"You can race. Don't underestimate yourself. In my eyes, you're an exceptional machine girl."
Shane Summers looked at Carrie XC-99 with unwavering determination, knowing he needed to instill some faith in this despairing machine girl.
"I can't!" Carrie XC-99's emotions spiraled out of control, tears streaming down her face as she covered it, sobbing hysterically. "You have no idea what kind of flaws I have. I'm a killer racecar!"
"I know you can't corner," Shane Summers said, sitting beside her and gazing at the two disassembled machine girls nearby. "But cornering isn't just the machine girl's responsibility—it's also the driver's. If the driver can master the braking point, even with your poor turning ability, we can still complete cornering maneuvers with skill."
"R-Really?" Carrie XC-99 froze, blinking her large eyes.
No one had ever said anything like that to her before.
Shane Summers held out his hand for her to see, smiling. "If a machine girl is the back of the hand, then the driver is the palm. Only together do they make a complete hand, capable of performing all kinds of tasks. So how can poor turning performance be entirely the machine girl's fault?"
Carrie XC-99 felt that Shane's words made some sense, but they clashed with the knowledge she'd been born with.
Drivers were supposed to choose high-performance machine girls to make racing easier and more cooperative.
Who in their right mind would pick a flawed machine girl that could get them killed?
Unfortunately, Shane Summers didn't give her more time to think.
He grabbed her soft hand, grinning like a sly old fox. "The Nosk Rally is in five days. You know about it, right?"
Of course Carrie XC-99 knew. The Nosk Rally was the most basic race, the first chance for any machine girl to make a name for herself. Finishing in the top ten at Nosk qualified a machine girl for higher-tier races. If she could keep pushing forward, the world championships awaited—the pinnacle and ultimate goal for all machine girls.
"My point is, if we don't start training and syncing up now, we'll run out of time."
"But…"
Carrie XC-99 was still hung up on her flaws.
"No buts. Let's go for a test run right now."
Shane didn't give her a chance to refuse, pulling her hand and leading her out of the warehouse.
By the time Carrie XC-99 realized what was happening, they were already on the street outside the scrapyard.
"I'll really get you killed…" Carrie XC-99 looked at Shane with a complicated expression.
"No, you won't. Your only concern is cornering, right? If you don't believe me, we can test it now." Shane pointed to the end of the road. "It's about 800 meters to that intersection. There's hardly any traffic around here at night. Let's use that 90-degree turn as an example. If we can successfully navigate it together, you'll contract with me and become my machine girl."
He'd learned his lesson the hard way: he wouldn't start modifying any machine girl until they were officially contracted. Jade-786 had strung him along, saying they'd contract closer to the race, only for him to be kicked out of Apex Club and have his hard work stolen by Kyle Zane. Now, he'd only invest in a machine girl who was fully his.
Carrie XC-99 stared at the intersection illuminated by streetlights. She knew full well that, with her abilities, she couldn't even handle a 90-degree turn. The best she could do was veer off a straight line, nowhere near the effortless cornering other machine girls managed. Fortunately, the cross-shaped intersection posed no risk of crashing into barriers. If she failed to turn, she could simply slow down and stop on the roadside, ensuring the driver's safety.
"Maybe we should give it a try?" A flicker of hesitation crossed Carrie XC-99's face.
Only she knew how much she longed for the track. The disparaging words, the looks of disdain—they still stabbed at her heart like knives. She often wondered why she bore the XC designation, a blazing meteor in the machine girl world. At her creation, she'd been proud of her starry name. After her debut, seeing her battered self in the mirror, scrutinized by strange gazes, she felt only shame and heartache.
"Let's try," Shane said with a smile.
"Oh, fine! Let's do it!" Carrie XC-99 gritted her teeth.
…
Despite having learned a lot about machine girls, Shane Summers still felt a surge of shock and disbelief when Carrie XC-99 transformed in front of him. Could you imagine? A cute silver-haired girl, straight out of an anime, with flesh, blood, and warmth, transforming like a Transformer into a sleek, luxurious racecar!
Shane Summers examined Carrie XC-99's car form, which resembled a Bugatti Divo from his past life. But unlike the Divo's aggressive, muscular look, Carrie XC-99 had a softer, more refined appearance, with a less ferocious front end. Her body was painted a glossy silver, matching her hair, and she had a whale-tail-like rear wing.
He'd seen Jade-786 transform before, but compared to Carrie XC-99, Jade-786 felt like a mass-produced racer, while Carrie XC-99 was unmistakably a limited-edition masterpiece.
He couldn't help but run his hand along her car body.
A shy, annoyed voice came from inside the car. "Hurry up and get in! Stop touching—it tickles!"
"Oh, uh…" Shane quickly pulled his hand back, realizing her car body was linked to her senses.
Opening the door, he saw Carrie XC-99 positioned in the center of the cockpit, posed as if riding a motorcycle. Her tight bodysuit accentuated the graceful curve of her waist and hips. Her hands and feet were integrated with the vehicle, and a futuristic mechanical arm extended from her spine toward the driver's seat, shaped like a steering yoke—the control Shane would use to pilot her. (Reference pose: Darling in the Franxx)
"Absolutely stunning…" Shane's jaw dropped as he took in the interior.
It was said that high-performance machine girls could drive themselves, with the driver primarily making judgments and providing support due to their wider field of vision. The better the machine girl's attributes, the more luxurious her interior. Carrie XC-99's cockpit was on another level compared to Jade-786's plastic-heavy interior.
"Come on already! The wind's blowing in—it's freezing!" Carrie XC-99's face flushed as she looked at Shane. It was her first time transforming and exposing her full interior to a human, and even though this man might become her driver, she couldn't help feeling shy.
Shane took a deep breath and slid into the driver's seat, acting as if he'd done it a thousand times.
How to describe it? Even the first-class airplane seats from his past life weren't as comfortable as this. It was an indescribable, skin-friendly sensation—not like a seat, but like being gently cradled by a girl. He even considered sleeping in the car tonight.
"So, how is it? Comfortable?" Carrie XC-99's voice carried a hint of nervousness.
"Extremely… comfortable!" Shane let out a sigh.
If racecars in his past life had been this comfortable, he wouldn't have developed occupational ailments.
"Hehe." A slightly goofy laugh came from Carrie XC-99 up front.
Shane reached for the control yoke. The moment he gripped it, his mind went hazy, and he felt his consciousness connect with another—Carrie XC-99's intelligent core. Now, a single thought could command her, far more precise than voice or hand controls, as nothing was faster than neural reflexes.
"So the brakes, clutch, and other controls are handled here…"
A spark of realization lit up Shane's eyes.
"You… you don't even know how to control a machine girl…" Carrie XC-99's voice echoed in his mind. "I thought you were an experienced racer."
"It's my first time driving a machine girl," Shane admitted honestly.
Carrie XC-99 felt a pang of disappointment. How could someone driving a machine girl for the first time possibly control her through corners?
Though she'd lost hope, she was still willing to take one ride with Shane—not for any grand reason, but because he was giving her a chance to hit the road properly before being scrapped, to feel affirmed and driven. That was enough for her.
"Let's go!"
Shane's lips curved into a confident smile.
Release the handbrake, shift gears, floor the accelerator. Though it was vastly different from driving racecars in his past life, as the screeching sound of tires burning rubber echoed and the rear wheels briefly skidded before regaining grip, Shane's blood ignited. Carrie XC-99's engine module let out a beastly, ear-piercing roar.
"Ah!! W-What did you do?! Why's my chest so hot?"
Carrie XC-99's panicked voice rang out.
Shane's grin widened, his eyes blazing with excitement.
"Let me show you what a catapult start is!"
With that, Carrie XC-99 shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
The engine's roar echoed through the entire street!