Chapter 64

Damon's thoughts were entirely consumed by Emberling. Without sparing another moment, he told his teammates, "I'm heading to the pit area." Turning to Noelle, he added, "Stay here with them."

"Okay..." Noelle replied absentmindedly as Damon turned and left.

Watching Damon's eager stride, one of the teammates chuckled. "Man, I've never seen him this hyped about anything."

"Big deal."

"I can't wait to see Emberling for myself."

"That Emberling must be a Heller."

"Keep your eyes peeled, then," another chimed in. "That guy holds the record for illegal racing."

"Look around, everyone here came because of him."

Noelle tilted her head, confused by their conversation. She turned to the group and asked, "By the way, where'd you hear that Emberling was racing today?"

"The organizers," one replied. "If they hadn't announced it, no way this many people would've shown up."

Noelle frowned, her sharp instincts kicking in. After a brief pause, she blurted out, "You've all been duped. This organizer's a fraud!"

"What?" The group was dumbfounded. "Elaborate," one said, narrowing his eyes at Noelle.

She crossed her arms and explained, "Emberling isn't participating in this race. The organizers are just using his name to rake in money!" She gestured emphatically. "Three hundred thousand dollars for entry fees? That's daylight robbery! When I raced, it was only fifteen thousand."

The teammates exchanged skeptical glances. "How do you know for certain?" one asked hesitantly. "Noelle, are you sure?"

With wide, innocent eyes, Noelle blinked and declared confidently, "Because I'm Emberling."

Her tone was so matter-of-fact it took everyone a moment to process. Dead silence fell over the group. They stared at each other, flabbergasted.

"What the hell?" Noelle looked cute and harmless, but now they weren't sure if she had a screw loose. Has she gone crazy? Or was this some elaborate joke, they wondered. If anyone else had said it, they'd burst out laughing. But Noelle was Damon's sister, and mocking her might put them on his bad side.

Finally, someone managed a dry laugh and broke the silence. "Oh… so you're the Emberling? Wow, what an honor to meet the legend in person."

"Really? You believe me?" Noelle asked, genuinely delighted. She had grown used to being dismissed as a lunatic whenever she mentioned her past. It was a pleasant surprise to see them taking her seriously for once.

"Of course, we believe you," one replied with a forced smile. "You totally give off that deep and mysterious vibe."

They weren't buying it for a second.

"Humph." Noelle puffed out her chest proudly. "Since you believe me, we need to expose this scam. The organizers are lying to everyone just to make money!" She took a determined step toward the officials, but her teammates quickly pulled her back.

"Wait, Noelle!"

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Do you really think they can get away with messing up the race? They won't be able to get down the mountain after this," one of the team members remarked. After all, the organizers of illegal street races often had connections with underworld gangs. They didn't dare to cause trouble here.

But they could see that this girl, just like her brother Damon, was a bit stubborn. If they tried to stop her forcefully, that would probably backfire. So, they tried a more tactful approach.

"Noelle, everyone has their own difficulties. The race organizers are trying to use your name to attract participants. It's probably because they're struggling. Why not do them a favor? Help them out a little?"

"No, why should I help them? What's in it for me?" Noelle asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well... consider it a good deed," they suggested.

A good deed! Noelle thought about it for a moment. She had killed quite a few people in the past, though it was all for missions; maybe it wouldn't hurt to earn some good karma for herself.

This reasoning convinced Noelle. She nodded and said, "Fine, I won't go after them then."

Seeing Noelle give in, the team members let out a collective sigh of relief. One of them smiled and asked, "Noelle, you and Damon haven't eaten pasta yet, right? Want us to take you somewhere to grab a bite?"

"Is there food here?" Noelle's eyes lit up. She was starving.

"Of course. Let's go. We'll find something to eat."

"Okay!" The team cheered as they guided Noelle away, flashing an OK gesture to their teammates.

Once Noelle was out of earshot, the others finally relaxed and started complaining.

"Damon's sister suddenly claiming to be the legendary Emberling almost scared me half to death."

"Right? She's so beautiful; how did she get this delusional?"

"Hey, do you think Noelle could really be Emberling? After all, Damon is so skilled; she probably isn't too bad either."

"Are you kidding? Emberling was famous two years ago, and Noelle's barely an adult. Who gave her a car to race?"

"That's true…"

"He must be out of his mind!"

"Definitely a case of a delusional mind."

"No doubt."

Noelle, however, didn't know she was being thought of as mentally unstable. Right now, she was sitting in a food tent set up by the organizers, eating grilled sausages. She had bought ten at once.

The team members watched in stunned silence, asking, "Noelle, do you think you can eat all of those?"

"I can," she replied, stuffing half a sausage into her mouth, her cheeks puffing up. "I've been starving for ages. Ten sausages? No problem! If you can eat them, then go ahead!"

At that moment, a cheer erupted outside. It seemed the round for Emberling had arrived, and the team's attention was immediately drawn elsewhere.

One of them hurriedly turned to Noelle and said, "Noelle, the race is about to start. Do you want to go watch?"

"Sure," Noelle agreed, though she wasn't particularly interested in racing. But for Damon's sake, she decided to go.

"Okay, but when you get there, don't go around saying you're Emberling," one of the team members warned.

Noelle tilted her head, confused. "Why?"

The team member, acting serious, said, "What if someone recognizes you? It'll be so embarrassing for the organizers if the race gets messed up. You wouldn't want to spoil your good deed, right?"

"Alright then." For the sake of good karma, Noelle reluctantly agreed.

As they left the food tent, a middle-aged man in a suit came out from behind the VIP section. He caught a glimpse of Noelle as she hurried by. The man stopped, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the fleeting figure.

His bodyguard, noticing, asked, "Garrett, what's wrong?"

The Garrett mentioned was the race organizer, Garrett Ochoa. He was also responsible for the race that Noelle was participating in.

Garrett's gaze lingered at the entrance of the food tent, a knowing glint flashing in his eyes. "I think I just saw an old acquaintance…"