I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

"Guinea Pig, I'd like to discuss something with you."

Despite it being a harbinger of something bad happening, seeing her reaction actually made Shinji Kitahara breathe a sigh of relief.

"what happened?"

"If I win, as a reward, you have to grant me one request."

Upon hearing these familiar words, Shinji Kitahara sighed.

Why do you all like to make these pre-battle predictions? Aren't you afraid of losing?

Alice blinked but didn't answer.

After a moment of silence, Shinji Kitahara sighed again, saying helplessly.

"Fine, fine, I'll grant your request regardless of whether you win or not. And if you win, I'll give you an extra one."

"......real?"

"real."

As soon as she finished speaking, Alice's eyes lit up, and she spoke with a hint of amusement.

"You said it yourself, Mr. Guinea Pig, so don't regret it..."

"Yes, yes, go quickly, or you'll be late."

Shinji Kitahara waved his hand dismissively, as if swatting away a fly, and Alice, seeing that she had the upper hand, obediently turned around, gently wagging her tail, and stepped onto the arena.

Just as she was about to step out of the passageway, the voice behind her suddenly sounded again, this time with a more serious and earnest tone.

"This time, let's run with all our might."

"There's no need to worry or be afraid."

"No matter what happens, I will be by your side. No matter what concerns or difficulties you have, just leave them to me."

"All you need to do is run."

"Leave the rest to me."

"I look forward to your triumphant return."

Chapter 156: It's a bit heavy.

Run at full speed...

Recalling the words he had just spoken, his steps toward the gate became firmer and firmer.

Alice knew why Shinji Kitahara would say that.

It's just that before this, due to health reasons, she had never run at full speed to avoid accidents.

He worried that she might not be used to this energy-saving running style and might not be able to adapt to the sudden change in running style, or even that she might be afraid of accidents if she ran at full speed.

"What an idiot, Mr. Guinea Pig."

She muttered a complaint under her breath.

Even though he had personally helped her with various plans and adjustments during the week leading up to the competition, and all the tests went perfectly, he had even taken time out of his busy schedule to provide her with psychological counseling just before the competition started...

Having gone to such lengths, he still had to say such stupid things right before the competition...

Does he doubt her abilities? Or does he feel she doesn't trust him?

He even said he'd leave the rest to him. A mere guinea pig? Isn't that a bit too arrogant...?

Thinking this, she walked into the gate and slowly made preparations.

As my thoughts gradually focused and distractions slowly dissipated, I gazed at the gate in front of me, feeling an unprecedented sense of ease and harmony within me.

She took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled, as if something flashed past her.

Then--

boom.

The moment the gate opened, she dashed out at an astonishing speed, seizing the best leading position with a speed far exceeding that of others.

Was it a mistake by the other horse girls that they were released too late?

No.

They all performed very well. The moment the gate opened, they immediately took their steps, reacting very quickly, and none of them were late.

Why is it that Airi Soko's exit speed is significantly faster than theirs?

The answer is also very simple.

That is, other female horses wait until the gate is fully opened and there is a 'bang' sound.

Only then can information be transmitted to the brain, and then reflected from the brain to all parts of the body, and only then can one begin to exert force and get started.

As for Elise, the moment the gate started to move, she noticed the subtle difference in her eyes and immediately took a step forward, rushing out almost right next to the gate.

Is this a long time? No, it's not.

Because the gate opens in just a moment, less than half a second.

But in the world of horse racing, even less than half a second can be enough to turn the tide of battle.

Faced with Alice's almost perfect exit from the gate, some discerning people in the audience naturally noticed it.

After a flurry of whispers, a commotion erupted as everyone began discussing how Alice had managed to do it—was it simply good luck, or did she possess some kind of technique?

So how exactly does Alice manage to react so quickly?

The answer is that she didn't know either.

She just felt that time seemed to slow down a lot before she exited the gate.

Breathing, heartbeat, gentle breeze...

The opponent's trembling, the audience's discussion, the operation of the gates...

In the instant before exiting the gate, countless pieces of information were gathered in her mind through her senses, and then began to interweave and be calculated.

Then, the moment the optimal solution was found, her body started moving on its own.

After securing the innermost lane, Alice didn't rush to accelerate, but she firmly maintained her first position.

At the same time, I constantly adjust my breathing and rhythm according to the situation to slow down the accumulation of fatigue in my body.

Perception, information, collection, computation...

During the first straightaway, although Airi Hayate maintained her first place ranking, her performance could only be described as excellent.

But when she reached the first bend, her opponent noticed something was wrong.

Even when entering a bend, Eliseko's speed did not decrease at all.

It's not surprising that they didn't slow down when entering the curve, since they could have achieved the same effect by accelerating.

The problem is that while Elise didn't slow down at the bend, her steps didn't become heavier at all; she just changed her running posture slightly and her body tilted a little.

Of course, not all horse girls noticed this.

Many believe that she accelerated at the bend to maintain her lead, and after a moment's thought, she also accelerated to catch up.

But after rounding the bend, even these female horses realized something was wrong.

Because right after rounding the bend, or more precisely, halfway through, she increased her speed by a notch.

And after entering the straight line, it not only did not recover, but instead rose another segment.

Are you starting to speed things up now?

The other female horses were somewhat puzzled and began to hesitate about whether to follow suit, since the race was not even a third of the way through.

What they didn't know was that Alice hadn't sped up; she had only just gotten into the zone.

Although I had done various warm-up exercises before the competition, and my muscles were all loosened up.

But since it was her first time running at full speed, those activities alone were not enough for her body to adapt.

However, excessive and intense activities can easily deplete her energy and build up a burden before the competition, so she can only gradually adapt by exerting herself on the field.

After they adapted, the gap began to emerge little by little.

The previously close-knit group began to separate, with the distance between those in front and behind widening.

But that doesn't mean no one can keep up with her pace.

In fact, after she adapted, some of the horse girls also sped up.

They stayed right behind her, wanting to see how long she could hold on, and planned to overtake her when she ran out of stamina and slowed down.

But she was destined to be disappointed.

For Alice, after adapting, her current speed is already a normal speed.

In the remainder of the race, her speed will only increase, not decrease.

The wind is blowing, and the grass clippings are flying everywhere.

My heart is beating, and blood is flowing briskly through my limbs and bones.

This was the first time Alice had experienced this feeling since she became conscious; it was as if she had easily shed some heavy shackles that had been binding her.

There's no need to hold back, no need to worry about problems, and none of the previous sense of disharmony and heaviness.

My mind was sharper than ever before, every movement was under control, every detail was clearly visible, and every step I took was meticulously calculated, as if the flow of time had slowed down considerably.

Alice didn't know what was happening, but she felt like she was in better shape than ever before and was completely immersed in the run.

Meanwhile, in the trainers' private stands, after Alice entered this state, Eclipse, who somehow managed to sneak in, heard familiar mutterings in her ears.

'Not bad, you've managed to open a domain in just over six months. But it seems like this was just a coincidence. However, with him around, it probably won't be long before it solidifies...'

'I didn't feel my 'power' being activated, so her area of ​​expertise must not be related to endurance and willpower.'

'Huh? You haven't heard anything? I haven't heard anything either.'

'Hmm? Not in terms of speed and strength either? Then what about your side in Bayezid Turkey...'

'This is my area, the realm of wisdom and skill.'

'You scared me! I thought our younger sister's powers had grown to the point where they could influence the 'domain.' That could really cause a big problem...'

"Not necessarily. Her growth isn't usually that fast, and with her confined to this island, she can't get nutrients from other places, so her growth rate will be even slower."

"I'm relieved to hear that."

"But to be fair, although our younger sister might indeed be a bit... well, not so good, I'm really curious to see what kind of 'domain' would be created based on her powers."

"Indeed, now that you mention it, I'm curious about what the realm that extends from 'love' would be like..."

'That doesn't sound very serious.'

'Wouldn't that be better?'

'really. ’

Just as the three lively characters were talking, the situation on the field changed once again.

At this point, the race had entered its final third, but Eriko, who had been leading the pack and had accelerated multiple times, showed no signs of slowing down.

Instead, they accelerated again when they entered the last third of the stage, and the acceleration was even greater than before, clearly indicating that they had entered sprint mode.

Seeing this, the horse girl who had been closely following behind her realized that she didn't have much energy left.

But seeing Alice constantly accelerating in front of him, he gritted his teeth and suddenly sped up.

And it wasn't just the two of them; in the last third, or even a quarter of the race, the other horses also stopped holding back and began their final sprint.

But, is it useful?

In the previous races, apart from the horse girl who was closely following Airi Soko, the third-place horse girl was now a full six horse lengths behind her.

Moreover, the horses at the front, due to their leadership, often expend more energy than those at the back.

Those who have persevered this far don't have much energy left, and few have the strength to accelerate, let alone sprint.

The most obvious one is the horse girl behind Alice.

After sprinting a short distance alongside Alice, his already limited stamina was completely depleted.