Chapter 41 *

Chapter 41 Chapter 41
Aneglina’s POV
At my words, the guys in front of me all froze.
I knew they were different from my brother, who used to race just to make money. These guys were all trust fund kids with nothing better to do. They had rich, ironclad dads backing them up. Racing was just a game to pass the time for them, nothing more.
But racing was still an extremely expensive extreme sport. To become a racer, you needed your own car, and when it broke down, you had to pay to fix it. Young people who wanted to race couldn't even think about it without a rich dad—unless they rented a car themselves. That's why most racers were trust fund kids like this green-haired guy. People like Leo were incredibly rare.
My words had clearly shocked this group of rich kids who were just here for entertainment. A simple race, and I'd turned it into some kind of death match. Seeing the surprise on their faces, I smirked inwardly—if we're going to play, we're playing for real.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa—hold up. I just wanted to race you, maybe get your number if you lost. You're trying to turn this into some Fast and Furious death match or something?"
The green-haired guy let go of the girl in his arms and walked toward me.
I watched him calmly, completely unbothered. I'd seen plenty of guys like this—all bark at first, but the moment they met someone tougher, they backed down.
"What's wrong? Scared?"
I asked, unruffled.
"Nah, nah—I'm just saying, you seem pretty serious about this. My bad for coming on too strong earlier. Name's Jax Barlow. Looks like we're gonna be on the same team now, so... truce?"
This guy named Jax Barlow might not have been friendly at first, but he was straightforward. He backed down and gave himself an out.
I wasn't petty. Since he'd backed off, there was no need to keep pushing.
"Aria." I gave my name simply.
My brother scratched his head beside me and cheerfully introduced himself: "Leo."
The other guys standing with Jax also introduced themselves. Their names were Blake, Mason, and Samuel. The four of them, plus me and my brother, made six members for the racing team. Our initial crew was formed.
Maybe because of the awkwardness earlier, Jax walked over and extended his hand: "Seriously though, no hard feelings. You've got guts—I respect that."
I shook his hand, and the atmosphere finally relaxed.
Next, the group of us leaned against our cars and discussed the initial plans for our newly formed racing team.
I stayed quiet the whole time, just observing these guys. My brother was the one who talked the most:
"So there's another crew that just formed today—same as us, six people, all rookies. We're brand new, no reputation, no invites to any real races yet. Marc suggested we challenge them to a head-to-head qualifier. If we pull it off, this first race could put us on the map. What do you guys think?"
Watching my brother speak so confidently made me feel gratified. In his previous life, he never had this chance. In this life, I wanted him to live more brilliantly.
Even before my brother spoke, the girls Jax and the others had been holding had already been sent away. Now, listening to my brother's logical plan, Jax leaned against the hood of his car and answered readily:
"Hell yeah, I'm down. Sounds fun. You call the shots, we're good."
Blake nodded too. Mason and Samuel followed suit.
Of the four, Jax seemed to be the most talkative. He jumped down from the car, grinning wildly:
"I'm gonna smoke those guys so bad they'll wish they never showed up!" He said this while winking at me. "And hey, Aria—you're stuck with us now. I don't care if you can drive or not, I'll cover your ass out there. Anyone messes with you, they're messing with me."
Hearing this, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Cover me? If this guy knew I was "Phantom," I wondered what his expression would be. But I appreciated the sentiment.
I gave him an awkward smile and didn't respond.
"We still need a name. And a team captain."
Blake was the quiet type—when he spoke, he got straight to the point.
"I think Leo should be captain. He's got his shit together—knows how to organize things."
Jax said, pointing at my brother.
Although we'd had a small conflict at first, Jax and his crew meant no harm. Now that we were teammates, we should forget the initial unpleasantness and work together. His straightforwardness earned agreement from the other three besides me and my brother.
"Yeah, I'm cool with that."
"Same."
"Works for me."
Suddenly being pushed into a leadership position, Leo didn't react right away.
"Me?" Leo pointed at himself in surprise.
Watching Leo get pushed into the captain's position by a group of people he'd just met, I nodded to myself. My brother definitely had the capability—he just lacked confidence in himself.
"I don't know, man... I'm not really captain material. I mess things up sometimes..."
Hearing my brother's reluctance, I knew I had to push him.
"How do you know unless you try?" I spoke up, interrupting him.
My brother fell silent.
Half a minute later, as if he'd made a huge decision, he said solemnly:
"Alright. I'll do it. I won't let you guys down."
Everyone nodded at his words. Blake patted my brother's shoulder, and as usual, got straight to the point:
"So what are we calling ourselves?"
"What about 'Thunder'?" Mason raised an eyebrow.
"Nah, that's lame." Jax cut in. He thought for a moment before saying, "How about 'Wipe the Floor Crew'? Ha!"
Hearing this name, I almost couldn't hold back my laughter.
Everyone fell silent, clearly dissatisfied with the name too.
They racked their brains but couldn't come up with a good name. Just when everyone was stuck, I already had an idea. If we were going to do this, we'd do it right.
"Apex." I said quietly.
Everyone's eyes turned to me at once, all showing a glint of approval.
And just like that, we had a captain and a team name. We exchanged contact information and then went our separate ways.
Apex... Soon, this name would echo throughout every pack in North America, and even farther beyond.