"Ladies and gentlemen, there's not a moment to rest! The first section of the Panlong Mountain Circuit has come to a temporary close.
"Next up is the second section of Panlong Mountain, the downhill course, and I guarantee it'll be every bit as exciting as the first!"
Kool Kenny planted one hand on his hip and struck an especially flamboyant pose.
His commentary today was unusually passionate.
The electrifying atmosphere of the race had clearly gotten to him.
"As everyone knows, going up a mountain is easy, but coming down is hard. The same applies to racing. Panlong Mountain's downhill course is incredibly treacherous. Those familiar with the circuit probably already know about places like Flying Dragon Cliff and Dragon Stone Road, so I won't waste time describing them. You'll see them for yourselves once the race begins."
"For the second section of Panlong Mountain, thirty Mecha Girls will start at the same time. Originally, every Mecha Girl was supposed to start together, but there are simply too many competitors this year, so after some discussion, the organizers decided to make a slight adjustment to the rules."
In previous years, Panlong Mountain had seventy or eighty competitors at most.
This year, the number had more than doubled.
Granted, some were returning racers who hadn't competed the previous year or had failed to place in the top ten and were trying again.
Even excluding them, however, there were still far more newly qualified provincial-level racers this year than usual.
As for why, it had a lot to do with the widespread adoption of Launch Control and Drifting techniques.
By now, every racer competing at the provincial level had mastered Launch Control and basic Drifting techniques. Those skills greatly increased their chances of clearing the provincial advancement races, which naturally meant more racers qualifying for the provincial-level Panlong Mountain Circuit.
In a sense, Derek Su had single-handedly pushed the entire racing industry forward.
It might even lead to more and more Techmasters in the future.
After all, with so many qualified racers to accommodate, the provincial-level circuit that had traditionally been held once a year might soon be held twice, or even three times annually. Other advancement races would likely increase their frequency as well.
But that was a matter for the future.
Once the rules had been announced, Kool Kenny instructed all competitors to enter deployment mode and prepare for the start.
Quite a few racers still hadn't finished the first section, but that didn't matter. The two sections were timed separately anyway.
The final result would be determined by adding the times from both sections together.
Inside Purple Lightning's cockpit, Derek Su looked around.
He was in the first group of thirty racers.
The organizers seemed to have arranged the starting groups according to average speed on the first section, so almost everyone in the first batch came from a respectable club.
Naturally, that included plenty of familiar faces.
The starting area for Panlong Mountain's second section was shaped like a funnel, or rather, half of one.
The track began extremely wide, but over the course of the first kilometer, it gradually narrowed until only two Mecha Girls could race side by side.
"This is going to turn into a free-for-all."
Derek Su rested one arm against the window and frowned.
The track layout made its purpose obvious.
It was designed to force the competitors into direct confrontation.
And with the second section packed with downhill stretches and sharp turns, there was no telling how many racers would lose control and go flying off the track.
Thump, thump, thump!
The sound of helicopter rotors came from overhead.
Several rescue teams had already taken off.
One of them belonged to the Stella Club. Imperial Scale was aboard and even waved down at Derek Su and Purple Lightning.
...
[All competitors, prepare for the start! Ten-second countdown!]
The instant the announcement rang out, all thirty racers lined up at the starting point tensed.
Almost simultaneously, they engaged their handbrakes and stepped on the accelerator.
ROAR—!!
Engines erupted all around them.
White exhaust smoke mixed with dust whipped up by the wind, quickly blanketing the entire starting area and filling the track with a tense, almost murderous atmosphere.
Snowpeak had a small square packet clenched between her teeth. She turned and gave Leon Li a pitiful look.
Leon Li nearly blacked out.
He shook his head firmly. "There are cameras. Be good. We can do it again when we get back."
Snowpeak whimpered unhappily and reluctantly put the little packet away.
If she had known this would happen, she wouldn't have spent so much time fooling around with Leon Li earlier.
What was she supposed to do now?
Inside Viper's cockpit, Chloe Qin glanced toward Purple Lightning nearby, the corner of her mouth curling upward.
She was ready.
She would defeat Derek Su using his own techniques.
Richard Cheng gripped Ghost's control stick with both hands, his gaze cold and sharp.
Meister carefully checked his gloves and helmet, breathed out slowly, then pressed his palms together.
"Amen."
"Purple Lightning, you can do it!!"
Stella's voice rang out.
Purple Lightning's nervousness eased slightly.
She stared at the track with a seriousness she had never shown before.
"Relax. I'm here."
Derek Su's calm voice settled Purple Lightning's nerves completely.
[...Three, two, one!]
[BEEEEEP!!]
The instant the starting signal sounded, the roar of the engines became even more violent.
Smoke and dust completely swallowed the starting line, making the competitors inside almost impossible to see.
Kool Kenny filmed the action from a helicopter overhead.
Within mere seconds, more than a dozen Mecha Girls had already started fighting for position.
Two streaks, one black and one red, burst out of the dust and took the lead.
Leon Li and Snowpeak.
Laiya An and Dawnbreak.
Meister's Black Fortress and Chloe Qin's Viper followed closely behind.
Behind them came Richard Cheng and Ghost, both looking completely composed.
With the AI core to back her up, Chloe Qin had abandoned cornering performance altogether and equipped Viper with an extremely aggressive speed module.
As a result, Viper was frighteningly fast.
She was already threatening to overtake Snowpeak at the front.
But at that moment, inside Black Fortress's cockpit, a vicious grin spread across Meister's face.
This was exactly the kind of highly confrontational track he loved.
A course where Black Fortress could fully demonstrate her superiority.
The strongest racers from every club were gathered around him now.
It was time.
"Black Fortress!" he roared excitedly. "Use your special skill!"
Black Fortress obeyed at once.
A red gleam flashed through her eyes.
BOOM—!!
A thunderous blast exploded across the track.
Every racer except Derek Su felt a chill run down their back.
An ocher shockwave burst outward from Black Fortress, spreading in all directions like ripples across thick mud.
Viper was the first to be hit.
The instant the shockwave reached them, the AI core had already reacted for Chloe Qin, steering Viper away from Black Fortress.
Even so, Viper was still thrown sideways and slammed hard into the rock wall.
Viper screamed inside the cockpit.
Chloe Qin's hair had come loose, blood running down her forehead and making her look like a vengeful ghost.
Fortunately, the impact wasn't severe enough to knock them out of the race.
Ghost was hit next.
Richard Cheng's expression didn't change in the slightest.
The instant the shockwave struck Ghost, both he and Ghost blurred into distorted light and shadow.
Then the entire vehicle vanished.
It flashed forward again and again, instantly surging ahead and even overtaking Dawnbreak and Snowpeak.
"What the fuck?!"
Even Meister stared in shock from inside Black Fortress's cockpit.
Next came Dawnbreak and Snowpeak.
Snowpeak gritted her teeth and took the shockwave head-on.
Her high Impact Resistance showed its value immediately. Aside from losing some speed, she remained completely stable.
Dawnbreak didn't have the same level of Impact Resistance or Stability.
The moment the shockwave hit, she lost control.
Fortunately, Laiya An's piloting skills were solid. She immediately hauled Dawnbreak back onto the track before she could veer completely off course.
The other competitors weren't so lucky.
By the time Black Fortress's special skill had fully run its course, fourteen racers had already been eliminated.
Some slammed into the cliffs and suffered severe injuries.
Others flipped into ditches.
A few were unlucky enough to get caught in chain collisions with other racers. The Mecha Girls themselves took heavy damage, while some pilots inside the cockpits were left in life-threatening condition.
But what did any of that have to do with Derek Su?
Up ahead, the track had descended into complete chaos, with dust and smoke billowing everywhere.
Meanwhile, Derek Su calmly piloted Purple Lightning at the very back, cruising along without a care in the world.
"Youth really is wonderful. So full of energy, then out cold the moment they hit the ground."
He sighed as they passed a Mecha Girl lying upside down, all four wheels still spinning.
And while he was there, he even had Purple Lightning drift a circle around the overturned Mecha Girl to build up her skill gauge...
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
p-@-treon/GhostParser (40 Chapters Ahead)
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.