[Longteng Group has officially announced its entry into the Stella Club, with President Beto Ming personally attending the press conference… Expert Wang, what are your thoughts on this?]
[Ahem, well, regarding this matter… first of all, the rebar should be mixed with Grade 42 concrete…]
"Wow, Longteng Group has joined the Stella Club!"
"Longteng Group?"
"Did you forget? A lot of the medicines and medical equipment in our clinic are supplied by Longteng Group!"
"Whoa, that's a huge conglomerate~"
Several functional Mecha Girls gathered around the television, whispering among themselves.
Then the sound of mechanical arms moving—clack, clack—came from outside.
A pale woman's face appeared at the window.
Chloe Qin looked far thinner and more worn than before. Her cheeks had sunk in, making her eyes appear large and protruding. Her lips were dry and bluish, with almost no color in them.
The modification process had taken a full week. After that, she spent three more days learning how to use the mechanical core.
Today was the day she would leave the medical facility.
She had come to complete the discharge paperwork.
"Oh, Miss Qin?" The functional Mecha Girl turned around and saw Chloe Qin at the window. She immediately set down the half-finished bottle of nutrient solution in her hand and walked over. "Are you here to handle your discharge procedures, Miss Qin? Please turn around so I can check how your recovery is going."
Chloe Qin nodded and used her mechanical arms to turn herself around.
She looked like a mechanical spider. Six mechanical arms supported her movement while two replaced her original arms. Her four human limbs hung limply in the air.
When she turned her back, a mechanical spine glowing faintly red could be seen through the hospital gown. It extended all the way to the back of her head and connected to the eight mechanical arms.
The functional Mecha Girl lifted the fabric on Chloe Qin's back and examined the surgical wound, nodding repeatedly.
"Mm, healing very well. Longteng Group's special medication really works wonders… Ms. Qin, you're cleared for discharge. But before you leave, we need to reset your mechanical core!"
"Go ahead," Chloe Qin said hoarsely.
The functional Mecha Girl immediately began operating on the spinal core on Chloe Qin's back.
She activated a decoder using retinal infrared, entered several commands, then shut the decoder down and pressed the startup button.
Chloe Qin's vision instantly went black, and her consciousness sank into sleep.
A string of information appeared across her retina.
[Intelligent Machinery Restriction Regulations (Disabled)]
[Intelligent Machine First Directive: Victory is Glory (Enabled)]
[Mechanical Arm Restriction Protocol (Enabled)]
[Chloe Qin Personality Memory — Loading…]
[Startup Complete. Thank you for using Intelligent Machinery Technology. Together, we protect the world!]
[Beep—!]
Chloe Qin's body jolted.
Her consciousness returned.
She looked around blankly, taking a moment before remembering that she had come to complete her discharge procedures.
"Miss Qin, the adjustments to your mechanical core are finished. Just sign here and you'll be all set to leave~"
Chloe Qin turned around.
The functional Mecha Girl handed her a form listing every modification, the equipment used, the medications, and the corresponding costs. It also included precautions and a disclaimer.
The mechanical arms were only allowed for daily living needs and could not be used for combat. The AI system built into Intelligent Machinery Technology would monitor her behavior. In addition, the mechanical arms could not be brought into a Mecha Girl's cockpit. If she wanted to drive a Mecha Girl, she simply needed to connect her spinal core to it.
There wasn't much else to look at.
Yet Chloe Qin still felt that something was slightly off.
She signed the form.
Her mechanical arms carried her out of the hospital.
She took out her phone and checked the time.
4:17 PM.
The phone's wallpaper was a photo of herself.
She had the strange feeling that she was no longer the person she used to be.
Even so, she had no intention of changing anything.
Her belief hadn't changed.
She had chosen modification for one reason: victory on the racetrack.
She wanted to defeat Derek Su on the track, overcome the fear in her heart, and cure her neurogenic paralysis.
When that day came, she could remove the mechanical core, spine, and arms and return to living as a normal person.
Thinking about it this way…
Perhaps nothing had really changed after all.
When she stepped outside the medical facility, two large men in suits walked over.
The moment they saw Chloe Qin's appearance, surprise and unease flickered across their faces.
"M-Miss Qin… the boss sent us to pick you up."
"Mhm."
Chloe Qin nodded faintly, walked past the two bodyguards, and stopped beside a stretched business car.
She first had the mechanical arms lift her into the back seat.
Then the eight mechanical arms folded inward like umbrella ribs on both sides of her body, taking up as little space as possible.
The two bodyguards got into the car as well, exchanging glances.
They both felt that Chloe Qin had changed quite a bit.
She was no longer as irritable or explosive.
Instead, she seemed calm… detached.
It wasn't bad.
But she also felt strangely lifeless.
"Miss Qin, should we take you to the boss now? He's prepared a dinner for you."
"No."
Chloe Qin stared out the window and said coldly,
"Take me to Haitang Street. The underground black market."
"Miss… what are you going there for?" the driver asked in surprise.
"To find Purple Lightning."
Chloe Qin frowned, impatience flashing across her face.
"Shut your mouth and do as I say."
Their mission was to escort Chloe Qin safely back to Howard Wang's villa.
But since Chloe Qin had spoken, they could only follow her orders—even if they weren't happy about it.
…
Two hours later.
Chloe Qin and Purple Lightning sat across from each other in a café near Haitang Street.
Purple Lightning looked at Chloe Qin's bizarre appearance with clear surprise.
She had heard that Chloe Qin had been rammed into a tornado by Derek Su driving Imperial Scale.
But she hadn't paid any attention to what happened afterward.
After all, whether this woman lived or died had nothing to do with her.
Her only concern had been that if Chloe Qin died, it would definitely cause trouble for the Stella Club.
She had no idea Chloe Qin had ended up paralyzed and transformed into this strange form.
"What are you here for? To demand the breach penalty?"
Purple Lightning's eyes were cold, her tone distant.
"It's not the first of the month yet. I'll transfer the compensation on time next month."
"I didn't come here for the penalty."
Chloe Qin lifted the coffee cup with one of her mechanical arms and took a sip.
"We don't need to terminate our contract. You'll be my starting Mecha Girl. All the club's resources will be focused on you. I'll take you to the Panlong Mountain Circuit. From now on, you'll always be my starting Mecha Girl."
She paused.
"I apologize for everything that happened before."
Under Purple Lightning's stunned gaze, Chloe Qin stood up and bowed to her at a perfect ninety-degree angle.
She was actually apologizing.
Purple Lightning could hardly believe it.
In her memory, after the two of them fell out, Chloe Qin had done nothing but mock her and hurl insults whenever they met.
The word "apology" simply didn't exist in Chloe Qin's dictionary.
What was going on?
Had she been knocked stupid?
"Why?" Purple Lightning subtly leaned back in her chair.
Chloe Qin's abnormal behavior made her uneasy.
"Because if I want to win at the Panlong Mountain Circuit, I must have you."
Chloe Qin took out a contract she had drafted in the car and pushed it across the table.
"You don't have to worry about me benching you again after Panlong Mountain. Every clause is written clearly in this agreement."
"As long as you agree to stay with me, you'll always be my starting Mecha Girl."
"You'll be the first one I take onto every track."
"All club resources will be prioritized for you."
"And any secondary Mecha Girls I contract in the future will require your approval."
She raised her eyes to look at Purple Lightning.
Her hands were clasped beneath her chin, eyes lowered slightly.
Then she said slowly, one word at a time,
"Please… think about it carefully."
After analyzing the race data recordings, the conclusion was clear.
If she wanted to win, the optimal choice was Purple Lightning.
Victory is Glory.
Everything else…
didn't matter.
...
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