Chapter 1601: NO．215：How Difficult Is It for One Person to Persevere?

NO．215：How difficult can one person's persistence be?

It is well known that the variables in multiplayer competition tend to increase exponentially as the number of participants grows.

Because people are variables.

For GI races where eighteen or nineteen horse girls often team up, the opportunities available to the athletes are endless, yet few can seize even one of them.

The reason is simple: it lies in the two words 'personal experience'.

Once you step onto the Saichang, you hardly have the free viewpoint of watching a replay, and it's even harder to maintain rational judgment after the dust settles; you can only, after the race review, discover in your own or others' comments where you still have room to improve.

Then you cast aside the judgment of having given your all, hoping to learn lessons and do better next time.

Naturally, this expectation is often an ideal situation.

Reality is countless mistakes piled upon mistakes, turning the lessons that could be applied next time into mere empty talk.

After all, in the realm of racing, putting into practice the idea of learning lessons depends not only on memory but also tests execution ability and calm judgment.

Compared to the former, the latter is often far scarcer.

Because the URA Association's competition system dictates that the athletes on the Saichang are all high school and college horse girls, an age that is difficult to stay calm.

Provocations from rivals, track blockades, encirclement by strong opponents—the factors that cause them to lose judgment on the Saichang are so numerous that even 'long-term memory' becomes empty talk; though this promise is unrealistic for many horse girls, it is merely the threshold for top-tier horse girls.

OP, GIII, GII, G1—while crossing each tier of competition thresholds, one also overcomes the obstacles forged by the ever-stronger groups of athletes; only those who stand out from these layered screenings are considered first-rate horse girls in the world's eyes!

Such horse girls have long stood at heights unreachable by ordinary folk, already surpassed the obstacles that ordinary horse girls view as heavenly chasms, and regard them as merely a small gate on the road to victory.

Rich competition experience, calm judgment in the field, perfect execution—these sound like elite qualifications to anyone, yet they are often just basic gear for participants in major races; however, as last year's Triple Crown winner, Qianming still carries a subtle 'comeback' tag.

After several years, is your experience still useful?

Is your judgment still effective?

Does your execution ability still apply to this brand-new Saichang?

The answers to these questions were already concluded in the previous Dream Cup short-distance race, and they once gave Aomo Lindun quite a headache.

As a horse girl who retired years ago and then made a comeback, Qianming may have been secretly maintaining her condition and keeping up with exercise, yet the foot-related vulnerability inherent to horse girls is far greater than that of Narita Hakujin—so much so that her medical staff unanimously agreed: limit the frequency and duration of full-speed runs.

Given this situation, Aomo could only abandon the most effective plan of 'high-intensity repeated mock Saichang runs' and turn to new data in the mental simulation domain.

Thanks to the continual upgrades of modern deep-immersion equipment aimed at 'a more realistic experience,' this kind of mental simulation Saichang can to some extent escape the realm of mere theory, adequately making up for rich competition experience and calm judgment in the field.

So… what about the final item: perfect execution ability?

No matter how realistic the simulation, how can you guarantee the same judgment in reality? The difference in physical quality is also unavoidable, and unlike the terrain adaptability issue that Beautiful Bay Bourbon could overcome with massive training, according to Qianming's statement, Rudolf's corroboration, and Aomo's own method of verification—Qianming's fragile foot problem is more like the curse of the original 'Electrical Killer' label.

Even if modern medicine can treat illnesses, and elixirs and magic potions can reverse frailty, one can still suffer a mishap in running performance due to so-called 'accidents'.

This is also why Narita Hakujin's condition deteriorated rapidly back then—a hindrance brought upon by fate's pull on the horse girl's soul, which drives all problems straight toward fate alteration, and it also led Aomo, accompanied by two others, to visit the Divine Blessing Gospel Class once more.

"Actually, I and the trainer back then had also considered this possibility, but we didn't want to change fate in this way."

"Your goal should not be to change fate."

"Back then you were full of fighting spirit, thinking that while on the road to victory you would also change fate—this in itself is great, absolutely no problem."

"Even if you later faced such a result?"

"Your own decision is naturally nothing to regret, though later you also wondered whether to let go of that persistence—however……"

"You didn't speak up, because she didn't either."

"……Hmm."

"This reminds me of The Gift of the Magi."

"Um… there are still some differences, I suppose."

"I mean considering each other's thoughts without ever having frank and open communication."

"Uh……"

"This is very typical Jidong logic; it seems you understand as well."

"Later one day she invited me for drinks, without bringing the Maruzen group, just the two of us retired……"

"I guess… it was a crucial drinking session that made up for what you were lacking, though it might have been a bit late."

"Haha, it was somewhat like that before, but now it's not necessarily so, right?"

"Indeed."

It can be said that only thanks to the completion from that drinking session did Aomo Lindun no longer need to waste effort persuading Qianming to avoid that—or the understanding of past trampling.

From this perspective, it's not late at all; in fact, Aomo ought to thank the other party for that candid talk after drinks—but……

As both a fan and a trainer, Aomo also finds it hard to go thank them when the other party has made a mistaken judgment.

Moreover, even if Qianming has let go and bears no grudge, even taking the initiative to console the other party, the past involved is ultimately not something good to bring up; better not mention it and instead give feedback in other ways.

And the best feedback, without doubt, is Qianming's victory.

But once one thinks of this, Aomo cannot help but pour a bucket of cold water.

Those three factors—experience, judgment, and execution—are merely the basic qualities of Dream Cup participants; the point that truly creates a large gap is not basic training that can be quantified, but each athlete's own will.

Because the horse racing rules set by the URA Association have always been strict, even the Dream Cup, which looks like it has relaxed many limits, still does not allow prosthetics, drugs, or abilities outside the Three Goddesses' source. This would cause the gathering of generations of elites on the Saichang to have their values in each direction approach the limit, making it hard to create a large distinction.

But the limit of the flesh has nothing to do with will.

The extension of the self knows no end, directly determining the expression of skills, domains, and running performance.

Even if one understands this, most trainers on the job still limit their will‑training choices to the material in textbooks.

Being a bit bolder, they simply follow the guidance of some veteran trainers; veteran trainers more or less all have some unique experience and insight, whether intentional or not, and have already done some research in the course of their careers.

Compared to them, Aomo Lindon's most obvious difference is that he dares to conduct direct research!

Having passed through monster cards, demon bloodlines, and divine purity refinement, he—directly non‑human in the sense of species—out‑smarts most of his colleagues.

His habit of intense self‑reflection, multithreaded thinking ability, brain‑power boosted by usable cards, and the talent‑specialized trait of observing and analyzing both his subordinates and rival horse girls together.

Each of these traits is not rare in this era, but when combined they constitute a rare quality that even an AI trainer would struggle to match—a quality that truly makes little difference in any line of work, yet being a trainer truly maximizes its development, especially since he had eight horse girls in his first year, making the multithreading aspect fully saturated, which is exactly the situation we see now.

Who says willpower training definitely has to involve 'torturing' horse girls, definitely has to involve squeezing out their limits?

Wouldn't simply awakening the desire for victory be enough?

For these haughty girls, whether that pride manifests as pure arrogance or appears as confidence built humbly in the subconscious, it has always been there.

Everyone is born with pride, which is often tied to desire—a confidence in one's ability to do certain things; even those who appear extremely insecure deep down likewise possess something they will not yield on.

And what you need to do is simply lay those things out in the open.

Just as demons have always done to humans.

Desire is exactly the foundation of resolute will.

As for Qianming, who represents this horse girl, what is the desire she clings to?

What is her finest bearing?

Every one of her fans can answer this question.