"Un-unbelievable!"
Kool Kenny stumbled over his words for several seconds before finally managing to blurt out an exclamation.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I imagined The Magician might give way. I imagined he might stubbornly go head-to-head with Snowpeak and Dawnbreak. But I never expected him to escape that predicament in such an extraordinary way!"
After shouting so much in a single breath, Kool Kenny's neck was rigid and his face had turned bright red. His assistant thoughtfully handed him an oxygen tank, and Kool Kenny immediately grabbed it and took several deep breaths. After his eyes rolled back a few times, he finally felt much better.
"Reverse Drifting!" he exclaimed. "I think that would be a fitting name for the new technique The Magician just showed us."
Thunderous applause and cheers rang through the stands without end.
Everyone had been worried about Purple Lightning's predicament, only for Derek Su to use such a spectacular technique to completely outplay Leon Li and Laiya An in a direct confrontation.
For Derek Su's supporters, it was immensely satisfying.
"Derek Su's skill really is beyond anything I expected." In the preparation area, Lucy Luo finally tore her gaze away from Stella, who was happily jumping around and spinning in circles nearby. Even then, she couldn't hide the amazement on her face.
"Yeah." Eternity stared at the purple phantom racing across the screen.
Ever since Lucy Luo had rescued her from that miserable situation, Eternity had never admired another pilot apart from Lucy Luo's older sister, Tania. And even her respect for Tania came largely from gratitude.
She had become Lucy Luo's Mecha Girl partly because Lucy Luo had considerable talent as a pilot, but also because she wanted to repay Tania's kindness.
Derek Su, however, was the only person who had ever won her over purely through driving skill.
He had truly convinced her beyond any doubt.
"Come to think of it, didn't we make a bet with Derek Su?" Lucy Luo suddenly asked. "If we lost the race, we were supposed to join Stella Club, right?"
Her voice turned timid, and she didn't dare look Eternity in the eye.
"Then we'll join."
"Huh?"
Lucy Luo blinked. She had expected Eternity to refuse.
"A bet is a bet." Eternity glanced at her. "We're only joining Stella Club. It's not like you're marrying Derek Su. Why are you blushing like that?"
Lucy Luo's face turned even redder, and she pouted. "The race isn't even over yet! How do you know our club is definitely going to lose?"
"Oh, come on."
Eternity stared at her speechlessly. "Did you seriously not notice that the contestant our club sent out for the second section already fell into the river at Flying Dragon Cliff?"
Ice Soul's blizzard skill was certainly effective. Nine contestants had already fallen into the river because of it, including one from Lucy Luo's club.
"Uh..."
Lucy Luo froze.
She had been too busy watching Derek Su show off.
She hadn't paid any attention to how the other contestants from her own club were doing.
...
"What the hell have you people been doing?! How did you fail to notice someone this strong before? Why wasn't a contestant like this recruited into our Demon King Club?!"
Inside the DKC Operations Department, club owner James was in a towering rage, spraying spit as he shouted.
Not far away stood Meisel, his expression grim.
The Demon King Club had truly humiliated itself in this provincial advancement race.
On the first section, Meisel, their ace, had been completely toyed with by Derek Su and Stella. On the second section, Trien, the Demon King Club's hidden trump card, had been thoroughly shown up by Derek Su while he piloted Purple Lightning.
If Derek Su actually joined the club, would Meisel even get to remain the ace?
"Um, Boss... I only underestimated him this time. At the National Qualifiers, I'll definitely show Derek Su what the Demon King Club is really capable of!"
Meisel felt he needed to remind everyone of his value and recover some of his dignity.
James merely rolled his eyes and sneered.
"Meisel, go to the training track right now and show me Reverse Drifting. If you can make it through ten corners with it... No, five. Just five corners. If you can do that, I'll admit what you said has at least a little credibility."
Meisel's face went pale, and he instinctively took a step back.
Thunder-01, standing beside him, looked eager to give it a try.
Meisel hurriedly pulled Thunder-01 back.
He had already lost enough face. If they tried Reverse Drifting and failed miserably, he would be completely reduced to a joke.
Better to keep his mouth shut and silently pray that Derek Su would reject the Demon King Club when they tried to recruit him.
Meanwhile, the ISC Club was embroiled in an equally fierce argument.
The main issue was whether they should try to recruit Derek Su.
Clearly, they were thinking along the same lines as the Demon King Club. Everyone wanted to secure such a valuable talent.
The ISC Club owner even proposed an almost absurdly generous arrangement. They would support Stella Club's development while merely asking Derek Su to carry the ISC Club name.
...
Panlong Mountain Circuit.
Derek Su continued weaving Purple Lightning back and forth at the front, building up her skill gauge as her speed gradually increased.
Farther along the course was a section called Dragon Stone Road, notorious for its absurd level of difficulty.
Derek Su planned to activate Purple Lightning's active skill there and simply breeze through the entire challenge.
Ever since he got Purple Lightning and Imperial Scale, he had gradually become a little lazy.
But Derek Su thought this kind of life was pretty good.
He had spent two lifetimes driving cars. What was wrong with enjoying a Mecha Girl's full-auto capabilities once in a while?
He had earned it~
Behind him, Snowpeak and Dawnbreak were riding Purple Lightning's slipstream, but neither showed any intention of moving up to challenge her again.
It wasn't that they didn't want to.
Laiya An and Leon Li simply wouldn't allow it.
Leon Li had already accepted reality.
There was no way he could beat Derek Su.
That bizarre man seemed to have no limit whatsoever. Every time Leon Li thought he had finally seen the edge of Derek Su's abilities, Derek Su would pull out some new trick and overturn his understanding of driving all over again.
He was tired.
He had only just turned eighteen. He shouldn't have to endure this kind of psychological damage.
As for Laiya An, she believed in knowing when enough was enough.
Teaming up with Leon Li against Derek Su had already been somewhat unfair.
Derek Su had broken through their combined blockade through sheer skill. Laiya An was completely convinced.
If she went after him again now, she would only be asking to humiliate herself.
"Damn it, what did that guy eat growing up?"
Dawnbreak glared resentfully at Purple Lightning's taillights as they grew farther away.
She wasn't talking about Purple Lightning.
She meant Derek Su.
At first, she had simply disliked him.
Now she still disliked him, couldn't do anything about him, couldn't wipe that smug look off his face, yet at the same time had no choice but to admire him.
That man had completely overturned her understanding of driving technique.
"There, there, Dawnbreak~"
Laiya An rubbed Dawnbreak's butt, her eyes curving into crescents as she smiled. "I'd never abandon you~"
"I haven't abandoned you either!" Dawnbreak rolled her eyes.
"Hehe~" Laiya An giggled foolishly.
"Hey, Laiya."
"Hmm?"
Dawnbreak tilted her head slightly.
After so many races, she had gradually realized something.
Even among top-tier Mecha Girls, she wasn't one of the very best.
Her special skill looked powerful, but it came with plenty of restrictions. In most races, she could practically use it only once.
Laiya An wasn't short on money.
She could afford to buy an even better top-tier Mecha Girl.
"We'll always stay together, right?" Dawnbreak asked.
She didn't notice the faint tremble in her own voice.
"Of course." Laiya An answered without hesitation. "You'll always be my starting Mecha Girl."
Dawnbreak fell silent for a moment.
The track ahead suddenly blurred in her vision.
She sniffed, then complained irritably, "Don't make promises like that so casually! People are going to think you're a heartbreaker!"
...
"Oh~~ We'll always stay together, right~?"
Leon Li raised his voice and mimicked Dawnbreak.
Snowpeak looked utterly disgusted.
"Was that convincing?"
"Pretty convincing. Never do it again." Snowpeak stuck out her tongue. "If Laiya An and Dawnbreak realized their car loudspeaker was still on and we heard all of that, they'd probably die of embarrassment."
"I know."
Leon Li nodded solemnly.
Then, with a perfectly calm expression, he turned Snowpeak's loudspeaker all the way up and shouted at Dawnbreak ahead,
"Hey~ You'll always be my starting Mecha Girl~ We'll always stay together~"
Dawnbreak's vehicle suddenly swerved, nearly sliding off the track.
Behind her, Leon Li and Snowpeak burst into wicked laughter.
...
Near Panlong Mountain, inside a concealed underground command center, Patrick Wang met Eden.
The Governor of Mecha Island stood before a wall of enormous screens, arms folded across her chest as her sharp gaze monitored every section of the Panlong Mountain Circuit.
"Governor Eden."
Patrick Wang removed his hat and saluted.
"Is something wrong?" Eden turned around, her expression softening considerably.
"It's about this."
Patrick Wang gestured for one of his subordinates to bring forward a metal component sealed inside a lead box.
Through the specially designed radiation-shielding glass on the box, the metal component inside could be clearly seen.
"We found this on the Panlong Pillar. It shouldn't have been there.
"But it appeared during the race, and there's a good chance it's connected to the falling rocks on the Panlong Pillar section.
"Do you know what this is?"
...
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