Seeing Purple Lightning blocking the path ahead, Swain Li's emotions did not waver at all.
This was completely within his expectations. Right now, Silver Mirror's Acceleration was clearly higher than Purple Lightning's.
That meant if Derek Su and Purple Lightning wanted to suppress him and Silver Mirror, they would naturally have to rely on interception.
There were two ways to deal with that kind of interception.
Either he overtook them like he had just done with Dawnbreak and Laiya An, or he simply accelerated and rammed straight through.
The former tested the driver's skill and coordination with his Mecha Girl. The latter tested the Mecha Girl's Impact Resistance and Stability, and it was also much simpler and more brutal.
"Too bad Silver Mirror already got hit by Cloud Leopard and Hurricane earlier," Swain Li thought to himself. Silver Mirror had not said anything, but she was his Mecha Girl. How could he not understand her? With Silver Mirror's patient, restrained personality, unless she was on the verge of exhausting her Endurance, she would never cry out in pain.
Purple Lightning's strength was in Cornering, while her Acceleration was comparatively weak.
Then her Impact Resistance and Stability should be slightly better than her Acceleration.
Silver Mirror, however, was not the kind of Mecha Girl who excelled in direct confrontation. On top of that, she was already injured. If he chose the simple, brutal method, it could very likely make Silver Mirror's injuries worse, and that would affect the race directly. Her Endurance would fall even further, until she could no longer maintain her skill, or perhaps could not even finish the race.
"No. I can't gamble on that!"
In just one or two breaths, Swain Li made his decision.
Unless he had no other choice, he absolutely could not clash head-on with Purple Lightning.
This time, he had to tangle with Derek Su and compete through technique.
To be honest, if this had been in the past, he definitely would not have taken Derek Su seriously.
After analyzing the techniques Derek Su had invented, he had discovered that launch control and Drifting were honestly not that special. They were not as miraculous as people imagined. Take launch control, for example. All it did was pull the handbrake while applying throttle at the start to build force, then release the handbrake at the moment of launch to spin up the tires faster, creating an effect similar to being catapulted forward. It was just that no one else had thought of it before.
But now, after personally racing against Derek Su, he finally understood how arrogant his past thinking had been.
Derek Su deserved the title of The Magician.
He was a monster.
Driving technique was only the most surface-level, most basic part of it.
What truly made him terrifying was his understanding and control of the track, along with his frightening reaction speed.
Competing against someone like that in technique...
Swain Li took a deep breath. Beneath his messy bangs, his gaze went still, and the pressure rose in an instant.
However, right now, he and Silver Mirror were right behind Purple Lightning, riding her slipstream. He was in the shadows and held the initiative. It was not as if there was no chance of outmaneuvering him.
He repeated his old trick, cutting the control stick to the right and making it look as if he was changing lanes that way, while preparing to switch back at any moment.
In the past, Silver Mirror would have easily lost control doing this. But now Silver Mirror's Cornering was 92. Making this kind of feint was as easy as eating and drinking.
If Derek Su fell for the feint, he would return to his original lane and overtake from the left. If Derek Su did not fall for it, he would change lanes and overtake from the right.
The plan was perfect!
However...
Screech!
Swain Li stared ahead, dumbfounded.
As the sound of tires grinding against the road rang out, the instant Silver Mirror darted to the right, Purple Lightning ahead made the exact same move.
"You've got to be kidding me..."
He immediately gritted his teeth and cut back to the original lane, but Purple Lightning ahead also cut back.
"How is that possible?!" Swain Li was stunned, and Silver Mirror was just as bewildered.
The way Purple Lightning changed lanes so smoothly in front of her even gave her the illusion that she was looking in a mirror.
She knew exactly how good Swain Li's feint was.
When he overtook Dawnbreak earlier, that ace from Dawn's Voice Club had not reacted in time at all.
But now, it was as if Derek Su had seen right through him and predicted it in advance.
The question was, could a normal human really predict something like that?
Swain Li gritted his teeth. Derek Su and Purple Lightning could intercept him and Silver Mirror in any way they wanted, and he would not have cared.
But this was the one thing he could not accept. Purple Lightning had used nearly the exact same move as him, matching him perfectly and blocking right in front of him.
Were his thoughts really that easy to read?
That was way too crushing!
"It must have been a fluke!"
Clinging to that faint hope, Swain Li changed lanes a second time. As a result, the moment he changed lanes, Purple Lightning ahead changed lanes with him.
After that, he repeated it five more times.
The result was exactly the same every time.
Purple Lightning, a Mecha Girl who did not look especially imposing, blocked him and Silver Mirror like a big rig planted in the road.
"Aaah! Damn it!"
Swain Li completely lost his composure.
Once or twice could be luck, but five successful predictions meant skill.
Now he fully understood. The terrifying man inside Purple Lightning's cockpit really could predict every thought he had.
... Behind them, Dawnbreak and Laiya An were watching the show with their mouths open in perfect O-shapes.
Although Dawnbreak had called Swain Li a pig, she genuinely thought his feint was impressive. Especially when Swain Li used that move against Derek Su, she had even held her breath, thinking Derek Su would also get shaken off by it. But what happened? Every single move Swain Li made had been predicted by Derek Su in advance.
"Holy crap, that's insane!" Dawnbreak stared at Purple Lightning, who was blocking Silver Mirror as solidly as a wall.
Even though she could not stand Derek Su, she still could not help giving a thumbs-up.
"Obviously. He's my idol. How could he not be amazing?" Laiya An pouted proudly.
Dawnbreak's mouth twitched.
She really should not have said anything.
"Master, when are you going to be as amazing as your idol?"
When Laiya An heard Dawnbreak say that out of nowhere, her pretty face flushed, and she snapped shyly, "What? Looking down on me now? Once the race is over, I'll sell you to Stella Club!"
"Why not sell me to Derek Su?" Dawnbreak asked instinctively.
Laiya An lightly patted Dawnbreak on the butt and sneered, "Hehe, you wish~"
Dawnbreak: "..."
Drivers these days were really getting harder and harder to deal with. They kept siding with outsiders, and they even got passive-aggressive with their own Mecha Girls.
Who could understand her suffering?!
... Meanwhile, inside Purple Lightning's cockpit.
Derek Su glanced at the rearview mirror.
Several failed "breakouts" in a row had clearly drained Swain Li and Silver Mirror's momentum. Right now, they were clinging tightly behind Purple Lightning, looking completely helpless.
"That's it? You're done already? Tsk, tsk~"
Derek Su shook his head and sighed.
"Young people are just inexperienced!"
"If you're bad, practice more!"
...
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