Chapter 480: NO．63：As Long as She Hopes

NO. 63: As long as she hopes for it.

"S. S, you really don't plan to go out and take a look?"

"Did I allow you to call me that!? And what's there to go see? Anyway, Chazuo is sure to win, but you—this guy—don't plan to go out and get some fresh air? I'll swap shifts with you."

"Wow, did I hear that right? You're actually willing to accept a shift swap!"

"Can you cut the nonsense? Are you going or not?"

"Or maybe not go after all? The timing isn't the same on both sides—if I go there, I might miss this side~"

That's exactly the case, and that's precisely why Zhouri Ningjing is willing to let Qianming represent her in the shift swap.

The other side has been stuck here in boring 'night watch' waiting for her to return before acting, and she also wants to give something back in return.

Although her sister's match is crucial, if she neglects the investigation here, it might end up looking bad for the match later.

From the plan fragments pieced together from countless lab documents, the portion belonging to the Jiemen District is especially concerning, let alone the fact that it contains a large amount of URA Association-related material.

【Stable-running novel app for years, rivaling the old version of the worm-tracking app used by many, huanyuanapp.】

Why would aliens planning to build an interstellar arms factory also add elements of Horse Girls?

Maybe they just threw it in as an afterthought? Though I admit quite a few Horse Girls could beat these aliens—Qianming's representative's joke might have some merit, but Zhouri Ningjing hopes for something else, a more convincing explanation.

It doesn't matter if there's no explanation—after all, her main duty is still to recover the data, or delete it.

Destroying the enemy's organization isn't even necessary; Qianming's representative came here to be a detective, but Zhouri Ningjing's role is that of an agent.

Speaking of this, it's inevitable to mention the special group known as Super Agents.

However, Zhouri Ningjing isn't interested in that crimson war machine she saw not long ago, nor has she heard of the other side's identity—she only knows it's called Justice Wings—she picked that up by eavesdropping with the Horse Girls' supernatural hearing, and at the time she even complained the name sounded corny.

Speaking of this, she can only hope Qianming Miss will step forward.

But……Qianming Miss is currently watching horses.

Or rather, Horse Girls.

"By the way, S. S, you really don't plan to watch?"

Although the sensory time in this data world isn't consistent, precisely because of that, Qianming's representative said the livestream she's watching is still timely—at least the horses are just entering the gate.

"Chazuo's condition is still quite delicate."

"What?!" Zhouri Ningjing immediately rushed to Qianming's side, instinctively trying to snatch her phone, but was dodged by a slight sidestep.

The steps once famed as seamless shifted lightly—these two relaxed steps revealed the difference in legwork between the two Horse Girls.

"Don't grab it—I can share the screen, and I also have a larger terminal!"

"Here!" she said, her fingers darting in midair, and a screen was drawn before them, along with a male and female voice appearing on the same image.

"Then! All horses have entered the gate, and the riders are in position!"

"Quite rare—riders completed the gate entry so smoothly."

"Yes, and none of the riders are whispering to each other."

The screen shows Horse Girls lined up before the alloy side-by-side gates, with drones deliberately flown to rider height, moving slightly sideways in a level view to display this special gate entry to all viewers before the screens.

"By the way, Miss Bai Ren Narita is also in the audience today—this special atmosphere inevitably reminds people of her back then."

The commentator's seat stated plainly the reason for this special gate entry.

Amid Qianming suppressing laughter and Zhouri Ningjing's complex gaze, the girls on screen are all tense, their eyes unconsciously darting toward the innermost lane.

As the host on the commentator's seat said earlier, in most past races, riders inside the gate often chatted, and familiar Horse Girls would gossip about daily life, highlighting a relaxed vibe.

But today, there is only silence.

Dead silence—somewhat wasting the clear sky after the violent rain.

Though the morning light shines brightly, the gaze of those seventeen is like wandering a graveyard at night—tense and uneasy.

The monster that once feared no shadow could intimidate the riders with the ferocity and violence of a lone wolf.

So what is there on today's racecourse?

A black Horse Girl, inside the gate, surrounded by friends, yet deaf to everything outside.

She is adjusting her state—adjusting from what should have been a perfect start, yet slightly stalled due to the audience size far exceeding her expectations.

At the same time, she is calming the hostility stirred by the commentator's words.

Saying that about the trainer……

Although daily, Suzi and 'friends' mock the trainer's online reputation, but good girl Chazuo has never gone to look.

After all, it's hard to change, and looking would only make her sad and gloomy—better not to look.

But perhaps the day for change is today?

In that gate filled only with scattered, heavy breaths, Chazuo lifts her eyes, past the gasps, cheers, and the voices of commentators and hosts, gazing toward the spectator stands hundreds of meters away.

Though the crowd is a hundred times larger, she still manages to find that pair of deep, focused gazes.

Without glasses blocking the view, still sharp and darkly profound.

That is her response to his words—no trace of restraint in his posture.

But that still isn't true perfection.

He is still here, not yet departed for his battlefield.

And therefore……

When there are no 'friends' around, she can still find it, still see clearly—the shadow she must pursue.

In this silence of dead quiet, she gazes upon that shadow capable of devouring everything.

That is far more calming than watching the other riders.

So...... it's time to begin.

Sapporo Racecourse, 1800 meters, summer, clear, heavy.

Chazuo of Mancity turned her gaze forward again, beneath the countdown sound of the electric gate.

One.

A pitch-black shadow shot out like lightning!

"Oh my god!

Number Six Du Ao Wang Dun, Number Four Xun Lie Tian Sou, Number Eight Cai Zhu, Number Nine Bei Ming Chao Xi, Number Fourteen Duan Dai Dao Ge, Number Two Xiang Cun Xian Xia, Number Three Wan Wan Tian Se, Number Eleven Feng Rong Yao Wang appeared one after another!"

"Ah this! …This is truly an incredibly rare sight!"

"Eight people are late…Just as the monster name Sai mentioned earlier, though they're not far apart, compared to the difficulty of chasing, it's still more of a test of the athletes' mentality."

"Most astonishing of all is the Chazuo at Mancity! One has come out! Why just one, how could it be just one! Could it be that in the records of the first two races, she who was known for running behind was trained to have a talent for leading out! ？"

Not leading out……

Aomo was speechless, seeing similar shock on both sides, he couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"I have to admit Bai Ren's suggestion is quite feasible, I need to revise the training plan for Chazuo."

"Adding weight to red skills, right?" Suzi glanced sideways, deeply understanding the trainer's mind.

Aomo also very honestly nodded.

After all, the persuasiveness of this scene is truly more than enough.

Generally speaking, it's very hard to see such a scene in most competitions.

Very rare.

After all, horse racing has a rather dynamic balance standard, requiring fan numbers, prize money, and even popularity votes to determine athletes, so blowout situations rarely occur in the same race.

But everyone has also heard the story of the red sports car.

Thus one can know that worldly affairs are not absolute.

Of course, the story of the red sports car is about an overwhelming gap in absolute strength, and just as the commentator said at the beginning, Chazuo's past performance hasn't been optimistic, and her body even had a period of weakness.

Even entering the central itself proves she has unique talent, being a horse girl with G1 potential, after seeing that period, one wouldn't think Chazuo's basic stats could be that high.

Even if she crammed and trained extra for half a summer vacation, it's still hard to overwhelm these athletes.

But……

What if I haven't become strong, but they've collectively become weak?

At this very moment, that Mancity Chazuo pulling far ahead, with this vivid example, proves that on the horse girl's racecourse, it's not just a contest of speed and endurance, but also mentality.

She hasn't even truly used the source energy interference of the red skill system, yet already too many horse girls have performed abnormally.

Clearly still maintaining the pace of a trailing horse, but with the front group collectively underperforming, she inexplicably became the leader, truly appearing as an escaping horse!

"Mancity Chazuo, Mancity Chazuo still maintains the leading posture, closely followed by the first Luby! The two differ by less than half a body length! The race system very well displays this distance!"

"Behind the two, at a horse's length distance, is Feng Rong Yao Wang! This late-coming athlete tries to reclaim her position as the expelled escaping horse, and behind her is the unwilling-to-fall-behind Xun Lie Tian Sou!"

"Mancity Chazuo, still maintaining uniform speed! After the first turn, she is about to be overtaken by the first Luby! Is she still maintaining uniform speed? Still uniform speed!? Could it be……"

Someone took over her words: "It seems she's already nine out of ten sure."

In the spectator stands, that Aomo wasn't looking at the track, but slightly raising his head to look at the big screen in midair, his gaze shifted slightly, then he stood up.

"Aomo trainer…" sitting beside him, Ludaofu's eyes showed some complexity.

"?" This further startled Suzi beside him, "Hey hey, where are you going at this time? Trainer!"

"Right right, this is indeed the coolest time for Chazuo sauce, little snake." Even Xi somewhat couldn't stay calm.

"Master?" Bourbon's confusion needs no further words.

"I should go do something Chazuo also hopes I would do."

Looking down from above, overlooking the four youths, he answered like this, his eyes already deep with dark red.

His seriousness was undisguised, his demeanor different from before, even the surrounding spectators redirected their gaze toward this side, no longer for the overly famous Ludaofu Xiangzheng, but for the standing youth.

Thus those four also all fell silent.

Setting aside the informed emperor notwithstanding, the residents of the agency also have considerable understanding of this landlord.

"Then can you come back as soon as possible?"

Suzi crossed her arms, facing that gaze and gaze she hadn't seen in a long time, still somewhat dissatisfied.

As for this, Aomo's answer is somewhat unbelievable.

"It should be so."

Everyone knows the duration of a horse race, if one leaves to attend to matters, then only the winner's stage can barely be caught.

But the people here believe his words.

"Little snake, come back quickly!""Master, wish you smooth sailing."

"Thank you for your understanding, then I'll step away for a while." Aomo said, glancing at the still-silent emperor.

"Go on," the student council president's eyes showed obvious encouragement,"That side should also be in a hurry."

It seemed as if he had already guessed who was on the other side.

"I obey the edict."