[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 189

At times, humans experience an unprecedented level of concentration.

To put it grandly, this occurs in moments of life-and-d*ath crises, or more trivially, when deadlines are approaching. In those brief moments, whether it’s an hour or even less than thirty minutes, humans demonstrate an astonishing level of focus, accomplishing what seemed impossible and ultimately meet the deadline.

Moreover, the results produced in such circumstances are often greater and more valuable than usual. The intense concentration displayed under pressure elevates the quality of the outcomes.

When high concentration compresses the density of time, the compressed time transforms into a rich intensity, enabling humans to achieve the unachievable and reach a higher level of existence.

Naturally, this phenomenon occurs regardless of human will. If one could effortlessly elicit such moments, everyone would be a genius.

Simply put, it’s an unpredictable stroke of fate that may come at any time, in any place.

And this was, in fact, part of the moment I referred to as ‘the realm’ and its threshold.

Vroom!!!

Shhhhuuuuu!!!

As the background noise disappeared, only the sound of the engine and the slicing air were distinctly audible.

The rumbling engine was vividly felt. The overworked mechanical components were racing toward their limits.

Yet, the end had not yet come. An unfounded confidence that more could be extracted surged clearly in my mind. That instinct drove me to push the V-1 even harder.

It was hot and brutal. Every part and the entirety of the race car felt as if it had become a part of my body, shaking and screaming as if in agony.

The limits had not yet been reached. More could be pushed. The operational limit was merely the ‘risk level’ due to concerns of mechanical failure. The V-1 had yet to face its real boundaries.

【 346km/h 】 / 【 DRS ON 】 / 【 LOW 】

Before I knew it, I had surpassed 340 km/h. The rear wing leveled by DRS and the V-1, gaining speed from its low rake, shot forward as a single point.

Shudder, shudder. The V-1 shook unstably up and down and sideways. The vibrations of various magnitudes disturbed the airflow, sounding alarms as if the race car could bounce off at any moment.

I needed to reduce speed. Considering the entirety rather than a part, I should reduce speed right now.

However,

‘No. I can’t. I can’t stop.’

I could not stop.

I should compromise the present for the future, yet paradoxically, if I compromised the present, the future would vanish.

The evidence of that was fiercely chasing behind me.

A blue race car racing through the wind. Daniel Ricciardo from Red Bull was rushing toward me barbarically, trampling my present and plundering my future.

Squeak!

I put all my strength into the accelerator pedal until my thigh felt like it might burst. The pedal, receiving maximum pressure, remained pressed in place until it couldn’t move anymore. Full acceleration continued for a few seconds.

Vrrrrrrr…!

The body of the V-1, having already exceeded the danger level, vibrated as if it were having a seizure. The vibrations were causing the V-1 to crash forward rather than slice through the air.

Gripping the steering wheel so hard it felt like it was going to tear my gloves, I felt the vibrations coursing through me.

If I could control it, the future would be secure. If I couldn’t, there would be no future.

I finely adjusted the direction of the V-1, moving the steering wheel just slightly while it was traveling at an incredible speed.

“Ughh…”

It was tough. The speed was so high that turning was difficult, and adjusting even slightly felt like torture.

Still, I tried my best to read the body’s shaking and the airflow to balance both sides.

The muscle assist feature built into my fire suit supported me, but my arm muscles felt like they would burst.

But I had to endure. There was still one more problem to solve.

Clack!

I flicked open the cap of the hybrid suspension created by Won-jin with my thumb. As the red cap flipped 180 degrees, the embedded circular axle revealed itself.

A device designed so that the driver can manually adjust the angle of the suspension whenever faced with an unusual situation.

‘I’m using this for the first time…!’

Though I had only heard about it from Won-jin, I had never seen or used it before.

This was called active suspension.

The moment I activated this, the AI of the hybrid suspension system would completely stop functioning until I closed the cap and returned to the two options of LOW/HIGH, delegating all functions to the driver.

Considering that the system’s AI was a device boasting high precision and efficiency, it was a function that should not be used unless it was truly in a desperate situation or malfunctioning.

But the situation I was in was one that even that AI could not resolve. While the AI was gradually adjusting the height based on the body’s vibrations, it was insufficient. This was not a problem solvable by mechanical movement.

Needless to say, it was not the engineer’s fault. No matter how excellent the system, it couldn’t possibly account for every scenario.

This was merely a problem that I, seated in the driver’s seat, had to solve.

“Huff…!”

Turning left was LOW, and turning right was HIGH.

Tarararak!

After quickly checking the rapidly approaching front, I slowly turned the circular button to the right for HIGH with my thumb.

【 Active SUS ON : 11%(LOW) 】

A simple indication of 【 LOW 】 representing the status of the hybrid suspension appeared on the display mounted on the steering wheel, along with a percentage, signaling a complete transition to manual mode.

The percentage gradually increased with the movement of my thumb. In such high-speed driving, I couldn’t go against the flow drastically. I needed to give the body some time to adjust.

Shudder, shudder!

I managed to stabilize the shuddering side to side, albeit not perfectly. However, the up and down oscillation phenomenon was still not resolved. It seemed that I needed to adjust the suspension settings to an appropriate level.

Inside the uncontrollably oscillating race car, I felt a slight motion sickness while concentrating.

Dizziness washed over me, and nausea rose from my stomach.

For a moment, I considered turning off the DRS, but quickly dismissed the thought.

While turning off the DRS might simplify the situation, the losses would far outweigh the benefits.

DRS is fundamentally a device that sacrifices grip for speed. Conversely, if I turned it off, I would be trading speed for grip, but I wasn’t in a situation where I needed to reduce speed, nor was grip required. Moreover, gaining grip would lead to a decline in tire condition.

With the current tire conditions, doing so would mean I would have to pit on the next lap.

Most importantly, the biggest issue was that I couldn’t adjust that angle arbitrarily.

Stopping just at the point where it barely reaches the necessary limit is the only way to shake off Ricciardo.

“Ughh…”

I gritted my teeth and held on.

– Yooihyun!

– …Hyun!

– …Hyun! …Are you okay?

At some point, Enrique’s voice began to fade, and all I could hear were the sounds of slicing air and the engine.

I had to endure. I had to hold on.

Yet, it was so difficult that I wanted to take my foot off the accelerator immediately.

It may be an excuse, but enduring extreme conditions in a woman’s body was a fundamentally different issue compared to a man’s body.

Nevertheless, I maintained full acceleration and slowly turned my thumb.

【 Active SUS ON : 23%(LOW) 】

The suspension began to tilt, increasing downforce. The vibrations lessened, and the up-and-down oscillation also gradually disappeared.

【 Active SUS ON : 27%(LOW) 】

The vibrations were nearly gone. Although downforce had increased, speed began to rise even more.

It was likely that the vibrations had prevented stable driving, resulting in acceleration loss.

【 Active SUS ON : 30%(MIDDLE) 】

Finally, 30%. Upon reaching 30%, LOW transformed into MIDDLE. The vibrations completely vanished, and the V-1 began to slice through the air cleanly and sharply.

This was the final limit allowed for the V-1.

I had prided myself on having utilized the V-1’s performance at 100%, but I realized.

Now was truly that moment.

Swoosh…!

A sound like the wind flowing through a dense bamboo grove, quiet and calm.

Dizziness faded, and my mind cleared. The nausea that had been twisting my insides disappeared, and my whole body felt refreshed.

【 Active SUS ON : 30%(MIDDLE) 】

【 Active SUS ON : 29%(LOW) 】

LOW and MIDDLE oscillated around 29 and 30.

That perfect balance.

In that strangely serene moment, I exhaled once more.

“Phew… little by little… just a bit… we’re turning back…”

My thumb moved in the opposite direction.

From 30 to 29.

【 349km/h 】

From 29 to 28.

【 355km/h 】

From 28 to 27.

【 359km/h 】

Finally,

【 360km/h 】

The tenuously maintained balance began to break apart once more.

I was flying.