Chapter 137: The Duel
Things unfolded almost exactly as Derek Su had expected.
He really did start at the same time as Eternity-01.
Race officials were clearing away some of the track equipment, opening up the road for Stella and Eternity-01. The two Mecha Girls lined up side by side, ten meters apart.
“Derek Su, that Mecha Girl is insanely fast. You and Stella need to be careful…” Zane and Lingwind came over to the window to give a quick reminder. On desert tracks, tires were prone to slipping. If two Mecha Girls with similar speeds clipped each other, it would be painful to watch—and painful in every other sense too.
“Relax. Stella will be fine.”
Derek Su nodded to Zane and Lingwind. In the first segment, they were already 3 minutes and 27 seconds behind GPC Club. Stella couldn’t outpace Eternity-01 in raw speed. For the second segment, his goal was simple—don’t let Eternity-01 widen the gap. That alone would count as a win.
After that, Eternity-01 would be done.
The third and fourth segments would be where Tunbao and Imperial Scale made their comeback.
Inside Eternity-01’s cockpit, Lucy Luo looked like a completely different person. The moment her hands wrapped around the control stick, all traces of laziness and drowsiness vanished. What remained was excitement and confidence. Her bright eyes were locked onto the track, battle intent surging within them.
“Hey, Eternity, the driver and Mecha Girl next to us look pretty strong,” Lucy Luo said lightly. “Our launch start was something we picked up from them, you know~”
Eternity lifted her gaze slightly, glancing at Derek Su sitting upright in the neighboring cockpit, and replied coolly, “The Magician, right? His technique really is impressive. And Master, don’t underestimate his Mecha Girl either. I can sense the presence of a top-tier speed-type Mecha Girl from that silver unit.”
“Oh?” Lucy Luo blinked, her interest clearly piqued as she sized up Stella.
Eternity rarely spoke so seriously.
Once she did, it meant the opponent definitely had real substance.
“Looks like this race might actually be fun~ I wonder if Mr. Magician can make me take things a little seriously?”
“Master, don’t let your guard down,” Eternity replied.
Eternity-01 withdrew her gaze from Derek Su.
Lucy Luo was an exceptionally talented driver. When launch starts and drifting techniques first appeared, she quickly mastered both and fused them together. In fact, long before that, she had already been able to use drifting-like techniques. She simply found they were slower than normal cornering at the time and didn’t pursue them further. It wasn’t until she watched Derek Su race that she realized drifting itself was a deep art.
When to use it. How to judge the entry point. What cornering speed would stay within control. Where to place the braking point.
All of it demanded dense layers of technique—things that could only be grasped through relentless practice and real track experience.
And Lucy Luo picked them up frighteningly fast.
Far faster than that so-called “Queen of the Track” who was nothing but hot air. And Lucy Luo never bragged about it.
In Eternity’s eyes, Derek Su was like a bottomless abyss. Every race, he revealed something new.
Lucy Luo, on the other hand, was like the sea—absorbing everything, learning whatever appeared, rapidly digesting others’ techniques and turning them into her own system.
Which was stronger—the abyss or the ocean?
She couldn’t say.
But she knew one thing for sure—
Today, she was going to have a blast.
...
The final trace of sunset sank beneath the horizon.
Night fell, stars slowly emerging across the sky.
A full moon rose in the west, keeping the desolate desert from being swallowed by complete darkness.
The wind howled past the cockpit windows. As a helicopter roared overhead, the starting gun fired with a sharp bang.
Boom—!
One white, one silver—both Mecha Girls surged forward like twin serpents slicing through sand, winding their way along the Maratela circuit. The roar of their engines completely drowned out the helicopter’s rotors.
“Ladies and gentlemen, GPC Club’s Eternity-01 and SC (Stella Club)’s Stella are starting simultaneously! The first segment spans 432 kilometers. Eternity-01 holds the fastest record at 65 minutes and 32 seconds, while SC Club’s Zane and Lingwind completed it in 68 minutes and 47 seconds… A young ace from GPC Club versus the popular dark horse, the Magician! Can Mr. Magician close a three-minute gap through technique alone?”
...
Stella: “Two hundred meters ahead, right three. Enter from the left.”
Eternity: “Two hundred meters, right three, left entry!”
The two Mecha Girls spoke almost in unison.
At nearly the same instant, Derek Su and Lucy Luo both turned their control sticks left.
“Where will you brake?” Lucy Luo glanced sideways.
The yellow sand nearly swallowed all visibility, yet she seemed able to see straight through the dust—locking onto the stern-faced man beside her.
Derek Su pulled the handbrake.
It was his first time racing on the Maratela circuit, yet it felt as if he had driven it countless times before.
Once you’ve run enough tracks, every corner brings up a memory—another turn with a similar angle, a similar surface. His brain worked like a precise machine, constantly matching, substituting, and issuing commands.
Visibility in the desert night was terrible.
But Derek Su didn’t need to see clearly.
The track he perceived was fundamentally different from what other drivers saw.
At the same time, he finally understood Zane’s brutal special training.
He was sharper now.
Before, he had been a wolf with a keen sense of smell.
Now, he was a falcon locking onto prey, diving straight down for the kill.
Eternity-01 entered the corner first.
But Derek Su braked later than Lucy Luo.
The difference was only a fraction of a second—but the exit speeds were worlds apart.
Stella burst out of the corner faster than Eternity.
Without a speed advantage, they made up the difference through cornering technique.
Inside Eternity’s cockpit, Lucy Luo stared at Stella still running side by side after the exit, a flicker of surprise crossing her eyes.
It vanished almost instantly, replaced by a fierce, excited smile.
“The Magician? Not bad!”
There was no admiration in her voice—only excitement.
Derek Su’s cornering technique was far more mature than hers.
Even with her terrifying learning speed, she was mercilessly outmatched by this old monster when it came to experience.
But both Lucy Luo and Derek Su knew one thing.
The Maratela circuit wasn’t all corners.
If you weren’t afraid of danger—or quicksand—you could just floor it in a straight line to the finish.
“Eternity, speed up. Five million can buy a lot of snacks,” Lucy Luo said casually.
Eternity didn’t reply, but the engine’s furious roar answered for her.
She released her full acceleration potential. Speed surged.
“Oh? Accelerating?”
In Derek Su’s peripheral vision, the wall of sand thrown up by Eternity rolled steadily forward. The sandstorm in Stella’s windshield grew thicker and thicker.
“I’m not about to let my Stella eat sand.”
He sneered, converting the 30 MP points from the Silverstone Advanced Race into three attribute points and dumping them all into Acceleration.
Derek Su had assumed Stella’s acceleration would cap at 100.
But as her status panel flickered, he froze in shock.
Stella’s acceleration jumped from 97.2—
To 100.2.
An attribute.
Breaking past 100…
Author's Note
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