DL-02 felt the other party's invitation was a little presumptuous.
Especially with that mysterious tone. It made her sound like some Mecha Girl trafficker who specialized in abducting Mecha Girls. Of course, no such criminals existed in this world, but it still made her uncomfortable.
But as that Mecha Girl stepped out of the shadows, that feeling vanished completely.
Because the one who came out was Torch.
She was one of the two Governors of Mecha Island. The other was Eden. It was said that they represented different ideological factions on Mecha Island, but DL-02 did not know much about that. After she was born, she had rushed off to the exhibition auction and had not stayed on Mecha Island for long. However, she had met Torch once before leaving.
At that time, the Governor had been standing at the entrance to the World Wall.
She had carefully studied every Mecha Girl who passed by.
Thinking back now, the way Torch had looked at her back then did seem a little strange.
"So it's the Governor." DL-02 lowered her guard and saluted Torch, but she still asked in confusion, "May I ask what you mean by... template?"
"Well~" Torch clasped her hands behind her back and said nothing.
After a pause, she said, "That's classified. You'll have to agree to join my plan first. Once we get to the laboratory, I'll explain it to you properly."
DL-02 fell silent for a while.
She took a deep breath, as though she had made up her mind.
"In the future, will I really have a chance to drive together with Derek Su?"
"You will." Torch nodded.
"Good." DL-02 clenched her fists and raised her determined eyes. "I'll join!"
...
After DL-02's sudden interruption, Imperial Scale no longer felt like teasing Derek Su.
The two returned to the track covered in radiance, ready to finish the final third of the race.
Sitting in Imperial Scale's cockpit, Derek Su floored the accelerator as he drove her, but he still could not quite let it go.
"Sigh. Is she really going to the Recycling Yard? That would be a shame."
Derek Su shook his head, feeling uneasy.
He had never imagined that the competition for the "throne" would be so cruel. The losing side would have to leave the track forever.
Thinking about it that way, Imperial Scale had already been in an unbeatable position from the start. No matter whether she won or lost the race in the end, Imperial Scale had already signed a Core Contract with him. If Imperial Scale's mentality collapsed, he could still use a forced command. But DL-02 was different. She was an independent Mecha Girl. If she truly wanted to enter the Recycling Yard, who could stop her?
"Master, don't overthink it. Leaving the track doesn't necessarily mean entering the Recycling Yard. She could become a functional Mecha Girl instead," Imperial Scale said, offering him some comfort.
Even though she herself also judged that DL-02 would most likely choose the Recycling Yard.
After all, with DL-02's proud personality, she probably would not choose to become a functional Mecha Girl.
"Let's hope so."
Derek Su nodded.
Becoming a functional Mecha Girl was also a decent choice.
There would be no need to worry about whether she could win glory on the track. She would only need to maintain relations between humans and Mecha Girls and handle logistics. That kind of life did not have much pressure, and her salary would be paid jointly by Mecha Island and the Human Federation. Added together, it was not low.
On weekends, functional Mecha Girls could often be seen shopping together.
Laughing and joking, they looked no different from human girls.
The cockpit fell silent again.
Because of what happened with DL-02, neither Derek Su nor Imperial Scale was in a very good mood.
As a result, this final stretch of the race felt rather dull.
Even though they were the first competitors to reach the finish line.
...
Compared to the starting point, there were not as many spectators at the finish line.
It was six in the morning, and dawn was about to break. Many spectators had already fallen asleep.
As the engine roar drew closer and closer, the host's excited shout jolted everyone awake.
"Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen! Hearts pounding, hands shaking!"
"Do you hear that sound in the wind?" Host Kool Kenny cupped a hand around his ear, gripped the microphone, and roared with his head raised. "That's the roar of an engine! Let's see who will be the first competitor to charge across the finish line!"
"Will it be Richard Cheng, the rising star of our ESW club, and his new Mecha Girl DL-02? Or will it be our popular dark horse duo, The Magician and Imperial Scale!?"
The only favorites to win this race were Derek Su and Richard Cheng.
The Mermaid Bay Advanced Race in the first half of the year had been a clash between monsters.
The Mermaid Bay Advanced Race in the second half of the year was not quite as fiercely contested.
Aside from Derek Su and Richard Cheng, the rest were all competitors from small and medium-sized clubs.
They had originally avoided the Advanced Race in the first half of the year on purpose and specifically joined the second half, hoping to achieve a good result. Who would have thought that even in the second half, they would still run into Derek Su, this champion king and roadblock?
So although Derek Su's name was famous among most pilots, there were still some pilots who found him extremely unpleasant. The kind who resented him but had no way to do anything about it.
All they could do was envy him, hate him, and rage helplessly.
Kool Kenny's loud voice startled all the spectators.
Many people's heads were buzzing as they instinctively looked toward the finish line.
Roar, vroom, vroom, vroom!
As the engine roar drew closer, two beams of crimson headlights were the first to pierce the pitch-black horizon. Imperial Scale's headlights flashed as she sped toward the finish line at incredible speed, wrapped in wild wind as she charged into the final five-hundred-meter loop lit up by spotlights.
"They're here!" Kool Kenny roared again.
"It's our popular dark horse duo, Derek Su and Imperial Scale!!"
"Derek Su, the current holder of the fastest record in the Knox Rally, has competed in the Greenfield Advanced Race, Silverstone Advanced Race, Brana Ruins Advanced Race, and Xiangshan Advanced Race, winning every single one! And today is his final Advanced Race before the provincial-level track. If Derek Su and Imperial Scale take the championship in this race, he will become a true champion king! He will become the Advanced Race Grand Slam winner for the second half of this year!"
It had to be said, Kool Kenny really did have skill as a host.
In just a few sentences, he dispelled the audience's grumpy mood after being woken up and focused all their attention on the race. Derek Su's fans were even more excited. After all, wasn't the reason they supported a competitor to witness the moment he claimed victory?
That was the competitor's glory, and also the glory of fans like them.
And so, the previously quiet stands began to stir.
[Champion king! Champion king!!]
At first, it was only scattered shouts from Derek Su's fans. Later, it gradually spread across the entire spectator stand.
Champion king!
Whether they were Derek Su's fans, passersby, or fans of other competitors, everyone was shouting.
The cheers thundered like a storm.
Derek Su had never seen such passionate support before.
In his previous life, he had quite a few fans too, but racing was still a niche sport.
Most spectators watched it on television, and very few went to the venue in person.
A scene like this, with dedicated spectator stands, a giant race screen, and an atmosphere like a concert, was something he would never have dared to imagine.
As his fame grew larger and larger, more and more spectators came to cheer for him.
He finally understood why some stars became so overwhelmed they could not speak when they stepped onto an international stage.
It was not because they lacked courage.
It was because those mountain-shaking, ocean-roaring cheers truly were overwhelming.
"I never thought there would already be so many people in this world who liked me..."
Derek Su shook his head and sighed. Imperial Scale looked at Derek Su in surprise. The way he said it made it sound as though he were not from this world.
"In that case...
"Let me give you all a show in these final five hundred meters!"
...
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