The mist covered the post apocalyptic landscape of Enoverse. Hidden in that mist were a dozen cars. Recoil parked his car and took deep breaths to calm his rapidly pounding heart.
He scanned the area through his left car window just as The Reaper's car obscured his view. Their eyes met, his in instant recognition replaced with fierce determination. The Reaper's was slower first in recognition replaced then by a somewhat bored expression. The countdown began. 3... 2... 1...
The horn blared like a beast's roar, echoing across the jagged expanse of Enoverse's Dead Zone—a wasteland carved by data storms, riddled with digital wreckage and shifting terrain. Recoil's Lamborghini Sián shot off the line like a bullet, tires screeching against the synthetic road that pulsed with neon veins of virtual energy.
Behind him, twelve other players gunned it, their rides a chaotic blend of spikes, armor plating, and brute force. No one here was looking to play fair.
Nova's voice cut through the roar of the engine. "Obstacle detected: 400 meters. Terrain shift imminent. Hold steady."
Recoil's hands tightened on the wheel, his jaw set. Ahead, the road fractured, pixelated chunks crumbling into a glowing ravine. Without missing a beat, he activated the jump module—one of the five upgrades he'd equipped—and the Sián soared through the air.
Below him, one of the competitors failed to react in time. Their vehicle plunged into the void, disintegrating into a scatter of red polygons.
As he landed, the suspension absorbed the impact with a smooth bounce. A jolt of adrenaline surged through him. This wasn't just a race. This was survival.
The next segment was chaos incarnate. Giant metal arms swung out from the walls, timed to swat down speeding racers like flies. Recoil weaved between them, each movement precise, mechanical. One swing grazed his rear bumper, sparks flying, but he didn't lose momentum.
"Driver status: Focused. Heart rate elevated but stable," Nova noted calmly.
"Keep the chatter low, Nova. I need full bandwidth," Recoil muttered.
From the left flank, a player with a flame-emblazoned muscle car—tagged as PyroBlade—pulled up beside him, grinning behind tinted glass. The player slammed a collision module into action, sideswiping Recoil's ride hard enough to rock the cabin.
"Friendly bunch," Recoil hissed, stabilizing with a hard turn. He hurriedly activated his Stasis Pulse. A short-range EMP wave blasted out, locking PyroBlade's controls for 2.5 seconds.
Just enough.
Recoil veered away and left the player skidding into a wall of rotating blades. The crash was brutal. Another racer down.
The track veered into a tunnel next—dark, narrow, and lined with explosive mines triggered by sound. Recoil slowed just a hair, breathing through his nose, ears tuned to the faint beeping of the mines' proximity alerts. One wrong throttle and it'd all be over.
Then came the real nightmare: the Gauntlet Bridge.
Suspended in mid-air, it shimmered with corrupted data and missing code. Half of it was invisible unless scanned in real time. Players ahead were already misjudging their paths, slipping through phantom roads and falling into the binary void.
Recoil engaged his Eagle Sight module—an augmented HUD overlay that rendered invisible terrain in radiant blue.
He leaned forward, gaze locked. The road ahead flickered, shifted, stabilized. He weaved through missing panels, jumped across data gaps, and ducked under falling debris as the track deteriorated behind him.
Suddenly, a warning blared in his ear.
"Incoming homing missile—rear left!"
He didn't look. He reacted.
Quantum Leap—engaged.
The car blinked forward five meters, reappearing just in time to avoid a direct hit. The missile exploded behind him, sending fire licking across the back of the Sián.
"Hull integrity: 62%," Nova informed, calm as ever.
"Noted," Recoil said through gritted teeth.
He hit the straightaway next—the final stretch. Three chased him fiercely: a sleek hoverbike moving like liquid metal, an armored dune buggy firing machine-gun turrets in every direction, and a tricked-out hover-truck that looked like a war machine from another game entirely.
They weren't racing anymore. They were hunting. " What the heck is going on?" Recoil inquired in surprise, they were supposed to be tearing st each other's throats. "They've formed a temporary alliance," Nova stated. "Intent: eliminate you."
Aw men! Figures.
Recoil braced as bullets zipped past. He dropped a smokescreen and activated Overdrive Mode, sending the Sián into a burst of raw, furious speed. He accelerated quickly to a raw 245mph.
He ducked and dodged as the other racers closed in, each trying to take the lead—or take him out.
Then the terrain changed one last time.
The road split into three lanes—one lined with lava geysers, the second with collapsing platforms, and the third with narrow magnetic rails meant only for precision driving.
Recoil didn't hesitate.
He chose the third.
The Sián locked onto the rail, wheels magnetized. Every movement had to be perfect. One twitch, one hesitation, and he'd be flung off. But this was his element. Precision. Control. Pressure.
One by one, he watched the others falter—one taken out by a geyser, the other by a falling platform. Only the hover-truck remained, barrelling through sheer force alone.
Recoil hit the final boost. The finish line came into view—a golden gate shimmering in the digital sky.
"jump in 50 meters," Nova warned.
Recoil slammed the throttle. The Sián launched off the last ramp like a black meteor.
He soared through the air, the world silent for a moment.
Then he crossed the line. Victory! Or so he thought. " Final leg" Nova announced. " What the h-" He hissed.
The earpiece in his ear crackled. " Hey man how you holding up?" Tyrion chirped. " Lovely and you?" Recoil replied in a tone dripping with sarcasm.
Typically Tyrion ignored the tone. " Just fine man we've launched a drone to give us aerial view of the racers"
" How's everything right now?" Recoil inquired and gave a sharp turn. " Well forty players out of sixty five are still alive. If that's what you're asking" Vapor chimed in.
" What about Reaper?" Recoil asked in curiosity. " He's right behind you" came Smoke's alarmed reply. " Wait! What!!!" Recoil gasped…