Chapter 939
Chapter 939: Chapter 883: Have You Ever Heard of the Music Race Track?
_1 Chapter 939: Chapter 883: Have You Ever Heard of the Music Race Track?
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_1 Although Hank would have preferred a more “textbook” track, he had full confidence that Lincoln could deliver such an experience.
However, his rational side knew better.
Lincoln’s tracks often defied conventional logic.
Therefore, he did not even consider the [Extremely Difficult] level, nor did he select the [Difficult] level.
He directly chose the [Ordinary] difficulty level.
— He would certainly challenge these levels later and aim to set new records, but for now he opted for a consolidation of sorts.
Once the match was over, Hank opened his eyes to find himself in a familiar place.
“Night City, Dongming Mountain?”
[Dongming Mountain] is a map that was updated years ago to enrich the environments of the Night City circuit.
It is an “Urban Mountain” landscape.
This small mountain, located in the northern part of Night City, is connected to the city roads and overlooks the entire city’s night view.
Source: AllNovelFull.com, updated on ṅοѵǤο.сο
Even on ordinary days, when there are no races, lots of players drive around there.
It’s a popular area.
And of course, the name was given by Lincoln.
Hank particularly liked this route, which gave him a sense of tranquility amidst the hustle and bustle.
However, the place was anything but quiet now.
Throngs of spectators were cheering on the racers, and in front of the starting point, 20 cars were revving their engines, ready to sprint.
— Any other route would have sufficed, but everyone was familiar with this place.
There was no need to worry, the best strategy was to just gun it!
However, the first thing to appear was not the countdown.
Outside the car window, lights started flickering on the external walls of the high-rises across Night City, coordinating to form a huge screen.
The screen then started to display song titles——
“Wind and Rain”
“Flame”
“Wild Tide”
“We will rock you”
“The Internationale”
“Flash”
“Bad Apple”
“Queen of Kabukicho”
…
A string of song names popped up rapidly, leaving the racers bewildered.
Even the players who prided themselves on knowing many songs had no recollection of numerous song titles flashed on the screen.
More importantly, they wondered: “What does this mean?”
Before Hank could figure out anything, the list of song names stopped scrolling, and the final song chosen was——
“Night of Carnival”!
A proud piece by Cloud Dream’s music creation department.
The music resounded in the ears of all the drivers.
The neon lights across the city pulsed in time with the rhythm.
The countdown finally started——
3!
The crowds on the side of the road cheered loudly.
2!
Fireworks filled the sky.
1!
On both sides of the road, streams of cold pyrotechnics shot up!
GO!
“Boom!”
The fireworks exploded in the night sky into a dazzling chrysanthemum, with 20 cars revving their engines and rushing past the starting line.
The race had just started, and the players had not even started rating the track difficulty yet, let alone the racers’ hidden scores.
The first day was doomed to be a motley mixture.
Under such circumstances, racers like Hank, with super high skills and on a track he is familiar with, easily overtake others and join the leading group, setting the pace.
While taking the lead all the way, he even had the luxury to observe Night City outside the car window.
The music filled the wind with a carefree, cheerful rhythm.
Neon lights outside the window pulsed to the beat.
With the roaring of the engine, the scenery on both sides whizzed past.
All of this lifted Hank’s spirits.
However, as he got closer and closer to the city, he suddenly realized something: Weren’t there too many neon lights?
True, Night City was indeed a city that belonged to the night, with brilliant, colorful lights being one of its features.
However, it wasn’t to the extent that all buildings and roads were wrapped in neon light tubes, was it?
With that doubt in mind, Hank drove into the city.
But once he entered the city, he suddenly understood Lincoln’s intention:
The entire city pulsed with music, mimicking the breathing of Night City.
When he drove through it, his car lights began to flash to the beat of the music.
It was as if he had joined the carnival and became a part of Night City’s breath, merging with the entire city.
This experience, both splendid and shocking, left him deeply intoxicated.
– Until the climax of “Night of Carnival”.
The rhythm of the music suddenly quickened.
The city’s billboards, neon tubes, office buildings, traffic lights…
all the lights started flashing rapidly!
“F*ck!” Hank was startled.
His eyes were harshly dazzled by the sudden flashing lights, nearly causing him to veer off the bend and run into a lamppost!
The rhythm of the music continued to speed up, and along with it, the entire city’s power system seemed to go haywire, flashing more than a dozen times per second!
And they didn’t even flash simultaneously!
Lights of different colors and brightness levels seemed to echo different instruments and melodies.
If a music expert were here, perhaps they would differentiate and understand them better.
But Hank was a racer and not involved in music.
All he felt was——
“Damn, it’s so flashy!
I’m getting dazzled!”
What does it feel like to be continuously pelted by flash bombs on your face while racing at high speeds?
This is exactly what Hank is experiencing now.
These flash bombs are even colorful!!
He has no choice but to slow down, lest he ends up in a fatal car crash.
But as soon as he slows down, a car from behind quickly closes the gap and then an impressive drift around the bend—
“Bang!”
The car crashes headlong into a building at the roadside.
The collision leaves a dent in the car’s front, instantly killing the driver.
That was just the closest pursuer.
Numerous drivers behind also hastily slow down, while others tried to make a desperate dash.
The result is a horrific chain of car accidents.
The booming explosions and bright flames add a touch of brilliance to the light show of the frenzied Night City.”
And these explosions are not a one-time thing.
— as long as the race isn’t over, these dead drivers will respawn along with their vehicles from the last checkpoint, and continue with the rest of the race.
So, countless drivers blaze through the flashes in the city, competing and resurrecting after each explosion, without any reservations.
Hank, on the other hand, had to endure the flash bombs while keeping his speed up, in order to maintain the leading position.
That’s no easy feat.
He dare not die, but others do, and that’s a huge disadvantage.
People keep rushing up from behind at full speed, as accidents and explosions happen right beside him, forcing him to accelerate and push his limits – the physical limits here.
Hank never imagined that he would be racing in an environment like a “discotheque”.
He feels like his eyes are about to go blind!
He can only persevere while cursing in his mind:
“F*cking hell!”
“Why the hell did I trust you!”
“The track was fine, why change it into this!!”
…
As the saying goes, ‘what long defends will surely be lost’.
Despite all his precautions, Hank still couldn’t stay ahead until the end.
In a dazzling flash, he is caught by two relentless drivers attempting to ‘sandwich’ him – the tactic used to tackle the leading expert, Hank.
But they overestimated their abilities.
The result is all three cars deviate from the road, crashing through the outer wall and into a shopping mall by the roadside.
Hank, who was in the middle, has the misfortune of crashing headfirst into a load-bearing pillar, dying instantly.
After respawning, he pushed hard to catch up, but could only secure third place.
——
[Night City Music Circuit]
Author’s completion time: 8 minutes 33 seconds
Fastest completion record: 5 minutes 09 seconds
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——
Hank stares at the settlement interface in front of him, utterly speechless.
He considered giving Lincoln a dislike, but couldn’t bear to do it.
To be honest, Lincoln’s track was indeed very creative and served as a lively lesson for players aspiring to design their own tracks.
Because Lincoln managed to create such an exaggerated and magical effect using just the most common item – lights.
Although his experience was terrible, Hank was strongly suspicious that Lincoln did it on purpose…
By slightly reducing the light pollution, the track could be made beautifully luminescent, without causing serious distraction to the driving.
“He could have done it, but he chose not to!” Hank grits his teeth in frustration.
Meanwhile, the comments in the live streaming room are divided:
“There’s no need to think about it, it’s definitely intentional!”
“Can someone translate what [Lincoln’s Malice] means?”
“Just this segment, Lincoln timed 8:33?
Did he drive like a grandpa or what?”
“Could it be an issue with the song selection?
If the random song at the beginning is a slow-paced one, wouldn’t the experience be top-tier?”
“Makes sense, give it another try.
Match a good song and break the record!”
…
Hank glances at the comments, nodding in agreement: “You all bring up good points.”
“But I’m not listening.”
He didn’t hit like or dislike and just exited the track.
“For the sake of my eyes and mental health, I decided to let myself off the hook and try another track.”
“I’ll go see the [Extremely Difficult] track …”
“At least the [Extremely Difficult] track should test my driving skills, rather than my vision and cardiovascular system!”