Chapter 103: Keeping Pace with the Times

In the luxurious bedroom of a certain villa.
Snowpeak solemnly hung a box of Okamoto condoms onto the rack.
From left to right, it was already completely filled.
After finishing, she bent down and pulled out a brand-new pack from the drawer beneath the rack.
Just as she was about to tear it open—

“Snowpeak, come take a look!”

Leon Li’s voice called out from behind.

Snowpeak pinched the pack between her fingers and moved over to her master. Leon Li’s face was pale as he shoveled a handful of medicinal residue—a mix of cordyceps and deer antler—into his mouth. A tablet rested in his other hand, a video paused on the screen. When Snowpeak leaned closer, he tapped play.
The footage showed the bridgehead of Blade Path.
A silver-bodied Mecha Girl was being chased closely by a crimson one.

“Is that Stella?”
Snowpeak muttered while staring at the screen, tearing the pack open with her teeth.

“That’s right. Stella and Derek Su are in the Blade Path training match.”

“With Stella’s speed, first place on Blade Path should be easy,” Snowpeak said, brushing the hair by her cheek behind her ear as she leaned forward, her words slightly muffled. “She’s a straight-line acceleration type, after all.”

“That’s not the point.”
Leon Li slowed the video to 0.5x and replayed it for her.

On-screen, Stella suddenly spun her front end around 180 degrees and slammed the brakes straight toward Blazing Wind.

The next instant, Blazing Wind crashed into Stella. Car and driver were sent flying together, tumbling off the bridge.

A flicker of surprise finally appeared on Snowpeak’s usually blank face. Her eyes widened—and the Okamoto condom she’d been holding in her mouth dropped to the floor.

“Impressive!”
She raised a thumbs-up in a daze.

Leon Li nodded calmly. “Derek Su really is something. I’ll remember that move.”

“Master, can we use it too?”

Leon Li pictured Snowpeak’s front end. Compared to Stella’s sleek, streamlined nose, Snowpeak’s was tougher and more angular—but with a low chassis and enough speed, it could still produce a similar effect.

The problem was…

Stella’s maneuver worked like a launch ramp, scooping the opponent clean into the air.

Snowpeak’s, on the other hand, was more like a trapezoidal blade. Before launching the enemy, the opposing Mecha Girl’s head would probably get smashed flat.

“You’re getting too excited.”
Snowpeak suddenly grabbed Leon Li’s hand and picked up the fallen pack.

Leon Li raised an eyebrow. “Continue?”

“Continue!”

...

“Just like I expected from my idol!!”

Laiya An hugged her phone, her face flushed bright red with excitement.

“To actually come up with a way to scoop that old hag Chloe Qin off the track—so satisfying! Hehehe~”

“Hey, hey, hey! Can you stop laughing like a creep?!”
Dawnbreak’s mouth twitched as she stared at the huge red DEAD on her monitor. She flung the controller aside and glared viciously at Laiya An.
“You laugh and I die again! I was this close to killing the boss!”

“That’s because you’re bad.”
Laiya An puffed out her cheeks disdainfully.
“I can stare at a death screen all day with just a pack of cigarettes. You’re a Mecha Girl who needs ten bags of chips just to endure it for three days!”

“You damn woman! I’ll rip your mouth apart!”

Dawnbreak glanced at the now-empty chip bags on the table, then lunged at Laiya An like a raging demon.

After rolling around on the bed for a while, Laiya An finally caught her breath. Hugging a pillow, she said,
“You really should watch Stella and Derek Su’s race footage. They’re insanely strong. Every time I think that has to be the limit of racing technique, they pull out something new. You can never finish learning from them.”

“Tch.”
Dawnbreak sprawled out flat on her back, arms and legs spread, her sleepwear gaping open without a care.
“I’ve already seen it. So what? Silverstone’s advanced race is all curves, and Panlong Mountain requires a relay with two Mecha Girls. Derek Su only has Stella—no club backing him.”

She shot Laiya An a sideways glance.

“You’re different. TSD Club funnels all its resources into you. At Panlong Mountain, we’ll have teammates coordinating with us. Just the two of them? They won’t even be able to move an inch on that track.”

Hearing that, Laiya An flipped over and leaned close. Her hand darted out, grabbing Dawnbreak’s chest as she exclaimed excitedly,

“That’s right! Derek Su and Stella don’t have a club! I’m going to find him right now and ask if he wants to join Dawnbreak’s Voice!”

With that, Laiya An jumped off the bed and started getting dressed.

Dawnbreak pinched the bridge of her nose in resignation.

This idiot girl…
Leaving aside whether Derek Su would even agree to join—
Even if he did, resources would definitely be diverted.
It was entirely possible that TSD’s training focus would shift to Derek Su instead.

...

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Damn it! Eternity, can you stop training already? You’ve been pounding that sandbag all day! Let’s take a day off, okay? You know m3?”

A blonde beauty with a single ahoge sticking up sat up on the bed. Dark circles hung under her eyes, and her otherwise delicate face conveyed only one thing—
Exhaustion.

“Master.”
Eternity turned toward her, rolling her wrists.
“Do you know the biggest difference between you and a pig?”

“Huh?”

“Pigs can’t turn into humans whenever they feel like it.”

“What does that even mean?”
Lucy Luo stared at her in complete confusion.

She had a strong feeling Eternity was insulting her—but no matter how long she thought about it, she couldn’t figure out how.

“Idiot.”
Eternity-01 shook her head with a sigh, removed her gloves, and glanced at the wall clock. It was already past noon.

“Master, we should eat. Training starts at two.”

“Huh? But I’m not awake yet…”

“You’ve already slept for twelve hours.”

“Waaah… o-okay, fine…”
Lucy Luo rolled around on the bed, whining.
“But Eternity, you shouldn’t say things like that. You should phrase it more gently~”

Watching her master squirm and act cute, veins bulged on Eternity-01’s forehead. She clenched her fists, a cold glint flashing through her mismatched red-and-blue eyes. After closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she spoke calmly through gritted teeth:

“Please… escort the princess to lunch.”

Lucy Luo immediately sat up and spread her arms. “Carry me!”

Eternity sighed and lifted her into her arms.

Fortunately, she was slightly taller than Lucy Luo’s 170 cm frame—otherwise, the mismatch would have looked absurd.

“Eternity~”
Lucy Luo gazed at her Mecha Girl’s refined profile, eyes sparkling.

“Yes?”

“When will you wear the bunny outfit again? Like on my birthday. It was so sexy—I didn’t even get a chance to take pictures last time~”

Eternity’s lips twitched.

Compared to bunny outfits, she much preferred proper suits and tailcoats—they were neat and practical.

But faced with Lucy Luo’s expectant stare, she could only compromise.

“After we take first place at Panlong Mountain. I’ll wear it then.”

“Hmph. First place at Panlong Mountain is easy, isn’t it?”
Lucy Luo looped her arms around Eternity’s neck and yawned lazily.
“Honestly, they shouldn’t even bother with a relay. If it were one Mecha Girl running the whole mountain, you’d leave second place at least ten minutes behind.”

Eternity said nothing.

Her gaze drifted as the image of the silver Mecha Girl she’d seen that morning surfaced in her mind.

That level of speed wasn’t much of a threat to her.

But still…

She had sensed the presence of a top-tier speed-type Mecha Girl.

A strange intuition.

The provincial Panlong Mountain Circuit might not be as easy as Lucy Luo imagined.

This year’s opponents…

Were strong.

...

Foxfire Club—

“Derek Su, take a look at this résumé. Anything wrong with it?”

Zane slid a document across the table.
At the top was printed [Zuanka Technology Co., Ltd.], followed by his personal details—age, work history, and previous achievements.

Derek Su lifted his eyes from the page and looked at him, puzzled.
“What’s gotten into you? You’re giving up the shop?”

“What’s the point of just guarding a shop?”
Zane said righteously.
“I’m going to devote my finite life to infinite 996 workdays and realize my personal value!”

He leaned in closer and lowered his voice.
“Derek Su, do you know what the most important resource in the world is right now? Sodium fiber! Zuanka Technology is the top company researching sodium fiber tech. All the sodium fiber we use comes from them—including the nutrient solution in my shop!”

“So?” Derek Su asked flatly.

“So this is me keeping up with the times!”
Zane clenched his fist, brimming with ambition.
“I think I’ve got real research talent. Maybe you’ll see my name in the papers one day!”

Derek Su clicked his tongue. “What about Lingwind? You’re not racing anymore?”

“I am!”
Zane waved his hand.
“I’ll just be assisting with research. Plenty of holidays. I’ll keep training seriously, and when there’s a race, I’ll take leave and run the track with Lingwind.”

He shot Derek Su a reassuring look.

“As for your training, I’ll have Stella keep a close eye on you.”

Derek Su had no idea what kind of mood Zane was in.

But how someone chose to live their life was their own business. He had no right to interfere.

As long as Zane didn’t let Lingwind down, he couldn’t be bothered.

Knock, knock, knock—

A soft knock sounded at the door.

Derek Su was about to speak when Stella, already in her slippers, hurried over with light pat-pat footsteps.

She opened the door.

The moment she saw who it was, Stella froze.

Before she could say a word—

The petite figure at the doorway swayed, then collapsed straight into her arms.