they had to be designed differently from a one-man racing car.
Fleka kept trying to persuade Cillin into working together with him. He had no intentions of letting someone as valuable as Cillin go without a fight. Ever since Fleka was forcefully ‘deported’ by his own son and taken back home, he couldn’t help but recall the way Cillin had assembled the toys. Then, he looked at the people around him and sighed again, and again, and again. It was only human nature to raise one’s standards after experiencing something better, and it was why Fleka’s emotions were considerably unstable after he left Cillin’s side. For example, the assembly team (who thought they were good at their work) were keen to share goosebump inducing stories about the sighs of Fleka Sizer, or the confounding looks of dissatisfaction and regret by Fleka Sizer.
Everyone except Bel was surprised by Fleka’s persistent urgings for Cillin to join his team. Naimi especially was making weird faces at his friends, meaning: why didn’t you tell me you invited over a master!?
Gen Xingming responded with an innocent look. He had heard some stories from Bel, but he never realized that Cillin was so good that even the famous Fleka would try to cajole him into cooperation.
Meanwhile, the person in question was reading the race data he was presented. He noticed that many of the past champions drove racing cars that really shouldn’t be called a racing “car” because their forms were completely different from what one would expect from the average flying car. For example, the most normal-looking racing cars he could find within that specific list were shaped like a crescent moon or a dagger.
Fleka paused for a moment to wet his throat after seeing that Cillin was silent and absorbed in thought. He thought to himself: hmm, he must be considering my offer seriously. I’ll should be able to change his mind if I give it another push!
Just as Fleka set down his cup and got ready for another round of persuasion, Cillin suddenly said, “What do I need to do to participate as a racer?”
“You want to participate as a racer?!” Suddenly, Fleka forgot everything he wanted to say a second ago. He knew that Cillin was an excellent assembler, but he had never seen Cillin participate in a race before. The last time he saw Cillin, he didn’t look like he could afford something so luxurious, could he?
Fleka wasn’t looking down on Cillin, but racing was an expensive hobby, and there was nothing he saw in Cillin’s previous living environment that suggested that was capable of affording it. Moreover, Fleka thought that Cillin was too young to have been able to practice both his racing skills and assembling skills to the same astounding extent, not to mention that his first impression of Cillin was that he was nothing like his race loving peers.
Fleka wasn’t the only one who was astounded by his declaration. Gen Xingming, Bel and the others were caught off guard as well. Cillin couldn’t possibly afford to participate in a big race like “The Winds of Freedom” before he got involved with the Gen Family, right? Also, Gen Xingming had never heard of Cillin within the smaller races either. Did he participate in those small, unknown races?
“Cillin, you need to think through this carefully! A large race like this can be very dangerous!” Gen Xingming said seriously.
He and his friends would’ve ignored their families’ warnings and participated themselves if the race wasn’t quite so dangerous. It was exactly because they were well aware of the dangers and their families’s increased resistance that they didn’t allow their desires to lead them by the nose. They were also self conscious enough not to risk their lives just for a moment’s pleasure.
A race like this was very exciting and very risky, and most people just wanted to enjoy the adrenaline from outside the circuit. They would get cold feet if they actually had to participate in the race. Also, how was he going to justify himself to his other grandpa if something did happen to Cillin?
“Do you really want to participate in the race? Are you absolutely sure about this?” Fleka asked seriously.
Cillin nodded, “Don’t worry, I know what to do.”
Gen Xingming scrunched up his face. Like hell we can not worry!
Cillin called Genya so as not to put Gen Xingming between a rock and a hard place. To Gen Xingming’s surprise, Genya only asked Cillin one question: “Are you sure you really want to participate in this race?” After he confirmed Cillin’s intentions, he simply said, “Watch yourself, and make sure you have fun.”
Gen Xingming thought that grandpa two was pampering Cillin, but he didn’t know that Genya had agreed to Cillin’s participation because he knew him too well. There was no point objecting to something Cillin had already made up his mind about, and Genya thought that Cillin needed to vent the air that he had been holding in his heart all this time. Cillin was already carrying a lot of weight on himself even before he was suddenly thrown into a completely unfamiliar galaxy. He didn’t even know if he could ever make it back to his home galaxy. Genya also noticed that Cillin often touched the bone pendant around his neck unconsciously since he awoke from his coma, but there was nothing he could do about this either. He was in a coma, but that girl… that girl was gone for real.
Gen Xingming said nothing since even Genya had agreed to Cillin’s participation. At the same time, he and his pals suddenly grew excited. A brother of theirs was actually going to participate in the race, so things suddenly felt a lot more exciting. Gen Xingming could already imagine himself pointing at a dashing car on the day of the race and shouting, “Look, that’s my bro over there!”
It was impossible for most people to participate in the race so suddenly, but with Fleka’s intervention the impossible was made possible. The name list was decided since a long time ago, and an official announcement had already been made — every participant had an official name list already — so injecting Cillin into the race wasn’t going to be an easy task. That being said, Fleka wasn’t going to go against Cillin’s wish, not to mention that he was the vice chairman of the committee. They will cut me this slack, Fleka thought to himself, I’ll just have to endure some unpleasant looks.
“The racing teams will probably be very annoyed if Cillin actually wins something in the race,” Kenancy smiled.
“But it will decrease some people’s profits as well.” They weren’t completely unaware of the underground deals behind this race, such as gambling.
Cillin shook his head, “I just want to participate in the match. I don’t mind if I don’t show up on the list or win a prize. They don’t interest me.”
Now Fleka understood what Cillin’s motive was: he wanted to experience the race himself so he could design a better racing car. First hand experience usually inspires deeper understanding and imagination; Fleka himself had done the same thing when he was still a young man.
“Alright, I understand what you’re trying to do now. Just leave it to me!”
Fleka went into his room to deal with some procedures right after he said this. A while later, he came out and told them that he had spoken to a few decision makers in the committee and got things done. What he needed Cillin to do right now was to design a flying car that suited his preferences.
“I own a couple of prototypes that I haven’t finished yet, but you can use one to enter the race.” Fleka said.
Fleka performed most of his work on the planet named ‘Whirlwind’ — the venue of the grand race — and he was about to head back soon, so he told Cillin and the others to accompany him to that planet. With Fleka around, they could also skip past the verification process completely.
Currently, the entire planet was under partial lockdown in order to better prepare for ”The Winds of Freedom”. No one except relevant personnel such as the racing teams, the maintenance crew and the organizing committee was allowed to enter the parts of the planet that were used to host the grand race yet, including those who had bought a ticket to watch the race.
Gen Xingming and his friends grew obviously restless after they had entered Whirlwind. It was because the madness from four years ago had been reawoken in their hearts: the feeling of adrenaline coursing through one's veins, the excitement roars that erupted due to excessive stimulation, the atmosphere that made one felt like they could roar out their very lungs…
That was how much the racing planet “Whirlwind" affected its visitors. Anyone who watched a race here - especially the flying car hobbyists -or easily affected youngsters like Genxingming- would be left with a deep impression in their minds.
The first thing Fleka did after arriving on the planet wasn't to bring Cillin and his friends to his workshop to check out the cars. Instead, he took Cillin to the organizing committee to acquire the latter's documents and identifications. Without them, Cillin couldn't even get into the racing tracks.
Everyone in the committee was pretty busy as of late. For example, they had to communicate with racers and racing teams from all kinds of places everyday. That being said, everyone still did their part to process the documents Fleka requested because it was for Fleka. However, the person who brought over the participation documents and documentations was none other than the chairman of the organizing committee himself.
The chairman was a pretty senior figure in the Sizer Family, and the main person in charge of “The Winds of Freedom” for many terms already. Because Fleka was the one who had requested the documents, he had no choice but to perform the delivery himself - no one else had the power to control Fleka. Privately, a lot of people were displeased with Fleka’s selfish actions, and the chairman was the only one who could deliver the necessary reprimands effectively and prevent the same incident from recurring in the future.
Fleka had expected this from the beginning, so he smiled and pretended to be unaffected when the chairman passed him the documents with a frigid look on his face.
“We made an exception this time only because it was you. Please ensure that this doesn't happen again in the future.”
“I know, it so happens that this is a special situation just like last time. I'll tell you the details in the future, but trust me, I’m fully aware of the stakes at play here. It definitely won't happen again.” Fleka extended his hand with a smile, but the chairman ignored his gesture and turned his gaze towards Cillin instead. His meaning was obvious: You're the one who wanted to participate in this race, right? Don't tell me you lack even the courage to take these documents from my hands?
Cillin had no reason to make life difficult for Fleka, so he walked forwards, gave the chairman a simple but polite salute, thanked him for his troubles and accepted the documents with both hands. The chairman was a respectable senior, the chairman of the grand race and the person who helped processed all the documents he needed to participate as a racer. He had to show him the proper respect he deserved.
For one rare moment, the chairman’s features relaxed. Unlike those rich kids whose eyes seemed to grow on their heads, Cillin had stayed calm, showed proper decorum, and even accepted the documents with both hands. Then, he saw the ‘tattoo' on Cillin’s finger and felt his pupils shrink. Although his expression barely changed, even Cillin could sense a clear change in the pressure surrounding the chairman. Just a moment ago the chairman looked like someone had stolen a great talent from right under his nose, but now his entire person had relaxed considerably.
Fleka had no idea about this. He hadn’t even checked out Cillin’s ‘tattoo' yet. He didn't pay it close attention because tattoos were the hot among youngsters these days. Although the chairman’s obviously improved tone confused him a little, he didn't attempt to get to the bottom of the matter. Old people his age tended to act in unfathomable ways anyway.
After the procedures were done, Fleka led Cillin away from the building and straight into his workshop. The rest of the gang waited inside their car outside the building.
The chairman immediately contacted someone in the Sizer Family after Fleka and Cillin’s departure. He was a lot more senior and experienced than Fleka, so of course he knew what the pattern on Cillin’s finger really represented. If the pattern was real, he would need to change his opinion of Cillin.
Fleka’s workshop was different from the usual workshop. It was very wide, and there were a couple of open air repair points at the edge of the building. The workshop could be used as a temporary repair station.
A lot of racing teams had come over to familiarize themselves with the environment since a long time ago. Both the racers and the crew had to acclimate themselves with this planet and get into the optimal state as soon as possible. This preparation was no small matter; sometimes a single speck of dust was all that stood between victory and defeat.
Fleka’s mood had obviously improved since Cillin showed up, not even feeling the tiredness that usually accompanied this work. He even taught Cillin some things to pay attention to, and what kind of part matched what kind of weather and terrain the best.
The grand race had certain thresholds that racing teams must obey when designing their cars such as scale, weight, displacement, power and so on. Everything else within these limits was acceptable. Right now, Fleka was guiding Cillin down this path of acceptable thresholds so the latter wouldn't have to waste unnecessary time and effort.
Fleka’s workers - those who had worked under him for a very long time - were making guesses as to which family Cillin came from, seeing that even Naimi was completely ignored by him.
At first, Gen Xingming and co. followed Fleka and Cillin around in the name of learning valuable knowledge, but they quickly lost their patience after two days of learning. Bel was more familiar with the work, but even he was forced to surrender under the barrage of Fleka’s professional lingo and retreated to the stands, where he watched the racers practice alongside the others.
Fleka had a lot of work to do, and Cillin couldn't possibly take up his time all the time. Therefore, three days later, he told Fleka that he would like to practice his new learned knowledge alongside the repairmen outside. This would give him the chance to understand these racing cars as well.
Fleka didn't turn down Cillin’s request. He really was swamped with work. Cillin’s assembly skills were as classic as a priceless art, so the workers quickly shedded their suspicion of him being a quitter and answered any question he asked them.
One day, after Cillin was done repairing a flying car and taking a water break, a fiery red flying car suddenly zoomed into the repair station.
A young girl in racing suit around fifteen to sixteen years old hurried off her car, glanced around and sped towards Cillin the moment she spotted him, or rather his repairman uniform.