Tokyo Drift Arc (19)

Tokyo Drift Arc (19)

Zhang Heng saw Takeda Tetsuya again in the final ten minutes before the race began.

The latter stood by the highway with the short man, looking grave. Zhang Heng also spotted Ameko. The girl was inside a blue Toyota Voxy, her hands and feet tied and her mouth sealed with tape. When she saw Zhang Heng, she began struggling, but someone beside her quickly shut the door.

"Mr. Tsuchiya, we've let you see your daughter as requested. Can we begin now?" the short man said.

Without a word, Tsuchiya Yosuke climbed into the Dodge Viper beside him. The short man smiled and said to Zhang Heng, who had arrived last, "Didn't you ask how many people would be racing tonight, where it would be held, and what the rules were? I'll tell you now. The three of us will be playing tonight. The location is right here, on this stretch of highway. The rules are those of a death race. Since you may not know much about what happened twenty-two years ago, let me explain a little more.

"The three of us will drive against traffic on this highway. Whoever reaches the finish line first wins. Of course, that alone would be far too boring, so I've decided to add a small extra condition. The windshields of all three cars have been frosted to a certain extent, and they can no longer be rolled up or down freely."

As he spoke, the short man picked up a huge wrench and smashed it hard against the front of the Nissan 180SX.

"I've always thought headlights were useless. Better to get rid of them." As soon as he finished speaking, the headlights of the L300 and Dodge Viper were smashed as well. Then the short man opened the door and grinned at Zhang Heng. "Finally, if you need to use the bathroom, you'd better hurry. Once you get in, the doors will be welded shut. They can only be opened again at the finish line."

Zhang Heng had already suspected something similar back at the factory, but when the answer was truly revealed, he still felt that the short man had gone mad. Especially when he sat in the driver's seat of the L300 and found the windshield before him completely blurred, unable to make out even a figure two meters away.

The people outside had already begun welding the doors shut. Even the Nissan 180SX driven by the short man was no exception. His voice came through the walkie-talkie on the passenger seat. "How is it, Mr. Tsuchiya? Did it bring back any pleasant memories?"

Though Tsuchiya Yosuke did not answer, his breathing made it clear that he was not as calm as he appeared. A moment later, Takeda Tetsuya spoke, offering only a simple sentence. "Stay close behind me."

Zhang Heng knew those words were meant for him. In this environment, the person leading the way was undoubtedly in the greatest danger. The conditions now were probably even worse than they had been twenty-two years ago.

Yet Takeda Tetsuya had not touched a steering wheel for more than twenty years because of his vow. He absolutely could not be in the same condition he had been at his peak twenty-two years ago.

In fact, only three minutes after setting off, Takeda Tetsuya scraped an oncoming Buick. Fortunately, he held the steering wheel steady, and the Dodge Viper did not overturn. But less than half a minute later, he nearly crashed into the guardrail on a bend.

The short man's mocking laughter came through the walkie-talkie. "What's wrong, Mr. Tsuchiya? Are you already done for? We haven't even covered a tenth of the route."

Takeda Tetsuya said nothing. He did not even have the spare attention to speak. Sweat ran down from the tip of his nose and dripped onto his jeans.

Visibility was simply too poor. It was already the middle of the night, there were no headlights, and everything beyond the frosted windows was a blur. He could only judge the position of oncoming cars by the headlights shining toward him, and that consumed an enormous amount of concentration. Before long, both his eyes and brain had reached their limits.

Takeda Tetsuya did not know how much longer he could hold on. Just as his breathing became increasingly ragged, the L300 that had been following behind him suddenly accelerated and passed him.

Zhang Heng's voice came through the walkie-talkie. "Let me lead. Rest for now. We'll switch back in four minutes."

Takeda Tetsuya had wanted to refuse, but he had truly overdrawn himself too severely. And Zhang Heng's calm voice sounded exceptionally dependable amid this insane race.

He was not stepping forward just to show off. Under these conditions, a driver's reflexes, observation, and ability to predict danger were all being tested, and young people undoubtedly held the advantage in that regard.

More importantly, luck seemed to be on his side tonight.

Zhang Heng took the Lucky Rabbit's Foot from his pocket and hung it in front of the rearview mirror.

His driving skills might have ranked last among the three of them, but in a race like this tonight, luck was what truly played the decisive role.

For a full two minutes, Zhang Heng did not encounter a single car.

Then the short man's voice came through the walkie-talkie again. "Back then, did Mr. Tsuchiya also do nothing but hide behind his teammate?"

A trace of shame appeared in Takeda Tetsuya's eyes. In the rearview mirror, Zhang Heng saw the yellow Dodge begin to sway from side to side, showing that Takeda Tetsuya's mind was already in turmoil.

The seafood shop owner gave a miserable smile. "If you want revenge for Asano Naoto, just come after me. Why drag other people into this?"

The short man snorted. "Didn't your grudge with Asano Naoto drag other people into it back then too?"

Zhang Heng's heart stirred. At that moment, the doubts that had been circling in his mind all along were finally resolved.

"You... aren't here to avenge Asano Naoto at all. You're here to avenge Kobayashi, aren't you?"

Silence fell over the other end of the walkie-talkie.

A moment later, the short man's voice rang out again. "Not bad. You actually managed to guess why I came."

"You disguised yourselves as members of Onitō and kidnapped Ameko just to force him into this race. There were more than just three people who knew about that race back then. Kobayashi told his mother about it? No, impossible. No one would tell something like that to his mother. So it was his younger sister... What is your relationship with his sister?"

The three modified cars sped down the highway. At two minutes and forty-two seconds, Zhang Heng encountered his first oncoming vehicle. He turned the steering wheel and swung the rear end around, and the L300 narrowly drifted past it.

Yet at that moment, Zhang Heng's mind was exceptionally calm. He thought of an utterly absurd possibility. "Wait, you... are Kobayashi's younger sister?"

The first time he met the short man, Zhang Heng had felt there was something off about him. Aside from his nearly feminine height and build, he was also the only one who had not exposed his tattoos. This group had put considerable effort into disguising themselves as members of Onitō. The reason the short man had not displayed his tattoos like the others was because he was even more afraid people would notice that he had no Adam's apple.

As for the voice, that was the simplest part. They were all wearing masks; it was merely a matter of using a voice changer.