[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 39
I won.
I never thought I could defeat New Age in a direct confrontation with a solid strategy.
Even Yooihyun, who personally trained Kang Ho-yun, predicted that there would only be a slight possibility of victory if he could psychologically shake New Age, foreseeing his defeat…
Name / Time
① One-Man Show 1:11:907 🏁
② New Age 1:13:155 +1.248
Even Kang Ho-yun, who anticipated a tough battle, never expected such a gap.
No, he couldn’t even imagine winning from the beginning.
While immersed in practice, repeating various corners endlessly in a private room, Kang Ho-yun had unknowingly grown to this level.
He had been struggling, trapped in the 500s for months as a one-man show, but this is truly a human victory!
Like warriors awakening with bl**d rushing through them, he had expanded into a world that was previously invisible to him.
While Yooihyun’s sharp insights and high-level education played a significant role, his persistence, perhaps bordering on madness, cannot be overlooked.
And now, having reached the podium.
He was enjoying the first fruits of his efforts without any regrets.
Bang! Bang! Boom!
Whoosh!
Fireworks erupted, elevating the atmosphere, and champagne bubbled, soaring into the sky like a fountain.
Although it was just a system existing within the game, Kang Ho-yun savored that moment.
And he wasn’t completely alone.
[Gienjang!!!!! One-Man Show!!!! I believed in you!!]
[The one who crushed New Age… Who is he?]
[Jammin mass slaughter!!!]
[Congratulations, Oppa! I knew you would do it!]
[I love you, Kang Ho-yun, I love you, Kang Ho-yun]
[I’ve been watching all the broadcasts, but there’s no match for today’s race]
“I never thought I would win… Thank you all!”
The chat room, which had exploded early on, vividly displayed how excited Kang Ho-yun and the viewers were.
Along with the 20,000 fixed viewers, the introduction of over 100,000 new viewers from this match intensified the energy.
The One-Man Show streamer’s viewership was breaking records in real-time.
“I worked hard during the break, and it seems to be paying off. Thank you so much to those who believed and waited.”
Although only the round of 128 had concluded, it felt almost like the atmosphere of championship victory!
When an underdog team that seemed unlikely to win defeats a powerful opponent, it ignites such excitement in reality.
That festive atmosphere seemed to continue, but soon a massive donation message raised a bucket of cold water, no, a firefighting helicopter over the broadcast.
《Clueless Guy donated 1,000,000 won!》
-While it’s a congratulations for winning, the next opponent in the round of 64 is KING… with the fastest lap time of 1:07:020…
[That <bleep> should be banned!!!]
[Rich bad guy]
[An intelligent anti-fan, or rather a wealthy anti-fan]
[Is that nickname for real? Did your mom come up with that name?]
[Next opponent is KING… this is… 1:07:020…!]
[But how can we ban someone who just donated a million won~]
[At this rate, we’re all going to d*e~! I’m scared~]
The chat room became more intense than when the checkered flag was waved.
The viewers sighed or marveled at the fact that the next opponent was KING while cursing the Clueless Guy.
It was a moment to confirm how significant KING’s reputation was.
The dedicated viewers of One-Man Show were worried about his morale, fearing that he might be deflated.
《One-Man Show Fan Club #1 donated 100,000 won!》
-Anyone can come to the round of 64? Oppa, don’t get discouraged! I love you!
“Don’t be down, keep your shoulders up, does anyone just come to the round of 64?”
Various donation messages consoled Kang Ho-yun’s shoulders, but the One-Man Show’s expression was calm enough that he didn’t need their encouragement.
On the contrary, he wanted to be swept away by the massive tsunami that was KING approaching.
He didn’t want just to face him in practice; he wanted to race against KING in an official tournament.
This time, he wanted to race her not as a student but as a worthy competitor.
“Thank you all for your concerns. But I actually feel good. I’m up against no one other than KING.”
The viewers didn’t know that the connection between KING and One-Man Show was more profound than they could imagine.
Kang Ho-yun was eagerly anticipating the 64-round showdown against Yooihyun.
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“Development is really fast…”
I genuinely exclaimed in admiration as I watched Kang Ho-yun’s race car leisurely waving the checkered flag.
There was no need to mention the strategy at Corner 3 of Lap 1; it was fantastic, and the remaining laps were executed excellently without losing focus until the end.
How long had it been since he started training, and he had already reached the level of around 200th place.
To be honest, I hadn’t expected it at all.
Although Kang Ho-yun had received training from me, driving technique solely depended on the athlete’s instinct.
As a coach who remembered his clumsy first appearance, I couldn’t have expected him to surpass growth expectations in such a short time.
But Kang Ho-yun exceeded my expectations and grew remarkably.
Perhaps he was aiming for the minimum target of entering the top 50, which I presented as a condition for us to become a team.
In just two months, that absurd goal of moving up from the 500s to the 50s seemed, perhaps, not just a fantasy.
“One-Man Show is doing very well. He’s defeating New Age, who has such a significant ranking difference.”
[The fans are pumped about the Korean, so they didn’t care much until now…]
[One-Man Show wasn’t that good, but he’s become really good]
[Racing style feels somewhat similar to the Sensei, right?]
[If that’s considered very good, what do we say about the teacher ranked 1000th defeating the 53rd national representative?]
[Hey, to the one and only KING, rankings mean nothing. It’s just a numbers game.]
Even the viewers in my room did not hold back their praises for the great race Kang Ho-yun showed.
Seeing my student receiving high praise brought a smile to my face!
I calmed my rising smile and prepared for the next match.
“I’m looking forward to racing against One-Man Show.”
I planned to welcome him properly with respect and sincerity.
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99.9999…% VS 0.0001…
It was truly a 100 to 0.
This skewed statistic, which one might think was manipulated, was the result of viewers voting on who would win the race between KING and One-Man Show in the round of 64.
Walking down a completely new path, the unparalleled user KING was heading toward the throne, living up to his nickname.
Meanwhile, One-Man Show, though in the mid-rank, showed outstanding technique and potential, dominating the round of 128.
Even if One-Man Show pulled off an impactful moment, he couldn’t compare to KING’s presence.
KING was the highlight of every single race, every lap, every corner, so it was no surprise that the viewer votes came out this way.
The commentators also accepted the voting results calmly.
“As expected, all votes were cast for KING.”
“Yes. The ranking difference between the two players is extreme, but we can say that rankings hold no meaning to KING.”
“That’s right. He advanced by defeating the 53rd-ranked Chris Bauer in the round of 128.”
The commentators were busy praising KING with great enthusiasm.
Soon, the KiwiChi Championship organizers revealed details about the circuit and weather.
Circuit: France Paul Ricard
Weather: Very sunny
Like the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit from the previous round of 128, the French circuit comprised a balanced mix of low, mid, and high-speed corners.
With good balance, the track is often used as a test drive circuit.
Was there fate involved?
This circuit holds special significance for Yooihyun and Kang Ho-yun, who would be facing off directly.
It was the place where they first conducted training, and it was the first circuit they raced together. To find it selected randomly for the fateful round of 64 was something special!
With the weather being very sunny, they could concentrate fully on the race without any obstacles.
“The players are entering the pit.”
“The red race car belongs to KING, and the black race car belongs to One-Man Show.”
The two entered quickly, as if they had practiced, finishing all settings within a minute and lining up on the grid.
After completing the formation lap and aligning on the grid, both turned their heads to look at each other without waiting for anyone to speak.
⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫
Race start!
Kwang!!!
Vroom!!!
“The race between KING and One-Man Show begins!”
The full-fledged showdown between the master and the disciple had started.
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“If you win this match, you’ll be facing Yooihyun in the round of 32.”
Legend, Yoo Seon-jin, was grinding her teeth in anger to repay the humiliation from the day she was rejected from the national team.
Even with exceptional talent that was unparalleled, she felt that such arrogance was crossing the line.
It was unacceptable to treat a team built on the grand goal of training excellent successors and elevating Korea’s global standing in such a presumptuous manner.
“I will make her regret those words…!”
The KiwiChi Championship, in which she participated to recruit, had now shifted into a category of revenge.
Yoo Seon-jin gritted her teeth and prepared for the match.
Raising the feeling from her days as an F1 driver to the fullest, she swiftly completed all races as a 15th-ranked player.
Without a hint of slowing down, her furious rush concentrated purely on finishing the matches quickly.
This was the same when she encountered Han Joo-hyuk, also from her team, in the round of 128.
Yoo Seon-jin seemed to think there was no meaning unless it was a race against KING; she did not make it to the podium nor participate in any interviews.
Having raced like that, she was already on the grid, finishing preparations for the round of 64, before the other participants had even completed their round of 128.
“I will finish as quickly as possible.”
She didn’t know who her opponent was.
She had no interest unless it was Yooihyun, and the opponent was an unknown participant ranked around 900 in F2.
Maybe she had come this far due to luck, but the former F1 driver and 15th-ranked Yoo Seon-jin was not a player who could be beaten by mere luck.
[Wow, a 900th-ranked player is making it to the round of 64, lol. Guess luck is on their side!]
[No matter who shows up, it won’t matter to Yoo Seon-jin. Even if an F1 driver shows up, who knows what could happen?]
[Even though she’s retired, Yoo Seon-jin exudes current-level presence… wow.]
[But who is that person? Their track record seems a bit strange.]
[Indeed. They haven’t played a single casual match and have only competed in ranked matches, winning nearly all of them.]
[That’s the same case for KING, isn’t it?]
[Must have climbed through cheap opportunism. Let’s just watch in silence for a bit;;]
As the formation lap began, the lightly warmed-up Yoo Seon-jin gently took hold of the steering wheel.
“Don’t waste unnecessary strength here. I need to pour everything into the next race.”
The race, where the outcome was already obvious, started, and the dark blue race car with a hint of Legend’s aura began to race.
Shuuuuuu…
Entering the corner with a narrow margin was Yoo Seon-jin.
Having gauged her opponent’s skill at the first corner, she believed she had already seized the advantage.
In reality, she led the race up to the 5th lap, but the lap times began to look strange.
The gap that had been nearly 5 seconds narrowed to 4 seconds, then 3 seconds, 2 seconds… entering 1 second, crossing into 0.n decimal points.
Eventually, she even lost her position.
“What the hell…!”
Clearly, as the laps unfolded, the burden placed on the tires and the race car should intensify, yet the opponent’s race car looked as fresh as it was at the start.
In the straight, their speed was similar, but their cornering was strangely fast.
“If this continues, I will lose. I can’t drive carelessly.”
Flustered by the unexpected situation, Yoo Seon-jin refocused and began to concentrate on the race.
She started cutting corners artistically and increased the time spent on full acceleration to significantly reduce her lap times.
Losing to an unnamed driver ranked 900 was nearly impossible for a former F1 driver.
But…
Name / Time
① illililiili 1:19:774 🏁
② Legend 1:20.524 +0.750
She lost.
Yoo Seon-jin also broke the elusive 1:21 barrier and entered the 20-second range.
But her opponent was in the 19-second range.
It was a record that surpassed the unofficial record of 1:20:824, which Yooihyun had achieved racing with Kang Ho-yun in a private room.
This was unbelievable.