The campus quad buzzed as Wei fake-swooned. "A hovercar? Your dad finally caved?"


    I glared at the biometric case from Dragon Edge Industries. "More like upgraded from helicopter parent to quantum-leash parent."


    The delivery truck''s container hissed open, revealing a matte-black Spectre X7 – an electromagnetic hovercar prototype banned in 14 countries. Wei''s jaw hit the asphalt. "Is that... the GT8000? The one that outran Europol''s interceptors in the Geneva demo?"


    "Modified." I tapped the chronowatch interface. "Dad removed the plasma cannons. Mostly."


    Wei scrambled into the gull-wing cockpit. "To the highway! Let''s break Mach depression!"


    <hr>


    Velocity-Induced Regret


    The Spectre''s anti-grav hum escalated to a warp-drive whine. Wei white-knuckled the Jesus handle as campus blurred into a watercolor smear.


    "300 kph... 400... 500..." His voice cracked. "We''re outpacing my bad life choices!"


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    The police interceptors appeared as specks in the rear holo-display. "LAPD''s finest," I smirked, engaging chameleon coating. The patrol cars zoomed past a seemingly empty stretch of freeway.


    "Evasion complete." The AI cooed. "Suggest purchasing 87 traffic violations from City Hall''s bribery portal."


    <hr>


    Campus Aftermath


    Returning to dorms, we faced an ambush. The quad swarmed with engineering bros clutching poorly rhymed sonnets.


    "Marry me, tech princess!" A MechE sophomore bellowed, waving a circuit board bouquet.


    Wei ducked a flying boxer brief (embroidered with "Bae-ker Address"). "Why am I public enemy #1?"


    "Misguided chivalry." Our RA, Song Ning, materialized with a taser and a stack of restraining orders. "They think you''re cockblocking their Cinderella fantasy."


    Vicky, the theater-major wingmate, deadpanned: "Pro tip: Date a centrist. Less death threats."


    <hr>


    Bootcamp Blues


    Drill Sergeant Malone''s eye twitched during roll call. "Shen. Lin." His gaze ping-ponged between my file and my androgynous frame. "This says... male?"


    Wei chimed in: "Swear on my Steam library! He’s got the battle scars from—"


    My arm shot out, hoisting him like a disobedient sack of rice. The platoon''s collective gasp could''ve powered a wind farm.


    "Verification sufficient?" I dropped Wei into a recycling bin.


    Malone backed away slowly. "Just... don''t break anyone. Please."