Chapter 118: Hold On Tight
“The river rolls on to the east~”
“The stars above point to the northern sky~”
“Say the word and off we go~ while lonely singles cry~!”
...
Derek Su drove Stella while humming happily, the wind roaring past his ears and beautiful scenery stretching out in the distance.
Pure comfort.
Stella hadn’t reached her top speed yet, and he had no intention of pushing her to the absolute limit. As long as he secured first place, that was enough. If he could run the race more easily, he’d naturally let Stella take it easy too.
In the stands were plenty of racers and Mecha Girls who had competed on provincial circuits in previous years but never made the top ten. After a full year of preparation—training, swapping modules—any one of them could become a hidden threat to him and Stella.
So he needed to keep his true strength under wraps.
After all, a man had to have layers. You never let others know exactly how deep you go.
“Hey hey, tears are falling~ my right hand is my girlfriend~”
...
Stella, listening to Derek Su humming away, was completely baffled.
How did her Master know that the Beidou Clan was the senior clan of the Stella Clan?
In theory, Mecha Girls of the Stella Clan were juniors to those of the Beidou Clan. Paying respects when encountering a Beidou Clan senior was perfectly normal.
But these inter-clan relationships among Mecha Girls only circulated on Mecha Island. Most humans neither knew nor cared about them—it had no impact on racing anyway. And Derek Su was the kind of person who barely paid attention to his surroundings. No matter how you looked at it, he didn’t seem like someone who would know Mecha Island’s hidden secrets.
Unless…
Could her Master’s true identity be that of some powerful official-backed tycoon?
Hiding his identity for special reasons, inheriting the recycling yard, acknowledging Mr. Liang as his godfather, and living a frugal life just to save money?!
Maybe a small donation would unlock Master’s secret plan!
Hiss—!
Stella felt she was getting dangerously close to the truth.
Just as she was about to dig deeper, an irritable engine roar surged up from behind them, growing louder by the second.
Derek Su straightened instantly, the laziness vanishing from his face. He glanced at the rearview mirror, stunned.
The next moment—
Whoosh.
A violent gust swept past both sides of the car.
Something pitch-black shot by in a flash.
“Stella, did you see what that was?” Derek Su rubbed his eyes.
All he’d caught was a mass of black fog tearing forward, with a pair of crimson “eyes”—probably headlights—glowing within it.
“M-Master… the one that just passed us… it looked like Snowpeak…”
Stella stammered, not even fully confident in what she’d seen.
Snowpeak’s speed had been so extreme it felt unfamiliar.
Boom—!
A thunderous crash echoed from the bend ahead. The rock wall near the apex had been completely smashed apart.
Chunks of shattered stone flew everywhere, some even slamming into Stella’s windshield.
“Holy shit… what the hell is that?” Derek Su stared in disbelief. “Is that even taking a corner? Entry point, braking point—completely thrown out the window. There’s nothing left but the instinct to keep the Mecha Girl from losing control. Everything else doesn’t matter. Anything in the way just gets smashed through… This is straight-up hooligan driving!”
That kind of brutal, lawless racing style—
There was no question about it. It had to be Leon Li and Snowpeak.
He should actually be grateful Leon Li hadn’t plowed Snowpeak straight into Stella’s rear just now. Otherwise, he and Stella would’ve gone flying.
“Master, we’re screwed! There’s only a quarter of the race left and we’ve been overtaken! We have to find a way to pass them back!”
Stella panicked from the front.
But whenever Stella panicked, Derek Su absolutely couldn’t.
He had to stay steady as a rock.
He reached forward with one hand and patted Stella’s rear, transmitting calm reassurance.
Thinking it through, Derek Su realized Snowpeak’s bizarre state just now was very similar to Stella’s previous Overclocking.
After all, in this world, Mecha Girls only displayed flashy special effects in three situations: when a Techmaster used a skill, when the Mecha Girl activated a skill, or during Overclocking.
Techmasters weren’t allowed to participate in provincial-level or lower official races, and Snowpeak’s special skill had already been used up.
That left only one answer.
Overclocking.
“Stella, Snowpeak’s overclocked. How about you overclock too?”
His hand resting on Stella gave a gentle squeeze.
Stella turned back with a deeply troubled expression. “Master, I… I want to overclock too, but… but I just don’t have that feeling, that atmosphere. You know what I mean?”
“I know, I know.” Derek Su nodded, a hint of nostalgia crossing his face.
“It’s like finally meeting your online crush and realizing the photos lied. Two people alone in a room—and even then, nothing clicks. What’s missing is the mood.”
Stella: “???”
Master was chanting some kind of spell again.
She didn’t understand a word.
Derek Su’s face fell as he said sadly, “Then how about thinking of something tragic? Like if we lose this race, I’m done for?”
Stella tried her best to look thoughtful, sneaking a few glances at Derek Su.
But her mind was filled with sweet, bubbly memories of him. She couldn’t feel sad at all.
In fact, just looking at him made her smile—sweet and a little foolish.
“Damn it.” The moment Derek Su saw that goofy smile, he knew Overclocking was off the table today.
He straightened up, his expression turning solemn as he tightened his grip on the control stick and let out a sigh.
“I was planning to go easy on you today, let you lose without it looking too ugly.”
“But Leon Li and Snowpeak are just freaks… Since that’s the case, I’ve got no choice but to use this last resort.”
His hand slid across Stella’s slender waist and pulled out the Waterfall module.
The instant the module was removed, the engine’s RPM skyrocketed.
Like a ferocious beast released from its cage, it let out a bloodthirsty roar.
Stella’s stats shifted to:
[Drifting: 50 points]
[Acceleration: 97.2 points]
[Cornering: 50 points]
[Boost Charge: 90 points]
[Stability: 75 points]
[Impact Resistance: 80 points]
[Endurance: 85 points]
Derek Su had no idea what 97.2 acceleration actually meant.
All he knew was that the control stick in his hands felt like the horns of a rampaging bull once again.
As he slammed the throttle to the floor, the engine’s roar grew ever louder, and his control over Stella’s chassis rapidly slipped away.
Any other driver would have panicked by now.
“Master, slow… slow down…”
“It’s too fast! You’ll break something!”
Stella’s face turned pale as she cried out in alarm.
She couldn’t understand why she suddenly had such terrifying speed.
It felt like she’d been thrown back to that night—at that intersection.
Lights and shadows stretched into blurred afterimages around her.
All she could hear was the howl of the wind.
Derek Su ignored Stella’s cries.
With one hand, he steadied his helmet, twisted crooked by the gale. A fierce grin crept across his face.
“…Stella, hold on tight!”
Author's Note
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