The newcomer was none other than Jade-786, whom they hadn't seen for several days.
During this time, Derek Su and Stella had been busy competing in Tianyuan City and had completely forgotten about the wager. But Jade-786 hadn't. In order to turn things around and become the Mecha Girl of the super-genius Derek Su, she had not only trained her cornering techniques relentlessly, but also spent a huge sum to install a high-quality steering Module. On top of that, she had prepared a secret weapon.
When the agreed time came, she went to the Conscience Recycling Yard to look for Derek Su, only to find that it had already shut down.
After asking around among people who might know something, she learned that Derek Su and Stella hadn't run away—they had gone to Tianyuan City to compete.
So she followed them all the way to Tianyuan City and even watched an Echo Valley training race.
At Echo Valley, Derek Su and Stella still took first place with ease, which only strengthened her resolve.
Derek Su—she had to get him!
"It's you?!" Stella had been grinning foolishly at Lingwind, but the moment she saw Jade-786, her silly smile instantly turned into a fake one. She quickly hid the pineapple in her hand behind her back.
She had no intention of sharing her precious pineapple with a Mecha Girl like Jade-786.
"Stella, it's been a long time," Jade-786 said with a gentle smile.
When it came to fake smiles, she was clearly more skilled—natural and effortless. Anyone unfamiliar with her might even develop a good impression because of it.
"Jade-786, looks like you're ready?" Derek Su said as he looked her up and down.
Jade-786's stats gradually surfaced in his vision.
[Drift: 62 points]
[Acceleration: 68 points]
[Cornering: 70 points]
[Boost: 51 points]
[Stability: 43 points]
[Impact Resistance: 41 points]
[Endurance: 62 points]
Compared to before, Jade-786's attributes had changed significantly. Her cornering had risen from 57 points to 70, while her other stats had dropped across the board—especially Impact Resistance and Stability, which were down by nearly ten points. It was obvious she had installed a highly specialized steering module.
Mecha Girls couldn't install modules themselves, but when unmanned, they could visit professional modification shops where staff would help replace modules. Usually, these shops were connected to module stores, similar to how clothing stores are paired with fitting rooms.
"Tsk, looks like Jade-786 really came prepared," Derek Su narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin.
The situation suddenly became somewhat unfavorable.
At present, Stella's Drift was 39 points and her Cornering was 65 points—she was behind Jade-786 in every aspect.
He immediately added the 11 MP points earned from taking first place at Echo Valley to Stella's Drift, raising it to 50 points. Even so, there was still a gap.
That meant the only advantages Stella had over Jade-786 were speed and experience.
But Stella had always looked a bit silly, and it didn't seem like she'd really learned his cornering techniques.
When Lingwind was learning those techniques, Stella had just been cheering on the sidelines while eating pineapple. On top of that, Stella had even said she wanted to be a dumb Mecha Girl… Derek Su wasn't entirely sure she could make up for the attribute gap with technique alone.
He subconsciously glanced at Stella.
She had been glaring angrily at Jade-786, but when she noticed his gaze, she turned her head. A bright, confident smile immediately bloomed across her fair face. Her eyes sparkled and her brows curved gently upward. She didn't say a word, yet her expression conveyed absolute confidence in victory.
Seeing that smile, Derek Su couldn't help rubbing his nose.
He really was getting worse with age. Hadn't he promised to trust his Mecha Girl?
With Stella this confident, he shouldn't be worrying. He should be giving her encouragement and affirmation instead.
Besides, even if Jade-786 won, so what?
She'd just be a secondary Mecha Girl anyway—destined to sit on the bench.
With that thought, Derek Su relaxed and smiled back at Stella.
"Little brother Derek Su, who is this?" Xavier Young asked curiously from the side.
Before Derek Su could answer, Stella stepped forward.
"She's here to compete with me in cornering! If she beats me, she gets to become the master's secondary Mecha Girl!"
The moment she said that, everyone's expressions turned strange.
Compete in cornering… against Stella and Derek Su?
Was she crazy?
Xavier Young stared at Jade-786 in amazement.
Could this be some kind of expert?
"I'm only competing against her," Stella clarified seriously, realizing everyone had misunderstood. "Autonomous cornering. No hitting the guardrails. Whoever reaches the finish line in the shortest time wins."
"So that's how it is." Everyone nodded in understanding.
Even so, this Mecha Girl named Jade-786 was still incredibly bold.
"There's already a ready-made cornering track at the abandoned dock. If it doesn't meet your requirements, I can have the workers rearrange it with a tower crane," Xavier Young said.
"Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?" Derek Su asked.
"What trouble? Just a small favor!"
...
By evening, the cornering track at the abandoned dock had been fully set up.
This track had originally been used by Xavier Young to train cornering with Lumina. But ever since Lumina could no longer race, it had fallen into neglect, only being used occasionally for underground black-market races. Now, it had been redesigned according to Stella and Jade-786's requirements.
On a track just five kilometers long, there were nothing but curves—almost no straight sections at all. Both the Mecha Girls and the drivers present felt their scalps tingle just looking at it.
Wasn't this ten thousand times more insane than the original Mecha Girl driving assessment?
Jade-786 quietly observed Stella's expression.
Before coming to find Derek Su and Stella, she had already decided that the race had to be on a track full of curves. Only then could the module she bought perform at its maximum.
After the track was completed, she had expected to see at least a hint of panic on Stella's face. Instead, Stella remained calm the entire time.
Was Stella truly not afraid of these curves?
Was it confidence in her skills, or blind arrogance?
Jade-786 couldn't tell, but she became more cautious inwardly.
In any case, she still had her secret weapon. Even if something went wrong, she could just activate it.
"I'm the owner of the Foxfire Club, and I have some authority in this area. Since you're using my training track, I'll arbitrate your agreement. Any objections?"
Before the race began, Xavier Young reread the agreement signed by Jade-786, Derek Su, and Stella. After both sides confirmed they had no objections, Xavier Young announced the start of the race.
"Both Mecha Girls, please proceed to the starting line and prepare to launch. Because the track is narrow, you will start thirty seconds apart. According to the agreement, you may not collide with the track. Whoever crosses the finish line with the shortest time will be the winner."
Stella and Jade-786 took their positions on the track.
As the challenger, Jade-786 was given priority to start. Before launching, she walked over to Stella, extended her hand, and said with a smile,
"Stella, from now on we'll be family. We should take good care of each other~"
Stella crossed her arms, rolled her eyes, and let out a cold laugh.
"Girl, win first before you talk."
Jade-786: "..."
Her fists hardened.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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