Chapter 82: Observe Carefully, Learn Well

On Derek Su’s side, careful calculations were already underway.
On Leon Li’s side, he and Snowpeak were also plotting how to deal with Derek Su and Stella.

“Master, speed test complete. Stella is slightly faster than me. Her estimated top speed is about forty kilometers per hour higher!”

“Impact Resistance test complete. She’s not as tough as me—hehe~”

Leon Li gave a small nod. “Snowpeak, I’m very satisfied with your Impact Resistance. That’s the result of our day-and-night training. There’s still room to push it even higher in the future.”

“Mmm~” Snowpeak turned her head to look at Leon Li. “Being praised by Master makes me really happy, so I kind of… want to…”

“We’re racing right now. Don’t think about that.”

“But during races before, we always—”

“But today, our opponents are Derek Su and Stella.”

“Waaah~ Fine then. After the race, ten times!”

“No problem.” Leon Li’s hands trembled as he pulled out four packs of Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Pills and stuffed them into his mouth.

Better to replenish his energy reserves in advance, so he wouldn’t run dry mid-battle.

Having gotten what she wanted, Snowpeak’s expression immediately turned serious again. She glanced at the rearview mirror and analyzed calmly:

“So, Master, against Derek Su and Stella, we can fully exploit Impact Resistance to suppress them in the corners. If necessary, we can even force them off the track—or make them lose the ability to continue the race.”

“Good thinking,” Leon Li said with a frown, “but actually managing to hit Derek Su won’t be easy.”

Earlier, he and Snowpeak had tried multiple times to collide with Stella, but every attempt had been cleanly avoided.

The man sitting in Stella’s cockpit seemed to predict all his actions in advance, calculating every possible danger and avoiding them ahead of time. Even when Leon Li deliberately slowed down or suddenly shifted his braking point, no matter how he changed things up, Stella always maintained a safe distance of one to three meters behind Snowpeak.

What terrifying control.

The more Leon Li competed against Derek Su, the more unsettled he felt.

He had once believed Derek Su’s strength lay solely in inventing drifting. He thought that once he mastered drifting himself, he would be able to crush Derek Su completely. But now, before he had even fully grasped drifting, his judgment of braking points was still shaky—and he was realizing that the gap between him and Derek Su was far greater than any single technique could make up for.

As a racing prodigy, Leon Li rarely admired others.

But witnessing Derek Su’s control over the track, he was genuinely convinced.

“If I’m not mistaken, at the next corner, Derek Su and Stella will overtake us.”

Leon Li murmured as he stared at the approaching Z-shaped hairpin.

As the race passed the quarter mark, the road gradually climbed into the mountains, and the track conditions became increasingly complex.

Snowpeak pressed her lips together, surprise filling her eyes.

Master would never have said something like that before.

If that’s the case…

Then at the next Z-turn, I’ll pin Derek Su and Stella down! she swore inwardly.

That entire car of [Okamoto 001] was hers, no matter what.

...

Inside Stella’s cockpit, Derek Su’s eyes flashed.

He planned to use the upcoming Z-shaped turns to test Leon Li and Snowpeak’s true depth. If they could only struggle uselessly through those corners, then whether it was the Silverstone Advanced Race or the Panlong Mountain Circuit later on, Leon Li and Snowpeak would no longer pose any threat.

Besides…

He glanced at Stella ahead, her engine making a low, puppy-like growl.

This little girl must be bottling up a ton of frustration, right?

Then let her release it properly in the Z-turn ahead.

He slammed the accelerator to the floor.

Boom!

The engine’s roar tore through the street.

Stella, who had been holding back all this time, exploded with feral aggression like a beast baring its fangs.

The two Mecha Girls entered the Z-shaped hairpin simultaneously, also reaching the first observation point.

The 360-degree panoramic cameras faithfully recorded the scene and transmitted it to the screen at the cemetery entrance.

The underground race didn’t have many spectators, but every single one of them was a black-market racer or Mecha Girl.

Compared to ordinary viewers, they understood far better how dangerous high-speed racing really was.

So when they saw the two Mecha Girls nearly touching as they charged into the corner side by side, everyone sucked in a sharp breath.

“Kids these days are really insane—no fear of death at all.”

“Yeah, if they collide, both Mecha Girls will lose control. The consequences would be unimaginable…”

“Tsk tsk, that’s professional drivers for you. We should just watch—even with illegal mods, we wouldn’t dare do something like that.”

Most street racers and Mecha Girls viewed professional drivers with awe, but some couldn’t help feeling sour. Seeing pros dominate the track with their Mecha Girls stirred resentment.

“Professional drivers aren’t that amazing.”

“It’s just money and Modules stacked up. Give me the money and I could do the same.”

There were always people who said things like that.

But the clash between Derek Su and Leon Li quickly choked those voices off.

Leon Li and Snowpeak entered the hairpin first and successfully seized the inside line.

It was an extremely comfortable entry point. Compared to Derek Su and Stella on the outside lane, Leon Li had far more room to maneuver.

Derek Su now had only two options: brake early and slow down through the corner, or crash in and fight for the inside line. With Snowpeak’s Impact Resistance, that kind of contest would almost certainly end in Leon Li’s favor.

So what would Derek Su choose?

Leon Li glanced sideways at Derek Su and Stella.

The two Mecha Girls were now completely side by side.

Relying on experience, Leon Li picked the optimal braking point and pulled the handbrake to initiate the turn—

—and then, suddenly, an engine roared beside him.

Leon Li snapped his head around in shock, only to see Derek Su flooring the accelerator and surging ahead.

“He’s not braking?!”

Both Leon Li and Snowpeak were stunned.

Delaying the braking point while on the outside lane—that was practically asking to lose control and fly off the track.

At this moment, Derek Su was already ahead by two-thirds of a car length. The corners of his lips lifted slightly, his eyes calm and brimming with confidence.

What he possessed was max-level driving skill.

Technology and experience that surpassed this world by decades.

“Watch carefully and learn how to respect your elders.”

Derek Su yanked the handbrake.

Stella, charging down the outside lane at high speed, instantly lost control.

Screeech—!

Thick black smoke engulfed the track, obscuring visibility.

Leon Li and Snowpeak could only vaguely see Stella’s body swinging toward the apex of the corner.

She struggled desperately to return to the racing line, but still couldn’t stop the car from sliding outward.

Just then—

“Left-side tires, lock!”

Derek Su’s deep shout exploded inside Stella’s mind.

“O-Okay! Master!”

Stella was completely startled, but her reaction speed held. She immediately locked the left-side tires as instructed.

The entire right side of the car lifted sharply, and the terrifying momentum that had been sending her out of control was fully released in that instant.

At the same time, Leon Li and Snowpeak also drifted through the corner.

Stella’s tires skimmed past Snowpeak’s roof, missing it by mere inches.

At the very moment Stella was about to roll over—

Derek Su flicked the control lever and leaned his body to the right.

With a loud bang, Stella’s chassis slammed back down onto the road.

She was now a full car length ahead of Leon Li and Snowpeak, having successfully seized the inside line.

Under overwhelming speed pressure, Leon Li and Snowpeak gained nothing at the second hairpin.

By the time they exited the corner, they were already more than ten meters behind Derek Su and Stella.

“What… what kind of technique was that just now?”

“Master, I… I don’t even want to think anymore…”

Leon Li and Snowpeak, usually so composed, stared blankly at Stella’s pale-blue taillights. A chill crawled from their feet straight to their heads, making them shudder.

Inside the cockpit, Stella asked the same question.

She looked at Derek Su in the rearview mirror with pure admiration. Her master felt unfathomably mysterious—always pulling out new techniques at critical moments to solve every problem on the track.

That overwhelming sense of security made her feel completely at ease.

Derek Su chuckled, pressing his hand against Stella’s hip to convey reassurance.

“This is called drifting blade overtaking. Watch carefully. Learn well.”

As Derek Su guided Stella out of the corner,
the figures of numerous street racers finally appeared ahead—

and among them was a striking purple Phantom, standing out like a crane among chickens.