The starting gun fired.
LS-77 immediately swung her front end and slammed into Stella beside her. Yellow sand billowed across the windshield, but it couldn't hide the ferocity in her eyes. There wasn't even a hint of hesitation.
Bang!
It felt like being hit by a charging bull. Derek Su and Stella both jolted hard, but that was it. They barely moved.
They had just launched with full acceleration, but on sand, the effect was limited. On top of that, LS-77's long front end caught Stella off guard and rammed straight into her rear.
Derek Su hadn't expected the driver next to them to be this aggressive, going straight for a collision.
Shouldn't they be fighting for position first?
Bang bang bang!
A chain of collisions erupted all around them. Ahead and to the sides, Mecha Girls were already smashing into each other. Sand kicked up by spinning wheels filled the air, and sparks flashed through the haze.
Only then did Derek Su realize.
It wasn't that LS-77 was especially aggressive.
This was just how the Brana Ruins Advancement Tournament worked.
It was basically bumper cars.
"Hey! Master, she hit me!" Stella bit her lip, eyes reddening as she pointed at LS-77. "Do they think my title as Crash King is fake? Master, let me hit her back!"
"If you hit back, won't it hurt more?" Derek Su sighed. His original plan had been to avoid pointless clashes and use their speed advantage to break away.
He was worried about her getting hurt.
But he had underestimated Stella's fighting spirit.
"I'll just use my head!" Stella quickly tied her hair into a ponytail, revealing her smooth forehead. "My rear's soft, but my head's tough!"
Derek Su didn't know what to say.
But if she wanted to crash, then so be it.
Right now, most Mecha Girls had already lost their acceleration in the chaos. If you wanted space to speed up, you had to force your way through.
Like a filter.
Only those with both strong Impact Resistance and speed would make it out.
At that moment, LS-77's entire side was exposed right in front of Stella.
After hitting Stella, LS-77 had also been struck by another Mecha Girl, causing her body to shift sideways and slide across the sand, drifting right into Stella's path.
Perfect.
Derek Su slammed the accelerator to the floor.
The engine roared to life. White heat haze curled around the wheels as Stella lowered her head and charged straight in, ramming LS-77 again and again.
Inside LS-77's cockpit, the burly driver was completely stunned.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
His plan had been to knock Stella aside and take her lane, especially since another Mecha Girl was closing in on him from the other side.
But instead, it felt like they had slammed into a solid wall.
Is this really the Impact Resistance of a speed-type Mecha Girl?
What kind of nonsense is this?!
Not only did they fail to push Stella away, they were knocked back instead. The vehicle teetered on the edge of losing control, only to get hit again from the left.
Caught between two impacts, the force from both sides sent LS-77 spiraling out of control, nearly flipping over.
"Hold it together!" the driver roared, veins bulging as sweat poured down his face. His vision spun as he gripped the controls.
By sheer luck, LS-77 stabilized right at the edge of the track.
But—
He had barely let out a breath of relief
when he heard the roar of an engine closing in.
Vrrrmmm!
His heart lurched. He turned his head.
Through the sandstorm, Stella burst forward like a blade, charging straight at him.
"D-don't come over here—!"
The driver screamed.
He had just regained control!
He had already regretted it the moment he failed to push Stella aside. He knew now her Impact Resistance wasn't low at all. No wonder The Magician dared to bring her here. She was clearly equipped with top-tier modules.
But the world didn't stop for his panic.
Bang!
Stella slammed into LS-77 head-on.
The barely stabilized LS-77 couldn't withstand the impact. Under Stella's acceleration, the force flipped her completely over.
The driver's scream cut off instantly.
His last hope collapsed.
In the Brana Ruins Advancement Tournament, flipping meant elimination.
At that moment, he only wanted to slap himself.
Why did he have to pick this fight?
"Hmph! That's what you get for hitting the Pineapple King's butt!" Stella puffed her cheeks in satisfaction. Still not satisfied, she gave LS-77 a couple more bumps until it was completely pushed off the track.
"That's enough, Stella. Your rear looks fine." Derek Su sighed, then checked her. Still soft. No swelling.
Before, it really had swollen after a hit.
But now, with Impact Resistance at 90, LS-77's collision was barely more than a light tap.
"Let's move. We need to take the front positions." He glanced ahead at the still-chaotic pack. "We don't have time to waste."
"Got it!"
Stella immediately stopped bullying LS-77 and refocused on the race.
After the scuffle, she had fallen slightly behind the leaders.
But she was confident she could catch up.
...
At the very front—
Gray Castle, driven by Richard Cheng of the ESW club, was leading.
She moved steadily across the sand, treating dunes and pits like flat ground. Any small obstacles were simply crushed aside.
With the reputation of the King of Combat, most Mecha Girls didn't dare approach her.
Some even moved aside on their own.
The few who tried to challenge her were sent flying off the track, driver and Mecha Girl together.
They couldn't even slow her down.
Like ants trying to shake a tree.
Seeing this, no one dared get in her way.
Inside the cockpit—
Richard Cheng smiled faintly.
He had expected Derek Su to pose some kind of threat.
But now, even checking the rearview mirror, he couldn't see him anywhere.
The final result of the Brana Ruins Advancement Tournament is based on total time across all three stages.
If you fall too far behind in the first stage, it's almost impossible to recover.
After all, the first stage is the easiest.
"Gray Castle, we've already won this one."
He spoke casually.
Gray Castle didn't respond.
She simply stared ahead.
She had originally intended to deal with Stella and Derek Su here.
But Stella hadn't lasted.
So she would deal with them later.
The real fight would be in stages two and three.
She would make Imperial Scale understand the price of challenging the King of Combat.
...
"I didn't expect Stella to hit that hard. That Mecha Girl got flipped instantly!" Tunbao leaned over the railing, staring at the screen in shock.
Thinking back to how she used to provoke Stella, she suddenly felt uneasy.
Impact Resistance and Stability also reflected a Mecha Girl's physical strength in humanoid form.
Didn't that mean Stella, who looked so small and harmless, could actually beat her up?
Right.
Stella could drag over thirty tires. Her strength was way higher.
"She started it," Purple Lightning said coldly. "If someone provokes you first, you hit back hard enough that they remember it."
Then her expression softened. She blushed, covering her face shyly.
"Of course… Master's driving played a big part too. Without him, Stella wouldn't have handled it so easily."
Absolute Shadow, however, looked serious as she watched the screen.
Under Derek Su's control, Stella moved like a butterfly, weaving through the battlefield, outmaneuvering the heavy combat-types with ease.
But that kind of performance attracted attention.
And hostility.
"The real fight is just beginning. Stella doesn't have a solid lead yet, and the conditions are still chaotic... Look."
She pointed at the screen.
Mecha Girls were closing in from all directions.
"They've noticed her. A speed-type standing out like this... they're going to surround her and take her out first."
"If she can't handle this properly, it's going to be dangerous..."
...
Outside the track.
Imperial Scale watched the screen quietly.
The wind lifted her bangs, revealing those cold crimson eyes.
Her lips moved slightly.
If you stood close enough, you could hear her whispering names.
The names of every Mecha Girl closing in on Stella.
Every one of them
was being marked.
...
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