Chapter 108: You Too

Glancing at the starting bid of five hundred million, Howard Wang suddenly felt like he wasn’t nearly as rich as he thought.

On the way here, he’d told Chloe Qin that no matter which Mecha Girl she took a liking to today, he’d buy her.

But now…

“Chloe, this Mecha Girl really is great, but the starting bid is just too high. And that’s only the opening price—it’s not the final price. What if it ends up costing a full one billion? I’d have to throw my entire business into it. What would we wear? What would we eat?” Howard Wang tried to reason with her gently.

Chloe Qin calmed down a little.

DL-01 really was far too expensive.

Back then, Purple Lightning had also been a top-tier Mecha Girl. The starting bid was fifty million, yet the final price had been only ten million.

A thought stirred in her mind. Back then, she’d managed to get Purple Lightning at a low price purely through her “sincerity.”

Bidders had the right to communicate with Mecha Girls. Maybe she could try negotiating with DL-01 herself and get her to lower the price?

“Howard Wang, you place the first bid. As long as we bid, we’ll be able to talk to DL-01. I’ll try to get her to lower the final price and choose me.”

Seeing the determination on Chloe Qin’s face, Howard Wang knew she was going to try no matter what today.

He clenched his teeth. “Alright.”

As the auction began, clubs started bidding one after another, and many Mecha Girls were quickly sold.

In the end, only DL-01 and a Mecha Girl model TB-21 remained on the cylindrical display platform.

Aside from them, the rest of the exhibition floor was filled with slightly weaker Mecha Girls at much more reasonable prices.

“Let me go first,” DL-01 said to the functional Mecha Girl hosting the auction. “I’m getting sleepy. Let’s get this over with so I can go back and sleep.”

TB-21, who had always lived with DL-01 and usually acted as her little sidekick, immediately stepped back two paces when DL-01 spoke.

The functional Mecha Girl smiled helplessly. She knew DL-01 hadn’t taken a liking to any of today’s bidders, but there was nothing she could say. She simply nodded.

“The Mecha Girl up for auction is DL-01. Starting bid: five hundred million. Bidding is now open.”

As soon as her words fell, the entire exhibition hall went silent for a brief moment.

The lively back-and-forth of competing bids vanished in an instant, replaced by an eerie quiet.

Howard Wang looked around. After waiting a while and seeing no one else bid, he finally raised his paddle.

“Bidder No. 77 offers five hundred million. You may proceed to communicate with DL-01. Are there any other bids?”

“One billion.”

From a corner of the bidding area, a young man raised his paddle.

“I bid 1.1 billion.”

“1.3 billion.”

As Howard Wang and the young man exchanged bids, a few others gradually joined in.

Even so, there were only two or three extra bidders at most.

In total, just five people competed, and the price finally stopped at 1.5 billion.

DL-01’s performance was unquestionably powerful, and she did possess special abilities—but no one knew what those abilities actually were.

If you spent too much only to find out she wasn’t compatible with you, you’d be devastated.

“According to the bidding order, the five of you will have the opportunity to communicate with DL-01. Whether you can lower the final price depends entirely on how well you negotiate with her. Whether a deal is made is solely at the Mecha Girl’s discretion. This is the rule between Mecha Island and the Human Federation. I ask everyone to communicate peacefully and avoid any disputes.”

After speaking, the functional Mecha Girl nodded to DL-01.

She signaled for DL-01 to wait in the adjacent private meeting room.

…

Chloe Qin entered the meeting room with a pounding heart.

DL-01 sat across from her, still wearing that detached expression. Her powerful aura made the air itself seem sluggish and heavy.

Chloe Qin had seen plenty of big scenes before and silently encouraged herself.

Even so, she sat down opposite DL-01 with a hint of stiffness.

“Um… hello. My name is Chloe Qin. I—”

Before she could finish—

“I don’t like women,” DL-01 said coldly. “Leave.”

Chloe Qin: “???”

Her smile froze on her face, and all the lines she’d prepared got stuck in her throat.

Anger surged straight to her head, but when she met DL-01’s indifferent gaze, it was like having a bucket of cold water dumped over her.

There was no point getting angry at a top-tier Mecha Girl like this.

She could curse all she wanted once she left the exhibition.

But inside the venue, Mecha Girls were like brides staying at their parents’ home.

No matter who you were or what status you had, you had to behave.

Chloe Qin took a deep breath and barely managed to swallow her anger.

She forced out a stiff smile and left the meeting room in embarrassment.

…

“Failed?”

Seeing Chloe Qin’s ugly expression, Howard Wang actually felt relieved.

Better this way. Even if they’d managed to negotiate with DL-01, the final price would’ve still been around five hundred million.

After all, the bidding had already been pushed up to 1.5 billion.

“She said she doesn’t like women!” Chloe Qin said through clenched teeth.

“That’s… that’s a reason?” Howard Wang looked completely dumbfounded.

It was obvious DL-01 had never intended to contract with Chloe Qin from the start. There hadn’t been even the slightest room for discussion.

It was like a blind date she’d only shown up to out of obligation—she wouldn’t even bother sitting down for a meal.

“Alright, Chloe, don’t be angry. We can look at other Mecha Girls, like TB-21. The starting bid is twenty million. Her performance is pretty solid too. Once we get her, the latter half of the provincial circuit won’t be a problem at all.” Howard Wang pointed at the pink-haired Mecha Girl on the platform.

All the top clubs were in the meeting rooms right now.

It was the perfect chance to bid on TB-21.

Chloe Qin knew that as well, so she immediately forced herself to put the unpleasant encounter with DL-01 behind her.

…

The auction went smoothly. TB-21 wasn’t a top-tier Mecha Girl, after all.

Once the price reached sixty million, no one else bid.

Compared to DL-01, TB-21’s attitude toward Chloe Qin and Howard Wang—the highest bidders—was much better.

At the very least, she greeted them with a smile during the meeting-room discussion.

“Thank you for your support,” TB-21 said as she shook Chloe Qin’s hand before they both sat down.

“I’ll ask just one question,” TB-21 said seriously. “What do you think is your strongest point—what makes you attractive to me?”

“I’m the ace of the BSC Club. Although BSC isn’t in the top five hundred, we have strong financial backing and can provide plenty of resources for both of us,” Chloe Qin said after pursing her lips, giving an answer that was unlikely to go wrong.

TB-21 wasn’t satisfied. She rephrased patiently. “What I mean is, from your own perspective, what makes you think you’re worthy of contracting me?”

“Myself?” Chloe Qin smiled with confidence. “I hold the title of ‘Queen of the Track.’ That comes from my absolute dominance on the circuit and my strong ability to learn racing techniques. Following me would definitely be your best choice.”

“Queen of the Track?” TB-21 looked at Chloe Qin strangely, her gaze gradually turning cold.

“Have you ever broken the Knox Rally record?”

“Uh, no. The Knox Rally is just a small event, I—”

“Then have you ever invented a phenomenon-level racing technique? Like Launch Control?”

“No.” Chloe Qin was already sensing something was wrong.

“Then how dare you call yourself the Queen of the Track?”

TB-21 let out a cold laugh. “Are you worthy?”

Those three words stabbed straight into Chloe Qin’s heart like a three-edged dagger.

She almost couldn’t catch her breath.

She glared at TB-21, her face flushing red as anger hovered on the edge of her reason.

“Leave.” TB-21 waved her hand dismissively.

…

“Today’s the first time I’ve ever felt like I had money but nowhere to spend it,” Howard Wang sighed as he stood with Chloe Qin beneath the exhibition hall.

They hadn’t managed to get a top-tier Mecha Girl, nor even the best-performing one below that tier.

In the end, they could only spend twenty million to buy a Mecha Girl with unbalanced attributes but standout strengths in certain areas.

Model KS-67. Chloe Qin named her Viper.

She had average acceleration, decent handling, and good crash resistance.

She was perfectly suited for the latter half of the Panlong Mountain Circuit.

But that was all. Once she finished running the second half of Panlong Mountain, this Mecha Girl would essentially be obsolete—unless they encountered terrain similar to Panlong Mountain’s downhill section again in the future.

“Let’s go,” Chloe Qin said darkly.

She wasn’t coming back to Tianyuan City’s auction hall ever again. No matter how good the Mecha Girls here were in the future, she wanted nothing to do with this place.

It was pure psychological trauma.

…

Back at the auction venue, DL-01 and TB-21 had returned to their room.

TB-21 stretched lazily and said with a helpless sigh, “So many rich people showed up, and I still didn’t get sold.”

She glanced at DL-01. The tall, cold, beautiful girl stood with her hands behind her back, staring out through the glass wall.

As for DL-01, TB-21 couldn’t even be bothered to comment anymore. This one was on another level entirely.

The man who’d bid 1.5 billion was an ace from a top-300 club. He’d begged and pleaded to contract DL-01, only to be completely crushed by her single sentence: “I don’t like men.”

“DL-01, today I ran into some woman who called herself the Queen of the Track. I almost laughed myself to death. I kicked her right out. Contracting with that kind of arrogant driver is bad news—she’ll probably die on the track someday.”

DL-01 didn’t respond.

She stood there without moving, like a statue gazing into the distance.

With no choice, TB-21 changed the subject.

“Looks like neither of us is getting sold. Why don’t I just wait with you? When that man comes to take you away, I’ll count as a freebie—buy one, get one free.”

The moment she said that—

DL-01 finally reacted.

She turned her head, her cold eyes slowly scanning TB-21 from top to bottom.

After a long pause, her lips moved.

“Keep dreaming.”

TB-21: “…”