Chapter 746: NO.115: This is no longer within the realm of monsters

NO. 115: This is no longer within the realm of monsters.

"Little Snake! Little Snake! Little Snake! Where are you?"

"Over here."

"Eh~? You're watching Uma Musume again!"

"More precisely, it should be pre‑race information gathering."

While watching the live broadcast of the Shinxa Memorial Race on screen, Aomo raised his hand and pointed to the familiar face beside him, whose features resembled a mosquito coil: "Besides, I made a bet with the person next to me; the stake is information that might come in handy."

The Barosan, who often appeared in large numbers at the electronic base and frequently showed up on the Intergate District's wanted notices for alien criminals, shouted in dissatisfaction upon hearing this: "Why don't you also say out loud the Taipete card you bet on?"

"Because I don't think I'll lose." Aomo smiled.

"Hmph, the results will be out soon—Ai Ren Machinery is currently in first place! And the Narita Kohyou you bet on is still down in fifth!"

"You might as well be patient."

"Hah," Shinjo Xi snorted, walked over to Aomo, plopped down beside him, glanced around at the other aliens also watching the Uma Musume match nearby, then turned back and said, "After all the trouble I went through picking out this alien bar for you, you're actually using monster cards as betting chips—Suzi‑chan will cry!"

"But I think Suzi‑chan's approach is also pretty pioneering… activating monsters from the card level—quite innovative."

"Is that why she silently soaked that card in water? I thought she was still sleeping this afternoon, never expecting to catch her red‑handed sneaking out from the office."

"It's not really sneaking out—I actually invited her to come play, and we ended up chatting our way to the lab."

"What a remarkably researcher‑like romantic development, Miss Shinjo," Aomo said sourly, "What about Miss Zhinu and Shin Uchuu?"

In the morning she was still looking after a troublesome kid; after a phone call at noon summoned her to the office, she saw the handiwork of the person in charge of the Uma Musume.

The card he had tossed into the office display case due to insufficient strength was also reclaimed by him when he couldn't hold back, taking back his deck.

Then came Akane's sudden suggestion to go out.

The alien bar, frequented by many well‑known alien species, also serves as a hub for monster‑related information exchange—

——frankly speaking, Aomo unexpectedly isn't very keen on going.

Because there are plenty of Uma Musume races in September, the G‑level events listed from Jiemen District to Kanaan City, then to Changchang City and Heaven's Gate City fill several pages.

Although limiting it to G1 yields less than a page, and there's nothing suitable for having my three subordinates farm prize money and fan counts, the trainer still can't idle.

The horse‑racing business especially requires keeping an eye on peers' moves, after all, Uma Musume who enter GII and GIII races often also qualify for GI.

Just because GI is too intense to recklessly court disgrace, but if one is well prepared, there's also the courage to reward oneself with a high‑stakes GI showdown—and that's something others especially need to watch out for.

The Uma Musume races are like a stamp‑collecting contest: how many dream of achieving a Triple Crown, how many dream of an X‑win streak, only to have their winning streak and accomplishments broken by some random interloper crawling out of nowhere.

Of course, knowing in advance the information on all the season's competitors doesn't mean one won't be outmaneuvered.

The harsh, realistic outcome of being outdone by others is all the more common.

But if one manages this, at least they can say they truly gave their all, instead of later reviewing and thinking, "If only I had noticed XXX back then…"

Originally, Aomo's contract with Suzi was tied to information analysis, so naturally he didn't want to miss any race—but… alien came. jpg

One must know that Miss Ling's carefree ease leaves no trace in memory or even in crystal cores, yet the dazed feeling she gives Aomo when she appears is not without value as a kind of 'reminder' that helps him grow more accustomed.

Be aware that the young lady's carefree ease can leave no trace in memory, even in the crystal core; yet the dazed feeling she brings to Aomo upon her arrival remains a kind of 'reminder' that makes him grow increasingly accustomed.

She gives no warning; she just shows up!

She pops up beside you out of the blue, then calls out "Observer" in that listless voice, occasionally pulling out her phone to play an ethereal sound like a UFO lifting off—holy cow, a space ghost!

Before Aomo could even jump, Akane had already flung her phone away in fright.

The phone was fine, after all—modern phones are sturdy, and besides, someone with quick reflexes snatched it mid‑air, so the choice of whether to go or not still lay before us.

The phone was fine, after all contemporary phones are of good quality; moreover, someone reacted quickly, jumped quickly, and intercepted the phone midway, so what lay before us remained the same go-or-not-go choice question.

"You're saying why not choose to hang out with Shin Uchuu instead?"

"The answer is Shin Uchuu also wants to go."

"What the heck, a bunch of minors going to a bar—is that even allowed?! And there are even middle‑schoolers mixed in!"

"And it's a bar full of aliens!"

Aomo had intended to keep refusing, but…

One kid is already hard to refuse, and there are two others who, when necessary, act just as willful as children.

"Shin Uchuu? Over at the claw machine, saying she wants to grab one for everyone."

"Really rare that you can understand what she's saying." Aomo watched the screen as the Uma Musume named Narita took first place, then a flashing light point on his wrist turned into a blade that sliced across the opponent's—? —blocking their stealthy retreat step.

The other alien spectators showed no reaction to the conflict here, merely chatting among themselves about their race impressions—like regretting that their favored Uma Musume lost, or swearing at the other competitors.

It sounds like everyone's betting on the horses; no wonder it's a bar inside the Jiemen District.

But Shinjo paid no attention to that discussion, merely turning her gaze to Aomo:

"Having Zhinu‑chan translate is great—bringing her along was definitely the right call; she gets along swimmingly with Uchuu‑chan." She said, looking at the person raising their hands in surrender.

She then immediately called out toward the back.

"Suzi‑chan, someone here wants to renege on a debt!"

"Renege on a debt? Should we make them spit out the truth serum?"

At once a pair of brown horse ears poked out from behind.

"Why are you bringing that stuff out with you?" Aomo was somewhat speechless, instinctively glancing toward the claw machine.

The brown‑haired Uma Musume, with a blonde‑haired Uma Musume on her back, faced away from this side, concentrating on the control lever, allowing him to raise his hand confidently—

—and in one motion pressed the opponent's claw, which had been rapidly fluttering in front of their face, onto their face!

This both interrupted the prelude to their face‑flash release and drove the claw straight into the ground.

The next second, a blade also shot down, pinning the ground beside their neck.

"Just keep it simple, Mr. Barosa—aside from the information we agreed on at the start, you also have to pay for the floor you destroyed."

"I, uh… okay, no problem—please move the blade aside."

I, uh… okay, no problem, please move the knife away.

No no no, you need to set an example first before I can give feedback.

I, I said, but do we really have to do it here?

There's a soundproof barrier, go ahead.

Rather, there wasn't much expectation to begin with; even if others heard it, it wouldn't matter.

According to the information Xi gathered herself, there should be more than one person handling monster-related intelligence here; in game terms, it's probably an area dense with side quests marked by many question marks.

Side quests always vary in size; some small intel isn't worth worrying about, but the other party actually stayed silent and tried to run, which led things to this point.

... At the ZS City racetrack at the end of this month, there will be a transaction, concerning… the trade of demon fragments and artificial Belial.

? About what?

Demon fragments, you don't know that Belial's fragments are called this?

No, the latter one.

Artificial Belial.

Aomo heard and raised their head, looking toward Suzi:

Did you really bring the truth serum?