Munitions Empire

On the straight and even asphalt track, the white lines stretched continuously to the distant end, where the heat from the temperature caused the air to become distorted, making those lines seem as though they were alive, incessantly pulsating.

Above head, the signal lights were ceaselessly blinking, and everyone was waiting, waiting for that critical moment to arrive.

A beautiful young girl in a dress that revealed her calves paraded up and down between the rows of lined-up cars, carrying advertisement boards.

In the spectator stands, the celebrities and nobility sat beneath sun umbrellas, pointing and commenting on the various cars with their peculiar appearances that looked very odd.

It was as if they were appraising beauties about to enter their beds, boasting about their wealth of experience to everyone around them.

Many had crammed car-related knowledge overnight, yet in reality, they barely understood the most fundamental mechanical principles.

However, this was no issue, for they got to savor thrills they had never before enjoyed, witness speeds they had never seen, and that left nothing to complain about.

After all, the ticket price had thoroughly distinguished them from the common folk, and that was enough! Great Tang Group knew what they wanted, and that was sufficient!

"Marquis of Bailu even wants a piece of the racing action? Really?" Spotting a car branded with Bailu Company's advertisements undergoing final inspections and adjustments, a visiting noble said to his friend beside him.

"Playing along with Great Tang Group, you can't lose no matter what, haven't you figured that out?" Another noble sneered, curling his lip in disdain, "By now, everyone knows, you want to get rich? It all depends on whether Great Tang Group brings you along for the ride."

As he spoke, he stretched out his hand without any hesitation, and his companion handed him a cigarette and then lit it for him.

"See this? Cigarettes! I'm going to invest in these when I go back! Something even Mr. Tang of the Great Tang Group enjoys, that's taste!" He flaunted the cigarette in his hand as if showing off a bar of gold.

This world had no regulations against smoking in public places, and the women who accompanied these smokers would not mind these men not knowing how to cherish flowers and jade.

Even so, Great Tang Group had considerately designed a female-only stand, for those women who were eligible to dislike the smell of smoke, with ticket prices that were higher, not lower, than those for the VIP stands.

"One last minute!" The loudspeakers broadcasted a sensual female voice, and the women walking between the cars, holding various advertisement boards, reluctantly made their way to the exit passageways on both sides.

The women working here could earn a good amount of money, but what attracted them the most was not the wages; it was the opportunity to show their faces in front of the nobility.

Haven't you seen? Several young girls who had just left the stands had received calling cards offered by stewards, household retainers, and guards waiting in the passage, hadn't they?

Should these young women wish, they could have the opportunity to elevate their social status that very night, and if they had the means or the skills... they might even completely change their destiny.

Brunas was not short of overnight Cinderella stories, filled with eroticism and temptation. There was no lack of wealthy individuals here, nor were there a lack of dreamers.

"Thirty seconds left," The speaker, once again broadcasting the suggestive female voice, increased the tension in the air even further.

"I really don't see what's so interesting about this, it's just some cars," Alice said, sitting next to Tang Mo, looking down at the cars waiting to start, somewhat uninspired.

Yulin, with her legs elegantly crossed, dazed in her own gracefulness, also seemed to have little interest in these cars painted in colorful livery and emblazoned with advertisements and numbers.

"Have you heard that Northern Ridge is drafting on a large scale?" Sitting on the other side, Leite VII had a somewhat troubled expression and asked in a lowered voice the elderly Prime Minister sitting next to him.

The Prime Minister glanced at Tang Mo playing with his lighter and explained, "Yesterday, Harry from Great Tang Group came to see me and explained a bit about Great Tang Group's next plan. It seems they intend to conduct a series of operations on the western coast of the Endless Sea and need some soldiers."

Leite VII's expression lightened a bit. Before he could ask more, the traffic light on the track had turned from flashing yellow to solid red.

The drivers began to start their cars, and a noisy roar of engines filled the air while the countdown heightened the suffocating tension. Read exclusive adventures at empire

"Vroom! Vroom vroom!" The sound waves of throttling the gas pedals instantly excited the nobles in the stands, turning that previously mundane wait into a moment that seemed worth the anticipation.

When the yellow light switched on, every person in the stands seemed to become even more excited, with some standing up and some even beginning to shout out loud uncontrollably.

The next second, the green light burst into brilliance, and these mechanical beasts, like unbridled wild horses, charged out recklessly.

"Oh!" As the scene unfolded in that very second, the men couldn't help but raise their arms high to express their shock and excitement.

It was exhilarating! The feeling was terrific! Seeing machinery carrying human dreams and pushing speed to unprecedented heights, no one could suppress their excited shouts.

Even Leite VII momentarily forgot his worries, staring at the cars charging forward on the track, unable to utter a word.

Alice forgot the tedium she just experienced, for the scene unfolding before her brought a shock comparable to dark, looming clouds! Her Northern Ridge had grown powerful because of machinery, and of course, she understood mechanics better than the average girl.

The moment she was once again conquered by the power of machinery, she too shouted with excitement, waving her arms at the racing cars speeding down the track.

Yulin, cultivated by Tang Mo to be the woman closest to modern thought, was similarly captivated by the spectacle of the race when she watched it.

She suddenly understood the meaning behind all of it.

Like her, these people were also pursuing greater speed, greater strength... It was a courageous sprint towards the peak, an admirable recklessness she respected.

On the track, Great Tang Group's race car, equipped with a 12-cylinder engine, took the lead, quickly leaving behind the other manufacturers' cars.

However, the battle for second place remained fierce. Those cars painted with colorful advertisements brashly showcased themselves to everyone without reservation.

Since the race was organized by Tang Mo, even though it was the first edition, it was still very well-run. Every detail had been thought of, including the sponsors and the service inside the venue.

The car painted with the Bailu Company's advertisement chased after a group of cars, currently ranking last.

Tang Mo thought this must be another clever business tactic of the Marquis of Bailu—if he couldn't reach first place, he might as well aim for last to grab attention.

Little did he know, the face of the Marquis of Bailu, sitting in the VIP seats, turned dark as he watched his race car lag behind, evidently on the verge of losing his temper.

He had actually invested a hefty sum of money, hoping his race car could achieve a good ranking in the competition.

Unexpectedly, racing was not a game where pouring in money would guarantee success—you also needed technology, the kind that was incredibly advanced and cutting-edge.

Regrettably, the Marquis of Bailu's racing team didn't actually have much technology; he had simply bought a Rolls-Royce and made some modifications to it, changing the body shell, nothing more.

As a result, what was a fairly performant Rolls-Royce in the civilian car market didn't stand out technologically in this competition.

Seeing how the poor car of the Marquis of Bailu increasingly fell behind the second group, it was utterly out of the running for the championship.

Meanwhile, the cars from the Ice Cold Kingdom were fiercely battling with those from the Dorne Kingdom. Both parties were chasing and racing, each vying to be the lead of the second group.

As they approached a huge bend ahead, all the cars had to begin slowing down, but one motorcycle, painted with a certain machine factory's advertisement, forcibly accelerated to overtake.

"Slow down! Slow down... It's over! He's got no chance!" On the stands, Tang Mo muttered incessantly as he watched the car nearing the bend.

In the next second, the forcibly accelerated car suddenly lost control and crashed headlong into the guardrail at the side of the track.

To the watchers' horror, the car slammed heavily against the guardrail and, due to the immense inertia, the entire body of the car shot upright. It then rolled twice in the air before crashing heavily onto the grass.

The staff immediately rushed towards the out-of-control car, ready to rescue the unlucky driver.

At that moment, the stands erupted with frenzied cheers—the onlookers, who loved a spectacle and yearned for excitement, had their passion ignited by this spectacular crash.

"That was exhilarating!" One wealthy patron's eyes shone brightly; this was the most thrilling death he had ever witnessed.

"Oh my God! Is he dead? Did he die?" Another wealthy patron laughed numbly as he asked.

For these people, the feeling of witnessing someone racing towards death in such a public spectacle was simply amazing!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Bare-knuckle boxing or gladiator fights couldn't be held in broad daylight, as they seemed to cross the moral baseline of humanity.

But one couldn't blame the spectators for being cold-hearted if a person crashed their car to death, right? In that instant, those crazed, inhumane onlookers fell even more in love with the sport.

Their screams of excitement persisted until the over-turned driver was pulled out by the staff.

Since the unlucky driver hadn't died, but only seemed dazed, a little faint, and had to be helped away from the sad sight of the car on its roof.

Consequently, as if disappointed, the cheering from the stands subsided quite a bit...