The black Mercedes G63 AMG landed very gently on the main landing pad at the Vance mansion.
Isabella shut off the ionic engines and looked at Lohan, who had taken advantage of the ride to examine the interior and the workings of that famous vehicle; he was surprised that, despite its rough and rugged exterior, the interior was extremely comfortable, luxurious, and smooth.
Isabella smiled, her expression carrying a lightness she rarely showed in her daily life, and motioned for him to follow her out of the vehicle.
As soon as the pneumatic doors opened, Lohan was struck by the fragrance of Isabella’s garden.
Although he now also lived in a wonderful place, with a pleasant aroma and carefully controlled atmosphere, the air here was saturated with the scent of rare flowers and plants, maintained by an invisible air-purification system that made breathing here even more luxurious than at his own home.
Considering the difference in value between the two properties, this made perfect sense.
They walked along a white stone path that wound its way toward an annex building, a structure resembling a hangar made of glass and polished metal, situated just a few meters from the living quarters of the grand mansion.
This was essentially Isabella’s mechanical sanctuary.
Upon entering, Lohan froze, his jaw dropping as his eyes took in the vast collection.
The place was immense, a high-tech warehouse where luxury and sports cars were displayed like works of art in a museum. Some were parked on the pearlescent floor, while others rested on elevated carbon-fiber platforms, maximizing vertical space to the fullest, even though space was hardly an issue here.
Lohan was stunned to recognize brands he thought had been forgotten by time or turned into relics in historical museums.
In front of him, a white Ferrari Luceferro gleamed under the spotlights, the very same car Lisa often used to get around. Next to it, a Lamborghini Void, with edges so sharp they seemed to slice through the air, exuded an insane aggressiveness reminiscent of alien creatures encountered by humanity.
There were Rolls-Royces with paint jobs that changed color depending on the viewing angle, Bugattis that looked like Earth-made spaceships, and brands exclusive to this new world, such as the Actros Apex and the Zenith Zephyr, whose designs were completely unlike anything Lohan had ever seen.
Lohan walked between the rows, his hand almost touching the cold, perfect surfaces, now understanding why Lisa had found it so easy to offer him different vehicles in the real world.
"Your collection is truly incredible... I’m surprised you actually like cars this much, Bella," Lohan remarked, his eyes sparkling as he stopped in front of a beautiful sky-blue McLaren, the largest and most aggressive version he’d ever seen. "This garage is more impressive than any dungeon we’ve ever explored. Where did all this come from?"
Isabella stepped closer to him, her hands resting in the pockets of the suit she was still wearing, watching his reaction with obvious pride. "When you grow up in a house with three older brothers, all car-obsessed guys, and a mother who also loves cars, it’s hard not to love them too."
"Even your mom is like that?!" Lohan was even more surprised.
"Haha, if you’re surprised by my collection, I’m actually afraid to imagine how you’d react if you saw my mom’s." She laughed softly, walking alongside Lohan. "I started my own collection when I was thirteen. I got a few models for birthdays, but I earned most of them on my own merit, whether through academic achievements or by meeting my mom’s goals ahead of schedule. Whenever I had the chance to buy one, I’d take it and choose the one I liked best at the time."
She pointed to the yellow Ferrari Luceferro that Lohan had admired earlier. "That one right there was the beginning of it all. It was the gift that marked my official entry into the world of speed... That’s where my dad taught me how to drive..." She paused for a moment. "Each one of them means something different to me."
Lohan listened to her explanation, surprised by this unexpected opportunity to get to know her better.
"Halon, I’m going upstairs to change," Isabella said, interrupting his daydream and taking one last look at how he was dressed, wanting to choose something that matched his understated style for the visit to the Lower Zone. "Feel free to explore. Just try not to break anything, though I know your new reflexes make that difficult." She teased, winking at him before leaving the garage and heading toward the interior of the mansion.
Lohan was left alone in the silence of the garage, walking further into the depths of the hangar, passing hypercars that cost more than the entire Lower Zone combined. After a few minutes of exploring, his eyes finally settled on a vehicle positioned on an elevated platform in the shadiest corner of the room.
Unlike the extravagance of the others, this car was much more understated, yet it possessed lines that anyone who truly understood and loved cars would recognize instantly.
It was a futuristic take on an icon Lohan had admired in his previous world: a Porsche 911. It had been redesigned with composite materials and state-of-the-art ionic engines, yet still retained the classic silhouette and rounded headlights of years past, as beautiful as he remembered, or perhaps even more so thanks to the dark gray pearlescent finish.
Looking at that vehicle, which at the same time resembled a version of the 911 he knew from his previous world, yet bore traces of the evolution brought about by this world’s technology, he felt extremely drawn to it.
The car was matte black, with its completely tinted windows making it look like a smaller version of the G-Wagon Lisa had driven to his apartment, but with the appearance of an older car; even with its smaller, sportier body, this 911 seemed much more understated, exactly to his taste.
He was so engrossed in examining the air intakes integrated into the carbon fiber body that he didn’t even notice Isabella’s return until the sound of light footsteps echoed on the stone floor.
When he turned around, Lohan was truly shocked by Lisa’s current appearance.
She had shed the image of the cold, beautiful, and aloof CEO that suit had conveyed, and now, instead of the silk suit, Isabella wore a large jacket made of dark synthetic fabric, a white beanie that hid part of her red hair, and sunglasses that concealed the golden sparkle in her eyes.
The most striking detail was the mask over her mouth, a high-tech breathing filter similar to those worn by people in the Lower Zone to block out the stench of gases and pollution, though Lohan knew she didn’t need it for her own physical safety, given the level of integration she’d already achieved.
She looked like a native inhabitant of the outlying sectors, but her beauty still stood out strikingly even in those clothes, something few people in the Lower Zone were capable of.
Isabella noticed the dazed look Lohan gave at the way she was dressed and felt an inner satisfaction, though she maintained a neutral expression behind her mask.
Without saying anything about his shock, she acted as if this change were the most natural thing in the world and projected a control screen through her ocular hologram.
Her fingers moved through the air, and the Porsche that Lohan was admiring began to descend slowly from the elevated platform, its pneumatic motors emitting a satisfying hiss.
"Halon, it seems you have good taste in classics," Isabella remarked, her voice coming through slightly muffled by the filter but still carrying a hint of amusement.
She walked over to the Porsche and opened the door, but instead of taking the wheel, she calmly sat down in the passenger seat. She held out her hand and gestured toward the driver’s seat for him.
Only when she settled in and realized he could no longer see her face clearly through the reflection in the windows did Isabella allow a small, proud smile to appear on her lips.
She was happy both because of the choice of car, since she also loved that model, and especially because of his reaction upon seeing her; after all, what girl wouldn’t enjoy seeing a reaction like that from someone she cares about? But in the next second, she hid her smile and returned to her usual cool expression.
Lohan quickly snapped out of his trance and, his heart suddenly racing, sat down in the driver’s seat.
The feel of the high-quality synthetic leather and the holographic dashboard that lit up as he approached made him feel even more excited.
He felt the power of the ionic engine vibrate subtly beneath his hands, and his blood began to race.
Fortunately, the evolution had greatly improved his control over his body and his reactions to his surroundings; otherwise, he wouldn’t even know if he’d have the courage to drive this machine!
"Don’t worry too much about it, even though I love this car so much, it’s still just a car," Isabella warned, though there was a hint of teasing in her voice.
Lohan laughed, feeling the adrenaline course through his body as he shifted into virtual gear.
He drove the Porsche slowly around the property, marveling at how the magnetic suspension smoothed out any unevenness in the garden’s ground.
When they reached the runway leading off the cliff at the mansion, Lohan took a deep breath and pressed the accelerator. The rear turbines glowed a shade of cyan blue, and the car took off, rapidly gaining altitude and leaving Isabella’s sheltered paradise behind as it headed toward the gray horizon of the Lower Zone.
As they passed through the clouds of pollution, Lohan looked at the girl beside him, noticing that, despite the masks and jackets, she, too, seemed to be smiling, excited as if they were heading out for something more than just a "business meeting."