Mei Mei opened her eyes before the alarm. The morning light was weird — pale, kind of dirty from so much pollution, just like the heavy breath from the streets outside. There was no silence at all, just the sound of flying engines, the neon buzzing and that metallic smell that stuck to everything.
Mei Mei sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the floor full of parts. Her face was tired, but had a stubborn shine — like someone who already wakes up ready for a hit.
Grandpa was already in the workshop. Not even a real workshop, just a tight space, old tools, boxes piled up and the old drone spying everything from above. He coughed hard, choking on his own breath, but still smiled crooked.
"Ready, Mei Mei?"
She answered, without even thinking:
"Ready since yesterday, grandpa."
The robot Chun-Li was lying down in the pickup truck. It was ugly, scratched, with faded color plates. Looked like it was about to fall apart if someone looked at it wrong, but for Mei Mei, it was like the last knight of the apocalypse — ugly, but impossible to knock down. She connected the last pieces of the left arm, mumbling to the robot like it was a person.
"If you break today, I'll never call you best friend again, ok?"
Grandpa came closer, putting his shaky hand on her shoulder. He had a look of someone who wanted to say a lot but could only grumble the basics.
"Don't forget: if it goes wrong, pretend it was a bug in the system. And never, never show fear. They sense it from afar."
Mei Mei wanted to hug, but just fixed the VR helmet in her backpack. The neighbors were already out there in the street, laughing, whispering.
"Gonna fall again, girl!"
She didn't even look. Just took a deep breath, started the pickup and left everyone eating dust. The city looked like a giant videogame, with tall buildings, flying cars, smoke coming from everywhere. Mei Mei sped up, dodging holes, seeing the neon lights reflecting on the glass.
Her heart was beating fast. Chun-Li took up half of the bed, but looked giant, even disassembled. The VR helmet was right there, waiting. Mei Mei felt her hand sweat, even before putting on the glove.
The traffic was chaos, but she already knew every shortcut. At the entrance to the central neighborhood, a police drone checkpoint. She pretended to be cool.
"Good morning, officers."
One of the drones scanned the pickup, released a bland warning.
"Unauthorized pilot. Your license is expired, Steel Dragon."
Mei Mei answered right away:
"The renewal system crashed again, right? Let me pass, I'm late for the tournament."
The drone didn't even argue, just let out a beep and released the passage.
At the arrival to the arena, a crazy line of pretty mechas. Japanese team, Russian, even people from the megacorps. Everyone showing off with neon, loud music, sponsor stamped even in the shadow. Chun-Li looked like a lost dinosaur in a world of golden dragons.
Mei Mei didn't even care. Parked at the side, opened the truck bed, started fitting the robot's pieces, putting everything together with quick clamps and wrapping silver tape where she could.
One of the rivals came close, fake smiling.
"So, Steel Girl, really going to compete or just came to cosplay as a mechanic?"
Mei Mei pretended she didn't hear, but the anger boiled hot.
She put on the VR helmet. At that moment, the vision changed: it was just virtual cockpit, a blue floating panel, sensitive controls. The real world stayed far away, now it was just her and Chun-Li.
[Status – Chun-LiEnergy: 84%Strength: 59%Stability: 44%VR system: 85%Sync: 71%]
Mei Mei closed her eyes, feeling the helmet squeeze her head, hearing the pulse of her own fear. Out there, the arena was calling pilots for the system tests. Each robot was lining up in an area, green lights blinking.
She slapped the panel: "Wake up, buddy. Today is our day."
The system answered with an automatic phrase, metallic voice: "Good luck, pilot."
It was just a standard message, but Mei Mei felt like it was a blessing. Grandpa appeared on the screen, coughing again.
"If you lose, bring the robot back whole. If you win, bring the trophy. Just don't come back empty-handed."
She smiled, trying to hide the fear.
The tournament announcer called the names, shouting in English and Mandarin. The name Steel Dragon appeared on the screen. It was her turn.
The audience didn't even care, but Mei Mei felt like she was being filmed by millions.
She pushed Chun-Li to the test field, the VR system shaking in her hand. Each step of the robot made the floor vibrate. The other teams laughed, made jokes, took photos to post on the forums.
Mei Mei didn't care. Started the tests, raised the strength controls, tried a spin move — Chun-Li's arm almost locked, but came back at the last second. The audience made an "ohh" of mockery.
The judge appeared on the virtual screen.
"Steel Dragon, ready?"
Mei Mei answered without stuttering: "Ready."
The system counted down. Five, four, three, two, one. It was the moment.
Chun-Li took two steps. An ugly creak came from the motor. Mei Mei sweated cold, pretended to be normal, adjusted the stability control, cut an emergency command just to cover up.
The rivals on the other side were already laughing, one of them filming with the phone. She pretended nothing was wrong.
The test ended. The judge wrote something. Chun-Li was almost dropping a plate, but Mei Mei kept the robot standing, smiling, just so there would be no reason.
On the way back to the box, someone threw an empty bottle near her.
"This robot should be in the junkyard, not in the arena. Take that away."
Mei Mei raised her chin. "At least I didn't buy my spot here. And you?"
The boy made an ugly face, but left. Deep down, her heart was in a thousand pieces.
Grandpa sent a message: "Proud of you, kid. Don't forget. 'Nobody wins anything with fear.'"
Mei Mei took a deep breath. It was almost time for the decisive moment. She adjusted the VR glove, looked at the dirty sky of the city and thought, low:
"Just one more time, Chun-Li. Just one more."
[Status – Chun-LiEnergy: 79%Strength: 56%Stability: 39%VR system: 75%Sync: 69%]
The panel blinked, warning that the next round would be right after. Mei Mei closed her eyes, felt the weight of the entire city on her back, but wasn't going to back down. Never backs down.
She smiled, alone, with sweaty hands on the controls. And for the first time that day, she really believed: "Let's show them what we've got."