Chapter 4: Racing Past Rivals Like a Shooting Star

“Brother Tian, I heard you’ve been discharged from the hospital—what great news! We’ve been getting bullied lately. Last time, your car accident was actually caused by those little punks tampering with your vehicle. Now they’ve even brought in some outsider to pick on us. The guys sent me to ask you to come and back us up.”

In the living room, a blond-haired youth ran over to Ling Tian as soon as he saw him emerge, not caring that Ling Tian was still in a bathrobe. He grabbed his hand and began to pour out his grievances. This youth was none other than Zhang Yue, and from his words, Ling Tian understood the situation: his accident had been no mere misfortune, but sabotage. The grudge this body bore must be avenged. He decided to go out and take a look.

“Honey, you’ve only just recovered. Why not go another day?” His mother knew how much Ling Tian loved racing. She didn’t want to stop him, but now that he was just getting better, she really did worry.

“Mom, I’ll be fine, don’t worry. If someone wants to challenge me, they must be tired of living. I’ll be right back.” In his previous life, Ling Tian had never really had fun; this time, he intended to experience all the wild indulgences these young scions enjoyed—except for drugs, which he would never touch, not even under threat of death.

Before his mother could say another word, Ling Tian had already changed clothes at lightning speed and pulled Zhang Yue out the door. The family driver and bodyguard hurried after them.

At the foot of a mountain on the outskirts of Jianghai City, a stretch of open ground lay dotted with small mounds of earth. This was once Ling Tian’s favorite motorcycle racing venue, a place for both speed and skill competitions. The last time he’d crashed was during a speed race—his bike had flown off the curve. Returning to this ground, the memories came back clearer than ever. Thinking it over carefully, Ling Tian was certain: his vehicle had been tampered with.

“Well, well, Ling Tian, you’re tougher than I thought. Let me tell you: from now on, this place is ours. This here is our new boss, Big Wei. When it comes to driving skills in Jianghai, if he’s second, no one dares claim first.”

A red-haired youth sauntered over with a sneer as Ling Tian appeared. The “Big Wei” he spoke of was a man in his twenties, burly yet nimble.

At that moment, Ling Tian’s group numbered about ten, the same as the other side. Each person stood next to a motorcycle except Ling Tian himself. Though his family owned many bikes, he’d left in a hurry and hadn’t brought one, but he believed true skill didn’t depend on the machine. He could win even with someone else’s bike.

“Wei-ge, huh? Ha! Like the pills for old men?” Ling Tian burst out laughing at the name, and Zhang Yue and the others joined in. Brother Tian was simply too cool.

“Damn it, are you looking for a fight, you nouveau riche brat?” The redhead snapped, eager to impress Big Wei and unwilling to let anyone mock his boss. In truth, aside from Zhang Yue, even Ling Tian’s own crew didn’t know the full extent of his family’s wealth—only that they were rich upstarts. And in these times, new money was everywhere; no one really feared Ling Tian.

“Fine, let’s fight. We’ve got equal numbers. Seems fair to me.” Whether in his past or current life, Ling Tian had always been combative by nature, and he assumed a fighting stance as he spoke.

“Enough, Red. We’re here to race today. They’ve all lost already—only Ling Tian’s left. If he loses, the place is ours and we can start running illegal races here. No need to fight.”

At last, Big Wei spoke up. He wore a close-cropped haircut, wasn’t tall, but was built like a tank.

Now Ling Tian understood: these people had their eye on this place, planning to turn it into an underground racing den—a business that often led to deaths and made the organizers rich, though it was illegal. They were ruthless. Ling Tian didn’t care about others’ fates, but being targeted himself was intolerable.

“Fine! Let’s settle this in a single race. Send out your best man to compete with me. If we lose, the place is yours. If we win, you’re never to show your faces here again. But before that, I want to know exactly who sabotaged my bike last time. Tell me, and I’ll race you.”

Since he’d decided to avenge the original owner of this body, Ling Tian was determined not to let the culprit go unpunished.

“You crashed because you weren’t skilled enough—no one tampered with your bike. If you’ve got the guts, race. If not, just hand the place over.” Redhead was ready to deny everything; he hadn’t done it himself, but he’d been behind it, and if caught, could end up in prison. He couldn’t admit it.

“Ling Tian, I’ll race you. This time I’ll make sure you lose fair and square. If you win, I’ll tell you who did it. If you lose, drop the matter. Do you dare?” Big Wei chimed in, confident he couldn’t possibly lose, eager to silence Ling Tian once and for all.

“Fine. Just don’t go back on your word. How do you want to race?” Ling Tian was full of confidence. In his previous life, he’d been a top agent, expert with all kinds of vehicles—even capable of aerial stunts. While this body wasn’t quite as strong, the skills remained.

“You crashed in a speed race last time. Today, let’s test our technique with a ‘Leap Over Man’ challenge. Each of us picks a partner; our motorcycles will jump over their heads. Whoever jumps higher and farther wins. Anyone too scared to try loses by default.”

Big Wei clearly brimmed with confidence. Seeing how young Ling Tian looked, he figured the kid wouldn’t dare. If he backed out, all the better. Of course, if Ling Tian’s team refused to cooperate, it would count as a loss for them. Wei’s own partner was already lined up.

“Leap Over Man!” At the sound of the challenge, the faces of Ling Tian’s friends turned ashen. They’d heard of the game and seen it played, but never tried it themselves, let alone served as the human hurdle. One slip from the rider and their lives could be forfeit.

“What’s wrong? None of you willing to help Ling Tian? If you’re not playing, just admit defeat now!” Big Wei laughed heartily at the pale faces on Ling Tian’s side, though he failed to notice that his own team looked equally uneasy.

“Zhang Yue, do you trust me?” Ling Tian had no intention of losing his first race after being reborn—how humiliating would that be? He might as well crash for good. Zhang Yue was his closest friend here; it all depended on whether Zhang Yue was willing.

“Brother Tian, I trust you!” Although Zhang Yue’s face had also turned pale, the determination and confidence in Ling Tian’s eyes filled him with courage. He couldn’t let Red and his gang look down on them. Do or die!