"Why are you here?"
Chu Zihang looked somewhat surprised. He had been practicing his swordplay just now and hadn't noticed a Maybach parked outside.
"What, can't a father give his son a ride?"
The middle-aged man rubbed his messy hair. "The Boss sent me out. It's not very safe for you to take a taxi by yourself."
Their gazes clashed instantly.
"Get in."
Chu Tianjiao glanced around, pressed the car key hanging at his waist, opened a gap in the car door, and then pulled the rear door wide, revealing the spacious interior.
"Mhm."
Chu Zihang nodded slightly, his expression unchanged, and stepped into the cabin.
Afterward, the Maybach was started.
The beast-like, ferocious 5.5-liter V12 turbocharged engine began its self-diagnostic routine. Inside the car, no vibration could be felt, and the roar of the engine was completely isolated from the outside.
In full view of everyone, this top-tier luxury sedan of the current era sped down the streets of Xuchang Road.
...
Lin Mai felt slightly peculiar at the moment.
Rather than an activity, it felt more like he was expanding his behavioral permissions. The engine start just now had given him the ability to perform self-diagnostics at will.
Along with the rolling of the tires and the first opening of the car door, he had also gained perception of both, and even the ability to perform some simple movements—more than enough if he wanted to install an energy core through this method.
However, a transformation should still be done in an orderly fashion.
If the car door suddenly flew open in the middle of a busy street and forced itself into a spinning, vertical handstand, that would be a bit too ghostly.
[Viaduct in the Storm]: "The engine has been activated now, and I can control the vehicle body freely."
[Group Owner / Dimensional Cute Newbie]: "Congratulations."
[I Am the Cosmic Rich Woman]: "Looks like I guessed right. A newcomer couldn't possibly stay rooted in one spot forever. Congratulations!"
[The Infamous V]: "Welcome, new member, to our bot family! Aside from me, you've also got old comrade Megatron to keep you company!"
[Drop-Resistant King of Cybertron]: "Get lost."
[Drop-Resistant King of Cybertron]: "The only one here who can be called a bot is you, V."
[Drop-Resistant King of Cybertron]: "@Viaduct in the Storm, what about the red envelope? When are you planning to claim it?"
[Viaduct in the Storm]: "Let me transfer to a safer place first."
[Viaduct in the Storm]: "Red envelopes in the group chat can be claimed within twenty-four hours."
Looking at the dialogue on the interface, Lin Mai couldn't help but twitch his mouth slightly. It was his first time seeing Megatron display such a strong sense of integrity.
Villains tended to be somewhat cunning, but in the chat group, you couldn't afford to be unprincipled. Everyone was a business partner, with mutual benefit and a win-win outcome as the core philosophy.
The group members share your heartbeat, while you play mind games with them.
If you pulled that kind of stunt, you'd likely be isolated in no time. It was much better to conduct transactions with mutual integrity.
[Drop-Resistant King of Cybertron]: "Alright."
[Drop-Resistant King of Cybertron]: "I'm logging off. I'm almost at Earth, about to attack Autobot City."
[The Infamous V]: "How much longer?"
[Drop-Resistant King of Cybertron]: "About a day. I'll open a group livestream then."
[The Infamous V]: "Awesome, awesome."
[The Infamous V]: "In a few days, I'll be going to purge some corporate dogs too. Hope I can roll some group quests with points to benefit everyone."
[I Am the Cosmic Rich Woman]: "Damn it."
[I Am the Cosmic Rich Woman]: "How come everyone has something to do, while the star destroyer I bought hasn't arrived yet?!"
[The Infamous V]: "..."
[The Infamous V]: "Sister, the rest of us are forced into this by circumstances. You're the only one who's just bored out of your mind."
"..."
Lin Mai slowly closed the Dimensional Chat Group.
Sure enough, the gap between people was even greater than the gap between humans and dogs.
He was still trying to figure out how to become a Transformers, while the cosmic rich woman Asta was already driving a star destroyer, and even V had a dream of liquidating corporate dogs.
Never mind, he was just an innocent Maybach; he would cross that bridge when he came to it...
With the chat group around, he didn't need to worry about growing stronger. He could even become half a Cybertronian in the near future, but figuring out how to grow stronger quickly was the real key.
Odin in the original work stood proudly in the storm, wielding the authority of the King of Elements, shattering the dragon-slaying dream of an S-class Half-blood with a single slash. All these signs made Lin Mai feel that simply becoming an Autobot wasn't enough to fight them.
As for the current mall—
Since Lin Mai's historical points were only 999, failing to break the 1000-point limit, he could only purchase special items of level 1, which could not directly boost his combat power.
He still needed to check in more often and take on more group quests.
Practice more if you suck!
Before reaching a 98% win rate through stealth, acting rashly could cost him his life.
The mere thought that he might be opposing a First-Generation Dragon Race that had existed since the vast ancient times forced Lin Mai to prioritize his schedule for getting stronger.
...
Not long after, the Maybach came to a stop.
After leaving the Children's Palace, this area was clearly bustling with celebrities, and all kinds of high-end luxury cars were parked in the roadside parking spaces.
"Running late, looks like we'll have to park in the underground garage."
Chu Tianjiao wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Are there really this many people from Shilan Middle School? Today is clearly the weekend; logically speaking, it shouldn't be packed."
"Today is the school's art festival."
"Oh, oh."
Hearing Chu Zihang's concise reply, Chu Tianjiao immediately stopped asking questions.
"You get out first, I'll go park the car."
"Mhm."
Chu Zihang nodded.
Afterward, he pushed open the car door and stepped out of the air-conditioned coolness of the cabin toward the school gates of Shilan Middle School.
"As expected of my son..."
Looking through the glass window of the closed door, Chu Tianjiao muttered as he watched the figure outside. "He actually managed to get into this school on sheer ability. Truly not bad, he'll be a person of talent in the future."
"If he manages to get into Tsinghua or Peking University, or some foreign university, that would give me something to brag about."
He took a cigarette from his pocket, raised a lighter intending to light it, but then put it back into his pocket instead. He simply watched with a wistful gaze as the sea of people swallowed Chu Zihang up.
Shilan Middle School was a famous elite school, though it did admit commoners as well.
Yet to become an ordinary student here—let alone the most popular idol among them—Chu Zihang was truly one of a kind, and even his academic grades were an impeccable anomaly.
Of course, with a stepfather now in the picture, Chu Zihang's family background finally matched his academic achievements.
This was naturally what Chu Tianjiao wanted to see.
Lingering for just a moment longer, he drove toward the underground garage.
"..."
"Strange, why does this Maybach feel so smooth today?"
Along the way, Chu Tianjiao frowned.
For some reason, he always felt that today's car had a water-like fluidity; both its performance and handling felt much better than usual.