Su Rui drove out of the city center and headed straight onto the highway.
He exited near the suburbs, then followed a newly built provincial road at a leisurely pace.
Before he had gone far, he saw several modified BMWs blocking the road ahead. Two or three young men with pink-dyed hair and hip-hop clothes leaned against the Car Doors, quietly chatting about something.
The sound of the Pagani's engine caught their attention.
They turned their eyes toward him, their expressions clearly puzzled.
"Didn't everyone already go up? Whose Pagani is that...?"
"Did someone arrive late?"
"Let's go ask!"
The two young men Looked at Each Other and walked toward Su Rui.
"Brother, you're not from the club, are you?" Seeing Su Rui's luxury car and unfamiliar face, the young man spoke politely. "The road ahead is closed. If you want to have some fun, come back next time."
Su Rui raised an eyebrow, his tone mild. "I already talked it over with Hao. Something came up, so I got here late. How about... I give Hao a call?"
"Brother Hao's friend?" The young man paused, then smiled. "I'll ask about it. Brother, wait a moment!"
Su Rui nodded.
"Hello, hello, can you hear me? A Pagani came up from the foot of the mountain. Says he's Brother Hao's friend. Yeah, unfamiliar face... pretty young..." One young man held a Walkie-talkie and moved far away, but with his extraordinary hearing, Su Rui still caught the contents of their conversation. "The license plate number is local... yeah, yeah!"
About thirty seconds later, the young man returned with a smile on his face.
"Brother, it's your first time here, right? I'll take you up! This newly built road has a lot of forks!"
Su Rui chuckled and shook his head. "No need. I know this road pretty well!"
The accelerator roared. The Pagani whipped up a gust of wind, passed the BMWs blocking the way, and vanished from everyone's sight.
"Whose young master was that?" After Su Rui had gone far away, one young man asked in confusion. "Why don't I remember him at all?"
"Do you think you get to know every friend Brother Hao makes?" The young man with the Walkie-talkie laughed. "What level are they at, and what level are we at? Just do our jobs properly!"
"True!" The young man nodded deeply in agreement. Then he looked at the cars by the roadside, eager to give it a try. "How about we take a lap too?"
"Forget it... We sent more than twenty supercars up the mountain today. Looking at our BMWs now, they're basically tractors..."
"That's true. Brother Hao really has connections... Any one of these friends is a top-tier figure."
"This is what they call wealthy socializing..."
The Pagani traveled along the Mountain Highway.
This was a newly built road that was not open to the public. Even the entire mountain region beneath it belonged to private property.
On a stretch of grassland carved out halfway up the mountain stood a luxurious villa.
More than twenty limited-edition Sports Cars were parked nearby, their engines running and occasionally letting out roaring revs.
Each of these cars was worth over twenty million on its own. Their suspension, engines, and control systems had all undergone extreme modifications, doubling the cost. They were genuine sky-high-priced supercars.
On the spacious platform atop the villa, Su Rui also spotted an aerial photography helicopter.
Prominent words were painted on its fuselage, identifying its affiliation.
CCS Supercar Club.
It had gathered nearly all the Wealthy Second Generation from Tongzhou City and several surrounding cities.
Naturally, the Pagani's arrival drew their attention.
Several young men standing at the villa entrance frowned. It seemed someone recognized where that car had come from.
"That looks like... a Mingzhu Company car."
"The Li family?"
"No, the Li family's situation is rather complicated," someone explained. "Although the chief executive of Mingzhu Company is the Li family's daughter, Mingzhu Company has nothing to do with Li Group. It is independent of Li Group and belongs solely to the Li family's daughter."
"Heh... a heaven's favored daughter starting from scratch, huh?" someone beside him laughed.
"The beautiful female executive is hundreds of times better than those debutante vases."
Standing at the front was an exceptionally refined young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses. He had a neat crew cut, and his pristine white shirt was completely spotless. Even his nails were trimmed with perfect precision. It was obvious that he was an extremely disciplined person.
Though he did not look very old, his eyes possessed a depth and steadiness that did not match his age.
The young men standing behind him all seemed to regard him as their leader.
His name was Wan Hao.
The owner of the CCS Supercar Club, and also the... leading figure among these circles of second-generation heirs.
"Brother Hao, you know someone from the Li family too?" someone beside him asked. "Didn't you always look down on their second son?"
Wan Hao narrowed his eyes and gently shook his head.
Because he saw the Pagani come to a stop, and the person who stepped out was an unfamiliar face.
Su Rui stretched lazily and waved in their direction as though he were already familiar with them.
He glanced around at the surrounding environment.
Mm, it was still so familiar.
"Brother Hao." Su Rui was quite polite as he walked over.
"We don't seem to know each other." Wan Hao raised an eyebrow. He had always heard that Mingzhu Group's chief executive was cold by nature and that hardly any man could get close to her. Yet now, an unfamiliar man had driven Li Mu's car straight into his club without a care in the world.
"Won't we know each other after meeting once?" Su Rui smiled.
"That makes sense..." Wan Hao nodded. The reason he had managed to gather so many Rich Second Generation in Tongzhou City was not merely his family's strength, but also his outstanding social skills. He extended his hand. "Wan Hao."
"Su Rui." Su Rui shook Wan Hao's hand.
"You came looking for me because of something?" Wan Hao asked, folding his arms across his chest.
"I want to take a few laps." Su Rui pointed to the rugged Mountain Highway, a calm smile on his face. He knew Wan Hao's personality and hobbies very well. "Brother Hao, surely you're not going to turn me away?"
Wan Hao was not a local of Tongzhou City, but a descendant of one of Capital City's top wealthy families.
His family's influence was astonishing. They even had a general with real authority. Compared to the families of Tongzhou City's Wealthy Businessmen, they were on an entirely different level.
Yet Wan Hao had not remained in Capital City. Instead, he had chosen to be "sent down" to Tongzhou City, where he leisurely opened a supercar club.
Wan Hao loved cars.
He had even spent enormous sums to purchase this mountain region, build mountain roads, and buy a helicopter, all just to enjoy the exhilarating thrill of racing freely through the wind.
That was why Su Rui had started with the cars.
"Heh... Anyone who comes looking for me, Wan Hao, is my friend." The moment Wan Hao heard Su Rui's purpose, he smiled. "But your car doesn't seem to have been modified. Its tires aren't suited for this kind of intense mountain road. The grip is too weak. If you go too fast, you could easily get thrown off!"
These mountain roads had only recently been built, and the safety measures were not yet complete. At certain bends, beyond the road lay a cliff nearly a hundred meters deep. If a car flew off while speeding, there would not even be bones left behind.
"If the hardware isn't enough, skill makes up for it." Su Rui raised a hand and pointed toward the distant mountain peak, speaking with complete calm. "I have nothing else, but my skills are good and my guts are big."
Wan Hao laughed despite himself.
"What is it, Brother Hao? Want to race a lap?" Su Rui smiled, drawing Wan Hao's emotions along step by step. "Consider it... a friendly spar between new friends after meeting."
Su Rui directly issued Wan Hao a challenge.
The scene fell quiet for a moment.
"Haha... Brother, you're challenging Brother Hao?" Someone in the crowd at the side looked astonished.
"You've really kicked an iron plate this time! Brother Hao has raced in the ROC!"
Race of Champions.
Every contestant was a world-class professional driver. ROC was a genuine clash at the pinnacle.
Wan Hao's ability was beyond doubt!
In all of Huaxia Nation, there were only a handful of drivers who could compete with him. They could be counted on one hand.
"We've been crushed for so long, and finally there's a newcomer who doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth challenging Brother Hao!" Someone began egging them on, the look in his eyes changing as he regarded Su Rui with mockery. "Come on, come on, everyone! Watch Brother Hao crush a noob!"
Wan Hao gently adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, and a faint, strange smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"You dare race me in an unmodified Pagani. You're the first person to dare look down on me like this!"
Wan Hao's tone was gentle, but Su Rui still heard the deeply hidden anger beneath it.
No one could blame him.
Being treated with such frivolous disdain in a field where one excelled would make anyone angry.
"I'll race you once. I hope you don't disappoint me!" Wan Hao expressionlessly shook his head. At this point, he was certain that Su Rui had come deliberately to cause trouble.
But who was he?
He had once fought world-class drivers on professional tracks. How could he possibly take Su Rui seriously?
"Little Han, go get my car!" Wan Hao ordered one of his followers, then looked at Su Rui again. "Don't worry, I won't bully you too badly. I'll let you see my taillights."
Su Rui spread his hands, smiling casually.
Before long, a Koenigsegg rolled over the road with an earth-shaking roar.
Slowly, it stopped beside the Pagani in the same position.
At a single glance.
Su Rui determined that the Koenigsegg had been modified. Its chassis was pressed extremely low, while its body seemed considerably heavier. Its center of gravity was remarkably stable.
Mountain roads were different from straight tracks. A car could not pursue speed alone; it also had to prioritize stability, or it would drift sideways through turns.
This car had likely been specially modified by Wan Hao for racing on mountain roads.
"The engine... has been modified too." Amid the roar, Su Rui heard a dull knocking sound. It was the sound of improved cylinder pistons operating, capable of increasing air intake.
It had to be said that Wan Hao truly deserved his title as a top driver.
Judging from this modified car alone, his skill was exceptionally high. He did not blindly pursue extreme speed, but selected the most suitable modifications according to the demands of the road conditions.
"I'll give you one last chance. Take back what you just said."
Wan Hao said blandly.
"I really don't have a habit of taking back words once I've said them." Su Rui smiled, turned around, and pulled open the Pagani's car door. "Brother Hao, please enlighten me!"
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