[Special Skill: Dazzling Dance – Each perfect drift grants +1 Acceleration and reduces Impact Resistance and Stability by 1 each. When the Acceleration gained from drifting reaches 50, or Stability drops to 0, the special ability activates: Rhapsody – For 30 seconds, ignores all corners and obstacles. When Rhapsody ends, attributes return to normal and the skill state resets.]
According to the skill description, every perfect drift temporarily increases Purple Lightning's acceleration.
For Derek Su, performing a perfect drift without outside interference was as easy as breathing.
If other Mecha Girls or Techmasters interfered, it would naturally become more difficult.
But those Techmasters and top-tier Mecha Girls couldn't possibly activate their abilities at every corner.
And they certainly couldn't keep targeting him and Purple Lightning forever.
So for Purple Lightning, every corner cleared with a perfect drift meant a new possibility.
More opportunities. Another step closer to victory.
"So this is your special skill, Purple Lightning…"
Derek Su murmured, tightening his grip on the control lever, his eyes shining.
"You're not some useless Mecha Girl. People just never understood you! You're a top-tier Mecha Girl who can stand against any of them!"
This world originally didn't have a fully developed drifting technique. The system simply defined Purple Lightning's condition as a perfect drift. If judged by the racing standards of this world, triggering her passive skill likely required taking corners at near-limit speed with flawless execution.
Clack—!
Purple Lightning passed the second speed detector.
The display showed 262 km/h.
It was still far behind the leading Cloud Leopard.
But on the Rona Bay track, one thing was never in short supply—
corners.
...
"Whoa! Purple Lightning's speed increased!"
Stella clapped her hands and sat up straight, eyes full of anticipation.
She had no idea what had happened and assumed Derek Su had somehow boosted Purple Lightning's performance again through some mysterious method.
"But the gap is still huge, and the distance from Cloud Leopard keeps getting bigger."
Tunbao leaned back with her hands behind her head, looking casual, but the concern in her eyes was obvious.
"If they don't make the top three in this race, that crybaby Purple Lightning is definitely going to be miserable for a long time…"
She clicked her tongue.
"Honestly makes me want to crash that Cloud Leopard off the track."
"Purple Lightning will definitely win!"
Lingwind clenched his fists while he and Blazing Wind stared intently at the screen.
The small pig plush in Imperial Scale's hand had already been squeezed out of shape.
She extended one hand to the side.
Absolute Shadow immediately pulled out another pig plush from the leather bag beside his seat and placed it in her hand.
As for the flattened one, it was taken back.
After fixing it, it could still be used for Imperial Scale's stress relief later.
Meanwhile, Purple Lightning entered the second corner of the Rona Bay Training Race.
It was a Z-shaped turn.
Not particularly difficult, but surrounded by towering cliffs.
Combined with the narrow road, it tested both the driver's and the Mecha Girl's mental strength.
Some racers had excellent skills, but when faced with terrain like this, they couldn't overcome the psychological pressure. Even though they could go faster, they slowed down early.
Of course, that would never happen with Derek Su.
"Master! Careful—left five over crest, immediately followed by a hairpin!"
Purple Lightning's voice carried tension beneath its seriousness.
She used to give the same warning to Chloe Qin back when Chloe Qin was still a rookie driver.
At that time, not only did she need reminders—she also had to actively assist during every corner.
But today was the first time she was truly pushing at full speed.
And the first time entering a corner at 262 km/h.
So she made a mistake.
Her pace note came too late.
By the time the words left her mouth—
Derek Su had already slammed the throttle and attacked the corner.
"Ah!"
Purple Lightning gasped.
Her mind went blank.
All she could do was watch the cliff rushing closer while mechanically executing Derek Su's commands.
Brake slammed to the floor.
The wheels locked.
The car slid sideways ahead of the corner.
Control lever cut left.
The moment they entered the turn, the handbrake released and the throttle pushed forward.
Purple Lightning felt the world blur.
The first hairpin was already behind them.
The scenery stretched into streaks as it rushed backward, and the second hairpin appeared immediately ahead.
There was no time to think.
Only muscle memory remained.
Control lever right.
Handbrake pulled.
Light throttle.
The car's center of gravity shifted from side to side.
Purple Lightning's body moved like a swimming dragon, tracing a perfect and elegant reverse S-shape through the Z-turn.
Handbrake released.
Exit point reached.
Control lever snapped back.
Still the classic Scandinavian drift.
The corner was handled effortlessly.
Two perfect drift corners.
Purple Lightning's acceleration rose again—
57.
Throttle fully open.
They shot out of the corner in a straight line, the engine screaming sharper than before.
When Purple Lightning blasted past the third speed detector, the speed had already climbed to 275 km/h.
"Master, I can feel it clearly!"
Purple Lightning's voice trembled with excitement.
"My acceleration really increased. Every time we exit a corner, it rises noticeably!"
"Pretty sharp senses."
Derek Su chuckled.
As expected from Purple Lightning, who was sensitive to everything.
Even a single point of acceleration increase didn't escape her notice.
Unlike Stella, who needed several points before she realized something had changed.
"Purple Lightning, this is your ability," Derek Su said seriously.
"You've always wondered what your special skill is, right?"
"That's right. As long as you take a corner perfectly, your acceleration increases. That's your special ability."
"To fully bring out your performance, the driver's cornering skill has to be exceptional."
"And the one who contracted you before—Chloe Qin—clearly couldn't use that ability."
He looked at the eyes in the rearview mirror.
They were growing brighter.
Derek Su smiled.
"Lift your head, Purple Lightning."
"You're the kind of top-tier Mecha Girl that best reflects a driver's skill."
"The useless one isn't you…"
"it's Chloe Qin."
Those words struck Purple Lightning like a giant hammer hitting a massive bell.
The echo rang through her soul.
And in that moment—
she woke up.
Memories of racing with Chloe Qin resurfaced.
The memories that had kept her awake countless nights.
She blamed herself.
She regretted.
She doubted everything.
Why did other top-tier Mecha Girls have powerful special skills while hers never activated?
Was she truly useless?
A Mecha Girl with a skill but no right to use it…
Now she finally understood.
It wasn't that she lacked the right.
Chloe Qin lacked the ability.
"I understand!"
Light flashed in Purple Lightning's eyes.
"Master, from now on I'll help you take every corner perfectly!"
Before, every judgment and every technical maneuver on the track depended entirely on herself.
She could never rely on Chloe Qin.
But now—
there was finally someone she could depend on.
And this feeling…
was really good.
...
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