A BMW! Is this car unpresentable? What does she want to drive?
"Uncle! This car of yours is driven by an old man!" After she finished speaking, she skipped and hopped to the front of the row of tin houses below the building, took out her key and opened one of the doors.
These buildings, constructed in the 1990s, all have a row of corrugated iron houses underneath, one for each family, used to store bicycles or as small warehouses.
All that could be heard was the clanging of the metal door, and Ni Duoduo actually pushed out a Honda DAX Hound motorcycle!
To be honest, I was stunned for a moment!
The design of this "Hunter" motorcycle is quite unique, especially this particular model. It's a rare sight in Nanjing! Pushing the red Hunter motorcycle out, Ni Duoduo looked incredibly excited.
I sighed and walked over to take a look.
This Honda 100cc international-split engine has four gears. It features professional disc brakes, a stainless steel exhaust pipe, and a larger stainless steel exhaust accumulator. Of course, the coolest part is its split-type racing handlebar design…
I couldn't help but sigh, "This car is rare on the market; I don't think I've seen many in Nanjing." I glanced at Ni Duoduo again, "How do you have one of these? It must have cost several thousand, right?"
"You know your stuff, don't you?" Ni Duoduo glanced at me smugly. "Isn't our baby adorable? I spent over three thousand on him! He's really energetic when he runs!"
I nodded. This motorcycle is indeed very suitable for girls to ride, and its performance is also very good, but... I glanced at Ni Duoduo: "Do you have a license?"
However, I soon realized that I had asked an unnecessary question, because the car even had a license plate from another province... Clearly, it was a fake plate.
Motorcycle license plates in Nanjing are very expensive. Most motorcyclists use out-of-town plates. Whether genuine or fake, generally speaking, as long as you don't encounter major inspections and are careful on the road—for example, don't ride in the front when waiting at red lights, and don't be too aggressive when passing traffic police—you'll generally be fine.
In Nanjing, even by a conservative estimate, half of the motorcycles on the market lack complete legal documentation; many are unlicensed vehicles.
"Come on, get on, uncle, I'll show you around!" Ni Duoduo said proudly as she hopped on the bike.
The seat on this hound motorcycle was very narrow. I hesitated for a moment, then climbed on and sat behind her: "Not wearing a helmet?"
"A helmet?" Ni Duoduo's eyebrows danced with excitement. "I'll be laughed to death if I wear a helmet! Are you that afraid of dying?"
After saying that, she kicked the bike frame and started the engine with a bang...
It was obvious that Ni Duoduo was a very skilled motorcyclist. At least along the way, she sped through several curves at high speed, leaning the motorcycle quite heavily! And when passing streetlights, she frequently changed gears and cut in line, weaving and twisting her way through areas without police patrols... very experienced!
These circumstances quickly made me understand something!
Sure enough, the motorcycle traveled all the way from the city center to the southeastern part of the city, turning onto the main road at the foot of Zijin Mountain. The roads in this area were wide, with few streetlights and relatively little traffic.
Ni Duoduo seemed very excited. She increased the speed of her car and drove around the Baima Park road at the foot of Zijin Mountain several times before finally taking the mountain road and heading towards Zixia Lake.
Sure enough... this is it!
I sat in the back of the car, my hands supporting Ni Duoduo's small waist, but I couldn't help but smile bitterly to myself.
If I'm not mistaken... this little girl, besides being a delinquent, is also a young racer!
Actually, street racing has already emerged in many major cities in China. However, to be fair, due to economic and social limitations, the street racing scene in China is still far from its infancy. For example, in Nanjing, the so-called street racers are practically child's play compared to those abroad. Most street racers are young people around twenty years old. Their equipment is nowhere near as flashy as in street racing movies… Generally, the popular bikes here are mostly assembled vehicles from Hong Kong and Taiwan, or some discarded Japanese bikes. And some are even more outrageous, riding "Linhai" mopeds at breakneck speeds…
This is probably related to the economy. The income of people in China is not high, and a good racing car is far beyond what these young people in their twenties can afford. Most people spend ten thousand or eight thousand to buy a used road racing car to show off. Being able to buy a car worth tens of thousands of yuan is already considered top-tier here!
Basically, the area around Zixia Lake on Zijin Mountain is a popular gathering place for street racers because the roads in this area are suitable for racing at night due to their good conditions and low streetlights. When Ni Duoduo and I arrived, there were already dozens of people gathered there, dozens of road racers of various colors lined up, and dozens of men and women gathered around. Most of them were dressed like young delinquents, but there were also some who looked a bit more tough.
Several electric stoves had been set up by the lake, and a fire had been lit there. Most people had turned on their car stereos, and loud music mingled with men's howls and women's shrill voices.
Some people were even waving bottles of liquor around.
When Ni Duoduo and I got off the bus, she was beaming with excitement. I sighed and followed behind her, carefully lowering my head and glancing at the people around us out of the corner of my eye.
I even turned up the collar of my shirt to cover half of my face...
"Holy shit!" A teenage boy with hair standing on end like a Super Saiyan rushed up to us, staring at Ni Duoduo for a long time: "What the hell happened to you? What the hell are you pretending to be a virgin for?"
Ni Duoduo rolled her eyes and said, "Whether I'm a virgin or not is none of your business!" She then snatched a cigarette from the boy's hand. Just as she was about to light it, she was startled by my cold gaze and subconsciously handed the cigarette back to me.
"Huh? Who's this? Is he your new 'Pan Dong'?" The boy glared at me, clearly annoyed. (Pan Dong is Nanjing dialect, roughly meaning boyfriend or husband.)
I ignored him, lit my cigarette, took a puff, and frowned. It was a Marlboro… To be honest, I don't really like foreign cigarettes because I only smoke flue-cured tobacco. And most foreign cigarettes are blended.
Seeing that I ignored him, the boy, a little embarrassed, came up and gave me a light shove: "Hey buddy, where are you from? You seem pretty cocky! Does Duoduo have to watch her step when she smokes?"
I glanced at him and said, "Get lost."
Then I pulled Ni Duoduo forward. Ni Duoduo didn't care about my arrogance at all. Instead, she turned around and gave the boy the middle finger.
"Your friend?" I frowned.
"A little brat." Ni Duoduo pouted. "Always bothering me, a good-for-nothing, terrible driving skills, just rich enough to buy a nice car."
Then a few thugs came up and greeted Ni Duoduo. This girl acted very arrogantly, looking at everyone with sidelong glances and displaying a very haughty attitude. I followed her silently, secretly plotting how to find an opportunity to drag her away.
Surprisingly, I actually saw Ni Duoduo's other two female classmates here, the ones I saw in the karaoke room during the day! They were the strange girl with piercings all over her face!
The two girls screamed and ran over as soon as they saw Ni Duoduo, but when they saw me following behind, they both shrank back in fright, as if they had seen a ghost.
I know that it was probably later that those thugs and the male classmate who originally wanted to harm Ni Duoduo told the two of them about what happened to me.
"Why did he come with you?" the pierced monster whispered to Ni Duoduo, but I could hear it clearly.
“I brought him here,” Ni Duoduo said nonchalantly.
"Now you're really something..." the pierced earth demon whispered, "This guy seems to be a veteran (Nanjing dialect, an old hand in the underworld)! I heard them say that this morning in the karaoke room, when Little Cotton and the others saw him, they didn't dare to utter a sound! I heard he's called Little Five in the underworld! Very tough (tough, Nanjing dialect, pronounced roughly like "ENZENG")!"
Upon hearing this, Ni Duoduo immediately turned to look at me, her eyes shining! I quickly turned my face away... because I suddenly felt as if a familiar gaze was shooting at me!
Even though I had already turned my face away and lowered my head, a voice with a half-smile still came from my left: "Oh! Isn't this Xiao Wu? It's been so many years! What brings you here today? Visiting an old friend?"
A tall, thin man walked over. He was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a shiny bald head. He was wearing an old racing suit, a sinister smile on his face, and leather boots. Unfortunately, he walked with a limp.
Standing next to him was a tall girl wearing a super short skirt. In this cold weather, this girl was only wearing a sleeveless top and a super short skirt, exposing her belly button and thighs. Wasn't she afraid of getting arthritis... Sigh...
The bald man stared at me with venomous resentment in his eyes. Behind him followed several thugs, and three or five young girls trailed behind.
I sighed inwardly, raised my head to look him straight in the eye, and said coldly, "Xiao Si, it's you."
The bald man, nicknamed Xiao Si, walked over and gently patted my shoulder: "Here to see someone or take care of something? Want to play a few tricks?"
Ni Duoduo stood behind me, somewhat stunned, before finally speaking, "Chen Yang, do you know Fourth Brother?"
The bald man glanced at Ni Duoduo: "Little girl, you're Xiao Wu's Panxi, right? Not bad, not bad, you have good taste! Keep a close eye on him! He has a bright future with Xiao Wu!"
After saying that, he patted me on the shoulder and said, "What, want to play a couple of rounds?" I stared coldly at his hand on my shoulder without saying a word. Under my intense gaze, the bald man withdrew his hand. I then said calmly, "I haven't played this game in a long time. My skills are all gone. I'm just here with a friend. I'll be leaving in a bit."
The bald man snorted, squinted at me for a long time, and whispered, "Why is Xiao Wu so afraid of death these days..." Then he turned around and shouted, "See this? This is Brother Xiao Wu! Call him! How can you be so ill-mannered!"
The thugs behind him were stunned for a moment, then started shouting "Brother Xiao Wu" in a jumbled mess, while the girls behind them burst into laughter.
The bald man glanced at me, then sneered and walked away.
After they left, Ni Duoduo grabbed my arm excitedly and said, "How do you know Fourth Brother? Baldy Fourth is the boss here!! You two are on good terms? I didn't realize you were so capable!"
Seeing that I didn't say anything, the little girl became even more excited: "Are you and him good friends? How did you meet?"
I shook my head. After all, she's just a little girl. Couldn't she see the way he was glaring at me, like he wanted to eat me alive?
I looked at Ni Duoduo and said in a low, cold voice, "He's not my friend... You saw his leg, didn't you? I broke it."
After hearing what I said, Ni Duoduo's mouth formed an "O" shape, and the look in her eyes changed from shock to admiration...
Part One: In the Martial World, Not in Control of One's Own Fate, Chapter Seventy-Three: The Outer Horse Master
Ni Duoduo has asked me more than twenty times how I broke Fourth Brother's leg.
I just smiled and didn't say anything. It's clear that this guy is now the respected Fourth Brother in this circle... but back then, he was just a "bald Little Fourth".
"I know!" Ni Duoduo's eyes shone as she chuckled to herself, "It must be because you and he were racing! And you won, he couldn't even catch your taillights! So he held a grudge and started a fight with you, and you broke his leg?"
"no."
"Then... it must have been the two of you racing, going through a thrilling race, encountering countless dangers along the way, and then he couldn't outrun you, so he suddenly had a car accident and broke his leg!" The little girl still looked up at me with an admiring gaze.
I chuckled: "You've been watching too many Hong Kong and Taiwanese racing movies. It's not like you're acting in 'Initial D'."
No matter how much she asked, I refused to say, but Ni Duoduo's interest only grew stronger. I then realized that a woman's curiosity is truly terrifying! Whether it's an eighty-year-old woman or an eighteen-year-old girl, when curiosity takes hold, it's really frightening! If I hadn't held her back, she probably would have run straight to ask Baldy Xiao Si.
Driven by curiosity, she fully utilized her intelligence and even began to analyze the situation with great seriousness: "You said you broke his leg, so he must hate you a lot! But you seem completely unafraid here... This is his territory! Aren't you afraid he'll bring a bunch of people to cripple you? Aren't you afraid of his retaliation? There must be a reason for this!"
I have to say, her analysis is getting closer and closer to the truth. I just smiled and remained silent.
After wandering around the area for a while, around 8 or 9 p.m., all the cars turned on their headlights, and the headlights of dozens of cars transformed into countless light pillars. Then, deafeningly loud music blared from the stereos of countless cars from all directions, and bottles of strong liquor were being churned down. The place turned into a wild party!
I stayed close to Ni Duoduo, watching the time, hoping to find a chance to pull her back. But Ni Duoduo was just drinking and chatting with a few classmates. She was just dancing; she didn't do anything out of line. I couldn't be too harsh on her.
I know that in a little while, when it gets a bit later, the race will start!
In Nanjing, street racers usually set off very late at night because the traffic police have already gone off duty. The choice of racing route is also crucial. They choose roads with the fewest streetlights, the widest roads, and the least traffic. Generally speaking, the three main roads from the east to the south of the city are the best racing routes at night, from Zijin Mountain all the way to the south gate of Yuhuatai in the south of the city.
At night, dozens of motorcycles roared to life, some even circling around Zixia Lake. Usually, it was a hoodlum riding a motorcycle with a young woman on the back, the woman mostly half-standing. Some, getting really wild, even took off their underwear and waved it around, eliciting screams and cheers from the surrounding crowd.
Generally speaking, the cars used by racing enthusiasts are modified with throttle cables, and most of them have a displacement of 250cc or more. This is because the mufflers are removed, and the engine noise is turned up to the maximum, with the roar further stimulating the passion of these people.
Ni Duoduo's face also turned red.
Finally, night fell, and the race began.
There aren't many rules for this kind of racing; you can push your car up if you want. Some are private betting matches. Generally, people around can also place bets on the outcome, which is a kind of betting on the sidelines. The bets here aren't big; generally, everyone bets less than a thousand yuan... But with so many people gambling, the total amount of money involved is quite substantial!
And I discovered that Xiao Si was the gambling den here!
"Looks like he's doing really well." I sighed.
Street racing is nothing special; even a petty thug can act arrogantly as long as they have money to buy a nice car. This is because most street racers in Nanjing aren't very skilled, and a good car gives them a significant advantage. But running a gambling operation… that's a force to be reckoned with!
Seeing Ni Duoduo's excited expression, I couldn't help but ask, "Have you ever raced a car?"
Ni Duoduo paused for a moment, then sighed: "No... my car is too cheap... my little hunting dog can't go fast."
I felt a little relieved, but then Ni Duoduo said, "But I often win when I gamble on the sidelines!"
"oh?"
"Of course!" Ni Duoduo pulled me through the crowd. A track had been cleared out, and a row of road race cars were lined up, undergoing final adjustments. A betting game was about to begin.
Ni Duoduo pulled me to the front of the crowd, staring intently at the last few road race cars that were still being tested for a long time. After listening carefully for a while, she leaned over and whispered mysteriously in my ear, "I already know which of them will win!"
"who?"
Ni Duoduo, looking confident, quietly pointed to the fourth car, a Thug. This car was considered pretty cool here. Ni Duoduo chuckled and said, "That's it! I've seen this car, it's super cool! In third gear, if you press the accelerator a little harder, it easily goes over 100 km/h! Listen to how he's tuning it now, the engine sounds fucking amazing! An R1! It's definitely modified!"
I pretended not to hear her swearing, telling myself to take it slow! Swearing is just a minor flaw! Don't take it too seriously... But the little girl probably realized she had sworn, and glanced at me cautiously. Seeing that I didn't react, she breathed a sigh of relief.
I chuckled deliberately, "You seem to know quite a bit about cars?"