Meisel's declaration of war caught Derek Su off guard.
Why had he suddenly started acting like an overdramatic teenager?
A Demon King who specialized in killing Magicians...
This guy was certainly interesting.
Derek Su almost laughed.
Still, he took advantage of the opportunity to study Thunder-01 and check her stats:
[Drifting: 78]
[Acceleration: 89]
[Cornering: 72]
[Boost Charge: 93]
[Stability: 61]
[Impact Resistance: 70]
[Endurance: 77]
Those were some impressive stats.
Derek Su withdrew his gaze from Thunder-01's retreating figure.
As expected of such a highly regarded competitor, she was strong across the board.
With that level of performance combined with an electric-field-like special skill, she was nearly unbeatable against anyone without a Mecha Girl like Imperial Scale, whose super armor made her resistant to interference. The fact that Thunder-01 could use her skill multiple times made her even more dangerous.
Based on Derek Su's current understanding of the driving skill in this world, ninety percent of pilots would be unable to react if their Mecha Girl suddenly lost steering control while cornering, or if their left and right controls were reversed.
They would either plunge off a cliff or crash into the mountainside.
"Master, what did that guy mean just now?" Stella tugged on Derek Su's hand.
She had never read Western fantasy novels. She understood magic well enough, but she could only vaguely guess what a Demon King was supposed to be.
"What did he mean?" Derek Su chuckled. "He probably wants to ascend to immortality."
"Huh?"
"He was born human, but he wants to become an immortal. He lives on the ground, but he wants to reach the heavens."
"Oh..."
...
Derek Su led the confused Stella toward their starting position.
Looking around, he spotted quite a few familiar faces.
Miles Wang and Hurricane, Swain Li and Silver Mirror, Justin Kim and Cloud Leopard, as well as Mr. Xavier and his Mecha Girl Lumina, were all there.
Seeing so many familiar faces helped Stella relax.
The nervousness she had felt, as though she were about to sit an exam, finally faded.
"Derek Su, what starting number did you draw?"
Swain Li spotted Derek Su nearby and approached with Silver Mirror.
"Twenty-seven," Derek Su replied calmly.
"Not bad."
A sinister smile curled across Swain Li's lips as he immediately showed Derek Su his own number.
"I'm twenty-eight, right behind you. Hehehe!"
Was this not the perfect combination of timing, location, and opportunity?
"I'll defeat you in the first stage of Panlong Mountain today." Swain Li stared coldly at Derek Su and drew a finger across his throat. "Give it everything you have, or you'll lose badly."
With that, he brushed past Derek Su and led Silver Mirror toward starting position twenty-eight.
"Master, what's wrong with this guy? Is there something wrong with his head?" Stella pouted angrily.
He had started making threats the moment he arrived, without showing the slightest courtesy. If Absolute Shadow and the logistics team had not rescued them in time before, Swain Li and Silver Mirror would have been finished long ago.
"The last one wanted to ascend to immortality. This one just wants to go to heaven." Derek Su stroked Stella's head reassuringly. "It's fine. We're kind people. We should help every young pilot achieve his dream."
"Uh... What dream?"
"His fucking racing dream."
Stella fell silent.
As the race drew closer, the competitors chatting around the track returned to their respective starting positions.
The previously chaotic crowd quickly became orderly, and Derek Su finally spotted Lucy Luo.
His expression darkened when he saw how far forward she was.
She had drawn starting position nine.
That meant Lucy Luo and Eternity-01 only needed to overtake eight Mecha Girls before they could use their special skill without restraint.
Derek Su was not particularly concerned about Meisel and Thunder-01 or Swain Li and Silver Mirror.
Lucy Luo and Eternity-01 were the only opponents likely to give him a brutal fight today.
The giant screen at the starting line lit up.
The host, Kool Kenny, appeared and began announcing the race rules.
"Good morning, competitors, and welcome to the Panlong Mountain Circuit. There are three possible starting formats for the first stage. A single Mecha Girl starting every thirty seconds, five Mecha Girls starting together at one-minute intervals, or ten Mecha Girls starting together at five-minute intervals. Following the organizers' draw, today's format will be five Mecha Girls starting simultaneously at one-minute intervals!"
Like different versions of a major examination, the provincial Panlong Mountain Circuit used three possible formats to keep the race unpredictable and varied.
The organizers determined the final format by drawing lots.
Last year, one Mecha Girl had started every thirty seconds. The year before, ten Mecha Girls had started simultaneously.
The same format rarely appeared in consecutive years, though it occasionally happened.
Neither the starting order nor the race format was known in advance.
As a result, much of the competitors' preparation could easily become useless.
Someone capable of finishing in the top ten under last year's format might fail to reach the top twenty this year because of changes to the rules, starting positions, and surrounding competitors.
The faces of the competitors in positions sixteen through twenty darkened as soon as they heard the rules.
They would be starting alongside Meisel.
None of them wanted to face Thunder-01 directly.
But the rules were the rules.
They would not change for the sake of a few competitors.
"All competitors, please enter deployed mode. The race is about to begin!"
Once Kool Kenny finished speaking, the giant screen switched to an aerial view of the starting area.
The sight of more than two hundred competitors entering deployed mode and climbing into their cockpits was breathtaking.
Thunderous cheers erupted from the stands.
Behind Derek Su, inside Silver Mirror's cockpit, Swain Li stared solemnly at Stella ahead.
His pre-race threats had been meant to suppress Derek Su's confidence, but deep down, he was not optimistic.
After racing against Derek Su once before, he knew exactly how difficult an opponent he was.
"Silver Mirror, copy Stella."
Swain Li took a deep breath and forced himself to remain calm under the pressure Derek Su exerted.
Silver Mirror nodded slightly and activated her special skill.
Her entire body distorted before gradually transforming into Stella's form.
Both Mecha Girls already had bright silver bodies, so Silver Mirror now looked almost like a perfect replica.
"Master..."
Silver Mirror's voice trembled with disbelief.
"What is it?" Swain Li raised an eyebrow.
"Stella... She's a top-tier Mecha Girl. She has a special skill!"
"What?!"
Silver Mirror continued, "And her Acceleration is S-class!"
"She's that powerful?" Swain Li swallowed hard.
A top-tier Mecha Girl with S-class Acceleration was exceptionally rare.
Acceleration was already one of the rarest performance attributes among Mecha Girls. Module prices made that obvious. Even among gold-tier Modules, speed-type Modules cost four or five times more than Cornering or Stability Modules.
"Derek Su really knows how to hide his cards... Stella has never used her special skill before, has she?"
Swain Li carefully reviewed all the information he had gathered.
She truly had not.
He had concealed it all this time...
The thought sent a chill down Swain Li's spine.
Terrifying.
The man had the self-control of someone fresh out of rehab.
Swain Li quickly asked, "Th-then what exactly does Stella's special skill do?"
...
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