First overtaking attempt, failed!
DL-02 knew Derek Su's technique was superb, especially when it came to blocking.
So when Richard Cheng made that probing move, she did not say anything and simply watched how things played out.
And since DL-02 had not criticized him, Richard Cheng relaxed quite a bit.
Keeping his eyes fixed on Imperial Scale ahead, he began his second attempt to overtake.
His eyes narrowed, and he gripped the control stick tightly.
"I refuse to believe you can predict me again this time!"
Then he started swinging the control stick around like mad, with no pattern at all.
One moment left, the next moment right.
DL-02's front end darted left, then right. Tire smoke rose from the friction between the wheels and the track, shrouding the road surface, while the constant screeching made DL-02's head feel like it was going to split. Her car body weaved wildly across the wide track.
Yet no matter how Richard Cheng drove DL-02, Derek Su and Imperial Scale ahead remained as steady as a mountain.
After all that weaving, Richard Cheng was completely lost.
"So this is The Magician? This is the strength of a top-tier driver?"
His mind went blank.
He had already maneuvered to this extent, yet the other side could still predict him?
No. Even if his opponent was that strong, he still had to face him head-on.
At that moment, he thought of his father, lost in pleasure and luxury. He thought of his mother, who kept a pretty boy on the side. He thought of The Old Man and the Sea. He thought of the end of the world... He thought of his privileged life. In that instant, he was not fighting alone. Thousands upon thousands of Richard Chengs were fighting with him.
At that moment, he was invincible!
Richard Cheng raised his eyes, a cold light flashing deep within them.
"Looks like I'll have to use that move..."
Before he could use that move, DL-02's furious roar cut off his train of thought first.
"Are you fucking insane? Why are you swerving around like that? What the hell are you predicting?!"
"Do you even need to predict anything? He hasn't moved at all! I don't know what the hell you're trying to predict!"
"Can't you just overtake normally?"
"And this is the ace of the ESW club? Give me a damn break!"
In the rearview mirror, DL-02's eyes were bloodshot, her face twisted with rage, and her long black hair had puffed up into a wild mess. It still did not ruin her beauty, but that beauty now carried a deadly menace. Richard Cheng had a feeling that if he kept swerving back and forth, and if not for the First Restriction of the Mecha Girls, DL-02 might cancel deployed mode and rip the top of his skull open.
"I'm sorry."
He immediately lowered his head and admitted his mistake.
Richard Cheng stood up, hunched over, and bowed his head.
"I was wrong. I'll drive properly."
...
"Imperial Scale, what do you think Richard Cheng and DL-02 are thinking?"
Derek Su stared at DL-02, who had just recovered from that S-shaped weaving, and felt a little baffled.
He had thought that once they left the ring-road circuit, the other side would just overtake directly.
Instead, they had followed behind him and started doing acrobatics.
"Hmm..." Imperial Scale fell silent for a moment before getting straight to the point. "Maybe he was predicting your movements?"
Derek Su nearly laughed.
A person's reputation really did cast a long shadow. Richard Cheng was quite the talent.
He was already trying to predict Derek Su's movements?
But that kind of prediction depended on the track conditions.
There were a full six lanes, and the gravel wilderness around them was open enough to drive anywhere. Was there really any need to predict anything?
Of course, Derek Su had no need to block him either.
That would only waste time.
Fortunately, Richard Cheng seemed to have realized it.
Derek Su heard the engine roar drawing closer. Sure enough, Richard Cheng was driving DL-02 up from the right to overtake.
The two black off-road vehicles ran side by side.
Their wheels kicked up gravel from the road, sending stones clinking against their hard shells.
Imperial Scale felt an intense gaze and turned her head. As expected, DL-02 was looking at her too.
"Imperial Scale, I told you!
I will defeat you!"
The roar of the engines tore apart every sound, making the words impossible to hear clearly.
But Imperial Scale could read DL-02's lips.
Derek Su also glanced at Richard Cheng. After pulling alongside them, the guy did not look excited at all.
His face was stern, his expression serious, even a little gloomy.
That was somewhat surprising.
A hint of admiration appeared in Derek Su's eyes.
Richard Cheng really had improved a lot. That calm, steady mindset was already far better than before.
As expected of a club ace. He really was different.
Both sides had their own thoughts, but the gap in Acceleration between Imperial Scale and DL-02 was undeniable.
They were both in off-road form, but with her Modules, DL-02's Acceleration had already reached 90.
Imperial Scale's Acceleration was only 75. Under the effect of Imperial Might, it received a boost and reached an actual value of 82.5, calculated as 75 plus 7.5. A full 7.5-point gap was extremely obvious in terms of speed, and DL-02's body could clearly be seen gradually pulling ahead.
At the same time, Derek Su saw the contempt in DL-02's eyes as she looked at Imperial Scale.
Looking down on his Mecha Girl?
Well, in that case, sorry.
The corner of Derek Su's mouth curved up, and he snapped his fingers.
"It's high noon!"
On his watch, the hour hand, minute hand, and second hand all overlapped at the same time.
That moment came only once a day, and it was also the moment when Imperial Scale's form conversion refreshed.
Black particles once again gradually wrapped around Imperial Scale's body, like a solar eclipse.
Spinning metal fragments formed a blooming rose. As Imperial Scale tore through the wind, petal-like shards scattered wildly behind her like black mist, making her look as if she were bursting out of ink-dark flames. Her brand-new second-form body was forged little by little amid the wind and sand, and her engine roar rose from a deep growl to a sharp scream as her speed suddenly surged!
[Imperial Sword - One Million Fallen Corpses] When Mecha Girls are present within one hundred meters, the more Mecha Girls there are, the faster her Acceleration becomes, increasing her Acceleration attribute by up to ten points.
The Mecha Girl within one hundred meters was DL-02.
So Imperial Scale's current Acceleration was 86.
The gap between her and DL-02 was four attribute points.
For most drivers, being able to bring Imperial Scale this far would already be the limit.
But he was different.
"System, add points!"
Derek Su roared inwardly.
He spent 25 MP points in one go, raising Imperial Scale's second-form base Acceleration to 90.
Under the skill effect, she gained a 1-point bonus, bringing it up to 91!
At this moment, she completely suppressed DL-02!
Originally, DL-02 had already pulled ahead by two car lengths.
After Imperial Scale switched forms, the speed at which DL-02 was pulling away slowed down.
Once Derek Su finished adding points, the distance between the two Mecha Girls briefly froze.
Then it began to shrink.
"Master, my Acceleration seems to have received a strange boost..."
Imperial Scale's confused voice came from ahead.
Her large crimson eyes were full of bewilderment.
She knew the condition of her own body very clearly.
She had expected Derek Su to switch forms at midnight, then rely on his skill to struggle against the speed gap between her and DL-02.
But she had never imagined that her speed would suddenly increase by so much.
The feeling was far too obvious.
"Cheating is shameful," Derek Su sighed, looking at DL-02's taillights as he leaned back in the driver's seat and shook his head.
He had fallen. He really had fallen.
He had to reflect! He had to examine himself!
It was not that he did not want to win through skill. The key was that the Mermaid Bay track did not leave much room for technique.
Having the system add points directly was much more straightforward.
Besides, was Richard Cheng using his wealth to equip DL-02 with those ridiculous Modules not also a kind of cheat?
Since everyone was cheating, what else was there to say?
He had simply made the mistake every transmigrator would make.
Thinking of it that way, Derek Su no longer felt corrupt at all.
His conscience was perfectly clear!
So he raised his hand and pointed at the off-road vehicle ahead.
"Imperial Scale, pass her!"
...
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