Chapter 173

Whether it's a factory, workplace, or research lab.

When there are many people, corruption arises.

Just like the Boundary Gate District Police Station she had visited, and like a foreign police station.

Or perhaps the URA Association—these are places trainers frequently need to visit, at least places she frequently needs to visit.

Dongzi Zhenren deeply loathes such bureaucratic places. These people pursue neither dreams nor justice, merely scraping by; their motives are never pure, so whenever she deals with them, Dongzi Zhenren feels a stark sense of alienation.

Such horse girls, seemingly forged from pure dreams, how could they coexist with people who are just going through the motions, and how could they live in the same urban environment?

Those beautiful, excellent ideal creations, like elves touched with fairy‑tale color, left her deeply dazzled.

That purity and obsession drew her in, making it natural for her to want to obtain and possess them.

She precisely needs such an excellent environment, whether positive or negative, to bolster her knowledge and expertise.

So she originally applied to become a Central Trainer through proper channels, with genuine talent, and became a Central Trainer.

Last‑minute cramming that outshines countless people's hard study isn't enough to catch her attention; all her joy is poured into the campus selection competition a few days later.

On that lush artificial turf, many horse girls were warming up.

The Central Teleisen campus selection competition is divided into multiple groups and events; different horse girls choose the events best suited to their distance aptitude and leg strengths, thereby fully displaying their abilities and talents.

Giving one's all is both self‑respect and a reward; afterward, it means waiting to be recruited.

Most trainers decide which horse girl they want to recruit during the selection competition; the remainder make up their minds from some accidents or everyday interactions.

Of course, this also depends on whether the horse girl accepts you.

Teleisen Racecourse, 2400 meters, spring, clear, good condition—the runners on the track speed like vehicles.

Most of them are still pre‑debut age; in other words, they are at the stage of moving from middle school to high school.

Their racing careers haven't even started, training hasn't begun; relying solely on talent, they can still move at a speed discernible to the naked eye by an ordinary‑level trainer.

Yet they are still swift.

As their speed peaks, it's like a raging wind; one sees phantoms of different hair colors and floating competition symbols chasing each other, while the audience's gaze fixed on their trainers is filled with earnestness.

At that time, Teleisen's trainer resources were obviously not yet scarce; newcomers and veterans exchanged evaluations in low voices, and some used terminals, cameras, or even notebooks to record.

The glory of the horse girl is also the trainer's achievement; because they entrust their professional future to each other, trainers are especially careful when selecting a horse girl.

But Dongzi Zhenren lacks awareness as a trainer.

What she seeks is not the fastest horse girl, but the purest obsession.

Perhaps these two don't conflict, but being the fastest doesn't necessarily represent the utmost of the former.

So her observation isn't very focused.

She even occasionally glanced away from the track.

There, she noticed a horse girl.

Her stature is not tall; indeed, she can be called petite.

Her face is indistinct due to the angle; all that can be seen is her long brown‑black hair, symbolizing deer fur, smooth as if it could reflect sunlight, mixed with icy glints.

Yes, icy.

Dongzi Zhenren is a Spiritual System Ascendant; when interacting with people and things, the first thing she perceives is the other's spirit.

So she perceived a certain emotion overflowing from that small frame.

It was loneliness, sorrow, an imposing presence that could not be ignored.

Such an impression could be called aloof, yet it also entails an incomprehensible loneliness.

... perhaps it can be understood… she thought that and took a step.

Also, as she took that step, the horse girl slightly turned; their black gazes met, and she was able to witness that tranquil, burning iciness.

It's her.

Dongzi Zhenren thought that.

That would be the best work.

: "——" (just a dash). No.

Amid the hissing of the pressure relief valve, a young‑looking woman rose from the cabin's equipment. Immediately a colleague stepped forward to remove the gelatinous suction cups attached to her body.

"Awake? Want an awakening agent?"

"... No thanks, I feel fine this time."

She raised her hand to refuse the injection offered by a colleague, shook her head, glanced at the distant petri dish where a black‑slime‑like gelatinous substance writhed and changed, then looked at the anti‑peeping glass wall on the other side.

"Several horse girls lying in the life‑support cabins are still utterly peaceful; in their dreams they give form to negative energy, and in those dreams they experience the extreme speed of a Triple Crown Champion."

"Looks like you also need to fully adapt, so you don't lose track of who you are, True Person."

"Who would confuse past and present? Perhaps it's them who can't tell."

Still gazing at those dreaming horse girls, Dongzi Zhenren's voice was utterly calm: "I merely extract the most vivid sensation from that memory; even if my emotional impression of her were even clearer, it would still be hard for me to sink into it."

She said this, raising her hand to touch one side of her head.

There naturally wouldn't be any horse ears.

Returning to that memory, I would actually miss that feeling.

"Unlike those children, who stay in the super‑dream crafted by the dream demon, sooner or later they can't tell what's real."

"Go to the hospital to get it sorted," the colleague shrugged, "Anyway the side effects are already written in the contract, the pay is enough for them to cover the costs, our recruitment package is unbeatable, and even if someone breaks the confidentiality agreement, it's no big deal for us."

"Hard to say, haven't a few prototypes been handed off to sales? Those guys probably just sold them off cheap to save trouble," another colleague, while organizing the discussion, added, "Wasn't that horse‑ear monster in yesterday's news our experimental specimen?"

"I don't care who buys it; if it weren't for the higher‑ups suddenly launching this monster project, we'd still be researching pure obsession—why bother with a negative‑energy monster?"

"Stop chatting—has the base negative energy stabilized?"

"They've had True Person demonstrate memories—could it still be unstable? I say this project won't become long‑term, will it? The higher‑ups' recent policies are really leaning more and more toward monsters."

It could also be considered a kind of trend? The turmoil in Heaven's Gate City also serves to further show everyone the potential of monsters, and that person named Aomo Lindun, at just 19, can already control that power.

I think his is a unique mental abnormality, but that bunch of Party A just slapped their forehead and decided.

It's not difficult to select a similar abnormality from the mental data; where would there be a truly one-of-a-kind? The race that controls the monsters isn't unfindable, so haven't we already succeeded?

You're speaking for the capitalists, right? The company only provided thirty million mental data sets; if we hadn't had the mercenary group collate the hospital's mental database, where could we get Leonix's mental data?

"That Aomo Lindun isn't Leonix..." Dongzi the True Person, having pulled over a chair and sat down, leaned back and closed their eyes.

Each time she personally stabilizes the primal state, her mind becomes active, memories surfacing in turn; she could suppress them, but she actually quite enjoys this experience.

If it weren't for needing to continue this experiment, I would really like to visit him.

When the memory rolled to the trainer's section, it felt as if she could still visit as a senior.

That young person is also a trainer.

Even a coworker agreed, saying: "If we had the mental data from the moment he suppresses the monster's power and will, our progress could leap forward a great deal."

Then wouldn't that mean we can't swindle the budget?

Foolish! Is your 'qiami heart' only this small? If we settle the complete form of the negative-energy monster early, we might be able to join next month's monster exhibition, and that prize money could be higher than our experiment's budget.

Right, and besides, the Dream Operations side said a few days ago a horse girl interfered with work, the Action Department also said they'd run into a troublesome horse girl destructive action symbolized by the Sirius star, and there was a black one called what was it again?

"Zhouri Ningjing." Dongzi the True Person said wearily; the memory was also stimulated by the words, revealing some secrets they had heard during their time as a trainer.

The rumor about the pitch-black Zhouri Ningjing is something no trainer would discuss in public, especially since someone might see that undecorated name in the Inquiry Committee's seats.

Inquiry Committee, what does 'Inquiry' mean?

It is to resolve all doubts about the existence and competitions of the horse girl.

They do not answer questions; they only discover and solve problems.

Zhouri Ningjing? Is that the name?

The coworker looked doubtful; seeing her fatigue, they just assumed it was due to the memory turbulence, having long grown accustomed to it.

Then let's go with that; anyway, that guy is the biggest headache for the Action Department, the headquarters' security division has been on high alert for three days, and they didn't even go watch the Derby yesterday!

The coworker spoke with utmost seriousness, while someone noticed some slight anomalies on the screen:

Don't talk about this term; the values of those several embryos have fluctuated.

Ah, okay, after all, it's just a horse girl.

The researcher hurriedly closed their mouth, but still couldn't help chattering on.

But honestly, I used to think that the existence of horse girls was merely that their bodies were absurd.

Dongzi the True Person couldn't help but react to the coworker's overly layman remark.

You really speak like a trainer; the True Person probably also liked those days, right?

"You sound like a trainer, ah; the real person probably also liked that period, right?"

I do like it……

She had no doubt that she could give a definite answer.

But after answering, her eyes, once reopened, carried a hint of regret.

But once something changes, there's no point in continuing.