Stunt Driving

"Did you say the president of Oscorp wants to see me right now?" Luo Xia thought he must have misheard. It was already nearly five in the afternoon.

"I'm terribly sorry, Commander. You asked me to arrange it as soon as possible, so when I made the appointment, I said any time would work. But I just received word from President Osborn's secretary that he's catching a flight to Washington, D.C. in twenty minutes, and won't be back in New York for a month," Violet explained.

That was awkward. Osborn Tower was quite a distance from Hell's Kitchen, and even if he drove there now, he might not make it in time. And Luo Xia was covered from head to toe in filth from the sewers, with a stench strong enough to knock out a husky. They probably wouldn't even let him into Osborn Tower looking like that.

Luo Xia made a snap decision. Using the AllSpark, he summoned Luo Fei to hurry over, then rushed home to change. He took a shower at the breakneck speed he'd learned back in the army, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and headed out.

As luck would have it, Luo Fei had already arrived, having raced over as fast as he could.

One had to give Luo Fei credit. He might be a bit of a goofball, but when it mattered, he was reliable. Especially with driving skills that were practically a stunt show, he could get Luo Xia to Osborn Tower in the shortest possible time.

Luo Xia opened the door, plopped into the passenger seat, and said to Luo Fei, "Osborn Tower. We've got about fifteen minutes."

"Don't worry, Commander. Just sit back and watch me work."

The engine roared. Tires screeched, and Luo Xia felt an intense force shove him back against his seat.

The scenery outside flew past. In just one second, Luo Fei had accelerated to a hundred kilometers per hour.

A blast of energetic music filled the car. Just as Luo Xia was wondering if Luo Fei had developed a taste for nightclub electronica, lyrics with an explosive rhythm burst into his ears.

"Climb aboard the speeding train like a steed at full gallop, the stations and railway tracks are our battlefield for killing the enemy. Ride the train and man the machine gun, ram the train and blow the bridge! Like a steel blade piercing the enemy's chest, we'll make the Japanese tremble with fear!"

Luo Xia: "..."

Sure enough, Luo Fei still liked revolutionary old songs. But could he please stop remixing them into some wild nightclub version? If he couldn't help himself, even turning it into a rap would be less jarring!

But Luo Xia soon had no time to complain. The first red light was just ahead. At Luo Fei's current speed, they'd have to stop in ten seconds.

It wasn't rush hour, but there were still plenty of cars on the road. Judging by the length of the line, they'd probably have to wait through two lights to get through.

"Luo Fei, we're in a hurry. Find a way through," Luo Xia ordered.

"Of course. Have you ever heard of a legendary driving technique?" Luo Fei said smugly.

"Is it called Cyclone Magnum Tornado?" Violet cut in.

"No, this is my original Sideways Passage technique. Watch closely!"

As soon as Luo Fei finished speaking, Luo Xia felt a sudden jolt on the car's left side, as if they'd hit something. The entire vehicle bounced into the air.

But the force of the jump seemed precisely controlled. It lifted the left side of the SUV without flipping it over or letting it drop back down.

To anyone watching, it looked as though the SUV had suddenly come to life, raising its left side while continuing forward at a hundred kilometers per hour.

The long line of cars filled both lanes, leaving a gap between them that was nowhere near wide enough for an SUV to pass through.

But Luo Fei lifted the vehicle onto its right wheels and somehow miraculously squeezed through between the two lines of cars. Driving on two wheels was the kind of dazzling stunt one saw in car shows. No one seemed crazy enough to use it to beat a red light.

Humans wouldn't dare, but Luo Fei had the skill and the nerve!

Still airborne, Luo Xia could already imagine countless drivers staring in astonishment, their mouths hanging open.

The world record for the highest speed driving on two wheels was over 180 kilometers per hour. Luo Fei wasn't going that fast, but he was still doing nearly 150.

And the stretch between the two lines of cars was well over two hundred meters, far beyond the world record for the longest distance driven on two wheels.

As everyone gazed at him like a driving god, Luo Fei reached the front of the line just as the light turned green. He hadn't even run the red!

"Impressive! Nice work, Luo Fei!" Luo Xia praised him sincerely.

"Hahaha! Bet that was even better than Victory Magnum Tornado and Cyclone Magnum Tornado!" Luo Fei said smugly to Violet.

"Fine, I'll admit you did well this time. But I'd personally suggest changing your music library. You could listen to Hatsune and Luo..."

Before Violet could finish, Luo Fei switched off Song of the Railway Guerrillas. A stirring, resonant chorus rang out: "We walk on the broad road, spirited and full of fighting spirit. Led by the Party, our revolutionary ranks cut through every obstacle and charge ahead. March forward, march forward, the might of the revolution cannot be stopped! March forward, march forward, toward victory, our red flag flutters in the wind!"

The song We Walk on the Broad Road made Violet give up on advising Luo Fei about his musical tastes. This wasn't a generation gap; it was a chasm between an otaku from the world of anime and an old revolutionary comrade.

Meanwhile, Luo Xia wondered, Did I ever hear this song in my past life?

The rest of the trip went smoothly. Violet gave up on commenting about the car's music and focused on using S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources to access every camera along the route to Osborn Tower.

They had a clear view of the road conditions, and even the timing between traffic lights was calculated precisely. Luo Fei chose a route with relatively little traffic and raced along at nearly two hundred kilometers per hour, never stopping once, until they reached Osborn Tower.

He made a flawless ninety-degree drift in front of the parking lot, gliding neatly into a parking space and leaving only a few perfect tire tracks on the ground.

Luo Xia got out and checked the time. They'd arrived five minutes early.

After straightening his clothes, which had gotten a little rumpled during the drive, Luo Xia headed for Osborn Tower.

Thanks to that impossibly cool drift, people couldn't help turning to stare as Luo Xia walked by. Oscorp was a famous company in New York, like Stark Industries, primarily focused on military contracts, but it also had considerable achievements in biotechnology.

At a major corporation like this, the people constantly coming and going were all impeccably dressed "successful people" and "social elites." They talked about the Dow Jones Index and government budget reports, and even opening their own car doors would have been beneath them.

Luo Xia's flashy arrival was completely out of place. When he reached the main entrance of Osborn Tower, a security guard stopped him.