Chapter 494: NO.77: It's actually Gundam!

NO. 77: It's actually Gundam!

"They're catching up! The other horse girls are trying to catch up to Meipu Bopang, and they absolutely won't allow Meipu Bopang to continue showing off its speed like this!"

"This is still just the beginning; such a fierce competition isn't very optimistic."

"Just as Mr. Wen said! At this moment, the entire herd of horse girls are almost bunched together in pursuit of Meipu Bopang, which instead prevents many horse girls from being able to exert their speed!"

"By contrast, the leader's pace is very steady, while the second group, in chaos and constantly shifting ranks, forms a stark contrast."

"It's just like the gap between a Gundam with three reds and a junk machine..."

"Um, uh, Mr. Wen, please use a more down-to-earth description!"

"Huh? Isn't Gundam a pretty common armed vehicle these days? Even Heaven's Gate Airport has several parked."

——

"Non-race-related chatter, if it happens in a G-rank event, the host not only risks losing pay but also possibly having to bow in apology or even resign."

"But OP-rank events aren't that strict, after all; sometimes a contestant might actually manage to snag a Gundam—but then the one who'd be disqualified would be the contestant themselves."

"No matter what, deploying a giant robot on Saichang is still too absurd; you should be over at the neighboring 'GBN' (Gundam Model Network Battle) instead of here."

"This doesn't prevent a certain horse girl from being called Gundam, let alone the fact that a certain horse girl is indeed a Gundam anime fan."

"Just that this fan isn't swayed by the host's remarks; rather, not being moved by things outside the competition is an athlete's professional basis, so Meipu Bopang calmly enters the middle stage—amidst countless horse girls desperately chasing."

"Ailisuzhi: \"Ah... again this chaotic rhythm, is the pressure really this strong? \""

"Mancheng Chazuo: \"…No, there's no rhythm left to speak of…… this is almost the Triple Crown… no, can't say that, 'friend'. \""

"Zhenjiling: \"Is this the latest trend? Even Ka Lian Jiang needs to mess up the rhythm to win everyone over? \""

"Yuzhao Shizi: \"Uh… I don't think it's necessary…… a normal race shouldn't be like this…\""

"Mi Yu: \"Haibang classmate… so awesome…\""

"... As these underage contestants said, the situation at the racetrack has now completely collapsed."

"Even Xintiao Qi can see that these horse girls are running wildly."

"Don't even talk about rhythm—basically nobody has any rhythm left."

"All the horse girls on the field are trying to catch up to Meipu Bopang, but most of them are not suited to the fleeing running style."

"If they can't achieve interference, they can't win first place."

"If they want to achieve interference, they must abandon the set plan and at least touch the dust kicked up by the opponent."

"Horse racing isn't a kart prop weapon race; all binding-type skills take effect in an area, not via precise locking, so they at least have to barely keep up with the opponent's speed."

"In other words, they're now expending stamina that should have been saved for later."

"This is completely opposite to the situation of yesterday's Chrysanthemum Prize."

"On yesterday's Saichang, the horse girls chased by Mancheng Chazuo all went berserk one by one, just as the legend said that in the era of Chengtian Bai Ren, any horse girl pursued by the fearless shadow monster would collapse."

"So when seeing Chazuo's performance, Chengtian Bai Ren's reaction could not help but be excited."

"By contrast, seeing this Haibang's Saichang, this adult horse girl who is about to retire remains silent."

"Watching each horse girl seem to plunge into hysterical madness in the pursuit, it feels like remembering a certain senior."

"On the contrary, a certain retired horse girl couldn't help but sigh: 'Although I'd expected this all along, seeing it for real still deserves praise—what an excellent kid; Ludao Fu would surely feel relieved.'"

"After all, what that emperor hoped for was a golden age of horse girls, just as she once said in her opening remarks at the school entrance ceremony:"

"May a hundred steeds flourish."

"As her opponent and close friend, Qianming's representative naturally understands."

"But what Chengtian Bai Ren proposed upon hearing that was a more concrete topic:"

"If Wanshan Siji got to see it, they'd be even more excited."

"The red car that once beat opponents by 54 horse lengths was once called the strongest escape horse."

"\"……"

"\"Maruzen she's actually a front‑runner, though a big escape would probably also appeal to her." And the social‑savvy representative Qianming, who is equally close to Wanshan Siji, can say this truth."

"Then, looking up hopefully at the sky."

"Actually, I'm curious how she'd react if she looked back and saw this Haibang race—she's been honest for years."

——

"【One who overcomes difficulties】/One who overcomes difficulties"

"【Going with the momentum】/Going with the momentum"

"【Leading pride】/The pride of the leader"

"【Tenacious waist】/Unyielding"

"【Hurrying steps】/Hurrying"

"The so‑called catching up to Meipu Bopang is every contestant's goal on Saichang, but that goal is out of reach—even if they've poured all their heart into it, even if they've prepared some OP‑rank‑allowed outside tricks, if they can't get close enough, it's all for nothing."

"Even if it's just one horse length…"

"They can't admit this gap."

"They can't bear the humiliation of being completely crushed."

"They'd rather wager everything on this one match for a temporary win, even entertaining the thought that 'if at least I myself could touch it, then at least the championship would go to someone else among the other contestants'—a notion that sounds like a noble sacrifice."

"They chase after that 'cyber horse girl', just like people did when AI first appeared over a hundred years ago."

"Back then, people unemployed due to AI‑driven productivity liberation chose to sabotage AI's hardware as their resistance."

"They spontaneously gathered, shouting to reclaim humanity's era, unaware that behind AI are still humans, and the creators of AI are also humans."

"Their unemployment wasn't caused by the strengthened tools themselves, but by the expectations of those higher up who wield the tools."

"And in the decades that followed, many more things happened."

After social reforms, policy changes, and the era of harmonious coexistence between AI and humanity truly arrived, there still remained a group of people stubbornly opposing AI, violently destroying AI, and still carrying out terrorist attacks under the banner that AI caused them to lose their jobs.

How did it come to this?

Having reached this point, the real cause of their unemployment was no longer AI; indeed, their industry still had a large number of human practitioners.

And they, under the banner of resisting AI, have had only one reason from start to finish:

Weakness.

Uneasy because of weakness, restless because of failure.

Furthermore, they feel fear toward the future and prospects.

Then, at the height of fear, a frenzied evil fire arises.

Thus, there is a maddening flesh-and-blood, sparing no effort, opposing the merciless machinery——

——and then crushed by cold steel.

Cold machinery pays no heed to those emotions, cares nothing for those ideals; as long as a target is input, it will execute.

With extremely precise calculations and flawless logic, they possess will but need no emotion, following the expectations of the user (Master).

Following Master's expectations, with their own steps like steel, they dominate the entire Kokura Racecourse.

Thus, they enter the final straight of the endgame at a speed no one can catch.

By opening a gap of seven horse lengths, the integrated thunder's flowing light in their eyes grows ever brighter, allowing them to behold the clear starry sky.

In the starry sky there is no crescent moon, she cannot feel the stern gazes from the stands; instead, it makes her feel all the more at ease.

This is Master's trust in her, and also to repay that trust.

【G001st. F∞;】

"Not equipped with the decisive system, abandoning particle dispersal, and instead boosting all output."

Without the decisive gear equipped, in that instant's source-energy vision there is no attack opening, only desolate mountain stones of ruined walls.

But this does not hinder her report, which is as if to the dispatcher.

"Release the limiter…… preparations all normal."

"MihonoBourbon, sortie!"