Wilbur realized he might be overly anxious, probably due to the recent Night Demon issues that had heightened his sensitivity to the environment, much like the flickering streetlight he had noticed on his evening walk.


    With this in mind, he took a deep breath and rxed. However, as the Ferrari rounded a corner, Wilbur''s nerves tightened again, suddenly aware that his earlier impression was not just a figment of his imagination.


    In Wilbur''s understanding, racing should be exhrating. Given how well both he and Arsi were driving, the bystanders they had passed should have been cheering. But they were not, and this anomaly did not sit right with him.


    There were two possible exnations for this unusual behavior. The first possibility was that these individuals were infected with the Night Demon virus. Dale had informed Wilbur about the nature of the virus, which, once contracted, caused extreme emotional suppression. Thus, observing whether someone''s emotional responses were normal could indicate an infection.


    The second possibility, which Wilbur found more usible, was that these individuals, being members of the Coyote Racers, were trying not to show too much excitement to avoid making Wilbur and Arsi overly confident.


    However, considering that Diseya was a small, remote town, and in the eyes of Ariel and his team, Wilbur and Arsi were just poor locals, their invitation to join the team was more likely a joke.


    They were not really considering Wilbur and Arsi for their team. Thus, they would not need to hide their emotions for fear of inting Wilbur''s or Arsi''s egos.


    Given this context, Wilbur suspected that the more likely exnation was the first: that these people might be infected with the Night Demon virus.


    While driving, Wilbur adjusted his Bluetooth headset and called Arsi. The call was quickly connected.


    "Hey, Wilbur, what''s up?" Arsi''s voice came through.


    "Arsi, are you certain that everyone from the Coyote Racers team passed the gic scanner?"


    "Yeah, I checked them when they came for their cars. They''re all clean, no signs of gic mutation."


    "What''s going on, Wilbur? Did something happen?"


    "Nothing major, just something feels off."


    "Don''t worry, Wilbur. They haven''t been infected by the Night Demon virus. You might be overthinking it."


    "Got it," Wilbur replied and ended the call. Immediately, he floored the elerator. The Ferrari surged forward, quickly catching up with and overtaking Arsi. Wilbur skillfully maneuvered to take the lead, guiding the way ahead.


    Meanwhile, Ariel touched his Bluetooth earpiece and answered a call. Vincent''s urgent voice came through: "Ariel, how are things going? Have you seeded?" Ariel nced at his watch and responded calmly, "Don''t worry, Mister Vincent. Give me two more minutes, and I''ll ensure the n is executed."


    "Good. In two minutes, I''ll cut the power to Diseya."


    "Understood," Ariel replied, ending the call. He then turned to his team, who all shed sinister smiles. These individuals were not genuine rich kids. They were risk-takers willing to gamble with their future to aplish the Night Demon Project.


    Ariel had calcted that Wilbur and Arsi would reach the finish line in about a minute and a half. At that moment, his team would pretend to cheer enthusiastically, creating a distraction. During themotion, Eliel would get close enough to bite Wilbur, infecting him with the Night Demon virus. Then, under the cover of darkness, they would drive away unnoticed.


    Then, they would be able to infect Wilbur without anyone knowing.


    Everything was unfolding ording to Ariel''s n. Now, all that remained was for Wilbur and Arsi to reach the finish line.


    On the track, Arsi, frustrated by Wilbur blocking his attempts to pass, opened his Bluetooth connection and called Wilbur. "Hey, Mister Wilbur, can you let me through?"