Chapter 15: It’s Starting to Rain

He had checked the weather before heading out. Sure, forecasts weren’t always reliable, but Derek Su figured he’d accumulated enough good karma in his past life—rich as he was, he hadn’t wronged a single woman—so he really shouldn’t be this unlucky now.

But the thunderclouds gathering far off in the sky told him things weren’t that simple.

As they say, a quick flash storm like that barely even counts as rain.

Turns out the weather forecast was still accurate.

It was Stella’s jinx that had come true.

“Stella, we have to finish the practice run before it starts raining, or we’ll have to slow down in the corners!”

Derek’s tone was firm, but Stella didn’t answer.

She was leaning forward, not even looking at the road, hands clasped together as she muttered frantically under her breath.

“Buru buru biu, buru buru bang… No rain, no rain, pretty please! Racing God, have mercy…”

Derek: “…”

“Watch the road, you idiot!”

“Oh, I know, master!”

Seeing Stella finally pay attention to the road, Derek couldn’t help the slight curve at the corner of his lips.

It was his first time driving such an adorable machine.

...
“Master, it’s going to rain.” Comet could already smell the moisture in the air.

The forecast had said nothing about rain, and the sun was still shining. For all mecha girls and drivers, this was completely unexpected.

“That’s the charm of racing,” Caio Yang said with a grin. “From the moment we hit the track, none of us knows what surprises are waiting. We can only rely on ourselves.”

“True, but if it rains, the road gets wet. That’s a disadvantage for the XC-99,” Comet said.

“It’s not exactly an advantage for you either,” Caio Yang replied.

“That’s thanks to the steering Module you installed for me, master. Rain won’t affect me much.”

Comet narrowed her eyes. She still had no idea how Stella and Derek had managed to overtake them in the corners earlier.

But now, the situation was turning in their favor.

And she was certain the XC-99 was still the same battered XC-99 from its debut—its terrible cornering performance couldn’t magically improve overnight, and its driver didn’t seem like some super-rich guy who could afford diamond-grade Module.

“Comet, I saw it clearly just now. That mecha lost traction during the turn. They used the handbrake and inertia to reposition the chassis… Anyone who can pull that off is a genius!”

Caio Yang’s voice was full of admiration.

As much as he hated to admit it, Derek’s technique really put him to shame.

“As expected of Master—you spotted their technique in an instant!”

Comet surged forward, pushing her speed to close the distance: “So, can we copy their cornering?”

“No.” Caio Yang shook his head. “I’ve never used that technique before. It’s a completely new system. If we try it, I’d have to recalculate your speed, entry timing, and brake points from scratch. Using it blindly could cause serious problems. We can only test it later, after the practice run.”

“Alright, Master… Getting ready for the next corner!”

Up ahead, the brakes screeched again—another beautiful drift.

Even seeing it a second time, Caio Yang and Comet felt their scalps tingle.

Dancing on the edge of losing control—just watching it made their blood boil.

It wasn’t just speed. It was art.

Once they cleared the ninety-degree turn, the distance between Comet and Stella widened again.

The roar of a helicopter suddenly filled the sky. At some point, one had appeared overhead.

Its cabin door slid open. A man in his late fifties aimed his camera at the racing Stella and Comet.

“Who’s that?” Comet shot the helicopter a displeased glance. She hated being put on camera.

“That’s the developer of the Banag Valley track,” Caio Yang said helplessly. “He’s also sponsoring the prize money—100,000 for first place. Second and third get prizes too. For that much cash, let him enjoy playing commentator~”

Comet clicked her tongue but didn’t say more.

The man in the helicopter was indeed commentating. His camera feed streamed directly onto the massive screen outside Banag Valley, now surrounded by crowds.

“Welcome, everyone, to my Banag Training Ground! On screen, we’ve got the two mecha girls currently showing the fastest cornering speeds. One is Caio Yang and Comet from the famous VVC Club, and the other is newcomer mecha girl Stella with her master… uh… the World’s Most Handsome Man?”

The man froze. He glanced sideways and whispered, “Is that name correct?”

“No mistake, Boss. That really is his name.”

“Damn!”

Confirmed, the man could only continue.

“Comet, Mecha No. xc-76, currently averaging 285 km/h in the corners!”

“Holy crap, that’s fast! As expected of a VVC racer!”

“Yeah, yeah… If only my mecha girl were half that fast…”

A wave of chatter rippled around the giant screen.

Mr. Liang unscrewed his iced tea and took a calm sip. XC-76 had been popular since last year—these numbers were expected.

“Stella, Mecha No. XC-99, average cornering speed—332!”

“Pff—!” Mr. Liang spat out his entire iced tea.

“What the hell?!”
332?!

That’s what Derek Su and Stella were putting out?!

He hadn’t watched the Triumph Club’s earlier training session and assumed Derek and Stella had just gotten lucky. Now it looked like Derek actually had skill. As for Stella, she was still a mecha known for terrible cornering. Only her straight-line speed had ever seemed promising.

The crowd’s shock matched Mr. Liang’s. Speeds over 300 almost never appeared in training runs.

Many mecha girls and racers stared at the data board showing Stella’s number like they’d just seen a ghost.

“Caio Yang is clearly here to stomp newbies. Is this group also smurfing?”

“Stella and the World’s Most Handsome Man? Never heard of them. Do they even have a club?”

“Just ask after the practice run.”

Several small club owners were already plotting how to poach them.

And at this moment—under everyone’s attention—the feed showed Stella and Comet entering the third corner, one ahead of the other.

Comet slowed down noticeably, widening the gap.

But Stella shot forward like a fired arrow.

“They’re not slowing down?!” Many spectators jumped to their feet.

Some mecha girls covered their eyes, unable to watch.

At that speed, they wouldn’t even have time to react. They’d crash straight into the nearby cliff.

“What the hell is that brat doing?! Why isn’t he slowing down?! Slow down!”

Mr. Liang’s eyes went bloodshot, crushing his iced tea bottle flat.

Even the commentator in the helicopter held his breath.

Screeeeeeeeeech—!

A piercing shriek erupted beneath Stella’s tires, shaking everyone to their core.

On a sixty-degree corner, Stella drifted past so close to the track’s edge it looked like she’d brushed against it.

The moment flashed across the screen and vanished. By the time people snapped out of it, Stella was already far ahead.

Silence fell across the crowd at the giant screen.

Then, like an explosion, voices rose again—louder than ever.

“What… what was that?!”

“I think I just saw Stella’s mecha girl slide sideways through the whole turn!”

“You can corner like that?!”

“Damn it, I forgot to record—why isn’t the screen moving?! What’s the cameraman doing?!”

The man in the helicopter was completely stunned.

All he could see were the black tire marks on the asphalt—four intertwined lines burned into his mind.

He’d loved racing since he was young, though he never knew exactly what he loved about it. He owned plenty of expensive mecha girls, but his personal skill was awful—his best placing was 27th at the Knox Rally.

He’d quit racing after that, always feeling something missing, throwing himself into watching races instead. But seeing Stella’s soul-shaking cornering just now, he finally understood what he’d lost since that day at the Knox Rally.

Passion and courage. He clenched his fists.

“So I didn’t stop racing because I didn’t want to… It was because defeat crushed my courage and passion…”

Outside the venue—

“That kid…” Mr. Liang let out a long breath, loosening his crushed bottle.

“Why didn’t he mention having such insane technique? Looks like I bought that Module for nothing…”

Everyone was shouting praise for Derek Su and Stella’s mind-blowing cornering.

Even Comet and Caio Yang were seething with frustration.

Only Derek’s expression was serious.

Because just a second ago, a drop of water had tapped against the glass.

It was raining.