DL-02 made her way back to the ESW club.
Richard Cheng had been losing his mind. He had searched everywhere for DL-02 and found no trace of her, so the moment he saw her return on her own, he hurried over to meet her.
"DL-02, where did you run off to? Do you have any idea how hard I've been looking for you?"
As he complained softly, he sent a message telling the support staff who had gone out searching for DL-02 to return to the club.
DL-02 showed no reaction to Richard Cheng's enthusiasm. Her face was blank, and she looked gloomy and listless. She picked a random seat in the lobby, crossed her legs, propped her chin on one hand, and leaned bonelessly against the table, her deep blue eyes staring blankly at the teacup in front of her.
Had something happened to upset her?
Richard Cheng was secretly shocked by DL-02's state.
This was the second Mecha Girl in the DL series!
If he had not happened to visit the exhibition and auction yesterday, this top-tier Mecha Girl might have been taken by someone else. Her performance was said to be on par with Imperial Scale. Although she did not have Imperial Scale's dual forms, her special skill seemed similar, with an super armor effect.
Who could possibly make a Mecha Girl with specs that strong look so defeated?
But no matter who had dealt DL-02 such a blow, as her pilot, Richard Cheng felt he had to stand up for her!
As ESW's ace pilot, what did he lack?
Money? He had it. Skill? He had that too.
There was nothing for him to be afraid of!
"DL-02, did you run into trouble? Tell me. I'll definitely help you!" Richard Cheng sat down across from DL-02, brushed aside a lock of blond hair hanging over his forehead, and curled his lips into a cocky smile. "I'm the ace pilot of the ESW club. There's nothing I can't solve! Believe in your pilot's strength."
The room fell silent for a moment.
Focus slowly returned to DL-02's deep blue eyes.
She glanced at Richard Cheng and suddenly asked, "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure!" Richard Cheng smiled confidently.
"Good." DL-02 nodded. "I went to the Stella Club and issued a challenge to Stella Club's pilot, Derek Su, and his Mecha Girl, Imperial Scale. At the Mermaid Bay Advanced Race, I'm going to defeat them."
The moment she said that, the whole room went quiet again.
DL-02 silently stared at Richard Cheng.
Richard Cheng stared back at DL-02.
Only his face gradually turned pale, and beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.
"W-what did you say? You went and challenged Derek Su and Imperial Scale?!"
"Yes."
"And you want to beat them at the Mermaid Bay Advanced Race?"
"That's right."
Richard Cheng was speechless. It felt as if a stone had lodged itself in his throat.
This feeling was just like one of his own employees going out and provoking a powerful rival conglomerate on behalf of the company!
"What's wrong? Don't you have confidence?" A trace of contempt appeared deep in DL-02's eyes.
Richard Cheng could not stand being looked at like that.
He thought about it. DL-02's performance was about the same as Imperial Scale's.
As for his own skills...
He had learned quite a lot from Derek Su's race footage. The club even had dedicated analysts helping him break down some of Derek Su's racing maneuvers. So, rounding things off, his skill should only be just a little behind Derek Su's. To be safe, he could install a powerful Module on DL-02. With all these factors combined, would he and DL-02 really be weaker than Derek Su and Imperial Scale?
Maybe not!
Once he thought of it that way, his confidence immediately came flooding back.
"I have confidence!" Richard Cheng looked straight into DL-02's eyes, clenched his fist, and said firmly, "He's just The Magician. The only reason I didn't beat him on the track before was because I underestimated him. But now I've acknowledged him properly, treated him as a serious rival, and made full preparations. I absolutely won't lose to him again!"
His spirit was strong, and his voice rang with conviction.
Unfortunately, none of that passion rubbed off on DL-02.
"Oh," she said lazily, still looking bored. "Fine. If you can lead me to defeat Derek Su and Imperial Scale at the Mermaid Bay Advanced Race, I'll agree to revise the agreement. Then you'll officially become my master."
"R-really?!"
Richard Cheng was overjoyed.
The agreement he had signed with DL-02 was bizarre.
Although he had indeed won the bid for DL-02, DL-02 could return the auction money to him at any time and unilaterally terminate the agreement.
As for the penalty fee.
It had been stated in advance that the penalty fee did not have to count.
Ninety-nine percent of pilots and clubs would never accept an agreement like that, because it meant they had no leverage over the Mecha Girl they had won at auction. If she wanted to leave, she could leave whenever she pleased. As long as she had the auction money on hand, she could simply return it in full.
But Richard Cheng was hopelessly weak to pretty faces.
He just thought DL-02 was beautiful.
So he insisted on winning her no matter what.
Who cared about the agreement? Bid first!
Originally, he had guessed that DL-02 had arranged an agreement like this because she wanted to give her pilot a small test. For example, once the pilot met her expectations, she would take the initiative to revise the agreement.
Now the case was solved. It really was a test!
All he could say was that DL truly deserved to be the hottest Mecha Girl model lately. That attitude was on another level.
DL-02 acting this way did not make Richard Cheng angry at all. On the contrary, he felt it was perfectly normal. She was a top-tier Mecha Girl, after all. A strange temper was completely understandable. It had been similar when he first won Gray Castle too. During that adjustment period, Gray Castle looked at him like he was garbage every day and even called him a bean sprout...
And hadn't everything turned out fine now?
Everyone was getting along peacefully and happily.
"I don't go back on my word."
DL-02 stood up, not bothering to look at Richard Cheng.
She walked step by step toward her room.
She did not think Richard Cheng could defeat Derek Su.
In her eyes, Derek Su was like a god.
He was the person most suited to become her pilot.
If Richard Cheng really did defeat Derek Su and Imperial Scale, it would only be because her performance and the Modules installed on her were better than Imperial Scale's. It would have nothing to do with Richard Cheng's own skill.
But that did not mean she did not want to win.
The bait had already been laid out for Richard Cheng.
He would definitely give it everything he had.
And defeating Imperial Scale was only to prove something to Derek Su.
"Just wait."
A cold light flickered in DL-02's eyes.
"Master, I'll make you understand. Compared to Imperial Scale, I'm the one better suited for you!"
...
Stella Club.
It took Derek Su, Stella, and Imperial Scale nearly two hours to return. By the time they reached the club entrance, the sky was already turning dark.
Although Derek Su had done physical training before, he was not a Mecha Girl. No matter how strong his body was, he still could not handle a high-intensity march like that, and his feet were aching from the walk.
He entered the conference room and was just about to take a sip of water.
A cold, gloomy wind hit him head-on, along with a terrifyingly oppressive atmosphere. Derek Su shuddered all over. It felt almost as bad as when he had entered the haunted house earlier.
Startled, he turned around.
Absolute Shadow was sitting in the seat of honor with her arms crossed, her face dark and gloomy. In front of her, a large pile of opened cigars was stacked on the table.
Tunbao sat beside her in the exact same pose, looking as though she had suffered some great injustice.
Lingwind and Blazing Wind stood behind Absolute Shadow and Tunbao like left and right guardians, both wearing cautious, awkward smiles.
The moment they saw Derek Su, the two Mecha Girls' eyes lit up as if they had found their savior!
Lingwind said, "Waaah, Boss!!"
Blazing Wind said, "Boss! You're finally back!"
Hiss! Something was definitely wrong!
The hand Derek Su held his water glass with trembled slightly, and his eyelid twitched wildly.
At the doorway.
Stella blinked her big eyes and curiously peered inside.
Her gaze landed on the cigars, and her face instantly changed. She turned and ran.
If she did not run now...
It would be too late!!
...
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