Chapter 1592: NO.206: The Desire for Victory Deep in the Bones (x

NO. 206: The Desire for Victory Deep in the Bones (x

In fact, Xi Qianfeng's guess was not wrong.

Aomo Lindun is indeed prone to wandering thoughts, and once he shoulders responsibility, he adds extra pressure to himself—a sensitive sort.

Instead of letting the horse girls rest and build up their strength, frantically drilling them hard before the race and last‑minute cramming actually relieves his anxiety more.

But he also knows that last time's special training is hard to replicate now.

A mind that has undergone short‑term evolution really can't evolve a second time, especially in a calm, uneventful environment.

Counting the time, the ideological corrections of Chazuo, Bourbon, and Aizhi are still under six months old; without going astray again in the short term, it's hard to hope for another elevation.

Qianming, Bai Ren, and Ludaofu Xiangzheng's mental states have also been trending toward stability, though he knows that's only the tip of the iceberg—Qianming bears unspoken wounds, Bai Ren has a fear‑of‑darkness shadow he spoke of over ten days ago that isn't quite healed, and Ludaofu Xiangzheng is a heavyweight—the long‑held sunny image he's forced to keep has, in terms of a single lunar cycle, accumulated how much gloom and distortion… even the occasional abnormality hinted at by Sirius in his words could mark one or two.

These three have been living with their old problems for years, like people who just muddle along with their chronic issues; you can't really expect those problems to flare up acutely—instead, maintaining the status quo looks more stable, which is what the competition needs.

So Aomo pondered for days but still couldn't decide whether to actively intervene and trigger those psychological issues early.

Because compared to training high‑schoolers from scratch, these three adults are not the type with much growth potential.

Even if the gamble pays off, the effect isn't necessarily as impressive as with the high‑school group, but if you lose, you crash—and the cost is high.

So he's been hesitating these past few days.

However, preparations made on the premise of non‑interference are quite easy to get right.

During those days he was still deliberating, his battle plan based on the traditional scheme rigorously selected by generations of trainers was also moving forward in parallel.

This didn't put him at ease; instead, it added more pressure and anxiety.

Admittedly, classics often mean versatility—meaning they work in any situation—but in the competitive realm, that versatility's other name is mediocrity.

If you use this scheme, he uses that one, everyone uses the same approach, then you can't open a gap; you can only hope for the results from prior training under this scheme—this might satisfy some people's idea of 'fair and square,' but Aomo Lindun clearly isn't among them.

He is the type who, even if he has to fall back on classics, rest and recuperate, will still seek unconventional angles in condition‑building, warm‑ups, and physical care—someone who likes to try off‑beat methods.

Of course, he also knows that innovating for a newcomer often amounts to overreaching; when you think you've devised a unique perfect training method, you'd better reconsider whether you're just being self‑important and going down a wrong path, and why nobody else thought of it.

In today's society, the 'idea person' is often used pejoratively, leaving little room for a positive sense.

Nevertheless, despite that, his persistence in keeping promises and honoring responsibility still pushes him onto the side of the competitive—he wants, without wasting any opportunity, to drive the girls under him to a higher level.

Just as, even if he doesn't win the championship, he can still break past records—he can still have a foundation to rely on in the classic beast‑battle segment of the competitive arena, rather than collapsing on the spot into empty hype like a shockwave.

This is the resolve he made after accepting the fact that his subordinates are all vying for the same trophy.

—You can't expect these people to truly finish in a tie; since there must be a winner and a loser, let the loser still run strong.

Although when the topic is really discussed everyone still looks to the victor, in this discourse the loser being regarded as strong is also an achievement that's hard to attain.

So, right now, his mental pressure is great.

After the Gaoyue Prize, the several‑day slump of Chazuo and Bourbon's silence made him, whenever he thought of similar situations ahead that would happen twice, want to pinch the bridge of his nose.

And if you say the adults' side is less worrisome, the fact that the Emperor won the first Dream Cup championship doesn't show any obvious abnormality in the other two either… but that's probably too optimistic.

Adults aren't immune to injury; they just tend to tough it out more than minors.

Whether that stubbornness ends in virtue or torment, Aomo usually holds a pessimistic view.

Even he himself, an adult who turned twenty on April 21, has lately been under considerable pressure—despite having a girlfriend numerous enough to start a Holy Grail War, and several others who enjoy lounging together, not to mention that everyone is quite keen on magic‑replenishing rituals, which is indeed a kind of stress‑relief method rigorously selected by the ancients.

But when he thinks of those horse‑eared girls whose battle is imminent, and that he's still doing that, this stress relief becomes ineffective and actually adds a bit more pressure.

This is certainly not normal.

Aomo is quite aware that, under normal circumstances, he could separate work from personal life.

Even under normal training and planning, the added pressure affects daily life—even the slight‑slight feels guilty, which is wholly a matter of heart‑illness.

So he turned his gaze to these reports before him.

This has been on his radar and awaited since after the Gaoyue Prize: from the first day's absence being a surprise, to the second day's absence being subtle, to the third day's still‑no‑show expectation—he had already, from the first day's miss, been summoning the Witch Beast to intensely scrape self‑searched data.

Back then there was plenty of hearsay, but the next day nobody could be reached; after chatting with Bicuikes, he had the police side conduct heavy monitoring, watching their movements day by day up to now… yet Aomo, whenever he feels enough pressure, actually turns his attention to this matter.

The condition really would improve quite a bit.

All that can be said is, not to mention Xi Qianfeng not understanding, even Miss JunChuan JiangSheng would hardly be able to empathize.

Using the option of 'devoting oneself to work' to forcibly shift attention, thereby adjusting the mental focus, this bizarre maneuver of stabilizing reality by escaping it—probably only Bicuikes and Ludaofu Xiangzheng could feel a hint of resonance.

And although Xi Qianfeng is similarly busy with work and has likewise experienced sleepless nights from worry, he clearly does not resonate at all.

On the contrary, it's come to teach himself whether he's not focused enough as a trainer of the horse girls.

Oh, awesome. jpg

Aomo had also said he wanted to share some intel with him and then send him off to talk to that Carrot Knight, but seeing his reaction lack enthusiasm, he just typed into the school forum's search bar: 【I'll let the police know later to sweep in; if you're also interested in that intel, you can go ask them】, and then received a small webpage pop‑up.

【Received, thanks】

He brushed off that undeserving Xi Qianfeng, then pulled out a paper cup and lifted the coffee pot again.

"Can you drink in that state?"

He was still pouring when he suddenly felt a chill.

The early‑spring sunshine, which wasn't warm to begin with, was completely blocked by a guy who, counting helmet and horns, stood nearly three meters tall.

"…Can be simulated."

"Then sit, sit on that sofa," Aomo pointed to his own dedicated seat, "it won't break—have faith in modern materials science."

"Right, just sit!" the phantom image popping up on his shoulder shouted there, confidently as if he were the host.

"I watched the whole process when that kid picked the sofa—he stubbornly went through over ten options before choosing the one with the biggest discount."

"The quality isn't bad either; you should say it's the best value for money—do I have to sign you up for a remedial East Yan language class besides the programming courses?"

"Outrageous! How many kids like you, constantly signing dad up for remedial classes, can there be in this world?"

"Is one of me not enough?"

Aomo pushed the water cup up to the Beast King, stepped back two steps, sat on Suzi's sofa, and looked at the projection of Molisen on its shoulder, tilting his head.

"You still want more to come?"

Is that what I mean?! No! That sounds like it'd also be too life-shortening!

You're already like this and you're still talking about shortening your life?

Unfilial son! Have you seen, Beast King? This guy is purely an unfilial son! I'm not lying—you're a thousand times better than him!

I suspect the original Morrison of the Beast King's family is also a thousand times better than you—what do you think?

Taking advantage of the girls' absence, Aomo could put on his usual attitude in front of his foster father, even becoming more extreme, he crossed his legs, almost directly putting his legs on the table.

Don't be stunned!!!

Beast King, you say... uh, how about switching to a bigger cup?

Aomo watched as the Beast King, holding the small paper cup in its big claw, slowly poured it into the helmet's gap, and he could barely keep a straight face.

No need, just... trying the taste... not bad.

Next time you can have the tea brewed at Chazuo—it's far stronger than my kind that relies only on coffee bean quality.

See, do you have time these days? I also have a bit of a hassle over there.

That's true, quite a few girls similar to you but much more mature have been clinging to him, asking about his experiences, demanding reports, and being curious about you. Morrison, relying on the fact that there is no Morrison in that hellish place, has fearlessly traveled the world.

Aren't you curious about that place? Apologize properly, and I'll tell you about it.

… He silently gazed at the 1/11 scale figurine-style virtual image for a few seconds; Aomo looked at the Beast King and said, "Isn't it a hassle to keep carrying that stable projector? Just having sound is enough—you could toss it."

Unfilial son!

... Well, let's get down to business.

Not really able to interject in the father-son conversation, the Beast King felt that baseless nostalgia, yet also grew a bit sad watching.

Alright, down to business.

Aomo clapped his hands, and the light screen rose again.

The Chase Light Club has no reason to suppress the news of me piloting Demon God Zero battling that high priest, yet they ignore my news in the horse racing circle; I guess it's done by those who believe in you… believe in the Beast King's cult members; as for the intent…

His expression was somewhat subtle.

I originally wanted to say it was to block the fact that the crazy high priest was arrested, to make it easier for them to stay hidden, but honestly, that's just a police bulletin.

They just want to suppress your reputation, perhaps even joining forces with other groups hostile to you.

Although I don't want to admit it, maybe it's really just child's play, but I received a message today, and after thinking it over, I also feel maybe they don't want to ruin some of their business because of me.

Business?

Yes, although there's some suspicion of self-praise, I have considerable influence in the federation's monster-related industry, of course mainly the legal ones.

This morning I received a message from an entrepreneur friend; their circle had a major fraud case involving a large share.

Are they them?

It's not certain yet, but the timing is somewhat coincidental; those followers who didn't follow the high priest in causing trouble, in my view, are indeed now focusing on this area's monster-related industry.

What's the evidence?

Thirteen companies involved in monster breeding and selling organizational materials have seen their stocks rise continuously since early last month, with four of them surging sharply enough to make peers suspect they're involved in illicit and gray activities.

Indeed, they should be suspected.

So I want to ask: in my impression, this bunch should be down-and-out strays, ideally having no wealth—am I right?

Right, their accumulated wealth is so little it only suffices for basic technology R&D.

Being able to do technical R&D is not insignificant, but anyway, the point is we should start from fields that can profit from monster power or even the monsters themselves, to give the police some professional advice.

You're not participating in the investigation?

Very busy. Aomo said, tapping the table with his knuckles.

This is also the second reason I wanted you to come over; if I wanted you to take charge and bring a few girls to that theater, would you refuse?