Volume Two: Life-or-Death Race in the Northern Frontier - The Past (Part Two)

The very next day--

One hundred meters before the finish line

The engine exploded with a roar.

The car crashed violently into the guardrail.

Flames and thick smoke filled the air.

Thousands of spectators screamed in terror.

Ally just stood in the stands, staring blankly at everything.

The next few days passed in a daze.

Ailin kept crying.

Ally, she can't even cry anymore.

Why is this happening?

It was clearly a large-scale project that had been in preparation for a long time.

Mingming's father was already certain of victory.

It's clearly the team's best and most decorated race car.

Why, why, why--

Etc,

Ultimately, was this really just an accident?

Everyone was saddened at Elton's funeral.

Without their leader, the team members, who were usually full of confidence, were all listless and dejected.

Ally is the same.

My mother passed away when I was very young.

And the father I admired most, loved most, and trusted most, lost his life just like that.

The goal I had longed for and worked hard for since childhood just vanished suddenly.

It's not just sadness.

More than anything, there was helplessness.

The sudden disappearance of her role model in the accident left Ally feeling as if a huge hole had been dug in her heart.

It's not just our beloved family members we've lost.

And there's the direction you're heading.

"Everyone should have a map in their heart, a map that can lead them through the wilderness" -- this is my father's motto, and also the first life lesson he taught me.

However, this map disappeared with his death.

Confused, Ally looked around aimlessly at the funeral, as if she were trying to find her way forward in the crowd.

Then, she noticed something unusual.

Everyone was sad, except for one person.

Alba Sena stood at the furthest point from the coffin, watching everything with a half-smile.

The funeral is over.

After seeing off her father's body, Ally ignored the surprised looks of the people and pushed through the crowd, running as fast as she could.

The deep hole in my heart disappeared without me even realizing it.

It was filled with a kind of burning yet tainted emotion—

As they ran, fewer and fewer people joined them. By the time they caught up, only the two of them remained on the road.

"Alba!!!!!!"

The thin, blond man paused, slowly turned around, and looked at her with cold eyes.

"Hmph... Ally, what's wrong?"

"You're asking me what's wrong..." Ally's voice trembled violently as she desperately suppressed her anger, which was already on the verge of exploding.

"You did it, didn't you?!"

"... I don't understand what you're saying."

The only response was a cold, indifferent voice.

"Stop pretending!"

Ally rushed to Alba in three strides, glaring at him fiercely as if she were about to tear him to pieces.

"Why did the Iron Wolf suddenly break down? What were you doing in the garage last night?!"

Dead silence.

In an ear-piercing silence, the uncle and niece stared at each other speechlessly.

"Ha..."

Alba broke the silence with a strange laugh.

"Ha... hahaha... hahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!"

The grotesque laugh turned into a savage grin, and Alba's laughter echoed through the deserted streets, a mixture of ecstasy and madness.

"As expected, you caught me after all!"

The laughter stopped abruptly, but the sinister smile remained. Alba stared at the young girl with cruel eyes.

"You... it really is you..."

"That's right, I did it! All this time, that arrogant bastard Elton has been putting me down. As long as he's around, no one will acknowledge me or take me seriously! But I just took him out with a little trick, hahaha! But what can you do about it?"

"I... I'm going to expose you!"

"Expose me? Where's the evidence? Can you prove I was in the garage last night? Even if you can prove I was in the garage, how can you prove I tampered with it?"

Ally was speechless.

Indeed, she had no evidence. People frequently entered and exited the warehouse during the day, and the maintenance tools of the Iron Wolf were often used. Moreover, the Iron Wolf itself was already scrapped, making it impossible to find any trace of him tampering with it.

"So, stop talking about things you can't do. Isn't that what your father taught you? Out of consideration for our relationship, I can let you live, but I advise you not to even think about revenge, because—"

Alba's sinister grin vanished, replaced by a cold expression, and he turned to leave.

"You're far from good enough."

The difference is too great.

These words, like a sharp sword, pierced deeply into the young heart.

Watching the thin figure recede into the distance, Ally stood still, her body trembling slightly, but not from simple anger or sadness, but from some emotion that transcended them.

That was hatred.

From that moment on, the carefree and innocent girl Ally disappeared.

Instead, there is Ally Senna, a race car driver driven by hatred and obsession.

"This is the whole story."

After finishing her long story, Ally took a big gulp of an unknown beverage, collapsed heavily onto the bed, and looked quite complicated.

The past was too heavy for Givinia to bear, and for a moment she didn't know what to say.

... That won't do.

"You still haven't told us how that once-glorious racing team fell to this state."

"!?"

Ally, Ailin, and Givinia all stared at me in astonishment, their eyes wide as if they were looking at a monster, making me feel a little uncomfortable.

Well, there's nothing we can do about it. Generally speaking, people tend to keep quiet in these situations because of the heavy atmosphere. Others might offer a few words of comfort out of humanitarian concern, while only a few truly talkative people will try to console the heartbroken.

However, regardless of which of these three scenarios it is, there is no option of "continuing to reopen old wounds in order to uncover the truth," which is probably why they are looking at me with such surprise.

But so what?

"I'm sorry this might remind you of sad things—but I think it's necessary for me to understand the past, so please." To ease the tension, I used a slightly softer, but actually firmer, tone this time.

People from different perspectives can't truly understand each other—I've known this for a long time. She's the one who suffered misfortune, not me; her father died, not mine. I've never had a similar experience, so—this has nothing to do with indifference or heartlessness—even if I heard about her tragic past, I still couldn't truly understand her feelings at this moment.

If you can't understand something, even the sweetest words of comfort are just lies.

Usually, I would put on a very sad expression at times like this, but this time... I have something else I want to know, so I can't worry about that.

"Ah... okay, I'll tell you..."

A little confused, Ally continued reminiscing.

The team was built by Elton, and without its key figure and Chief mechanic, Ferruggio Silver Wolf Team was immediately weakened. Elton was not only the captain but also one of the world's top drivers; no one in the entire team could replace him.

With their own strength greatly diminished, and their arch-rivals remaining as strong as ever, unsurprisingly, the team suffered a series of defeats in the following races, failing to even place several times. Adding to their woes, numerous formidable rivals from previous years gloated and took advantage of their misfortune, subjecting the team to brutal pressure both on and off the track, further exacerbating their situation. Over time, no one even dared to take on the captaincy.

It was at this time that Ellie, who was Ally to take revenge on Alba, stepped forward and took on the responsibility. She transformed her grief for her father and her resentment towards Alba into strength, training day and night. At only nine years old, she showed amazing talent, to the point that many people believed she could become the next Elton.

However, no matter how talented she was, she was still just a child, and her age was far too young to compete, so it was impossible for her to represent the team. Time waits for no one, and there wasn't enough time for her to grow and mature, so the team continued to decline and achieve dismal results.

The sponsors were the first to lose confidence, followed by the members who hadn't been with the team long, each offering various excuses to leave. Next came the core members of the team: the smiling navigator uncle, the cheerful logistics auntie, and all those kind people from the past finally gave up, applying to leave with extremely apologetic expressions.

Many people expressed their willingness to adopt the sisters, but Ally hoped they would only adopt Ailin and leave her with the car team. Since the older sister wouldn't leave, Ailin naturally wouldn't either, and the two sisters continued to struggle to make ends meet.

After a year of struggling to survive, the largest shareholder—who was also her father's old friend—finally withdrew his investment, leaving only the two of them in what was once a huge world-class team.

However, Ally did not cry, never. The raging fire still burned in her heart, and her strong obsession sustained her.

Her path has remained unchanged, except that in addition to "avenging Alba," she now has the added goal of "reviving the team."

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The second season of Oregairu is rushing the plot again... (sigh!)

However, Rekan was surprisingly good.