Seeing Imperial Scale in so much pain that she could barely bear it, Derek Su quickly helped her sit down nearby.
"Take off your shoe. Let me see what's going on."
Imperial Scale instinctively tried to lift her foot, but it hurt too much. Just managing to walk that short distance had already pushed her to the limit, so she raised it halfway before lowering it again.
"I'll do it. Bear with it for a moment." Derek Su lifted Imperial Scale's foot with his left hand, then carefully removed her shoe with his right, revealing a fair, delicate foot.
Unexpectedly, although Imperial Scale was very tall, her foot was not especially large. It was slender and elegant, looking rather refined.
When the cold wind blew over it, her five pink toes curled up like mimosa leaves.
Derek Su did not pay attention to the strangely suggestive scene.
He examined her foot from side to side and found that Imperial Scale's ankle was already swollen. Black spiderweb-like cracks had also appeared over the swollen area.
There was no blood seeping out from inside. Perhaps that was because a Mecha Girl's body structure was different from a human's?
"This looks serious." Derek Su frowned.
They were already quite far from the arena. Although the arena had a medical team, it could not compare to their own.
Besides, he had already contacted Absolute Shadow in advance, and the medical team was on its way.
"Next time you get hurt, you have to say something right away. You can't just endure it like this. This time, you could barely walk, but what if you had broken a leg like Gray Castle? Would you still have endured it for that long?"
As Derek Su warned Imperial Scale, his tone unconsciously became a little stern.
"Mm, I know." Imperial Scale bit her red lip and obediently nodded.
That obedient, docile, and fragile look left Tunbao and Stella staring in disbelief.
Was this Imperial Scale?
Was this really Imperial Scale?
Tunbao wondered if Imperial Scale had been kicked stupid by Gray Castle in the ring. Hurry up and give back the cool, sharp boss lady!
Stella wondered if, even though they had not run into a real ghost in the haunted house earlier, Imperial Scale had met some demon or spirit outside and gotten possessed.
Purple Lightning's gaze swept back and forth between Imperial Scale and Derek Su.
She instinctively reached into her bag for sunflower seeds, only to remember that she had already eaten them all earlier.
"We'll head toward the medical team now. I'll carry you."
Derek Su turned around and crouched in front of Imperial Scale. He felt that he needed to show the responsibility and sense of security a pilot ought to have.
"Master, there's no need…"
Imperial Scale looked at Derek Su's fairly broad back. Her eyes showed a hint of temptation, but she still refused.
"I told you to get on, so get on. Are you afraid I can't carry you?!"
Derek Su was very confident right now.
After his physical training, he felt he was no longer an ordinary person. Carrying a Mecha Girl who weighed just over a hundred pounds for a short distance should be easy, right?
Since Derek Su had put it that way, Imperial Scale could only hook her arms around his neck and lie against his back.
Derek Su reached back, scooped up Imperial Scale's long legs, and secured her in place.
Then he took a deep breath.
"Up!"
He did not get up.
His face turned red from the strain.
Holy crap, why was she so heavy?!
Stella was obviously very light, about the weight of a girl around five foot three.
But Imperial Scale… Well, Imperial Scale was over five foot ten, so of course she would not be light. But she still should not be this heavy, right?
Could he be weaker than he thought?
Derek Su absolutely refused to admit that.
"Up again!"
Hah!
Derek Su's eyes nearly bulged out, veins popping on his forehead, but he finally managed to carry Imperial Scale on his back.
"Master, are you… all right?" Imperial Scale's concerned voice came beside his ear.
Her breath brushed against his ear, tickling him, and something soft pressed against his back.
But Derek Su had no attention to spare for any of that.
"Heh… What could possibly be wrong with me?" He forced a smile. "With my physique… carrying you is definitely, definitely easy. Hahaha…"
Was it really that easy? Imperial Scale pursed her lips.
Combat-type Mecha Girls were very heavy.
And why was Master shaking?
Thud. Thud.
Derek Su took two steps forward, his legs trembling with every step.
"As expected of Master. You actually managed to carry Rebel King!" Stella cheered him on from the side. "Come on, Master, show us your manliness!"
Purple Lightning said, "So good, so good, this is really good~"
Tunbao looked completely confused. She pointed at Derek Su's face and said, "Hey! Can't you see? Boss Su's face has turned purple!"
Bang!
"Ah! My poor back!"
...
In the end, Derek Su still failed to show the responsibility and sense of security expected of a pilot.
He fell headfirst onto the ground, feeling as if a mountain were pressing down on his back.
Imperial Scale's weight simply could not be calculated from a human perspective. Her density was on a completely different level.
Thinking about it, that made sense. She was so tough that it would be strange if she were light.
"Oh no, Master, why did you fall down?!" Stella froze, then quickly went forward to help Imperial Scale and Derek Su up.
Imperial Scale's face flushed red, filled with apology.
Derek Su leaned against a streetlamp by the road, his right hand pressed to his waist, his face deathly pale.
A cold wind blew a few leaves tumbling across the street.
Everyone fell silent for a while.
Since their Master could not carry Imperial Scale, the task could only fall to Stella.
In the end, Purple Lightning carried Derek Su, who was exhausted and had twisted his back, while Stella carried Imperial Scale toward the hotel. Tunbao followed behind, cheering them on.
Mecha Girls had immense strength, so this arrangement was easy for everyone.
As they passed the AI Core Technology Exhibition Hall at the center of the island, they saw a large crowd gathered outside.
No wonder there were so few Mecha Girls and pilots on the street. It was not because everyone had developed the habit of sleeping early and waking early. A large portion of them had gathered here.
"What's going on over there?" Derek Su looked confused.
He had already caught his breath and wanted to get off Purple Lightning's back.
But Purple Lightning's hands were like iron clamps, firmly locking onto his butt so that he could not move at all. He protested several times, but Purple Lightning rejected him every time with the excuse that injured people had to behave and stop moving around. But why did Purple Lightning keep squeezing every so often? Was it really unintentional?
"I'll go see what's happening!" Tunbao volunteered and ran ahead to investigate.
A short while later, she came back gritting her teeth.
"It's Chloe Qin holding a press conference. Damn it, she's talking so arrogantly."
"A press conference? Chloe Qin is still doing that?" Derek Su and Purple Lightning exchanged a glance, both puzzled.
In Derek Su's eyes, Chloe Qin was already a fish on the chopping block. She could not flop around for much longer.
She had already been turned into Doctor Octopus, yet she was still acting so smug?
"Yeah?" Tunbao cracked her wrists and bared her teeth. "Boss Su, why don't I just take Chloe Qin out? Just say the word, and tonight there'll be one more corpse mixed with cement under the Demon Sea!"
Derek Su rolled his eyes and turned to Stella. "Read those novels by yourself. Especially that I Haven't Been the Boss for Many Years. Hurry up and confiscate it from Tunbao. Look at what Tunbao has turned into."
Stella shrank back, blinked her big eyes, and said timidly,
"Master, Tunbao was reading Fury…"
Derek Su: "…"
He knew that book. The protagonist was a fishmonger. That was even worse.
He was worried about Imperial Scale's injury and had no intention of paying attention to Chloe Qin's press conference.
Unfortunately, a nearby reporter noticed them.
In an instant, the reporters dragged everyone with them and swarmed over in a rush.
...
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