The fighting up ahead was fierce.
Along the way, Derek Su passed quite a few racers who had been sent tumbling by Black Fortress's shockwaves.
Those overturned Mecha Girls made perfect obstacles for Purple Lightning to build up her skill gauge.
At the same time, Derek Su finally understood just how much weight the term "top-tier Mecha Girl" carried.
A Mecha Girl with outstanding performance might dominate for a while, but against someone as unreasonable as Black Fortress, what good was raw speed? Without a special skill to counter hers, unless a Mecha Girl had exceptional Stability and Impact Resistance, she would still be completely crushed by a top-tier opponent.
Stella's earlier inability to use her special skill was a special case.
After all, she had a cheat sitting in her cockpit.
The same applied to Purple Lightning.
With the [Heart of Rock] Module enhancing her, Purple Lightning's current stats were:
[Drifting: 86]
[Acceleration: 52]
[Cornering: 88]
[Boost Charge: 59]
[Stability: 73]
[Impact Resistance: 68]
[Endurance: 82]
By using the overturned Mecha Girls as obstacles and performing drifts in place along the way, Derek Su had already guided Purple Lightning through thirty-eight perfect turns.
Purple Lightning's Acceleration had risen to 90, and her instantaneous speed was climbing higher and higher.
Meanwhile, the track around them was becoming increasingly narrow. There were hardly any overturned Mecha Girls left along the road, though the violent booms caused by Black Fortress activating her special skill could still be heard faintly echoing through the mountains.
"As expected of a combat-type Mecha Girl. She really does race like she's going to war."
Derek Su glanced at the track, now riddled with pits and damage from the shockwaves.
He had no idea how this kind of destruction was judged. If tearing up the track didn't count as a foul, what would happen if someone eventually made a Mecha Girl that could fire rockets and simply blew the road in half?
While Derek Su was lost in that ridiculous thought, Purple Lightning suddenly warned him.
"Master, I can see Viper."
Derek Su immediately snapped back to attention and looked ahead.
At the edge of his vision was a tiny black dot. With his extraordinary eyesight, he could make out Viper's L-shaped taillights.
And the moment Viper appeared, it meant his showdown with Chloe Qin was about to begin.
The relaxed expression on Derek Su's face vanished.
His gaze sharpened.
"Purple Lightning," he called softly.
"I'm here," Purple Lightning replied.
"One minute." Derek Su's voice was cold. "Within one minute, we'll pass her. Within two, Chloe Qin won't even be able to see your taillights."
Purple Lightning froze for a moment.
Almost instinctively, she glanced into the rearview mirror.
Beneath Derek Su's tousled hair, those deep eyes held their usual authority and absolute confidence, but now there was something else too.
A trace of killing intent she had never seen before.
Master really does look kind of handsome like this...
Her cheeks flushed. She lowered her eyes and nodded softly.
"Mm."
Two more drifts in place.
Purple Lightning's Acceleration rose to 92.
Ahead lay the first minor challenge of Panlong Mountain's second section, a winding stretch known as Mountain Ghost Gorge.
The difficulty here came not only from the steep downhill slope and abundance of corners, but also from the track's constantly changing width.
The road before a turn might be a completely different width from the road after it. With cliffs and rock walls blocking the drivers' view, anyone going too fast could easily fail to react when the track suddenly narrowed.
Dense trees surrounded the downhill course, leaving the area dimly lit.
Viper's taillights disappeared from view ahead.
She had clearly entered the winding section.
Derek Su narrowed his eyes.
Then he floored the accelerator.
His lips moved slightly.
"Fifty-five seconds."
...
"Faster! Go faster!"
Inside Viper's cockpit, Chloe Qin's expression was dark as she screamed impatiently.
It was no wonder she was so anxious.
The roar of another Mecha Girl's engine was growing closer and closer. In the rearview mirror, she could already see that purple phantom.
Purple Lightning.
Derek Su and Purple Lightning had caught up.
And they were coming fast!
"Master, going any faster could be dangerous."
Viper bit her lip, her entire body tense as she stared at the track.
Their instantaneous downhill speed had already reached 710 km/h.
She had never gone this fast before.
Worse, Chloe Qin was beginning to struggle to issue commands quickly enough.
"Keep accelerating! What are you afraid of?"
Chloe Qin had obviously realized that her own reactions were starting to hold Viper back, but there was no chance she would admit it.
Her face flushed as she snapped, "My skills are the same as Derek Su's now! What the hell are you afraid of?!"
As she spoke, she adjusted the mechanical core and raised the skill synchronization rate to 70%.
That meant the AI core would take over 70% of the controls, effectively allowing her to reproduce nearly 70% of Derek Su's recorded techniques.
[Warning! Increasing the synchronization ratio will increase the core load! This product is still in the testing phase. Excessive load may cause the core to overheat and trigger adverse reactions!]
An electronic warning sounded from the mechanical core.
"I don't care what adverse reactions you have."
Chloe Qin tightened her grip on the control stick and muttered viciously, "I just want to win this race!"
The mechanical core fell silent.
Through two consecutive corners, Viper barely lost any speed.
With the AI core assisting her, Chloe Qin's control over braking points and corner entry points had become nearly flawless.
But...
ROAR—!!
The engine noise kept getting closer.
Purple Lightning appeared beside Viper.
The two Mecha Girls raced side by side.
Derek Su didn't even spare Chloe Qin or Viper a glance.
His attention remained entirely on the track and the clock.
"Forty seconds," he said calmly.
Another turn rushed toward them.
The cliffs and rock walls blocked the view beyond it, making it impossible to tell how the track width would change.
Chloe Qin's AI core immediately chose the safest option and selected the next-best braking point.
Chloe Qin agreed with the decision.
No matter how good Derek Su was, he couldn't possibly throw his life away, right?
But when she glanced sideways...
Whoosh!
Purple Lightning was already ahead.
Derek Su wasn't braking!
"Are they insane?!"
Chloe Qin stared at Purple Lightning's taillights in shock before a crazed smile spread across her face.
"The track better narrow after this turn. Let them fly straight off!"
Her prediction came true.
Once they reached the apex, the road beyond finally came into view.
What had been a two-lane track suddenly narrowed into a single lane.
Chloe Qin and Viper were both certain Derek Su and Purple Lightning were about to crash.
Screeeeech!!
The sound of brakes finally pierced the air at the apex.
Braking at the apex?!
Chloe Qin stared in utter disbelief.
Then she saw it.
Purple Lightning snapped into a ninety-degree turn.
The entire vehicle was forcibly pulled back onto the road and straight into the single lane.
Inside Purple Lightning's cockpit, Derek Su glanced into the rearview mirror and gave a derisive laugh.
"Twenty seconds."
"Pathetic. We won't even need a minute."
...
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