For the next three days, Su Chen didn't encounter Xing Meng again.
Xing Meng also didn't visit the Modifier shop again.
And these three days were the same as before; even though he could now hand-craft a Modifier core, as soon as a driver with a Mecha Girl heard he didn't have a Modifier license, they immediately turned and left, no matter how eloquently he spoke.
They even thought he had mental problems.
"The prejudice in people's hearts is truly a great thunder!"
Su Chen slumped on the table, completely dejected.
As a transmigrator with a golden finger, and one who was sent by a fully-insured semi-truck, he could be considered a supreme VIP among transmigrators!
Yet, to end up in such a miserable state, he must be one of the few, right?
"There are still three days until the rent is due... where am I going to find eight thousand yuan for rent?"
The currency in this world is called 'Zhuanyuan'.
It roughly means the value represented by the energy consumed when an engine turns one revolution.
Eight thousand yuan has about twice the purchasing power of his previous world, and it's also the quarterly rent for this secluded shop.
Honestly, it's quite cheap.
But, he just couldn't afford it.
"Forget it, if it really comes to it, I'll go move bricks!" Su Chen gritted his teeth.
Although moving bricks didn't quite fit his image, the wages for pure manual labor in this world were truly impressive. Besides, if he didn't go out and work, he wouldn't even be able to afford food.
Su Chen took out the last few loose bills from his drawer, preparing to go find food at the snack street near the League Academy; places with many students usually have more good food. After eating, he would go to the talent market to find work.
There's a Star Crown League Academy nearby, which is said to be the talent training base for the largest club in the province, the Star Crown Club.
"Maybe I'll run into Xing Meng on the way?"
Su Chen jokingly muttered to himself, then hung a 'Temporarily Closed' sign on the Modifier shop door and left with a flourish.
The location of the 【Anything Can Be Modified】 Modifier shop was already outside the third ring of Bincheng City, and it would take an hour by sky-rail to get to the food street.
...
Half an hour later, on the sky-rail.
Su Chen was pressed against the window by the crowded people, unable to move.
Looking down from the window, the entire city was cut into dense grids by wide, flat streets, and residential buildings were crowded within these grids. The closer to the inner ring, the taller the buildings became, and the architectural style leaned more towards cyberpunk.
Competition signs were visible everywhere on these high-tech streets. Some streets were specifically prepared for the City Championship; once the competition began, these specially marked streets would be closed to ordinary vehicles.
At that time, the lanes for ordinary vehicles would be squeezed to a standstill, and temporary spectator stands would even rise from underground around the competition streets, allowing pedestrians to stop at will and find seats to watch the competition.
This was a world where Mecha Girl racing was highly developed.
Singers, movie stars, idols—in front of famous racers and Mecha Girl, they were nothing more than roadside weeds, their status incomparable. Su Chen sometimes felt that people in this world were so fanatical about racing that it was a bit pathological.
Getting off the sky-rail led to the university town entrance.
Next to the sky-rail station was a food street, and directly opposite was the League Academy gate.
Su Chen followed the crowd out of the station but didn't immediately turn towards the food street.
Because he saw many drivers in academy uniforms gathered with their Mecha Girl in front of a huge electronic screen.
"Ho! What's going on, so lively?"
"The League Academy graduation exam results must have been announced, right? How enviable!" An uncle next to Su Chen, also watching the commotion, shook his head and sighed, "In the future, I'll sell everything I own to make sure my son attends the League Academy. As long as he graduates successfully, he'll be a cut above the rest!"
Graduation exam results announced?
Su Chen recalled that Xing Meng's uniform seemed to be from the Star Crown League Academy, right? He wondered if this Mecha Girl and her driver passed the exam.
He squeezed to the front of the crowd and searched the large screen.
Finally, he found Xing Meng in an inconspicuous corner.
【Student: Wang Tingting Mecha Girl: Xing Meng】
【Exam Result: 67 points Status: Qualified (Allowed to Graduate)】
"Oh ho, this little girl is quite promising."
Su Chen couldn't help but recall the cute little girl who blushed after a few words and had a 'meow meow' speech tic.
"Xing Meng must be celebrating passing the exam with her driver right now?" He silently retreated from the crowd, his gaze fixed on a restaurant, and clapped his fist: "Good! It's decided, I'll spend all my money this noon and get the biggest braised pork trotters rice to reward myself! Hehehe~"
After all, Xing Meng passed the exam because of his modification, so he felt a sense of accomplishment. It was like a soldier he had trained achieving merits on the battlefield; this was the unique satisfaction of a Modifier.
However, Su Chen didn't know.
While he was devouring his braised pork trotters rice, thinking about which construction site to move bricks at in the afternoon...
In a basic Mecha Girl selection shop just one street away from the restaurant, Xing Meng stood at a loss in the center of the hall, along with other confused Mecha Girl, awaiting her unknown fate.
When a phone gets old, you replace it with a new one, as long as you have money.
When a Mecha Girl' performance isn't enough, instead of slowly cultivating her attributes, then installing a Modifier core and collecting materials to upgrade, it's better to directly buy a higher-grade one.
Affordable, stylish, and provides a brand new driving experience.
Every graduation season is the best time for selection shops.
About one-third of the students who pass the graduation exam will come to a selection shop to buy a new Mecha Girl.
Selection shops can sell up to C+ grade Mecha Girl; Mecha Girl above C+ grade generally only appear at auctions.
And discarded Mecha Girl, once free, generally have three destinations.
Either they join the city's Logistics system and become a Logistics Mecha-Girl—this is undoubtedly a painful thing, because Mecha Girl are born with the 'track champion as the highest honor' mental imprint, and becoming a Logistics Mecha-Girl means abandoning dreams and pursuits.
Or they choose to be melted down, similar to a factory reset, all memories cleared, and the soul core returning to the Sea of Star Gods.
The last path is to carve out a bloody path for themselves, earn money to install a Modifier core, upgrade themselves, until one day they meet another driver willing to contract with her.
This path is also very difficult, because jobs that allow Mecha Girl to quickly accumulate resources are mostly illicit, but this does not include selling their bodies.
Mecha Girl selling their bodies is strictly prohibited.
If discovered, the Mecha Girl will be sent for forced melting down, and the client will be executed.
So 'wild' Mecha Girl can generally only earn money through some underground competitions.
However, these competitions have no safety guarantees, and a slight carelessness can lead to being scrapped. If a scrapped Mecha Girl is not repaired by a Modifier, she can only be melted down.
Xing Meng didn't wait long before she saw Wang Tingting emerge from the selection room, accompanied by a Mecha Girl. Her mind went blank, her body trembled slightly, and she already anticipated what was about to happen.
"Xing Meng, let me introduce you—golden eagle, my new Mecha Girl, D+ grade." Wang Tingting was dressed brightly and glamorously, completely without the decadent of three days ago when she was drunk.
She was in a very good mood.
First, she successfully passed the exam, and then she acquired the Mecha Girl she liked at a suitable price. Today was truly a double blessing.
Oh no, it should be a triple blessing.
She could finally get rid of Xing Meng, this dead weight whose performance made her want to vomit. Although golden eagle wasn't C-grade, she was just a step away from C-grade, and the key was her high cost-effectiveness.
"Golden... eagle?"
Xing Meng stared blankly at that Mecha Girl.
From golden eagle's gaze, she read a hint of pity and helplessness.
As a fellow Mecha Girl, golden eagle didn't want to take Xing Meng's place.
Because she understood that Xing Meng would be abandoned, and in the future, she might also be abandoned. But as a D+ grade Mecha Girl, she didn't have the right to choose her driver like those A-grade and S-grade Mecha Girl. Moreover, she had already experienced such things; initial Mecha Girl generally wouldn't be kept by students, so she had long come to terms with it.
"Then, Master, w-what about me?"
Xing Meng's gaze retracted from golden eagle, still holding a glimmer of hope, staring blankly at the indifferent woman in front of her.
"You? You're free."
Wang Tingting threw a temporary contract onto Xing Meng's face.
"I've endured you, this dead weight, for a year and a half. I've had enough. You can go wherever you damn well please! Get out of my sight immediately!"
These words were like a knife, scraping tears from Xing Meng's eyes.
She took a deep breath, using all her strength to keep herself from losing composure in public. Her lips trembled, her teeth clattering together, making a faint sound. But tears still slowly welled up, 'pat-pat' hitting the ground, soaking the scattered contract paper.
"Oh, and."
Wang Tingting took two steps forward and, with a swipe at Xing Meng's waist, pulled out the Modifier core.
Facing Xing Meng's sadness and shock, she ignored her, only giving a cold, thin smile: "This Modifier core is useless to you anyway; it's better to give it to golden eagle. All right, you can go now. Don't let me see you again, you—"
Two cold words slowly escaped her lips.
And they became the final straw that broke Xing Meng's spirit.
"Waste... material!"
...
...
Xing Meng
-----------------------------
Currently publicly available Mecha Girl intelligence!
【Name: golden eagle Model: JS-37 Starlight: Flowing Flame】
【Speed: 52 Cornering: 45 Stability: 53 Burst: 45 Endurance: 47】
【Rating: D+ Grade】
【Talent: None】
【Evaluation: A very ordinary initial Mecha Girl, and the normal state for most Mecha Girl. Her performance is quite good among D-grade Mecha Girl. Originally an initial Mecha Girl recruited by the Star Crown League Academy. But after her previous driver graduated, their contract was terminated. golden eagle reluctantly had to sell herself at a low price in a Mecha Girl selection shop near the Star Crown League Academy, while silently training her performance, hoping to meet a suitable driver to contract with her.】
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