F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 6: Is language proficiency the most important thing for becoming a race car driver?!

No wonder Coach Han frowned; what he just said was rather presumptuous.

As a professional club, in addition to tourists and members who come here primarily for entertainment, there are also professional drivers who are trained to participate in the National Karting Championship.

Leaving aside those child prodigies abroad who start karting at the age of three or four, even just looking at the situation in this club, someone like Shu Long, who only started karting at the age of seven, can be considered one of the older groups.

Several adults came out together and walked up to Shulong's side. The little guy, who was staring blankly at the track, did not notice that the area around him seemed to have become a little crowded.

Shu Xiong was about to pat the silly boy on the shoulder to wake him up, but Coach Han stopped him instead.

(Wasn't it supposed to be a test drive?)

Shu Xiong spread his hands in confusion, expressing his meaning with his eyes. However, Coach Han simply gestured for him to calm down and then took out a stopwatch from his pocket with great interest and pressed the starter.

One minute, two minutes.
Coach Han wasn't sure how long they had maintained this state before they arrived, but from the moment the stopwatch started, Shu Long hadn't blinked for almost two minutes.

"Are you spacing out? Your concentration is pretty good, young man."

Shu Long shook his head in confusion. He was a little shy in front of a stranger he wasn't very familiar with and was embarrassed to answer the questions from the overly familiar coach. He hid slightly behind Zhang Xin.

He seemed to have entered a very strange state. He was just standing on the sidelines watching a few people who were obviously much faster than the others do flying laps, but he unconsciously put his perspective into that of the drivers. Even the feedback from the vehicle's dynamics seemed to be transmitted to him through space.

"Alright, let's not waste any more time. Mr. Xiong, your son definitely can't drive that car right now. Let's give him a four-stroke recreational car to try first. Once I feel it's ready, you can consider the racing suit and two-stroke car."

Coach Han was very accommodating and waived the fee for renting a four-stroke recreational car for one or two sessions, but the necessary procedures still had to be followed.

Soon, Shu Long's comrades-in-arms were brought out.

As a four-stroke recreational vehicle, this go-kart also has a protective metal frame around its exterior, but it doesn't have any extra and heavy rubber rings, making the whole body look much more refined.

Although there are quite a few pieces of damage and discoloration, at least it does look like a real vehicle, and not just a metal frame with four wheels.

After putting on the helmet that had been prepared in advance, Shu Long couldn't wait to sit down.

Not only the helmet, but also a set of other protective gear that was about the same size as his body was prepared. For safety reasons, the helmet and rib protectors were necessary, but Shulong refused to wear the racing suit no matter what.

Because it didn't quite fit his current body shape, the stiff fabric made him look bulky and, in short, very ugly.

But that's not the most crucial reason. Shu Long feels that he is still a complete novice who hasn't even entered the field yet. How can a novice be fully armed like a professional right from the start?

The top students in the class might have nice stationery, but those who constantly flaunt their expensive, transformable pencil cases like guns, "biubiubiu," probably don't have very good grades.

With just a light touch of the accelerator, Shu Long felt a fundamental difference between the car he was now riding on and the one he had been riding before.

The power wasn't particularly fierce, but the throttle response was very quick. Although the speed was disappointingly different from some of the monsters speeding around the field, Shulong, who had never eaten "dumplings" before, was truly satisfied to see such a plate of them served on the table.

Seeing that Shu Long was still swaying and getting used to the new car, Coach Han quietly leaned close to Shu Xiong's ear and said, "Before he starts flying, let me ask you something in advance. You didn't help the young man with that... you know what I mean!"

"What?" Shu Xiong looked a little confused and nervous.

Actually, Coach Han just casually said something because the atmosphere was too dull. Judging from Shu Long's performance on the field, it's clear that this kid hasn't had much prior experience with driving, so there's really no need for him to put in that much effort.

However, Shu Xiong himself is also an expert on this track. Coach Han has seen many parents of some students resort to underhanded tactics to compete for a few spots, and it has almost become a professional habit of his as a coach.

The truth is, it really wasn't necessary.

Before coming here, Shu Xiong not only did not teach Shu Long driving experience, but he also did not even tell his son what the Sanshui racetrack looked like.

After all, the car was really slow that day. After calming down, he wasn't really sure about his seemingly confident judgment. To be honest, he was the one who least wanted to see that miracle happen again.

Now he carries not only the expectations for his son, but also the pressure of defying Old Master Shu. If Shu Long is just a flash in the pan, then he has not only preserved his worldview built from past common sense, but he can also let go of the burden he has placed on himself.

But what if it's all true?
"Listen to me, the club certainly won't object to having more suckers willing to spend money, but you have to tell me the truth about whether this brat is really cut out for it. If necessary, I'll just renew my card for another five years to make up for it!"

Shu Xiong's attitude was similar to that of most parents in the past, yet slightly different. Coach Han, whose mood was complicated, couldn't help but straighten his slightly casual attitude.

In this day and age, no family that can afford to go to a go-kart track is without considerable wealth. Whether it's simply for fun or for serious competitive development, most parents prefer to hear from the coach just how outstanding their child is.

Of course, these coaches don't mind saying a few nice words, so that people will be more willing to pay, right?

Shu Long's performance on the first lap was nothing special, but all the feedback the race car gave to his body during the race had subconsciously built a brand new data model in his mind.

In simple and easy-to-understand terms, it's about the feel of a car.

Even without using a stopwatch, Coach Han's expression turned a little strange after just glancing at the driving line on Shulong's second lap.

"I feel like you might want to punch me after I said that, but I really want to ask again, is this the kind of awareness you should have after only driving a go-kart at an amusement park?"

"."

Shu Xiong's breathing had almost lost its rhythm, as if the space in his chest cavity had suddenly been reduced by half, with only one-fifth of the air going in and one-fifth going out.

it is more than words.

At this point, timing was completely meaningless. Go-karting isn't a simple skill that can be summarized as accelerating on a straight line, decelerating in a corner, and then turning the steering wheel. Shu Long, who had only tried go-karting twice, couldn't possibly have become an expert so quickly without any instruction. But Han Li saw a certain potential in Shu Long; this kid seemed to have a natural instinct for how to make himself faster.

For some geniuses, making themselves faster is not entirely dependent on data and methods on paper, but rather a feeling formed by the brain combining a holistic understanding of space and speed.

It's like when a mosquito flies onto your face, you don't need to ask anyone else, you know exactly how much force to use to kill the mosquito without hurting your face too much.

The brain naturally makes its judgment based on its past knowledge of its own body and its instinctive understanding of the vulnerability of mosquitoes. Ultimately, it is a conclusion drawn from accumulated information. Some people have an extraordinary ability to integrate information in their respective fields.

Take Shulong as an example. You can clearly see that this kid's driving skills are rough. But as the number of laps increases and he explores the limits of the vehicle, Han Li can even see the prototypes of technologies such as load transfer and traction braking in Shulong's vehicle dynamics.

“Your son is amazing! If he really intends to develop in this direction, you can now consider preparing a two-stroke car of the same specifications as the National Championships. I think he might be able to get started in a couple of days.”

Shu Xiong and Zhang Xin exchanged a glance but did not make a decision on the spot. Shu Xiong did not even look at his car, which had just had its tires changed, and took his family back to the hotel first.

It's not that we haven't owned property in Guangdong, but we came back in such a hurry this time that we didn't have time to clean our home, and the small bedroom in Shulong hasn't been lived in for over a year. We might as well make do with a hotel for the next couple of days.

Before Shu Long could share his excitement with his parents that evening, a heavy question was already on his mind.

Are you sure you want to seriously pursue a career in racing from now on?

Please, I didn't even know what I was thinking back then, how could I answer that? I can't answer!

At only seven years old, Shu Long is not yet at the age to worry about his future plans, so he naturally couldn't make up his mind when suddenly asked this question.

So Zhang Xin changed her question: "Do you like it?"

Of course he liked it. From the simple driving, Shulong felt a pleasure that went straight to his brain that he had never felt before in his life!
[Strong career choice detected. Have you decided on (professional racing driver) as your future career path: √/×]

Why are we talking about career choices? How old am I?! Can't you let me try a few more directions?

He didn't know if he could change his mind after making the selection, but Shu Long still went ahead and confirmed it.

Let my future self worry about those distant plans! This is a race car driver, after all!

Shu Long could already imagine the next time the teacher asked them to share their future dreams in class, all the students would want to be teachers, doctors, lawyers, police officers, firefighters, or astronauts, while he would say something like, "How cool and stylish it would be to be a race car driver."

[I really thank you, my past self. Every time I think about this, I want to slap you!]

The progress of the entry for "professional race car driver" overwrote the one that originally belonged to table tennis. Strangely, the entry for "elementary school student" was still retained. Staring at the slowly increasing numbers in his mind, Shu Long silently apologized to Coach Dou, then tucked a blanket between his legs and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Shu Long was awakened by a notification sound in his mind. He groggily opened his eyelids, which were stuck together with eye boogers, and the first thing he saw was the updated panel.

Occupation: [Professional race car driver (karting)], [Elementary school student: 16.67%]

Below is an exclamation mark that hasn't been seen in a long time. The last time Shulong clicked on it, he got the newbie gift item "Strong and Healthy". I wonder what it will be this time.

[Bone and muscle strength: 17%]

[Endurance Tolerance: 32%]

[Response and fundraising speed: 71%]

It feels like a specific data display of the term "physically strong and healthy," and it corresponds to a relatively reasonable situation in reality.

The reason he couldn't beat Gan Mengning was more due to the opponent's height and the support from outside forces than his strength. His endurance is still unclear, but table tennis can indeed improve his reaction ability to some extent. The previous "dynamic vision" seems to have been merged into this entry.

It seems that the "Photographic Memory" skill was a professional skill attribute brought by an elementary school student. With the addition of the race car driver identity, a complete attribute that is now 100% unlocked has been added:
[Proficient in languages]?!

[Language Proficiency]: Significantly accelerates the speed of understanding and learning different languages.

Significantly? How significant is this "significantly"?
Before long, Shulong knew the extent of the damage.

After completing the new car purchase formalities, Shu Xiong treated Coach Han to a lavish meal. The two of them, beaming with pride, chatted away for over two hours.

Shu Long was surprised to find that he went from barely understanding what the two men were saying in Cantonese at the beginning to easily understanding every word they slurred after drinking a little.

No problem, no problem! Now I don't have to worry about English anymore!

Shu Long's grades weren't exactly outstanding in school, but his problem was English!

Because there was a rather neurotic troublemaker in the class, Shu Long had four different English teachers during the two semesters of this academic year.
The older teachers were so angry that they would take medicine in their mouths during class, and the younger female teachers were so angry that they cried in class. Finally, a male teacher who could keep the teachers in check was brought in, but he soon broke down and revealed the "violent tendencies" that the parents had mentioned, so he was transferred to another campus.

After a year, apart from the twenty-six letters of the alphabet, Shu Long had no idea what he had learned.

Since there weren't many students today, they could relax a bit. Shu Xiong and Han Li were both racing enthusiasts, and as they chatted, they couldn't help but start talking about driving techniques for conquering the track.

Shu Long may appear to be just eating, but he is actually frantically filling the database in his mind with new information.

People are often a bit perverse. If you were to give a proper lecture to Shu Long about these things, he probably wouldn't listen so attentively. But when secrets are revealed "inadvertently" like this, he's afraid of missing a single word.

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　　Niche themes are not easy to come by; young seedlings need nurturing. Thank you for your support!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)