Chapter 242: No. 4: Solo. Spiral Pursuit Tune

No. 4: Solo. Spiral Pursuit Tune

Sound of music.

During Origin Energy cultivation of the Spirit Summoning Department, Mancity Tea Seat often, in that half-dreaming, half-awake spiritual perception, heard a piece of music.

In that music, what followed closely was a dream.

She carried out a long pursuit within it.

Such pursuit was initially hopeless.

She could not see the target, nor know what she was chasing.

The beautiful song had ended, and she would realize it was not sung for her.

Her will to move forward gradually waned, she could barely see ahead, and lost the will to run.

Thus she gradually grew thin.

In the New Horse Race and the Dujuan Flower Award, she suffered two defeats.

Clearly a cultivator of the Spirit Summoning Department, yet she seemed to have become a wandering spirit.

Yet the music would still sound.

And running would continue.

If asked what was different, it was only that during her recuperation she met a 'friend' unlike any before.

As everyone knows, Mancity Tea Seat is a child not particularly skilled at socializing.

The 'friend' she spoke of was often an astonishing ghost, but this time the self-proclaimed 'ss' friend was not so deathly.

Rather, it was like a living person's soul, and she got along exceptionally well with it. Through their conversation and its guidance, Mancity Tea Seat's severely lost weight gradually recovered during the recuperation.

And that pursuit also began to change.

The scene shifted to a spiral chase on the Ferris wheel.

Running back and forth with that ghostly figure.

Turning, rising, turning, falling.

Her thoughts cycled endlessly, and without noticing, she found herself atop a colorful 'gear'.

She could not win, but she wanted to win.

Thus, two weeks later she stood on that track.

Furano Special Race, grass track, 3500m, weather: sunny, track condition: good.

There, Mancity Tea Seat saw 'her'.

She stood before the gate like a true horse girl, winked at herself, then assumed the pose ready to start.

That familiar tune then sounded.

Her back could be seen.

Only her back could be seen.

She ran recklessly toward the swaying back.

It seemed her consciousness was stirred, diluted, reconstituted into a gear solely for chasing the other, embedded in the Ferris wheel.

Who am I, why am I running...

Such thoughts also gradually became blurred.

On such a track, whether cheers or roars, all clamor would fade away.

In this chaotic world, only the road of chasing her is silent and still, dreamlike as silk.

Without doubt, that moment's self had cast the whole world behind the mind.

I am chasing you.

Always, only you——!

【Chasing you】/【Form of pursuing the lord】

Carrying that ultimate intent of pursuit, Mancity Tea Seat, who had not long focused wholly on the grass, still had uphill steps as steady and swift as a mountaineering expert.

【Mountaineer】

An orange glow rose from the side of the black shadow trampling the grass; she gazed at the originally empty track, as if a violent black shadow were leading ahead.

【Skilled at Passing】/【Good at Overtaking】

The desire to overtake welled up in her heart, her steps thus advanced further, reaching an equal forefront in the bewildered view of the cyber horse girl.

【Mechanism check, vision normal, but just that moment…】

A violent surge, as if seeking to dominate the will of the entire racecourse, that black shadow capable of making the grass field tremble—Meipu Bohang was certain she had seen such an awe-inspiring figure.

Witnessing such a shocking scene, even the cyber horse girl briefly glitched; even the most precise logic must operate within a comprehensible world, when that unknown domain struck with impact, her mind went blank, she could only cling to that known snippet of information to keep functioning.

【…Tea Seat team's spirit summoning?】

Whatever it was, it ends here.

The end has arrived.

Under the shock of that black shadow, Meipu Bohang lost the chance to burst forth, could only barely tie at the finish line, followed by Ailisuzhi arriving two seconds later.

The last one turned to look at Aomo holding a stopwatch nearby, ran over and opened her arms, face putting on a false cry of being relegated to a pacemaker: 'What's going on this time, Guinea Pig~'

'Don't be sad, look how Bohang lost so bewilderedly.' Aomo raised her hand, grabbed a bottle of mineral water, pressed it against the other's palm, and thus also naturally avoided the pretense, giving a meaningful hug.

'You called Zhouri Ningjing over for this?'

As they passed each other, Suzi asked quietly.

'A pleasant surprise, just wait and see.' Aomo said nonchalantly.

She also showed the stopwatch frozen in her other hand, then Aomo approached Bohang.

'Come to your senses, look at your results.'

Like treating an old appliance, Aomo lightly patted Bojang's head, then handed the stopwatch to the chestnut‑red horse girl.

Such a 'reboot' effect was obvious; she stood straight again, though her breathing still needed to settle.

"Sorry, mater."

"There's nothing to apologize for; training has just begun." Aomo said calmly, noticing her gaze drifting toward Chazuo.

There, Manchester Chazuo was being greeted by Zhouri Ningjing; after receiving the mineral water she handed over, she seemed to hear some incredibly exciting news, her eyes brightening a bit.

Even if unintentionally eavesdropping, the demon and the horse girl's ears are truly sharp enough to catch words like "Rest a bit, run again, I'll keep you company."

Gazing at Zhouri Ningjing, who looks remarkably similar to the Chazuo team member, Miura Bourbon couldn't help but recall that fleeting black shadow she had seen.

"Master…" she blurted out, even though she hadn't figured out in her mind what to say next.

But the only thing she retained was the attempt to convey some strange thoughts—yet where should she begin?

Whether from her own negligence in failing to use her talent skill, or from the strange apparition seen when the Chazuo team member was running… she wanted to ask about something concerning the Chazuo team member, but before she could, Master already raised his hand.

Once again, he lightly patted her head:

"First rest," Aomo said, also pulling a bottle of mineral water from his briefcase and handing it to her, "you'll be able to see the answer to the problem directly later."

"Okay, Master."

"By the way, Bourbon, take this for now." He said, waving at Nishizaki Yutaka.

The latter immediately jogged a few steps over, handing him something like a lightweight walkie-talkie toy, which he took and slipped into Bourbon's hand.

"Just try pressing a few buttons?"

"? Predicting possible damage, it suggests stopping the attempt."

Miura Bourbon's phone screen still bears cracks to this day; seeing the instrument's screen gives her a bit of psychological shadow.

"Just press it if I tell you to; Guinea Pig-kun isn't unaware of your condition." Ailisuzhi, holding the mineral water bottle, said from the side.

Lately she's been quite kind to Bourbon; after interacting with Daiwa Akeki, Aomo somewhat suspects this might be a kind of substitute behavior.

Of course, this is merely baseless speculation; Aomo rarely makes such unfounded guesses, so naturally there's no need to worry about it.

After hearing Suzi's words, Bourbon glanced at Aomo, then buried her head and casually pressed the buttons on it.

When returning it, she finally asked: "Master, what is this?"

"It's a tester researched by the Wastetime Association," Aomo said blandly, "to those researchers, fate isn't some illusory thing; based on their long-term experience dealing with horse girls' conditions, they've even devised this device."

"It might not work at all," Nishizaki Yutaka, who hadn't stepped back, explained, "instruments can malfunction, let alone one that probes fate."

Saying that, he stood beside Aomo, watching the fluctuating numbers on it together; apparently recalling something, he added to Bourbon: "Besides, this thing is quite pricey—I deliberately picked the model with a three-year warranty, so if it breaks there's nothing to worry about."

"Actually, I kind of hope it breaks right now so I can see what kind of result it gives."

Upon hearing that, Aomo turned his head to look at the approaching Dazhenhan: "Did this thing ever see use back then?"

"Yes, but we usually still recommend going directly to consult the Wastetime Association," Dazhenhan said, "or see Miss Taikan Fukurai."

"That guy's been fortune-telling all over the world since summer break, and nobody knows where he is now." Nishizaki Yutaka shook his head.

"If you're going to ask in the trainers' chat room… who would still pay attention to the work group while on long vacation?"

That's indeed the case; there's little hope, Aomo sighed silently.

Meanwhile, while watching the two horse girl sisters in the distance, she also overheard the discussion here, and Xintiao Qian was the first to rush over to add insult to injury:

"Little Snake, it's not too late to switch the office decor to an ancient style now."

Ancient style—meaning it lacks any technological product elements.

Just like Miura Bourbon's family home, where appliances often break down, so the whole family lives a rural life.

For Aomo, who is highly accustomed to technological convenience and even uses big data for primary information gathering, this amounts to asceticism within asceticism.

Just thinking about such days, Aomo feels a spontaneous sense of mission arise:

"No, this fate must be shattered!"

Those words were spoken with utter decisiveness, even carrying a solemn, stern chill.

But the next second, he turned his head to look toward the distant starting line, burying his head as he pressed the stopwatch.

Several people also looked toward the starting line, seeing the two excessively similar sisters standing side by side, differing only in attire, then assuming their starting poses.

Without needing a call, Aomo raised his hand, and a fireball appeared before the sisters' field of vision, exploding with a snap of the fingers.

The lingering heat was easily scattered, and a purplish-black source energy aura rose from both the younger sister and the older sister.

Could these two possibly accelerate their synchronization…

Realizing that these two sisters were indeed interfering with each other on a mental and even spiritual level, Aomo's mind was just racing with wild thoughts when suddenly the phone ringtone blared.

Have the callers been especially numerous these past few days?

Holding that suspicion, looking at the unfamiliar number on the screen, he instinctively walked a few steps outward from the crowd.

He drew a sound barrier, then pressed answer.

"Is this Aomo Lindun's office?"

That voice, I've only heard a few times, but it's not exactly unfamiliar.

"Gainsley Mure?" Aomo countered with a relatively unfamiliar name.

But the other party cheerfully replied: "Yes."

"But I still prefer you call me a merchant."