As the auction continued, more and more Mecha Girls took the stage.
Some auctions ended in success, others in failure.
It was an eye-opening experience for Derek Su. This was his first time seeing this kind of auction format—after placing a bid at the starting price, bidders still had to conduct a face-to-face interview with the Mecha Girl. In other words, even if you were the highest bidder, the Mecha Girl might not necessarily choose you—your chances were simply higher. The final price wasn't guaranteed to match the auction bid either; it could end up higher or lower.
How should he put it?
The whole system emphasized personalization. Mecha Girls had a wide range of choices and a high degree of freedom.
During the interview, a driver's personality could be roughly judged through their words and behavior.
Of course, there were those who were exceptionally good at putting on an act. There was nothing to be done about that—after all, Mecha Girls couldn't read minds.
After watching a full round, Derek Su hadn't placed a single bid.
It wasn't that the Mecha Girls weren't good enough. The main issue was that most of them were speed-type units. Even if he wanted a secondary Mecha Girl, it couldn't be another speed type. He needed different types to handle special tracks. On top of that, none of them were cheap. With starting bids of three or four million, prices would skyrocket before he even had a chance to speak.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination.
But Derek Su kept feeling that some of the Mecha Girls were glancing in his direction, intentionally or otherwise.
Had he gotten more handsome lately?
...
"Bidders, next we present our finale—four high-performance Mecha Girls with formidable specs, along with one top-tier Mecha Girl. I won't bother introducing this elite unit. You're all quite familiar with her."
As the functional Mecha Girl finished speaking,
a cylindrical platform rose from the floor.
Five Mecha Girls stood beneath the spotlights, each dressed in a style that reflected her specialization. Flashy, cyberpunk-inspired outfits usually marked technique-type units. Bodysuits or tight-fitting gear were typical of speed types. Collision-type Mecha Girls tended to wear bold, sexy outfits, their tall frames and toned muscles evoking the power of a female panther.
But among them was a clear exception.
Standing at the very center was Model DL-01.
She held her head high beneath the lights, clad in a military uniform, a scepter planted firmly in her hand. Her icy gaze swept across the bidding seats, radiating an overwhelming, domineering authority. No one dared meet her eyes.
"This Mecha Girl… that killing aura is intense," Derek Su muttered inwardly.
Beside him, Stella stared wide-eyed, her small mouth slightly open.
Pineapple General!
This was exactly the Pineapple General she wanted!
That feeling of a top-tier personal guard.
An imperial master!
"Master, I want her!" Stella turned to Derek Su, once again voicing her longing for the General.
Lingwind puffed out her cheeks beside them.
Stella had just said she'd make her a guard, and now she'd forgotten all about it.
"I want her too," Derek Su said with a bitter smile, spreading his hands at Stella. "Give me the money and I'll bid right away."
Stella pulled a Pineapple out from behind her and placed it into Derek Su's hands. She pouted, pressed her palms together, and looked utterly sincere.
"This is my last Pineapple today. It's priceless!"
Her expression was deadly serious,
as if Derek Su were holding a diamond rather than a Pineapple.
Derek Su: "..."
He had already taken a quick look at the four high-performance Mecha Girls.
Their total attribute scores were all around 550.
It was clear that Mecha Island knew their exact stats. Even if not every detail, they certainly knew what each Mecha Girl excelled at.
And with such performance came equally outrageous prices. Even the starting bids were far beyond what he could afford, leaving him with nothing to do but watch.
What made it even more depressing was that some clubs couldn't secure a Mecha Girl even after pushing the price to seventy or eighty million.
There was one middle-aged guy—probably around two hundred pounds.
He successfully bid one hundred million for a Mecha Girl with the model designation TB-21, but he came out of the negotiation room in less than five seconds.
After that, he silently returned to the VIP seats in the front, completely dejected. He was sitting quite far from Derek Su, yet he was crying so loudly that Derek Su could hear him clearly.
"Next, we welcome our final Mecha Girl to the stage—DL-01 from the Imperial Family!"
As the functional Mecha Girl's voice rang out,
all five spotlights converged on DL-01, giving her maximum presence.
DL-01 stepped forward into the center position. Her gaze drifted slowly across the bidding seats, as if searching for someone.
Derek Su glanced at DL-01's attributes.
Good grief.
One look was enough to shock him.
[Drifting: 80]
[Acceleration: 75]
[Cornering: 80]
[Boost Charge: 0]
[Stability: 99]
[Impact Resistance: 99]
[Endurance: 99]
[Special Skill: Imperial Might — When a Mecha Girl is present within 50 meters, the nearest one becomes the target of judgment. If the opponent's speed exceeds DL-01's, DL-01 gains a partial Acceleration bonus based on the difference in Acceleration. If the opponent's speed is lower than DL-01's, no bonus is gained, and DL-01 becomes immune to all control and collision effects from that opponent. For all non-judgment targets, when subjected to control effects (skills or collisions), DL-01 performs a resistance check. If DL-01's Impact Resistance + Stability exceeds the opponent's, control is nullified. If it is lower, the control effect is doubled.]
The drifting and acceleration stats were fairly average.
But when Derek Su saw the Impact Resistance, Stability, and Endurance, he sucked in a sharp breath.
Impact Resistance at 99—he'd never seen anything like it.
Snowpeak's Impact Resistance above 90 already let her smash through obstacles head-on. This mysterious DL-01 would be a full-on road tyrant.
Who would dare collide with her on the track?
Looking at her special skill only confirmed it.
Derek Su was speechless.
This DL-01 was definitely a road bully.
Boost Charge at zero didn't even matter. Her special skill was passive—no charge required.
Still, Derek Su was a top-tier driver.
Just from her stats and skill description, he could already see her weakness.
Those terrifying numbers and abilities weren't invincible.
Absolute speed could crush DL-01.
Her strength lay in her stability. As long as she was on the track, she had absolute dominance over any Mecha Girl with similar speed. But if she raced against Stella, a single explosive launch at the start would let him carry Stella far ahead, leaving DL-01 eating dust.
That wasn't to say DL-01 wasn't strong.
She truly had no obvious weaknesses and was suitable for any track.
And no matter the circuit, she'd take care of her driver like a baby.
On collision-heavy tracks, there was no need to elaborate—she'd smash other Mecha Girls into idiots.
Derek Su rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
If this were a game, she'd be the ultimate all-purpose starter character every player dreamed of.
Like a meticulous, six-stat nanny, she'd carry players through the brutal early stages of getting beaten down by mobs.
Did Derek Su want a Mecha Girl like this?
Of course he did. But after glancing at his bank card, he decided it was best to keep a low profile.
...
"DL-01, starting bid fifty million! The auction begins! Each increase must be no less than ten million!"
The functional Mecha Girl's voice rang loud and clear.
But someone else was even louder.
In the front VIP seats, a young man leapt to his feet, his face flushed with excitement.
He raised his bidding paddle high and shouted,
"I'm bidding! I bid five hundred million!"
DL-01 had finally lowered her starting price!
Richard Cheng was practically in tears. This was the day he'd been waiting for!
What did it mean for DL-01 to lower her starting bid?
It meant she had been moved by his relentless pursuit and sincerity!
Today was the day he would claim DL-01!
However, on the auction stage—
DL-01 glanced at the young man holding the paddle.
An impatient twitch tugged at the corner of her lips.
"Tsk."