There are three types of contracts related to Machine Girls in this world.
One is a long-term contract signed by a club. It's signed between the club and the Machine Girl, where the ownership of the Machine Girl does not belong to the Pilot, only providing the corresponding permissions to the Pilot. The one Lightning signed before was this type.
The second type is a standard contract signed with the Pilot, which is flexible in duration and reversible.
The last type is the core contract. For a Machine Girl, a core contract can only be signed once in her lifetime. Once abandoned by the Pilot, she can only choose to be melted down, with no other path available.
Zhang Changping looked at Shield with a sour gaze. The contract between him and her was a standard one. Although the contract duration was long-term, Shield could unilaterally terminate the contract at any time.
Although standard contracts are the mainstream in the world, when faced with a core contract, any man would be tempted. What's more, there's a living example right in front of him.
"What are you looking at? Believe it or not, I'll terminate the contract?"
Su Li's expression, like someone enjoying a spectacle and not minding trouble, made the pink-haired Shield even more furious.
Zhang Changping stammered a couple of sentences and closed his mouth. Instead, Shield turned back and gave Su Li a thumbs down: "Come on! Get in the arena! I'll let you have three moves!"
Su Li smiled indifferently and glanced at Lightning beside him. She was staring at him with watery eyes, completely losing her initial aloof appearance, looking more like a little wife eager to prove herself.
"Master, can, can I really do it?"
Su Li raised his hand and stroked her red head, patting his own chest hard: "Don't worry! Leave what happens in the arena to me!"
Seeing his confident expression and recalling everything in the arena, Lightning tried hard to calm her surging thoughts and followed Su Li towards the training ground.
In the stands, a black-haired girl leaned a complex-looking paper umbrella on her shoulder, her two small feet wrapped in white socks resting on the edge of the platform, swinging back and forth.
She lightly bit the lollipop in her mouth, looking at Lightning in the arena, a faint light flickering in her eyes.
"The one in front of Lightning, is that the Pilot she contracted with?"
She tilted her head, stared at Su Li for a while, and whispered: "Looks like he has a moderate build, strong finger joints, and well-proportioned muscles, like good material for a Pilot. I just don't know why he would contract with Lightning. Do you think Lightning is the kind of Machine Girl who fears being melted down?"
The woman behind her was dressed in a black suit, standing still without saying a word. As if she hadn't heard the girl's words.
In the arena, Shield had completed her deployment.
Her powerful and robust appearance didn't match her usual pink-haired loli look at all. A height of over ten meters is relatively short among Machine Girls, but for a defensive Machine Girl, such a physique is very advantageous. A low center of gravity can maintain better stability, and coupled with the large shield in her hand, it's enough to withstand the impact of a large-scale Insect Tide.
As usual, her head was covered in a vibrant pink paint job! Above the head armor, a lock of pink Hong Ying fluttered in the wind, adding a touch of incongruity to the Machine Girl, who was originally full of a sense of killing intent.
Holding a gigantic shield that was only a head shorter than herself, she took a step back as soon as she finished deploying, grabbed the shield, and heavily slammed it onto the ground.
Su Li, who hadn't yet boarded the Mecha, felt the ground shake violently, quickly adjusted his posture to stabilize his center of gravity, and finally stood firm. He turned back and glared at Shield, who was giggling non-stop, grabbed the hand Lightning extended, and leaped into the cockpit.
Tripping him up? What childish behavior! She kept saying she'd let him have three moves, but the match hadn't even started, and she was already causing trouble!
He sat directly into the driver's seat and put on his helmet.
Vision began to synchronize, nerves began to connect.
He could feel Lightning in front of him trembling slightly due to excitement. He gently patted Lightning's waist twice and turned on the Mecha's control switch with his left hand.
The engine roar began to layer, and the gigantic red Mecha stood its tall body upright in the arena. She looked down at Shield, who was several meters shorter than her, extended her palm, and gave her a thumbs down.
Above the stands, the girl stopped swinging her legs and looked towards the arena with burning eyes. A smile played on her lips, and her eyes sparkled brightly.
"Oh, the smell of gunpowder is quite strong!"
In the arena, Su Li's fingers danced on the keyboard, and with a pull of the control stick, he drove Lightning to charge forward rapidly.
Shield said it nicely, letting them have three moves. But as a defensive Mecha, her attack methods were already scarce. The so-called 'letting them' was a joke. To make them move and respond with her best defense, that shell under the pink hair was full of brains!
They say big chests mean no brain, and Shield is a living example!
Her chest, it's all grown on her brain!
"It really is him!"
Above the stands, the girl involuntarily leaned forward, half of her delicate body pressed against the railing. Her full chest was squeezed together, almost bursting out.
Lightning's figure galloping across the arena came into her sight, making her feel a warmth all over her body. This wide-open, sweeping movement style couldn't help but make one's eyes light up.
Closer!
The training ground wasn't large, and the distance between the two Mechas was covered in an instant under Lightning's terrifying acceleration and speed.
The massive red Mecha reached out and grabbed the sword hilt while moving. At the moment the two Mechas were about to collide, her rapidly moving body slid to the right.
Relying on the enormous inertia, she effortlessly swung the greatsword, as nimble as waving a feather, and brought it down with heavy force.
Yes, rather than drawing her sword, her wide greatsword looked more like it was thrown!
Shield, who was originally preparing to deal with a frontal impact, was momentarily caught off guard and fooled by Lightning's elusive movement. Her expression changed, and in a panic, she could only twist her body and use the small shield on her back to meet the sword strike coming from Lightning.
A grinding sound that made one's teeth clench came, and dazzling sparks flew.
Feeling the immense force, Shield cried out in pain, her face turning pale.
Is this still the lightning r5 who only knew how to go straight in the arena? Shield's mind once again flashed with her elusive figure, like a ghost.
How did she manage to change direction so suddenly at such close range?
Doesn't she need to worry about her stability?
No! In past matches, Lightning never performed similar maneuvers! She always went straight, then crashed directly into her opponent or the stands. She couldn't possibly turn! At most, she would only deflect her body and then crash into the platform.
"How, how did she possibly do that?"
Zhang Changping's panicked voice came from the cockpit.
"Shut up! Concentrate!"
The chaotic thoughts in her mind flashed past, and her gaze subconsciously searched for Lightning's figure. However, the directions she looked were all towards the stands or the edge of the arena.
In her ingrained perception, Lightning definitely couldn't complete a turn. The stands would inevitably be her final destination.
Lightning's sword strike didn't land solidly at all. The reaction force from the friction was instantly seized by Su Li. With a few low-amplitude swings of the control stick, Lightning, with only fifteen percent braking force left, smoothly completed a turn. The greatsword, which had struck the ground, used inertia for a reverse sweep, piercing into the raised corner of the round shield on Shield's back.
The entire movement looked as if the greatsword had struck the ground, bounced up, and just happened to get stuck in the gap.
Lightning's face was flushed!
In less than ten seconds, she once again experienced the exhilaration brought by Su Li's masterful control. The Mecha, adjusted by him, was smoother than ever before, galloping through the arena as if it were dancing.
She seemed to have become a red spirit, swift as the wind, her body so agile it felt weightless. The transition between movement and stillness was a blatant display of skill, making her involuntarily bite her lower lip, trembling with excitement.
The red figure stood behind Shield. To prevent Shield from not noticing, he deliberately pushed the greatsword in his hand forward twice.
The strange feeling on her back made the pink cowlick on Shield's head instantly stand up.
She had no doubt that if she dared to make any move at this moment, that greatsword would only need a slight push forward to pierce her Mecha.
Cold sweat trickled down his cheeks. Zhang Changping also felt a chill down his back. He swallowed, looked down, and saw his palms were sweaty, and the hairs on his arms were standing on end.
When people face fear, their reactions are the most genuine!
"Impossible!"
A scream echoed from the training ground. Shield could accept her failure. But she couldn't accept failing without understanding why! From beginning to end, she had no idea how Lightning had gotten behind her.
Above the stands, the black-haired girl trembled all over with excitement.
The railing in front of her was already deformed from her grip. As the curve of her lips grew wider, the railing in her hands let out a 'creaking' groan, clearly unable to withstand the girl's abuse.
"I found you!"
Dangerous light flickered in her eyes, and she bit her lower lip tightly: "Hong Ying, did you see? I want him to be my Pilot! He's mine! And can only be mine!"
The woman in black behind her raised her eyes, her voice carrying a trace of fluctuation for the first time: "Young Miss, is it possible that this sword strike was just a coincidence?"
"No! You don't understand! There are never any coincidences in this world! Just like my meeting him, wasn't it because I took this step?"
In the training ground, Shield glared fiercely at Lightning in front of her, gripping the large shield in her hand tightly.
She was filled with unwillingness from head to toe. She slammed the large shield onto the ground and roared at Lightning in front of her: "Again!"