Chapter 117: Our Minds Are One
Chapter 117: Our Minds Are One
After shaking off Leon Li and Snowpeak,
Derek Su piloted Stella at blistering speed, encountering no further threats along the way.
Meanwhile, host Kool Kenny was urgently coordinating with the officials to deal with the “traffic incident” at the mountain wall corner. With collisions on such a scale, if the area wasn’t cleared in time, not only would it affect the results of the drivers and Mecha Girls who followed, it could also lead to unpredictable dangers.
More importantly, Kool Kenny knew Leon Li and Snowpeak.
Those two had once held a “private meeting” inside a Knox Rally tunnel.
As for how he knew… when staff later cleaned the course, they found a used [Okamoto 001 (Wolf Fang Edition)] inside the tunnel. Naturally, this left the crew baffled. They reviewed the surveillance footage before and after the tunnel and discovered that Leon Li and Snowpeak had stayed inside far longer than normal. What made it even more outrageous was that despite lingering there for nearly eight minutes, they still went on to win first place in that Knox Rally.
Disgrace!
Kool Kenny regarded this as the greatest shame of his entire commentary career.
No matter why Leon Li and Snowpeak had done it—whether deliberately or on impulse—it was an outright provocation against the Knox Rally and against him as its host.
Now, the surveillance footage around the mountain wall corner had been destroyed by the chain of crashes. He immediately demanded that monitoring in that area be restored.
Because the cameras further ahead on the track showed only Derek Su and Stella.
Leon Li and Snowpeak—who had been fighting Derek Su tooth and nail just moments ago—were gone!
“Those two wouldn’t be off somewhere doing something shady again, would they?!”
Kool Kenny thought darkly.
If this happened again, it had to be exposed!
The officials took Kool Kenny’s suggestion very seriously and immediately dispatched two drones to replace the original track surveillance.
The moment the live feed came back, everyone saw a black Mecha Girl parked quietly by the roadside.
Kool Kenny’s face flushed as he drew in a sharp breath. “Drones! Get in close—zoom in!!”
He didn’t say it outright, but in his mind the verdict was already set.
Those two tumors, Leon Li and Snowpeak—sure enough, they had once again ignored the sanctity of the race and were doing something improper.
Expose them!
Expose them completely!!
Yet just as the drone crept closer to Snowpeak, about to capture the interior—
The motionless machine suddenly shuddered violently.
Vrooom—!
A ring of compressed air exploded outward, carrying dust with it.
The engine’s howl was like a male lion awakening, roaring in fury.
Every spectator who heard it felt goosebumps crawl across their skin.
The drone still managed to capture the cockpit.
But there was no R-rated scene like Kool Kenny had imagined.
Inside were only a calm driver and a composed Mecha Girl.
Yet in their eyes—unchanged from the very first day—burned a fierce, blazing fire.
At that moment, Leon Li had already completed the Core Contract with Snowpeak.
He pulled his gloves and helmet back into place, fixing his gaze on the track ahead together with Snowpeak, his eyes sharp and cold.
“Hiss—”
He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
When he had been crushed by Derek Su and Stella,
Leon Li had felt lost, afraid, and panicked.
But now, there was no trace of confusion left in his eyes.
Only firmness—and an unshakable resolve to win.
Because he was no longer just a driver. He was Snowpeak’s driver.
The one and only master.
Snowpeak had chosen him, and he would shoulder that heavy responsibility.
Even if the final outcome of this race could not be changed,
he would still run it to the end with unstoppable momentum.
No time to hesitate.
No time to fear.
No time to worry about the future.
Only forward.
Youth fears nothing—charging straight across the plains!
Vrooom—! Throttle wide open.
Pitch-black flames surged around Snowpeak’s body, unfurling like a pair of wings along both sides of her chassis.
“That’s… Overclocking!” Kool Kenny’s eyes went wide, nearly dropping the microphone in his hand.
Overclocking—a rare spectacle on the track.
A special state triggered when a Mecha Girl’s emotions reach their absolute peak.
And to push a Mecha Girl’s emotions that far, an outstanding driver is indispensable.
For honor.
For belief.
For victory.
At a certain moment, the wills of the driver and the Mecha Girl completely fuse, no longer distinguishable from one another.
...
Inside the cockpit, the black flames didn’t just surge around Snowpeak—they spread like a web across Leon Li’s body as well, wrapping him in a shroud of darkness. His hands were nearly fused with Snowpeak’s control stick. They were no longer simply driver and Mecha Girl, but something closer to a single, inseparable whole.
Snowpeak’s speed skyrocketed, turning her into a black bolt of lightning tearing down the track.
Wherever she passed, the road was left scorched and blackened.
At such terrifying speed, normal cornering was impossible. But Leon Li no longer needed conventional turns. Using the mountain walls and guardrails, Snowpeak was carving out a brutal, unconventional path—each collision adding to the pain she endured.
As their connection grew deeper and deeper,
Leon Li began to feel Snowpeak’s pain as well.
What had once seemed like careless, harmless impacts to Snowpeak—leaving no visible damage—had always brought her suffering.
A kind of suffering no human could endure.
Leon Li looked at the silent girl before him, tears welling in his eyes.
As if sensing his emotions, Snowpeak tilted her head slightly, a gentle, blissful smile appearing on her pale face.
A small hand reached back, softly holding Leon Li’s.
“Master… don’t be afraid.”
“Now we…”
“Our minds are one!”
BOOM—!!!
Snowpeak blasted past a speed detection panel, wrapped in a raging gale.
The panel shook violently under the force of the wind.
When everything finally settled,
a single number appeared on the display—
548 km/h.
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