"Um, Z-chan? What are you planning for today?"
Early in the morning, Silent Suzuka came to Ling-sama's house.
Today was a day off. Even Special Week, whose training enthusiasm had been soaring recently, couldn't defeat the allure of the blanket king, and was still sleeping in bed. Suzuka, who woke up early, bought her some food, put it in a thermos, and left a note, then came to Ling-sama's place as Ling-sama had told her a few days ago.
Ling-sama was still in her pajamas, looking lazy and cute.
However, in Suzuka's questioning gaze, the other party took out her phone and made a call.
"Hello? Maruzensky-san, it's me. Hmm, it seems the arrangements are almost done? Good, then I'll leave it to you."
After a brief chat about something, Ling-sama looked at Suzuka and spoke again.
"Sorry, since it was time, I called them first to confirm today's operation."
"Operation?"
"Yes, it's still about setting up Trainer and A-Hua."
"Like last time?" Thinking of the last big operation, Suzuka couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle softly.
"No, no, no, today, you and I are outside the operation."
"Eh?"
"Today is still a joint operation, but I have something else to do with you, so I took the liberty of bringing you along. If you mind, I can still tell them?"
"I don't mind. Rather... is there something you need?"
"Yes, let's go on a date."
"No... Eh eh eh eh eh eh eh eh!?!?"
"Pfft www, I'm just kidding, why such a big reaction www" Ling-sama found Suzuka's surprised expression quite amusing.
Suzuka, who was usually so calm, showing such a surprised reaction was truly rare and interesting.
"Mo... you shouldn't make jokes like that..." Suzuka also let out a sigh of relief.
"Yes, yes, yes, I'm sorry www, but such a big reaction... Does Suzuka hate me (sobbing) (feigned)?"
"No... no! I really like Z-chan! No! Everyone really likes Z-chan!" Seeing Ling-sama suddenly look like she was about to cry, Suzuka inevitably panicked.
"Ah... what a blunt remark, Suzuka = =" Ling-sama secretly chuckled at Suzuka's flustered appearance and began to tease her about her comment.
"Z-chan!" Suzuka pouted slightly in dissatisfaction.
"Alright, alright www, jokes aside. What we're doing today is..." Saying that, Ling-sama took out a remote control.
"This is...?"
"I'll go change first. You go downstairs and wait in the lobby."
When Suzuka went downstairs to the lobby and was about to sit on the sofa, she saw Ling-sama come down, dressed in casual clothes.
"So fast!" She habitually complained.
Since realizing she was often targeted, Suzuka had given up. She no longer held back her complaints but would voice them on the spot whenever she saw something to complain about. This also helped Suzuka integrate better into the team.
"I can't let you wait too long, can I?"
Saying that, Ling-sama gestured for Suzuka to follow her, then walked towards a small venue that had previously been closed.
Ling-sama had never opened this place before, saying it was still under renovation. Although no workers were usually seen, everyone didn't say anything, believing Z-chan must have her own reasons for doing so.
Suzuka should have been the first person to come here, and at this moment, she was curiously looking at the environment inside.
To be honest, the environment here felt like a laboratory from an anime or manga, with metal walls, ceiling, and floor.
After walking for a while, they reached a large hall with three doors.
"Suzuka, you go through that door. There will be a changing room halfway, you can change your clothes there and then continue."
"Huh? Is it training?"
"Yes, you don't mind, do you?"
"On the contrary, it's exactly what I want."
"Heh heh, then go. I'll go this way," Absolute Zero said, pointing to another door.
Suzuka followed the direction Absolute Zero pointed and walked in, soon seeing a door with "Changing Room" written on it.
Opening it, the inside looked like a regular racecourse changing room, except the clothes Absolute Zero said to change into were a bit... sci-fi?
They actually looked similar to the academy's sportswear but had some strange devices attached.
Fortunately, there was a graphic tutorial next to them showing her how to put them on, otherwise, she really wouldn't have known how to wear them.
After getting dressed, she continued along the path, and upon opening a door, she found an unusually spacious area, like a testing ground.
"Suzuka, can you hear me?"
The sudden voice startled Suzuka. Looking around, she saw an observation deck above, and Absolute Zero was inside it.
"Z-chan? Where is this?"
"Ahem, first, look to your left. There's a pair of special glasses there. Put them on; they have a built-in microphone, so I'll be able to hear you then."
Looking to the left, sure enough, there was a pair of glasses on a stand.
They looked more like VR equipment than glasses, but she put them on anyway. Absolute Zero wouldn't harm her, after all.
"Hello, Z-chan, can you hear me?"
"I can hear you. Now, press the top-most button on the right side of the glasses."
"This one?"
"Yes. Don't be too surprised by what happens next, okay?"
"I understand." She pressed the button.
As the button was pressed, the floor and ceiling in the corners opened, revealing the machines inside, and from Absolute Zero's perspective, some parts of the equipment on Suzuka were glowing.
From Suzuka's perspective, it was completely different.
"This is..."
Suzuka could feel an uncontrollable smile spreading across her face because the scene before her perfectly matched her thoughts.
It was an endless grassland.
Vibrant green grass, a clear blue Sky, and white clouds, it was like a scene out of a painting, a lush grassland untouched by anyone.
"How is it?"
"So beautiful... I want to..." run on it.
She had felt this way during that training camp as well. The natural grassland at Absolute Zero's Hometown had moved everyone, and this place was even beyond that.
"Thank you, Z-chan." You must have noticed my recent state of mind, that's why you're showing me this, right?
Even though she's so small, she's always taking care of everyone. I can't keep going on like this!
I feel like I was inexplicably slandered just now... Absolute Zero frowned silently but continued to give instructions.
"Suzuka, press the second button."
Suzuka did so, and then... a holographic race track appeared on the ground, at least preventing her from hitting the walls.
And along with it, a line of illusory figures appeared.
"These are..."
They were all familiar figures, famous Uma Musume with names.
"Choose one as your opponent."
"Opponent?"
"Didn't I say? What we're doing today isn't for relaxation, but for training."
"Training... with them?"
"But those are just dolls I made from simple simulated data; they are actually much weaker than their real counterparts."
"No, this is enough. Thank you, Z-chan."
"You're welcome. By the way, don't leave the track area. The surroundings are actually walls."
"I know."
"Then, have a good experience. This 'Virtual Race Device' was made with epoch-making technology. It's still in the trial phase, so there might be some bugs. This time, besides training, I also want you to help test for bugs. You don't mind, do you?"
These devices were naturally from the system. When the Three Goddesses set up this system, they put a bunch of strange things in the store. When Absolute Zero saw that this villa had such a large space, she had already planned to build such a facility. So, she exchanged for a few autonomous robots that had been modifying this place until it was recently completed. Suzuka was lucky to catch this timing.
"Yes, just seeing these makes me very satisfied." For Suzuka, nothing was more important than running.
"Alright, choose your opponent."
"I've already decided, okay?" With a swipe of her finger, the list moved quickly, followed by a petite figure.
"Are you sure? Although she's still very weak due to her own reasons, compared to other virtual characters, this is the strongest one, you know?"
"Yes, I've decided."
As an Uma Musume who also specializes in the Great Escape strategy and consistently wins championships, Suzuka couldn't ask for a better teacher than Absolute Zero.
[Opponent selected: Absolute Zero]
[Confirm] [Reselect]
"Confirm."
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