Chapter 63: Rev and Save (1).
Carl and I just sat, doing nothing other than waiting for the other participants to come. Our wait was not that long as Cesar came after an hour of our wait.
"Gee Cabron, Why are you waiting here? Didn't I messaged you the time of the race. then Why are you here so early?" Cesar asked Carl as he got off his car.
"I know but we were already here when you messaged me the time."
"We?" Cesar was confused then he looked at me.
"He is a friend of mine, he will be the one driving the car in the race on my behalf." Carl said to Cesar while pointing towards me.
"You mad ese. We need to win the race and you are putting it all on the shoulders of your Ori-Orie-..." Cesar stuttered in saying a word to describe me.
"Oriental." I helped him.
"Yes, Oriental Friend of yours. Are you even taking this race seriously Carl?" Cesar reprimanded Carl for not participating in the race himself.
Cesar knew Carl's driving skills as he himself lost to Carl in a race which was organized in Los Santos. They can win this race if Carl show his skills. The only problem is complicated track of this off-road race but if Carl concentrates enough then nothing is going to stop them from winning.
But now Carl is saying he will let this unknown stranger to drive for him in the race. This was not acceptable by Cesar. They need the money the most at this moment as they living like a refugee in this countryside and here Carl is putting that money on an unknown person and they don't know if the person can even win this race.
"I know you want the money from the race. You don't have to worry about the money as I have $50K with me. We are here just to make a good acquaintances with the Organizer of this race." Carl explained out true intentions to participate in this race.
"Wait? How did you got all this money? Even if you robbed a few places with my cousin. You cannot amass this much. Carl tell me what is happening." Cesar demanded an explanation after listening to the amount of money Carl have. ($50K in 1992 is a lot, equivalent to nearly $100K and these guys are living in poverty in the countryside)
Carl explained Cesar, how I helped in curbing the ambush of Ballas on GSF; how did he got the money from me after I helped him 'settle' in the countryside and finally about my 'identity'. He obviously excluded the part of me and him meeting again at Catalina's house and how Catalina ended.
Cesar quickly came to me after Carl completed his explanation. I know he is a man with a good head on his shoulders so he must be doubting the Jackie Chan part. I readied myself to properly explain my real identity to someone in this world.
'Finally.. Someone who is smart enough to distinguish between me and Jackie Chan.'
Cesar stood in front of me. He extended his hand for a handshake,
"Nice to meet you sir. Me and my girlfriend are huge fan of yours. I never thought a big person like you will help small-time gangsters like us. But still thanks for helping Carl...
I wish...
She....
We will definitely win this race." Cesar started spouting things that I didn't wanted to listen. So I started ignoring whatever he was saying after he believed in that bullshit. Cesar is now in the list of fools with the names of Sweet and Carl already on the list.
'I thought he will be different from these two brothers but he is the same. All these gang-bangers are pure idiots.'
"Yeah. We will definitely win." I said with no enthusiasm on my face. I just repeated the last line Cesar said, to not look rude by not replying to him.
After that, Cesar maintained his distance from me as he really thinks I am a celebrity and I should be given some private space. He and Carl went on the discussion about their respective gangs and how is the situation Los Santos.
....
After 45 minutes of waiting, people started appearing at the starting point of the race. There was huge crowd to watch the race. There are limited sources of entertainment in the countryside so they may have taken this race as one of the sources for their enjoyment.
All these people were dressed in typical countryside clothing like denim jeans, plaid shirts, cowboy hats and some were even shirtless but one thing was common in all of them, they were cheering for the drivers with a great enthusiasm. They just wanted a nice and entertaining race. But the way of cheering was a bit different.
"FUCK YEAH!!! THA ONE WHO WINS THE RACE, GETS MAH DAUGHTER AND HERE IS MAH SON AND HER BROTHER, HE CAN JUSTIFY THAT SHE IS STILL FRESH AND GOOD.."
"I WILL GIVE YA MY PIG IF YA WIN..YES YOU MR. WANKERFACE... Yeah the one with cap.. YEAH, I am talkin' to you..." The man pointed to a driver who wore a cap. I was glad he didn't addressed me with that name.
...
The audience cheered the participating drivers in their own ways by promising some rewards but nobody cheered for us and the reason for this was our car. All the participants had a muscle car or a car specifically for speed on the off-road but here I and Carl are standing near to our Rancher. Even if the speed is less, it is by the best car for off-road travel.
"I am telling you Mr. Chan. Do your magic thing and bring out a fast car. This Rancher is not it. Even the audience don't like us now after they saw our car." Carl came close to me and whispered into my ears.
What he said is right. Rancher is not going to fit in a race when competing against these muscle cars. It's not like I don't have a cheat for Spawning Racing Car but the grip of the tires with the ground will be very low as this is not a race with dedicated track for racing. That's why I only need a car with a good balanced car which performs well on off-roads.
And about the speed, There is something I have which will help us during the race.
"Don't worry about the cheering and jeering of the audience. It is never constant.... they swing towards the one who performs well. So just focus on doing well and the audience will cheer for you automatically ... Or are you interested in the offer of getting the daughter that man is going to give to the winner." I teased Carl.
"Nah man. I had enough of this relationship game. I need a break from all of this." Carl made a cross with his fingers. It seems Catalina left a serious scar on Carl's mind.
"Why don't you seek a long term relationship like marriage or something?" I asked him. I was really curious about this. In game, Carl had around 6 girlfriends (excluding Catalina) in the entire state of San Andreas, but he was never close to any one of them. Just date and fuck. That's it.
'Maybe I can change this.'
While I was thinking who will be the best 'waifu' material for Carl from the 6 candidates (to-be-girlfriends from the game), several people in black coats approached me and Carl.
"We have never seen you in our previous meetings. Where are you from friends?" An Asian Man in black suit with black shades asked. He seemed to be the main person of this group, as two girls were holding him from either side and other people were acting like his guards.
"Grove Street Families, Los Santos." Carl was the one who replied.
"Tough Place, Tough People. Well you don't have to worry about me questioning you, I was just asking to check whether you work with the police or not. Wu Zi Mu but people call me Woozie." Woozie extended his hand for a handshake but it was not in the direction of Carl neither in mine but it was directed towards somewhere between us.
Carl looked at me and I looked at him, as he didn't knew how to respond to this. He was looking at Woozie with a weird gaze but I am pretty much okay with this because I know his secret and the truth.
Woozie is a blind person with extraordinary senses which only works when he is driving or shooting but it is completely ineffective when it comes to walking without a stick or communicating with people as it is currently happening in front of us. He tries to hide his blindness and acts like a normal person but fails sometimes which blows his cover. Woozie is also talented in Video Games despite his blindness.
"Shido Kanzaki." I said and shook Woozie's extended hand.
"Carl Johnson, CJ for short."
"Well you should know the rewards by now. Cash or Pink Slip, Racer's Choice. So Gentlemen get your car started. The race is about to start. And I wish you two the best of luck." Woozie said and then left with his entourage.
"That man was weird." Carl said to me after Woozie left.
"Maybe he is weird but he is the organizer of the race, so be careful what you say of him. We don't want to lose our backer before we even make acquaintance with him." I warned him as I don't want Carl to ruin this opportunity just by saying something stupid.
"Let's go. The Race is about to start." I said and entered the car.
.....
The cars were lined in the usual race configuration of two rows and various cars in each row. Our car was at the end of the row.
Everyone was revving up their engines, making those loud sounds from those American-made Muscle Cars. These sounds were like a pleasant music to the audience as they cheered more and more as the revving noises increased.
I was sitting on the Driver's seat with Carl on the passenger seat besides me. He was nervous looking at all these muscle cars which we are competing against. He again tried to convince me to change cars before we lined up but it was futile as I have already made my mind on this.
A girl with a flag in her hand, wearing a very skimpy dress, came and stood in front of the lined cars. She took a seductive pose and started the countdown.
"3....2.....1 GO!!!!" She shouted and then threw the flag in her hands.
The cars which were 'roaring' now, gave a last roar and rushed from their lined up positions, marking the start of the race. The cars passed by the girl's left and right, while she stood in the middle of all these 'roaring' muscle cars. Some drivers even slapped her butt when they were passing by her.
All the cars have already left the starting position with the exception of one. A Rancher can be seen standing alone on the starting point. The audience started jeering the Rancher.
"What are you doing Mr. Chan? The race has already started. Drive the car." Carl shook me by grabbing my shoulder.
"I know Carl. But we have to wait for some time."
"The race has already begun. We were already in the disadvantage with this trash car, now we haven't even started while the others may have crossed quarter of the track." He whined but I didn't listened to it.
Some time passed. I think now is a good time.
[BGM: Immigrant Song // By Led Zeppelin]
{NATURALTALENT} - Maximum Driving Skill
[Cheat Activated]
After the cheat activated, the effect started taking place. I felt like this car is an extra limb of mine which I can perfectly control. I started revving up the engine for some time and after that, the car started moving forward.
The Rancher's speed is not too much alone so I activated the assistance I had planned before the race started.
{SPEEDFREAK} - Cars have Nitro
[Cheat Activated]
I activated the nitro and the speed of the car increased dramatically, capable to compete or outclass the muscle cars participating in the race. Our car was moving too fast for an off-road car but I had the Perfect Handling with the help of the cheat.
Carl was having a difficult time adjusting himself because of the sudden increase in speed. But he somehow adjusted himself,
"If you were going to do this, then you should've done in the start of the race."
To reply to him, I just made a 'look forward' gesture with my head. He complied and he looked through the windshield.
He saw two cars crashed into each other on the side of the track and completely totaled (Totally beyond repair or entirely wrecked).
I ignored that and continued driving, We reached a bridge that connects two cliffs and in between the cliffs goes a river. When we were crossing the bridge, I pointed in downward direction. Carl followed where my finger pointed and he saw a car in the water. And two people floating near the drowning car.
"What are you trying to say? I cannot understand." He asked as he was confused even after I gave him two hints. I then started explaining while driving.
"The race course can be divided into 3 parts: Narrow River, Town, Hill Climbing.
In the Narrow River part, the path is very narrow and it runs along the river. The main problem is the uneven road. If the car gets hit by any other car or it simply loses its balance, then you will get thrown into the river. That is the reason for our late start, I didn't wanted to get hit any other car. The road is narrow and the cars hitting each other is bound to happen as it is inevitable to stop."
I concentrated on the driving again and now we are on the main road to the second part, The Town. The main problem here is the vehicles of normal citizens which are already on the road. Going in the wrong lane with fast speed is really a good obstacle. Woozie really put some good consideration in choosing the course.
My Rancher was doing fine. Everything looked good until there was a civilian car coming towards us on the road. I quickly turned the steering wheel to avoid the incoming car as I just passed by it. Controlling the Rancher to do tricky stuff with the Nitro on, is not a easy thing. We passed through many participants who have crashed into other vehicles of citizens.
But the problem has just started as more and more vehicles came into my way as we got closer to the town. I spun the steering wheel very hard, to avoid a truck which made a turn in front of my car without giving any signal.
'These Countryside Drivers are really reckless as in the game.'
The heavy turn to avoid the truck made the car lose balance and tilt towards one side to which I just needed to spin the steering in opposite side and the heavy weight of the Rancher facilitated in regaining the lost balance.
We entered the town and were now cruising through the roads of the town without any problem. But then came the trickiest section of the Town part, The Farms.
I coursed through the farms but the uneven and short walls and fence made it harder for me handle the car, as performing tricky cuts is not a thing for a normal Rancher, so I slowed down a bit to make the turns easier.
Alone in the farm, I could see most of the participants' either stuck in the fence or Cars crashed into the walls, wrecking the car.
The Farms is the eliminator part of the race. The Farms gives an illusion of open fields, where you can speed up to gain an advantage on others but these low-laying fences and walls acts as the grim reaper for all the cars which try to speed up without any thinking.
"Mr. Chan, Now we have to pass through two barns. Three Ways Possible: Through the barns, Around the barns and the middle of the barns" Carl said as he looked into the race course description given to the racers to know the course a bit better. Obviously the traps of fence and walls of Farms are not mentioned in that. It is my knowledge from my own experience when I played the game.
'Going Around the barn will take a long time, Middle of the barn needs handling as it is very narrow, I would have to slow down to pass through that, then that means.'
I saw the barns' gate closed in front of me. I didn't cared and rushed into the barn, crashing through the wooden gate and now we were inside the barn but Carl saw in front of the car, shocked him.
"WHY THERE IS A RAMP INSIDE A BARN??!!"
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