Under the cover of night, the blue sports car sped along the mountain road like a ghost that kept flashing by, leaving only the moonlight scattered on the ground.
O'Dean stared intently at the road ahead, his peripheral vision catching glimpses of the fleeting trees. Before he could even swallow the saliva in his mouth, he felt the sports car beneath him slow down again, finally coming to a steady stop back at their starting point.
"call--"
Xiao He turned his neck and felt a slight soreness. He unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the door, and got out of the car: "Thanks, bro, but I have to go back now."
Xiao He had already figured out the complete route of the mountain road on the island while riding his bicycle, so this time, when he was driving with Ou De'en, he did not slow down at all and drove around the island, indulging in the thrill of driving a limited-edition sports car.
It was already late, and Director Zhuang's motorcycle was still parked by the roadside. Although there were no thieves on this island, Xiao He still planned to return such valuable items as soon as possible.
"Wait a moment."
Ou De'en called out to Xiao He again.
"On behalf of our club, I would like to invite you to the Euro GT3 endurance race (fictional) to be held in Bengal, Italy next month."
"The European GT3 endurance race?"
Xiao He turned to look at Ou De'en.
Actually, this kind of racing knowledge is not within the scope of Xiao He's driving skills, but since he already knows it, Xiao He had learned some of it before.
In layman's terms, this kind of competition is like a group of car companies getting together, modifying their sports cars into non-civilian GT3 race cars, and then competing on a professional track to see who can run faster and longer.
To put it bluntly, these car companies are just advertising themselves and building connections.
Endurance races, as the name suggests, are about endurance. They are divided into many groups, where several people form teams and take turns driving on the same track until the time runs out. Whoever goes the farthest wins.
"I can't really be considered a professional race car driver, and I don't understand the point of your invitation."
Xiao He shrugged and said quite frankly.
These kinds of races always attract a lot of attention, and car companies, for the sake of reputation and profits, will definitely prefer teams with strong capabilities. Although O'Dean is somewhat unconventional, he is indeed capable, and his team, along with his own abilities, is quite famous throughout Europe. Therefore, Xiao He doesn't think they will lack a racing driver.
"So, we'd like to invite you to participate in the Pro-Am group of this competition."
"Pro-Am?"
"Pro" refers to a professional driver, while "Am" refers to a gentleman driver, or amateur driver.
The Pro-Am group is a combination of professional and amateur drivers.
This combination has garnered considerable attention in recent years. After all, the organizers mandated the creation of such a diverse amateur combination in order to attract more attention, lower the barrier to entry for racing, and allow more ordinary people to participate, thereby expanding the scale and influence of the competition.
Interestingly, this group has indeed produced a variety of impressive feats over the years. For example, amateur drivers have used tricks to outmaneuver professional drivers and win first place. Another example is when a celebrity from the United States came to participate in the competition, which brought in a wave of fan economy and boosted the activity of fans of racing drivers in the industry, turning an ordinary racing driver into a celebrity driver.
As early as when he discovered Xiao He's strength, Ou De'en had already begun to make his move.
"Don't worry, if you can participate in the competition, we can help you with the appearance fee and the issues with the production crew here."
As he spoke, O'Dean confidently patted his car window.
Xiao He's gaze fell on the Ferrari where Ou De'en was sitting, and his eyes lit up: "Your sponsor is them?"
"uh-huh."
O'Dean smiled slightly, revealing his perfectly white teeth: "So your appearance fee will definitely be substantial."
The biggest sponsor of this competition is one of Europe's largest automotive lubricant brands, with a total prize pool of 5 million euros.
In addition, if a team ranks first in the overall standings of this race, it will be able to obtain the brand's regional sponsorship rights for the following year.
This region covers markets in five European countries and is worth approximately 3 million euros.
However, achieving this ranking is actually very difficult, because it is based on total points. Not only do they need to perform well in the higher-level Platinum group, but they also need to ensure that the other groups below them do not drag them down and strive for a higher ranking to accumulate more points.
This means that all the drivers in the team cannot relax and must perform their best in order to have a chance to compete in the overall standings.
Even though Oudern's team is consistently among the top teams, and Oudern is the team's ace, he doesn't dare to confidently guarantee that his team will definitely take first place this time.
Moreover, I heard that there's also the young master of a certain car company involved, who has loved racing since childhood and dreams of becoming a champion. To fulfill his dream, he specifically recruited top drivers from two established racing teams.
These two drivers have been established for a long time and have always been the big bosses in the professional group in this type of competition. However, this time they brought this young master to compete in the professional-amateur group. From this, we can see the background and strength of this young master.
I'm afraid that once they're on the road, no other convoy will dare to bump into them, for fear of offending the young master.
But—this prize pool is really tempting! Who wouldn't be tempted?
However, even if you're tempted, there's nothing you can do. Not everyone can beat the two ace racers over there without being afraid of offending the young master—unless that person is Xiao He.
Xiao He is from China and works as an actor, not in the entertainment industry. Even if he offends the young master, he can simply walk away without being affected. Moreover, his driving skills are superb, completely crushing the other contestants.
As for the other conditions, Xiao He also met them all.
Let's set aside the license level for now. Although Xiao He's domestic license level is too low to be used internationally, it's the easiest problem to solve if he wants to participate. Their team can directly help Xiao He obtain a license that meets the basic requirements for amateur racers.
And if he hasn't participated in any purely professional-level competitions in the past three years, that's even simpler. After all, Xiao He doesn't even have an international license, let alone participate in professional-level competitions abroad.
So when Oudern returned to his team and told them about the situation, the team's coaches and managers were very interested.
However, Xiao He shook his head: "Sorry, I don't have time."
He then put on his helmet and prepared to ride away.
"Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute—"
O'Dean immediately moved the car forward a little, using the front of the car to block Xiao He's way: "We can offer this amount for the appearance fee!"
He held up five fingers to Xiao He.
Xiao He could only stand still and look at O'Dean: "Fifty thousand US dollars?"
"It's five hundred thousand US dollars!"
Ou De'en emphasized earnestly, "You're supposed to be a star from China, how can you have such a small appetite? Your appearance fee will definitely not be shortchanged!"
Xiao He's eyelids twitched.
Wait, how much did you say?
Xiao He had originally wanted to squeeze through the gap next to him, but when he heard Ou De'en drop the bomb, he stopped in his tracks.
"Ahem, but then again..."
Xiao He coughed lightly a few times.
He was rambling on and on, spouting so much nonsense. He could have just gotten to the point! Instead, he kept rambling on about all sorts of random things.
Who cares what actually happened in the game!
Although Xiao He aspires to be in the entertainment industry, if it's about making money... well, fighting for what he loves, then it's his duty.
“I can participate in the competition, but I can’t guarantee the outcome. As for the production team, you should negotiate with them. It can’t affect the filming schedule. And if the production ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ team explicitly refuses, I will not participate.”
Xiao He earnestly gave his instructions.
Don't worry!
O'Dean immediately honked the horn excitedly.
"Then I'll be going now. I'll contact President Zhuang right away."
Then, as if afraid that Xiao He would change his mind, the blue Ferrari sped away in a flash.
Xiao He: ...This child is even more anxious than I am.
I've never seen anyone rush to give money away like that...
