"Master, I told you ages ago. This Derek Su just can't do it!"
"If he could, wouldn't he have caught up already? Look at him now. He can't even see our taillights!"
"I'm telling you, drivers like Derek Su, the kind who get arrogant after a little success, can't be relied on. You still have to rely on me!"
In the cockpit, Dawnbreak was chattering away up front.
Laiya An looked helpless and could not even be bothered to argue.
Right now, there really was nothing to argue about. She and Dawnbreak were far ahead, and they were about to enter the first difficult section of the Xiangshan Advanced Race, Mixiangshan Road.
Entering Mixiangshan Road also meant the race had passed the one-third mark.
If Derek Su and Purple Lightning still did not catch up, then once she had Dawnbreak activate her special skill later, she might genuinely take the championship in a calm, steady run.
But she felt it would never be that simple.
She had that feeling.
"Hey! An, are you seriously listening to me?"
Dawnbreak saw Laiya An looking lost in thought through the rearview mirror and could not help pouting. In the past, whenever Laiya An zoned out, Dawnbreak was one hundred percent sure she was thinking about what to eat for dinner, and also thinking about her.
But now...
There was probably a ninety percent chance she was thinking about that flashy Derek Su.
She really did not understand what was so great about him.
He opened a Stella Club and stuffed it full of Mecha Girls, yet there were only three drivers. One "old man" with half a foot in the grave, one little girl who was still losing her baby teeth, and only Derek Su himself had any real combat power. How was that any different from an ancient emperor opening a harem?
One glance was enough to know he was a scumbag.
She absolutely had to help her An stay away from that scumbag.
At that moment, Dawnbreak once again confirmed that her course of action was correct. But in the next second, a sound came from behind them, drawing closer and closer, as if the air itself were being torn apart.
"Is that... engine sound?!"
Dawnbreak and Laiya An quickly confirmed the source.
"Which Mecha Girl caught up?" Dawnbreak looked into the rearview mirror in shock and doubt, but there was only dim twilight behind them. The track had blended into the ink-dark horizon, with no extra color left between black and gray.
Only that engine sound was becoming clearer and clearer.
"That sound doesn't seem like Cloud Leopard or Hurricane." She analyzed it seriously. "Could it be that mysterious guy from Crown Club? His Mecha Girl seems to have copied Purple Lightning. This engine sound is very similar to Purple Lightning's, but a little sharper."
"Then why couldn't it be Purple Lightning?"
Laiya An rolled her eyes.
"Impossible!" Dawnbreak immediately denied it. "Master, think about it. Derek Su and Purple Lightning started so slowly. Even if he and Purple Lightning can speed up later, the Mecha Girl that copied Purple Lightning had a faster initial speed than Purple Lightning. If she also has late-stage acceleration, then she'll only be even faster than Purple Lightning. Therefore, the one catching up definitely isn't Su..."
Before she could finish, two beams of headlights pierced the darkness.
At the boundary between black and gray, two round clusters of light appeared. As the roar surged, the light clusters shifted apart and gradually shrank. Then, between the two lights, a streak of purple flashed into view.
Among the competing Mecha Girls, at least among the Mecha Girls in this round, only Purple Lightning's livery was purple. The identity of the Mecha Girl charging toward them was obvious.
"Purple Lightning?!"
She was getting closer.
Dawnbreak saw the Mecha Girl's form clearly.
And confirmed the judgment in her heart.
Purple Lightning, the one she had thought had no competitive strength, the one she had thought was just messing around, tore through the blackness of dusk, ripped through the raging wind, and roared toward them, closing right in behind her.
"T-that speed... Is that really the Mecha Girl that started like some old clunker?"
Compared to Dawnbreak's shock and disbelief, Laiya An, as the driver, grew excited instead. She slapped Dawnbreak on the butt, her face full of smug pride.
"How about it, Dawnbreak? I told you, didn't I? An idol is an idol. His respect and solemnity toward the track mean there's no way he would ever slack off or go easy! Maybe Purple Lightning's slow start is just something special about her, just like how it's hard for you to turn after activating your skill~"
Dawnbreak's mouth twitched when she heard that, and veins throbbed on her forehead. "Can you stop bringing up how hard it is for me to turn after activating my skill?! Also, she's about to catch up, and you're cheering her on?"
"Mixiangshan Road is up ahead." Looking toward the end of her vision, where the forest entrance drew closer like the gaping mouth of an abyss, Laiya An remained perfectly calm. "Dawnbreak, do you remember the terrain we set up with traffic cones during training? Back then, you even asked me why I wanted to drive blindfolded."
Dawnbreak froze. "You mean?"
"That's right!" Laiya An's lips curved up, her eyes full of confidence. "What I asked Dad to set up back then was Mixiangshan Road from the Xiangshan Advanced Race. It was only broken into fragments, but as long as you piece those fragments together, they form the entire route of Mixiangshan Road!"
Dawnbreak stared at Laiya An in bewilderment.
Back then, the two of them had suffered badly during training. At first, they were unfamiliar with the track and crashed until they were bruised and bleeding. That track was not only narrow, it also had a lot of turns. Blindfolded, it was almost impossible not to make mistakes.
Later, they gradually got used to the bumps and crashes.
Even blindfolded, they could roughly simulate the track in their minds.
At the time, she had thought Laiya An was training their reaction speed.
Now she finally understood.
All of Laiya An's exhausting training had been for this moment.
Forget the fact that visibility in the foggy area was now less than five meters. Even if visibility dropped below one meter, she and Laiya An could still carve a bloody path out of the Mixiangshan section safe and sound.
"An, you're amazing!" Dawnbreak gave a thumbs-up toward the rearview mirror. "I didn't expect you to have hidden this move specifically to deal with Derek Su!"
"I didn't do it to deal with my idol."
Laiya An said calmly, "Dawnbreak, I did it for the honor of the track, and for our victory!"
Dawnbreak froze when she heard that, and the light in her eyes grew brighter and brighter.
That was right.
For victory!
The goal of competitive sports was never to defeat one certain group or one certain person. The sweat and tears shed before stepping onto the field, the struggle through every minute and every second on the track, all of it was to fulfill oneself.
Vroooom!
As if answering Laiya An's words, Purple Lightning had already pulled up beside them in that instant.
The two Mecha Girls drove side by side, the violent wind they stirred up sending red leaves across the track flying into the sky. Their engines roared through the mountains, finally overlapping into one sound.
Through the window, Laiya An silently looked at Derek Su's solemn expression.
Even after catching up and overtaking, this renowned driver's expression did not change in the slightest. He was focused. He was fully immersed. Perhaps his goal was never to overtake at all, but only to dominate the track and write his own myth.
That was all.
King...
For some reason, that word surfaced in Laiya An's heart.
She smiled, bright and proud.
"Only a king is worth challenging!"
The effort I've poured in, the sweat I've shed, the pain I've endured... all of it has gathered into the sword in my hand, ready to strike at the king.
"Idol, take this!"
Laiya An closed her eyes.
She did not look at the fog-covered track. She only followed her heart.
Vroooom!
The two Mecha Girls entered Mixiangshan Road at the same time.
The duel had begun!
...
...
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