Derek Su brought the excited Stella, who was practically bouncing off the walls, to the rest area beside the finish line of the first section. It also served as the preparation area for the second section of the track.
Purple Lightning was already waiting inside.
"Purple Lightning, good luck! The rest is up to you!"
Stella held Purple Lightning's trembling hand and offered words of encouragement to ease her nerves.
A group of pilots stood outside the preparation area smoking, pointing toward a milky-white circular device in the distance.
Derek Su noticed it too. He had heard it was some kind of monitoring device.
He just couldn't figure out why they needed to install one on the mountaintop. Could a Mecha Girl really cheat right under the noses of all those cameras and judges?
"Master, I'm ready."
Purple Lightning walked over to Derek Su with a solemn expression.
Stella had already given her a boost. At this moment, Purple Lightning was terrifyingly strong.
Stella had told her that they had already built up a large enough lead. She could take the second section easy, prioritize her own safety, and only then worry about speed. A top-three finish should be practically guaranteed.
But Purple Lightning's goal wasn't the top three.
She stared steadily into Derek Su's eyes.
Her goal was the championship!
Derek Su patted Purple Lightning on the shoulder and smiled. "Let's go. Time to head to the starting line."
...
At the starting line for the second section of Panlong Mountain, quite a few competitors were already making their final preparations.
Although many clubs still hadn't received their results from the first section, that didn't stop everyone from eagerly preparing for the race.
There were plenty of familiar faces among them, including Leon Li and Snowpeak.
Derek Su took one glance and immediately looked away.
The race was starting in half an hour, yet those two were sitting beside the hot spring and shamelessly making out.
Snowpeak was sitting face-to-face with Leon Li, right in his lap.
The sight was unbearable.
Richard Cheng was there too. He glanced over but made no attempt to come over and talk.
The club ace and young master still seemed to be reeling from his defeat at the Mermaid Bay Advanced Race. His face looked haggard, and his expression was gloomy.
Beside him stood a pale-skinned Mecha Girl with an icy expression.
She radiated an aura that warned everyone to stay away. She was like a sharp sword still sheathed, yet even through the scabbard, one could already feel the painful edge of its killing intent.
That Mecha Girl...
Derek Su narrowed his eyes.
His instincts told him that the Mecha Girl beside Richard Cheng would not be easy to deal with.
Before the race, he had also gathered information on Richard Cheng.
But Richard Cheng had far too many Mecha Girls, and much of the available information was scattered and incomplete. No one knew which Mecha Girl was actually his main racer.
Most people had predicted that Richard Cheng would field Gray Castle in the second section of the provincial track. It had seemed like an almost foolproof assumption.
But now, it looked like everyone had guessed wrong.
"Master, that Mecha Girl is very strong. She's a skill-type too."
Purple Lightning walked over and stood beside Derek Su, her eyes fixed on the other Mecha Girl.
"I can feel it. Especially when our eyes meet. It feels like a powerful rival is staring right at me."
"Scared?" Derek Su asked.
"No." Purple Lightning smiled sweetly. "Because I have Master."
That smile was almost dazzling.
Derek Su rubbed his nose and instinctively looked away.
Then he saw Laiya An rushing over while dragging Dawnbreak along by the hand.
"Idol!" She waved as she ran. "Idol, we meet again!!"
Derek Su smoothly pulled out a marker and said helplessly, "Where am I signing today? Let's make it quick."
"Hehe~"
Laiya An stuck out her tongue, quickly pulled out a racing suit, and pointed at the chest.
"Right here!"
The corner of Derek Su's mouth twitched, but he signed it anyway.
Laiya An immediately hugged the suit to her chest as if she had just received a priceless treasure and refused to let go.
"After Panlong Mountain, Idol's autograph is going to be worth even more," Laiya An said with a grin. "Maybe one day I'll be able to live off your autographs in retirement~"
She pushed the visibly displeased Dawnbreak forward and pleaded, "Could you sign one for Dawnbreak too, Idol?"
"Tch. Who wants this guy's autograph..."
Dawnbreak crossed her arms and turned her face away.
"Get one!" Laiya An poked Dawnbreak in the waist and whined, "Come on, just get one~"
"Fine, fine. You're impossible."
Dawnbreak had no choice but to raise her arm toward Derek Su.
"Here. Just sign it here."
Derek Su wasn't going to argue over something so trivial with a tsundere Mecha Girl like Dawnbreak.
He signed the sleeve of Dawnbreak's racing suit, then pointed toward Richard Cheng.
"Do you know who that Mecha Girl beside Richard Cheng is?"
"No idea."
Laiya An shook her head blankly. After looking at the Mecha Girl a few times, she shivered.
"But she feels really strong."
"Ghost."
Dawnbreak's expression turned serious.
"That Mecha Girl is called Ghost. Laiya An probably doesn't know much about her, but Ghost and I were both at the same exhibition auction back then. She was the first one bought by a mysterious bidder. From the looks of things now, that mysterious buyer was Richard Cheng.
"Ghost's special skill is extremely strange. I don't know exactly what it does.
"All I know is that she's suited for tracks with lots of obstacles. Under certain conditions, she can ignore obstacles entirely."
"She can ignore obstacles too?"
Derek Su stared at Ghost as her stats appeared before his eyes:
[Drifting: 88]
[Acceleration: 76]
[Cornering: 85]
[Boost Charge: 70]
[Stability: 65]
[Impact Resistance: 59]
[Endurance: 83]
There was no doubt about it. Ghost, just like Purple Lightning, was a genuine skill-type Mecha Girl.
She could make it easier for her pilot to take corners and perform most high-difficulty maneuvers.
The only question was which of their special skills was stronger, Ghost's or Purple Lightning's.
...
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