Chapter 88: I Refuse
Before meeting Chloe, Purple Lightning would have considered Leon a good option.
But now, even as a rookie ace, Leon Li was no different from any other driver.
“Sorry. I won’t become anyone’s Mecha Girl.”
Purple Lightning’s expression was calm and distant, leaving no room for discussion.
A flicker of surprise crossed Leon Li’s eyes as he turned to exchange a glance with Snowpeak.
He hadn’t expected her to refuse outright.
Though caught off guard, Leon Li wasn’t the type to force things. Every Mecha Girl had her own personality and choices—he might not always understand them, but he respected them. Snowpeak was the same. Ever since her first nighttime ambush, he had known she was one in a hundred thousand among Mecha Girls, someone no ordinary driver could handle.
“Alright then. Goodbye.”
Leon Li nodded, took Snowpeak’s hand, and turned to leave.
“Tsk tsk, actually got rejected. Master, your charm isn’t enough—looks like you haven’t been training hard enough~”
“Snowpeak, I know exactly what you mean.”
Leon Li reached into his bag, pulled out a ginseng root, and crunched on it with a crack crack, his face completely serious.
“When we get home, train me as much as you want. I’ll definitely become stronger.”
“Oh!” Snowpeak dragged a truckload of [Okamoto 001] with one hand and casually patted Leon Li’s butt with the other. “So energetic!”
...
On the other side, Stella sneaked up beside Derek Su, tiptoeing and leaning close to whisper in his ear.
“Leon Li and Snowpeak left without even saying goodbye—total rotten eggs. But hey, that Purple Lightning rejected them! Master, how about…?”
“How about what?” Derek Su raised an eyebrow.
“How about you try too?” Stella coaxed. “You’re the King of Knox, the Magician, the Great Pineapple King, the most handsome man in the world! If Leon Li failed to recruit her, maybe you’ll succeed. Then you’d have a secondary Mecha Girl!”
“But didn’t you say Purple Lightning was scary?”
Stella nodded solemnly. “But how can the Pineapple King not have a sword-wielding guard?”
Derek Su: “...”
He became even more confused about what role the Great Pineapple King played in the Pineapple King’s worldview.
Was he some retired emperor wearing a pineapple helmet, clad in pineapple plate armor, white-haired and hunched over, barely able to walk?
Still, Purple Lightning was undeniably an outstanding Mecha Girl. And since she’d already been abandoned by her club and driver, it might be worth trying to bring her over. It was just that she looked extremely unapproachable—probably not easy to contract.
“Master, go try!”
Stella pushed at Derek Su’s waist from behind. “Go on, go on!”
Left with no choice, Derek Su walked up to Purple Lightning. She was still looking at her phone, but her finger had stopped moving. He knew she had already noticed him and Stella. She didn’t look up or speak, simply waiting for them to say something first.
The pressure hit him instantly.
What Derek Su didn’t know was that Purple Lightning was just as nervous inside. She subconsciously held her breath, feeling as though time itself had slowed to a crawl.
“H-Hello, I’m Derek Su. Um… I’m not sure if you know me. A lot of people call me the Magician.”
Derek Su scratched his head, mortified. He felt like he could dig straight through the soles of his shoes—maybe even carve out a three-bedroom apartment.
Behind him, Stella covered her mouth and snickered, clearly having no intention of helping.
“I saw you on the track earlier. You were… pretty impressive.”
Derek Su had never felt this awkward in both his lives combined.
Purple Lightning’s presence was simply too cold and aloof—on top of that, she was a beautiful Mecha Girl. Even with Stella cheering him on from behind, he couldn’t help feeling nervous.
Fortunately, Purple Lightning didn’t ignore him or roll her eyes.
Without lifting her head, a soft voice came from beneath her hood.
“What do you want?”
“I’d like to invite you to become my secondary Mecha Girl. I can’t guarantee everything, but resources and track opportunities will be adjusted to suit your strengths.”
Purple Lightning was especially suited for tracks full of tight corners and obstacles—the kind even Stella’s headstrong style couldn’t brute-force through.
And there were plenty of such races. The Silverstone Advancement Race was a prime example, packed with twists and turns.
The girl in front of them stayed silent.
Derek Su and Stella both grew increasingly anxious, unaware that Purple Lightning’s heart was in just as much turmoil.
They had really invited her.
Purple Lightning had imagined this possibility before—only to dismiss it again and again.
She didn’t think she had anything worthy of Derek Su’s interest.
Her speed was painfully slow. At best, she was technically skilled. As for special abilities, Derek Su and Stella didn’t even know she had them. She herself hadn’t fully activated them yet. And even if she could, she would never deliberately display her abilities just to catch someone’s attention. That wasn’t who she was.
When Derek Su said he wanted to invite her to be his secondary Mecha Girl…
She almost agreed.
But Purple Lightning was afraid.
Afraid that after saying yes, once she mentioned the breach penalty—over twenty million—he would show regret and disappointment and gently turn her away.
She couldn’t imagine how devastated and hopeless she would feel then.
She didn’t dare gamble.
After all, no matter how you looked at it, twenty million was an enormous sum.
That money could be used to auction a top-tier Mecha Girl, or to buy gold or even Diamond Modules. From any angle, it was a far better investment than recruiting a Mecha Girl whose speed was abysmally slow. Derek Su and Stella might accept her because they thought her penalty fee was manageable—but once it crossed their threshold, she would still be abandoned.
No matter the form that abandonment took.
Purple Lightning never wanted to experience that again.
Silently, she stood up, clutching the case containing 250,000 as if it were her last lifeline.
Under Derek Su and Stella’s confused gazes, she turned away. A single tear slid down her cheek, and blood seeped from her tightly bitten red lips.
She took a deep breath and forced out two words in as calm a tone as she could manage.
“Sorry.”
“Ah… it’s fine…” Derek Su felt a little disappointed and was about to say more—
But Purple Lightning had already run off.
Her retreating figure looked flustered, like a frightened stray cat, her slender silhouette gradually swallowed by the darkness.
Under the dim streetlights, her shadow flickered beneath her feet as she ran.
A cold wind blew back her hood, revealing messy strands of hair and eyes blurred with tears.
She ran far.
Stopping beneath a streetlamp, she stared blankly at the end of the road, then looked up at the light itself. Slowly, she raised her hand. Under the glow, the scars covering her fingers resembled a tangled spiderweb, still faintly throbbing with pain.
As if trying to touch the light spilling from the lampshade, she hesitated—then let her arm fall limply.
She muttered softly,
“If I could pay off the breach penalty… and get another chance…”
“I’d definitely say yes, wouldn’t I?”
Comments (0)
Please login or sign up to post a comment.