The third stop of the CKC race series was in Zhuhai, with the start date jumping all the way to August 18th.
This meant a gap of three full months, which included the two-month summer vacation.
Boss Chen and the technicians suggested he go directly to Zhuhai to practice.
Wu Shi had no objections to this; it all came down to whether his dad's wallet could handle it.
To give his son the best support possible, Wu Zhenlin naturally didn't hold back on the expense.
And so, in July, just as summer vacation began, Wu Shi arrived at the Zhuhai Track. Ling Kang and Zeng Tianyi arrived soon after.
"First time driving this track?" Ling Kang asked as soon as he saw Wu Shi.
"Yeah."
"Alright!" Ling Kang took a deep breath. "I want to follow you for a practice lap."
"Of course, no problem," Wu Shi nodded.
"Me too," said Zeng Tianyi.
"Okay, just a heads-up. I'll be looking for my marks, so my speed will be pretty unpredictable during practice. Make sure you keep your distance."
"Of course!" they both said.
The three of them drove through the pit lane and onto the track.
The Zhuhai Karting Track. After the main straight, you hit Turn 1, a wide-angle corner that could be taken at nearly full throttle.
Immediately after were three consecutive corners that severely tested a driver's control and ability to hold a line. After two "false corners," Turns 5 and 6, came the extremely sharp Turn 7. You had to get your speed just right before entry, or you'd likely fly off the track or mess up your approach to Turn 8.
Another short straight led to a combination of corners. The section was complex with a wide variety of possible racing lines, truly challenging a driver's judgment and choices.
After three or four laps, Wu Shi had basically pinpointed all the braking points. The entire track had only three heavy braking zones.
"Wanna do a flying lap?" Ling Kang asked.
Wu Shi glanced at the track. There weren't many karts, and conditions were good. He agreed, "Alright."
"Let's go to the second-floor viewing area to watch!" Ling Kang ran off.
After a warm-up lap, as he came out of Turn 15, the starting grid came into view. He immediately floored it.
Since it was just practice, Wu Shi didn't push to his absolute limit. He didn't fully cut the apex on the four corners where it was possible—Turns 2, 7, 8, and 11—leaving himself a good margin for error.
Even so, his lap time was an astonishing 45 seconds!
"That's the first-place winner from the last race!" Ye Zhaohui clenched his fists.
"He's showing his whole hand just for a practice session. What a show-off," someone remarked.
"No! He wasn't going all out! He took a lot of those corners conservatively," Ye Zhaohui said, shaking his head.
"Then how is he so fast?" a young child's voice asked from nearby.
"Because he's smooth." Ye Zhaohui didn't bother to see who asked and just continued,
"Making no steering corrections means he isn't wasting momentum or grip. That allows him to maintain higher speeds and better cornering performance. When you accumulate that small advantage from every single corner, you end up far ahead of the average person."
"That's right," another voice chimed in. "He's just that monstrous."
Ye Zhaohui turned his head. "Who are you?"
"Hey, nice to meet you! I'm Ling Kang. The guy who finished ahead of you at the last race!"
Ling Kang grinned, showing his front teeth. 'Hearing someone else praise how badass the Boss is... why does that feel even better than showing off myself?'
"The last race? If I hadn't gotten held up, I would've passed you sooner or later."
"You're just talking big now! If you were forced to defend, that means your lap times were on par with the guy behind you," Ling Kang said, crossing his arms.
"Hmph. We'll settle this on the track," Ye Zhaohui scowled.
Ling Kang, however, turned back to Zeng Tianyi and said, "See? They're all the same. Before they meet the Boss, they think they're the greatest thing on earth. But once the Boss schools them, they'll learn their lesson."
Zeng Tianyi offered a grateful smile. He knew his friend was still trying to console him, but several months had passed, and he'd long since adjusted his mindset.
"The Boss is the one I'm chasing. This guy isn't."
Those arrogant words made Ye Zhaohui's expression darken even further.
When Wu Shi walked up, he found the three of them looking like kids bickering.
"Boss, you're here!"
"That was a flying lap!"
The two of them immediately ran over.
"Hmph!" Ye Zhaohui's snort was perhaps a little too loud.
Wu Shi had no intention of getting involved in this. He had no time to get into a pissing contest with a bunch of kids. Since he was going to be racing in the country for a year, his one and only goal was to win every championship and move on to the Mini-MAX category in Europe with a stunning record.
"So you're their Boss! Your little followers are way too arrogant!" came a child's squeaky voice.
'Great, which family's little Princess is this? Someone should take her somewhere to cool off.'
Wu Shi paid them no mind. After all, on the outside, he was just a kid too.
"Did you guys watch my last lap?"
"I watched, but it's hard to grasp the details," said Zeng Tianyi.
"Yeah, even a pro couldn't figure out all the nuances after just watching once or twice. It's a shame Ling Kang's camera rig is so bulky, otherwise we could've filmed it and studied the footage later."
Wu Shi nodded. He actually wanted to study it himself. First-person and third-person perspectives offered different information, and you had to analyze it from every possible angle to truly improve your understanding of the track.
"Enough talk. Let's follow him for a few more practice laps!" said Ling Kang.
"Alright!"
ZOOOOOM!
On the track, the boys lapped tirelessly, circling again and again until the golden afterglow of sunset. Only then did they pack up and head back to the hotel.
This training continued right up until the event began. As more and more drivers arrived to practice, the area around the track grew bustling.
However, for safety reasons, the entire track was closed for a period before the event, and no one was allowed on for practice laps.
The day before the race, the three of them grabbed a late-night snack together before heading back to the hotel to rest.
In the middle of the night, the pitter-patter of rain could be heard outside the window.
By the time everyone woke up early the next morning, a steady drizzle had been falling all night.
The weather, which should have been scorching, instead became sticky and sweltering, leaving everyone feeling uncomfortable.
"It's raining. I wonder if the race will still happen," Ling Kang said, a little reluctant to get on the track. Driving in the rain versus in the sun were two completely different beasts.
"The rain's not too heavy. They'll probably still run the timed practice session," said Zeng Tianyi.
"There's the whistle. Race is on." Wu Shi led the other two to the pit area.
The timed practice session started quickly, but the slick track kept most drivers from pushing for a fast lap. After two laps, everyone was forced to use their final lap to set a time.
This time, Wu Shi didn't wait until the last moment. He took the lead and started his flying lap.
'The track conditions might be better later, but if I wait, all it takes is one of the other kids to spin out and cause a yellow flag.'
So, as soon as his warm-up lap was over, he immediately started pushing for a time.
In the second-floor viewing hall, Ye Zhongming saw this and remarked, "So that's the unbeatable rival Zhaohui was talking about. I don't know anything about karting, but his strategic thinking is certainly exceptional."
"Mm-hmm."
Ye's Mother was also there. She nodded, but though her eyes were on the track, her mind was elsewhere.
"Is that Big Brother?!" Xiao Yezi asked in her squeaky voice, pointing at Wu Shi's kart.
"No, sweetie. Brother's kart is further back. See? The silver and red one is his."
"Oh... Why isn't Brother going fast yet!"
Xiao Yezi glanced at her brother, but seeing him still trundling along slowly with the pack, she quickly lost interest and turned her attention back to the kart that was already flying around the track.