"Hold on, Boss Su!" Richard Cheng walked over to Derek Su, clasped his hands, and said, "How about I take the first pick out of these thirty this round?"
Derek Su glanced around.
Richard Cheng's twenty-nine bodyguards had already lined up, each aiming at a golden egg as instructed.
At a quick glance…
As expected of Richard Cheng. He had perfectly avoided all the correct ones.
Every egg they were targeting contained only white and blue modules.
As he spoke, Richard Cheng raised his hammer and aimed at the golden egg in front of Derek Su.
He wasn't stupid. He had noticed that although Derek Su seemed to be choosing at random, his gaze always settled briefly on specific eggs.
He had a hunch that Derek Su might actually know which eggs contained the good stuff.
It sounded ridiculous, but he had money.
And with money, he could afford to trust his instincts. He had more than enough room to make mistakes.
"No problem." Derek Su stepped aside.
The egg Richard Cheng was aiming at had indeed been his target, but that was intentional. This time, he was deliberately drawing attention elsewhere.
To avoid the host panicking and interfering, he hadn't gone near the purple module at all.
So letting Richard Cheng take that egg was completely fine.
After all, it was just a white one.
"Since you've made your choice, I'll go pick another."
He quietly moved away to the other side.
Watching Derek Su's calm expression, Richard Cheng chuckled to himself.
Got his egg snatched and still acting composed.
Inside, he's probably sweating like crazy. Heh.
"Master, let me smash one, please." Stella leaned against Derek Su, hugging his arm and shaking it, her eyes full of anticipation, lips pouted in a pleading expression.
Derek Su patted Stella's head and turned to the host.
"Can a Mecha Girl do it instead?"
"Sure. Just be careful. Don't break the table."
The host looked miserable. He couldn't stop Richard Cheng, so he could only let things unfold. Fortunately, neither Derek Su nor Richard Cheng had targeted the purple module.
As long as Richard Cheng didn't get it, the event could still continue, and the shop's reputation wouldn't be completely ruined. After all, people would only feel it was fair if a regular driver or Mecha Girl ended up with the purple module.
So he was already planning to send in a plant immediately after their turns.
Stella, having gotten permission, was thrilled. Hammer in hand, she circled the rack of golden eggs several times.
She looked left and right, clutching her final chance, unable to decide which one to hit.
"The fourth from the right in the third row," Derek Su whispered in her ear. "Don't walk over. Just throw the hammer."
Stella shot him a surprised look. Derek Su winked.
They understood each other instantly. Even without an explanation, Stella had already realized there was something fishy about this event.
If she walked up and smashed one normally, it would most likely be blue or white.
As for how her Master knew what was inside each egg…
She didn't care.
As long as her Master was amazing, that was enough.
She quickly confirmed the position of the egg Derek Su pointed out, then turned her back to the rack, shut her eyes, and shouted dramatically:
"Ahhh! This is too hard! I can't choose! Forget it, I'll just pick one at random!"
The host sneered inwardly.
These drivers really let their Mecha Girls mess around however they want?
No need to even watch.
If throwing it like this could hit a purple module, he'd stand on his head and take a dump.
Stella gripped the hammer and tossed it backward.
It traced a smooth arc through the air.
Everyone's eyes followed its trajectory.
Tunbao, Blazing Wind, and Lingwind stared wide-eyed, full of anticipation.
Absolute Shadow shook her head, already convinced it was hopeless.
Purple Lightning and Imperial Scale glanced at Derek Su, who looked completely confident, then shifted their gaze to the egg, deep in thought.
Something was off. Either with this event, or with their Master. Or both.
Whoosh!
The moment the host saw where the hammer was about to land, the smile on his face froze.
Crack!
The golden egg shattered.
A white box rolled off the rack, glowing faintly with purple light.
No doubt about it. A purple module.
And aside from the one they had hidden away, it was the only purple module left this round.
"No way… This actually worked?!"
The host's mouth hung open as his face turned pale.
It's over. Completely over.
My career is finished.
"Wow! I—I got a purple module!"
Stella dashed forward and picked it up, beaming. At the same time, she didn't forget to cover for Derek Su.
"I can't believe I just picked randomly and got a purple module! I really am the strongest Mecha Girl ever! Hehe~"
She was the one who smashed it. What did it have to do with Master?
Just pure luck. Everyone saw it.
There was no way the shop could go back on it now.
Meanwhile…
Richard Cheng, after smashing thirty golden eggs, looked as dark as a storm cloud.
With odds over one-third and getting first pick, he still didn't get a single purple module. Just a pile of trash.
Losing money didn't matter. What mattered was his reputation.
Especially with his twelve Mecha Girls all looking at him with clear disdain.
And if this got back to his competitors…
They'd laugh themselves to death.
But as the ace and major shareholder of the ESW club, he refused to admit fault.
He wasn't wrong.
The hammer was wrong. The eggs were wrong. The event was wrong. The world was wrong.
"Butler," Richard Cheng said coldly. "Bring me Katyusha."
The butler bowed and left, soon returning with a menacing rocket launcher.
"Mr. Richard! What are you doing?!"
"Fifty million. Keep your mouth shut." Richard Cheng hoisted the launcher onto his shoulder, shot the host a cold glance, and pulled the trigger.
Derek Su grabbed Stella and quickly retreated, while the surrounding crowd scattered in panic.
Amid the host's terrified scream, the entire golden egg rack exploded into pieces.
The mechanisms inside were exposed, with some parts rolling right up to Richard Cheng's feet.
He crouched down, picked one up, examined it briefly, then let out an angry laugh.
"Nice. Very nice. You people at the Module shop really know how to play games. You even tried to play me?"
He flung the part straight into the host's face.
"Get your boss out here and give me an explanation. Otherwise, I'll tear this place apart!"
...
After everything was settled, the owner of the Servit Tianyuan City branch personally apologized to all the drivers and Mecha Girls present, shifting all blame onto the host and promising each participant 300,000 yuan in compensation for emotional distress.
They were clearly trying to salvage their reputation with money.
But the damage was done.
Once a reputation is ruined, it stays ruined. No one would fall for this again.
Meanwhile, Derek Su stared blankly at the two purple modules he had obtained without spending a single cent.
These days, not only do Mecha Girls come free, even purple modules are free too.
Kind of embarrassing, honestly. Heh.
...
At the entrance, just as Derek Su was about to leave, Richard Cheng called out to him.
"Boss Su, I admit you're strong." Richard Cheng walked up, his expression serious. "When it comes to luck in module draws, I lost today. I admit it. But in tomorrow's Brana Ruins Advanced Race, I will beat you."
"Gray Castle, step forward."
He clapped his hands. A tall Mecha Girl with short gray hair and a cropped racing outfit stepped forward.
Her physique was powerful, like a female leopard, and her cold gaze carried the intensity of a raging beast.
When her gray eyes swept over him, Derek Su instinctively swallowed.
That pressure…
It felt like being locked onto by a terrifying predator.
Just as his heart tightened, a tall figure stepped in front of him, shielding him completely.
It was Imperial Scale.
Her rose-red eyes met the gray-haired Mecha Girl's gaze head-on.
Even though she was a head shorter, her presence didn't falter in the slightest.
Neither of them spoke, yet the surrounding Mecha Girls seemed frozen under an invisible pressure, not daring to move.
Derek Su and Richard Cheng also stood still, their eyes shifting between Imperial Scale and Gray Castle, as if they could hear sparks crackling in the air.
...
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