21 Ice! Ice! Ice!

@Once A Shadow was stunned, he had lost count of how many stunning stunts @Jack Walker had pulled today. Now, he was speechless seeing what had taken place before him - his whole body gone stiff.

All he could see before him was no longer the track of dirt and debris, but a trail of ice and snow as far as he could see. Now he understood, why exactly he had lost control of his vehicle's steering.

@Once A Shadow frowned at this situation, his brows knitted as his gaze sharpened. A very simple way for him to break out of this situation was to simply raise the friction of his tires with the ice.

He could do that by either increasing speed to a very terrifying rate, mimicking the Blazing Wheels skill - although it was a good plan as the overheating of his tires and the speed of his drive could tear through the ice, he also needed to put into consideration the idea of him ruining his wheels during the drive.

If the tires get ruined, then all his past effort would be wasted completely and he would be left to eat the dust of other racers. @Once A Shadow frowned at this, he understood seconds were being wasted with every thought he had without acting upon.

Another dangerous plan was to blow up the track ahead, it was a sure plan for kamikaze racers with no regard for their safety or the environment, but not a racer like @Once A Shadow who was very careful for the safety of his vehicle.

But, in this situation with his limited options… He had no time to come up with a brilliant and safe plan.

Recovering from his shock, @Once A Shadow began to punch button like crazy. His eyes gleaming in a soft light, his aura now retracted and suppressed. After a while, he stepped hard on the brakes as he released all missiles, frowning as his car jerked back fiercely.

"Although this plan is very dangerous, it serves a second purpose I'm willing to take the risk for."

@Once A Shadow watched as his missiles descended upon the track, blowing up ice and dirt as it went off, tearing up a new path for @Once A Shadow's car. A path devoid of ice and debris.

"Hmph!" @Once A Shadow spun his wheel adjusting his vehicle to drive into the new path with effort, his gaze remaining cold and emotionless. He didn't waste any time in driving through the path after adjusting.

During his drive, some debris and ice which were all blasted into the air before began to rain down upon the track after a few seconds of mid-air suspension.

"Hahaha, only fools wouldn't be able to see this coming…"

@Once A Shadow sneered, his eyes narrowed as he spun his steering wheel to the side. After driving his vehicle to the side, dodging a few boulders of dead rock, and some large ice shard, he swerved back to the right, his gaze as cold as ice.

Behind him now, was an array of scattered ice shards, dustbins, and spilled trash. He had lost sight of Jack now, but knew that the bastard hadn't driven off too far away from him.

"Heh, it wouldn't be so easy getting rid of me you moron…"

——

Jack felt a cold shiver run down his spine as he drove off, his brows knitting in response to the reaction. He sighed, and kept his gaze on the track without looking back. He knew that it wouldn't be long for @Once A Shadow to catch up to him after finding a way to.

"Heh," Jack spared a glance at the screen displaying his current position in the race, and smirked coldly, after a few seconds he looked away and stepped on accelerate with his brows raised, "Currently in Top 15, with Top 5 being just a few kilometers away."

If he drove fast enough, catching up to them would be as easy as reading out the alphabets. The problem in a death race wasn't speed, but survival! There should be more terrifying and annoying traps ahead, each with fiercer abilities than the former.

There was also the chances of mines laid down by the others to slow down those behind them. The chances of that happening was very high in this race setting with it's fierce competition.

He also had to take into consideration kamikaze and those behind him. Him leaving a trail of ice would just slow down the real threats, and those small fry would be suppressed instantly without any chance to resist.

"Hehe, it seems I have entered a very good spot at this moment. All I need to do now is watch out for the unexpected, and counter the expected with not a trace of hesitation."

Jack's car swerved to the side, dodging a huge heap of dirt lying carelessly on the track. It was a common occurrence, Jack had been dodging heaps of dirt and trash since the beginning of the race.

He stabilized his car, and looked ahead. He still had that tingling sensation spread across the surface of his skin, breathing in the smell of rotting matter, the teenager gagged on the contaminated oxygen.

"Heavens, the stench!" Jack felt like crying but had no tears, he could only curse Robert internally for his selection of such an amazing race track. His shook his head fiercely, shivered and went back driving.

He kept his breathing as soft and faint as possible, avoiding any deep intake of the rotten air. He felt like the air was another kind of trap, one strong enough to knock out the driver completely.

He just sighed after a while, after the race, he would keep away the game for sometime to deal with real life matters. Sigh, he was also wondering how SHE was doing, and if she has time to hangout with them in real life.

This in-game racing isn't good for his mental health in the slightest, infact he should avoid it at all costs!

Jack drove ahead, his car swaying from side to side as he dodged debris after debris whilst leaving a wavy ice trail behind him. His eyes narrowed as he looked upon one of his surveillance screens.

He had drove into the detection range of another racer, and upon seeing the name hovering above the towering monstrosity of a car before him - Jack wore a very bold and unrestrained frown.

He had no idea who the player was, and for someone like that to blast into the Top 20, it was an honourable feat. One that made Jack frown deeply, although it may just be his untalented speculation - it wasn't easy for a normal player to best the others - unless!

It was either one of the powerhouses in disguise, a dark horse, or some lucky bastard. Either of the three, wasn't going to give him an easy time with @Once A Shadow hot on his trail.

"Sigh, but where is this hot blooded action is there is too much of carefulness and hesitation?" Jack voiced out his thoughts with a smile on his face, after a while, he picked up speed and drove after the enemy.

Backing down? He'd be one of the greatest fools if he considered doing that being so close to victory.