"Derek Su and Stella are having a hard time pulling away from Eternity. Looks like it'll come down to the last two stages," Xavier Young said, rubbing the stubble on his chin, worry and regret flickering in his eyes.
He and Lumina were sitting in front of the TV.
They'd been watching the race nonstop since it began.
"That Mecha Girl, Eternity, is really strong," Lumina said seriously, recalling the past. "I was at the exhibition auction with her back then. She was the finale piece—a top-tier Mecha Girl. As the most popular speed-type, her price was bid up to 1.9 billion. Later, during private negotiations, she went with a young ace from the GPC Club. Final deal was 700 million."
"That expensive?"
"Yeah. Top-tier, after all." Lumina shrugged.
"So Eternity hasn't even used her skill yet? If she does, she'll be even more terrifying?" Xavier Young's eyes widened.
He and Lumina had experienced Stella's speed firsthand.
On a straight track, it took less than half a minute for Stella to completely leave Lumina behind.
On a track with lots of corners, if Derek Su was driving, it was even more outrageous… one corner, maybe two, and they'd already lose sight of Stella's taillights.
So how fast was this Eternity, really?
And if Eternity activated her skill—just how terrifying would that be?
Xavier didn't dare think too deeply about it. He only knew the pressure on Derek Su and Stella had to be immense. Maybe after this race, he should take them to soak in some hot springs to relax.
His eyes drifted to Lumina's graceful silhouette beside him, and he swallowed unconsciously.
Just then, on the TV screen, Derek Su and Stella used a series of consecutive hairpin turns to shake off Eternity. Lumina let out an excited cheer.
"Oh! They shook her off?" Xavier Young's face lit up as he exclaimed, "Looks like Su really has a way. That 'Magician' nickname isn't for nothing."
"As long as they've broken away, Eternity won't be able to draft anymore. The gap between her and Stella will only keep growing. They might actually make up that three-minute deficit!"
Lumina's eyes sparkled, filled with anticipation.
...
"Master, do you think Stella and the others can beat the Tagalong Club?" Comet asked, hugging a pink teddy bear as she looked at Caio Yang beside her.
"Huh? What kind of name is 'Tagalong'?" Caio Yang froze for a second, then quickly realized it was Comet's nickname for the GPC Club. He said helplessly, "You really shouldn't let people from Glory Peak Club hear you say that…"
"I think it's kind of risky," he said after watching the TV for a moment, then analyzing calmly. "The time gap from the first stage is too big. For Stella Club to beat GPC, two conditions have to be met. First, Eternity can't use her skill. Second, in the third and fourth stages, Stella Club's other racers can't make mistakes and must completely crush GPC's racers. Those conditions are pretty harsh."
"What if it were the two of us?" Comet asked.
"We'd definitely be fine~" Caio Yang grinned smugly. "I'm a Techmaster, and you're a top-tier Mecha Girl. Who could beat us?"
"Hmph! You don't even let me use my skill!"
Comet puffed out her cheeks angrily and turned her back on Caio Yang.
Back on the Grivin Desert track, they had nearly been overtaken by Ethan Yang. She'd wanted to use her special skill then, but Caio Yang had absolutely refused. Ever since she'd been bought, Caio Yang had forbidden her from using special skills, so she still hadn't experienced what it felt like to activate one.
"Not letting you use it is to train your performance and keep you from relying on skills too much," Caio Yang said gently, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to coax her. "Besides, don't I rarely use my Techmaster skills too? Back when we raced Derek Su, you were begging me, saying you'd wash my underwear—I couldn't possibly use a skill then…"
"Ahhh! Shut up! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"
Comet quickly reached back and covered Caio Yang's mouth, her delicate face flushing red at a visible speed.
"Don't ever bring that up again!"
She bit her lip, half-embarrassed and half-angry, and snapped,
"If you mention it again, I'll learn from Cloud Leopard!"
Caio Yang froze, then nodded frantically in fear.
Justin Kim was still recovering. It was said that now, just seeing a pair of scissors was enough to make his legs go weak and trigger a stress reaction. Caio Yang definitely didn't want to end up like that.
...
"Ladies and gentlemen! After a series of consecutive hairpin turns, our dark horse contender, the Magician, has opened up a gap from GPC Club's rookie ace! Perhaps he really does have a way to make up that three-minute difference and create a miracle!"
Aiyo's commentary never stopped.
The live broadcast stayed focused mainly on Stella and Eternity.
After all, the other racers were more or less running their own races.
Only Stella and Eternity were truly locked in an intense head-to-head.
"Next, let's announce the time rankings for the first stage! First place goes to GPC Club with a time of 65 minutes and 32 seconds! Second place is BSC Club under our sponsor Giant Tech, at 67 minutes and 7 seconds! Third place is TGB Club, at 67 minutes and 12 seconds… SC Club, where the Magician belongs, is currently in ninth place, with a time of 68 minutes and 47 seconds!"
Hearing Aiyo's announcement,
Zane and Lingwind, resting at the station, flushed red with embarrassment, wishing they could crawl into a hole and disappear.
Ninth place…
In the past, Zane would've thought that result was decent enough.
But now, being in the same club as Derek Su and serving as the first leg of this relay, seeing that ranking only made him feel humiliated—like he was dragging Derek Su down.
Now they were three minutes behind.
It would be up to Derek Su to clean up the mess he and Lingwind had left.
...
On the track—
"Master… sorry. I can't keep up with Stella anymore."
Eternity let out a helpless sigh.
If she could still draft off Stella's slipstream, she might've been able to hang on.
But after Stella used a hairpin to pull away, drafting was no longer possible. With no other Mecha Girls around to use as a 'springboard,' all Eternity could do was watch the distance between them grow larger and larger.
"If you can't catch up, then you can't," Lucy Luo said, looking completely unconcerned.
"With the Magician's absurd cornering skills, it's normal we can't keep up. It's just a training race—let's just enjoy it~ Plugging in Modules and activating skills would ruin the fun. Besides, we need to put some pressure on the other club members too, right?"
Eternity knew Lucy Luo was just comforting her.
She pressed her lips together, staring at Stella's taillights ahead, her voice firm. "Forget the training race. If we run into them on a provincial-level track, I'll make them understand who truly stands at the pinnacle of speed!"
"Oh~? Rare to see you this fired up~" Lucy Luo flashed a mischievous grin and teased, "So, Eternity, getting beaten in speed by another Mecha Girl really doesn't feel good, huh? Really itching to slot in Modules and activate your skill?"
"Just beg me. As long as you beg, I'll let you plug them in right away and activate everything for you! Hehehe~"
Lucy Luo looked exhilarated, an unusual flush spreading across her pretty face.
Eternity rolled her eyes and ignored her.
Lucy Luo always went a bit crazy while driving.
She was already used to it.
Ignoring her was enough—Lucy Luo would calm down on her own soon enough.
Time passed, second by second.
At the edge of their vision, a conspicuous red structure appeared at the end of the track.
It was a maintenance station set up along the course.
Its job was to change Mecha Girls' tires and inspect their condition.
That was because the track conditions ahead would change—from compacted, damp sand to loose, dry sand. At that point, the surface would sink like a bottomless pit, making fresh tires absolutely necessary.
...
Watching the two Mecha Girls speeding in, Howard Wang, who had been waiting at the maintenance station for quite some time, lit up and quickly asked, "Is that Eternity and Stella coming?"
"Yes, Boss," the workers replied.
"The tires are ready, right?"
"All ready, Boss. You can trust me," the supervisor said, rubbing his hands together with a flattering smile.
"They won't be noticed?" Howard Wang asked again.
"They won't. Custom-made. You can't tell unless you're on the track."
The supervisor narrowed his eyes, and the two exchanged a knowing grin.
Like two cunning old foxes.
...
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