"Derek, sorry—but you're fired from the Ascend Racing Club."
Slam!
A contract slapped onto the table.
Derek Su glanced at the papers, then at the blond-haired man across from him, raising an eyebrow.
The blond, Kyle Zhang, was the owner of Ascend Racing Club, commanding five racers and three Mecha Girls.
The document in front of him was a breach-of-contract notice—accusing him of forcibly molesting Mecha Girl [Jade-786] after training on April 1, 2024. It claimed he'd seriously violated human–Mecha Girl interaction protocols and was being expelled from the club. Getting fired also meant losing his position as [Jade-786]'s pilot, along with his eligibility for the Knox Rally.
"Considering the good job you've done on modifications lately—especially how well you've trained [Jade-786]—we're dropping the penalty fee. Be grateful." Kyle smirked, tossing a pen in front of him. "Sign it and get out."
"Molestation?!"
Derek stood up, glaring coldly at him. "I was inspecting her engine Module—of course there'd be physical contact. I touched her back and that's 'molestation'? If my hand had slid a little lower, would she have dropped to the floor, ovulated, and given birth to a Chery QQ?"
"Derek! Watch your mouth."
Kyle frowned and sat up straighter, impatience creeping into his voice.
"Jade Chu is my Mecha Girl now. I formed a Mind-Imprint Contract with her yesterday. Insulting her is insulting me."
And with that, the whole picture finally clicked for Derek.
He had spent an entire month carefully modifying her, even paying out of his own pocket to train her—only for someone else to swoop in and take the prize.
And now, even the race qualification he fought so hard for was gone.
Kyle's shameless move had wiped out all his effort and thrown his entire development plan in this world into chaos.
Because the truth was—Derek wasn't from this world at all.
He had arrived just over a month ago in this world obsessed with speed and adrenaline. Mecha Girl Rally was its defining form of entertainment and competitive sport—its equivalent to Hollywood, the World Cup, the Olympics, and every major global industry rolled into one. Achieving success here meant becoming a superstar.
But this world's rallies were different: the vehicles racing down the tracks weren't ordinary cars, but Mecha Girls—beings who lived like normal human girls off the track but transformed into intelligent mechanical race machines during the competition.
"Did Jade-786 actually agree to this on her own? You didn't force her?"
He couldn't picture the normally obedient Mecha Girl betraying him.
"Of course she agreed. Jade-786 came to me herself."
Kyle leaned back lazily. "If you don't believe it, ask her."
He clapped once. A tall girl stepped through the door.
"Master, you called?"
Jade approached Kyle with a respectful expression.
That humble demeanor was familiar—she behaved the same way in front of him. Yet at this moment, Jade-786 felt like a stranger. As his gaze settled on her, a translucent status panel flickered into view over her body.
[Drifting: 66]
[Acceleration: 72]
[Cornering: 61]
[Boost Charge: 55]
[Stability: 53]
[Impact Resistance: 51]
[Endurance: 60]
[Evaluation: Barely meets baseline requirements for a standard track run. Terrible stability and impact resistance—falls apart from the slightest bump!]
Only he could see this panel—one of the special systems he'd gained after arriving in this world.
The other system let him earn MP points through races and use them to strengthen his mecha girl's attributes.
Jade-786's current stats were already the result of many replaced parts—tires, chassis, batteries, anything that didn't require a Module. When he first received her, she couldn't even finish a standard race. The other two Mecha Girls in Ascend were in even worse condition.
His original plan was to take Jade-786 through a few small training races before next week's Knox Rally, build up MP, boost her weak Impact Resistance, and give her a chance at a decent result.
But now? Jade-786 had ditched him entirely.
"Jade, tell Derek—did you come to me yourself yesterday for the contract?"
Kyle wrapped an arm around her waist, pride written all over his face.
Jade met Derek's eyes. Her voice was cold.
"Derek has no racing experience. He hasn't even done a training run. He's just a rookie driver. Master is different—he's competed in several Knox Rallies. His bad results were because his Mecha Girl was weak."
"Me, a rookie?"
Derek pointed at himself, anger bubbling into laughter.
In his past life, he'd been a world-class racer. If someone hadn't sabotaged his brakes in his final race—sending him off a cliff to his death—he'd be celebrating with a championship trophy in his villa right now.
"What are you laughing at? The rage of the incompetent?"
Kyle crossed one leg over the other, staring at him with a strange expression.
"Was Jade wrong? To place in the Knox Rally, you need a solid Mecha Girl and a skilled driver. You, Derek, haven't raced even once. You're unqualified. I only gave you Jade-786 because of your modification skills. Now it's her choice. You don't get a say."
He shoved the contract closer, clearly waiting for a signature.
Derek looked at both of them in silence for a moment, then picked up the pen and signed in bold, sweeping strokes.
"That's more like it."
Kyle grinned. "You're still young. There'll be chances later. And I don't want to waste talent—how about becoming Jade-786's dedicated tuner? Same salary."
Derek said nothing.
After a long moment, a cold laugh slid through his teeth and filled the office.
"Kyle, do you even know what wall-hanging overtaking is? What Gutter-Run Cornering is? What drifting is?"
"...You don't know anything."
He turned to Jade-786, his expression turning icier.
"You ungrateful scrap heap. You really think I'd want your fragile chassis that shatters on contact? Or your snail-slow, clumsy cornering?"
Jade-786's face went pale, her eyes trembling with shock.
In the month he had her, he'd never driven her—not once. He'd never run diagnostics either.
So how did he know her flaws?
"Maybe he guessed..."
She tried to convince herself, but unease gnawed at her.
Had she made the wrong choice yesterday?
No. Impossible.
He was a rookie—good only at modifications.
He hadn't even known what Modules or AI cores were when he first got her.
Racing with someone like him meant she'd never earn any glory—only fade into mediocrity.
Kyle couldn't understand any of Derek's jargon; he'd never even heard those terms before.
But he understood the insults—being called ignorant—and Jade-786 being criticized.
He had driven Jade-786 yesterday, and the handling felt leagues better than every other Mecha Girl in the club.
All of which only convinced him that Derek was throwing a tantrum, barking because Jade-786 didn't choose her old pilot.
"Derek, you're not even a pilot. What makes you think you're anything?"
Kyle slammed the table, pointing at him.
"I can compete in the Knox Rally. Can you? Which Mecha Girl would follow you? If you've got the guts, go contract one yourself. If you can keep your taillights out of my sight in next week's Knox Rally, Jade-786 will naturally return to you!"
"No need. Keep that junk car."
Derek turned, pushed open the door, and stepped into the darkness.
His detached voice echoed in the office:
"Kyle. Jade-786. See you on the track."
...