dead last. STR33T_WIZE and Z1P_ZAP were
barely ahead of her. A11_4_ON3 was in eighth
place, but that wouldn’t be a problem. Without
having to deal with the others, he could easily
maneuver his way into first. Besides, even if he
didn’t win, this was just a qualifying race. What
was important was that he had made a statement
to ECHO—he refused to work with her.
He relaxed in his seat as he listened to the
other racers on his team scramble to regain a
decent position in the race.
“If we focus, we can get ahead of some of
those yellow racers,” ECHO advised.
“That was a nasty trick,” Z1P_ZAP
muttered. “We could be winning right now.”
A11_4_ON3 didn’t bother responding,
focusing entirely on the race now. He swerved
and accelerated his way into fifth place, then
fourth, third, second, and, after some back and
forth with a green racer, managed to pull into
first place. Now all he had to do was maintain
his position.
The track was basic, but not altogether
easy. Some of the turns were quite sharp,
14
