Chapter 1627: NO. 241: Unfinished

NO. 241: Unfinished

The cheers were brief, only during the opening gate's golden ten steps.

Only because they were true fans could they, in that golden ten steps without a hint of delay, feel moved that the horse girl they supported could perform so perfectly.

This must be the result of countless sweat behind the scenes to seize the moment, and the trainer must have poured so much thought into maintaining that perfect state!!

——They thought so, and did not stint on shouting.

Even though the people around them were also shouting, shouting different names, it still failed to catch their attention.

Full of emotion brought full immersion, but such immersion hadn't even lasted ten seconds before their brows involuntarily furrowed, sensing that the atmosphere was unusually different.

And when they saw that, inexplicably entering a final‑stretch‑like state, with that supremely perfect golden ten steps followed by an even more obvious, all‑out‑burst‑like acceleration of the horse girls, they not only furrowed their brows, but the cheers in their mouths gradually stopped.

Watching that, clearly just the first kilometer, yet with astonishing momentum they chased after a different horse girl and swiftly overtook her.

The more genuine a fan, the more they would at this moment burst forth with a keen sense of smell no less than that of industry professionals.

Especially as they kept accelerating, overtaking, from the original figure they were chasing to other figures surpassing theirs, and finally even the Mihama Bohang that should have been leading fell to the middle of the pack after dozens of seconds, even threatening to fall to the rear……

Everyone's gaze inevitably drifted to the lower‑right corner of the projected screen.

There, a real‑time speed display that only a first‑tier racecourse would have showed three small markers based on the current distance run, elapsed time, and average speed, placed beside the avatars of the horse girls who had preregistered and passed inspection.

Whether it was the horse girl they supported or the side of the most‑popular black coffee cup, light‑blue test tube, blue cross star, and steam vent, all displayed a number exceeding the previous round's performance.

Yet among them, those four had only slightly exceeded, while looking back, the athlete they supported was already gradually approaching the record for the final‑stretch sprint!

What is this?

Spreading madness?

Could this really not be some kind of mental art related to the outer gods?

Or perhaps a virus spreading on site?

For a moment, their hearts were in turmoil, yet they could not overcome the venue system's continuous self‑check display on the right side of the screen showing 【All Normal】.

But how could this be considered normal?

Looking at their acceleration, it's less like pursuit and more like escape.

The so‑called escape‑running technique, at this moment perfectly embodied the true meaning of 'flight'.

Even as they managed to open a gap of ten horse lengths from second place—a situation worthy of being called a 'great escape'—just as the clouds that had been sprinkling rain over the venue turned into a heaviness that silenced the fans.

Everything seemed to take on the outline of pain, transforming into a struggle against those four powerful horse girls.

The constraints of the red skill came one after another; since there was no visible sign of its effect, they could only judge by speed, so they usually used it only on runners ahead. Thinking that the initial escape leader, Mihama Bohang, would naturally become the target of everyone, the clever‑minded players first chose to strike the rear‑running Ailisuzhi, Aimu Zhiji, and Mancheng Chazuo.

On the contrary, the Senlinbaoxue running alongside Mancheng Chazuo was easily overlooked.

They naturally looked down on the Senlinbaoxue that, though ahead of them, was only fifth place; now they simply gave their all, deploying everything they had learned, pushing the blue skill that stores and replenishes stamina and the red skill that boosts acceleration and power to their peak as far as conditions allowed.

To have themselves reflected in the eyes of those four horse girls who see only each other, to prove they too can join the forefront of this generation, to seize that chance for victory, they thus rushed toward the not‑far‑away final stretch!

But……

"I say, can you still run?"

Such words could naturally not be heard across the whole racetrack; even if one tried to read lips, the high‑speed camera lacks X‑ray vision and cannot see through the long‑sleeve flailing that blocks the view, to catch the utterance of whoever suddenly grinned.

Yet all the horse girls running ahead of Ailisuzhi could hear those words.

Can you still run?

Actually saying such nonsense.

How could I not be able to run……

In an instant, the leading Leng Xiao Yin Guang caught a glimpse of a burning blue flame.

From those clear eyes, the flame that had flickered past her peripheral vision a moment ago burned; the next second she could see only her reddish‑brown hair and the silhouette that remained silvery even in the dim light.

The violet ring at her flank, like some sonic device, flashed with a domineering light, like a pupil.

Is that the kind of eyes she wanted to break into?

"Are you done for, Leng Xiao Yin Guang?"

This remark came from the swiftly passing Xun Jie Liu Ye just beside her, making her eyes truly widen as she realized she could no longer accelerate, nor even maintain the present state.

"Well then, goodbye!"

Xun Jie Liu Ye, Le Yuan Zhuifang, One Sound One Meeting——they passed her one after another on the slope that should have been gradually slowing down.

The slope was full of water traces, and they trod upon it with great effort.

Leng Xiao Yin Guang still retained that wide‑eyed stare, gazing at the silhouettes of Ailisuzhi, Aimu Zhiji, Senlinbaoxue, and Mancheng Chazuo, all of whom had already gone past.

Is it……

The first one who couldn't hold on… could it be me?

"Leng Xiao Yin Guang! Completely stalled! It's a shame that even before the innate skill could be demonstrated!"

——

However, how much longer can the remaining ones endure?

In order to widen the gap, to pull apart as much as possible in horse‑lengths, the eventual result was that from the start of this mid‑race‑end slope, the only recourse left was the innate skill as a trump card.

But now……

By now, they have already run at the fastest pace in their memory, having seized a relatively ideal position and lane from that chaos—what is there to feel discouraged about?!

So what if they're targeted?!

So what if they're excluded?!

The victor is beyond doubt, beyond reproach, needing no rebuttal!

Scheming has always been part of the racetrack; the question is whether it can be carried out, and now, without the Three Goddesses' arts, do they still have enough residual stamina to persist to the end of that slope?

On the quiet racetrack, only the patter of rain and the thunderous hoofbeats like a drum made One Sound One Meeting and Le Yuan Zhuifang unconsciously narrow their eyes in the rain.

Is it fatigue, or pain?

In the agony where each step felt like it would tear her feet apart, she, a horse girl suppressing the pain with wide eyes, heard the approaching footsteps.

"Really, thank you all!"

At the moment they stepped onto flat ground from the end of that slope, the silhouette that appeared, just like the one seen in the cold-selling silver light, entered their view, simultaneously meaning they had already been surpassed.

However, those words did not come from the one who had always stood in the leading position, who now seemed to want to reclaim that honor, Beautiful Port Wave Side.

But it was that, following her, carrying a more overbearing and intense airflow, leaping into view from beneath those countless white formula patterns, leaving only a mocking arc for the two of them——

Ailisuzhi.

She had been watching all along.

With a relaxed, effortless posture.