"What?! No, I had one car, how did you turn it into three?!"
Rin pouted, somewhat incredulous.
It was truly difficult for Grace, she probably had no idea how she managed to bring all three cars back by herself.
"Mmm-hmm," Grace nodded, her expression taking it for granted, even with a hint of pride. "You don't need to thank me, this is all what I should do."
As she spoke, she affectionately patted the hood of the first car. "Good child, you need to perform better in the future, okay?"
Rin took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, and began to scrutinize Grace's masterpiece one by one.
First, there was the first lump of a car.
The biggest feature of this lump of a car was that it had no front or back.
It completely subverted the concepts of "front" and "rear."
Its design was like two car fronts forcibly welded together, symmetrical front and back, both possessing complete front windshields, headlight assemblies, steering wheels, and so on.
Everything a normal car front should have, this car's two fronts had, not one less.
"This… this is…" Rin pointed at the car, incoherent.
"Oh, this child," Grace walked to the car, patted one of its fronts, "I named him Two-way Runner 1."
"You see, both the front and back have driving systems, which makes reversing especially convenient! If you want to drive forward, use the front steering wheel.
Want to reverse? Just turn around and use the one in the back! It perfectly solves the pain point of some places being difficult to reverse in, isn't it a very ingenious design?"
Grace grew more excited as she spoke, her amber pupils radiating the light of wisdom.
Rin imagined herself driving, suddenly wanting to reverse, then fumbling to climb to the back seat to operate another steering wheel, and felt her blood pressure rise a little.
However, it seemed quite convenient for parking, didn't it?
Wait! What am I thinking?! Don't let Grace assimilate you!
Rin shook her head and walked to the second car.
If Two-way Runner 1 had no front or back, then this car could be described as having no top or bottom.
Its chassis and roof seemed to be installed in reverse?
No, it should be described as a double-sided chassis.
In addition to the usual four wheels on the chassis, this car also had four identical wheels installed in the same position on the roof! The tire treads were clearly visible.
"What… what is this again?" Rin was somewhat desperate.
"This child is Road Dominator Crosser No. 2!"
Grace introduced it enthusiastically, her tone full of pride.
"See the wheels on top? When encountering extreme terrain, like steep slopes, it can activate the top wheel set for an ejection jump. For regular roads, just use the bottom wheel set."
As she spoke, she gestured with her hands, mimicking the car "doing a somersault."
Rin looked at the four glaring tires on the roof and felt like she was about to roll her own eyes.
Could this thing really land safely? Wouldn't the driver end up headfirst?
Compared to the first two cars, when Rin saw the third car, a sense of relief even welled up in her heart.
At least it looked like a car!
"Phew… finally a normal one."
Rin breathed a sigh of relief, walked to the most visually appealing car, and pulled open the car door. "This one looks still…"
Her voice trailed off.
The sight inside the car door once again shattered the hope she had just felt.
The driver's cabin was empty.
No steering wheel!
No accelerator or brake pedals!
No dashboard!
Instead, there was a bicycle handlebar fixed in the position where the steering wheel should have been!
And below the original driver's seat, a pair of bicycle pedals was installed.
There was a seat, but it looked exactly like one removed from a mountain bike.
"This…" Rin pointed inside, her fingers trembling.
"Oh, this child is Urban Green Commuter No. 3!"
Grace leaned over, explaining excitedly,
"Its appearance is low-key, perfectly blending into the urban environment, avoiding unnecessary attention. The core concept is environmental protection and energy saving! All you need to do is sit on it, grasp the handlebars, and then… pedal!"
She made a cycling motion.
"Pedal?" Rin felt her voice become a little sharp.
"Yes! Use your legs to provide power! It has a built-in high-efficiency energy converter and a miniature assist motor, making it much easier to pedal than a regular bicycle! Its top speed can rival an electric scooter!
And it's green and environmentally friendly, consuming only two steamed buns per kilometer."
Grace had an expression that said, "Praise me for being eco-friendly." "As for the brakes…"
She pointed to an inconspicuous lever on the inside of the car door.
"See this? Pull it, and the car door will automatically open a small gap, then you just need to stick your foot out…"
"Stick it out.... for what?!" Rin had a bad feeling.
"To make contact with the ground with the sole of your shoe and friction brake!"
Grace said it as if it were the most obvious thing.
"The car body is too heavy. Due to inertia, if you only squeeze the brake, it might not stop, and the brake cable is prone to snapping.
At this time, auxiliary 'foot braking' is needed. It's direct in response, with immediate braking effect, and it also exercises leg strength and reaction ability. It's a win-win!"
Rin imagined herself driving this "Urban Green Commuter No. 3," pedaling vigorously on the road, then fumbling with the lever, opening the door, and sticking her foot out to "scoot" on the ground when encountering a red light… She felt her vision go black, and the world spin.
Looking at these three excellent "children" in front of her, as Grace called them, and then at the clear-eyed, accomplished mechanical genius engineer beside her.
Rin silently covered her face, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Suddenly, a small light bulb lit up above her head.
"Grace, can cars like 'Urban Green Commuter No. 3' be modified from any car model?"
Rin looked at Grace expectantly.
"Like a porsche 356a, for example." (T/N: Hehehe.... you know what this mean right?)
"Of course, no problem."
Grace answered very confidently.
"Hehe, I have a good idea." Rin's eyes narrowed into crescent moons, and she grinned, revealing an abstract smile that didn't match her cute face… After seeing Grace off, Rin looked at the three bizarre cars in the parking lot and felt a headache coming on.
She rubbed her throbbing temples and decided to go back to the video store to continue organizing video tapes.
However, as soon as she reached the entrance of the video store, she stopped.
At the store's entrance stood two figures, one tall and one short.
The shorter one had hime-cut bangs, and long, straight black hair that swayed gently with the breeze, with two fluffy fox ears standing tall.
The taller one wore thin-rimmed glasses, with long pink hair flowing down her back, and stunningly long and straight beautiful legs.