"That's pretty fast." Derek Su narrowed his eyes.
It was no surprise that DL-02 had caught up.
After all, her Acceleration rating of 90 spoke for itself.
He quickly scanned the surrounding terrain.
Three hours had passed since the race began, and the course had long since left the Mermaid Bay area and entered Florida's Old Town.
Old Town sat on the outskirts of Florida, forming a ring around the entire state. Because of redevelopment, hardly anyone lived here anymore. Twice a year, when the Mermaid Bay Advanced Race began, the organizers would completely seal off this road district.
Normally, doing that would have a major impact on the lives of local residents, but what could anyone say when the Mermaid Bay Advanced Race and the race-related industries around it supported the whole of Florida?
So once the race started, every related project was given the green light.
It was the same every year, and the Mermaid Bay circuit had kept its own distinctive character.
For example, the roads in the urban loop section were all about being narrow and full of potholes. It was not that they could not afford to repair the pavement; they deliberately kept it this way. The surrounding streets were not widened either. The narrow roads allowed only two Mecha Girls to pass side by side, and the area was surrounded by old, run-down buildings and unfinished structures where barely anyone lived.
In other words, this long course was also highly confrontational.
Any Mecha Girl behind them who wanted to overtake with speed alone would inevitably have to make contact with the one in front.
"Master, DL-02 will definitely try to overtake," Imperial Scale said calmly as she observed the road conditions around them. "Do you have a plan to deal with that?"
"Of course." Derek Su smiled mysteriously. "But it's not my plan. It's yours."
Before the race, he had studied the Mermaid Bay circuit map.
They had only just entered the urban loop, and this narrow, bumpy stretch still went on for a long, long way. If they could pin DL-02 here, it would give them a much bigger advantage for the rest of the course.
"My plan?" Imperial Scale considered Derek Su's words, blinked, and quickly understood what he meant. "Looks like we were thinking the same thing, Master."
Derek Su narrowed his eyes like an old fox and nodded, swaying his head as he said, "Let's wait for them to charge up first. Then we'll give them a surprise!"
...
Meanwhile, inside DL-02's cockpit.
Richard Cheng and DL-02 stared hungrily at Imperial Scale ahead, their eyes burning with fighting spirit.
"Your speed finally dropped. In the end, you still have to be strong enough yourself. Let's see how you stop me now!" DL-02 snorted coldly. She had been frustrated the entire way, but she was still going to turn this around in the end.
Victory was finally within reach.
She glanced at the rearview mirror, then fixed her gaze on Richard Cheng and warned him, "Richard Cheng, overtaking them is going to come down to your driving. I'm much faster than Imperial Scale. As long as you have even a little overtaking skill, you can get past her. Don't tell me you can't."
If this had been any other time, Richard Cheng would definitely have gotten angry if a Mecha Girl spoke to him like that.
But DL-02's presence was too overwhelming, and Richard Cheng also felt that he was not quite worthy of her. Instead of taking offense, he nodded cooperatively. "Don't worry. If we're overtaking with speed, I can handle that."
Looking at Imperial Scale's taillights ahead, his expression turned serious.
Whether it was to prove himself or to win the race, he could not mess this up.
Right now, DL-02 definitely had the advantage in speed and Impact Resistance. DL-02 was a combat-type Mecha Girl, so her confrontational ability could not possibly be weaker than Imperial Scale's speed-type form, especially with the Module bonus on top.
Even if his technique was not enough, he could always choose to ram through. When they broke through the traffic earlier, he had basically figured out what DL-02's special skill was.
When it came to confrontation, DL-02 had absolutely lived up to the talent of the DL-series Mecha Girls.
Boom!
The engines of the two Mecha Girls drew closer and closer.
Richard Cheng's gaze sharpened. "We're going in!"
"Good!" DL-02's brows lowered, her eyes focused.
The moment she spoke, Richard Cheng floored the throttle. Vroooom! With the engine's increasingly restless roar, he pushed the control stick left, trying to change lanes and overtake from the left.
At that moment, Derek Su and Imperial Scale were occupying the right lane, having already left the left lane open, as if they were willing to talk things through peacefully.
That fit Richard Cheng's expectations perfectly.
Maybe Imperial Scale's speed form had lower Impact Resistance than DL-02, and Derek Su probably knew that too, which was why he had deliberately made way to avoid a clash.
As the saying went, you did not hit someone who greeted you with a smile.
Whatever tricks Derek Su might have later, at least right now, he was being polite and yielding.
So Richard Cheng gave up on the plan of using a violent ram to overtake.
However...
The instant he changed lanes, there was a screech from up ahead.
A black shadow suddenly cut across their path, and both Richard Cheng and DL-02 froze for a moment.
Imperial Scale had changed lanes too, locking them down right in front. And she had not merely blocked the left lane. She was brazenly positioned right between the left and right lanes.
The urban loop was already narrow to begin with. Now that Imperial Scale was holding the center, both lanes were completely sealed off. If DL-02 wanted to get through, she would either have to fly over her, smash through the crumbling buildings beside them, or go head-to-head with Imperial Scale.
"Holy shit! That's going way too far!"
Even a clay figure had a temper, and Richard Cheng instantly flared up.
If he still acted like a coward after being pushed this far, DL-02 would look down on him, and so would the thirteen Mecha Girls back home.
"Since you're the one provoking me... then don't blame me for getting rough!"
Richard Cheng frowned, his eyes cold.
He had actually liked Derek Su quite a bit...
Then from this moment on, he would make Derek Su take him seriously.
He shifted the control stick right.
DL-02 smoothly moved in behind Imperial Scale.
Her tall, pitch-black body loomed from above, deep-blue headlights casting a cold beam forward like a shark entering hunting mode.
The roar of the two Mecha Girls' engines shook the surrounding glass. As they tore past, the violent gust they kicked up blew away the boxers that an old man on a nearby dilapidated building had just hung out to dry.
Among them, DL-02's engine sounded even deeper.
"Come on. Let's clash!" DL-02 let out a vicious growl.
At the same time, her front end slammed toward Imperial Scale's rear with brute force.
Time seemed to freeze in that instant. Richard Cheng and DL-02 stared fixedly at Imperial Scale, already picturing her being sent flying.
But just as they were about to hit Imperial Scale...
Countless black particles suddenly swallowed Imperial Scale's entire body.
Along with the strange sound of countless glass shards striking the ground, silver-black metal fragments bloomed like roses.
Imperial Scale's body rapidly broke apart and reassembled amid the surging tide of metal. The cockpit was wrapped in layer upon layer of metal petals, leaving only the faint sight of Derek Su sitting calmly inside.
In less than a fraction of a second, she had switched from speed form to combat form. It was a black off-road vehicle that looked almost no different from DL-02.
"Is that... a form switch?!"
Richard Cheng and DL-02 widened their eyes.
There was no time to be shocked.
The next second, DL-02's front end slammed into Imperial Scale's rear.
BOOM—!
DL-02 felt a sharp pain in her head and could not help closing her eyes.
The shock in her heart was beyond words.
As a DL-series Mecha Girl, her Impact Resistance and stability were extremely powerful.
Earlier, when she had charged out of the traffic, she had not felt the slightest discomfort. Yet now, she felt pain.
That could only mean one thing. Imperial Scale's Impact Resistance and stability were even higher than hers.
"This is bad!"
DL-02 bit her lip, her face filled with unwillingness.
Yet she could not stop that thought from rising in her heart.
...
Ahead on the track.
Imperial Scale's body was steady as a mountain, completely unharmed.
When DL-02 rammed her just now, it triggered the judgment for Imperial Might.
Because Imperial Scale's Impact Resistance and stability were higher than DL-02's, she gained the Super Armor effect and became immune to DL-02's collision. On the track, this showed as Imperial Scale's body not budging in the slightest, with her speed not dropping at all. She was like an impassable wall blocking DL-02's path!
...
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