Chapter 626: NO．207：Aizhi：She suddenly shouted about bonds and friendship and rushed forward

NO．207：Aizhi：She suddenly shouted about bonds and friendship and rushed forward.

Secure the early stage, maintain the mid stage, and decide the battle in the final stage.

The pace of an early lead is always like this, but if you fail to secure it from the early stage, then subsequent adjustments are naturally expected.

What's more, this race doesn't have that many competitors.

With not that many runners, there naturally isn't a very complex race rhythm worth differentiating into the distinctions of 'escape, lead, lag, chase'.

With only two people on the final straight, there is only the simple 'she flees, she pursues'.

One horse length.

A distance of one horse length is not hard to surpass.

Chengtian Lu possesses far greater stamina than Aimu Zhiji, and this greater stamina will manifest as an earlier acceleration.

But even so, she couldn't avoid a fleeting doubt flashing in her mind——

——What is that black stain, like a demon in the mansion before?

——Why does it seem to seep out from Zhiji's classmate's steps?

This fleeting doubt yielded no answer, yet she still accelerated further amidst the clinging black stain!

One horse length.

A distance of one horse length is like a wall of sighs, making her wonder at Zhiji's classmate's same acceleration.

Just as she cast off the pace of the leader, Aimu Zhiji likewise shook off the position followed by the pursuer, as if she wanted to act like an escape horse, always staying ahead at the front.

Or perhaps, she could not bear the feeling of being overtaken again.

Not only Chengtian Lu seized the opportunity; Aimu Zhiji likewise considered it an opportunity.

An opportunity to end a bad day.

That strange trainer who greeted her, the inexplicable sentimentality during training, and the roommate's suddenly given amulet, followed by Chengtian Lu's usual 'harassment'.

Too many strange things, and in the end, it was again that annoying trainer revealing an even more annoying identity.

She started a side-by-side run while talking to herself, and that Chengtian Lu guy actually didn't resist.

Of course, she herself didn't either.

Even though her heart was a tangled mess, she likewise accepted this so-called 'side-by-side run'.

Why did she accept it?

It certainly wasn't because she believed the other's promise to let her see her sister; Aimu Zhiji trusts that she communicates with her sister every day.

It's even less likely she admitted wanting a rematch with Chengtian Lu; she has always firmly believed that the past need not be revisited, that she need not care about any competitor, only about winning the race!

But today's self keeps popping up such thoughts.

She wants to put an end to this chaotic state.

She wants to stuff all the day's misfortunes into this side-by-side run.

Just as in the world of card veterans, where everything seems solvable by playing cards, horse girls can also resolve their inner turmoil by running.

And something faster than pure running's effect is naturally a race run with all one's might.

Whether it's the joy of running, the love of sweets, or the overwhelming mixed feelings upon seeing Chengtian Lu… all the chaos is transformed into a burden that should be shaken off.

For her, the urgent priority is undoubtedly to regain her original state, and this is an opportunity hard to refuse.

To that end, she only needs to enter once more the flow realm described by her senior schoolmates.

She only needs to lock onto victory once again.

She can do it! She thought.

She even thought that after victory she would directly tell Chengtian Lu to stop bothering her, speaking as the victor, which should carry enough persuasiveness.

Before the race, Aimu Zhiji had many thoughts.

Although surprised that she herself had so many thoughts, from the virtual starting gate she glanced with the corner of her eye at the scorching, bothersome Chengtian Lu like the sun beside her, then unconsciously glanced toward the direction where the male voice announcing the start should be.

She remembered.

Thanks to that chaotic train of thought, some content that had lain silently in her heart also resurfaced.

【Then just watch, watch me persevere】——such a declaration made her take a deep breath.

She is both an evil dragon and a martyr horse girl.

Greedy for treasure, yet sacrificing everything she possesses on the path she pursues.

She will continue like this, day and night.

The premise is——that her one-horse-length distance can remain unbroken.

Mid stage.

In the mid stage alone, a fervent radiance flares up, casting out sprawling, ostentatious yet hard-to-adhere black marks.

Those are the steps of a violent acceleration, belonging to Chengtian Lu.

Seizing the opportunity, striving for certain victory, are both Aimu Zhiji and Chengtian Lu.

Certain victory is not inevitable victory, but a victory that must be achieved.

Some want to resist everything, others want to fully convey; everyone has expectations of steadfast pursuit, and a desire to blaze forth with scorching light.

That seemingly eternal one-horse-length distance also appears cracked precisely within such desire.

And as that crack gradually spreads, in Aimu Zhiji's gradually trembling field of vision, she will see the golden figure drawing ever closer.

Bathed in scorching sunlight, a swaying head of golden hair also reflects brilliant splendor; that figure gradually draws alongside her, together they step past the final stage's indicator line, then enter the final stretch's domain.

Lose?

Her heart tightened.

It ought to be the competitive spirit thrown onto the altar.

It ought to be the unwillingness cast into the furnace.

That should have been long forgotten…… The image of the opponent having won the Jidong Derby championship and standing ahead of me on stage.

It also resurfaced at this moment.

All the repression, all the self-deception I've had up to now—everything—was laid bare at this moment.

Indeed, this race is nominally just a side‑by‑side run; even a win brings no honor, it is a run that cannot be dedicated to that star, and it should also be what she cares least about—a training that can be done repeatedly.

But……

But……

But……

Azure‑blue shards of flame spilled from the shattered‑like pupil; the all‑out burst of her running motion was so urgent, even transformed it knew no pause.

But I want to win!

She did not shout; she channeled that voice into the swing of her arms and the stride of her legs, holding an unstoppable impulse, freely expressing the natural competitive instinct of a horse girl.

But even so.

But even if it is so!

That golden figure also still appeared within the field of vision that Aimu Zhiji could see without turning her head.

The shifting purple‑gold eyed child possessed a will no less formidable; even without the expected tone or supportive cheers, Narita Road, who always bore others' expectations, likewise gave chase.

Never forgive looking back, never forgive giving up.

Long before, the blonde girl had already made a pact with her trainer to reach the summit.

And this is the sole path to the summit.

But at this very moment, she felt a certain premonition.

A kind of premonition that must be seized, otherwise she would never be able to let go of it for a lifetime!

We must keep that classmate Zhiji, who seems as if she could vanish at any moment!

The scorching sun never yields, its fierce radiance like a spear; from the moment of crossing the finish line, it pierces the world that someone has always clung to.

Clatter…

That shattered sound, the one who pierces the world could not hear.

The seniors in the stands were the same.

Only the silver moon hidden behind the blazing sun, the guiding snake that urges the brave, raised its hand from a smile, and within that hand lay a cold, sharp device.

When the trigger was cocked, the device emitted a mechanical female voice that sounded vaguely familiar to those nearby.

"Omer. Lied."

"It's time to wrap up this farce, Bai Ren."

He coldly reminded, gazing at the strong black aura emanating from the frail girl in the arena.

At the same time, three cards flipped and crossed before the eyes; at the instant they overlapped, they were precisely pierced by the crimson crystal cone.

"Gan-Q, ReKigan!"

As the opponent's black aura suddenly coalesced, on the verge of becoming a colossus, a horrifying body covered in eyes rose up.

A newly fused demon king beast formed from the Eye Q, Lian Gui, and Aomo cards.

It could truly be called the condensation of resentment and curse.