Stella was extremely efficient.
Early the next morning, while Imperial Scale was doing yoga in front of the TV and Tunbao was still half-asleep gnawing on fried dough sticks, Stella had already gotten dressed and was ready to head out to find Purple Lightning, a slice of bread clamped in her mouth.
"Master, I'm going to recruit Consort Purple Lightning!"
"Master?"
Stella searched around the Stella Club but couldn't find Derek Su anywhere.
"Stop shouting." Tunbao, who had already finished breakfast and was sprawled on the sofa catching up on sleep, rolled over. With dark circles under her eyes, she yelled irritably, "The boss went outside to take a call. Probably something important. If you need to do something, just go. I'll tell him."
"Oh… okay." Stella nodded blankly.
She glanced at Tunbao, who had already gone back to snoring.
Then she slipped on her shoes and pattered out the door.
On the way back, she planned to buy a bottle of chili oil and mix it into Tunbao's nutrient drink.
That would teach her to be so fierce all the time.
...
Stella made her way to the Haitang Street black market.
A convoy of vehicles was parked outside the market, but she didn't pay attention and ran straight toward the gladiator arena to find the arena owner. The owner seemed busy with something, so she waited quite a while before the middle-aged, chubby boss finally came out of the building, drenched in sweat.
"Oh, Stella." The boss immediately forced a smile. "What wind blew you here today?"
Even though Stella was just a Mecha Girl, the boss cared about the power behind her.
That was the Stella Club.
Even the owner of Foxfire Club—Xavier Young—treated them with respect. At best, the boss was just a manager working under Xavier Young to earn some money. There was no comparison at all.
"Hello, boss." Stella grinned, revealing her little tiger teeth. "I'm here to find Purple Lightning. What is she doing right now?"
"Purple Lightning… uh…"
The boss suddenly froze.
Seeing the strange look on his face, Stella quickly asked, "What's wrong? Did Purple Lightning get hurt?"
"No, not that." The boss shook his head. "Purple Lightning was just taken away by people from WFC Club. I don't know the exact reason, but I'm guessing—just guessing—that BSC Club sold Purple Lightning's contract to WFC Club."
"Sold to WFC?" Stella's eyes widened. "Then what will happen to Purple Lightning? Will she become a Mecha Girl for WFC Club?"
She didn't know what to say.
Maybe leaving Chloe Qin was a good thing.
But was joining WFC Club really what Purple Lightning wanted? Probably not.
Purple Lightning often stood outside the Stella Club watching her train. Maybe Purple Lightning actually wanted to join the Stella Club.
Of course, that was just Stella's guess.
Or maybe she simply hoped that the cool and spirited Purple Lightning could join the club.
"I'm not sure." The boss scratched his head. "If it's just a contract transfer, Purple Lightning still has to pay the penalty fee. That means she has two choices. Either she stops paying the penalty and joins WFC, or she keeps paying it off. Once it's fully paid, she'll be free again. You can think of it as her creditor changing from BSC to WFC."
He paused and sighed.
"Honestly, I think it's pretty good. At least she's completely cut ties with BSC now. Though she probably won't come to the gladiator arena anymore."
The boss felt a little regretful.
Back then, he had come up with the so-called Gladiator Star Program in a hurry. It was supposedly to make money, but the real purpose was to cover up the help Xavier Young and Derek Su were giving Purple Lightning.
Unexpectedly, things had worked out perfectly.
The Gladiator Star Program had become a huge success.
Purple Lightning had already become the arena's star attraction.
Every time she appeared, the arena earned a massive profit.
"Then… where should I go to find Purple Lightning in the future?" Stella felt a hollow feeling in her chest.
She had always considered Purple Lightning part of the Stella Club and Derek Su's future backup racer.
But now Purple Lightning had been snatched away by WFC Club.
"That club is in Xibin City, which is pretty far away," the boss said. "Purple Lightning can only go with them. Maybe she'll find a decent job there and slowly pay off her debt."
Xibin City…
That really was far away.
Stella's thoughts drifted. She felt like she might never see Purple Lightning again.
Even though they hadn't talked much, just from a few encounters she could tell Purple Lightning was a very, very good Mecha Girl.
As a fellow Mecha Girl, she hoped Purple Lightning would find happiness.
"Oh right, did you notice the convoy at the entrance of the black market when you came?" the boss suddenly asked. "That convoy belongs to WFC. If you go out now, you might still catch up and say goodbye to Purple Lightning."
Stella's pupils shrank.
She jumped to her feet and dashed out of the arena.
At that moment, the convoy outside the black market had just started moving.
She ran after the vehicles, shouting Purple Lightning's name while people stared at her in surprise.
Finally, she spotted Purple Lightning through the rear window of a business van.
Purple Lightning was curled up in the corner of the back seat, her face buried in her knees. The hood on her head covered almost everything. Only a few strands of gray, slightly curled short hair slipped out from the gap between her hood and her arms.
"Purple Lightning!!"
Stella shouted while running beside the vehicle, pressing against the window.
Inside the car, Purple Lightning lifted her head when she heard the voice.
Her violet eyes were filled with tears, flashing with shock and reluctance.
She hadn't expected Stella to come.
But… she was about to leave this city.
She was going far away, to distant Xibin.
There she wouldn't find a job as profitable as the one at the Haitang black market. It would take her much longer to repay the penalty fee. Maybe a year. Maybe even two.
By then… could she still go to the Stella Club?
The van accelerated.
It didn't slow down for the two Mecha Girls staring at each other.
Stella gradually fell behind.
She couldn't transform and chase them all the way to Xibin. That would be meaningless.
All she could do was watch those violet eyes in the rear window grow farther and farther away until they disappeared completely at the end of the road.
"Uu…"
Stella stared at the empty street.
She crouched down and hugged her knees, feeling a little wronged.
After sitting there quietly for a while, she sighed and slowly walked back toward the Stella Club. She had to tell Derek Su what had happened.
Last night she had promised she would bring Consort Purple Lightning back.
And today she had already failed.
Derek Su would probably feel disappointed too when he heard the news.
Sigh…
It took her more than two hours of slow walking to reach the entrance of the Stella Club.
At ten in the morning, the streets should have felt refreshing and calm.
But Stella felt like there were unusually many cars today.
She had to keep weaving around them, which made her increasingly irritated.
She subconsciously looked up.
Among the long line of vehicles parked outside the Stella Club,
she suddenly spotted a familiar business van parked right at the entrance.
She looked again at the license plate.
Stella froze.
A flood of question marks popped up in her mind.
Wait…
Isn't that the van that took Purple Lightning away?
Why is it back?
...
At the same time.
BSC Club.
Chloe Qin's phone slammed onto the floor with a loud crack.
Just moments ago, one of her subordinates had called with news.
The WFC Club that had bought Purple Lightning had gone bankrupt.
Bankrupt within just a few hours.
And the one who had acquired WFC Club…
Was the Stella Club.