"Is it settled?" Eden could not help but find Tania's lingering anger amusing, even after the video call had ended.
"More or less." Tania shook her head and sighed. "To be precise, I dealt with the person responsible for causing all this trouble."
Eden understood what she meant.
Barring any surprises, Adrian Chen, the Techmasters' Alliance committee member, had probably just lost his position.
"Still, thank you for helping me curb the Techmasters' Alliance's expansion."
"I've heard you've been making quite a stir lately. I'll help where I can, but this is as far as I can go." Tania pursed her lips and spoke apologetically. "Mecha Island provides the Mecha Girls, the Techmasters' Alliance sends Techmasters to the front, and the Human Federation handles logistics and talent selection. We are responsible for protecting the entire 'production chain.' I can't interfere too much in the balance of power between you. Otherwise, the other space stations won't simply stand by and watch."
"I understand." Eden nodded.
The space stations controlled resources that were highly desirable to both humans and Techmasters. To maintain relative stability in the rear and prevent human society from descending into chaos, it had been established from the beginning that space station leadership would remain completely separate from human society and concern itself only with matters beyond the planet.
Today, Tania had merely seized the opportunity to strike a blow against the Techmasters' Alliance. By using Lucy Luo's situation as justification, her actions were entirely defensible in the eyes of the other space stations, leaving no room for anyone to object.
"That's enough for today." Tania brought the conversation to an end, her expression turning solemn. "I need to get back to work."
Monitoring the planets and asteroid belts was an extremely tedious task, and she could never feel entirely at ease unless she was there to supervise it herself.
"Aren't you going to say anything to Lucy Luo?" Eden asked.
"No." Tania shook her head. "She's had things easy enough under the protection of my reputation, but I can't shield her from every hardship forever. What Lucy Luo needs now are setbacks and discipline. Besides... her resentment toward me can also serve as motivation."
The video call ended.
Eden gazed thoughtfully at the darkened screen.
If every Techmaster followed and defended the rules as Tania did, there would have been no need for her to launch the [New King Project], nor would Torch have been driven to research AI out of frustration.
Could AI truly replace Techmasters?
Anyone with common sense knew that was impossible.
Techmasters were rare not simply because they could use psychic energy, but because their Techmaster skills evolved alongside them when they merged with Mecha Girls to pilot Psychic Energy Mechas.
No matter how powerful AI became, it could never possess Techmaster skills.
Nor could Mecha Island completely control the Techmasters.
Faced with the threat of the Void, Mecha Girls and humans were bound together by the same fate. In theory, once a Mecha Girl signed a Core Contract with a Techmaster, she had already separated herself from Mecha Island. She would prioritize the Techmaster's orders, giving Techmasters enough power to challenge Mecha Island.
To avoid an internal war while surrounded by external enemies, all they could do was maintain the balance between the various factions as best they could.
That was precisely what Eden was working toward.
...
"After deliberation, the tournament organizers have decided that Lucy Luo and Eternity-01's results will be invalidated due to their late arrival." After taking a phone call, Kool Kenny hurried back onto the stage and immediately made the announcement. He then continued with an air of solemn authority, "As everyone knows, the Advanced Race is a strictly regulated competition. We will ensure that every race remains fair and impartial, and we will firmly uphold the integrity of competitive sports. All competitors can rest assured that we will continue to follow this principle in every future competition!"
"In addition, every Mecha Girl who remained here waiting will receive one bottle of high-energy nutrient solution as compensation."
At those words, everyone, including Lucy Luo, breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed the fairness of the competition could still be protected. That was all that mattered.
No one minded that only the Mecha Girls would be compensated rather than their pilots. A single bottle of high-energy nutrient solution cost between ten and twenty thousand, so giving it to the Mecha Girls still saved their pilots money. It amounted to the same thing.
Once the decision was announced, thunderous applause erupted from the stands at both the starting and finishing lines. The competitors and spectators from the various clubs applauded especially loudly.
Ninety-nine point nine percent of the competitors did not have a background like Lucy Luo's. Had any of them arrived late today, they would never have been allowed onto the track. Naturally, they were the ones most eager to see Lucy Luo and Eternity's results invalidated.
The event manager who had allowed Lucy Luo and Eternity to compete was later dismissed as well.
As the incident attracted more attention, the Human Federation seized the opportunity to add several new restrictions to the competition rules, further reducing the privileges enjoyed by Techmasters. Strangely, the Techmasters' Alliance, which would normally have launched a loud collective protest, remained silent this time.
Of course, that would come later.
...
Just when all hope seemed lost, the situation took an unexpected turn.
In the end, Derek Su and Imperial Scale stood together atop the champion's podium.
"So... does this mean we actually won today?"
Even as he stood on the podium, Derek Su was still somewhat bewildered.
When Lucy Luo and Eternity's result had been announced, he had already accepted that the championship was gone. Lucy Luo's club ranked extremely high, and he had heard that, like Richard Cheng, she was both its ace and the person who truly called the shots. He refused to believe that someone like her had no powerful backing.
It was hardly surprising that the organizers had held a discussion after the controversy arose. What he had not expected was for that discussion to produce a fair result.
Unbelievable!
In his previous life, countless competitions had been manipulated by capital, with fairness existing only on the surface. Otherwise, he would never have been killed after someone tampered with his car. He had long since stopped expecting fairness in his previous life, yet after coming to this world, he had witnessed fairness triumph over influence.
He had to admit, it was enough to bring tears to his eyes.
The one who was truly moved to tears, however, was Imperial Scale.
She secretly wiped the moisture from the corners of her reddened eyes. First place should have belonged to her and "Father" after all their hard work, especially after her fierce collision with DL-02. Had Lucy Luo and Eternity taken it from them so easily, she would not have slept all night. She would have spent the entire evening sulking alone in her room.
Seeing how unsettled Imperial Scale still looked, Derek Su could not resist patting her head.
"It's all over now. We're the champions!"
He placed the trophy in Imperial Scale's arms.
The usually aloof and composed girl froze for a moment.
Then a rare, gentle smile appeared on her face as she hugged the trophy tightly.
"Master, we're the champions!"
Watching the smile on Imperial Scale's lips, Derek Su sighed inwardly. In the end, she was still just a child, exactly like Stella had once been. No matter how distant they acted on the outside, they were much the same underneath.
Still, why did patting her head feel so awkward?
Derek Su looked at his raised hand.
Then he stepped onto the platform beside him. With the additional twenty centimeters of height, he no longer had to reach upward.
Now it felt right.
[Champion King! Champion King!!]
At that moment, the stands once again erupted in deafening cheers.
Leading up to the provincial circuit, Derek Su had competed in five provincial Advanced Races and won every single one.
After this race, Derek Su had become a sensation!
...
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