Derek Su had great confidence in his own judgment.
Although Mecha Girls of the same model did have certain similarities in appearance. For example, Stella and Comet. Comet looked like an older, more mature version of Stella. Then there were Imperial Scale and DL-02. Their eye colors were different, but their faces looked like those of twin sisters.
But every Mecha Girl had a different presence.
If Stella and Comet were placed together, he could tell at a glance which one was Stella.
All he had to do was look at their eyes. The one with eyes as clear and foolish as a husky's had to be Stella.
The Blaze and Crimson in the photos looked exactly the same, without the slightest difference. Their presence was the same too.
Then it had to be her.
"Boss Su? Are you listening to me? Boss Su? You can rest assured, our Haitang Underground Black Market has been professionally running combat matches for years. We've helped plenty of poor pilots scrape together enough money for Modules. The ones still in our arena right now are all high-quality fighters!" The arena owner kept chattering beside him.
Derek Su cut him off and pointed at the advertising board. "When your black markets hold this exchange tournament, will all the Mecha Girls on these boards come? For example, Green Snake, Iron Hand, Blaze, and the others from Sharp Peak Black Market."
He casually pointed to a few distinctive Mecha Girls on the board. Blaze counted as one of the more eye-catching ones, because she was the only one with cracks on her face.
"Uh, of course they'll all come." The owner nodded. "The ones on these boards are the main combat Mecha Girls of those black markets. But although the Mecha Girls you're looking at are pretty distinctive, their condition is only average."
"What do you mean?"
"Look, this Mecha Girl named Blaze is a classic example." The owner tapped the crack and sighed. "When a Mecha Girl uses illegal modifications for too long, cracks start appearing on her body. Usually, those cracks don't show up on the face easily. By the time they reach the face, it means her body is probably already covered in them.
"That means Sharp Peak Black Market's treatment measures aren't good enough, but they're still sending their Mecha Girls out for high-intensity matches. If this keeps going, that Mecha Girl's Stability will only get lower and lower. In the end, her core will be damaged, and she'll have no choice but to be sent back to the Recycling Yard. Same with this one called Green Snake. See? There are cracks on her arm too."
Derek Su had no time to care about the cracks on Green Snake's arm.
He only focused on the two pieces of information he had extracted from the owner's words.
Crimson would be taking part in this exchange tournament.
And Crimson's condition was extremely bad.
After obtaining those two pieces of information, he did not act rashly. Instead, he silently began to think.
Zane had said Crimson had already been sent to the Recycling Yard, but here he had found a Mecha Girl named Blaze who looked exactly like Crimson. In other words, Crimson had never been sent to the Recycling Yard. Ethan Yang, in order to take revenge on Mr. Liang, had secretly sent Mr. Liang's Mecha Girl into the underground black market, forcing her to suffer inhuman torment through combat matches every day.
Ethan Yang was absolutely capable of something like that.
But he still needed to confirm what was really going on.
September 27.
That was tomorrow.
Time was tight.
Without another word, Derek Su turned and left.
"Boss Su! Boss Su? Why are you leaving?"
The arena owner looked up and realized Derek Su had already run off. He shouted after him, "You really don't want to place a bet? It's guaranteed to win!"
Derek Su waved a hand.
"Next time, for sure!"
...
Derek Su did not go to Sharp Peak Black Market.
Because he considered that it might be one of Ethan Yang's businesses. If he acted rashly, he might alert the enemy.
He returned to Stella Club, planning to discuss the matter with several of the Mecha Girls under him.
But Stella had disappeared somewhere, and only Imperial Scale was still sitting in the conference room.
Although he had not yet signed a Core Contract with Imperial Scale, he felt that Imperial Scale was completely trustworthy.
So he pressed his lips together and sat down beside her.
"Master, is something on your mind?" Imperial Scale looked at Derek Su calmly, her fingers kneading the pink pig keychain.
Derek Su froze. Was it really that obvious?
Imperial Scale had seen at a glance that something was weighing on him.
"A little," Derek Su said. His mind was a complete mess right now.
He desperately needed discussion and someone else's opinion to help him sort everything out.
Then they could come up with a flawless plan.
After all, if that Mecha Girl really was Crimson, the matters involved would be far too many and far too wide-reaching. One careless move, and everything could be lost.
"Is this matter very important?" Imperial Scale asked again.
Seeing Derek Su frowning as if he had concerns, she understood.
"Very important." Derek Su took a deep breath. "You could say it's even more important than preparing for the Panlong Mountain Circuit. It's the top priority I have to deal with right now. And the opportunity may vanish in an instant. If I don't handle this properly, I'll never forgive myself for the rest of my life."
Derek Su looked up at Imperial Scale.
He still remembered what Mr. Liang had told him.
Only a Mecha Girl who had signed a Core Contract could be fully trusted.
Only then would she be family, someone he could entrust his back and his life to completely.
"Imperial Scale, can I trust you?"
Imperial Scale looked into Derek Su's eyes.
She pressed her lips together.
Her eyes lowered, and one hand came to rest against her chest.
A dark red glow spread like a blooming rose, and from the heart of the flower emerged a black AI Core. That bewitching light pulsed like a heart, representing the whole of a Mecha Girl's feelings and her unwavering trust in her pilot until death.
She did not say, "Master, please trust me."
She simply held the AI Core in both hands and offered it to Derek Su.
Her voice was firm, each word clear.
"Master, please sign with me..."
"A Core Contract!"
...
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
p-@-treon/GhostParser (40 Chapters Ahead)
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.