After being politely turned down by Derek Su, Warren Wu tried adding several more conditions. But Derek's stance was unwavering—if he had to replace his starter Mecha Girl, then joining the VVC Club was impossible.
Warren truly couldn't understand it.
He felt Derek was being far too biased toward Stella.
VVC could provide Mecha Girls that absolutely crushed the XC-99 in performance—so why not use them? And if he didn't want to part with the XC-99 out of sentiment, keeping it as a backup was perfectly acceptable.
But Derek never budged, and Warren couldn't keep raising the stakes forever. In the end, the matter simply fizzled out.
...
"Mr. Derek Su, if you ever change your mind, you're welcome at VVC anytime. Here's my card."
Warren didn't press further. He handed over a business card with his phone number and the VVC Club address.
"Honestly, I really admire your talent. It's a pity you won't join a club for better training."
"Thanks. If I need anything, I'll contact you." Derek accepted the card and put it away.
You don't hit a smiling man—Warren had been polite from beginning to end, and VVC had indeed shown the bearing of a world top-500 club. Whether it was Caio Yang, Comet, or even Justin Kim and Cloud Leopard from before, none of them were bad people—far better than that squinty-eyed Miles Wang.
Warren eventually left with regret.
Stella, who had been moved for quite a while now, tugged Derek's sleeve again.
"Master, you… you actually turned down such a huge temptation for me! I… I really am…"
"You really are the happiest Mecha Girl in the world." Derek finished her sentence—he was already getting good at cutting in.
"Wuu~" Stella's face flushed bright red. She blinked up at him, fidgeting shyly. "Th-then Master… what made you reject something so tempting? Was it your pride as a Master? Your affection for your first Mecha Girl? Or do you maybe… maybe have some special… special feelings for…"
Her voice trailed off to nothing. Her mind buzzed, her heart pounded, and her face grew hotter and hotter.
"Mainly because you let me show off my skills." Derek stroked his chin as if stating the obvious. "Think about it—if VVC gave me a perfect hexagon Mecha Girl, how would I play technical style anymore? I'd just turn into a giant baby like the other drivers! A person has limbs and a brain for a reason. Don't use them, they'll deteriorate. I'm not getting Alzheimer's!"
Stella: "…"
Unbelievable!
That was not what she wanted to hear!!!
"Master!" Stella pulled his sleeve harder, scowling, eyes full of resentment. "I want ice cream!"
"Sure~ Go ahead~ We've got fifty thousand in prize money—you can eat as much as you want~"
"I want a thousand!"
"Okay—wait, what? A thousand!?" Derek twisted around, stunned. "A-aren't you afraid you'll freeze your coolant system eating that much ice cream?!"
"I don't care! I just want to eat it!"
"Alright, alright, I'll buy it for you…"
"Waaah… I hate you!!" Stella puffed her cheeks, spinning away dramatically—though one hand still hooked onto Derek's sleeve as she walked backward.
"What did I do?" Derek scratched his head.
He had agreed to buy the ice cream, hadn't he?
Was she upset because of the "freeze your coolant system" comment?
Normally Stella wasn't this sensitive—he joked around all the time. Ever since the awards ceremony ended, she had been acting strangely.
While Derek pondered how exactly one transported a thousand ice creams back to the Conscience Recycling Yard, Miles Wang had already boarded the SSC Club's private helicopter with the other racers and returned to their headquarters.
The moment they landed, he dragged Absolute Shadow to the training grounds, calling everyone over.
Absolute Shadow had already explained Derek's technique to him on the flight. Once he understood the principle, he found it wasn't hard at all—so he needed to show it off immediately. After all, placing second at the Knox Rally was a blow to his pride.
"Guys, even though SSC didn't take the top three like we planned, we still gained something important!"
Standing at the center of the training field, Miles summoned all SSC drivers and Mecha Girls. Wearing a proud grin, he said, "You were all amazed by Derek Su and Stella's Wall-Hugging Overtake, right? Well, I've mastered it too—and I'll teach it to you!"
Everyone gasped in admiration.
"As expected Wang, our golden boy! Learning it so fast!"
"Of course! Mr. Wang is a genius driver—he learns it at a glance!"
"Thank you for teaching us, Mr. Wang! I'll kowtow first!"
Miles lifted his chin, basking in praise. He had Absolute Shadow deploy, slipped into the cockpit, and prepared to demonstrate.
"Absolute Shadow, ready?"
"Yes, master!"
Vroom—!
Miles launched forward, and once he picked up speed, he copied Derek's inputs—operating the stick and tapping the side-brake while Absolute Shadow cooperated.
Absolute Shadow's specs were impressive, and one side of the chassis lifted easily.
Gasps rippled through the spectators.
"Master, balance!"
Just as Miles basked in the thrill of success, Absolute Shadow's urgent warning snapped him back.
Balance?! What balance?!
Miles froze—then the world spun violently.
Absolute Shadow flipped over.
When he came to, he was hanging upside down in the cockpit, pale and green.
"Master, you must maintain balance. And we were only driving in a straight line."
Absolute Shadow disengaged her deploy form and helped him up.
She didn't say the rest out loud.
If he couldn't handle balance in a straight line, how could he possibly turn like Derek?
"Again! Again! I just wasn't focused!"
Miles stiffened his neck and yelled to the others, "See that?! This is what happens when you lose balance! I did that on purpose as a wrong demonstration—remember it!"
The racers and Mecha Girls immediately understood.
"So that's how it is! Wang is so thoughtful!"
"He even gives us wrong demonstrations—our protective golden boy!"
"Ah~ I wish I could be Mr. Wang's Mecha Girl. It must be bliss to be driven by him~"
A Mecha Girl sighed dreamily.
Absolute Shadow heard it clearly.
She glanced sideways at Miles, her expression complicated.
If there was something called happiness, she had only ever felt it with Derek Su.
His control over a Mecha Girl was unbelievable—she didn't need to think, didn't need to balance the chassis, didn't need to compensate for any mistakes. All she had to do was charge ahead and execute commands.
That was true happiness.
Driving with Derek was a joy.
Comparison was cruel. She'd once thought Miles wasn't bad, but now—
Miles' driving was basically trash.
"Absolute Shadow, let's try again."
"Oh… yes, master…"
Miles climbed back in.
"This time won't be another fail!"
He held up one finger, filled with confidence.
Boom—!
Absolute Shadow shot forward a hundred meters and flipped again.
Miles: "I did that to teach you a lesson!"
Third attempt—flip.
Miles: "Ahahaha, this time I just didn't balance right!"
Fourth attempt—flip.
Fifth attempt—flip.
...
Twenty-seventh attempt—flip!!
Miles had no excuses left.
White with rage, gripping the controls, he trembled all over.
"Why? Why can't I learn it?!"
"Absolute Shadow, is it your fault?" With nowhere else to vent, he turned on her. After twenty-seven flips, Absolute Shadow's patience was long gone. On hearing that, she snapped. She canceled her deploy mode, shoved the stunned Miles aside, and strode toward the club.
"Absolute Shadow, what are you doing?!"
"I'm terminating our contract." She didn't look back. "I've prepared triple the penalty fee. We're signing the agreement today."
Miles went blank.
They'd paid a high auction price for her—she could easily afford the penalty. That meant she had the right to end the contract.
But Miles refused to bow his head to a Mecha Girl.
"Absolute Shadow, what do you mean?! Without me, you'll never find a driver or club as good as mine!"
Absolute Shadow paused, then turned around, glaring at him. A mocking smile tugged at her lips.
"Miles Wang, let me tell you the truth—your driving skills are a pile of dog shit! Tch!"
Nothing all day had hit Miles as hard as that line.
He froze, felt blood rush to his head, his eyes rolled back—
And he fainted.
...
Jiangcheng City, Conscience Recycling Yard.
To celebrate Derek and Stella winning first place at the Knox Rally, Mr. Liang had bought two big fish from the market and was in the kitchen cooking fish soup. He heard the door opening outside.
"Oh? Stella and that brat came back quick. They're probably going to wave their prize money in front of me again!"
Mr. Liang chuckled to himself. Wiping his hands on his apron, he peeked out of the kitchen with a smile.
But the moment he saw who had come, that smile froze completely.