Zane only hesitated for a moment before all doubt vanished from his mind. He completely failed to grasp the hidden meaning behind Derek Su's words.
All he needed was to win the Echo Valley training race, win the Greenfield Advancement Race, and keep pushing step by step toward the provincial track. If he could earn a ranking there, he'd have at least a faint chance of rescuing Julian Ziliang. And now that Derek Su was involved, if both of them had the opportunity to undergo a Techmaster Awakening, their odds were far better than relying on just one person.
Everything else was disposable.
He could give up the shop.
He could even give up Broken Moon.
Those things were precious... but sometimes you had to sacrifice to gain.
Clenching his teeth, he said, "No problem. As long as you teach me the technique, anything I win back—the shop, Broken Moon—is yours!"
"You're thinking too much. I'm not teaching you anything."
Derek Su dumped another bucket of cold water straight over Zane's head.
"What?" Zane froze. "But Broken Moon and Hansen said it has to be me and Lingwind competing. You can't substitute for me in the race."
"Are you delusional? I'm even less likely to race on your behalf."
"Then you..." Zane looked utterly lost. He had no idea how Derek Su intended to help.
"That's none of your business. Broken Moon will lose. That's all you need to know."
"O-okay…"
Derek Su didn't bother explaining further, and Zane didn't dare question him. He could only accept it as is.
...
The next morning—
Derek Su and Stella first went to the dock to perform the flying jumps demonstration for Lumina.
In the afternoon, they borrowed Mr. Xavier's dock as their training ground.
Zane and Lingwind had arrived early. Surrounded by stacked shipping containers, the two of them looked timid and uneasy, their eyes full of confusion about what was coming next.
What on earth was Derek Su planning?
They stared blankly as Derek Su and Stella approached—Stella pushing an entire cart.
Stella parked a truckload of traffic cones beside Derek Su and stuck her tongue out playfully at Lingwind.
"Zane, you have one job today." Derek Su tossed the Echo Valley training race map into his arms. "Lay out all the corner sections from the Echo Valley track based on this map."
"J-Just… set up the corners?"
"Correct." Derek Su nodded.
"You don't need me to drive Lingwind?"
"No." Derek Su turned to Lingwind, who stood timidly without daring to speak. "I'll drive Lingwind. I'll help her familiarize herself with the track. I'll spend the entire afternoon turning her into a Mecha Girl who can beat Broken Moon on the Echo Valley track—even in autonomous mode."
Both Zane and Lingwind froze.
Only Stella stood behind Derek Su, patting her hands together with pure admiration.
If anyone else had said something like that, Stella would've shot them a look and fired back without a second thought.
But if it came from Derek Su, then it was absolute truth.
"You… you're not joking?" Zane stammered. "Just one afternoon, and Lingwind becomes capable of running Echo Valley on auto—?"
"Not just running it. Winning against Broken Moon." Derek Su said firmly.
"Zane, I'm going to show you that Lingwind—the Mecha Girl you've always treated as second-rate, who has worked quietly without complaint while being ignored—is nowhere near as weak as you think. Even without you, she can stand on equal ground with Broken Moon."
Derek Su had originally wanted to say, If the pilot sucks, don't blame the mecha.
But in this world, plenty of Mecha Girls messed up their pilots too. He had to be fair.
After all, some pilots really were bad because of their Mecha Girl—look at Kyle Zhang from the last version.
Zane was stunned speechless.
How could an autonomous unit outperform Broken Moon with Hansen piloting her?
Hansen was a living driver, not a scarecrow.
Besides, Lingwind and Broken Moon's attributes weren't even close.
Zane wanted to speak up and suggest a different approach, but one look at Derek Su's eyes told him everything.
Derek Su was dead serious.
He meant every word—no exaggeration, no jokes.
"I—I want to try too." Lingwind gathered her courage, her face flushed red. "I want to defeat Broken Moon and Hansen!"
"Now that's ambition. A million times better than your useless driver."
Derek Su shot Zane a disdainful glance, praising Lingwind while slapping Zane verbally across the face.
His claims sounded like fantasy, but Zane didn't even have the courage to believe them.
That said, Zane's fundamentals in training Mecha Girls were solid.
Within ten minutes, he had reconstructed Echo Valley's first difficult corner on the dock. Derek Su compared it with the map and estimated the scale—it was almost perfectly accurate.
As expected of Mr. Liang's student—he had some real skill.
"Lingwind, deploy."
Lingwind still looked timid. Derek Su was the King of Knox—the record holder for the fastest lap. She'd even looked him up in the newspaper yesterday, learning that he was a genius driver whose techniques bordered on supernatural. She feared her clumsy performance might anger him.
But under Stella's encouraging gaze, she mustered her courage and deployed.
Lingwind's vehicle form was incredibly beautiful—sleek curves in a deep gemstone blue, reminiscent of a coupe-style Panamera.
As Derek Su settled inside, he still went through the usual routine of consulting his Stella.
Stella waved casually, indicating full approval—her genius master could be loaned out freely.
She was happily sipping a bottle of AD Calcium High-Energy Nutrient Solution, with a whole shopping cart of them beside her.
"Lingwind, I'm going to walk you through every difficult corner in Echo Valley. You must memorize exactly how I handle your controls. Tomorrow, rely on muscle memory. Beating Broken Moon will be as easy as breathing."
His steady voice calmed Lingwind's nerves.
"Yes, Ma—uh, Stella's master! I-I'll do my best!"
"Good. Let's begin!"
...
A villa in Tianyuan City—
Fresh out of the shower, Hansen leaned against the balcony railing, phone in hand, speaking respectfully.
"Mr. Yang, I've already secured Zane's primary Mecha Girl—Broken Moon. Yesterday, as you instructed, I used her to lure him in. He took the bait! Once Echo Valley ends tomorrow, that shop will be mine."
A brash, playful voice sounded on the phone:
[Good. After the Echo Valley training race, find an opportunity to get rid of Lingwind as well.]
"Mr. Yang, why didn't we just include Lingwind in the wager yesterday? Wouldn't that have solved everything at once?"
[Heh. If you were a cat, would you kill the mouse the second you saw it?]
Hansen shook his head. If he were a cat, he'd swallow the mouse whole in one bite.
But he didn't dare say that aloud. He could only laugh along.
[Keep feeding updates about Zane to the prison. Don't let Julian Ziliang have an easy time.]
"Yes! Rest assured, I'll complete the mission!"
...
After the call ended, Hansen tucked his phone away carefully.
"Master, who were you talking to?"
Broken Moon stepped out of the shower in a silky nightgown, towel-drying her hair.
"A big shot." Hansen wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close as they leaned on the balcony, admiring the night view.
"Oh? Someone even bigger than you?"
"Of course. What am I? Mr. Yang is a Techmaster~"
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser