[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 43
The Realm of Extreme Concentration.
The background is erased, objects disappear, and finally, I alone exist in this space where I stand.
After a certain point, when my body and mind drift from the point of concentration, I forget even myself, reaching a state of mental transcendence.
The realm of no-self.
In the midst of being completely absorbed in the race, the sounds gradually faded away.
Vroom! Vroom. Vroom….
Even the rough engine noises grunting right behind me.
Click-! Click. Click……
The sounds of the steering wheel buttons and paddle shifts.
Screeeech!!! Vroom! Vroooom……
The sound of the race car tearing through the circuit’s atmosphere rapidly.
Skrrt!! Skrrt! Skrrrr……
The sounds of the tires quickly skimming over the track…
Everything disappeared beyond the boundary of reality.
What exists is the circuit and the race car.
What I perceive is only the will to run faster and the goal of being in first place.
The racing line, which marries my knowledge and senses, forms a virtual red line like a guide line leading me.
– Enter this corner like this, and exit at this angle to charge down the straight at full acceleration!
– Even if it means losing here, adjust the exit angle for the next corner and enter more smoothly!
– On the straight, stomp on the pedal to the floor and navigate the car considering the wind direction!
– The track is getting hotter. Check the tire condition accurately to grasp the limit!
– Focus at every moment. Design the next corner, the next lap, the entire race while passing through this corner!
A voice ringing in my head continuously comes to me.
Could I call it the premonition that my unconscious self sends to me?
They awaken me, becoming flesh and bone, or fly like a dagger, stimulating me to maintain tension.
I moved my arms and legs instinctively, following the flow of my body based on the information delivered by the race car.
My consciousness has long merged with my instinct.
With infinite belief, I simply have to follow.
There, victory awaits.
There, I will be.
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Mr. Yooihyun was absorbed in the race to the extent that it could be considered extraordinary even during Jin Hyun-woo’s time.
For her eyes and ears, nothing other than racing came in.
Seemingly transcending reality, she was lost in a state of no-self, becoming a machine that runs solely for victory.
The machine named Yooihyun, pursuing and following the answers, became more refined with each lap.
She finds improvements in the last lap. ↔ Applies them immediately in the current lap.
Her unconscious was operating in a ceaseless loop, finding maximum efficiency through these two simple procedures.
A machine riding in a race car.
Performing her function as a driver perfectly without even a single minute mistake, Yooihyun could truly be described as a machine.
Amidst the suffocating tension of wondering when the perfect moment would shatter, someone spoke up.
Mr. James Mawls, the strategy director of Mercedes Benz.
“Has that guy been figured out?”
“Still in the process of figuring him out. I heard he partnered with the streamer One-Man Show, so I’m digging into that, but he’s tight-lipped… no progress.”
[Mercedes-Benz, Official Room]
On Mercedes Benz’s official channel for For One, the team’s mechanics, Hamilton, the engineer in charge of Max, the strategy director, and all team members gathered to watch KING’s race, not Verstaphin, Benz’s second driver.
“We need to bring him in quickly…”
From early on, KING was regarded as the number one target for Benz, but even using all of Benz’s contacts, they couldn’t uncover his identity.
All that was known was that he claimed to be Korean.
Based on that, contact attempts were made with former F1 driver Yoo Seon-jin and the streamer One-Man Show, but they all came back with a singular ‘I don’t know’ response.
Not that they didn’t know, but there was no way they couldn’t know.
The moment Yoo Seon-jin mentioned KING’s nickname, her eyes lit up like a wild horse, rushing at the opportunity.
One-Man Show dismissed it by saying, “We’re just partners,” and avoided further conversation.
While the undoubtedly top F1 team, Benz, wanted her, those around her were too busy hiding her identity instead of helping, leaving James Mawls frustrated.
“It looks like Ferrari and Blue Bull are starting to make moves as well. His rain control at the 1024 round must have had an effect.”
“Sigh…”
James exhaled deeply, unable to hide his discomfort.
By now, it’s likely that not only Benz, Ferrari, and Blue Bull but all teams from lower to upper tiers are scrambling to bring her in.
From the beginning, Benz was the only team that recognized KING’s stardom and attempted to recruit her early on, but now, every team was vying for her as she evolved in every race.
Thus, it was only natural for James, who recognized her true worth early on, to feel a burning frustration inside.
More desired teams mean increased competition, which drives up her value.
“She’s going to be expensive. Really expensive.”
“I think we’ll need to raise the expected amount by double…”
Thanks to Benz’s substantial financial resources, there was no thought of being outbid in the recruitment competition; however, the increasing number of competitors was nonetheless a worrying issue.
For James, whose mindset revolved around ‘eliminating variables,’ this was unwelcome news.
As the race moved past the midpoint, James’s secretary spoke to him while keeping her eyes glued to the screen.
“By the way, director, didn’t you say that Barcode Nick is a hack?”
“Yes. Hamilton concluded that after speaking with Nantz. It’s safe to say that car isn’t normal.”
James, having heard from Hamilton about the existence of the hack, didn’t expect KING to win either.
No matter how well KING does, For One is a virtual reality created by the program.
The opponent was using a hack to manipulate the virtual laws of physics within that reality.
Even if the gods of F1 came, it would be an environment they couldn’t overcome.
“How on earth is KING winning?”
“It’s because his skills are higher than the race car enhanced by the hack. The opponent is probably controlling the hack to go unnoticed.”
By the time the race crossed the halfway mark, KING pulled off an almost miraculous pass, and now, nearing lap 32, he was holding the lead for several laps.
In that moment of overtaking, James felt a shiver.
Having experienced countless races, he usually felt little excitement when seeing rookie drivers go head-to-head.
Only two drivers had ever thrilled him to this degree.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
In the end, James went so far as to seek out Benz’s chairman and brought those two drivers to his team.
However, today, another driver ignited his possessiveness.
KING.
The racing line he took through Maggotts → Becketts → Chapel had transcended beauty, becoming art.
Like a meteor dropping into a calm lake, he literally exploded with brilliance, shattering everything dulled.
“Still, that’s truly amazing skill. At this rate, KING might just win.”
“That’s not a question for KING. It’s all up to that guy who’s still controlling the hack.”
“Oh… I see.”
James added while watching KING race towards the essence of driving.
“And… KING has already won.”
His words, compressed into a single sentence with complex meanings, carried a heavy weight.
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At some point, my mind snapped back to reality.
My eyelids felt heavy from how much concentration I had expended, and my head ached with unfocused information.
My body was drained of energy, but this was what it was like to escape the extreme tension into a state of exhaustion.
“Ugh…”
Against my will, I swallowed a m*an and checked the information window.
Name / Time / Laps
① KING 1:12:997 51/52
② illililiili 1:13:005 +0.008 51/52
“Lap 51…”
Already the last lap? I’d lost all sense of time in the realm of extreme concentration.
It’s no wonder that I now understand the fatigue weighing down my whole body.
I checked the opponent who had caught up to my rear but couldn’t increase my output any further.
The heavy fatigue, which muddled my concentration so completely that I couldn’t even remember when I last made a pit stop, meant that all I could do was fend off the opponent lurking like a hyena for an overtaking opportunity.
I squeezed all my strength to press the accelerator and brake, twisting my upper body to maneuver the steering wheel, hampered by my exhausted arms.
Unluckily, I was passing the fourth corner of the eighteen, so there was a mountain of sections I needed to defend.
But I couldn’t give up until the end.
Even if it meant collapsing and dying on the circuit, I would complete the race no matter what.
That was my pride as KING and my duty as a driver.
“I can still do this…”
I checked his position each moment and poured everything into my defense.
I abandoned my racing line, which was meaningless to watch, and occupied his racing line to disrupt his rhythm.
Resolute, I clung tightly to him without letting any opportunity escape.
“d*mn you…”
I was angry.
Fury surged against the Barcode Nick, who damages the driver’s mind with dirty means.
Considering the naive viewers who might be thrilled by such distorted ideals, it would not be enough to just knock him out.
What they should be pursuing as an ideal is far beyond that fake driving mimicked by such a hack.
Swoosh!!!
Corner 11 leading to Maggott, Becketts, and Chapel.
His tires and race car, still in perfect condition, left me without any means to defend against them.
But that thought changed when—
Click!
Vroom!!
Screech!!!
I moved the race car in a way I couldn’t even fathom.
Is this what they mean by extraordinary abilities manifesting in crisis situations?
In the end, I managed to thwart his relentless pursuit and crossed the finish line receiving the checkered flag.
I truly finished the race in first place.
There was victory, and there was me.
Name / Time
① KING 1:12:995 🏁
② illililiili 1:12:997 +0.002
Exhausted, I had to return to the pit without even going to the podium to reset my fatigue.
Even then, while the physical fatigue had lifted, the mental exhaustion gnawed at my spirit, preventing the fatigue from receding.
“Phew… let’s go.”
I wanted to directly speak to the hack’s shameless face, so I headed to the podium.
Wowwwww-!!!
He, Barcode Nick, stood in second place, calmly pretending to engage in a honorable contest amidst the cheers.
How much must he distrust himself to enter a competition while using a hack?
It was something that sullied not only the honor and pride of other drivers but also his very humanity.
How disgraceful has he made his opponents feel?
How far has he dirtied the race, which is supposed to be a contest of pure skill achieved through bone and flesh effort!
From qualifying through 1024, 512, 256, 128, and even Yoo Seon-jin.
They must have felt the sense of defeat he should be experiencing.
“You trash! That’s not a place for sc*m like you.”
The thread of ideals snapped, and I threw him from the podium to the ground.