Volume Two: Life and Death at Speed in the North Realm, Chapter 157: The Final Stage

And so, the decisive battle finally arrived.

"Ailin, how is Sirius doing?"

"Although there are some flaws, they are no longer a major problem."

"A Ye, how are you feeling?"

"Adjusted to full status."

"Givinia, where's the map and the route?"

"It has all been thoroughly studied."

"Very good! Then--"

"Wait a moment!"

Emilia interrupted Ally.

"What's wrong? This is a very important departure declaration..." Ally, a little annoyed.

"No... didn't anyone wonder what it was before we set off?"

Emilia looked confused, pointing at me.

To be precise, it was that little thing that flew around me.

"Oh, you mean Little Butterfly?"

Little Butterfly is the name I gave it. Since I gave birth to it, it should have a name, even though the name was chosen very casually...

"So A Ye, I've actually been wanting to ask this for a while now... why is this butterfly so attached to you?"

"At first I thought it was a wild butterfly-shaped monster, but it doesn't quite look like one. Is it raised by Sister Ye?"

"A Ye is really popular."

"Actually, I found Little Butterfly by chance when I was resting. I don't know why, but she was very affectionate towards me, so I took her in as a pet," I lied.

"But this little guy is really beautiful! I've never seen such a beautiful butterfly before!" Tani Hana Mei's girlish nature seemed to be awakened, and she looked eager to try it out.

"Exactly, exactly! Since you have a competition anyway, why don't you let us raise them first?" Emilia exclaimed in admiration.

"I'll grab you!" Messiah, still in his wheelchair, reached out with both hands and swiftly attacked Little Butterfly. However, Little Butterfly flapped its wings and easily dodged, landing on my shoulder.

"They're really quick..."

"Alright, alright, you guys! This isn't the time to play with butterflies! Watch the time!"

Thump, thump, thump! Ally stomped her foot hard, finally drawing everyone's attention back.

In a small open space outside town, eight figures gathered together: me, Ally, Ailin, Givinia, Emilia, Tani Hana Hibiki, Tani Hana Mei, and Messiah.

Of course, there's also Sirius, which has suffered considerable new damage.

Emilia and Tani Hana Mei were still wrapped in bandages, Messiah, who had lost both legs, sat in a wheelchair, Tani Hana Hibiki's sleeves hung empty, swaying in the wind. It was truly heartbreaking to see four beautiful girls who were once a delight to behold in such a state.

Logically, given their physical condition, they should have stayed in the hospital for at least another two weeks. However, after hearing that our team was leaving this morning, Emilia and the other three outwitted the doctors and nurses and, after much effort, managed to escape the hospital to see us off.

I, Ailin, and Givinia were all deeply moved. Even Ally, who was proud to the core, acted coquettishly for once, hugging Emilia and crying her eyes out, leaving a large wet patch on her chest—of course, the sister-obsessed girl was unhappy, but she didn't show it.

"Anyway, Ally..."

Emilia walked up to Ally, bent down slightly, and looked her in the eye.

"Emilia ..."

"We've been rivals since we were very young, so I know your talent and strength all too well. I originally wanted to have a proper showdown with you in this competition, but unfortunately, that's not possible now..."

"No, you still--"

"So," Emilia interrupted Alice by placing a finger to her Ally, "If you don't work hard for me too, don't come back to see me."

The two gazed at each other silently for a long time, and then a smile gradually appeared on Ally's lips.

"Of course, do you need to tell me?"

Snap! Snap!

The two high-fived forcefully, and I could almost see the barrier that had always stood between them shatter in that instant.

On the day of the decisive battle, the sky was clear and cloudless, yet the people on the ground could barely feel the sunlight. This was because hundreds of light airships hovered overhead, a dark mass resembling a large, heavy cloud in the sky. Each airship bore the logo of a different media company, and all of these companies had dispatched their most famous reporters and presenters to provide full coverage of the battle.

Engai Forest is the fourth stage shared by all four routes, where the top riders from each stage gather to compete for the championship. Engai Forest covers a vast area, encircling the center of the Northern Boundary— Crystal Island. Although the heart of the Northern Boundary is dry and cold year-round, this forest remains unaffected, with all kinds of plants growing lush and green.

Strangely, although it is a forest, very few people have witnessed any animals roaming in it. There are no large carnivores, not even birds, rodents, or insects. Logically, an ecosystem lacking consumers should collapse quickly, but the Engai Forest has stood firm for countless years, which is a great mystery.

"Viewers outside the screen, you have finally witnessed this historic moment! The final stage of the Gray Starling Cup North Realm Rally has finally begun!"

The commentary, amplified countless times, echoed throughout the land. It was none other than the rally's Chief Executive Officer, Garde, who, despite his advanced age, was personally providing commentary, demonstrating the intense excitement of this final stage.

"Although the Engai Forest is called a forest, one of its most distinctive features is that the trees and the spacing between them are far greater than in ordinary forests! The average spacing between trees is over four meters, enough for race cars to pass through. Even so, this is definitely the most difficult section of the entire race! At high speeds, a four-meter gap passes in the blink of an eye, and coupled with the complex terrain, a slight miscalculation can cause a car to crash into a tree! However, if you slow down excessively to ensure safety, you will be overtaken immediately. How to decide this depends on the strength of each team!"

"Race number one is currently in the lead, followed by races number two, three, and four! Although the serious injury and withdrawal of the Abidal Beauties Team broke everyone's hearts, there are still strong runners to take their place on the course! At the forefront of the first group is the Vino Lions Team! The Noxar Team is right behind them! Look at their graceful and agile running style, they haven't slowed down at all despite the trees obstructing their path!"

On the screen, two race cars, one gold and one white, sped through the forest, flashing past giant trees and around hills like ghosts. These two steel beasts, each weighing two tons, were as agile as two cats, moving as fast as the wind!

On the other side of the screen, nearly twenty people huddled together, their eyes glued to the progress of the match.

"Sister Xiao, Sister Xiao, where is Sister Ye you mentioned? Why isn't she at the front anymore?"

"Have you forgotten that they were 31st at the end of the last stage? It seems they encountered a monster attack in the ruins or something... Anyway, those ranked lower can only start later, and they can't overtake those ahead in a short time." Si Nan Xiao shrugged helplessly.

"Oh... what a pity~"

"Look! Isn't that it?" A petite girl suddenly pointed to the bottom of the screen, her expression extremely excited.

The commentator's voice rang out at the opportune moment. "Now let's temporarily leave the leading group and turn our attention to the rear—oh, look! A silver-gray race car is overtaking with unstoppable momentum; that's... the biggest dark horse of Route 1, the Ferruggio Silver Wolf Team, who suffered a slight setback in Stage 3!!!"

On the screen, Sirius was almost at her limit; those with slightly poor dynamic vision could only see a blurry gray shadow. If Vino Lions and Noxar were dodging obstacles like ghosts, Ferruggio was truly walking on flat ground. She darted past giant trees with minimal movement, leaping over ravines and hills with jet propulsion, leaving the teams that had started earlier behind one after another. Sirius was getting closer and closer to the leading group!

"They're so amazing!"

"Sister Xiao, where is Sister Ye? I can't find her."

"Idiot, of course it's... um?"

... Disappeared?

Looking through the car window, the stunningly beautiful black-haired soju that had captivated everyone was gone, replaced by an even more gorgeous soju with pink hair, looks, and charisma.

Wait a minute, although the hair color is quite different, look at their facial features and body type...

"Nanananananni Xiao Ye dyed her hair!?"

Inside the Si Nan Family's new residence, the three siblings and other high-ranking family members were also intently watching the screen, their expressions quite tense.

However, their concern wasn't limited to Liu Ye's battle performance.

"Go for it, Ferruggio Silver Wolf Team... Whether our Si Nan Family can develop further depends entirely on you!" Si Nan Xing clenched his fists, his face flushed red.

"Don't say that, brother! It makes us sound so materialistic! Don't treat Xiao Ye like a money-printing machine!" said Si Nan Ying, the purple-haired girl standing to the side, dissatisfied.

"You have no right to talk about Big Brother like that. Didn't you secretly bet a huge sum of money on them last time?" Si Nan Ganming complained.

"That's a sign of support for Xiao Ye! What do you know!"

"After the initial success, I couldn't resist investing some money in the third stage, only to lose it all..."

No one expected that the dark horse of the first two stages would fail to even make the top 30 in the third stage.

"They'll make a huge profit first, then suffer a huge loss. If they ultimately win the championship, our Venture Capital return will be extremely substantial."

"Hey, I told you not to mention money! Just focus on the game!"

That's amazing.

Looking at Ally, who was completely absorbed, that was my only thought.

Her entire body moved in perfect unison, her timing impeccable; several times the car was just centimeters from trees and rocks, yet she didn't even blink. Ally Sena, this seemingly naive blonde girl, finally revealed her full driving prowess at this moment.

"Hey, A Ye," Givinia suddenly whispered in my ear.

"What's wrong? Focus on navigation."

"You don't need to worry about that, but you..."

"Um?"

"Giving birth must be hard."

"..."

She saw everything, just as expected!

"A virgin giving birth, and still a virgin after giving birth, tsk tsk, if this were the West Saint Continent where religion is prevalent, you'd probably be worshipped as Saintess."

"I think you should really try to change your voyeuristic tendencies... Wait, I'm still a virgin?"

"I can see anywhere with my projector! And your birthing process wasn't a normal delivery of a baby; it involved expelling 'blood containing offspring' from your body, and the offspring being born from that blood. This bizarre birthing method is so difficult to break."

"Stop talking about such morbid things... What do you think this butterfly is all about?" I looked at the butterfly lazily perched on my shoulder.

"I don't know... I consider myself to be exceptionally knowledgeable among my peers, but even I'm not sure."

"Is that so... then never mind."

If Givinia doesn't know either, then we can only wait and see.

The most important thing now is to finish the current match.

I gently touched my pocket, and inside was a piece of parchment folded into a small square. It was the medium that Huang Huo had given me to use for the 'forced contract'. As long as I stuck it on the Crystal Realm Fruit, the task would be completed.

"A Ye!"

Givinia suddenly cried out, her expression turning very strange, which startled me so much that I quickly pulled my hand back.

"What's wrong? Why are you so easily startled?"

My projector... seems to be malfunctioning!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday I saw someone in the book review section complaining that it would be better to just vomit it out... But please think about it carefully, the human esophagus and reproductive tract are not connected at all! And Ye Jiang isn't Piccolo Demon King, who vomits up the child!

Actually, I originally wanted Ye Jiang to be attacked by monsters in the underground ruins, accidentally break her cocoon, and then Little Butterfly would emerge from it and claim ownership as the protagonist's... but then I thought that would be way too boring.

Then I thought about spitting it out... but then I imagined Ye Jiang suddenly vomiting a pool of blood and then Little Butterfly appearing... what a hilarious scene! Pass!

Then I thought of the classic Xenomorph birth method of bursting out of its body... That seems good, but is it really necessary for a mother and daughter to fight so fiercely?! How could Ye Jiang possibly have maternal instincts towards a bug that just bursts out of its body?!

Therefore, as the saying goes, it's best to have only one child... (runs away)

By the way, don't ask me who the father of the child is! Little Butterfly only obtained a body by borrowing Ye Jiang's body, which is a bit like possession, so there's no father involved!

If I had to imagine the child's father, I'd say it's me—a handsome, dashing, slender, big-eyed author who can write well and even do otaku dances... (runs away)