Chapter 135: Drift Is King

Wang Yu could not quite understand why Mo Shu, who clearly possessed excellent drifting skills during ERC competitions, was stubbornly sticking to a grip-driving style at this moment.

Mo Shu’s explanation was simple: drifting, a technique primarily supported by oversteer, severely compromises a vehicle's exit speed. In ERC, drifting is a necessary evil because gravel and ice-covered roads offer almost zero traction, and even on asphalt, the road conditions are typically abysmal.

The mountain roads of Yunding Peak, however, are different. With their smooth, paved surface and pitch-black tarmac, it would be a waste not to utilize a grip-driving technique. Furthermore, Mo Shu believed that once the downhill race is held and the entire Yunding Peak mountain pass has been fully modified into a proper circuit, the road conditions will be so pristine that drift techniques will be entirely redundant. Indeed, in modern circuit racing, masters' events, and the speed-dominated Super Formula, it is rare to see drivers drifting through corners. Therefore, given suitable surface conditions, the grip-driving method is more efficient than drifting. This is the collective wisdom of generations of veteran racers and the proven result of countless track engineers' experiments and research.

"Son, sometimes you shouldn't rely too heavily on theory." The hands-free call was still active, and Mo Shanhe’s formal lesson had only just begun.

"How about we put it to the test, father? Talking is hindering my performance. Shall we hang up?" Mo Shu suggested.

"Very well. Find a place to park and rest once we reach the bottom, and we can discuss your takeaways then." With that, Mo Shanhe ended the call.

"Come on! Let me show my father what I’m made of! Buckle up, old Wang!" Mo Shu let out an excited growl.

However, as both father and son began to drive in earnest, Mo Shu realized that his father’s driving style had suddenly transformed.

The first realization was that he couldn't shake him off. The second was that the way the old S15 took corners could only be described as insane. The nose of the car would aggressively dive into the apex in a drift, and the tail would frantically brush against the guardrails upon exit. It was a daring, high-risk style that even Mo Shu dared not attempt.

The RT’s 500 horsepower was impressive, but in this section of tight, frequent turns, it seemed unable to fully exert its power. The S15, by contrast, stayed glued to the tail of the RT through every exit, making it impossible to see any performance gap between the two vehicles. Mo Shu was pushing to his absolute limit, hitting every racing line with pinpoint precision, yet he could not gain any further advantage.

How could he be this fast? Mo Shu could not imagine what his father was doing inside the cabin of that S15. Inside the S15, Tang Xiuxian was so shocked by Mo Shanhe’s maneuvers that he began to question reality.

"Old man, are you not using the brakes at all? Are you relying entirely on the friction and inertia of the drift to control your speed?"

"Haha, it’s not that extreme. I do tap them once in a while." The S15 still used a traditional manual transmission; Mo Shanhe shifted the gear lever rapidly while finding time to banter with Tang Xiuxian.

"Monster!" Tang Xiuxian muttered under his breath. He was like this in his youth, and he hadn't changed a bit in his old age! Tang Xiuxian glanced at the dashboard and nervously checked his seatbelt.

The S15’s relentless pursuit left Mo Shu, who was leading, struggling to catch his breath. It was too fast! He felt a sense of despair, as if he were out of options. At this rate, he would lose to his father sooner or later. How was that S15 drifting without seemingly needing to decelerate?

In his distress, Mo Shu felt a sense of familiarity, a feeling of having been here before. A drift car battling a four-wheel-drive car on a downhill mountain course—as he pieced these elements together, a realization dawned on him.

Perhaps Mo Shu had become too accustomed to his identity as a transmigrator, almost forgetting his original world. In that world, there was a classic racing manga titled *Initial D*, created by the renowned Japanese author Shuichi Shigeno. And wasn't the protagonist of that story and his father the ultimate drift masters of the mountain pass? How could he have forgotten such an essential work? Mo Shu wanted to reach out and smack his own head.

This parallel world lacked *Initial D*, and the theory of drifting through corners was not yet fully perfected. Why not introduce these concepts to his Yunding Peak Downhill Race? Mo Shu began to dream. Looking back, the strongest drifter he had encountered since crossing over was his own father, Mo Shanhe. And wasn't this scene—driving while lecturing—eerily similar to Bunta Fujiwara teaching his son, Takumi Fujiwara? No wonder it felt so familiar; the underlying essence was the same.

Unfortunately, even with this new inspiration, Mo Shu could not stop his father’s drifting assault. The nightmarish seven-turn complex was approaching; that terrifying series of bends would likely be the perfect moment for Mo Shanhe to overtake.

No! I cannot give up! Mo Shu encouraged himself inwardly.

Even in a four-wheel-drive car, there was no reason he couldn't drift as gracefully as his father. That’s right! He still had the system! He had been so busy with races recently that he had completely pushed the system to the back of his mind. Mo Shu quickly accessed the system in his mind and reset his talent to "Street Racing."

Although there were differences between downhill racing and street racing, Mo Shu clearly remembered that the Street Racing talent tree included a passive skill called "Reinforced Drift." Looking at his current skill points, besides "Reinforced Drift," there was another skill below it called "Drivetrain Bias" that seemed perfect for the situation.

Once the talent points were allocated, Mo Shu realized that "Drivetrain Bias" was an active skill. Upon opening it, he was overcome with ecstasy; this skill was game-breaking! Mo Shu could now modify the power distribution ratio of any car through the system interface. While he couldn't turn a four-wheel-drive car into a pure rear-wheel-drive one, he could at least shift 80% of the power to the rear wheels. It was essentially an external differential—it was invincible!

Before entering the seven-turn complex, Mo Shu had finished setting up the skills. It was time to show his true colors!

"Hey, your son has started drifting too!" Tang Xiuxian said in surprise from the S15.

"I see it. But drifting won't help; four-wheel-drive cars are inherently limited by their hardware," Mo Shanhe replied dismissively.

"Is that so? Then I’m relieved." Since Mo Shanhe said it was fine, Tang Xiuxian relaxed.

However, after the first two turns of the complex, the RT500 performed magnificently. Not only did it avoid the understeer that plagued the RS7, but its drift angle and speed were in no way inferior to Mo Shanhe’s S15.

"Step on it, your son is pulling away from you again," Tang Xiuxian teased, feeling a strange sense of schadenfreude.

"Don't worry, forcing a drift through these corners comes at a price," Mo Shanhe remained confident.

Yet, after two more turns, Mo Shu’s cornering became even faster. Only then did Mo Shanhe realize the truth, and he shouted in his heart:

"Oh no!"