“Only me?”
A gentle breeze ruffled the hair on Silent Suzuka’s forehead, and as the ripples in the small river faded, the mist in her eyes slowly receded.
“Yes.” Lu Jue suddenly stopped, turning to look at Silent Suzuka with a gaze like a sword of light, cutting through all the mist.
“Silence Suzuka, let’s have a Great Escape!”
......
On the day of the race.
Besides Tojo Hana and Lu Jue, Air Groove, Rhombus Amazon, Agnes Digital, and Maruzensky were all there to cheer on Silent Suzuka.
Everyone arrived at the entrance passage early, waiting for Silent Suzuka to come out of the changing room.
“Silence Suzuka, did you rest well last night? Run well, good luck.”
“Go, go, go! Overtake your opponents!”
......
“Thank you everyone, I will do my best.”
Silent Suzuka was wearing a magnificent dress, predominantly white, with a band of golden rectangular patterns extending around the hem.
The neckline, sleeves, and other parts were filled with green, and the golden trim outlining them highlighted this fresh green. It was just like Silent Suzuka’s serene temperament and dazzling charm.
The buttons on the shirt were also golden, and a golden-yellow star-shaped crystal was embedded above the center of her chest, looking like a bell from afar.
Her exposed hands and legs were confined and imprisoned by tiny black silk mesh grids, hidden from view.
Besides Silent Suzuka, the other participating Uma Musume were also dressed quite magnificently.
But this was not just for show; Uma Musume wear special racing outfits for important races.
Lu Jue had confirmed that the racing outfits did not affect the Uma Musume’s running.
“Silence Suzuka, recall the tactics we discussed these past few days. Don’t be careless, good luck,” Tojo Hana said seriously.
Lu Jue quietly shifted to the side.
Tojo Hana had arranged a mid-to-rear running style for Silent Suzuka.
This meant staying in the middle-to-back of the pack during the first half of the race to conserve stamina, then accelerating at the fourth corner, and finally relying on burst power to overtake and win the championship.
His suggested “Great Escape,” however, was to take the lead from the start and continuously widen the gap with the pack behind.
These were two completely different running styles.
The reason he felt guilty was that he was afraid Tojo Hana would discover that Silence Suzuka had been “turned” by him.
“I, I will, Trainer.” Silent Suzuka guiltily averted her gaze, which happened to meet Lu Jue’s.
Lu Jue gave her a reassuring look, “Good luck.”
“Mm!”
......
This race was a G2 graded stakes race, and it was an international competition, with Uma Musume participating from all over the world.
Many of them were champions of Grade 1 races. Silent Suzuka had not yet made a name for herself; her arrival was like a pebble, only splashing a few ripples.
“There are a total of fourteen Uma Musume participating in this race, and now the last Uma Musume has entered the gate,” the commentator’s voice announced.
Immediately after, the gate suddenly opened without warning, letting out a heavy clang.
“Bang——”
Fourteen Uma Musume ran out of the gate simultaneously.
“Oh!!!” A cheer erupted from the stands.
......
“The participants had a very smooth start! The leader is contestant number eight, Silent Suzuka!”
Silent Suzuka took the lead, quickly rushing to the front position.
It was then that she realized how vast the view at the very front of the racetrack was. The grass stretched endlessly in her vision, as if it had no boundaries, allowing her to run and explore.
Silent Suzuka felt as if she had entered a new realm for the first time, where the only thing that could keep pace with her was the free breeze in her ears.
“This feeling......”
It was indescribable, ineffable.
But what she felt in her heart was already expressed in the faint smile on her face.
......
“Silent Suzuka is still accelerating!”
“The gap with the main group is gradually widening, three lengths… four lengths…”
“Uma Musume Silent Suzuka’s leading run is surprisingly stunning!”
......
The self-forgetful running of Silent Suzuka was like an adrenaline shot, piercing into the hearts of the Uma Musume behind her.
Under this stimulation, these Uma Musume would naturally not remain indifferent, so they all sped up to close the distance with Silent Suzuka.
No Uma Musume participating in a graded stakes race was too weak; they conserved their stamina during the race, only waiting for a certain moment to fully exert their advantages.
......
Lu Jue intently observed Silent Suzuka’s running posture and arm movements from the stands.
The performance parameters he had given still needed to be refined, such as stride frequency, stride length, speed endurance, and burst power.
This race was an attempt and a new beginning. He believed that with his help, Silent Suzuka’s potential would be further improved beyond her original limits.
“This fellow, why isn’t she following the tactics? She just ran like that from the start!”
A somewhat indignant voice interrupted Lu Jue’s thoughts.
He didn’t need to turn his head to know who was speaking.
However, Tojo Hana’s anger was entirely due to her concern that Silent Suzuka would run out of steam and lose speed in the later stages.
She just hadn’t found the right running style for Silent Suzuka, but she was still a very good Trainer.
Lu Jue was struggling with whether to speak up for Silent Suzuka when Tojo Hana suddenly turned her attention to him, “Little Lu.”
“Ahem, I’m here, Sister Hua.” Lu Jue blinked.
“Why do you think Silence Suzuka didn’t adopt the tactics I assigned her?”
Lu Jue felt a bit unnerved by her inquiring gaze, “Um… Sister Hua, trust Silence Suzuka’s judgment.”
“Silence Suzuka told you that?” A glint flashed across Tojo Hana’s glasses.
“Um… huh?” Lu Jue played dumb very skillfully, “No, Silence Suzuka didn’t tell me that.”
“Then what did you tell her?”
Lu Jue cleared his throat twice, “I didn’t tell her anything either.”
“Is that so…” Tojo Hana didn’t fully believe him, because Silent Suzuka wouldn’t change her original plan on a whim.
Unless someone else guided her…
Tojo Hana looked at Lu Jue suspiciously. If it wasn’t Lu Jue, then wouldn’t it be that Nishizaki Ryu fellow?
Nishizaki Ryu, the Trainer of the protagonist group in the anime, the Trainer of the “Spica” team.
Lu Jue saw Tojo Hana fall silent and once again turned his gaze to the racetrack.