MG - Chapter 358: [Panlong Mountain, Part 2] A Narrow Escape (Patreon)

Over a hundred spatial collapse bombs shot out from the prismatic warship. At the same time, the magnetic field inside the electromagnetic shield shifted once again, throwing Panlong Mountain's entire signal system into complete chaos.

No matter how many times host Kool Kenny tapped his microphone, it refused to make a sound.

The screens of the spectators' electronic devices flickered wildly.

On the track, some Mecha Girls suddenly switched on their air conditioning and cranked the temperature all the way up to an absurd 50 degrees Celsius. Others started playing music, and prenatal music at that. And this was despite Mecha Girls having a certain degree of resistance to electromagnetic disturbances.

The instrument panels of human-made helicopters fared even worse, failing outright. Many helicopters carrying logistics personnel and medical teams were forced to find somewhere to make emergency landings.

The hundred-odd collapse bombs pursued their respective targets.

More than a dozen flew toward the summit before splitting into two groups. One headed for the preparation area, while the other targeted the psychic energy pulse device.

Another dozen or so flew toward the club spectator stands.

Most of the rest came crashing down toward the racetrack.

Derek Su and Purple Lightning received especially enthusiastic treatment. A full twenty-eight collapse bombs perfectly demonstrated the Void Race's enthusiasm, along with just how much respect and importance they attached to The Magician.

On the rear slopes of Panlong Mountain, Derek Su was speeding along in Purple Lightning when his scalp suddenly prickled. An intense sense of impending disaster swept over him.

The next second, a piercing whistle came from high above, exactly like the sound of a bomb about to hit the ground in a war movie.

"What the hell?!"

Derek Su had been through plenty of dangerous situations, but even he had never experienced bombs suddenly falling from the sky halfway through a race.

For a moment, it did not even register that the thing was a bomb.

Purple Lightning, however, reacted to the lethal danger even faster than Derek Su.

"Master! Dodge!!"

The instant she shouted, she took full control of the vehicle for the first time of her own accord and swerved toward the side of the track.

They were currently on a three-lane section. Just as Purple Lightning cut from the outer lane into the inner lane, a spatial collapse bomb detonated slightly ahead of where they had been moments before.

Even reflected through the rearview mirror, the deep blue flames washed Derek Su's face in pale blue light.

He stared in disbelief as the perfectly normal road suddenly bulged upward like a mushroom. Firelight flashed through cracks in the pavement before the entire surface violently collapsed inward.

Then came a second explosion with a thunderous bang.

The blast not only severed the racetrack in two, it also tore away a huge chunk of the mountainside beside it, leaving behind an enormous gap as though some gigantic beast had taken a bite out of the mountain.

"Holy shit!" Derek Su stammered. "Is this Panlong Mountain Circuit's final hidden challenge or something? The race guide never mentioned it! There wasn't anything like this in previous years either!"

"I-I don't know either, Master." Purple Lightning sounded even more flustered than Derek Su.

Her driving, however, remained perfectly steady.

She redirected every protective system in the vehicle toward the cockpit.

First, the cockpit sealed itself completely in all directions. Then the oxygen supply and impact-buffering systems were fully engaged.

The price was a drastic reduction in the vehicle body's defensive capability.

The thickness of the outer shell dropped, for example, as did the engine's resistance to pressure.

If something went wrong, such as the vehicle being blasted away or tumbling off a cliff, Purple Lightning's body could end up completely wrecked.

But Derek Su inside the cockpit would be extremely well protected. At worst, he would suffer some jolting.

"Whoosh—!"

The piercing whistle came again.

And this time, there was more than one.

Derek Su immediately knew the bombs were coming again.

"Fuck, this is insane!"

He still had no idea what was happening, but he quickly forced himself to calm down.

"Purple Lightning, I can't see what's above us. Give me a rough fix on the bombs' positions and send the information to me. I'll handle the rest!"

"Yes!"

As Purple Lightning answered, information about the bombs' trajectories appeared in Derek Su's mind.

From that data, he could roughly work out their distance from Purple Lightning and estimate where they would land.

His expression soon darkened even further.

"Fuck me, they're homing missiles?!"

The first spatial collapse bomb had seemed more like a test shot.

Every collapse bomb that followed behaved as though someone were actively guiding it. Just before striking the ground, they would sharply change direction and curve back around, sticking close behind Purple Lightning.

More and more collapse bombs descended. After Purple Lightning had covered another kilometer, a full twenty-seven missiles were lined up neatly behind her.

Their bodies were silvery white with a mirror-like sheen, appearing and disappearing through the curtain of rain.

Every time Derek Su glanced in the rearview mirror, a chill ran down his spine.

If even one of those hit them, wouldn't he and Purple Lightning be blown straight into the sky?

Fortunately, they were on a downhill section, and Purple Lightning's acceleration had already surpassed 100. That was the only reason they had managed to keep the missiles at bay for the moment.

But the missiles were faster.

And they were getting closer.

"Fine. For now, let's treat this as Panlong Mountain's surprise challenge."

Derek Su took a deep breath. With his life on the line, staying calm mattered more than ever.

"Purple Lightning, I've got a plan."

"Please give your instructions, Master."

Purple Lightning always trusted Derek Su.

Just as she loved seeing that confident smile on his lips.

It gave her endless strength and an overwhelming sense of reassurance.

A Z-shaped hairpin lay ahead.

Derek Su's hands moved rapidly between the control stick and the brakes as he calmly executed a pendulum drift through the bends.

After two consecutive perfect drifts, Purple Lightning's special skill finally activated.

"If miracles had a color..."

Calm confidence filled Derek Su's dark eyes.

"I think it would have to be purple!"

The moment he finished speaking, he jerked the control stick sharply.

Purple Lightning plunged straight into the mountainside beside the track.

Whether something counted as an obstacle for the active skill [This Moment: Rhapsody] depended entirely on Derek Su and Purple Lightning's subjective perception while driving.

And right now, as far as Derek Su was concerned, the mountain wall was an obstacle.

Explosion after explosion erupted behind them, gradually growing too distant to hear clearly.

A cold smile curled across Derek Su's lips.

"Heh. You think targeting me is enough?"

Ten seconds later, Derek Su drove Purple Lightning out through the mountain wall on the other side and returned to the racetrack.

He kept his eyes fixed on the rearview mirror. Only after confirming that no missiles were following did he finally breathe a little easier.

Now he had time to figure out what the hell was going on.

But when he switched on the onboard radio, all he heard was the hiss of static.

He could not reach Stella, Imperial Scale, Absolute Shadow, or the others through the walkie-talkie either.

"What's going on?!"

Derek Su frowned as a faint sense of unease crept over him.

Fortunately, the Panlong Mountain Circuit was already nearing its end.

He could just reach the finish line and ask those functional Mecha Girls what was happening.

...

Inside the prismatic warship, the Void Race members were left dumbfounded after witnessing Derek Su's maneuver.

They immediately broke into a noisy discussion.

"That human actually used the Mecha Girl's special skill to evade every one of our collapse missiles?"

"I heard he's currently the strongest pilot beneath the Techmasters..."

"We don't have any missiles left to spare. What do we do?"

"Ignore him."

The Void Race member seated in front of the screen crossed his arms and spoke with complete indifference.

"Our primary objective is to eliminate most of the Psychic Energy Mecha reserve force. He may have escaped punishment from the collapse missiles, but the other humans and Mecha Girls may not be so lucky!"