The Speed Of The Stars

The Eight six Finally shows up. Slowing down right before arriving at the rest area. The eight six passes the start line and Turns around before Parking beside the FC of Ningguang.

Collei then steps out of the car and the crowds Cheer. The race is finally happening. Beidou's group then Approaches Collei.

"So. The day has finally come.. Are you ready Collei?" said Beidou.

"So damn ready" a smirk on Collei's face appears.

Then Collei turns to her back. And Walks towards Ningguang. Ningguang walks towards her. The two then face each other. Face to face. Almost like a old western standoff

Ningguang smiles. "Its nice to Finally meet you Collei. I'm impressed you've learned so much advanced techniques in such a short period of time. And yet. You're still young."

Collei giggles "Well. I've been driving Yougou for so long. It feels like i've driven Yougou more than everyone here. It just so happens that i enjoy driving."

"You are quite a. Unique kid, Collei. I like that. Why dont we start this race. Before the crowd gets bored?" Ningguang then hold her hand out"

"Right on "Collei puts her hand out and shakes Ningguang's hand.

Then The two of them gets in their respective cars and starts their engines. The race. is soon to begin.

At a hairpin turn. Lyney calls Arlecchino to give her some information.

"Arlecchino! You wouldn't believe how many people are here tonight! So. who do you think is gonna win? Your Daughter? or this Street queen that's the fastest in all of Narukami?" said Lyney,

Arlecchino sighs "Who gives a rats ass anyways? If thats what you called me for then i'd better hang up"

Lyney starts yelling "NO NO! Don't hang up! Dont Hang-"the call abruptly ends

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO HANG UP!" Lyney yelled

As Keqing Stands right in between the cars to start the countdown. Amber knocks on Collei's window. Collei rolls her window down.

"Good luck Collei!" said Amber. Winking at Collei

Collei gives her a thumbs up and winks at Amber. "You Bet!"

Keqing then raises her hand "Alright! We're gonna start the countdown!"

The engines begin to rev. The Race is about to begin!

-3!

-2!

-1!

-GO!!

The Eight six and FC launch at almost the exact same time and Launch off the start line. The two are practically side by side heading into the first corner, Now its a matter of who brakes first. As they reach the first Corner. Ningguang brakes first. Collei brakes later. Collei officially takes the lead. The two drift in tandem heading into the first corner. 

"Collei's taken the lead!!!" yelled March

"YOU GO COLLEI!" yelled Beidou

The race is already intense from the start. They reach the second corner and still they are very close to each other. They then reach the first hairpin. Collei slams on the brakes. Ningguang follows and the two drift through the first hairpin in tandem at lightning speeds. As they continue racing down Yougou. The first spotter's radio crackles to life in the summit.

"This is a battle of who comes first. The FC is tailing the Eight Six Really closely. This will come down to the wire!" 

Then A spotter from Beidou's team crackles to life. "Collei's Driving as hard as she can. But Ningguang continues to tail! They headed into the third Hairpin at flying speeds! This is definitely going to be a close battle!"

As Ningguang and Collei continue to race. Ningguang observes Collei's driving 

Her eyes narrow with focus "I'm impressed once again. Collei's never driven this fast before." as Ningguang controls the steering wheel with finesse and Precision. 

They reach another hairpin The two begins to slide before the corner even began. The two enter the corner as a tandem. Mere centimeters away from each other. 

"She's definitely improved. I knew it!" said Ningguang

The two exit the hairpin. Still chasing one another

"She's barely using any countersteer while in the middle of the drift. Merely controlling it using the gas pedal. That's impressive. It hasnt been that long since her last race. Almost like her weakness is gone..." said Ningguang.

At the last Hairpin turn at the bottom. Yelan And Silverwolf stand beside each other while waiting for Collei and Ningguang.

Silverwolf glances at Yelan "You know Yelan. You oughta move to another spot. You know i planned on being here way before the race even arrived."

Yelan scoffs "As if. We both know that this is the best spot to watch the two of them go at it before the finishing line."

Silverwolf giggles "That's true.."

The two of them glance at each other and quickly looks away.

"This area is dead.. Its like we're in the middle of the desert" Yelan said

"You oughta move aside a bit more. If anyone drives by and sees us. They might think we're friends or something"

"Right.." Yelan then scooches father to her right. While Silverwolf scooches more to her left.

Back in the race. It continues to intensify. They reach a Hairpin turn that Lyney is in. Collei and Ningguang starts to drift again. Both drifting into the corner as a tandem. Again. And they are mere centimeters away from the guardrail. They then exit the hairpin turn in lightning speeds. Lyney and a bunch of spectators Jump across the guardrail and watch as Ningguang's FC and Collei's AE86 disappear into another hairpin turn.

Lyney stands there And stares "Holy Shit! That was Amazing! I better Call Arlecchino Again!"

Back home. Arlecchino's phone rings again "Who can it be this time?"

Arlecchino picks her phone up only to be greeting with the speaker blaring against her ear "Arlecchino! It's me again!"

Arlecchino puts the phone near her ear again "Oh great. Lyney the microphone. What is it now?"

"Just listen to me for a second okay!? They just passed right in front of me and they were very close to one another! Hell they were even mere centimeters away from the guardrail during their tandem drift! At the moment. Collei's in the lead!" said out loud by Lyney

Arlecchino smirks "So.. Collei's in the lead? That doesnt sound very good."

Lyney gasps "What do you mean not good!? Your daughter is leading!"

Arlecchino Sighs "You sound like a newbie, You know that Lyney? The driver doing the chasing gets to be more aggressive to the one being chased cause the one being chased doesnt have to be defensive.."

Lyney gasps "Wait. You're serious!?"

Arlecchino giggles "Of Course... While both drivers can study the course they are racing at. The driver in the back can also monitor the lead driver's style. If she's good enough. She can even copy her driving style."

Lyney then butts in "But the driver in front can always drive faster and disappear right?"

Arlecchino sighs "No. Its not that simple Lyney... The driver in front is under tremendous pressure from the driver behind her. Trying to fend her off. Trying to race someone behind you who's travelling at the same speed as you are, can push you into a coffin corner where its hard to back off from. With your opponent behind you. You try to increase your gap from behind. Worse still. Collei is still new to these advanced racing tactics. I feel that at this point of the race. She's sweating like pinballs trying to loose her opponent."

Lyney raises an eyebrow. "You think so? Well... I'll give you a call when the race is over." Lyney then hangs up. 

Arlecchino then walks outside and looks up at the sky. "Collei. Will you loose your cool?" then Arlecchino smiles a little. "Nah. You got this"

Back in the race. They have exited another hairpin. The Five Consecutive Hairpin turns are coming up. Ningguang reflects a bit on the race they've done so far.

"This race.. This is giving me goosebumps. Chills. Watching this girl follow the perfect line around this course is.. Is spectacular!

They are now approaching the Five Consecutive Hairpin turns. Beidou's radio crackles to lie once again "They're approach the hairpin and Fast! At the moment the Eight Six Is Leading. the FC's breathing down her spine!"

"Come on collei. You got this!" muttered Beidou.

"She's got this in the bag" muttered March.

"this race has been tight so far" said Seele.

"This is going down to the wire!" said Pela

They close in on the hairpin. Ningguang brakes Early and Notices something off already. 

"Damn! She's way too fast! She's gotta slow down!" yelled Ningguang.

Collei then slams on the brakes. And tries to turn into the hairpin. But something goes wrong. Her Left Front wheel locks up. Making the Eight six Understeer massively.

Collei wrestles the wheel "God Damn It! Turn!! Turn!!!"

Collei releases the brakes a little to get the wheel spinning again but she's lost so much speed. Ningguang passes her with ease on the inside line.

Beidou's radio crackles again "Collei locked up her front left into the hairpin! Ningguang now leads!"

"Oh... No..." Beidou said softly.

Collei now chases Ningguang. The gap slowly increasing on the straights. But thanks to her gutter runs. She quickly catches up to Ningguang.

Ningguang glances at her rear view mirror. "She's so odd. She made a mistake. Yet... She has no weakness."

She then focuses on the road ahead "Doesnt matter. I gotta keep my focus and try my best to increase that gap."

Ningguang puts her foot to the floor to try and loose the Eight Six. But the eight six remains to tail her.

Beidous radio crackles once again "The eight six caught up to Ningguang again! And looking at these times. They'll shatter the Course record by Eighteen Seconds!!"

Beidou slowly lowers her radio. "Eighteen. Seconds... That's That's killer!"

They reach the next fast right hand corner after a long straightaway. They drift again in a tandem. But then. The FC's fronts starts to slide to the outside line.

Ningguang wrestles with the wheel "What the hell!? Suddenly my fronts are now gone... No... Overheating!"

Ningguang manages to control the FC and exit the left hander with slight issues

"Chasing that eight six was a massive mistake. So much so I've heated my fronts way too much. Its not sticking to the ground like it used to!" Exclaimed Ningguang.

As they grow closer and closer to the finishing line. Only thing that holds them now is one last Right hander. followed by a left hander.

Collei's stressing "Damn! Is this really the best i can offer!?"

Then. Her Eyes widen. "Wait! I should try that move Father was talking about!" A memory flashes back in her mind.

Three years ago. Collei finishes a delivery run in the snow. She walks up to Arlecchino.

"Hey dad. I found a cool tactic to avoid skidding on the snow like this" said Collei.

Arlecchino raises an eyebrow. "Go ahead kid. I'm all ears"

Collei smirks "Its pretty simple. Those gutters on the road? What you do is you hook your tires inside them! It makes cornering so easy Its not even a joke!"

Arlecchino Giggles "Ah, yes. The gutter run. I use the technique myself on conditions like this too."

Collei sighs "Really!? Damn it. You knew about this all along!?"

Arlecchino smiles "Yeah. but there's two ways to do the gutter run. The gutter run you discovered is using the gutters on entry to prevent understeer from taking you into the guardrail.. The second way for you to do it is for recovery during a corner. The timing of this one is essential. You Hook those wheels into the gutter. Mid way through the Corner."

Back in the race Collei's eyes narrow "I haven't even tried this version of the gutter run before. Its a gamble. But... I'm going for it!"

They enter into the right hand corner. Ningguang drifts through it with ease. Collei goes tighter into the corner and hooks her wheels into the gutter. The Eight six's grip dramatically increases and slingshots her way closer to Ningguang's rear bumper

Ningguang glances at her rear view mirror "What the hell did she just pull!?"

Then. The roar of the eight six and the FC roar around the area of Yelan and Silverwolf

Yelan looks at the corner before "They're coming"

Right on cue. The Eight Six and the FC appear right before them. Going in very close to one another.

"The Eight six is behind! This corner cant be passed on the outside at all! They must go on the inside!"

The Eight six exits from the slipstream and pulls in right beside the FC on the outside. They approach the left hand hairpin at the same time. Both of them braking and downshifting at the same time. The two of them enter into the hairpin in a tandem. 

"They're going in as a tandem!!!" Silverwolf and Yelan Exclaimed at the same time.

The FC's front wheels loose grip and understeers. Collei sees the gap and Mashes the gas. The eight six's rear wheels grip and the eight six Dives right into the Inside line of the hairpin. As they exit the hairpin. The FC looses ground. And the Eight six passes the FC with ease.. The then reach the final right hand corner before the Finish line. Collei hooks her wheels to the final gutters. The gap increases. They cross the finish line. Collei wins! Officially destroying Ningguang's winning streak.

Keqing's radio crackles to life "THE EIGHT SIX WINS! ITS OVER! AND SHE SET A NEW COURSE RECORD!!!"

Keqing stands still. "Ningguang. Lost... I can't believe it... Her winning streak. Gone..."

Cheers erupt from Beidou's Team

"SHE DID IT! SHE'S BEATEN NINGGUANG!!!" yelled March

"I CANT BELIEVE IT SHE'S DONE IT! "yelled Beidou and Seele

Back at home. Arlecchino's getting deaf by Lyney's Yelling "Are you even listening to me!? Collei won the race! And she set a new course Record!!

Arlecchino scoffs "Of course she won. Now i'm gonna hang up. you're making me deaf" the phone then shuts off

"What the fuck Arlecchino!?" yelled Lyney

Arlecchino looks up to the skies. A huge smile from her face erupts. "Thats my girl!" she then raises a fist in celebration.

At the base. Collei and Ningguang are once again face to face.

Ningguang smiles "It's been a pleasure racing with You Collei." she then puts a hand out.

Collei smiles. "Likewise Ningguang" She then shakes hands with Ningguang." 

"Well Collei. Gotta run. See ya around." Ningguang then starts up her FC and drives off into the distance.

The night filled with Cheers. Happiness. And Spirit. Comes to an end. Ningguang. Now officially has a loss under her belt. And a new downhill legend. Is Born...