"I can't believe Laiya An and Dawnbreak can actually keep up with Master now!"
Stella watched as Purple Lightning and Dawnbreak were gradually swallowed by the darkness and fog, unable to help feeling a little emotional.
Back then, she and Derek Su had flown straight off a cliff and landed ahead of Laiya An and Dawnbreak in one leap. At that time, Dawnbreak had nowhere near her current speed, let alone the ability to maintain high speed on a pitch-black track shrouded in thick fog. Stella had thought that once they entered Mixiangshan Road, Derek Su and Purple Lightning would have the field all to themselves.
After all, Derek Su's ridiculous reaction speed, and that terrifying sense that let him catch glass marbles perfectly even with his eyes shut and his ears covered, had already gone far beyond any ordinary driver.
"I know a little inside information!" Lingwind came closer with an empty bottle in hand and said mysteriously, "Last time I went with Master to pay Mr. Xavier back, I heard Mr. Xavier say Laiya An and Dawnbreak were practicing blind driving!"
"Blind driving?" Stella's eyes widened. "Driving with her eyes closed?!"
"Yep~" Lingwind nodded. "The conditions on Mixiangshan Road are that bad. There are barely any streetlights. It's basically the same as driving blind."
"That's amazing." Stella blinked and sighed. "Laiya An and Dawnbreak work really hard too~"
"I wish Master would train me like that someday." Lingwind lowered her head, looking a little dejected.
Lately, Zane had been focused entirely on searching for love. He had not fallen behind on their usual training, but he always seemed to have something on his mind, looking distracted all the time.
Stella knew what Lingwind was thinking. She patted Lingwind's head and comforted her softly. "Don't think too much, Lingwind."
At first, she had wanted to say that drivers and Mecha Girls rarely made it to the end together, since their lifespans were so different.
But then she thought of herself and Derek Su, and the words changed before they left her mouth.
"That auntie isn't a Techmaster, so her lifespan is limited. But your Master has a chance to become a Techmaster. When that happens, his lifespan will grow longer. As long as he lives long enough, it's not like you have no chance~"
The moment Lingwind heard that, the sour feeling in her nose disappeared.
"That's right!" Her eyes lit up, and she looked at Stella with admiration. "So this is what they mean by surviving to the end and having everything! Senior Stella, as expected of you. You're basically my life mentor!!"
"Ohoho~" Stella's lips curled into a smug smile. She smoothly took out the pineapple helmet and placed it on Lingwind's head. "Heh heh. Stick with me from now on, and I guarantee you'll eat well, drink well, win over the hardest drivers to tame, and enjoy the most exciting life~~"
"Oh!!" Lingwind straightened the pineapple shell on her head, her pretty face turning serious. "Absolutely, Senior Stella!"
... At the same time, on another section of the track.
After "eliminating" their mutual enemies, Swain Li and Silver Mirror, the peace between Justin Kim and Miles Wang had lasted less than ten minutes before breaking again.
Cloud Leopard and Hurricane had actually been fairly peaceful at first. After all, they had shared the bond of taking down a common enemy. But while passing through a hairpin turn, another dispute broke out over who got the racing line.
"Damn it, you dead Leopard, try hitting me again?!" Hurricane, who was known for being emotionally stable, clutched her forehead with one hand while pointing at Cloud Leopard with the other and cursing furiously. "What's the point of getting ahead? Can you beat me on a straight? Believe me, I'll headbutt straight through your ass!"
"Oh my, if you think you can ram me, go right ahead. I'll be waiting anytime~"
As she spoke, Cloud Leopard, master of passive-aggressive jabs, deliberately scraped her rear tire.
Screech!
Thick tire smoke rolled up and sprayed Hurricane right in the face.
Hurricane exploded with anger and stopped holding back.
She floored the accelerator and rammed straight into Cloud Leopard's rear.
A muffled bang rang out.
Right after that, the two Mecha Girls started cursing each other all over again.
Miles Wang and Justin Kim both looked utterly helpless.
They had not started this war. They did have competitive intentions, but in the time it took to pass one turn, Hurricane and Cloud Leopard had already slipped out of their control.
The brutal fight that followed had nothing to do with them anymore. It was basically the Mecha Girls driving themselves, and all they could do was make slight adjustments whenever the Mecha Girls were about to lose control.
The real problem was that they could not join this vicious war even if they wanted to.
If they dared say a single word, they would immediately get yelled at.
"Sigh. Being a driver really isn't easy these days." Miles Wang shook his head helplessly.
Justin Kim exchanged a look with Miles Wang through the window and sighed. "You can say that again. If smoking were allowed right now, I'd have to share one with you."
... As time passed, Hurricane and Cloud Leopard also drew close to Mixiangshan Road.
The night wind roared.
An engine scream, growing closer and closer, suddenly exploded in Justin Kim and Miles Wang's minds.
They instinctively glanced at their rearview mirrors and saw dazzling headlights flashing behind them.
Before they could react, the bright silver Mecha Girl that resembled Purple Lightning had already arrived behind them.
Silver Mirror's front and side still bore marks from the earlier impacts, but her engine was roaring as loudly as ever, even sharper than before.
She was faster now.
Swain Li had spent quite a bit of time achieving perfect drifts to raise acceleration. Sharpening the blade did not delay the work; the time he had lost would ultimately be recovered through an absolute advantage in Acceleration.
Unfortunately, Swain Li could not see Silver Mirror's stats.
Otherwise, he would have discovered that Silver Mirror's Acceleration had already reached 95 points. Of course, her Impact Resistance and Stability had also fallen to the dangerous levels of 47 and 49. If another situation like the earlier pincer attack and collision with the mountain wall happened, Silver Mirror could very likely drain her Endurance in an instant and stall, or even suffer serious injuries because of it.
Swain Li simply had not noticed this.
He knew that using Purple Lightning's special skill would reduce Stability and Impact Resistance, but he did not know by how much. Silver Mirror, for her part, was unwilling to tell Swain Li, afraid it would affect his performance on the track.
"It's Swain Li and Silver Mirror!"
Miles Wang cried out in surprise.
"They actually didn't withdraw from the race?" Justin Kim was just as incredulous. "Are those two cockroaches that can't be killed?"
Cloud Leopard and Hurricane, who had been tangled together, instantly split apart, each occupying one lane and repeating their old trick by leaving the middle lane open.
Seeing this from behind as he caught up, Swain Li curled his lip in disdain.
"No one falls in the same place twice!"
The blood on his face had not yet been wiped clean. Paired with those venomous, viper-like eyes, his expression looked savage and crazed.
As Silver Mirror drew closer and closer to Hurricane, Swain Li became increasingly cautious.
"These two sneaky bastards are definitely going to ram me the moment I pull level!"
He narrowed his eyes, already making his decision.
In that case, they could compete on reaction speed.
He kept accelerating. The engine revs climbed, and Silver Mirror entered the middle lane once more.
The scene was almost exactly the same as before.
Justin Kim and Miles Wang both laughed. They even felt Swain Li was being stupid.
"He's still trying to pass the same way? Is his skull that thick?"
"Then let's teach him another lesson!"
At the instant the three Mecha Girls were about to pull level, a fierce gleam flashed in Miles Wang's eyes, and he immediately cut the control stick to the right.
Swain Li watched every movement Hurricane and Cloud Leopard made.
The moment Hurricane's front end shifted, before the friction sound between tire and road had even begun, he also slammed the accelerator all the way down.
Roar!
The engine revs climbed to the limit.
Silver Mirror's body slipped slightly, white smoke scraping up between all four tires and the road. In the next second, she roared past.
The overtake was completed in the blink of an eye.
A bang sounded behind him, followed by the Mecha Girls cursing.
Swain Li glanced at the rearview mirror.
Sure enough, Cloud Leopard and Hurricane had already crashed into each other.
"Heh. Everything went according to plan."
Gripping the control stick, he relaxed slightly. When he had caught up just now, he had deliberately held back from using full speed.
His two opponents clearly had not expected Silver Mirror's speed to be different from before, and on top of that, they had lost in both prediction and reaction speed.
Show weakness to the enemy, then strike when they least expect it.
He had won this exchange.
Silver Mirror raced ahead alone, sweeping up fallen leaves as she charged into Mixiangshan Road.
"Next target."
Swain Li's vision was pitch-black, but he did not panic at all. He reached back, pulled out the navigation device, and switched it on, utterly fearless.
"Derek! Su!"
...
...
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