After that, there was no suspense left in the race.
Richard Cheng's driving skills were already inferior to Derek Su's, and every hairpin turn widened the gap.
On top of that, Imperial Scale was still a little faster than DL-02.
As a result, the distance between the two Mecha Girls only grew larger and larger.
DL-02 couldn't even catch up to Imperial Scale to ride her slipstream. Even if she had caught up, it would not have mattered. Imperial Scale's speed-type body had very low wind resistance, while DL-02's off-road body had much higher wind resistance and sat far taller than Imperial Scale's speed-type body. Under those conditions, it was impossible for DL-02 to catch Imperial Scale's slipstream at all.
As time passed, DL-02 could only watch helplessly as Imperial Scale's taillights gradually disappeared into the pitch-black night.
The cockpit fell silent.
Richard Cheng gripped the control stick tightly, his teeth clenched, his face pale, not daring to make a sound.
After a while, he felt the vehicle slip out of his control.
DL-02 braked and stopped in the safety lane.
A vehicle body was controlled jointly by the Mecha Girl and the pilot. When the Mecha Girl refused to keep driving, nothing the pilot did with the controls mattered. Most Mecha Girls would not resist their pilot's commands. After all, it was a race, and finishing a race was very important to them. But DL-02 was an exception. To her, this Mermaid Bay Advanced Race was her chance to prove herself in front of Derek Su, as well as an opportunity to defeat Imperial Scale.
Now, she couldn't even see Imperial Scale's taillights anymore.
That meant there was no longer any point in continuing this Mermaid Bay Advanced Race.
DL-02 didn't want to speak.
Richard Cheng didn't dare speak.
The two of them remained locked in that standoff for a long time.
In the end, Richard Cheng finally gathered the courage to break the silence.
"Um, DL-02, let's finish the race first. Even if we can't get first place, we can still take second. If I remember correctly, the Mermaid Bay Advanced Race should be your first race, right? It should mean something special to you."
"It doesn't mean anything anymore..."
DL-02's voice was very quiet.
Richard Cheng had already gotten somewhat used to her loud voice, so he didn't hear her clearly.
"What?"
"Once I lost to Imperial Scale, it stopped meaning anything."
As soon as DL-02 finished speaking, Richard Cheng lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Standing in front of him was DL-02, who had already left her deployed mode. The night wind tousled her hair into a mess. Beneath her bangs, her deep blue eyes carried shattered emotions, a complicated feeling too difficult to describe. It was as though her faith had collapsed, her one conviction had turned to nothing, and all that remained ahead was confusion and emptiness.
"Don't be like this, DL-02. Failure is the mother of success! Even if we couldn't beat Imperial Scale and Derek Su this time, we'll still have chances in the future!" Richard Cheng staggered to his feet and shouted at DL-02.
But DL-02 only smiled bitterly and walked aimlessly along the track.
Richard Cheng gritted his teeth and chased after her.
He tried to grab DL-02's hand.
But she threw him off without mercy.
He fell to the ground again.
Clatter!
A contract was thrown over at the same time.
The folder came apart, and its pages scattered across the ground like snowflakes in the wind.
"My agreement with you is over."
DL-02 did not look back, her tone indifferent.
"I'm not your Mecha Girl. The auction money you paid earlier is on the card in the drawer of my room's desk. Go back and take it yourself."
Richard Cheng knelt among the A4 papers swirling through the air.
He stared at her gradually receding back, his face filled with unwillingness.
He clenched his fists and shouted,
"Is there really nothing about me that can move you at all?"
"I spent so much money on you. I bought you everything you liked. I fought those club aces until things got ugly just to buy you a speed-type golden module..."
"If you think I'm not good enough somewhere, I can change!
If I don't have the skill, I can train.
I'm still so young. Can't you... can't you give me just one chance?"
The figure ahead stopped.
DL-02 seemed to have heard him.
Richard Cheng raised his head, a glimmer of hope appearing in his eyes.
He did have many Mecha Girls.
But most of those Mecha Girls were only enjoying his resources.
Or they were like Gray Castle, indifferent toward him.
From the outside, he seemed glamorous, living a life everyone envied, surrounded by top-tier Mecha Girls. But in reality, he only had piloting rights. His relationship with the Mecha Girls ended there.
DL-02 was one of the very few Mecha Girls who did not care about what resources he had.
He thought DL-02 was special.
He wanted to keep DL-02 by his side. He would work hard to become a pilot worthy of DL-02. He just needed a little time to prove it.
He hoped DL-02 would give him that time.
He wanted to prove that he was not inferior to Derek Su.
DL-02 turned around, reached behind her lower back, then tossed a glittering golden object toward Richard Cheng. Richard Cheng caught it by instinct. In his hand was the golden module [Golden Holy Lance].
"Take it back."
DL-02 turned and left.
Her voice sounded broken in the wind.
Richard Cheng heard it clearly.
He held [Golden Holy Lance], his fingers tightening around it.
He knew that his connection with DL-02 had ended.
He had also sobered up. No matter how much he gave DL-02, it would mean nothing.
Because in the end, he was not Derek Su.
Perhaps even if he had beaten Derek Su and Imperial Scale in the Mermaid Bay Advanced Race, DL-02 still would have turned and left. From beginning to end, she had always wanted to become Derek Su's Mecha Girl. From the moment she walked out of the exhibition auction to when she took the initiative to challenge Stella Club, at most, he had only been a stepping stone for DL-02 to use.
That was all.
...
The race entered its later stages.
Derek Su and Imperial Scale entered the service area to rest.
This was the third temporary rest stop of the Mermaid Bay Advanced Race. Here, pilots could eat something, drink some coffee, use the restroom, and so on.
After all, this was an Advanced Race that tested Endurance. The race lasted a very long time, but people still had needs. It was not as if pilots could do anything inappropriate on their Mecha Girls, nor could they be expected to avoid eating and drinking before the race just to empty their stomachs in advance.
Although there was a rest area, the fairness of the race was still guaranteed. As soon as a pilot entered the rest area, their personal timer stopped immediately. The rest area was only for pilots to use, and there was no nutrient solution here to replenish the Mecha Girls' Endurance.
Derek Su washed his hands and came out of the restroom.
He saw Imperial Scale sitting quietly in the waiting area.
They were the only two people in the spacious hall.
The overhead lights were not harsh. They cast a soft, warm glow.
A faint light surrounded Imperial Scale, making her profile look even more delicate. Her red lips and eyes seemed dyed with rose-colored pigment, while her long black hair flowed down along the breathtaking curves of her body. She was impossibly beautiful.
"Master, do I look good?"
Only when Imperial Scale's cool voice sounded by his ear did Derek Su suddenly snap back to himself.
Only then did he realize he had been standing at the restroom entrance, staring at Imperial Scale for a long time.
Imperial Scale was looking his way, her chin propped on one hand.
Her long, beautiful legs were crossed, and a flash of shyness passed through the depths of her eyes.
"Ahahaha! You do. Of course you do!"
Derek Su rubbed his nose and laughed awkwardly.
Suppressing his embarrassment, he walked over and sat down beside Imperial Scale.
This was awful.
As the owner of Stella Club, The Magician, and the pilot known as the King of Knox, he had actually stared at his own Mecha Girl for that long.
His image in Imperial Scale's eyes must have looked incredibly sleazy just now, right?
The moment Derek Su imagined Imperial Scale thinking he was sleazy, he wanted to slap himself and find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
p-@-treon/GhostParser (40 Chapters Ahead)
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.