"That kid—did he do that on purpose?"
Mr. Liang couldn't help but sigh in relief when he saw Derek Su and Stella clear the corner safely.
Even though he trusted Derek Su and Stella completely, watching them fight through a tight turn like that still made him break into a cold sweat.
After all, when Mecha Girls collide, even the attacker ends up in a dangerous situation.
Fortunately, things turned out well—Stella had easily knocked Kyle Zhang and Jade-786 straight into the sea.
"That brat really holds a grudge. Someone needs to straighten him out someday." Mr. Liang shook his head helplessly, sat back down, and adjusted his mask and sunglasses.
A while back, he had secretly investigated what happened between Derek Su and the Ascend Racing Club. He knew it had been Kyle Zhang and the Mecha Girl Jade-786 who deliberately kicked Derek Su out. Now, with this collision eliminating both of them from the Knox Circuit, it was a perfect case of payback in kind.
By the time Derek Su and Stella had already disappeared from the livestream, the stands finally erupted—cheers, shouting, excitement boiling over.
"Beautiful cornering! Absolutely unbelievable!"
"What's the driver's name again? Derek Su? A rookie?!"
"That one corner made my ticket worth it!"
"Does anyone know what technique that was? I've never seen it before..."
"Hahaha! I feel like I'm getting stronger just watching this!"
...
Host Kool Kenny was still glued to the screen.
In his mind, the scene replayed over and over—Derek Su driving Stella, using that uncanny inertial tail swing to yank Jade-786 clean off the Rift Hairpin.
Yes—yank.
In his eyes, that dazzling maneuver was like a crisp, stinging slap, knocking Jade-786's pride and dignity flat onto the ground.
"Viewers—did you SEE THAT!?" He drew in a deep breath, his face flushed with excitement. "That astonishing maneuver—I'm willing to say this is the FIRST time in the history of the Knox Rally that a pilot has executed such a technique with a Mecha Girl!"
"Fortunately, our cameraman captured it perfectly. Let's watch it again!"
Kool Kenny signaled the staff beside the main screen.
The split-screen display showing major club racers vanished. The entire stadium screen zoomed in on the Rift Hairpin—frozen at the moment Stella and Jade-786 were entering the turn side by side.
Then the footage replayed at 0.5x speed.
The screech of tires and the roar of the engine sent chills racing across the crowd.
Once again, the spectators watched as Jade-786 was almost helplessly snapped off the track.
Meanwhile, Stella's chassis only jolted slightly. She traced a perfect arc around the apex, straightened her body, then blasted out of the corner at full throttle—leaving four charred tire marks on the ground.
Even on the second viewing, the crowd shivered.
...
"Old Wilson, can you tell if that was Mecha Girl's skill or the driver's own technique?"
"Mm… hard to say."
The assistant coaches from VVC Club and SSC Club were huddled together, shock still lingering on their faces.
"Tire marks only happen when a tire loses traction," VVC Club coach Warren Wu said, frowning, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Emergency braking leaves marks too—because the wheels lock up. But no one has ever tried applying that to cornering. At high speed, pulling the handbrake during a turn would send a Mecha Girl spiraling out of control… If the pilot managed that purely through skill, then he's unquestionably a genius."
"I'm afraid it's more than just wheel lock," the SSC coach sighed, impressed despite himself.
"That driver must've performed additional maneuvers after the lockup. The Mecha Girl barely slowed through the corner. To maintain that speed—while choosing the apex, the entry speed, the entry angle—he must have absolute command of every detail. This person is absolutely not the rookie driver Kool Kenny described... I ask you, could you master all that information so fluently?"
"Doubtful," Warren Wu shook his head. "If it were a track I knew inside and out, maybe. But this guy is clearly a first-timer at the Knox Rally. His knowledge of the course probably comes from watching videos. If he'd raced Knox before, Kool Kenny would've had records."
"A genius. A true genius," the SSC coach muttered, then looked suddenly guarded. "SSC has its eye on this driver, Derek Su. VVC had better watch your step."
"On what grounds?" Warren Wu shot back. "Birds choose the best trees. Our clubs compete fairly, and in the end, Derek Su will choose for himself."
"SSC can provide him with better Mecha Girls, unlimited access to Modules, a hefty monthly salary, and bonuses for every race—regardless of placement!"
"Tch. You say that like VVC doesn't offer the same..."
And so, two coaches from world-class clubs bickered relentlessly in the corner of the stands.
Meanwhile, Kool Kenny replayed the maneuver yet again.
As much as he wanted to keep watching, the Knox Rally wasn't a private showcase for Derek Su and Stella. He had to give other racers some screen time too.
So he ended the segment with a single summary:
"Viewers, we may be witnessing the rise of a superstar!"
"Remember this moment!"
"Remember that beautiful arc!"
...
While everyone's attention remained fixed on Stella and Derek Su,
Kool Kenny also cut briefly to the scene of Kyle Zhang and Jade-786.
Jade-786 was still floating near the shore, forced out of deployment mode, lying on her back in the seawater and staring blankly at the sky as the waves carried her.
Kyle Zhang, meanwhile, lay sprawled on the sand like a dead dog.
If Jade-786 hadn't dragged his unconscious body ashore, he would've drowned.
The medical team arrived quickly. Within five minutes, they lifted Kyle Zhang into a helicopter.
But when they tried to bring Jade-786 with them, she refused.
"I only have some minor scrapes," she said weakly, her face pale as she clutched a medic's hand. "Could you take me to the finish line? I want to see it."
Seeing that Jade-786 was physically fine, the medic assumed she simply regretted not finishing the Knox Rally and wanted to experience the atmosphere at the finish. So he agreed and arranged another helicopter to take her there.
He had no idea she was already making plans of her own.
"Back then, Derek Su chose me at first glance… He must have been quite satisfied with me, right?"
Sitting in the helicopter, Jade-786 looked out over the track. Her mind replayed the moment Derek Su had firmly pointed at her and told Kyle Zhang he wanted her.
She would wait for Derek Su at the finish line.
Maybe—just maybe—she could win him back.
After all, what pilot would turn down a Mecha Girl who was actively pursuing him?
If necessary, she would return the auction money to the Ascend Racing Club as compensation and cancel her Mecha Girl contract with Kyle Zhang. She finally understood that Derek Su wasn't anything like what she had imagined. She'd been blinded—unable to see that he was a genius.
There was still another Knox Rally later this year.
If Derek Su could transform the XC-99 so completely, then surely he could do the same for her—whose attributes were far more balanced to begin with.
Only by following Derek Su did she have a future.