[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 50

“Can I give you an answer after the KiwiChi Championship is over?”

“Yes, if you contact me via the number or email on my business card, I will confirm.”

I said my goodbyes to Mr. Myung-jin after that.

Hearing about Ferrari’s miserable current state in 8th place left me feeling mixed; my head was spinning at the thought of facing any more Ferrari personnel.

Beep!

Once I moved my body to the hotel room, forgetting to shower, I threw myself onto the plush bed.

“Ah… If the engine is at a serious level, it must be really tough…”

Honestly, it felt too bleak.

Even when I was Jin Hyun-woo, Ferrari’s engine wasn’t that great.

There had been a time when Ferrari’s ranking plummeted after engine issues arose and an FIA audit.

Despite going through such a dark period, Ferrari had achieved a 3-time championship.

But isn’t this just too low?

“8th place…”

In F1, the term “winning car” exists because the gap in the performance levels of each vehicle is quite significant.

Regardless of who the driver is, the cars are divided into those that are capable of winning the championship that season and those that are not.

In other words, just because a team is in F1, it doesn’t mean all teams are at a similar level.

Although I’m not sure about the specifics, the F1 ecosystem in this world must be similar.

From that perspective, 8th place means the engine has gone completely off the rails.

“Engine, engine…”

I searched for F1 engines on the green portal.

Having had experience in engine design during my time as Jin Hyun-woo, I wondered if there might be something helpful.

“I really don’t know anything.”

I truly didn’t know anything.

And that’s understandable because I was a human from 2021, while this world was in 2031, where science had advanced brilliantly.

“What is this? What the heck?”

Even if my driving technique was applicable, the knowledge I had back then wouldn’t hold any value here.

I threw my phone and buried my whitewashed head deep into the blanket.

I desperately wanted to wear a red race suit and race as a Ferrari driver in a red race car.

But with Ferrari in its current state, it would be a blessing just to win even a single Grand Prix, let alone the season championship.

The emotional ties to my hometown team Ferrari and the poor performance of its race cars clashed fiercely in my mind on that night in Yeongam.

Thinking back, I had made a promise with Kang Ho-yun too…

“Ugh… I’m so stressed!”

Even until I fell asleep, I couldn’t find an answer.

The morning sunlight streamed in between the curtains like an aurora.

I was picking at my breakfast while checking the previous year’s F1 results on my phone.

1st. Mercedes Benz

2nd. Renault

3rd. McLaren

4th. Red Bull

5th. AlphaTauri

6th. Aston Martin

7th. Williams

8th. Ferrari

9th. Beta Romeo

10th. His

“Renault is in 2nd place? What a strange world…”

I may not know for sure, but it seems that Renault is the main rival to Mercedes.

Perhaps all the teams except for Mercedes have had engine issues on this Earth?

If not, then Mercedes’ technical capabilities must be overwhelmingly superior.

Maybe it could be both.

I stopped my thoughts and focused on my meal.

No matter how much I search for and investigate, you won’t know the extent of the engine performance gap unless you try it yourself.

Though the possibility is slim, just like when I was Jin Hyun-woo, I might create completely different results due to my exploration.

“Huff…”

Whether the sunlight knows my feelings or not, it simply keeps shining.

Traveling across the country, what felt like an endlessly long two weeks passed in no time.

Today was the day Michael Nantz had promised to announce the results of the For One inspection.

Having just returned home after a long trip the day before, I was eager to hear the news.

“Hyun-a! They’re announcing the inspection results, come out!”

I jumped out of bed at Kang Ho-yun’s shout and ran into the living room, eagerly waiting for the server to go live.

On the TV screen, Michael Nantz, impeccably dressed, was stepping up to the podium.

“It’s happening, it’s happening…!”

“Please let the inspection be over…”

At that moment, people around the world, whether they played For One or not, must have wished for the inspection to have been successful.

If it took too long, I felt I wouldn’t be able to hold out anymore.

With my hands clasped together in fervent prayer, Nantz soon began the briefing.

-Good day. I am Michael Nantz, the Chief Manager of For One. I will now begin the announcement regarding the investigation into the usage of hacks during the previous KiwiChi Championship and the subsequent inspection results.

The endless silence in the living room sparked a tension, and we forgot even how to breathe as we focused on the screen.

-I will cut to the chase. The user with the nickname Barcode Nick was confirmed to be a hacker. Based on the data we analyzed from the hack’s mechanisms, we successfully enhanced our security program Steel.

Therefore, as soon as this announcement is complete, the For One server will open normally.

“Phew… What a relief.”

“Phew… What would have happened if it had gone wrong? Travel would have been a pain.”

Is it possible to feel如此感激 for being able to play For One?

Having experienced the dullness of a world without For One during these two weeks, I cherished its value even more.

Michael Nantz seemed to have expected that people would be excited, as he fell silent for a moment before continuing to speak.

-The hacker user illililiili has been revealed to be a user ranked around 600 in F2. During police questioning, he dismissed the reason for using hacks as simply “it seemed fun.” Thanks to his willingness to show remorse and cooperation during questioning, For One was able to quickly obtain his hacking program and enhance Steel.

For detailed information, please refer to the posts on the For One homepage.

Afterward, Nantz led the announcement, mentioning apologies for the incident and the direction For One would take.

It seemed there was no script, yet he delivered that lengthy announcement so smoothly.

I was captivated by his presentation without even having a moment to think it was boring.

-That concludes everything we prepared for today. We will continue to strive to be the fastest, most thrilling, and heart-pounding For One. Thank you.

Once the long announcement wrapped up, I immediately turned on my desktop.

There was something I needed to confirm urgently.

“So, what happened to the tournament…!”

The KiwiChi 1v1 tournament.

I needed to find out how the tournament, which had turned chaotic due to the hacker, would be conducted again.

Fortunately, it seemed the KiwiChi side resolved the issues smoothly, as a notice about the tournament resumption had just been posted.

Hello, this is KiwiChi TV.

This is a notice regarding the resumption of the tournament procedures that had been halted due to the hacking incident.

First of all, before the resumption notice, I would like to discuss the actions taken against the hacker.

Hacker user, illililiili

This hacker, illililiili (hereafter referred to as Barcode), used hacks in an official tournament linked with KiwiChi and For One, demonstrating clear intent and serious wrongdoing, resulting in criminal charges.

However, he showed signs of remorse and was cooperative during the investigation, personally visiting victims across various countries to seek forgiveness, and the victims also hoped for leniency.

Therefore, KiwiChi and For One have decided to amicably resolve the incident without imposing any further penalties on Barcode.

He personally went to seek forgiveness from the victims…

“Why didn’t he come to apologize to me?”

Just because I lost to the hacker doesn’t mean I’m not a victim.

I couldn’t help but feel absurd, but since the incident ended positively, I chose to overlook it with a broad mind.

2. Tournament Resumption

The 1v1 tournament, which had been halted in the round of 32, will resume from tomorrow, Friday, starting with the round of 16.

As mentioned earlier, all victims who faced the match against Barcode in the qualifier up to the round of 32 have agreed to leniency.

The round of 16 will proceed without a rematch.

Matches will start tomorrow at 10 o’clock…

Honestly, it was hard to believe that all the victims agreed to leniency and that there wouldn’t be any rematches.

Well, it’s not entirely out of the realm of understanding that he went around seeking forgiveness.

Yoo Seon-jin.

That person who was eagerly anticipating to meet me in the round of 32 has kicked that opportunity away by herself?

I’m not sure what exactly the reason was, but perhaps after suffering a crushing defeat to the hacker, her mental state had completely shattered…

“She’s weaker than I thought.”

I clicked my tongue and moved on to the For One homepage.

There were many newly posted articles on the For One homepage.

Since there were many issues to be addressed due to the hacking incident, it made sense that the updates would be extensive.

As I didn’t need to know how the For One system operates, I clicked on the last article.

I was curious about how the well-secured For One was breached and who illililiili could be.

Hello, this is For One.

I will provide information on how the hacks were able to be used.

The hacker illililiili…

Since For One is composed of a complex system, the explanation was incredibly long, but to sum it up briefly:

There was only one culprit, illililiili.

Barcode exploited the loopholes in the For One security program Steel based solely on his independent study of the entire virtual reality system without any help.

As a result, he created the hacking program “Mind,” allowing him to arbitrarily set parameters such as downforce, grip, top speed, and acceleration in real time.

“What an incredible guy…”

Thinking about how he breached For One’s security program alone, it seemed like an impossible feat.

But if, and I mean if, all the statements in the notice are true, then Barcode might be an extraordinary genius.

Hacking into a global company like For One all by himself is no small achievement; perhaps For One might even consider hiring him.

No, they can’t afford not to hire him.

“The fact that the victims settled means that this statement wasn’t just empty rhetoric…”

Given For One’s influence, the capital and power they possess, it’s certainly possible.

The more I read the notice, the more I could feel the immense global scale of For One.

In the end, no personal details about Barcode were disclosed.

They were probably trying to protect his identity in order to recruit him.

As I shut down the desktop and started to prepare to log into For One, I suddenly recalled something I had forgotten.

“Right. The matchups!”

Due to being wrapped up in so much chaos with the hacker and Ferrari’s scout, I had completely forgotten.

I hurriedly turned on my phone to check the matchups, and I saw a very familiar name.

[KING] VS [Maniel Ricciardo]

“Daniel Ricciardo…”

In the original world, he was a driver for McLaren.

In this world, he is a driver for Red Bull.

Maniel Ricciardo.