Chapter 23: Motorcycle "It can be even faster, meow."...

Naturally, Hagiwara Kenji wouldn't refuse Asamura's request for driving lessons. He readily agreed, "No problem, I'm open to learning whether you want to learn to drive a motorcycle or a car. As long as I have time off, you can come and ask me out... this afternoon is fine."

He was already in the habit of going for a drive during his vacations, so bringing a newbie along was just a bonus. Since Chaomu wanted to learn, he could also bring along a friend with similar interests, giving him more company.

"As for the housekeeping fee, Xiao Chaomu, just accept it as usual, right?" He curled his eyes. "If you want to learn driving from me, just treat me to a meal. Hagi-chan is very cheap, isn't she?"

Driving school tuition in Japan is quite high, and if you have a skilled relative or friend who can teach you, you can skip school and learn to drive and take the "direct test." Hagiwara's driving skills were taught by his sister, and he passed them on his first try. He'd be quite confident if he were to teach a student.

The half-long-haired young man's attitude was so thoughtful that Matsuda glanced at him. Didn't he organize a social in the evening? He's already scheduled this afternoon. Is he still in time?

But that was Yukunran's own business, so Matsuda didn't ask any further questions. He just looked the cat maid up and down with a stern face and said seriously, "If you want to practice or learn some self-defense, you can also come to me."

Although he knew Chaomu's arm strength was incredible, she was thin and looked easy to bully. She still needed to do this kind of door-to-door service... practicing self-defense was a good precaution.

With an almost free skill trainer here, Chaomu naturally had no objection.

There is no threshold to learning police grappling techniques, and you can learn it at any time.

The main problem facing Chaomu was a car - she didn't have one, whether it was a motorcycle or a car.

Although Kenji Hagiwara can provide teaching aids when she is learning, and she should be able to learn anything, but in the early stages when resources are limited, she should still choose one of the two to learn first, and aim to build a mount with this as the goal.

There is indeed a way to synthesize bicycles or motorcycles by synthesizing resources obtained from the trash can, but the materials are not easy to collect, and she still has to dig in the trash can for a long time; or she can save enough yen to buy them in the store inside the game, but the cooler motorcycles and sports cars are not cheap.

Chaomu was still calculating how long it would take to dig out the trash can to make the motorcycle when the system popped up another window.

[Ding! Skill mission automatically accepted: Pass the motorcycle skills test and obtain a driver's license]

[Complete the mission and receive a reward: a limited-time special offer on Raccoon motorcycles! Purchase this cool, upgradeable motorcycle for just 500 Raccoon Coins!]

The player's eyes suddenly lit up.

The item's introduction screen offered a preview of the actual item. She happily clicked on it, and a black and gray motorcycle appeared before her. Its lines were sleek yet sharp, its engine roaring like a dragon. Its futuristic windshield was flanked by two pointed ears, and its high-pointed tailpipes were painted gray, resembling a raccoon's tail.

Only 500 Raccoon Coins... no krypton gold! She can just save up! It seems you can upgrade it later using materials found by digging through trash... and you can even jump off buildings on a motorcycle!

"Coach! The cat wants to learn how to ride a motorcycle!" She suddenly grabbed Hagiwara's hand and shook it twice. "Please teach the cat—"

"Of course, no problem," Hagiwara Kenji was caught off guard by her handshake, but he was soon infected by her sparkling eyes and raised the corners of his lips, "But learning motorcycles does have some barriers to entry..."

They hit it off immediately and almost immediately decided to find a place for Chaomu to learn motorcycle riding that afternoon. Matsuda folded his arms and glanced over, his eyes landing on the hem of the girl's skirt. "...Are you sure you want to wear this to ride a motorcycle? Is it okay?"

"Yes, if you want to ride a scooter, you'd better go back and change your clothes." Hagiwara also came to his senses. "High heels are not very convenient. Heavy scooters are very heavy. Many ordinary men have difficulty learning to hold the scooter. If you step on high heels, it will probably be difficult to exert force, right?"

Although there are many beautiful women wearing tights and high heels and riding cool heavy motorcycles in movies and TV shows, this kind of outfit is actually not very convenient in the real world.

"No problem, meow." The cat girl, wearing high heels and with amazing arm strength, declared, "According to the setting, cats don't have to worry about such things."

...After all, she is actually the protagonist of the game.

For players, riding a bike in high heels isn't a problem. As long as they have enough energy, they can even parkour their way to the top of Tokyo Tower in high heels—why not give it a try? Maybe there's an achievement for reaching the top!

Hagi initially thought she was unaware of the difficulty of learning to ride a motorcycle, so he took her to the track to try out the scooter. Chaomu easily lifted the fallen motorcycle, her face not flushed or out of breath, her legs steady.

...Although he knew her arm strength must be very good from seeing her hanging outside to clean the windows, he didn't expect that her physical fitness and core strength were also excellent.

If her balance ability is not a problem, I feel that she can be said to be extremely talented in this area.

Kenji Hagiwara stroked his chin and thought.

In fact, I feel that with her physical fitness and sense of justice, if she could apply for financial aid and apply to a police academy... becoming a police officer might be a good choice?

After helping the bike, Chaomu didn't rush to try riding it... She still remembered her mission.

This kind of motorcycle can't carry anyone on the back seat. She remembered that she had to complete the "Racing with Hagiwara" mission first. She came over with her tail up, tugged at his shirt, and winked, "I want to try racing too—Hagiwara-kun, aren't you going racing this afternoon? Can we bring a cat along for the experience? A cat only needs a back seat."

"Of course no problem." Her eyes were bright, and Hagiwara felt the corners of his lips rise involuntarily.

Come to think of it, it seems like this is his first time taking a girl for a race.

Matsuda had to go to the Metropolitan Police Department that afternoon, so he didn't go with them. He took Chaomu to the smoother section of the highway he often went to, and before leaving, he remembered to bring an extra jacket for her to wear to protect her from the wind.

Kenji Hagiwara was tall, and his coat was a bit too long. Asami tucked her chin into his collar, then poked it out again. He reluctantly reached back and zipped it all the way up. "It's so windy, you'll be cold if you run later... Don't be so willful, okay? Asami-chan."

Hagiwara-kun can be a bit nagging sometimes, like a male mother.

The player shrank his neck, wrapped himself up obediently, and sat on his back seat.

"It's going to be very windy later, and I might not be able to hear you clearly if you call me." The young man with half-long hair had just put the helmet on her, not noticing that he was being criticized. He gently warned, "If Xiao Chaomu thinks I'm going too fast and wants me to slow down, just pinch me a little harder."

"This is a humanoid brake, meow." Chaomu stood in awe, holding his waist with both hands. "I understand, cat—but cat shouldn't think it's too fast, meow."

Hagiwara was amused by her words, and with his eyes half closed, he put on his helmet. The girl's arms were wrapped around his waist, and he could feel the warmth through his clothes.

He intentionally or unintentionally ignored the subtle feeling and started the motorcycle after confirming that she was ready. The heavy motorcycle roared and shot out like an arrow, breaking through the oncoming wind.

Chaomu: “!”

She had previously thought that Hagiwara-kun looked gentle and it was hard for her to imagine that he had such exciting hobbies and specialties - it was not until the motorcycle started that she realized that judging people by their appearance was indeed wrong.

The motorcycle roared across the curve, and Hagiwara could feel someone hugging him from behind. The little girl hugging him trembled slightly, and almost her whole body was pressed against his back.

The wind whistled in her ears, but she didn't scream, only a short, breathy sound that sounded like "meow," not of fear, but of excitement. The arms that were holding his waist gradually loosened, and facing the wind, Hagiwara saw in the rearview mirror that her skirt was blooming like a flower in the wind.

"Which button do I press to accelerate?" she asked him in a hoarse voice, "The humanoid brake accelerator button—"

The young man responded with a faint laugh: "Then little Chaomu must hold me tight—"

A very strange humanoid controller, somewhere between voice control and hand control.

Chaomu reached out and hugged his waist tightly, and felt the motorcycle speed up again amid his magnetic laughter. The heavy motorcycle seemed to fly under his control and drifted through the corner.

He is worthy of being the racing god of Akina Mountain who can release SSR skills.

When they reached the top of the slope and were about to dive, the player sat in the back seat and hugged the black-haired young man in the front seat tightly.

She felt a thrill like flying.

The surrounding scenery was rapidly receding, the wind howling fiercely, as if everything in the world was being left behind. She tensed her nerves, feeling her adrenaline rushing, and she realized that she really did enjoy this feeling—even more thrilling than challenging Kurosawa Jin and successfully getting close amidst his hail of bullets.

Above her was the clear sky, below her was the wilderness stretching into the distance. The young man in front of her, his back muscles bulging, pressed warmly against her. Their two fiercely beating hearts pressed together at this moment, feeling the same intense joy.

"Faster?" His voice was filled with laughter, which was blown to pieces by the wind. "Then we need more..."

Chaomu hugged him a little tighter, like a happy kitten, lying behind him, and yelled into his ear: "Faster! Hagiwara-kun!"

It's like the wind that follows its will and refuses to be bound by anything.

Although in a sense, she was a completely different individual from him, Hagiwara felt when they first met that she was probably the type he was not good at dealing with, too changeable, difficult to guess and understand.

But she is so much like him.

He laughed, and the motorcycle turned the corner like a bullet. The excitement that was enough to stir his heartbeat merged with another kind of happiness, so that he could hear his heartbeat like thunder even under the roar of the engine.

"Cats love this—"

She shouted happily in the wind, maintaining her habit of speaking at this time.

But next time she would really rather ride by herself. If Hagiwara-kun wants to come, she can leave the back seat to him.

The player pricked up his ears and thought with sparkling eyes.

She can definitely ride faster than Hagiwara!

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The author has something to say: Who can resist a cool motorcycle?

I'll update after 11pm tomorrow night, and will update according to the announcement time. Also, here are the pre-collected stories "For Competitive Balance, We Have to Talk About It All" and "Marriage of the Holy Body, But I Love to Job-Hop." For the completed story "Can the Bouncing Spell Save the World of Science?", see my column.