"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Greenfield Advancement Race!"
"This race will be brought to you by me—your favorite commentator, Taimei!"
At the starting area of the Greenfield Advancement Race, the crowd was roaring with excitement.
A massive airship equipped with a giant screen circled above the entrance to the track. On the screen was Taimei's enthusiastic face. In reality, she was aboard a helicopter, camera in hand, filming the situation on the track at all times.
"This year's Greenfield Advancement Race can truly be called a gathering of elites!"
The camera cut to Xavier Young and Lumina warming up.
"Our veteran competitors—Foxfire Club owner Xavier Young and his Mecha Girl Lumina! Half a year ago, they were injured here at the Greenfield Advancement Race. Now they've returned to this very battlefield. Will they overcome their past, or even surpass it? Let's wait and see!"
Noticing the camera, Lumina gave a gentle smile and wrapped her arm around Xavier Young's.
The shot then shifted to Derek Su and Stella, and Taimei's voice grew even more exaggerated.
"The current most popular contestant—the Magician, the King of Knox, Derek Su! And his Mecha Girl, Stella! What kind of visual feast will they bring us today?!"
Stella raised a pineapple and cheekily stuck out her tongue at the camera.
Derek Su, expressionless, deliberately turned the badge from the Module Shop toward the camera for a close-up, along with the large sticker of the sponsor's daughter. Both received clear focus.
When it came to professional ethics as a racer, he was flawless.
The stands erupted with thunderous cheers. Quite a few fans were even holding up banners for the Magician.
The atmosphere was so intense it rivaled celebrity fan culture from his previous life.
"Zane, who failed the advancement race five times in the past, makes his debut with his new starting Mecha Girl—Lingwind!"
Zane wore a solemn expression as he prepared for the start. Lingwind had already deployed her chassis. Their luck wasn't great—they drew the 7th starting position. Among a total of 76 competitors, this spot was practically the same as being a pace car.
In the stands, Purple Lightning used nimble footwork to force her way into a front-row position. Her eyes swept the area and immediately locked onto Derek Su and Stella. At that moment, Stella was holding a pineapple and feeding it to Derek Su with an overly ingratiating look. Derek Su, however, looked utterly disgusted, dodging left and right.
Purple Lightning curled her lip and muttered resentfully, "Being so nice to that man… watch out, one day he'll dump you. When that happens, you won't even have a place to cry! Hmph!"
Despite what she said, she still took out the melon seeds, fruit, and drinks she had prepared in advance and neatly arranged them in front of her.
After that, Taimei went on to introduce contestants from several major clubs, such as Miles Wang–Hurricane from SSC, Justin Kim–Cloud Leopard from VVC, and Laiya An–Dawnbreak from TSD (The Sound of Dawn).
When the atmosphere reached its peak, the Greenfield Advancement Race officially began.
...
"The provincial-level advancement races really are full of hidden experts."
Derek Su glanced over the attributes of several Mecha Girls. Every single one of them was outstanding—none were much weaker than Stella.
And these drivers were far more seasoned than the ones he had seen at the Knox Rally.
According to Xavier Young, many of them were not participating in the Greenfield Advancement Race for the first time.
Failing to make the top ten meant failing to qualify for provincial advancement. They would then have to place in the top ten at least three times across the remaining four advancement races to earn qualification for the provincial-level track, Panlong Mountain. For many Mecha Girls, however, the Greenfield Advancement Race was considered the easiest, simply because it had very few corners.
"Hello, my name is Laiya An."
The driver starting alongside Derek Su walked over. She was a tall beauty with long flaxen hair, easily around 175 centimeters tall. Her Mecha Girl was a mature-looking woman with fiery red hair, dressed in a tight black racing suit that outlined her graceful figure. Her expression, however, was rather cold—especially when Derek Su and Laiya An shook hands, a trace of disdain flashed in her eyes.
"Hello." Derek Su nodded politely.
They were competitors, yes, but there was no need to be hostile.
He had always believed that respect was mutual—you treated him how he treated you.
"Mr. Magician, you're my idol." Laiya An took out a racing suit, pointed to the chest area, and smiled. "Could you sign it for me?"
This was the first time Derek Su had encountered something like this. He reached into his pocket but couldn't find a marker. Turning around to ask Stella, he saw her holding a giant pineapple pressed to her chest, looking deeply aggrieved.
Derek Su: "..."
Was she about to launch a Pineapple Spiral Shot?
"Um, Stella…"
"Hmph, no!" Stella put the pineapple away and hid the marker behind her back. With a snap of her fingers, she broke it cleanly in two, turned her face away, and puffed out her cheeks. "A trash-tier item like a marker? Totally forgot to bring it!"
Derek Su glanced at the broken marker pieces by Stella's feet. With no other choice, he scratched his head and said to Laiya An, "Sorry, I didn't bring a marker."
"It's fine, it's fine~" Laiya An pretended not to see the shattered marker and smiled. "You can sign it after the race~ Also, your Mecha Girl is really cute. Unlike mine—she's always wearing a sour face."
"Hey! Master! What did you say?! Who's wearing a sour face?!"
Dawnbreak's teeth-grinding voice drifted over.
Laiya An covered her mouth apologetically and bowed deeply to Derek Su. When she straightened up, the softness vanished from her face, replaced by a sharp, battle-ready expression.
"Mr. Magician, even though you're my idol, the racetrack is a battlefield. We're starting side by side today. When the race begins, I'll go all out and won't hold back."
"As it should be." Derek Su nodded solemnly.
He and Laiya An were starting at positions 35 and 36, right next to each other.
As time passed, their turn quickly approached. Both returned to their respective Mecha Girls, who entered deployment mode.
Derek Su climbed into Stella's cockpit. The moment he looked up, he saw her exaggerated pout and couldn't help laughing.
"What's wrong, Stella? You're acting kind of strange today."
"Master, is that driver really that pretty, that big, that sexy, that womanly?"
"Do you like her? Do you want to have children with her?"
"Then you'll abandon your own Mecha Girl, leave her to grow old alone and miserable, crying silently in the recycling yard!"
"And in the end, she'll despair, extract her AI Core, and say goodbye to this pineapple-less world?!"
Stella rattled off the entire speech in one breath, tears already welling up in her eyes.
"Uh—no, nothing like that. I was just being polite about an autograph…"
"Really? You really don't have any thoughts about having children?"
"Really! I swear!" Derek Su raised four fingers to the sky.
Stella puffed out her pink cheeks and stared at him for a long while before finally relaxing.
"Hmph, I'll believe Masterfor now~"
"By the way, Stella, we really do need to give it everything today." Derek Su patted her soft, springy rear and sat up straight. "That Dawnbreak is very strong."
Recalling Dawnbreak's attributes still made his scalp tingle.
[Drift: 75]
[Acceleration: 88]
[Cornering: 72]
[Boost: 69]
[Stability: 81]
[Impact Resistance: 55]
[Endurance: 81]
Putting Laiya An's driving skill aside, Dawnbreak's raw attributes alone posed a real threat to Stella in her current state.
With the Module installed, Stella's acceleration was already inferior to Dawnbreak's. But Derek Su couldn't just remove the Module. The Greenfield Advancement Race might have fewer corners, but that didn't mean there were none—or that they were easy. Take the cliff and hairpin turn right after the final river jump: without the Module, he and Stella might as well race shoulder to shoulder with the sun.
"Master, I won't lose to that woman or her Mecha Girl!"
Stella's soft but resolute voice rang out from the front.
She turned to look at Derek Su, her eyes blazing with an intensity he couldn't fully understand.
"Never!"
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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