I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

"Then I can tell you, I have always believed that you can win."

"So, no orders are needed; just consider it a response to my trust."

"Go and claim victory, digital!"

He looked at her with an extremely serious expression.

"I believe you can do it."

Chapter 161: Are you kidding me!

To be honest, Shinji Kitahara was aware that his actions just now were somewhat inappropriate.

But the problem is, that's the situation with Aili Digital.

Although she was willing to believe him.

But no matter how much you believe his words, or how true or sincere what he said is.

Ultimately, the effect of words alone is extremely limited, and repeated use may even have the opposite effect.

Therefore, even if one knows that such behavior may be inappropriate.

But Shinji Kitahara still chose to bow his head and prove his words with his actions.

Concerns remained, but compared to those concerns, he still believed her future was more important and hoped to bring about some change for her.

As for Aili Digital, after the incident...

He entered the arena almost with a blank mind, driven solely by instinct.

Moreover, after entering the arena, she did not go around looking for other female horses as usual, but simply greeted them.

He stood outside blankly for a while, then walked through his own gate.

The words I had just heard echoed in my mind, and the familiar scent still lingered on my lips.

Standing in her own position, Alice Digital touched her lips, feeling the lingering warmth. The scene before her seemed to have changed.

The sky began to darken, and the noise from the surrounding audience gradually subsided, as if endless darkness was slowly enveloping everything.

But she was not afraid; she simply gazed at the darkness from afar.

A moment later, just as she had expected, light sticks of various colors began to wave, spreading from near to far, from one end to the other, until they reached the limit of what the eye could see.

Then, twinkling starlight appeared, moving again and again, scattering her name across the starry sky.

Finally, with several beams of light illuminating the stage, her own personal stage was fully formed.

click.

Something seemed to shatter inside me, and the darkness before me vanished instantly, returning to the appearance of the arena.

Although the darkness has dissipated, the encouragement and companionship remain.

However, it wasn't as exaggerated as before, stretching as far as the eye could see. Instead, it flowed quietly around her, weaving together colors of happiness.

If it were a normal Ali Digital, she would probably realize that this was a domain, and then be quite shocked, not understanding why an ordinary horse girl like herself could possess such a legendary thing.

But now she felt no doubt, no shock, and didn't even notice the strangeness on her body.

Because her gaze was completely fixed on the arena in front of her, and only one thought remained in her mind.

She wants to win.

boom--

The competition officially began the moment the gate opened, and all contestants rushed out of the gate instantly.

Aili Digital wasn't very lucky; they drew a gate on the outer side during the previous lottery.

Moreover, because all of her opponents in this competition were the top players from her year and even the previous year.

When they left the gate, there were not only her, but also three other female horses, although they did not have the same strange condition as her.

But the feeling it gives is quite peculiar; even if no domain was opened, some kind of technique must have been used.

They immediately seized the best position, and even the next-best positions were fiercely contested. Despite their efforts, Aili Digital only managed to secure a middle position in the group.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the stands, after exiting the gate, Shinji Kitahara also noticed something unusual about Ali Digital, and his expression gradually became subtle.

It actually came out...?

Despite all the previous efforts, Shinji Kitahara never expected that he could get Ali Digital to open up a domain in just a few days, and he was prepared for a long-term research effort.

As for his previous behavior, he only wanted to prove the truth of his words through his actions, so that she could gain some confidence and gradually change over time.

but now......

Looking at the AIRE Digital cars speeding across the distant racetrack, Shinji Kitahara suddenly smiled.

"Keep it up, digital!"

He spoke softly.

As soon as he finished speaking, it was clear that his voice couldn't possibly have reached the arena.

But after he spoke, Alice Digital in the arena seemed to receive some signal and immediately began to accelerate, startling her opponents.

Those who can participate in this competition, even those who haven't opened their domains, have basically had experience fighting against, or even defeating, opponents who have opened their domains.

But they'd never seen anyone so reckless.

They immediately opened up a domain right at the start, and such an obvious one at that. The competition has only just begun and they're already sprinting ahead. Don't they care about the rest of the competition?

And it was precisely because of this that the other horse girls pondered for a moment and tried to stop Alice Digital.

But after realizing it wouldn't work, he quickly gave up and didn't choose to expend more effort to seriously stop her.

As they had predicted, after expending a lot of energy to grab a position at the front of the line, Alice Digital's speed indeed slowed down rapidly, and even her breathing seemed to become a bit heavier.

Because trainers usually have the habit of investigating their opponents before a match, they know that Ali Digital has no domain.

Based on her current performance, many fans have realized that she probably experienced some kind of stimulation before the race, which is why she opened her domain for the first time.

If this were any other competition, even if it were her first time using her domain, with her excellent physical abilities and the existence of her domain, she would likely still win the competition despite some mistakes in the early stages.

But the problem is, it won't work this time.

The Emperor's Autumn Viewing is a prestigious event, one of the eight major races, and the competition in horse racing has become even fiercer in recent years due to the surge in the number of female horse riders.

And heavyweight events like the Emperor's Autumn Viewing Ceremony are even more intense.

To give a simple example, in previous years, the Emperor's autumn viewing event saw a maximum of five horse girls who had unlocked their domains. Usually, there were only two or three, and they were generally three-year-old horse girls.

But this year's Emperor's Autumn Appreciation event, including Ali Digital, has a total of eight horse girls who have opened up their domains competing in this one competition alone.

Moreover, some of them opened up their domains during their two-year period and have now mastered them quite proficiently.

They didn't think Alice was bad at digital technology, and were even willing to admit that her talent surpassed theirs.

But even geniuses need time to grow.

Elsewhere, they would probably be happy to share their insights about the field with Aili Digital and help her understand and master it as much as possible.

However, on the field, although they can do the same thing, the way they do it might be a little different.

For example, you could demonstrate to her how to use the 'domain' in person.

Just as they were thinking this, the competition had reached one-third of its duration.

Although Aili Digital seemed to have exhausted a lot of energy during their previous sprint.

Strangely, as the race progressed, her steps did not become heavy despite her fatigue.

On the contrary, as time went by, there were some signs of recovery, and even her breathing gradually became more stable.

However, her rivals did not notice these details, because after a third of the race had passed, the other female horses also began to make their preparations.

Then, when the competition was halfway through, they all started to make their moves.

Accelerate, sprint, overtake...

Interference, blocking technology, domain...

Unlike all previous competitions, this Emperor's Autumn Appreciation is a truly terrifying event with all top-tier horse girls participating.

Even the worst of them would be considered a championship favorite in any other G1 team, while the stronger ones...

They even achieved good results in the competition for the triple crown, but ultimately failed to win the championship for various reasons.

Physical fitness, skill application, the existence of a domain, and the passion for winning...

In every aspect, they are fully deserving of their status as top-tier racehorse girls.

After the competition began midway through, the scene gradually became chaotic.

Amidst this chaotic frenzy, something they had overlooked, someone who was seen as having wasted a great deal of energy due to recklessness from the very beginning, quietly raised its head.

Then, it accelerated again.

Physical exhaustion? Heavy breathing?

Indeed, at the very beginning, in order to reverse the unfavorable situation, Aili Digital spent a lot of energy sprinting and took a relatively good position.

The problem is that, in the match just now, she has almost completely recovered the physical strength she had previously expended.

This is the effect of her domain, but it's not just about her domain.

In fact, Alice Digital's natural energy and recovery ability are much stronger than those of ordinary horse girls.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have had so much energy to learn an almost exaggerated number of skills, and she certainly wouldn't have been able to return to training full of energy the day after each time she fainted from a nosebleed.

Afterwards, given her already abundant energy and strong recovery ability, she recently underwent running technique improvements by Shinji Kitahara.

That running style was specially designed for her, to maximize her unique characteristics.

Finally, coupled with the domain she had just activated, this resulted in the strange situation where other horse girls expend stamina while running, but she could quickly recover stamina at normal speed.

Of course, this doesn't mean she's a perpetual motion machine.

In fact, the physical strength she has regained is not a true recovery, but rather the conversion of other things into physical strength, and it is not unlimited.

But that's enough.

As the chaos began, Aili Digital surged forward once again.

This time, having already secured a top position and with fewer obstacles and hindrances, her sprint was even faster than before, and the vibrant colors on her body flowed even more rapidly.

When the race was two-thirds over, she had already overtaken the second-place finisher and was less than two horse lengths behind the first-place finisher.

Have they caught up yet...?

The leader noticed the dazzling colors behind him, and his expression changed slightly.

Although somewhat surprised that Alice Digital could catch up despite being so severely depleted, she felt a greater sense of admiration for her and increasingly acknowledged her strength.

Even so, she had no intention of holding back, nor did she intend to lose; in fact, her fighting spirit was even stronger.

Genius...?

Recalling this time last year, I remember how I defeated those second- or even third-year Uma Musume champions by unlocking the domain at the last moment.

A flame gradually rose in her eyes, and her steps began to carry a wave of heat.

Let me see if you can do the same thing.

As the competition entered its final third, she finally unlocked her own potential, with an astonishing increase in explosive power and a significant boost in speed in an instant.

To be honest, if she had activated her domain normally, she wouldn't have been able to unleash this level of power.

But the existence of Aili Digital made her see a reflection of her past self, and the fighting spirit that was already burning in her heart became even stronger, burning into the shape of flames.

In response to her acceleration, Aili Digital also sped up again, relentlessly chasing after her.

Thus, the two remained locked in a stalemate until the last quarter of the stage, having already widened the gap between themselves and the teams behind them.

But at that moment, the lead horse suddenly slowed down.

It wasn't that the time limit for the domain had expired, but rather that her physical strength was starting to wane.

She's debuted in her third year as a female mascot, and it's almost October of her third year now, so her decline period has been over for almost a year.

Although the field has been developed more vigorously and skillfully than before, the resulting consumption has also increased significantly.

Although she hadn't neglected her exercise, her decline had lasted for nearly ten months, or even longer, and her physical condition was ultimately somewhat worse than at her peak.