“You’re quiet, Vapor,” said Jinx, his engineer, tapping a tablet glowing with diagnostic runes. “The qualifiers are in ten. Apex Corp’s new driver, ‘Hammer,’ is talking trash. Says his raw horsepower will vaporize our ‘ghost-tech.’”
The air in the warehouse hung thick with ozone and the ghost of burnt rubber. Neon lines, pulsing with unstable energy, traced the contours of the sleek, black pods. This was the "X-Force," the world’s first neural-draft racing league, and tonight, the competition wasn't just going to be beaten. It was going to be smoked. x force smoking the competition
Kaelen saw it. A wobble in Hammer’s line. The sun was burning too bright. Says his raw horsepower will vaporize our ‘ghost-tech
Kaelen smiled, a thin, sharp thing. “Let him bring his bonfire. I’ll show him the difference between heat and smoke.” It was going to be smoked
“His core is destabilizing,” Jinx said. “He’s cooking himself.”