Finally, we caught up with our target—Eden Company's distasteful golden ship. They were just a few hundred meters ahead, about to exit the last corner of the Asteroid Field section.
Cassandra didn't miss the chance. During their turn, she closed the remaining distance in a flash, rapidly approaching the enemy's ship—only to face harsh consequences.
"W-What's going on, I can't—?!"
As we neared, our ship abruptly entered a "lock" state, rendering us unable to steer or stop. The Hunter overshot the corner due to this, earning us our first few seconds of penalty.
"Return fast!" Eva shouted, her voice tight with worry.
Although Cassandra reacted as best she could, it still took us five seconds to return to the original track—resulting in nearly half a minute of total penalty. By then, the Eden had already widened the gap significantly.
