"Derek Su, you know Jay Huang?"
Kyle Zhang felt a jolt of unease as he watched Jay Huang—who had barely acknowledged him moments earlier—chatting and laughing comfortably with Derek Su.
Hadn't he known Derek Su long enough? The guy was usually silent, his mind filled only with mods and racing. He didn't have social connections.
How could someone like him possibly be on friendly terms with the Triumph Club's top driver?
Yet the truth was right in front of him. Even the way Jay Huang looked at Derek Su felt wrong—not the way a senior looked at a junior, but almost like a junior looking at a senior.
What the hell is going on?!
Faced with Kyle Zhang's suspicions, Derek Su simply gave him a mild smile: "Hehe~"
"XC-99, don't tell me you know Pegasus? Is that how you got close to Jay Huang?"
Stella mimicked Derek's expression and flashed an "Anya-style" sinister grin. "Hehehe~"
"Hey! What's with that laugh? Answer me!!"
Seeing those matching grins on Derek and Stella sent a cold shiver down Kyle Zhang's spine.
But the two refused to say a word—only continued, "Hehehehe~"
"Damn it!" Forced back by their eerie smiles, Kyle Zhang retreated to his starting position, snapping, "So what if you know Jay Huang from the Triumph Club? Think knowing their top racer makes you better? Stop looking down on people! Once we hit the track, you're going to show your true colors!"
He told himself that since he and Jade-786 started ahead, Derek Su and XC-99 probably wouldn't even see his taillights.
Even if XC-99's straight-line speed allowed them to catch up, he could exploit his head-start to block Derek Su and XC-99, and maybe even create more trouble later. His club also had two drivers competing in the Knox Rally. They might not finish the whole course, but their starting positions were ahead of Derek. Over a thirty- to forty-minute race, that could become a huge advantage.
"Derek Su, I thought my departure would make you reflect on your shortcomings."
Jade-786 brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, disappointment flickering in her eyes. "But you haven't changed at all. The Knox Rally is about pure skill. Networking with other drivers is meaningless. On the track, only our abilities matter."
Clearly, Derek giving his starting slot to Jay Huang and Pegasus had been interpreted as flattery.
Derek Su didn't bother explaining. He simply stood beside Stella, giving Jade-786 a dark, taunting grin: "Heh heh~"
Jade-786's lips twitched. She let out a cold snort and returned to Kyle Zhang's side to prepare for launch.
"Master, we've cornered them~" Stella whispered softly, audible only to Derek.
"Exactly." Derek nodded. "Jay Huang drew position 23—heaven-sent! Heh heh~"
Stella: "Heh heh heh…"
...
"Cloud Leopard, we need to get ready for launch."
Justin Kim deployed his Mecha Girl, her feline frame settling into the cockpit.
"Do you remember the two ahead of position 23—Kyle Zhang and Jade-786? They seem to know the driver in position 23, Derek Su."
Cloud Leopard, who had stayed up all night reading intel, shook her head. A bold smirk tugged at her lips. "Nope. If I don't remember them, they're either garbage backstreet racers or nobodies from tiny clubs—not worth my time."
"You…" Justin Kim sighed. Cloud Leopard excelled in everything—every stat balanced, no clear weaknesses, to the point he didn't even know what Modules to install. She was flawless.
If she had one issue, it was her arrogance—she looked down on everyone.
"Master, five minutes." Cloud Leopard smiled. "Within five minutes, I'll pass that XC-99. Within seven, I'll overtake Jade-786. I won't give them a single breath!"
"Let's hope so." Justin Kim fastened his helmet.
Yet an uneasy feeling stirred in his chest. Caio Yang and Comet were VVC's ace drivers—big names challenging national circuits.
If those guys warned him to be careful… could the rival really be that weak?
...
[Driver 23, prepare for launch!]
Derek Su put on his helmet and gripped Stella's controls.
Thirty seconds earlier, Kyle Zhang and Jade-786 had already launched—flipping him off as they left.
But he didn't care. He lived by the philosophy of "fewer words, more action"—at most a simple "hehehe."
"Stella, how long until you catch up to Jade-786?"
"Two minutes." Stella smiled confidently. "Jade-786 is from the same batch of Mecha Girls as me. I watched her debut—my speed is almost double hers."
"But Master, I want to go slightly slower at the start. I'll pass her around the three-minute mark."
"Why?" Derek rubbed Stella's head.
"The first major technical corner in the Knox Rally is around the 10-kilometer mark. I want to overtake Jade-786 right there."
Derek immediately understood her intention. "You want to force Jade-786 off the track?"
"Exactly!" Stella widened her eyes and nodded fiercely.
"That aggressive?" Derek had expected it, but still found it surprising. Stella had always seemed like the gentle, harmless type.
"Who told that stinking guy and his stinking Mecha Girl to bully you?!" Stella said with righteous seriousness. "This isn't aggression—this is revenge! The grievances Master suffered before, I—the genius Mecha Girl Stella—will repay them all!"
To be honest, the moment Derek entered the Knox circuit, he had already stopped caring about Kyle Zhang or Jade-786. Lions and tigers never concern themselves with ants crushed beneath their paws.
His only goal was to finish the race flawlessly and take the championship—teaching Kyle Zhang and Jade-786 a painful lesson in passing. Switching to position 23 was for this exact setup.
So he had never intended to drive them off the track; his professional ethics still held.
But hearing Stella now, warmth rose in his chest. And at the same time, he reassessed Kyle Zhang and Jade-786.
Stella was racing beside him now—so his decisions had to account for her feelings as well.
"Alright! We'll do it your way—let's drive them off the track!" Derek took a deep breath, his eyes turning cold.
"Oho~ Master's fired up~"
[…Launch countdown: 10, 9, 8… 3, 2, 1! Beep—!]
ROAR—!
Stella's engine screamed as she shot forward, kicking up a cloud of sand. By the time the dust settled, she had already vanished from sight.
[Driver 24, prepare for launch!]
Only when the announcement sounded did Justin Kim—still gripping Cloud Leopard's controls—snap back to reality.
"Cloud Leopard, time to launch." He tapped her back. She'd been zoning out earlier, completely ignoring his commands.
"O-oh—yes, Master!" Cloud Leopard's trembling voice answered.
Justin Kim pressed his lips together. He had never seen Cloud Leopard so shaken.
And he knew exactly why.
The instant Stella had launched, her explosive acceleration had completely stunned Cloud Leopard.
Not just Cloud Leopard—Justin Kim himself was equally shocked.
After all his years training, he had never seen a Mecha Girl accelerate from zero with such violent speed.
"What kind of technology is that? A special Module? Or a natural ability of the Mecha Girl?"
Justin Kim drew a deep breath.
Whatever the answer, one thing was certain—today's Knox Rally would not be as easy as he had imagined.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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