Chapter 16: More Afraid of Being Looked Down Upon

The worst-case scenario had arrived—and they were only halfway through the Banag Valley circuit.
They had made it through three corners, and the rest of the stretch was mostly slopes and gentle curves that barely counted as turns. But Derek Su remembered clearly: the circuit’s most dangerous hairpin lay on a cliff less than a kilometer from the finish line.

“Master, what do we do? The rain’s getting heavier!”

Derek Su could hear the panic creeping into Stella’s voice.
She obviously understood just how much rain would challenge her cornering.

“We can’t defy the heavens,” Derek Su said, pressing his lips together. “On the next straight, we need to open up distance from the other Mecha Girl. That last hairpin is too difficult for you. We have to slow down. Even without rain, we’d need to drop below 200. Now that the road’s soaked, for safety, I’m holding you to around 100 through the turn.”

“A hundred through the hairpin?” Stella’s eyes widened. “Isn’t that way too slow?”

“What do you think a hairpin is?! It’s barely even a 45-degree angle—sometimes sharper!”

He almost reached out to give Stella a smack on the butt, but remembered how shy she’d gotten earlier and pulled his hand back.
Mecha Girl or not, she was still a girl. Back at the Triumph Club, he’d treated Jade-786 too much like a race car, which gave Kyle Zhang the perfect humiliating excuse to fire him. That dismissal went on record. If he switched clubs later and they pulled up his file, they’d definitely give him strange looks.

“Oh, that sounds really hard.” Stella had never experienced that kind of turn and had no concept of what it meant, but she trusted Derek Su completely. Tilting her head, she smiled. “But if it’s Master, you’ll definitely get me through it!”

For Derek Su, the corner itself was no issue—but he also remembered telling Stella they needed to win today.

And the Mecha Girl biting at their tail really was a tough opponent. Meanwhile, Stella hadn’t even gone full throttle yet.

“We’re slowing down for the hairpin anyway. No point holding back now.”

Derek Su glanced at the rearview mirror—and floored it. Stella’s exceptional Acceleration roared across the entire track, echoing through the valley.

Her speed climbed rapidly, and the gap between her and Comet began to stretch.

“They’re so fast!” Comet gritted her teeth, her whole expression strained. “Master, are you sure you gave me full throttle?”

Caio Yang shrugged. “Yeah. What else would I do~?”

Comet’s pretty face flushed all the way to her ears. She had just claimed she could shake Stella off within two corners.

Three corners later, not only had she failed to pull ahead—they were falling behind.

It was the first time Caio Yang had ever seen his Mecha Girl look so rattled, especially with her ears that red. He couldn’t help but laugh.

“This XC-99 doesn’t seem as useless as you said. Its straight-line performance is actually pretty good.”

“Hmph~” Comet shot back, refusing to accept it. “It’s only because of the steering Module you bought me! Sure, it works great, but it drags down Acceleration a lot. Otherwise how could I be losing to a rookie?”

Caio Yang: “…”

That was definitely not what she’d been saying earlier.
Mecha Girls really were like human women—change moods faster than flipping a page.

“It’s fine. We still have a chance,” Caio Yang reassured her. “Their cornering technique is high-level, but it relies on locked wheels and friction. In the rain, that loses effectiveness. We’ll stay steady for now and wait for that final hairpin.”

Comet took a deep breath, regained her composure, and pushed her straight-line ability to the limit.
Once she calmed down, the gap between her and Stella stopped widening as quickly.

The helicopter trailed behind them. The commentator, having recovered from the earlier shock, grew even more enthusiastic.

“Viewers, as you can see—our VVC racer, who was just being pulled away by the newcomer, has regained her composure. This is the professionalism of an international club’s Mecha Girl! If it were me in her place, my mentality would’ve collapsed by now~”

Laughter broke out among the crowd watching the big screens outside Banag Valley.

This was what set Mecha Girls apart from normal race cars—both the Mecha Girl and the driver determined a vehicle’s overall performance.
A Mecha Girl was both a machine and a sentient being. Her emotions affected her speed.

A depressed Mecha Girl would see her stats drop, while an excited one could break past her limits mid-race, unleashing potential she didn’t know she had.

And all of that depended on the bond and coordination between the driver and his Mecha Girl.

Thunderstorms hit hard and fast, with heavy rain and lightning.
As the race continued, the storm reached its peak, drenching the track completely.

At the edge of Derek Su’s vision, the cliff appeared through the curtain of rain.
At the same time, Stella’s roadbook chimed: “Master, 400 meters to left hairpin into downhill!”

Tire-skids hissed beneath the downpour. Chaotic as it was, every sound came through sharply for Derek Su.

“Slow down,” Derek Su said, gripping the control stick tightly.

Stella obeyed instantly, dropping her speed. As she slowed, Comet—still maintaining full speed—closed the distance quickly.

“They’re slowing,” Comet smirked. “Master, the rain’s definitely affecting them.”

Caio Yang took a deep breath. Even a pro like him had to take Banag Valley’s hairpin seriously.

He didn’t speak—in under three seconds, he’d calculated Comet’s optimal entry point and entry speed.

By then, they had drawn even with Stella.

Through the rain, Caio Yang met Derek Su’s eyes and let a faint, confident smile curve his lips.

Good skill, but your Mecha Girl’s steering is trash. Once we clear the corner, you won’t have the acceleration to fight back.

His gaze was calm, but beneath that calm lay the arrogance and provocation of someone privileged.

The moment their eyes passed each other, a sharp glint flashed through Derek Su’s.

“Stella, are you afraid of pain?”

His words came fast: “Do you want to win more—or fear pain more?”

Stella didn’t hesitate for even an instant. “Master, I want to win!”

“I do fear pain—but I fear being looked down on even more!”

“Good.” Derek Su locked his eyes on the guardrail at the cliff’s edge. “Accelerate!”

“Yes!!” Stella’s shout contained not a shred of hesitation.

Maybe too many Mecha Girls had lost control on this vicious hairpin. In the end, the developers had built thick, reinforced guardrails along the cliff.

Those rails were covered in collision marks—each one a reminder of danger and hard-fought battles.

Stella suddenly surged forward. Her tires skidded violently in the downpour, the entire chassis jolting in a hard twist.

Comet and Caio Yang’s eyes flew wide.
In the helicopter, the commentator’s hand shook so badly he nearly dropped the camera.

Outside the Banag Valley track, some spectators stood under umbrellas, others let the rain drench them—but all stared at the screen, breath held.

Mr. Liang clenched his wrist, instinctively pressing a hand against his chest...

And in every person’s heart, the same thought rose at once:

What the hell are they trying to do?!