As soon as DL-02 left, Imperial Scale immediately stood up straight.
Her back no longer hurt, her legs were no longer weak, and even her breathing was smooth again.
She looked perfectly calm.
"Uh, Imperial Scale, you're fine now?"
Derek Su froze. Just a moment ago, Imperial Scale had been leaning limply against him, as if she had suffered internal injuries. How had she recovered so quickly?
Mecha Girls really were mysterious creatures!
"I'm fine." Imperial Scale blinked.
She had not really been hurt to begin with.
Although she had taken a hit to the waist, that kind of injury was nothing to a Mecha Girl. DL-02's attack had indeed been sharp and ruthless, but it had only been one whip kick. It was not like her fight with Gray Castle last time, where they had fought head-on for a long time. Back then, she had not known any fighting techniques at all. This time, she was nowhere near the point of needing Derek Su to support her.
When she had fallen to the ground earlier, her ear had been close to the pavement.
From far away, she had already heard the sound of Stella speeding toward them.
Even while DL-02 was stepping on her, she could have gotten up at any time.
But if Stella was coming, she was definitely bringing Derek Su with her.
So she chose not to get up.
If DL-02 insisted on fighting her for this position, then Imperial Scale firmly believed in one simple truth.
The child who cried got candy.
"That's good. As long as you're fine." Derek Su looked Imperial Scale up and down, then breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced in the direction DL-02 had left and muttered, "Who knows where that Mecha Girl popped out from. She doesn't have the slightest bit of manners."
Then he comforted Imperial Scale. "Don't worry. At the Mermaid Bay Advanced Race, I'll definitely help you get even."
Imperial Scale said nothing. She only narrowed her eyes and smiled, her brows curving softly.
"Rebel King, don't stand there grinning like that!" Stella stood between Derek Su and Imperial Scale, jabbing Imperial Scale in the waist with her elbow, her face serious. "You knew that girl had bad intentions, so you shouldn't have rushed out alone. You should've waited for Master to decide, or at least called Absolute Shadow. Called everyone, even! That way, if she tried anything, we could still protect you! You have no idea. When Master heard you went out to duel, he got so anxious he looked like a big monkey, swinging those two ham hocks of his as he sprinted down the road until he could barely breathe."
Derek Su's face darkened.
Was that something she could just say out loud?
Did he not need to save face?
He sensed a gaze from beside him. Derek Su looked up and saw Imperial Scale staring at him seriously.
That searching gaze made him feel deeply embarrassed. After all, a pilot with Mecha Girls sprinting wildly down the road on his own really did sound a little stupid when said out loud.
"Master."
"Hm?"
"Is what Stella said true?"
"Uh, yes." Derek Su's eyes darted away as he said awkwardly, "I was just a little too worried at the time. And it's your fault anyway. You ran off by yourself without saying a word when something that serious happened!" He put on a stern face and pretended to be fierce. "This won't happen again! Otherwise I'll punish you. Punish you by..."
Derek Su got stuck for a long while.
He really could not think of a good way to punish Imperial Scale.
It was not like he could spank Imperial Scale. She was already so grown up. That would be far too forward.
"Punish you by making you sleep at Absolute Shadow's villa for one night." After a long pause, Derek Su finally came up with that idea.
"Whoa! That's brutal!" Stella's eyes widened when she heard this, and she shrank back in fright.
Derek Su revealed an evil smile.
No one should think this was some disguised reward, because Absolute Shadow's territory was a very special place.
Imperial Scale tilted her head. "What's wrong with Absolute Shadow's villa?"
"Rebel King, you don't know this, but rich lady's villa is a very, very terrifying place!" Stella narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice. "I'm telling you, at Absolute Shadow's place, there's no pineapple, no novels, the game consoles are all ancient NES machines, and there aren't any Pink Piggy plushies... There's nothing! Only a huge office desk. All the other furniture is black and white, square and boxy. There aren't even snacks in the fridge. It's all green vegetables!"
Imperial Scale's pupils shrank.
If Stella was telling the truth, then Absolute Shadow's place really was terrifying.
That sounded far too boring. Was rich lady's everyday life just endless work?
Spending a night in a place like that with no Pink Piggy plushies to keep her company, no Sphinx...
Unimaginable!
Seeing that both Imperial Scale and Stella had already been frightened, Derek Su let out an even more wicked laugh.
He had finally brushed past the ham hock sprint incident. Experience really did win out in the end.
...
The three of them walked side by side beneath the afterglow of sunset. Derek Su and Imperial Scale walked steadily, while Stella squeezed between them, holding Imperial Scale's hand on the left and linking arms with Derek Su on the right, skipping as she went.
The puddles by the roadside had not dried yet, reflecting the evening clouds overhead.
A breeze blew past, carrying the scent of late summer as it bent a clump of foxtail grass. The distant chirping of cicadas dyed the world a warm yellow.
The three of their shadows pressed together and gradually stretched longer.
Suddenly, Derek Su slapped his forehead. "Wait. Damn it, either one of you could've just deployed! Why are we slowly walking back?"
"I'm tired. I don't feel like deploying." Stella put her hands behind her back, rolled her eyes, pouted, and kicked a pebble away.
The stone rolled into a puddle, stirring ripples through the reflected sunset.
"Imperial Scale, why don't you deploy?"
Imperial Scale said nothing. She also kicked a pebble away.
Her long black hair swayed in the wind, and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
"Family."
Stella was busy stepping on shadows.
Derek Su did not hear clearly. "What?"
The wind scattered the murmur.
The sunset fell into Imperial Scale's rose-red eyes, filling them with light.
I have family... right here beside me.
She told herself.
...
By the roadside.
The door to a certain underground black market opened.
A Mecha Girl gritted her teeth as she walked out carrying the black market's advertising sign.
She wore a racing suit that had been washed until it looked old. Every patch of exposed skin showed obvious cracks. Just carrying an advertising sign seemed difficult for her, and to others, this kind of Mecha Girl looked like the type that had undergone excessive illegal modification.
To put it harshly, a Mecha Girl like this was basically ruined. It would be very hard for her to ever participate in official races again.
The figures walking side by side under the sunset drew her gaze.
Her hands paused, and she looked over.
Those three figures seemed a little familiar.
Crimson frowned slightly.
Maybe she had seen them on TV at some point.
The information she could access was far too limited.
The high intensity underground fighting matches left her so exhausted after every fight that the first thing she did was collapse and sleep. She had no energy or mood to do anything else.
The last time she watched TV seemed to have been a month ago.
"Crimson Flame, what are you dawdling out there for? Get back in here!"
An irritable shout came from the underground garage.
Crimson pressed her lips together, set the advertising sign in place, then turned her head and looked over there one more time before dragging her exhausted body back.
Her steps were unsteady, and her slender figure was gradually swallowed by the darkness.
...
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