Chapter 3217: Saving Bai Ze's Zero-Egg Love Story 18

On competition day, the base of Cloud Forest Mountain was brightly lit.

At the mountain road entrance, temporary viewing and rest areas were set up; the streetlights along the way were refitted into brighter competition-specific lighting. Looking up from the mountain base, the mountain road wound upward through Shan Lin like a ribbon lit by lights. The competitors and their support crews had arrived one after another, and the parking lot was filled with various models of motorcycles, their metal shells glinting coldly in the light.

Jin Chen carried a three-layer insulated box and, following staff directions, found Yiqi's resting room.

This resting room was specially prepared for Yiqi by Wang Tu; though called a resting room, it was actually as luxurious as a presidential suite, with a leather Sofa, huge TV, private bathroom, mini bar—everything one could want.

A few abstract paintings hung on the wall, though it's unclear whether they're decor or Yiqi's personal taste.

Yiqi's motorcycle, after maintenance, sat gleaming in the small warehouse like a poised leopard, its black finish reflecting a cold sheen in the light; several staff were debugging equipment.

Hearing a knock, Yiqi strode out head high and chest out to open the door.

In the staff's view, he ushered Jin Chen into the resting room with great poise, chin slightly raised, steps steady, like a young leader inspecting his territory.

As soon as the door closed, Yiqi immediately dropped his act.

He quickly opened the insulated box; inside, the three-tier food containers were neatly stacked with dishes from the Jin Manor chef, steaming aroma wafting up. He grabbed his chopsticks and started eating, cheeks bulging as he chewed, a stark contrast to his imposing demeanor outside.

Before the race, it's all about replenishing energy!

Jin Chen leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, watching him eat, shaking his head with a hint of regret.

He walked over and sat beside Yiqi, ruffling his hair gently, asking, "Did you change into the clothes the bodyguard brought over?"

Yiqi nodded while chewing, "En!"

He looked up at Jin Chen, "Dage, this is just a race—it's not the Tenth District; no one will suddenly rush in and kill me."

When Yiqi received the racing suit, he was stunned! The whole set was made from scarce materials not even available in the fringe areas, lightweight and wear-resistant, fire- and cut-resistant, with protective plates at key points and flexible fabric at the joints for ease of movement.

Not to mention just riding a motorcycle—he could even withstand a hit from an impact gun!

Jin Chen thought, "Hope so, otherwise I'll still have work tonight." He asked, "Where's your bike parked? I want to see what you've modified it into."

Yiqi pointed toward the small warehouse, "Awesome!!"

Jin Chen pushed the door open and entered the small warehouse.

Yiqi's motorcycle stood in the center; Jin Chen walked around it, bent to check the suspension and tires, pressed a few key modification points, and confirmed everything was normal.

After finishing, he straightened up when a subordinate appeared silently at the warehouse door.

"President Jin," the subordinate whispered, "everything is ready."

"Key points on all turns and straights along the mountain road are staffed, and both start and finish have emergency teams on standby."

Jin Chen didn't turn his head, his eyes still on the bike, "After the race starts, seal all exits of the mountain loop road. No one may enter or leave without my order."

The subordinate hesitated, then voiced his doubt: "President Jin, if you suspect Claire and other racers have issues, why not just detain them? That way we wouldn't need to let the young master compete, avoiding the risk."

"We've checked Claire's background; although there's no solid evidence, suspicion runs high."

Jin Chen turned, leaned on the tool stand beside the motorcycle, and rubbed his temples with a headache.

He also knew this would be the simplest solution—detain Claire, screen all suspicious riders, and the race's risks would be largely eliminated. But if the plot doesn't run its course, this web of misunderstandings and melodrama could never be resolved.

All we can do now is, to the greatest extent possible, ensure Yiqi and Bai Ze's safety, letting whatever is meant to happen occur within controllable bounds.

"I have my own considerations," Jin Chen said. "Now go."

The subordinate didn't ask further and withdrew with a reply.

——

Two hours later, the race began.

The loop road of Cloud Forest Mountain winds and twists, about twelve kilometers long, with consecutive hairpin turns and steep descents, a major test of riders' skill and mental fortitude.

Many spectators gathered at the start and finish, mostly second-gen heirs coming to show off, standing in groups beyond the safety line, holding glow sticks and cheer signs, some popping champagne, the atmosphere buzzing like a festival.

Nearly the whole route had high-speed capture cameras, many small screens and bike-angle feeds streamed live to the big screen at the start. The scene was extraordinarily lively, with some even opening betting on who would win the championship; Yiqi's odds were second, Claire's first.

Wang Tu even hired two racing commentators, who sat in the makeshift commentary booth, passionately hyping the atmosphere into the microphone.

But the quietest spot was in front of the largest screen at the start.

Accompanying the Jin Family's eldest brother were a few second-gen heirs and club boss Wang Tu, so tense they hardly dared breathe.

They stood behind Jin Chen, watching the live feed on the screen, feeling the surrounding air freeze. Jin Chen sat silent, his expression unreadable, his aura so intense that nobody within three meters dared to liven the mood.

Shouldn't a race be hot-blooded!

Who could tell them why the Jin Family's eldest brother stared so intently at the screen? That look, that gaze, made them imagine they were catching some international fugitive.

The starting area lights bathed the track's beginning in daylight-bright light, over a dozen motorcycles lined up behind the start line, their engines' low rumble rising and falling.

Yiqi straddled his motorcycle, pulled down the helmet's visor, and gazed through the lens at the winding mountain road ahead.

Claire was two bikes to his right; she turned her head to glance at Yiqi, her green eyes holding an inscrutable smile, then turned back.

The starting whistle blew.

Instantly, the mountains and wilderness were filled with the roar of engines.

The screen switched in real time; the two leading bikes, neck-and-neck, were Yiqi and Claire. Entering the first turn side by side, they almost simultaneously aimed for the apex. Yiqi exited the turn half a bike length later, opening a small gap on the ensuing straight, but he was clearly prepared, quickly closing the distance again.

Night wind rushed into the helmet's gaps, howling past his ears.

Yiqi's gaze, through the visor, locked onto the taillight of the deep-green bike ahead, his eyes burning with blood-hot determination to win.

——

Meanwhile, twenty kilometers north of Cloud Forest Mountain lay an abandoned factory zone.

Bai Ze looked around; seven or eight corpses lay scattered on the ground—hired killers sent by the Nine District, once his comrades.

He knew all too well their vicious tactics and ruthlessness, and would rather they never appear before Yiqi.

Bai Ze spent most of the day, with an insider's help, pinning their hideout, and encircled them within half an hour of their arrival at Didu, disposing of them swiftly.

Now, only one remained.

Unexpectedly, the gunshot-wounded assassin lying on the ground laughed.

"Qieboman..." the assassin coughed up a mouthful of blood, voice muffled yet mocking, "Don't think your betrayal is unknown to the Dean."

The assassins sent out this time... aren't just us..." The assassin split his mouth, revealing teeth stained red by blood, his smile laced with vicious satisfaction, "There's... there's also Kale."

Bai Ze's mind went blank for a few seconds.

Kale.

One of the Nine Districts' assassins, adept at creating accidents such as car crashes, cliff falls, and fires, with clean and swift methods that leave no trace.

Why hadn't he received any news?

Bai Ze snapped his head around, looking at the internal spy he had personally cultivated behind him.

Before Bai Ze could question him, the internal spy gave him a guilty, uneasy look, then drew his knife and slit his throat, collapsing cleanly and swiftly.

Bai Ze had no time to wonder when the internal spy had defected, nor to ponder what new trouble had recently arisen in the Nine Districts. He bent down, grabbed the collar of the assassin still coughing blood on the ground, lifted him up, and pressed a dagger into his wound, twisting it hard.

"Where is Kale?" Bai Ze's eyes surged with terrifying killing intent.

The assassin, held aloft by him, felt his gunshot wound tugged, pain making his whole body spasm, yet he still gritted his teeth and squeezed out a bloody sneer.

"This… probably already succeeded… that young master who was pampered for years in the capital… there's a race tonight, right?"

The motorcycle plunged off the cliff—certain death.

Bai Ze's hand holding the gun trembled slightly, feeling as if his blood vessels and nerves were being torn apart by Shengsheng.

He was mistaken—tonight is a car race; he should have gone with him, should have been by Ji Qi's side.

Why trust an internal spy no longer under his command? Why presume to be clever, thinking he could control everything?

Bai Ze raised his hand, a single shot felled the assassin, and with his trusted aide waiting outside, he sped toward the race venue.