At the speed of three Mecha Girls, shooting through a hundred-meter tunnel took barely two seconds.
Yet the instant they vanished, it felt as if time itself slowed for everyone watching.
That stretch of the track—hidden from the helicopter cameras—denied spectators any visuals, but instead fueled endless imagination.
Mr. Liang clenched his fists, leaning forward toward the screen, his forehead unknowingly covered in sweat.
"We have to win…" murmured a wild driver who'd once been oppressed by a club, eyes shut, teeth gritted as he silently prayed.
Some viewers were furious, hurling whatever they had to the floor to vent their frustration at the world's unfairness.
Others slumped weakly into their seats, unable to bear watching any further.
SSC Club coach Tanner Chen was smoking one cigarette after another. Just thirty seconds ago, Miles Wang had ordered him to get ready to recruit Derek Su and Stella.
VVC Club coach Warren Wu let out a sigh, as though the outcome were already decided.
Miracles, after all, only existed in fantasies. Reality was different—just as Tanner Chen still had to face the daily grind of life.
"Is it really ending like this…"
By the stands, a teenager in a school uniform, sixteen or seventeen at most, stared fixedly at the screen.
His knees and elbows were dirty. To watch the Knox Rally, he'd saved part of his monthly meal allowance. He'd even climbed over the school wall, risking punishment. Now he stood here, eyes filled with dreams and hope for the future—but that fire inside him was steadily dimming.
…
1.8 seconds—so brief,
yet enough time for Derek Su to do many things.
"From here on, focus completely and follow my instructions."
"Ohoh! Master, roger that!"
Their exchange completed instantly through their mental link.
The moment Stella's full chassis entered the tunnel, Derek Su snapped the control stick hard to the left.
"Right now—lock the left wheels!"
Screech—!
The piercing brake cry tore through the tunnel like a beast's roar—a level of precision only a Mecha Girl could accomplish.
Stella's chassis was light, and her instantaneous braking force formidable. As the left wheels locked, the right side of her body lifted from inertia.
"Master, y-you're trying to—"
Stella was stunned. Sure, she was a Mecha Girl…
but even she had no idea how her right side had just lifted like that.
Derek Su's movements were too fast, too uncanny—like some kind of magic trick. Her mind had no time to catch up; her body simply responded.
Before Stella could finish speaking, Derek Su twisted the control stick again, dropped the handbrake, and slammed the accelerator. A deep thump echoed—Stella's chassis slid and pressed directly against the tunnel's right wall. All four wheels regained traction, except now the right wheels were gripping the wall instead of the ground.
During the wall-hugging transition, Stella's speed dipped only for the instant her right side lifted.
But Derek Su immediately compensated by flooring the throttle, quickly re-establishing four-wheel drive on the wall.
Her speed didn't just recover—it surged.
The frustration that had been building from being blocked earlier was unleashed completely.
ROAR—ROAR—ROAR—!
The engine's howl sent chills down the necks of the two SSC racers ahead.
Then they saw it—a silver blur streaking past them along the tunnel wall at a speed they could only dream of.
The tunnel's exit light washed over the silver Mecha Girl.
Light rippled across her body.
She slid smoothly back onto the track—
as if bursting from night straight into dawn.
The two SSC racers and their Mecha Girls stared in disbelief.
Just moments ago, they'd been celebrating having completed their mission. They never imagined that in the blink of an eye, their target would overtake them with such an absurd technique.
Their coach had promised—
300,000 each if they could pin down Derek Su.
500,000 each if they could force Derek Su and Stella off the track entirely.
Pushing them off was difficult, so they weren't counting on it—but the 300,000 had been in the bag.
They could have used the money to upgrade their Mecha Girls, or to enjoy themselves.
After all, they were inexperienced; the purpose of this Knox Rally was mainly to pace the field and learn the track. They never expected to place.
Now, in one stunned moment, that 300,000 evaporated.
What terrified them most was the overtaking maneuver.
Hugging the tunnel wall—how was that even possible?!
"Chase her! We have to find a way to stop her before the finish line!"
The SSC driver was panicking.
If they failed the mission, not only would they lose the reward—they might also be punished. Getting kicked from the club wasn't out of the question.
"Master, we can't catch her," his Mecha Girl said bluntly, reading the situation perfectly. "Our speed versus hers? Come on. Unless you slap a diamond-grade acceleration Module into me right now, there's no way I'm catching up to block her."
…
BOOM—!
The engine's roar exploded at the tunnel exit.
For some people, two seconds was just two breaths.
For others, it felt like an eternity.
A silver streak burst out of the tunnel, proudly blazing under the sunlight.
Her tires flung up dust as she tore through the wind, charging straight toward the Z-shaped hairpins of [Knox's Severed Wrist].
Behind her, the two SSC Mecha Girls whimpered helplessly as the distance between them grew wider and wider.
"That kid…" Mr. Liang's eyes widened, his lips trembling.
"Stella! It's Stella and her driver—Derek Su—bursting out of the tunnel!"
Kool Kenny had already screamed himself hoarse several times today. His once-clean youthful voice had become a full croak—the quack of an old duck about to be slaughtered.
"Unbelievable! What in the world happened inside that tunnel?!"
The stadium erupted—cheers roared like a tsunami.
"He overtook inside the tunnel?! How is that even possible?!"
"Damn it! Why didn't the helicopter shoot the inside of the tunnel?!"
"I want to know what happened in those not-even-two-seconds too!"
Every gaze in the arena locked onto Derek Su and Stella.
They followed that silver streak as if tracing the path of a miracle.
Something inside them burned violently—every breath felt scorching.
"Th-this is impossible!"
Miles Wang collapsed into his seat, face drained of color.
He stared dumbly at the big screen—
the silver Mecha Girl was already approaching the final challenge, [Knox's Severed Wrist].
"Overtaking in the tunnel? Two Mecha Girls couldn't block him? Is he a Techmaster?!"
The idea surfaced—only to be immediately dismissed.
To become a Techmaster, one had to pass the Techmaster Selection Tournament. In this country, only Mecha Girls and drivers who finished top ten in the provincial track—the Panlong Mountain Circuit—qualified.
But the announcer had clearly stated this driver and Mecha Girl were both first-time Knox participants—total newcomers.
"Then is it the Mecha Girl? Does she have a special ability?"
Miles Wang's face twisted.
It was possible… but unlikely.
SSC Club attended every Mecha Island auction.
Any Mecha Girl suspected of having special abilities had long been bought by top-tier clubs. There shouldn't be any overlooked ones.
His gaze locked onto Stella.
Whatever the truth, he would uncover it after the race.
If this Mecha Girl named Stella possessed a special ability, he would bury the news—and move heaven and earth, even bankrupt himself—to acquire her.
…
On the track.
Derek Su stared at the Z-shaped sequence of hairpin turns ahead, his heart tightening.
Everything up to now had been smooth—even when the SSC blockade appeared, he hadn't panicked.
But this upcoming chain of hairpins truly made him nervous.
Because up ahead, Stella's forehead was actually… smoking.
His Mecha Girl was terrified.
Corners—Stella's lifelong nemesis.
Even after countless battles, stat upgrades, and Module enhancements, this series of hairpins still made Stella's scalp crawl.
"M-Master, I… I think I'm gonna pee! Uwaaa…"
Sure enough, Stella's tearful voice rang out immediately.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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