Imperial Scale deactivated her deployment mode and supported Derek Su as they descended from midair.
Her chassis sat high off the ground, so when she disengaged the mode, both she and Derek Su were briefly suspended in the air.
The moment Derek Su stepped out of Imperial Scale, the cold night wind hit him, and he couldn't help but shiver.
The desert at night was freezing, and the inside of Imperial Scale had been far too warm.
The contrast made it even harder to bear. For a split second, he even had the instinctive urge to duck back into Imperial Scale's embrace—a purely human response to the cold. But the chill quickly faded. A heavy coat was draped over his shoulders, carrying Imperial Scale's rose fragrance and lingering warmth. The thick fabric shut out the biting wind completely.
"Where did this come from?" Derek Su asked, startled.
"Prepared in advance," Imperial Scale replied calmly, reaching out to fasten the buttons for him.
"Pretty thoughtful."
Derek Su slid his arms into the sleeves, rubbing the fabric between his fingers. It felt oddly novel to him.
"Master!"
The moment Derek Su turned around, a petite figure slammed into his arms.
The impact was no joke. Fortunately, Stella knew to hold back, and Derek Su's physique was far stronger than before. Though he staggered back a few steps, he managed to catch her.
"Master, I was so worried about you."
Stella buried her head in Derek Su's chest, her voice muffled.
He could feel something damp soaking into his clothes.
The little girl must have been terrified. She'd even cried.
"See? I'm fine." Derek Su smiled and gently rubbed Stella's head. "You know me. I never do anything without being sure of it."
"I know." Stella lifted her head, her eyes red, tears still clinging to her lashes.
Seeing that Derek Su was unharmed and in good spirits, she pursed her lips—then broke into a teary smile. "I'm a killing Mecha Girl, after all. If Master wasn't confident, he wouldn't have contracted me."
"Exactly." Derek Su nodded seriously. "If you can't even take me down, what's a mere tornado?"
Stella hugged him a moment longer before letting go.
She walked up to Imperial Scale, bowed deeply, and presented the prepared nutrient solution with both hands.
"Imperial Scale, thank you for bringing Master safely to the finish line. You've worked hard!"
Imperial Scale looked Stella up and down without speaking for quite a while.
Just as Stella started to feel awkward—
Imperial Scale's red lips moved slightly. "Is the Pineapple King planning to recruit this rebel king?"
"W-Well…" Stella's face flushed all the way to her ears. Even more embarrassed now, she stared down at her shoes, toes curling inside them.
A soft laugh sounded by her ear.
"Thank you. I was a bit thirsty."
Imperial Scale accepted the nutrient solution, unscrewed the cap, and took a graceful sip.
Stella let out a long breath in relief.
So Imperial Scale wasn't that hard to get along with after all.
She just looked cold on the surface.
If that was the case, then maybe even a rebel king could be persuaded to surrender.
From now on, she would treat Tunbao and Imperial Scale even better—win them over with love and move them to submit willingly!
Stella's eyes darted about mischievously, the corners of her lips curling up like a crafty little fox.
Derek Su's mouth twitched. One look at those spinning eyes and he knew she was cooking up some strange idea again.
"What? Only fourth place?!"
Tunbao's exaggerated roar rang out from the distance.
Derek Su turned to see Tunbao grabbing Aiyo by the collar, lifting him clean off the ground with an angry expression.
"Tire change, tornado—none of that gets us extra time?!"
Aiyo's face went pale as he stammered, "W-We can't! Unexpected incidents are part of racing. If everything could be compensated, the whole system would fall apart!"
"Oh yeah? Since that's the case, then it's perfectly reasonable if I accidentally crush you to death here, right?!"
Tunbao drove her knee up into Aiyo's stomach.
"Hey! Help! Whose Mecha Girl is this?! She's going to kill someone—!!"
Tunbao was the type who meant what she said. If she said she'd crush him, she would.
Maybe not literally—but she'd definitely leave him with a lifelong memory.
However…
"Ahem."
The rage vanished from Tunbao's face in an instant. She set Aiyo down, straightened his collar, then patted her own cheeks and used her fingers to force a stiff smile onto her face before turning around.
"Hi~ Boss. It's quite cool tonight. Seeing you and the boss return safely really warms my heart~"
Imperial Scale fell silent for a moment.
Her gaze shifted to the timing board.
Fourth place.
One and a half points behind GPC Club, twenty-three seconds behind third-place TGB Club.
Her fist clenched tightly.
A sharp, oppressive aura radiated from Imperial Scale.
Tunbao and Aiyo both shuddered, their faces draining of color.
"Fourth place… fourth place… Disgrace. Disgrace!!"
Head lowered, Imperial Scale muttered to herself as sand swirled around her feet.
Just when Tunbao thought Imperial Scale was about to explode—
Imperial Scale silently turned and walked up to Derek Su. She bowed.
"I'm sorry, Master."
"Only fourth place. I was useless."
Derek Su was completely dumbfounded.
What was this?
It was just a training race. They'd dealt with underhanded interference and a tornado on top of that. Fourth was fourth.
Honestly, given everything that had happened, finishing fourth was already impressive.
"Imperial Scale, it's fine. We'll just work harder next time." Derek Su stepped forward, patted her shoulder, and spoke gently. "And this really wasn't your fault. The tire issue was my oversight. The tornado was a natural disaster—no one wants to run into that. How could I blame you?"
"I inherited your power, yet I couldn't win glory for you…"
"Huh?" Her voice was so low and indistinct that even when Derek Su leaned closer, he could barely hear her.
"I'm not worthy to be the No. 1 Mecha Girl of the Imperial Family…"
Imperial Scale raised her head, biting her red lip as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"I've failed your cultivation!" she cried out, throwing herself into Derek Su's arms and burying her face in his shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.
Derek Su froze.
So did Tunbao and Stella. Their mouths fell open in perfect O-shapes.
Good God. Imperial Scale was actually… crying.
Clinging to Derek Su like a little girl, wailing her heart out.
"Unbelievable!" Tunbao's pupils trembled as if she'd seen a ghost.
Stella took a moment to recover.
She'd seen competitive Mecha Girls before, but Imperial Scale's obsession with results was on another level.
And when she lost, she took every bit of blame onto herself instead of faulting anyone else.
It was… something you'd never guess from her usual demeanor.
Derek Su gently patted Imperial Scale's back, his whole body stiff.
He finally understood what she'd meant earlier.
When she said she cared about competition results, she hadn't been exaggerating. She truly meant it.
"Well, even if you came in fourth, you're still the uncrowned champions~"
Lucy Luo walked over with Eternity, astonishment still evident in her eyes as she looked at Imperial Scale.
When she first met Imperial Scale, she'd been completely amazed.
She'd thought Imperial Scale was the quintessential aloof queen—cool, dominant, and unshakably strong.
And now…
She was even more amazed.
"If it weren't for the tire incident and the tornado, you would've taken first." Lucy Luo lifted the briefcase containing five million and smiled. "I don't feel right keeping this money. Under normal circumstances, it should've been yours."
GPC Club wasn't short on funds, and Lucy Luo had never worried about money.
But she knew the newly established Stella Club must be strapped for cash.
Of course, she also admired Imperial Scale and wanted to comfort her.
More importantly, she was certain Imperial Scale wouldn't accept it.
"Do you really think that?"
Imperial Scale lifted her head from Derek Su's shoulder, eyes red as she looked at Lucy Luo.
"That we're the uncrowned kings?"
"Uh… yes." Lucy Luo blinked. "That's what we think, so—"
Whoosh!
Before she could finish, the briefcase was gone.
Imperial Scale held it tightly in her arms, her expression already restored to its usual indifference.
Aside from her reddened eyes and tear-streaked cheeks, there was no sign she had just broken down moments ago.
She raised her chin slightly, face expressionless.
"Thank you."
Lucy Luo & Eternity: "…"
That was… completely unexpected.
...
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