"You?!" Derek Su looked completely unconvinced.
A bootlicker doesn't just turn into a war wolf overnight.
"I'm my big bro's guy, and you're my big bro's friend. That means the two of us are both people he trusts. I trust your character, so you should trust mine. Sure, the rumors about me aren't great, but that's one thing. This—this I'm dead serious about!"
Derek Su stared at Zane for a moment, then shook his head.
"Then all I can do is try. But I'm not paying your debt. And no one said I'm getting you out anytime soon, so you'll just have to wait."
With that, he took Stella's hand and walked off without looking back.
"Hey! You little brat! My brother really misjudged you! You're going back on your word!"
"Hey!! Get back here! We can still talk! I'll boost your chances by sixty percent, okay?!"
...
Zane only shouted a few times before he ran out of strength.
He hadn't eaten all day—being able to yell at all was already impressive.
"Master, do you really have a way to increase the odds of becoming a Techmaster?"
Lingwind hugged her lunch box, propping her chin in her palms, blinking her big eyes in excitement.
"Not a damn chance." Zane sighed, glancing at the newspaper at his bedside as he muttered, "Becoming a Techmaster is insanely hard. But if I told him he couldn't do it, that kid would lose all his motivation. That's why big bro didn't say too much back then. Now that I've said everything… I just don't want the kid's momentum to die. He's got talent. He's got a brilliant future. We can't let the two of us old fools ruin that."
"Oh~ okay~" Lingwind slapped her cheeks in disappointment.
Zane picked his nose and lay back down, staring at the cold wall. Yet his eyes glimmered with something unspoken.
Maybe… that method really could work.
The overhead lamp cast light onto the newspaper by the bed. Across the top, bold letters read:
New King of the Knox Rally! Fastest Record in History!
A block of text and photos sat beneath it.
In the photo, Derek Su and Stella held the trophy high, smiling radiantly.
...
The underground black market race was held at a decommissioned dock.
Xavier Young had rented out the area, using it exclusively for training Foxfire Club racers and Mecha Girls, and for hosting team-building events for the black market's wild drivers—
The so-called black races.
Spectators bet on placements. Racers bet on rankings.
The top three split the pool proportionally.
To win that money, wild drivers would do anything.
"Mr. Xavier, I want to pull Zane out. He'll repay his own debts—just consider it a favor for my friend."
Derek Su approached Xavier Young with Stella. At that moment, two massive steel truss bridges were being lowered into position by cranes.
Xavier Young stood with his hands behind his back, silent until the bridges settled into place. Then he finally turned to Derek Su.
"Now I know who you are—the new Knox Rally champion who set the fastest record. I don't know how you got involved with Zane, but I can do you a favor."
He pointed at the steel structure.
"The span between the two bridges is 150 meters. That will be the last segment of tonight's underground race. You and your Mecha Girl are not allowed to use any illegal modifications. If you can clear the jump and finish first, I'll release Zane. But the money—he still pays that back himself."
Derek Su carefully examined the two bridges.
They were extremely narrow, only wide enough for a single vehicle. No guardrails on either side. Immediately after the second bridge was a tight ninety-degree turn formed by stacked containers. After the turn, a straight stretch of about two hundred meters led to the finish line.
"Mr. Xavier! Going all out today, huh?"
"You want us to drive straight through that?"
"Mr. Xavier, can I still withdraw? My Mecha Girl needs to take a dump and I need to supervise…"
The moment the racers saw the bridges, many lost their nerve.
Every underground race kept its track layout secret until Xavier Young revealed it on-site, which made placements unpredictable. Wild drivers and Mecha Girls who excelled in straightaways were doomed if the track turned out to be all corners. And this steel-bridge jump—
Even more intimidating.
What's so hard about this? Derek Su's mouth twitched.
It's just a jump over a steel bridge. Anyone with hands can do it.
Besides, both ends of the bridge had ramps to give their launch height.
The only real challenge was the ninety-degree turn right after landing. For inexperienced racers, jumping straight into a corner like that often meant instant loss of control and a high chance of smashing into barriers or rolling over.
"No turning back now. Go get ready—two racers per group!"
Xavier Young waved his hand, shooing the racers forward like ducks, then guided Lumina to the best vantage point for viewing the bridge.
He wanted Lumina to see other Mecha Girls and racers take the jump, to ease her anxiety.
But all the wild drivers had illegally modified their mecha, so Lumina barely reacted.
And since Derek Su had asked for a favor today, Xavier wanted to let him try.
A young man who could break the Knox Rally record and invent so many unbelievable cornering techniques shouldn't disappoint him… right?
...
Since Derek Su and Stella registered last, they would naturally launch last.
The Dock Circuit was about 50 kilometers long, a looped track ending with two steel truss bridges jutting outward before a set of turns—forming a shape like the letter Q.
Except for the bridge section, the track was wide enough for four Mecha Girls to race side-by-side. The one with the shortest time to the finish would win.
"The prize pool tonight is 1.5 million! Our Savage Bull has put up his entire life savings! I'm dying to see how many racers he rams off the track tonight!"
The host—a skinny young man with floral tattoos and a center-part haircut named Connor—stood on the stage at the center of the circuit, roaring into the mic over heavy punk music.
"And tonight, we have a mystery guest among our racers!"
The spotlight hit Derek Su and Stella.
"The champions of the Knox Rally—the Derek Su–Stella duo! Tonight's race is guaranteed to be spectacular! Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets!!"
The stands erupted in thunderous cheers—no less intense than any official race.
Beside Derek Su and Stella, a broad-shouldered guy approached with his Mecha Girl, wearing a friendly smile.
"Kid, first time at an underground race? Let me tell you—underground races and official races are two completely different worlds."
Derek Su glanced at the words printed on the man's racing suit—Savage Bull.
So this was the favorite Connor hyped up. He looked… pretty normal, honestly~
But that thought had barely formed when Savage Bull deployed his Mecha Girl.
BOOM!
A massive behemoth appeared before them.
Derek Su and Stella went pale.
This damn thing was a semi-truck—covered in ramming horns!