Chapter 680: NO. 49: Talking about those useless things, you need to discuss work with him

NO. 49: Talking about those useless things, you need to discuss work with him.

On the spectator stands beside the racecourse, the crowd was already packed with all kinds of people, and even along the edge of the lowest track's fence, there were many outsiders whose attire clashed with that of students and staff.

Some held cameras, some mounted camcorders, some aimed at the projection screen above, and others confidently adjusted their equipment toward the racecourse.

They naturally needed full confidence in their gear, believing it was no worse than the high-speed cameras prepared by the school, and thus they should not be first-timers coming to film the livestream.

Given how much the Jiēmén district policies value horse racing and how enthusiastic its residents are about it, the central campus selection race each semester naturally attracts considerable attention.

Reporters from the official publication backed by the URA Association, magazine journalists from various horse‑girl outlets eager for a big scoop, the local TV station's live‑crew, and even envoys from the Jiēmén district government——

Those few companions of Qiūchuān Míshēng and Jùnchuān Jiāngshéng on the upper stands were precisely the Jiēmén officials who had come to inspect.

Not far from them, there were even members of the Police Headquarters and the Two Worlds Safety Bureau.

All of them were in plain clothes, blending among other outsiders, and to varying degrees they had disguised themselves with makeup, clothing, and so on.

Watching them was rather worrying.

At least, through the helmet's built‑in visual focus adjustment design, Aomo, whom I recognized at a glance, was clearly worried.

Then this worry was dispelled in a net chat a few minutes later.

【I Won't Ask for Anything!: Stop being suspicious! Police have private lives too, don't they? It's perfectly normal to come in plain clothes for a team‑building outing!】

If it were someone else, Aomo would suspect them from the excessive frequency of exclamation marks in a single sentence.

Overly intense emotional expression is often a poor footnote for those who are weary of hiding.

But behind that online handle was Bixiketuxe·Shihuaiya.

That name made him realize that exclamation marks are not only used for tone, but also often to indicate volume.

Without a doubt, her ability to deny herself so unpretentiously is strong proof enough.

After all, Aomo had indeed seen her solemn demeanor when she announced matters publicly——

——not recent news footage, but a highly upvoted post on the Rhodes Island forum.

That post gathered a bunch of news replays and GIFs, mostly official statements from Officer Shihuaiya, mixed with Miss Shihuaiya's everyday foul‑mouthed rants, clearly intended to highlight that contrast.

Seeing the OP named 'Longmen Ordinary Passerby', and after flipping four pages, it's basically the OP and Miss Shihuaiya's forum accounts arguing like elementary school kids, so it's easy to guess who they really are.

But that's getting off track.

Aomo had no intention of commenting on the special interaction between Bixiketuxe and her close‑friend troublemakers.

But such straightforward information records indeed helped him further flesh out her personality model in his mind.

【Yuehuanshe: Team‑building?】

【I Won't Ask for Anything!: Exactly! Of course it's team‑building! When that bunch mentioned in the group that today was the Trésen internal selection, several shouted about forming a group to come watch, and in the end about half showed up—don't you think that counts as team‑building?】

【Yuehuanshe: Hard to disagree.】

【I Won't Ask for Anything!: Right, but where are you? I heard this selection requires all your trainers to be present, so why don't I see you and those few horse‑girls under you?】

Um…… I had wanted to ask the other party why they were also interested in horse‑girls, Aomo, but that opening question silenced me for a moment.

Looking at my own gauntleted finger hanging in mid‑air, still unsure how to reply, I saw the other side send another message:

【I Won't Ask for Anything!: Right, right—I just saw something like robotic armor at the edge of the racecourse, felt like it might interest you, but I can't get up here; why don't you go check it out?】

""

【Yuehuanshe: That thing isn't still where it was, right? I saw people discussing it on the forum.】

【I Won't Ask for Anything: Uh… really? Indeed it's gone.】

The other party sent a compensatory reply, while Aomo, who had not moved at all, merely shifted his gaze and glanced at the distant ailishuma searching the woods edge together with a few horse‑girls.

His heart remained unmoved; he even scrolled Umastagram on the split‑screen terminal, glancing at the Trésen otaku defense squad's live progress, which was still stalled.

He then turned his head back again.

【Yuehuanshe: Better not dig too deep; in the ghost stories circulating in Trésen, a few have remained popular forever.】

【I Won't Ask for Anything: Uh, really or not? Do they come during the day too?】

【Yuehuanshe: Only unrefined spirits fear daylight; soul cultivation in the Jiēmén district is relatively widespread, souls are comparatively strong—in fact, in less than half a year on the job I've already seen two spiritual entities.】

【Yuehuanshe: By the way, behind the mountain there's an occasionally revived abandoned shrine, and Trésen is a place of outstanding people and spirits.】

【I Won't Ask for Anything: …Then I'll just focus on watching the race; we'll talk later.】

【Yuehuanshe: Talk later.】

Lowering his finger, the imposing, towering armor stood before the university department's rooftop, overlooking the training field that had suddenly become noisy.

The selection race officially began; countless people cheered for the runners on the course, except for the tiger‑eared woman whose expression was slightly unstable.

Transmigrators more or less tend to have this timidity.

Because in their world, entities like ghosts are mostly active only in legend.

Invisible and intangible, yet shrouded in countless horror tales, thus inspiring fear.

But for locals, fear of these is natural too—just like the junior‑high schoolgirl who once screamed loudly.

But this actually belongs to a minority group.

In this world, spirits are a common presence, and ways to counter them have long been widespread.

Given that source energy can interfere with ghosts, similarly regulating spirit and involving elemental source stone arts are likely still effective.

But unfortunately, Bixiketuxe's source stone art follows a physical‑damage route.

Insufficient firepower will cause fear, and before she masters these arts here, this weakness will likely persist for a long time.

Take it slow—what could a high‑ranking police official possibly fear? Even if evil ghosts existed, they wouldn't dare approach her.

For officers of the Terra Federation, regardless of district, everyone shares a basic understanding: they can handle the living as well as the dead—because the police academy has a uniform standard for specialized courses, teaching countermeasures against the top‑50 ethnic groups by crime rate.

Although Bixiketuxe's promotion path is as unconventional as her own entry, those fierce ghosts and spirits are hardly the sort of petty thieves who would rush into a police station.

She can comfortably remain the 'fish that slipped through the net of compulsory education'.

And Aomo can also adjust the focus and direction inside his helmet, redirect his view to the racecourse, then glance at the nearby screen that has been frozen for nearly ten minutes.

【Seed under volcanic ash: Preparation complete here, convenient to start up? Mr. Aomo】

【Yuehuanshe: Of course convenient, Miss Adier, as long as you don't mind my noisy background here】