After receiving confirmation over the walkie-talkie, she still felt something wasn't quite right. She went to the nearby changing room, changed into a racing suit, tidied her hair a little, and only then took the elevator down.
...
"Welcome to Smart Machinery AI Technology!"
As soon as Derek Su entered with the Mecha Girls, two rows of Mecha Girls greeted them with bows.
They all wore standard welcoming smiles, their voices each sweeter than the last.
"Whoa, this kind of reception?" Derek Su was caught off guard.
Before he could say anything, a petite and cute functional Mecha Girl in a plain white uniform stepped forward.
"Hello, Derek Su. Are you here to experience AI driving technology? We offer two options. The first is a helmet that temporarily connects an external mechanical core to you, providing assisted driving. The second is for you to pilot a Mecha Girl and compete against an AI driver. There's a cash prize if you win."
A temporarily connected mechanical core?
That sounded pretty impressive.
Derek Su clicked his tongue in amazement.
The tech behind these Mecha Girls was definitely interesting.
As for racing against an AI driver, he had already expected that on the way here.
But were they really planning to let him pilot a Mecha Girl in the race?
Wouldn't Stella, Purple Lightning, or Imperial Scale crush the competition with ease?
"Is there any risk with this external mechanical core? Does it hurt?"
As soon as Derek Su asked, the Mecha Girl had already brought over a sleek, stylish helmet.
"You're overthinking it. There's no risk at all," she said with a smile. "The helmet works by reading your brainwaves. If you make an incorrect judgment on the track, it will immediately correct your actions." She pointed at the cables inside the helmet and continued, "These connections use microcurrents to stimulate your nerves and help you issue commands. Of course, if your willpower is strong enough, the stimulation won't take effect. For example, if you make a mistake on the track, the core will try to correct it, but if you firmly believe your maneuver is correct, the correction will fail."
"Oh." Derek Su nodded in understanding.
Wearing the helmet was basically like having an assist system.
But he had no interest in trying it.
After all, as the Track Emperor, he could never be wrong. If anything was wrong, it was the track.
That was just how confident he was.
"So, Derek Su, would you like to give it a try?"
It was obvious the functional Mecha Girl really wanted him to test it out.
But she couldn't force him, so she could only look at him expectantly.
"Forget it. I'm not that interested. Tell me about the second option instead."
The Mecha Girl hid her disappointment and quickly composed herself, leading Derek Su and the others to the underground circular track on the second level.
There were already quite a few drivers and Mecha Girls waiting there, clearly all here to try out the latest AI driving technology or race against AI drivers.
"How exactly does this race work?"
Derek Su noticed many Mecha Girls near the track looked almost identical in both appearance and attire.
If not for slight differences in their looks and height, he might have thought they were mass-produced from the same mold. He also saw a driver bring his own Mecha Girl to the trackside to select one. After that, the selected Mecha Girl transformed, revealing a nearly identical vehicle form, a streamlined coupe with a rear spoiler.
"As you can see, we have Mecha Girls specifically for testing. You can freely choose one to compete against our AI drivers. These are all the same model, and after screening by Mecha Island, their performance is roughly the same."
Hearing this, Derek Su examined them more closely.
Data on the Mecha Girls gradually appeared in his vision, and it matched exactly what the functional Mecha Girl had said.
The Model X Mecha Girls all had average stats around 70.
Each attribute hovered between 68 and 72. They were even more balanced than Tunbao.
So in the end, he would be using a Mecha Girl provided by Smart Machinery AI Technology. Thinking about it, that made sense. Using his own Mecha Girl wouldn't be fair.
"So, would you like to try? The next race starts in ten minutes. We hold one round every two hours, up to six rounds a day. Each round's champion receives a prize, though it can only be claimed once." Seeing his interest, the functional Mecha Girl eagerly encouraged him.
The prize wasn't huge, just one million.
But winning it was basically equivalent to getting a free pass to the resort island.
And Derek Su was curious about how capable these AI drivers really were.
He nodded. "I'll give it a shot. Is there anything I need to prepare before the race? Go ahead and explain everything."
"There's no special preparation needed." The functional Mecha Girl suppressed her excitement and gave a professional smile. "Please come choose a Mecha Girl. Even though their performance is similar, you should still pick one you like."
The Model X Mecha Girls stood quietly against the wall, straighter than soldiers.
Even when Derek Su walked up to them, they only glanced at him slightly, saying nothing.
For some reason, looking at them made him think of products on an assembly line. Maybe it was because they were just too similar.
He shook his head, brushing aside the thought, and casually picked one that looked pleasing enough.
"I'll take her."
"Wait."
At that moment, a tall Mecha Girl in a silver-white racing suit approached.
Her outfit and appearance were similar to the X-model Mecha Girls.
But compared to the others, her pale golden eyes carried a distinct sense of authority.
The functional Mecha Girl froze in surprise when she saw her.
"Boss, you…"
"Ahem." The Mecha Girl cleared her throat.
She calmly walked past the stunned functional Mecha Girl, stepped forward, and extended her hand to Derek Su, a natural smile forming on her lips.
"Hello, Derek Su. I am X-01. You can call me Torch. Instead of choosing X-58, why not race with me?"
Derek Su looked at Torch.
Her data appeared in his vision.
[Drifting: 81]
[Acceleration: 81]
[Cornering: 81]
[Boost Charge: 81]
[Stability: 81]
[Impact Resistance: 81]
[Endurance: 81]
[Special Ability. Absolute Control: Reduces three attributes by 10 points, and raises one of the remaining four attributes to the maximum value of 100. Alternatively, reduces its own attributes to increase Endurance by an equal amount, up to a maximum of 150]
The one standing before him was a top-tier Mecha Girl.
And she wasn't contracted to anyone.
Derek Su narrowed his eyes.
His gaze swept across her golden eyes and her uniquely dyed gray-red hair.
This was something else.
An even more balanced "balance type" than Tunbao had appeared.
No wonder all the X-model Mecha Girls had such evenly distributed stats. The very first unit of this model was already like this.
The rest had simply inherited similar traits.
"Torch, huh?" Derek Su frowned slightly as he sized her up.
"As the first X-model Mecha Girl, your performance is better than the others. Wouldn't it be a bit unfair to race using you?"
...
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