Regression - Second Chance At Life

Chapter 314: Frustrated Team

Though Uncle Ben continues to be polite and professional with Adam, Adam can tell that the man has his eyes on him.

Well, he doesn’t expect anything else, given who Danny is; Adam’s sure he has multiple people looking out for him; Ben is clearly one of them.

From what Adam can see, Ben here is clearly an ex-military guy, given his posture, something drilled into him that is very hard to get rid of.

Adam can also sense that he is a dangerous man capable of inflicting harm if needed.

Adam knows he can’t let himself slip when Ben’s around. He needs to be as genuine a friend as he can be towards Danny, and only then will Ben not be suspicious of him.

Adam’s sure that Ben has been updating Danny’s father about everything he does, and if Danny’s father even suspects that he has a certain motive regarding Danny, Adam’s life’s not going to be easy.

Even with all the physical and mental gifts that Adam has received, fighting a billionaire is not something Adam wants to do, not until he has money, status, fame, and connections to ward off the unnecessary complications that might be thrown at him by such a powerful man.

Putting his worries aside, Adam decides to focus on the matter at hand. He walks up to the stratasurg and starts walking around it, looking at the changes made in the car.

Not only have the engineers changed the tires, but they also changed the engine oil and replaced the existing fuel with premium racing fuel; they even went as far as electronically tuning the engine to derive as much performance from it as possible, making Adam excited about driving it.

The car was already a beast, and now that it is race-tuned, Adam is sure going to love ripping this beast through the city streets at night.

As he is taking his sweet time observing all the changes that have been made to the car, a man walks in pushing a large suit hanger, which is lined with multiple racing suits.

Adam notices this and takes a look at it. The racing suits are similar to the ones used by professional drivers. Adam didn’t expect Ben to go so far as to even arrange a racing suit for him.

”We didn’t know what size suit would fit you, so I got them in all sizes,” Ben says, pointing at the.

”Isn’t Uncle Ben amazing? He can arrange anything you want,” Danny says with a big grin on his face.

Adam looks at Ben and gives him a thankful smile, while wondering how useful it is to have a handyman like Ben around, he decides to get himself one as well when he is drowning in money like the Coronants.

”Is the driver ready?” A person in the room speaks up, calling for Adam.

From the looks of it, he is in charge of this team of engineers.

”Let me put on the suit first,” Adam says and walks up to the hanger, grabbing the suit that fits his size, and enters the changing room.

A few minutes later, Adam walks out with a perfect fit red suit that aligns almost perfectly with his body. The inseam of the pants could have been a little longer, and the waist could have been a little smaller, but those are minor things to be worried about.

As Adam steps out, a member of the crew comes up to him with several helmets to see which fits him best.

Adam is surprised by how much effort these people are putting into this, even though it’s just a normal guy trying to drive a supercar on a race track.

Adam can tell that every person in this team is a real professional who has worked with real race drivers under real teams, bearing the flags of real motor vehicle industrial giants who invest billions of dollars into these sports every year.

And now they are here, still being professional to the T just because Danny wanted to see his toy perform.

Adam wonders how many of them are here willingly. From the look on their faces, he can tell that most of them are not thrilled to be here, but they must have been paid a lot of money, given that they were rushed here to work on a car they are not familiar with.

As Adam finds himself a helmet that perfectly sits on his head, a middle-aged man with graying hair walks up to him.

Average height, a little obese, but there is an air of leadership around him.

”So you will be the one driving?” He asks. His voice sounded rough but clear.

”Yes,” Adam says with a smile.

The man gives Adam a judgmental look. Adam can see that the man has no confidence in him and thinks Adam’s just another rich kid who wants to fool around with this expensive toy.

”My name is Dante Ferrara. I am the head race strategist of this team. When you are out there, you will listen to my commands and follow them so that you don’t end up in a ditch and get hurt,” Dante explains with a monotone voice, but Adam can sense the disapproval in his voice.

”Sure,” Adam says, not wanting to give the guy more things to worry about.

”Okay, have you done this before?” He asks.

”Na, first time,” Adam says with an innocent smile.

Hearing those words, the corner of Dante’s eyes twitches. Adam can tell the man is getting more annoyed by the minute as frustration continues to build up.

But he can’t act on it, as his professionalism and career are on the line; if he or anyone on his team messes up, they can bid their jobs goodbye forever, as offending the Coronant is not something one should do.

Dante takes a defeated sigh and walks away, not bothering to continue talking with Adam anymore; instead, he sends one of his junior strategists to fill Adam in on all the details, like the changes in the cars, while also giving Adam a brief run-through about the tract itself and the best possible decisions he can make while he is driving through it.

Though Adam is very confident in his skills and physical abilities, he still listens to all the instructions carefully, as they can come in handy. The more information he has, the better his brain can function and act during those split-second decision-making events he is likely to face.

After a few more minutes, Adam is ready, the team is ready, and everyone settles into their positions.

Adam puts on his helmet and walks up to the Stratasurge, admiring its outer beauty one last time before entering.

”You ready?” Danny asks as he approaches Adam.

”As ready as I can be,” Adam says.

”I can’t wait to see you put on a top 10 lap record time!” Danny says excitedly.

Hearing his words, a few people in the room scoff, thinking how foolish Danny is being. After all, how can Adam, a complete amateur kid who’s not even in his early 20s, set a record lap time? Even professional drivers who have been driving for years will not be able to do it in a few tries.

Adam doesn’t care about these scoffs, while Danny seems completely ignorant of them, as he is blinded by the hype he has created when it comes to Adam.

In his eyes, Adam is becoming this fantasy main character who can do anything. Adam is well aware of this and will make sure to use it to his advantage. The more Danny looks up to him, the easier he will be for him to influence Danny into doing his bidding.

”Just wait and watch,” Adam says, and gets inside the car and closes the door.

As he takes his seat and settles into the car, he gets a little serious, and a weird sensation washes over him.

He mentally feels as if his body is becoming one with the car. Adam sets his hands on the steering wheel and takes in a deep, relaxing breath, calming his nerves.

”Can you hear me, kid?” Adam hears a voice in his head.

It’s from the intercom attached to the helmet he is wearing.

”Loud and clear,” Adam says.

”Good, check your seat belt,” He says. ”They are on,” Adam says.

”Okay, let’s take this slowly first, start the engine, and roll out. Just drive at a comfortable pace so that you get familiar with the lab. Don’t rush it. Don’t try anything stupid. And lastly, and most importantly, don’t get yourself killed. I don’t want to be held responsible for your death,” Dante says.

”Got it,” Adam says, chuckling.

He is not annoyed or angry at Dante for the way he is treating Adam, because if Adam were in Dante’s position, he would be feeling the same.

After all, Dante and his team are top-grade professionals, trying to guide a kid in a juiced-up supercar who has never raced inside a circuit ever in his life, all because a rich billionaire’s kid wants to see how fast his toy can go.

’Well, let’s hope that he is at least getting paid well,’ Adam thinks and turns on the engine.

”Okay, engine’s on,” Adam says.

”Good, make sure everything is running and is in working condition.” Dante orders.

These checks have already been done by his team, but he asks Adam anyway since he will be the one driving it.

”Everything looks good,” Adam says.

”Okay then, you are ready to roll out,” Dante gives the green signal.