"Wait, seriously? You can do that?"
Richard Cheng was dumbfounded.
Switching forms in the middle of a race was something he had never even considered.
He wanted to drive DL-02 into Imperial Scale again to test it, but DL-02 stopped him.
"Don't waste your effort. Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough already?!"
DL-02's face darkened, her voice low. "I know better than you how high Imperial Scale's Impact Resistance and stability are in her original form. We're no match for her in a track confrontation. The only way to overtake would be to smash through the crumbling buildings on the side, but that would slow us down too. We still might not catch Imperial Scale, so it isn't worth it."
"Then what do we do now?" Richard Cheng gritted his teeth, staring unwillingly at Imperial Scale's taillights ahead. "Are we really just going to let them block us like this?"
"Let them block us," DL-02 said, lowering her eyes. "Once we leave the ring-road circuit and enter the Third Track, it'll be a wide-open Gobi stretch. At that point, we won't have to stay on the track. We can use our speed to overtake directly through the off-track area beside it."
There would be plenty of obstacles in the off-track area, like cacti and rocks.
But plowing through those obstacles would not slow them down much.
After hearing DL-02's explanation, Richard Cheng's anxious heart gradually settled.
That was right. Imperial Scale had never switched forms twice during a race. Whether it was the Brana Ruins or the Maratela Desert Race, she either used only one form for the whole race or switched only once. That meant Imperial Scale's form switching had to come with heavy restrictions. An ability like that either consumed a huge amount of Endurance or had a time limit.
So they could safely make one bold assumption.
Before this race ended, Imperial Scale would not be able to switch forms again.
As long as they got through this ring-road circuit, Derek Su and Imperial Scale would no longer be able to stop him and DL-02.
"Phew..." He exhaled, leaned back in the driver's seat, and muttered, "Then I'll let you two lead for now."
Following behind Imperial Scale also let him and DL-02 ride the slipstream.
Running like this was easier too.
...
"Oh? Finally growing up?" Derek Su glanced at the rearview mirror.
Seeing Richard Cheng and DL-02 obediently following behind them like that, he could not help feeling a little surprised. From what he knew of Richard Cheng, this young ace was not the type to admit defeat.
With DL-02's speed advantage, he could have rammed them a few more times and only stopped once he confirmed that overtaking was truly impossible.
Instead, he had become cautious after just one hit.
"Maybe DL-02 said something to him," Imperial Scale said calmly.
DL-02 only looked reckless on the surface. In reality, she was much more careful than she seemed.
That had been clear back when DL-02 came looking for trouble.
To avoid injuring civilians, DL-02 had taken her to a deserted old dock before making her move. And from the start, she had crushed her with speed, using an unfair advantage to attack her confidence first, then continued pressuring her with her strongest hand-to-hand combat in an attempt to break her will. Unfortunately, she had not expected Imperial Scale's bond with Derek Su to already be inseparable.
At the end of the day, they were all top-tier DL-series Mecha Girls.
Even if there was a gap between them, it would never be that large.
"Master, now that they're holding back, they must be planning something."
"Don't worry. We'll take it slow."
Derek Su raised his wristwatch and glanced at it.
It was 10:42 p.m., and they had only completed about half of the Florida ring-road circuit stage.
Still, to be safe, he lowered Imperial Scale's speed, holding her at 400 km/h. His focus was simple. Take it slow and easy.
For the main pack competing in the Advanced Race, that speed was already somewhere around the upper-middle range.
But for DL-02, it was pure suppression.
DL-02 had no choice but to slow down with them, grinding her teeth in anger yet unable to do a thing.
Imperial Scale did not know why Derek Su was doing this.
But since it was Derek Su's decision, she would never question it.
He was her "father," after all. Of course she would trust him unconditionally.
...
Starting line.
It was close to nine o'clock at night. By now, roughly a third of the race had already passed. All the spectators were watching the screens, and the starting area was empty. In the dark night, only the red glow of warning lights flickered. Trackside staff were smoking and chatting when they suddenly heard the roar of an engine in the distance, followed by dazzling headlights sweeping into view.
A Mecha Girl was driving toward them from afar.
The sudden sight left both the event manager and the starting-line staff completely stunned.
"Mecha Girl ahead, stop where you are! This is a race area. Non-competitors are not allowed inside!"
The staff shouted at the Mecha Girl from a distance.
But the Mecha Girl showed no sign of stopping. Left with no choice, they stepped forward to intercept her.
Just then, a blonde girl popped her head out from the roof and raised a megaphone. "I'm a competitor! I'm Contestant No. 12! I'm here for the Mermaid Bay Advanced Race!"
The staff member froze, then took out his phone to check.
She really was listed there. Contestant No. 12, Lucy Luo-Eternity. [Late]
This was ridiculous. How could someone be this late to an Advanced Race? She clearly was not taking the competition seriously at all.
"I'm sorry, I overslept." Eternity drove up to the organizers and staff, and Lucy Luo bowed apologetically. "I promise I won't sleep in next time. Can I still join the race?"
She blinked her big eyes, putting on a pitiful, cutesy look.
"Ahem, Miss Lucy Luo." The event manager kept things strictly official and said sternly, "If you were only ten minutes late, of course we would let you compete. But it's already dark..."
"I can pay you," Lucy Luo said, lowering her head and twisting her fingers in front of her chest.
"Uh, money still won't work..."
"I'm the captain of the GPC Club."
"Well, GPC is a very strong club, but we also have our race rules..."
"Then... my sister is Tania."
"We don't care who your sister is... Wait, what?" The manager's eyes widened, and his lips trembled. "Are you sure?!"
"What's there to be unsure about?"
Lucy Luo took out a family photo and showed it to the manager.
With a warm smile, she pointed at one of the young girls in the photo. "Here. Recognize her?"
The manager studied the photo carefully and swallowed with difficulty. Then he looked up, compared the Lucy Luo in the picture with the Lucy Luo standing in front of him, and finally nodded.
"Uh, haha... Never mind. You may continue the race."
"Okay." Lucy Luo put the family photo away, carefully tucked it into her purse, then waved with a bright smile and sat back in the cockpit. A moment later, she drove Eternity onto the track with one stomp of the accelerator.
With a buzz, that terrifying speed erupted, and she disappeared from sight almost in the blink of an eye.
"Wait, you're just letting her through?"
The staff member could hardly believe it. From how the manager usually worked, he was someone who never went back on his word.
"What else was I supposed to do?" The manager rolled his eyes. "Do you know who Tania is?"
"Who?"
"The champion of the world-class circuit three years ago, and she's from our Hu District." The manager looked in the direction Eternity had vanished, shaking his head with a sigh. "Who would dare mess around with someone connected to her family? Even if she isn't actually her biological sister, even the slightest connection is more than we can afford to offend..."
...
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