On Mixiangshan Road, the contest between Dawnbreak and Purple Lightning was still underway.
Derek Su relied on his inhuman neural reflexes to move through the track with ease, while Dawnbreak and Laiya An relied on their familiarity with the course to drive blind.
After countless rounds of training, their understanding of every turn on this track was not much worse than Derek Su's.
Their only disadvantage was their current speed.
Dawnbreak was now slightly slower than Purple Lightning.
By the time the two Mecha Girls left the Mixiangshan Circuit one after the other, Dawnbreak was already about a hundred meters behind Purple Lightning.
The fog around them grew thinner and thinner, and Laiya An opened her eyes.
"Master, we got overtaken! Aaaah!"
Dawnbreak howled, trying to awaken Laiya An's competitive spirit.
But Laiya An's face was full of admiration as she said calmly, "An idol really is an idol. Even though we've memorized Mixiangshan Road inside out, even to the point where we can drive it blind, we still aren't his match."
"No, An! Could you at least care about my mental health for once?!" Dawnbreak was about to lose it.
What was she supposed to do when her Master was a hopeless fan?
Waiting online. Urgent!
"Dawnbreak, don't panic. We still have a chance." Laiya An remained calm. "Think about it. The only reason Idol and Purple Lightning caught up so quickly is because they activated a special skill, right? But even then, Idol didn't pull too far ahead of us. As for your ability, if we use it well, it can create a huge gap!"
Dawnbreak froze when she heard that, and a touched look appeared in her eyes.
So Laiya An had already thought everything through. In the end, she had just been too impatient.
Laiya An continued in a steady voice, "Our chance is the full ten-kilometer straight acceleration section before Broken Moon Platform. When the time comes, I'll activate your special skill. We'll choose the farthest jump point and overtake Idol and Purple Lightning in one go. Before that, we just need to stay as close to them as possible!"
"Got it!!" Dawnbreak's eyes lit up. Her fighting spirit reignited, and her attention returned to the track.
Seeing Dawnbreak so fired up, Laiya An showed nothing on her face, but inwardly, she sighed helplessly.
There was one thing she had not said. After Broken Moon Platform, there would still be one-third of the race left, along with the Wushe Cave section, which had the highest difficulty rating. That thirty-seven-kilometer stretch was made up of one long tunnel after another, plus continuous hairpin turns with almost no breathing room between them. That kind of terrain was a nightmare for Dawnbreak.
But for Idol and Purple Lightning, it was nothing at all.
The championship of this Xiangshan Advanced Race was probably already out of her hands.
Laiya An stared at Purple Lightning's taillights, a faint sense of disappointment rising in her heart.
But she quickly pulled herself together.
No matter what, she had to finish the race. That was the basic duty of a qualified driver. Besides, the stronger Idol was, the more meaningful it was to chase after him, wasn't it?
... Laiya An had thought that she and Dawnbreak only had Derek Su and Purple Lightning as opponents, but as time passed, the roar of an engine gradually sounded behind them.
The sound was almost identical to Purple Lightning's. At first, Laiya An did not pay much attention to it, thinking it was only an echo.
But the headlights flashing from time to time in the rearview mirror jolted her awake. Another Mecha Girl really had caught up.
The other side was extremely fast, like a streak of silver lightning.
It was Silver Mirror!
That unremarkable one had actually caught up.
Laiya An could hardly believe it. How could they possibly do that?
Dawnbreak was stunned too. She could accept Derek Su and Purple Lightning being faster than her, but that did not mean she could accept Silver Mirror being faster too. After all, she and Laiya An had indeed lost to Derek Su before, but she had never felt she was weaker than other top-tier Mecha Girls.
"What's going on with Silver Mirror? Why is she so fast?" Her face was full of confusion.
It was absurd, because Silver Mirror's speed was even faster than Purple Lightning's!
Laiya An's expression grew serious. She controlled Dawnbreak and tried to block the other side, only to realize that Swain Li's driving skills were at least as good as hers, if not better. Every time, he easily dissolved her attempts to intercept him, lurking in her slipstream like a venomous snake waiting to strike. Dawnbreak, on the other hand, kept losing speed because of all the lane changes.
Inside Silver Mirror's cockpit.
Swain Li calmly put away the navigation device.
Cheating? Impossible. It was not an illegal modification. As long as it was not caught on camera, it did not count as cheating.
Those were Ethan Yang's exact words.
As for Swain Li's own understanding, even if an ordinary driver had a navigation device, they would never be able to pass through Mixiangshan Road that quickly without his skill. This was called making reasonable use of technological resources. Ethan Yang had done the same thing back then. Not to mention, after copying Purple Lightning, Silver Mirror's Cornering performance was now off the charts.
"Tch. Is that all you've got?" He raised an eyebrow. Seeing that Dawnbreak ahead had no other moves left, he snorted coldly. "Then I'm passing."
The moment he finished speaking, he cut the control stick left, and Silver Mirror's front end darted to the left.
Sure enough, Dawnbreak ahead shifted with him.
Still too young.
The corner of his mouth curled up. The instant he pulled the handbrake, he cut the control stick to the right.
Downshift, throttle, release the handbrake.
Silver Mirror traced a Z-shape and returned to her original position.
Dawnbreak ahead looked as if she had deliberately opened the way for him.
Keep accelerating. Full throttle!
Roar!
The engine screamed.
Silver Mirror overtook to Dawnbreak's front side with crushing speed.
"We were tricked!" Laiya An's eyes widened, and her heart skipped.
The roar of the engine beside her sent a chill down her back.
Swain Li's feint with Silver Mirror had been far too convincing.
She had not reacted at all to that rapid chain of lane changes. Now, trying to block or ram Silver Mirror no longer had any meaning.
"Thanks!" Swain Li fully overtook Dawnbreak with one stomp of the accelerator, and he even made sure to thank her. Salt in the wound.
"Pah! Men are all pigs!" Laiya An gripped the control stick, gritting her teeth as she watched Silver Mirror pull farther and farther away, resentment burning in her chest.
Dawnbreak, up front, curled her lip.
Men are all pigs, huh...
If Derek Su were the one overtaking her, Laiya An would definitely move aside on her own.
Then she would go on and on about fair competition.
How could Dawnbreak not know exactly what Laiya An was thinking?
Other men were men.
Derek Su was a god.
As the saying went, once you had too much debt, you stopped worrying. Once you had too many lice, you stopped itching.
After being overtaken by Purple Lightning and Silver Mirror one after another, Dawnbreak's mentality somehow became much more balanced.
Overtake her, then. Overtake all they wanted.
Once they reached the straight acceleration section, she would show them who the real king of straight-line acceleration was!
If Derek Su had been driving Stella today, she might have been a little more modest. But since he was driving Purple Lightning, there was nothing more to say.
... Derek Su and Purple Lightning, who were speeding along at the very front, also noticed Silver Mirror catching up.
"They caught up?" Derek Su frowned. Silver Mirror's speed was clearly abnormal.
He locked his gaze on Silver Mirror, and her current stats appeared before him:
[Drifting: 73]
[Acceleration: 97]
[Cornering: 92]
[Boost Charge: 82]
[Stability: 47]
[Impact Resistance: 45]
[Endurance: 84]
"Well, well. Acceleration is at 97? No wonder."
Derek Su immediately understood. Acceleration had increased, while Stability and Impact Resistance had dropped.
Then it was obvious. Silver Mirror's ability could not only copy the target Mecha Girl's strongest attribute, but also copy the other side's special skill.
Combined with Swain Li's decent technique, this combination was honestly pretty shameless.
But...
Derek Su cut the control stick, making Purple Lightning block Silver Mirror's path.
That little girl Laiya An could not stop Swain Li and Silver Mirror, but he was different.
So what if Silver Mirror's Acceleration was faster than Purple Lightning's? Besides, Silver Mirror still had marks left from earlier clashes, which meant they had already fought before. In that case, there was a ninety percent chance the other side would act like a gentleman on the track and avoid direct confrontation unless pushed too far. Since that was the case...
"Heh heh~ What a fresh, fragrant youngster~"
A crafty glint flickered in his eyes, and a wicked smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"Come experience the Track Emperor's prediction."
"Now I hereby declare..."
"Military training begins!"
...
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