Lucy Luo climbed out of Eternity's cockpit. The calm detachment in her eyes faded, and she returned to her usual lazy, absentminded self.
Leaning against Eternity's door, she looked around in confusion. "Why are you all staring at me? Eat!"
Eternity also withdrew from her deployed mode.
The car door transformed into an arm that supported Lucy Luo.
Eternity wore a sleek, plain-colored racing suit that hugged her figure. Her cold, aloof air was completely different from Lucy Luo's, and she was slightly taller as well. Her silver hair was tied into a high ponytail, making her look like a knight sworn to Lucy Luo.
The racers and Mecha Girls around them were all dumbfounded.
The main reason was that the "special effects" when Lucy Luo and Eternity reverted to their normal forms had been far too spectacular.
Even the racer who had been about to make a few snide remarks about them instinctively shut his mouth.
"The final competitor has reached the finish line." Kool Kenny suppressed his astonishment and raised the microphone. "Everyone, please look at the big screen. We will now rank the competitors according to their race times and determine the true champion!"
The moment he finished speaking, everyone turned toward the big screen. Spectators at both the starting and finishing areas focused on this moment.
The Mecha Girls of the Stella Club had originally believed the Advanced Race was already in the bag after Derek Su and Imperial Scale defeated Richard Cheng and DL-02. However, the last-minute arrival of Lucy Luo and Eternity added another layer of uncertainty to the final result.
The display began to scroll.
Close-up shots of the competitors appeared one after another, each followed by their result.
Excluding the time spent in the rest area, most competitors had taken between thirteen and fifteen hours to complete the race.
Soon, the screen switched to Derek Su and Imperial Scale.
Two clips were shown. The first featured Imperial Scale's battle with DL-02 and DL-02's failed overtaking attempt. The second showed Derek Su deliberately performing a flashy maneuver upon reaching the circular track at the finish line.
The stands erupted into cheers once again.
Then Derek Su's result appeared.
12 hours, 23 minutes, 41 seconds.
The moment it was announced, every previous result paled in comparison.
The cheers from the stands grew even louder.
[Champion King! Champion King!]
The cheering squad had started up again.
Their chants echoed throughout the stands.
Everyone from the Stella Club basked in the reflected glory. Leon Li and Swain Li remained relatively composed, while Chloe Qin alone clenched her teeth, her expression dark.
"Champion King, my foot!"
She cursed under her breath, consumed by jealousy.
Her title of "Queen of the Track" was self-proclaimed.
Derek Su's titles, on the other hand, had all been bestowed and officially recognized by either his fans or the competition organizers. There was no doubt that after this race, Derek Su would gain yet another title, [Champion King].
"Panlong... Mountain..."
She gritted her teeth and took a deep breath.
Let Derek Su and the others keep getting carried away. The higher they were raised, the harder they would fall. Once she crushed Derek Su beneath her feet at Panlong Mountain, all the honors and glory that once belonged to him would become hers!
The thought immediately made Chloe Qin feel much better.
The jealousy vanished from her gaze as she looked at Derek Su. Now, she seemed to be sizing up a plump, tempting piece of prey.
The screen scrolled again, showing Richard Cheng kneeling amid a storm of A4 papers as DL-02 coldly walked away.
The audience immediately burst into laughter.
Elton Chen and Evelyn Shi, both from the ESW Club, wore strange expressions. They wanted to laugh, but could not quite bring themselves to.
"Wait, what happened to Richard Cheng? Why doesn't he even have a result?"
Evelyn Shi smacked her lips and speculated, "Looks like DL-02 dumped him. I told him a Mecha Girl like DL-02 would be almost impossible to control, but Boss Richard Cheng still insisted on signing that unequal agreement."
She spread her hands and shook her head helplessly. "Who else can he blame?"
"Let's pretend we don't know anything when Boss Richard Cheng comes back." Although Elton Chen could not see Richard Cheng's expression, she could already imagine how devastating the blow must have been. Being abandoned by a Mecha Girl on the side of the road halfway through a race was the sort of outrageous incident that might not happen once in ten years. It was even more humiliating given that he was the chief of the ESW Club.
The screen continued to scroll.
A Path of Glory spread across the track.
Eternity's vehicle form flickered in and out of sight along the Path of Glory as she raced forward at incredible speed.
Then her result appeared at the end.
"Holy shit!" Derek Su blurted out when he saw the numbers.
Imperial Scale froze, her pupils trembling as her hands and feet turned cold.
The chants of [Champion King] gradually faded from the stands.
"How is that possible?!" Leon Li shot to his feet and gripped the railing with both hands, staring at the screen in disbelief.
Beside him, Swain Li sucked in a sharp breath, his face filled with shock.
Even the eight mechanical arms behind Chloe Qin sprang upright in alarm.
As top-tier pilots, what kind of astonishing situations had they not encountered?
Yet the result achieved by Eternity-01 and Lucy Luo was simply unbelievable.
11 hours, 17 minutes, 03 seconds!
What did that mean?
It meant Eternity-01 had maintained an average speed of 658 kilometers per hour throughout the race.
Without a doubt, that was already at the limit of what a speed-type Mecha Girl could achieve!
Beside the vehicle retraction platform, Derek Su's eyelid twitched violently.
He could achieve a similar result while driving Stella.
However, a Mecha Girl's Endurance dropped when she traveled at full speed. It was similar to how fuel consumption differed between highway and city driving.
In an absurdly long competition like the Mermaid Bay Advanced Race, where each pilot could use only one Mecha Girl, he could not possibly keep Stella at maximum speed the entire time. Her Endurance would never last.
And yet Lucy Luo had driven Eternity-01 to such an unbelievable result.
Derek Su lowered his gaze toward the track as its glow gradually faded.
It was not difficult to guess that Eternity-01's incredible strength was closely connected to her special skill.
But what exactly was Eternity-01's special skill?
He stared at the tall, slender girl standing beside Lucy Luo.
Curiosity clawed at Derek Su's heart.
Damn it. He really wanted to know!
Did she continuously accelerate while traveling along that road? Could she ignore obstacles?
A skill like that would be far too overpowered.
The special skills of top-tier Mecha Girls always had limitations. None of them could possibly be that absurdly powerful without restrictions.
He would have to face Lucy Luo and Eternity-01 again at the upcoming provincial-level Panlong Mountain Circuit.
Derek Su immediately raised his guard to the highest level.
The results continued scrolling across the big screen, but no one cared anymore.
Anyone could see that the champions were undoubtedly Lucy Luo and Eternity-01.
Lucy Luo seemed to notice Derek Su's searching gaze.
With both hands clasped behind her back, she tilted her head and smiled playfully before giving him a flirtatious look.
Her lips moved as she teased him.
"Derek Su, defeat me, and you can have both me and Eternity-01~
"You'd. Better. Not. Forget~
"Hehe~"
Derek Su: "..."
Aminos!
His fists clenched!
Mermaid Bay Advanced Race Timeline (Revised):
The Advanced Race began at 5:00 p.m. Derek Su and Imperial Scale arrived shortly before 6:00 p.m. The other competitors arrived between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. Lucy Luo was four hours late and started the race at 9:00 p.m. She arrived after 9:00 p.m. the following day, including the time spent at the rest station.
Lucy Luo and Eternity will be penalized, so rest assured.
Apart from that, there is still a great deal about Lucy Luo that has yet to be revealed.
...
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