Chapter 405: NO.168: It's not a bad way either

Suzi, do you have a health-check device here?

Huh? You finally decided to devote yourself to my experiment, huh? Guinea pig~

I just want to do a self-check.

Master is also like Bopang?

... I just feel that lately there have been many cases of feeling unsettled; if it's not a mental problem, then it's a hidden physical issue, such as hormonal imbalance possibly affecting physical condition.

Whoa~ Then we really need to check it out!

But! The precondition is that you don't mess around, like you first put down that syringe—it's for pigs, right?

Emmm I want to research a new medicine today, I really need the trainer's support.

Using my blood to make medicine? When did you switch to the alchemy field?

I understood from the start~, but research with half a bucket of water has a low success rate, so I don't even consider trying.

Anyway, first change the syringe for me; that instrument only needs a simple scan, right?

Boring, you're blocking the ladder of progress like this!

Whose era ladder is padded with trainers? How are the numbers on the screen?

Very ordinary, very plain, very boring.

Mm… isn't it a physical problem?

——

Xi, does the trainer have any strange points?

Huh?

In the office lobby, Xintiao Xi, who was flipping through a magazine, was surprised by Mancheng Chazuo suddenly striking up a conversation.

After all, if we say the horse girl she gets along with best in this building is Suzi, then the one she talks to least must be Chazuo.

Although they are all on friendly terms where they can call each other by name, this child called Mancheng Chazuo is indeed quite taciturn, unlike the other horse girl Meipu Bopang, who seems mechanical but is actually outgoing.

Even due to that mechanical logic, her behavior often leans toward the realm of social terrorists.

This often makes her mutter in her heart: Too direct!

Moreover, her curiosity is also strong.

After the electric killer attribute was resolved, that cyber horse girl's curiosity about machinery multiplied even more.

At first she just pulled her housemates to ask about the machines in the office (including the two labs); later she started directly showing them mechanical pictures from the internet to ask her housemates.

Even the usually reclusive Xintiao Xi couldn't avoid being knocked on the door by her for inquiries.

The knock could be on the bedroom door, or the underground lab door.

But because the other party is frank and direct, and their attitude of asking for advice is often humble, she couldn't generate any anger at being disturbed.

So Xi and Bopang's interaction can even be said to be not few.

In fact, for Xintiao Xi's shut-in lifestyle rhythm, to build a good relationship one must either be like Aomo, intervening in her life online, or be like the lawless Suzi and straightforward Bopang, intervening in reality.

After all, it all requires initiative.

Although Aomo is the one being approached—initially in forum private messages, it was always Kailifu who sought out Yuehuanshe.

But besides that, Suzi and Bopang are obviously of the type with high subjective initiative.

But Chazuo always appears as a picture of tranquil times.

After all, she has many 'friends' and her days are also very fulfilling.

So her and Xi, aside from initially proactively visiting and greeting out of courtesy, establishing a certain impression, and whenever it's mealtime, Chazuo proactively takes charge of calling everyone to the table, the rest of their interaction is pitifully little.

It can be said to be purely parallel lines.

At this moment, perhaps there has been a change.

With the 'trainer' as the intersection, the lines begin to shift.

Just as in that female small group where everyone except Aomo is present, Xintiao Xi's unfamiliar or even unrecognized group members are increasing likewise.

Sooner or later they will also become acquainted, after all everyone may lack real-life overlap, but they have plenty of time for online chatting.

Especially since the chat room has office workers and employees—the busier the work, the more they can sneak in idle chatter during work, which is the norm for such professions.

Moreover, there are also some senior female students who are indeed on vacation.

Even though on campus she appears as a social hub of the 'real-life fulfilled' type, most are just ordinary classmate relations; the deeper feelings are actually with online friend Xintiao Xi, thereby broadening her social circle.

And this is obviously unknown to Aomo.

Someone has already been secretly 80-ed!

But now Xintiao Xi vaguely feels that she seems to be excluded.

Just like Chazuo's sudden question.

This makes her involuntarily retort: 'Why do you think that way?'

... Narita senior's reaction during training...... is a bit strange.

Just thinking back to this afternoon, when Narita BaiRen said while speaking, 'Continue training, that's your guys' trainer's message,' then clasped hands around the phone and rapidly tapped, Mancheng Chazuo felt a subtle awkwardness.

This feeling is not from herself, but because of others.

She also doesn't know whether that Narita senior is aware of it, but she indeed feels that Narita senior's feeling of clasping hands around the phone and tapping is more feminine than before.

Also, during break time, Narita senior not only asks everyone as before how the trainer previously arranged their training, but also additionally asks about unrelated matters.

For example, asking everyone how much they know about the trainer's demonization, and also asking whether the trainer's demonization used to be like that before, and then asking whether anyone has ever run together with the trainer before......

These questions are somewhat too chaotic; Chazuo still remembers that at that time Suzi and Bopang were a bit dazed, and Bopang even directly asked Chazuo in solitude whether she felt Narita senior was strange.

Afterwards, Suzi also sent her a message asking: 【Do you feel that Narita BaiRen's proactive training invitation is somewhat strange?】

... The strangeness is not limited to the training invitation; today's Narita senior...... is basically strange, right?

Is it... because of the side-by-side running training in that video?

Thinking of this, Chazuo decided to start by approaching the trainer.

But when she returned and met them, the trainer actually ran straight to Suzi's lab, leaving her only able to go find Xi, who had been with the trainer that afternoon.

Is Ms. Narita a bit strange?

In the chat room, a few people who aren't close yet include Narita Bai Ren, whom Qianming's representative pulled into the group, and later Lingya Masun, among other horse girls; they aren't very interested in horse racing itself, or only became exposed to it after arriving in this city, like Xintiao Xi, and they feel nothing at meeting a star.

She just felt that this group kept to themselves, making communication difficult.

Moreover, the circle itself was rather complicated.

Just like how the person called Qianming's representative also pulled a horse girl named Zhen Ji Ling into the group, causing the other horse girls to be quite surprised.

It was clear that there were circles within the circle.

This barrier to entry is really too high……

Not really wanting to blend in with this crowd, Xintiao Xi would rather stay hidden during the newcomer welcome session.

And now, whenever Chazuo mentions Narita Bai Ren, she ends up stunned.

It's not that she can't remember who it is; after all, she only relayed Suzi's words at noon, so she naturally remembers that this is the senior horse girl who helped Aomo train them, and she seems to be very impressive (referring to the Triple Crown, which she doesn't really grasp).

I don't really think Xiao She is strange either……

Rather, today she's the one who's strange—after all, she had a bold idea but planned to keep it as a surprise, so she went straight to Aomo Beast Ltd. to test her qualifications.

Besides the project to create monster girls, the Aomo people's earliest plan was clearly the transformation of super beasts and monster control.

Regarding this, she has always had a strong premonition.

After all, that weird feeling when playing monster-fighting games has indeed been growing deeper, that sense of something being off, as if her combat style were wrong……Come to think of it, hasn't Xiao She been failing to level herself up!?

Her thoughts drifted here, and she turned to look toward Suzi's lab, wanting to kick the door.

Well… I guess I should still pay more attention to Senior Narita……

Chazuo muttered softly.

Meanwhile, Narita Bai Ren, who had also returned home, was sitting at the computer, a twig in her mouth, mouse in hand, scrolling through the page of the 'Official Website for the 33rd Round Annual Dark Villain Selection'.

Her focused gaze locked onto the page, unblinking, until she clicked to open the most popular photo in full size, then she relaxed a bit and hit 'Save As'.

"Bai Ren!" a sudden call came from outside the door—it was her sister's voice: "Bai Ren, are you home?"

"I'm home!"

Bai Ren rose from the computer and hurried to the door, where she saw Pipa Chen Guang already waiting.

"Big sis, are you leaving work this early today?"

"Yeah, the assignment from above changed, leaving unusually little data to process. Do you have any impression of the name Yuechi Xiangzheng?"

"?" Bai Ren was a bit puzzled, then frowned, "Xiangzheng?"

"It seems you don't recognize it, you just remember the word 'Xiangzheng.'" Chen Guang, who knew her younger sister very well, sounded helpless.

"After all, that's the surname."

"Yeah, what happened to him?"

"His company's market value evaporated three hundred million out of thin air, and a bunch of scandals surfaced—supposedly an internal family matter, but whatever; anyway, thanks to this I've gotten a bit easier, though I might need to check later whether it affects the president."

"There's no way it would have an effect, right? She's not the future head of the family, and moreover……"

The black-haired horse girl looked somewhat regretful, and even her bright amber eyes showed a hint of dejection.

"She hardly ever tells us about her family matters."

"That's exactly why we need to ask, since she never talks about it—this afternoon she even privately messaged me about the gas tank, while I couldn't reach you, so I thought you'd gone off for some special training."

"... Just helping train the junior under Trainer Dunton."

"Oh? Speaking of Trainer Dunton… he even privately messaged me yesterday to analyze why you're still obsessed with competing against him."

"... What did you say?"

"Of course there's nothing to say," the silver-haired older sister said, smiling, looking at her sister's not-so-obvious but impossible-to-hide nervousness, "just let him run."

"I heard he was pretending to urge the president back onto the track, and now I'm thinking that if he tries running alongside the president, he might actually succeed."

"Big sis!"