Even Top Racers Have Their Days of Being Disdained

"Su Nian, I'm sorry, but you've been terminated from the Tengyue Club."

*Slap*—

A contract was thrown onto the table.

Su Nian glanced at the contract, then at the blonde-haired man across from him, raising an eyebrow.

The blonde man was Zhang Kai, owner of the Tengyue Club, who commanded 5 racers and 3 Mecha-Maidens.

Before him lay a termination contract—stating that on April 1st, 2024, after training, he had sexually harassed Mecha-Maiden [Yu-786], seriously violating the regulations governing human-Mecha-Maiden interactions. He had been dismissed from the Tengyue Club. This dismissal also meant he would lose his status as Yu-786's driver and his qualification to participate in The Norsk Rally.

"Given that you've done decent work in our club's modification department, especially in training Yu-786 well, we'll waive the breach of contract fee. You should be grateful," Zhang Kai said with an arrogant smile, tossing a pen in front of Su Nian. "Just sign the contract and get out!"

"Sexual harassment?!" Su Nian stood up, glaring coldly at Zhang Kai. "I was checking her engine module, physical contact was unavoidable. Just touching her back counts as harassment? If I'd moved my hand any lower, would she have sat down and given birth to a Chery QQ?"

"Su Nian! Show some respect." Zhang Kai frowned and sat up straight, his tone impatient:

"Yu is my Mecha-Maiden now. I established a soul imprint contract with her yesterday. Insulting her is insulting me!"

With Zhang Kai's words, Su Nian finally understood the real reason.

The Mecha-Maiden he had spent a month carefully modifying, even investing his own money in training, had been snatched away.

And now he'd lost the competition qualification he'd worked so hard to obtain.

Zhang Kai's shameless behavior had rendered all his efforts worthless, including his plans for development in this world.

Indeed, Su Nian wasn't from this world.

He had arrived in this world of speed and passion just over a month ago. The Mecha-Maiden rally was the main theme of entertainment and competitive sports in this world, equivalent to the combined status of Hollywood, World Cup, Olympics, and other world-class industries on Earth. Success in this field could make one a superstar.

However, the rallies in this world were somewhat different. The vehicles competing on the track weren't ordinary race cars, but special beings called Mecha-Maidens. Outside of races, they were indistinguishable from human girls, only transforming into Mechanical Maiden Vehicles on the track for their drivers to control.

"Did Yu-786 agree to this willingly? You didn't coerce her?"

Su Nian thought of the Mecha-Maiden who had always been so obedient to him, finding it hard to imagine her betrayal.

"Of course, Yu-786 actually approached me herself," Zhang Kai said carelessly, leaning back in his chair. "If you don't believe me, you can ask Yu-786 yourself."

He clapped his hands, and a tall young woman walked in.

"Master, you called for me?"

Yu walked to Zhang Kai's side, her expression respectful.

This submissive demeanor was very familiar to Su Nian; Yu had always been like this with him, but now she felt like a stranger. As his gaze fell on Yu-786, a semi-transparent virtual panel gradually appeared above her.

[Drift: 66 points]

[Acceleration: 72 points]

[Cornering: 61 points]

[Energy Build-up: 55 points]

[Stability: 53 points]

[Impact Resistance: 51 points]

[Endurance: 60 points]

[Evaluation: This is a Mecha-Maiden barely meeting the qualification standards for official track racing, with poor impact resistance and stability—she'll fall apart at the slightest collision!]

Only he could see this information—one of his special abilities in this world.

His other ability was strengthening Mecha-Maiden attributes by earning MP values through races.

Yu-786's current attributes were the result of replacing many parts, such as tires, frame, and battery—components that didn't require modules. When he first took charge of Yu-786, she couldn't even complete an official race, and the other two Mecha-Maidens at the Tengyue Club were in even worse condition.

He had planned to take Yu-786 to several small training races before next week's Norsk Rally to accumulate MP values and improve her attributes, particularly her poor impact resistance, to achieve better results in the Norsk competition.

Now all that was gone—Yu-786 had simply dumped him!

"Yu, tell Su Nian, didn't you come to me yesterday seeking a contract?" Zhang Kai said smugly, his arm around Yu's waist.

Yu met Su Nian's eyes and said coldly:

"Su Nian has no racing experience, hasn't even participated in training races—he's just a rookie driver. But Master is different; he's participated in The Norsk Rally several times. His previous poor results were just due to having inferior Mecha-Maidens."

"Me, a rookie driver?" Su Nian pointed at himself, laughing bitterly in anger.

In his previous life, he had been a world-class racing driver. If it weren't for his car being sabotaged in his final race before retirement, causing brake failure and sending him off a cliff to his death before coming to this world, he would now be celebrating victory with a championship trophy in his mansion.

"What are you laughing at? Impotent rage?" Zhang Kai sat with his legs crossed, looking at Su Nian with a strange expression. "Isn't Yu telling the truth? To achieve a good ranking in The Norsk Rally, you need both a qualified Mecha-Maiden and an experienced driver. Su Nian, you haven't even participated in one race—you're not qualified! I initially agreed to give you Yu-786 as a reward for your modification skills. Now this is Yu's own choice, you have no right to interfere!"

With that, he pushed the contract toward Su Nian, indicating he should sign and leave.

Su Nian looked at Zhang Kai and Yu-786 silently for a moment, then picked up the pen and signed his name with a flourish.

"Ah, that's more like it!" Zhang Kai picked up the contract, smiling. "Su Nian, you're still young, there will be other opportunities. I see you're quite sensible. I'd hate to lose talent like you—why don't you become Yu-786's dedicated modification specialist? Same salary."

Su Nian remained silent, then after a while, a cold laugh escaped through his clenched teeth.

"Zhang Kai, do you know what wall-ride overtaking is? Do you know about drainage ditch cornering? Do you know about drifting?"

"...You know nothing."

He turned to Yu-786, his expression even colder: "Ungrateful thing, did you really think I'd care about your fragile frame that breaks at the slightest touch, your snail-like clumsy turning?"

Yu-786's face turned pale, her eyes filled with shock as she looked at Su Nian.

During the month under Su Nian's care, he had never driven her or conducted any tests. How did he know about her weaknesses?

"Maybe he's just guessing..." she thought to herself, but couldn't shake off her unease.

Had her decision yesterday been wrong?

No, impossible.

Su Nian was just a rookie who knew nothing except modifications.

He didn't even know what modules and mechanical cores were when he first encountered her.

Following such a driver onto the track, she could never achieve any glory, only fade into obscurity.

Zhang Kai didn't understand what Su Nian was talking about; he'd never heard those terms before.

But he understood Su Nian's claim that he knew nothing and his criticism of Yu-786.

He had driven Yu-786 yesterday, and she felt far superior to the club's other Mecha-Maidens.

This further convinced him that Su Nian was just throwing a tantrum, barking madly because he couldn't win Yu-786's favor.

"Su Nian, you're not even a qualified driver, who do you think you are?" Zhang Kai slammed the table, pointing at Su Nian. "I can participate in The Norsk Rally, can you? Which Mecha-Maiden would follow you? If you've got the guts, go contract a Mecha-Maiden and make sure I can't see your taillights at next week's Norsk Rally. Then Yu-786 might naturally return to you!"

"No need, keep this piece of junk for yourself!"

Su Nian turned and walked into the darkness.

His cold voice echoed in the office: "Zhang Kai, Yu-786, see you on the track."