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Holding fourth gear through the Tunnel, the car surged up to 188 km/h. The engine's roar was amplified within the enclosed space, and an overwhelming sense of speed pressed down on him.
While still inside the Tunnel, Alex Sun smoothly completed the slight steering input for Turn 9. Located within the Tunnel itself, the corner required no major adjustment—maintaining a stable posture was enough to carry the car through on momentum alone.
As he burst out into the blinding sunlight, Alex Sun narrowed his eyes and adapted instantly to the change in lighting, entering the next critical heavy-braking phase without delay.
Right after the Tunnel came the T10–T11 consecutive deceleration complex—Massenet and Loews—the tightest and most demanding braking zone on the Monaco circuit. The transitions were seamless, the margin for error razor-thin, making it the section that tested braking control more than any other on the lap.
From the moment he slammed the brakes after exiting the Tunnel to the exit of Turn 11, the entire sequence took just 5.2 seconds. Alex Sun's hands moved like afterimages. Every input during this violent slowdown directly affected lap time, making it the single most decisive split of the lap.
Twenty-five meters earlier than usual, he hit the brakes to four-fifths travel. The immense stopping force instantly pitched the car's weight forward, pinning his shoulders hard into the seat.
Speed dropped sharply from 188 km/h to 75 km/h. His left hand worked the paddles in quick succession, smoothly dropping from fourth to second gear. With the car straightened along the racing line, he made a slight left turn into Turn 10, then immediately a right into Turn 11, the entire sequence flowing without a hint of hesitation.
After the high-speed Tunnel section, there was zero room for error in the deceleration rhythm—any mistake meant the wall. The precision required through these back-to-back corners was exactly where the gap between top drivers revealed itself.
Alex Sun stayed fully locked in, holding the line with absolute precision as the car skimmed past the walls at a safe margin and cleared the apex cleanly.
Outside the simulator, Mark was holding his breath, his scalp tingling. This kind of pinpoint control under extreme pressure had already surpassed what he thought Alex Sun was capable of.
Exiting Turn 11, Alex Sun smoothly upshifted into third gear. Speed climbed from 50 km/h to 85 km/h as he seamlessly entered the transition sequence leading into the final sprint, from T12 to T18.
These transition corners were mostly medium-to-low speed, with gentle angles but tight spacing. The key was keeping the rhythm unbroken. He held third gear and flowed steadily through the right-hand Turn 12.
As Alex Sun cleared T12, the second sector was complete. Mark's telemetry screen flashed purple once again, the line "Sector 2 Lap Time: 26.51 seconds -0.09" glaringly bright. Taking nearly a tenth off a sector that included the Tunnel's high speed and the brutally technical T10–T11 complex was an exceptional result. Mark's fingers dug even harder into the edge of the desk.
Alex Sun lifted slightly to fine-tune his balance into the left-hand Turn 13, the transition corner before La Rascasse, with no need for extra braking. Using momentum, he then flowed straight through the right-hand Turn 14 and the left-hand Turn 15.
The steering transitions were perfectly continuous. He kept the car glued to the optimal line, stabilizing speed in the 80–85 km/h range—smooth and controlled, with no hint of sliding.
Approaching the T16–T18 section, the famed Piscine Chicane, the track narrowed sharply. This sequence of three quick corners—right at T16, left at T17, right again at T18—left almost no room to breathe.
Alex Sun stayed in third gear, avoiding aggressive throttle inputs and holding speed around 85 km/h. With only subtle steering corrections, he threaded the car through all three corners in one fluid motion, eliminating unnecessary movements and building a decisive advantage for the final run to the line.
Clearing Turn 18, the car fed into a short straight of about 50 meters before he smoothly turned into Turn 19, the Virage Anthony Noghes. The third sector's final sprint had begun, his eyes locked firmly on the finish line.
[Turn 19]He dove into the final corner—the sprint bend after Rascasse. This was the last turn of the lap, directly determining the speed across the line.
In the latter half of the corner, Alex Sun stamped on the throttle. With a slight right-hand input, he let the car drift toward the outside line to maximize exit speed. His left hand flicked the paddles in rapid succession—third gear to fourth in one clean motion.
The engine howled as it pushed toward its limit, speed rocketing from 90 km/h to 170 km/h.
The finish line rushed toward him, and the car blasted across it like an arrow loosed from a bow.
The timer froze at 1:21.87.
The third sector was complete. In front of Mark, the telemetry screen lit up purple once more. Not only did it show "Sector 3 Lap Time: 21.26 seconds -0.11," it also clearly displayed: "Full Lap Purple – Overall Lap Time 1:21.87 -0.32."
All three sectors—personal bests across the board.
Alex Sun let out a long breath. The numbness in his fingertips hadn't faded yet, and the smile on his face quickly settled into calm focus. This was still only a simulator lap. To make it count on a real track, the car would need targeted adjustments to lock the performance in.
Nearby, Mark finally unclenched his fists, stunned into silence.
A full purple lap, with roughly a tenth gained in every sector, far exceeded his expectations of Alex Sun's control—and carried enormous real-world reference value. He checked the telemetry three times before he dared to believe what he was seeing.
A 1:21.87 lap was nearly three-tenths quicker than Alex Sun's initial test. Compared against Prema Racing's reference data, it was comfortably within the top three for F2 Monaco qualifying.
More importantly, a fully purple lap meant balanced pacing with no obvious weak points, laying a rock-solid foundation for race setup work to come.
Alex Sun removed his helmet and pumped his fist hard. The tension that had built up over so long finally drained away, excitement surging through him.
He knew, though, that this result wasn't a fluke. It was the product of a long cycle—watching races, training, and systematic attribute growth. To stabilize this pace in real competition, he'd still need to refine the setup and polish the details with the engineering team.
With only eight days left until the F2 Monaco round officially began, time was tight. This lap time—good enough to fight for the top three—gave Alex Sun total confidence. Without wasting a second, he turned and headed straight for Mark's workstation.
He synced over the full set of training data: complete racing lines, throttle and braking points, and sector-by-sector rhythm. Then he said directly, "Everything's here. I suggest we prioritize suspension tuning through the T8–T11 sequence to lock this pace in."
During the preparation phase, Alex Sun allowed himself no room for complacency.
Knowing full well that racecraft—especially defense—was the key to winning on Monaco's narrow streets, he proactively contacted Guanyu Zhou to set up multiple simulator battles.
They agreed to use their usual rules: starting order would be determined by their Monaco qualifying lap times, recreating real race conditions for attack and defense.
In their earlier matchups, even when Alex Sun started from the front thanks to quicker laps, his lack of defensive experience often left him at a disadvantage. Now, with his attributes surging across the board, he wanted not only to confirm his improvement but also to see just how solid his defense could be on this unforgiving circuit.
They loaded the Monaco virtual track and set the grid based on qualifying times. With his 1:21.87 lap, Alex Sun started ahead, Guanyu Zhou lining up right behind him.
Over three straight days of battles, Guanyu Zhou applied relentless pressure from the moment the lights went out, using slipstream wherever possible. Yet he never managed to punch through Alex Sun's defense, which held like a solid wall.
Even when Alex Sun deliberately slowed his pace into the 1:24 range, he still sealed off every overtaking opportunity with pinpoint-accurate lines.
Every tiny adjustment closed the door just in time. On a track with almost no margin for error like Monaco, Guanyu Zhou couldn't find a single opening and remained completely locked down.
From the heavy braking at Turn 1, through the T10–T11 complex, all the way to the short straight after the Piscine section, Guanyu Zhou tried everything—late-braking dives, slipstream runs, even setup tweaks to disrupt the rhythm. No matter what he did, he couldn't break through.
After three days of being shut down, Guanyu Zhou finally lost his patience. On the final run, just after exiting Turn 11, he went straight for a torpedo move, smashing Alex Sun out of the simulator session.
Helmet off, Guanyu Zhou immediately shouted at Alex Sun over a WeChat voice call, "Don't ever ask me to run Monaco again. I'm done. Damn it—your car feels like it's got a widebody kit installed. I can't get past you no matter what!"
Alex Sun laughed and shot back, "What, am I Alonso now?"
Guanyu Zhou's voice was full of frustration and disbelief. "Then what am I, Hamilton? I surrender! I surrender! Your defense is like you're welded to the track—this is insane!"
Rubbing his sore shoulders, he complained, "You'd better keep this pace in real qualifying. No matter where I try to make a move, you block me completely. There's not a single gap!"
Alex Sun chuckled and handed him a bottle of water. "You're exaggerating. Monaco's narrow—it naturally favors defense. And honestly, thanks to you pushing so hard, I've really tightened up all the details."
After three days of grinding Guanyu Zhou down, Alex Sun's confidence in Monaco skyrocketed. He couldn't help but start imagining what it would feel like to stand on the podium.
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(40 Chapters Ahead)
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