On a mountain course littered with obstacles and shipping containers, a white-haired horse girl crossed every hurdle and trap with the ease of a savage. Dense volleys of rubber bullets fired from behind missed her completely. The finish line was right before her eyes.
The white-haired horse girl let out a manic laugh. "Muda! Muda! This great one is the strongest even in an Item Race! A third-rate like you trying to challenge me is simply digging your own grave! Victory belongs to this great one again! Cry! Scream! Resent your own powerlessness! Hahaha—"
Demon King Ship crossed the finish line, turning back to mock the disheveled [Gold Ship] loudly. To think she thought she could defeat the Demon King in an Item Race?
What a naive thought.
The "Item Race" was, strictly speaking, just a form of recreational competition. A track was laid out in a closed venue, but unlike a normal track, it was filled with obstacles and rigged with various traps. Furthermore, hidden items usable by the competitors were scattered throughout the course—things like auto-tracking smoke missiles or paralysis mines. Competitors could use the traps and items to hinder their opponents. It was the ultimate "Battle Royale" race, currently quite popular as a game, and not a bad way to unwind after training.
[Gold Ship], having lost the mock race yesterday, wanted to regain her dignity, so she invited Demon King Ship to this Item Race. She thought her familiarity with the course layout would catch Demon King Ship off guard. But she never expected Demon King Ship's physical abilities to be like a cheat code. Stepping in a trap? She just jumped out. Being sprayed with submachine gun fire? She dodged it all. This guy is definitely hacking!
Panting heavily, [Gold Ship] reached the finish line. Having just run the full course, she couldn't help but throw off her equipment and lie on the ground. She couldn't speak a word. Chasing behind this monster felt like being dragged around on a leash by a dog; Lord Goldie-chan was exhausted.
"Useless trash. You're done after just this much? Hmph~" Demon King Ship saw [Gold Ship] lying there like a dead dog, and the slight interest she had just felt was instantly extinguished.
However, she had to admit this game was quite fun. Since skills couldn't be used and opponents could use items, in a sense, she had to go all out to win. But this piece of trash, [Gold Ship], couldn't even last one round.
"Get up. This great one wants to play with the gun this time."
"...I can't. Lord Goldie-chan is... burnt out... Ugh!" [Gold Ship] played dead directly. She really didn't want to play anymore. Playing this with Demon King Ship gave her zero gaming experience. And that was when the Demon King didn't know how to use the items. Now that she knew how to get them, this game was unplayable!
Demon King Ship picked up the rifle [Gold Ship] had just thrown on the ground, aimed the muzzle at her, and said, "You can keep lying there if you want. I'll just shoot like this!"
[Gold Ship] cracked one eye open carefully, only to see that bastard actually pull the trigger. Before she could react, the rubber bullet hit her. A numbing sensation sent a shiver through her body, and she bounced up from the ground like a spring. The smart Goldie-chan had no intention of reasoning with the Demon King; her first instinct was to run.
"Hahaha! Not bad! Can't you still run, you piece of trash?! Hahaha! Run faster! If you fall behind, you eat bullets! This design is wonderful!"
Demon King Ship's terrifying laughter chased her from behind. [Gold Ship] watched with a tingling scalp as rubber bullets missed her and hit the ground. She seriously suspected that guy was missing on purpose. That guy was truly evil! A perfectly good casual fitness game had been turned into a life-or-death Battle Royale!
"Help! Lord Goldie-chan is being murdered!"
Behind them, [McQueen] and the others watched helplessly as the two rushed from the finish line back toward the starting line. Although [Gold Ship]'s screams were very loud, no one chose to lend a hand at this moment. Because at the start of this game, the most rampant one had been [Gold Ship]. They had eaten who knows how many traps set by her before finally struggling to the finish.
"Watching those two at a time like this... makes you realize that guy really is a Gold Ship too..." [McQueen] said with indescribable emotion. It wasn't something to be happy about. [Gold Ship] was already trouble enough; adding an upgraded version of Gold Ship just made one feel mentally exhausted.
"I think it's lively and nice. Games are supposed to be lively to be fun. Our Goldie-chan is very popular when it comes to things like this," Tokai Teio said, thinking of how [Gold Ship] would go to the park to play with neighborhood kids whenever she had time. She thought it was a wonderful thing.
Besides, it was precisely because of [Gold Ship] that they could make friends with the Little Demon King.
"I think Scarlet-senpai, who has already collapsed, might have a different opinion," [McQueen] said, thinking of Daiwa Scarlet, who had been knocked out by gas in a trap and still hadn't gotten up. When she woke up, she would definitely want to fight [Gold Ship] to the death.
"...Ahahaha."
At the start of the match, Special Week was distracted by the buffet and fell into a trap, getting eliminated. Vodka was headshot by [Gold Ship]. Daiwa Scarlet was taken out by stepping on a mine; she was arguably the most miserable one, and it was hard to say if [Gold Ship] did it on purpose. Tokai Teio and [Mejiro McQueen] had also fallen into traps and were nearly eliminated like the others. If [Gold Ship] hadn't been too busy "hunting" the Demon King to finish them off, they wouldn't have survived either.
So, seeing [Gold Ship] being beaten up by the Demon King now could be considered karma. Neither Tokai Teio nor [Mejiro McQueen] had any intention of intervening. Their energy had been mostly spent crawling out of the traps; they were now purely in spectator mode.
Outside this chaotic battle royale...
Mejiro McQueen sat in the lobby of the amusement center, watching the Gold Ships frolic inside, feeling her scalp tingle. She hadn't expected her clone to actually get along so well with [Gold Ship], and look like she was enjoying it, too.
It's over. It looks like the clone has indeed been "assimilated." She has completely lived as a [Gold Ship].
'Can a guy like this... really clear the story mode?'
It would be a joke if she failed the challenge and got the progress stuck. Mejiro McQueen felt anger rising to her head. She really hadn't expected Gold Ship to cross worlds just to play games...
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