Damn, Ryan Ling's face turned pale—being a hero is seriously a pain in the ass.
"System, hurry up and help me out!" Ryan yelled in his mind.
The system didn’t respond.
"Bro, someone’s about to die here—get your ass out here now!"
Still no response from the system.
"Come on, man, that knife is literally inches from me! Don’t you want your salary?"
Suddenly, the system finally reacted.
"System encountered a brief crash. Please try again in five minutes. Thank you!"
"Are you kidding me? Five minutes? I’d be stabbed a hundred times by then!" Ryan couldn’t help but yell, "System, I’m docking all your pay, I’ll dock it until you cry!"
Across from him, the green-haired punk froze, completely baffled that Ryan would say such nonsense at a life-or-death moment.
But just as the guy hesitated for a split second, Seven Wang, like a furious lion, tackled the green-haired punk to the ground.
"Feng, run!" Seven Wang shouted.
Ryan didn’t hesitate—he bolted out of there.
But instead of running away, he grabbed two washbasins and started banging them like crazy in the hallway.
"Murder! Murder! Somebody help!"
Thanks to Ryan’s quick thinking, in a flash, a whole crowd of nosy neighbors poured into the hallway. With the doorway blocked, even the green-haired punk didn’t dare make a move.
He didn’t get physical again, but still shouted, "You can crowd all you want, but Seven Wang owes me a hundred grand. No matter what, he’s paying up today!"
"That’s right! He was dumb enough to race our bro Zhao and lost, then wouldn’t admit it. Shouldn’t he get a beating?"
The green-haired punk and his crew started retelling the whole story, each chiming in with their own version.
Seven Wang clenched his fists, insisting he’d been framed. He only raced Li Zhao for money because he was desperate—his daughter Molly’s grandma had suddenly gotten seriously ill and needed a ton of cash. With no money, and egged on by Li Zhao, he relied on his old racing skills and pride, but didn’t expect them to sabotage his car.
The thugs got more and more fired up, and Zack Li lost his temper—he grabbed Seven Wang’s old racing trophy off the shelf and smashed it on the floor, cursing that Seven was all reputation and no skill, just a sore loser.
Seven Wang stared at the shattered trophy, eyes red with anger. Molly Wang hid behind her dad, face pale with fright.
Seeing this, Ryan Ling couldn’t stand it anymore. Zack Li might technically have a point, but he was clearly out to ruin Seven Wang’s reputation.
Right then, Ryan suddenly remembered his hearse, which the system had modified. The system had said its performance now totally outclassed any race car.
On impulse, Ryan stepped in front of Seven Wang and Molly Wang and said, "Enough with the trash talk. So what if you won the race? Want to take me on instead? Double the stakes—two hundred grand!"
Hearing Ryan suddenly spout off, Seven Wang hurried to stop him. "Feng, don’t say stuff like that. Stay out of this!"
But before Seven Wang could finish, Zack Li jumped in: "Too late, you said it—no takebacks! I’ll race you, but if you bail, I’ll come after you for Seven’s hundred grand!"
"Fine, come after me then! Tonight, we race—whoever chickens out is dog-born!" Ryan shot back, pounding his chest.
"You’ve got guts. Tonight, Autumn Ridge Pass. I’ll be waiting!" Zack Li grinned, already plotting Ryan’s downfall. With that, he and his crew left.
Once the troublemakers left, the other neighbors cleared out too, all shaking their heads at Ryan’s impulsiveness.
"Feng, you really shouldn’t have gotten involved. Zack Li is the most notorious street racer in Harbor City right now. Racing him is suicide." Seven Wang blamed himself for dragging Ryan into trouble, apologizing over and over.
"It’s fine, Seven. I know what I’m doing, trust me!" Ryan wasn’t worried—he had the system on his side, basically a cheat code. But first, he needed to get in touch with it.
...
As soon as Ryan got back to his rented room, the system finally "came back to life."
"Yo, bro, what’s up? Sorry, I crashed earlier!" the system apologized.
"Crashed? You charge me ten grand a month, and you still crash? I’m docking your pay!" Ryan snapped.
"Bro, don’t dock my pay! It’s tough making a living, you know? Docking my salary would break my heart! Just tell me what you need, I’ll do anything!" The system instantly played the pity card.
"What a total money-grubber!" Ryan didn’t bother arguing and quickly filled it in on what happened.
The system grinned and said it was no big deal—just head over and start modifying the hearse, and victory was guaranteed.
Ryan nodded, satisfied, and didn’t bother resting—he rushed straight back to Harbor City Funeral Home.
Back at Harbor City Funeral Home, it was just dusk and the huge parking lot was totally empty.
The system didn’t hesitate—it started modifying the hearse right away. After a wild burst of sparks and lightning, the transformation was complete.
"Hop in, bro! You’re gonna love it!" the system said, full of confidence.
Ryan eagerly climbed in, floored the gas, and the hearse roared like a fighter jet.
"Holy crap, is this even a car anymore?" Ryan shouted, thrilled.
"It’s clearly not just a car anymore. Now it’s got the power of a celestial stallion!" the system bragged.
"What? A celestial stallion? That’s sick!" Ryan was even more hyped. His status panel instantly updated: Beast-Mode Hearse—top speed 300 km/h.
Holy hell, Ryan’s eyes nearly popped out—this thing was basically ready for takeoff.
Zack Li wants to race me? He’s just asking to get wrecked!
Ryan didn’t hesitate—he floored it and the hearse shot out of the parking lot so fast it practically "took off." Ryan couldn’t help but scream.
The fat guy had just finished dinner and came back, stunned by what he saw. In his heart, he couldn’t help but think: Driving a hearse like a fighter jet—kid, the captain’s spot on the hearse team will be yours one day.
...
Night fell over Harbor City. At the entrance to Autumn Ridge Pass, a dozen luxury sports cars were parked by the roadside, some revving their engines now and then.
"Zhao-ge, our crew’s all here. You think that kid’s too scared to show?" one of the punks asked, puffing on a cigarette.
"Relax. If he chickens out, I’ll make him pay tomorrow. I already checked—his name’s Ryan Ling, senior at Harbor City High, Class 3-1. Where’s he gonna run?" Zack Li sneered. Seven Wang already owes him a hundred grand, and now some idiot wants to race for two hundred—easy money.
The other street-racing punks all laughed. A broke high school kid obviously had no power—this cash was as good as theirs.
Meanwhile, in the bushes nearby, Seven Wang was clenching his fists, staring at Zack Li. It was all his fault, and he couldn’t let Ryan get dragged in.
Gripping his long-unused hunting shotgun, Seven Wang had already decided to risk it all against Zack Li. He’d sent Molly Wang back to her aunt in their hometown, so he had nothing left to lose.
Zack Li was still smoking and mocking him nonstop. In his eyes, Seven Wang wasn’t even worth dog crap. Thinking of his shattered trophy, Seven Wang flipped off the safety and aimed the gun at Zack.
Let this grudge end with one of us tonight.
"Damn it, we’ve been waiting half an hour. Is that kid really not coming? Did he just play us?" One of the punks checked his watch and tossed his cigarette, getting pissed.
"Son of a bitch, he really did play me. Tomorrow I’m breaking that kid’s legs." Zack Li snapped, cursing.
"Bastard, you’re not seeing tomorrow!" Seven Wang said, finger tightening on the trigger.
But just then, a creepy, haunting funeral dirge echoed from not far away—a ghostly hearse was speeding toward them...