The result of the race held no suspense.
In the Xiangshan Advanced Race, Derek Su and Purple Lightning took first place with an overwhelming result. Second place went to Laiya An and Dawnbreak, while third went to Cloud Leopard and Justin Kim.
Cloud Leopard and Hurricane crossed the finish line almost at the same time.
But at the instant they crossed it, Cloud Leopard and Hurricane clashed again. Both Mecha Girls lost control at high speed, tangled together, and spun toward the finish line like tops. As they whirled across, Cloud Leopard's rear end touched the finish line first, followed by Hurricane's front.
Cloud Leopard was over the moon. This Xiangshan Advanced Race had been packed with strong competitors. There was Derek Su, that monster; Laiya An, a genius driver; Dawnbreak, a top-tier Mecha Girl; and Silver Mirror and Swain Li, the troublesome freaks who had appeared halfway through. Fortunately, the ending was still a good one. She had taken third place.
She was already more than satisfied. Right now, she had one arm around her driver, Justin Kim, and was letting out a victorious, wild laugh at the gloomy-faced Hurricane and Miles Wang.
Her rear end had done a great service this time.
When she got back tonight, she was going to make a plaster cast of it and display it in the little room she shared with Justin Kim.
Long live the rear end!
"Tch! Don't get so smug. You only got lucky!" Hurricane shot Cloud Leopard a contemptuous glance, then looked away, forcing herself not to look at that arrogant face.
Miles Wang, meanwhile, stared at Justin Kim with a pained expression. "Justin! What happened to you? Didn't we agree to be each other's angels?"
"Heh, stop being so naive, Miles Wang. That was just an act on the track." Justin Kim nestled into Cloud Leopard's arms like a delicate little bird, flashing the signature smile of a scheming bitch. "You and I were never going to happen. Give it up. You're not even worth a single strand of my Cloud Leopard's hair!"
Derek Su and Purple Lightning overheard their conversation and quietly backed away, feeling physically uncomfortable.
Although Swain Li and Silver Mirror had lost a lot of time after flying off the track, the lead they had built earlier through Purple Lightning's special skill was still enough to secure ninth place.
According to the requirements of the Advancement Race, he and Silver Mirror had successfully passed the Xiangshan Advanced Race. That said, he and Silver Mirror probably did not care much about this race's ranking. After all, they had surely qualified for the Panlong Mountain Circuit long ago.
Before the award ceremony began.
"Derek Su!"
Swain Li brought Silver Mirror over to Derek Su and Purple Lightning.
Purple Lightning looked at Swain Li and Silver Mirror with wariness in her eyes. She instinctively stepped forward to shield Derek Su, a fierce glint flashing in her amethyst-like eyes.
Derek Su also frowned. Just as he thought Swain Li was about to declare war or throw down some harsh words, Swain Li and Silver Mirror bowed deeply together and said sincerely, "Thank you for putting the past aside. If it weren't for your club's support team, Silver Mirror and I probably wouldn't have survived."
Huh?
What was going on?
Derek Su looked toward the sidelines.
Absolute Shadow and Imperial Scale, the two tallest ones, were standing together. Behind them, Tunbao and Blazing Wind stood guard, their heads covered in bumps and their faces dazed and blank with confusion. Stella and Lingwind, the two shorter ones, had been completely swallowed by the crowd. All Derek Su could see were their small hands waving desperately, along with the empty bottles of pineapple-flavored nutrient solution they were holding.
Absolute Shadow nodded at Derek Su.
Then she rubbed her index finger and thumb together, signaling that she had already collected the fee.
So this guy must have run into some serious danger after activating Purple Lightning's special skill. That made sense. After all, Silver Mirror's Stability and Impact Resistance were only average. Once those were drained, it was definitely over.
And by sheer luck, he had run into the support team led by Absolute Shadow and been rescued.
Talk about a lucky escape.
Derek Su looked at Swain Li in amazement.
Was this the so-called Chosen One?
But even if he was the Chosen One, he still could not owe Stella Club money for nothing.
Absolute Shadow's meaning was already obvious. Derek Su put on a serious face and held out his hand to Swain Li.
"Pay up!"
Swain Li, who had just been about to express how moved and impressed he was by Derek Su's courage and generosity, froze on the spot. Watching Derek Su rub his thumb and index finger together, he could not shake the feeling that the gesture looked a little sleazy.
Still, it was not a big deal.
A gentleman could love money, as long as he earned it properly.
This was a life-saving favor, after all.
Besides, he was not short on money.
"How much do you want?" Swain Li forced a smile.
He had already paid Absolute Shadow earlier, so Derek Su was probably just asking for emotional damages. After all, there had been one corner where things really had gotten dangerous, and he had almost crashed into Purple Lightning.
Derek Su raised one finger.
Swain Li said, "One hundred thousand?"
Derek Su snorted and wagged his finger.
Swain Li said, "One million?"
"Ten million!" Derek Su demanded without restraint. "Are your life and Silver Mirror's life not worth ten million? I haven't even counted the medical supplies you used up or the time you wasted. Have you ever thought about what would happen if something happened to you two, and then Purple Lightning and I got into trouble but didn't have enough medical resources left?"
Swain Li was speechless.
Derek Su actually sounded like he had a point.
But still…
Screw the Emperor.
This guy was a damn bandit!
"Derek Su, I'll pay you, but I don't have that much right now." Swain Li's gaze sharpened, and he spoke with absolute certainty. "You'll be using Stella in the first stage of the provincial-level track, right? I'll be racing then too!"
Facing the surprise in Derek Su and Purple Lightning's eyes, he held nothing back and said it outright.
"I'll have Silver Mirror copy Stella, and Silver Mirror will be able to inherit Stella's strongest attribute, Speed… It may seem unethical, but if it exists, it has its reason. That's just how Silver Mirror's skill works. I will defeat you!"
"On Panlong Mountain!"
With that, Swain Li turned around.
The operation to assassinate the Emperor was not over yet… But he had truly enjoyed today's race. So when Patrick Wang approached from the front, Swain Li stepped forward first and took out the navigator on his own.
Ethan Yang had said that using a navigator on Mixiangshan Road would never be discovered and would not count as cheating. Even so, Swain Li did not want this thing to taint the race that had made him feel alive again.
"Everyone, I'm sorry. I used an assistive device during the race. I compromised the fairness and integrity of the competition. I am a failed driver. I request that my results in this Advancement Race be canceled, and that the organizers pass my ranking down to the other competitors!"
Patrick Wang had come here not only to present the awards, but also to announce the cancellation of Swain Li's results. Yet before he could even get close, Swain Li had turned himself in.
Still, this worked out fine.
He paused, took the navigator from Swain Li, raised it, and announced to all the competitors around them, "Fairness in competitive sports must not be violated. I hope all of you understand that the organizers will keep an eye on any attempt to cheat or take shortcuts. Do not think you can get lucky and get away with it… Your strength must match your standing."
His gaze darkened. "This is for your own good."
"If your ability doesn't match your position, the final consequence will be a miserable death!"
The area fell silent.
Patrick Wang knew that ninety-nine percent of the drivers and Mecha Girls probably could not understand his words. After all, dying miserably sounded far too extreme. If someone was caught cheating, it would usually only damage their reputation. It would not actually get them killed.
But there were quite a few genius drivers here who could one day reach the world-class level.
He believed that, in time, these competitors would understand what his words meant.
Swain Li taking the initiative to admit his mistake had raised Patrick Wang's opinion of him.
Watching Swain Li and Silver Mirror leave with effortless confidence, Patrick Wang's gaze deepened.
Before Swain Li entered the Xiangshan Advanced Race, Patrick Wang had not known much about him.
Only after specifically pulling up his file did he discover the twisted history of this driver and his Mecha Girl. A dark mind, sleaziness, unruliness, contempt for competition, ruthless methods, and a vindictive nature were all labels that had long been attached to this competitor.
But reality did not seem to match what he had seen.
If the old Swain Li had been a shadowy assassin, then after today's race, he had truly stepped into the sunlight.
Perhaps…
He should be called a Ranger.
A young man with a personality.
A faint smile touched Patrick Wang's lips.
It was about time some fresh blood flowed into the stagnant waters of Techmasters.
"Continue the award ceremony!"
He turned and walked toward the podium.
...
The cosmos.
In an asteroid belt dense with countless meteors, a massive, sharply angular spaceship flickered forward like a lagging PowerPoint slideshow.
Inside the ship, a huge screen reflected the image of a blue planet. A distorted figure stood before the screen, repeatedly operating a cluster of buttons.
The image on the screen gradually zoomed in.
It was a podium.
A gray-haired Techmaster was presenting the award to the champion.
It was hard to imagine that the surface could be magnified to such a degree, with the image transmitted back without any delay, as if it were being seen with the naked eye.
[Beep beep beep...]
An obscure electronic sound came from the screen.
[Searching for psychic energy…]
[Locking on to top-tier cybernetic lifeforms.]
As the voice fell, the figures of several Mecha Girls on the screen were marked by blood-red boxes.
Imperial Scale, Stella, Dawnbreak, Purple Lightning, and even Silver Mirror, who had left the arena by cable car.
Not one was missed.
[Facial information recording… Recording complete.]
[Psychic energy wavelength recording… Recording complete.]
[Information saved to database!]
...
Streams of data flashed across the screen.
Yet the distorted figure staring at the screen remained utterly motionless, like a cold statue, or a venomous snake lurking in the dark. In the shadows the figure, rows of eerie mechanical creatures with ghastly pale, ram-like heads were viciously tearing apart a corpse that had already been dismembered beyond recognition.
Clack!
An arm fell limply, its palm opening.
An AI Core, stained with crimson blood, rolled aside like garbage.
...
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