Once Upon A Star

2 am. Shengtu Mountain.

Shengtu Mountain was a small mountain an hour away from the city. It had roads that connected to small towns and a highway leading to the Capital. That being said, not many passed through the mountain which is why many street races were held here. The sharp curves and rough terrain made it perfect for toge racing. The people knew to keep quiet since everyone that participates in the event signs a confidentiality and compensation agreement, driving any malicious thoughts away.

Yuan Xing was in various street races before, some even overseas and has won her fair share of battles. When she first saw the mountain, she thought it slightly resembled Mount Haruna in Japan with the greenery sprouting from the sides of the rails. Toge racing, especially on a narrow road such as Shengtu Mountain's, consisted of a one on one race Battle. If Yuan Xing won today's match that would make it her 11th win. She slowly drove her modified Mazda MX-5 to the start of the race line and waited for her opponent to arrive. The cheers from the crowd of people were forgotten and Yuan Xing's eyes took on a wild and fiery shine. It was a few minutes later that the match began, and the revving of engines was soon a sound far in the distance.

The three cars were racing along the roads at high speed, the opponent's car being the lead driver. Yuan Xing closely tailed the car's boot. After a few easy turns left and right, then came the last downhill curve, so she used this chance to slip through a small gap and sped ahead. Yuan Xing accelerated whilst simultaneously oversteering horizontally and pressing the brakes. The tires slid across the road and the car came to face the rails of the sharp corner turn. The weight of the car shifted back toward the center of gravity and the rear swung back in the other direction before Yuan Xing controlled it, accelerating once more.

Passing through the finish line, Yuan Xing released a breath she was holding and eased back into her seat. She rolled her window down and could hear the loud cheers. Yuan Xing stayed back to watch a couple of other races. Before long, she made her way back to the city and came across an accident…

Yuan Xing was driving at her own pace and took the usual short cut towards the Yuans mansion. The short cut was deserted because it ran through dingy old buildings. You'd sometimes see the three or four bad sort, who'd hang out in hopes of a quick hit. This time was different because once Yuan Xing slowly rolled her car through the familiar road, a scuffling noise could be heard in one of the empty warehouses.

'BANG.' Yuan Xing froze and looked up at the sound of the gunshot. This could be an everyday occurrence and it wouldn't normally grab her attention, but the gunshot just then was a special one used by the elite. Yuan Xing could tell by the difference in sounds made by different models. She cursed her luck and shut off the engine. She quietly observed the warehouse and noticed that the sound of footsteps and shouting were getting closer. 'Thank God I'm wearing flat shoes.'

Yuan Xing took cover at the nearby smaller building. The gunshots being made just then were of semi-auto pistols, most likely the Walther series since it was less time consuming, with a pre-loaded striker assembly, instantly firing the pistol. The fighting and muffled screams went on for minutes and then, silence. Yuan Xing analyzed the situation and continued to crouch low in her position. There were no cars or civilians in the area, and everything seemed to take place in one building that was known to be empty. The electricity was cut off which meant that all escape routes were compromised. This was a premeditated fight; everything planned to corner and erase their prey.

The opponent, whoever they were, was caught off guard, clear by the way the sounds of panic and distress drifted towards her ear. The other force was waiting for this moment, seemingly orderly and disciplined. These henchmen were probably affiliated with those bigwigs. Have they begun to move? Why? Who were they so intimidated of that they had to send their men over to kill them? While Yuan Xing was thinking these things over, a man staggered out of a door in the back building. It was obvious that he was wounded but did not stop his steady gait as he silently slid below a large garbage container. Men filed out from the same door the man had and searched for him in all corners.

They spread out and one of them, the leader, was looking at his phone and whispering orders. One of his men walked closer to where Yuan Xing was. She slowed her breathing down and got ready to strike him. When he was within a few meters, the leader's stern command came. Yuan Xing breathed a sigh of relief since she really did not want to get involved in something big yet. She had to remain in the shadows until the time was right. The leader walked around with his phone and seemed to be following a map of sorts. The guy was being tracked! The leader got closer to the garbage bin and crouched. His men got their guns ready. He looked down aaannd...nothing. Both Yuan Xing and the leader were confused. Where the hell did he go?