[Mejiro McQueen has sent you a spectator invitation. Do you accept?]
A voice from outside the heavens suddenly appeared in the "Genesis World."
Some Aimasu (Horse Girls fans) looked up in confusion: "Did I imagine that? I think I heard McQueen's name?"
Just as he thought this, he suddenly saw a window, similar to a computer pop-up, appear before his eyes.
"Seriously?!" someone cried out in surprise.
In an instant, everyone looked over, and a single question was evident in their eyes: "Did you get it too?"
"I accept!" a fanatic Aimasu shouted.
The next moment, everyone present watched in astonishment as that Aimasu disappeared in a flash of light.
"Holy cow!"
This miraculous scene made many people's hearts race.
Soon, driven by curiosity, many Aimasu accepted the invitation. Countless beams of light instantly erupted in their spots.
Some hesitated for a long time before making a decision, only to have a new prompt pop up the moment they clicked the window:
[Sorry, the maximum number of invited spectators for this event has been reached!]
"Huh?"
Hanshin Racecourse.
The sky was clear.
The moment Mejiro McQueen and Gold Ship entered the venue, a fervent cheer erupted from the stands.
"?"
Mejiro McQueen looked strangely towards the stands.
'Why do the stands today feel less like a virtual background?'
Gold Ship glanced at the surrounding robotic competitors, her expression serious and her brow furrowed.
She spotted several startling figures in the crowd:
Oguri Cap, wearing a white Christmas gown.
Admire Vega (Excellent Quality), glowing red all over.
Special Week, arms crossed over her chest, like a great king, The General.
If it were just their attire, it would be one thing, but their overall impression was completely different. They were fundamentally unlike the robots in the simulation training space Gold Ship remembered. What was going on with these robots? How could they possess such imposing auras?
"Hey, don't you think these robots are a bit strange?"
Gold Ship trusted her intuition; these robots were definitely not ordinary.
Mejiro McQueen explained casually, "Oh, this is the optional high-difficulty mode in Custom Mode. Aside from not having a Zone, the stats of these robots are all top-tier." Though she said that, they still weren't a match for her.
"I see, not bad at all." Gold Ship's eyes brightened. This feature was great.
She wasn't afraid of the robots being strong; she was afraid they weren't strong enough to serve as decent pacers.
"Welcome everyone to today's racecourse! We will now introduce the participating contestants."
A female commentator's voice echoed throughout the venue via the speakers.
It was then that Mejiro McQueen and Gold Ship noticed the stands were quite noisy.
"Am I dreaming?"
"This must be a miracle from the Three Goddesses!"
"These contestants all look so strong, but why are they slightly different from what I remember?"
"Why am I there!"
Unlike the regular audience, some Horse Girls stared in horror at the "themselves" at the starting gates, questioning their lives. Although the concept of parallel worlds had long been popularized internally, some less-than-intelligent dimwits didn't grasp it. Even for those who understood the situation, hearing about it and actually experiencing it were two different things, especially seeing another "self" truly exist at this very moment.
[Tokai Teio] pointed at Mejiro McQueen and Gold Ship inside.
"Those must be the McQueen and the Demon King we know, right?"
[Mejiro McQueen] pointed at the Tokai Teio wearing the festival outfit.
"Is that you, Teio?"
"Eh? It really is."
The Tokai Teio in the festival outfit was dancing their familiar Teio dance in front of the gate.
"Heh-heh, since I'm running, I'm sure I'll win this race~"
[Tokai Teio] was full of confidence in "herself."
"No, it will definitely be the victory of the other me!"
[Mejiro McQueen] resolutely cast a vote for "herself."
[Gold Ship] next to them couldn't help but say, "Then I, Little Kin-Fune (Gold Ship), will vote for that Demon King."
Though extremely reluctant, she was still another "Little Kin-Fune." Don't you dare lose, you Demon King bastard!
[Special Week]: "...(The other me's clothes are so pretty)."
[Suzuka]: "...(The other Spesh is so pretty)."
[Grass Wonder]: "Other me, don't lose to Spesh today!"
"Hehehe... This is great, I can root for them all!"
A certain Horse Girl, a passionate Aimasu, looked at the contestants in the venue with sparkling eyes. She never expected to see parallel versions with different styles from the originals. She was truly grateful for the miracle of the Goddesses!
Meanwhile, the reactions of the senior group were also varied.
[Symboli Rudolf] looked at the "herself" below with an inscrutable expression.
She never thought she'd see herself competing in the same race as a junior.
[Oguri Cap] looked enviously at the other her's glamorous Christmas gown.
"Aha, I never thought I'd see another me," a handsome Horse Girl chuckled.
[Maruzensky] looked regretful: "I'm not there, what a pity~"
"Interesting, I didn't expect to see you and Chiyomi race again, Emperor."
[Air Groove] smiled as she looked at Symboli Rudolf and the handsome Horse Girl, [Tamamo Cross] (Chiaki Daihyo - Chiyomi Daihyo).
Some others also noticed these two, and a series of gasps erupted in the stands.
"I think I saw Tamamo Cross, am I seeing things?"
"And the Emperor and Oguri Cap too!"
Although the audience's enthusiasm was strong, people were surprised to find out that these several contestants were not in the top three in popularity when the commentator introduced them:
"Third most popular, Admire Vega..."
"Huh?!"
[Admire Vega] froze stiff in surprise.
"Hey, Vega, how is your popularity higher than the President's?"
[Twin Turbo] looked curious.
"...Don't ask me such a question."
"Second most popular, Mejiro McQueen..."
Inside the track, upon hearing the commentator's voice, Gold Ship looked smugly at Mejiro McQueen.
"Hahaha, see that? Even the system thinks I'm stronger, Your Highness!"
"..."
Mejiro McQueen said nothing.
This silly girl...
The system's popularity ranking isn't based on strength but on career achievements. For example, Admire Vega, who is third in popularity, is displayed in the system panel as an experienced horse (literally 'horse of many campaigns/battles'). Her stats aren't high, all five attributes are between B and A, but her skill panel is spectacular: a page of red [skills] (likely referring to gate-locking/hindrance skills). Honestly, she hadn't expected the system's robots to include a pure gate horse of this competition level.
"Contestants, please proceed to the gates."
Following the commentator's instruction, the contestants entered the gates.
Mejiro McQueen and Gold Ship also quietly entered the gates.
"Contestants, ready!"
The traffic light above the gates was blinking.
Under the eagerly awaiting gaze of the crowd.
"The race begins!"
With a "bang," the gates opened. A biting burst of air erupted from Mejiro McQueen. She immediately bolted out of the gate. Flashes of starlight crossed her body. At the start of the race, she unleashed unparalleled speed and acceleration, taking the lead with overwhelming dominance.
Kitasan Black and Mihono Bourbon, among other contestants, could not keep up.
"Right at the start, Contestant 1, Mejiro McQueen, has perfectly secured the leading position!"
"What a formidable contestant."
The two commentators praised her. Even though they were AIs created by the system's computing power, they were still shocked by Mejiro McQueen's start.
Through the combination of skills and the integration of Zone, Mejiro McQueen's start had reached absolute perfection!
The crowd in the stands gasped.
"What speed is that?"
"That kind of explosive power is terrifying! It feels like this Mejiro McQueen has already won. If her stamina holds up, no one can match that speed, can they?"
"So strong! Is that the true strength of the other McQueen!"
Let alone the regular Aimasu, even [Mejiro McQueen] and others were stunned by Mejiro McQueen's start. That perfect start gave the opponents no chance, as if proclaiming the fact that she is the strongest from the very beginning of the race!
"Wait, so fast! The initial stage of the race is almost over!"
[Tokai Teio] was dumbfounded.
They were still shocked by Mejiro McQueen's start, but Mejiro McQueen on the track had already entered the turn.
And what shocked them the most was that the contestants behind her could actually keep up with Mejiro McQueen's speed!
"..." [Symboli Rudolf] looked very serious.
She was also frightened by the intensity of this race. She could state with certainty that every one of the contestants below possessed world-class strength.
"Seriously? I feel like if I participated, I'd probably be dead last right now."
[Tamamo Cross] looked incredulous.
She looked curiously at [Symboli Rudolf]: "Are you sure you guys ran against that kind of person before?"
"..."
They indeed had nothing to say.
They hadn't realized before that Mejiro McQueen's true strength would be this terrifying.
It seemed [McQueen]'s body was severely limiting her strength.
Inside the track.
Gold Ship was completely astonished.
What the hell is going on? Which bastard activated the 'gate-lock' right at the start of the race?!
Right at the beginning, she saw flashes of red light bursting in all directions.
She could only exclaim "Holy cow!"
She hadn't expected that, even without her activating her gate-locking skills, there was a true gate-horse in this race!
[Restriction]
[Wander]
[Stare]
[Allure]
[...]
Gate skills ranging from morale-crushing to attribute and running-style hindering rained down continuously, wave after wave like the ocean.
Gold Ship was grinding her teeth. She looked at Admire Vega, who slowly fell back after releasing all her skills, and stopped suppressing her instinctual impulse. A blood-red aura burst forth around her. While using Zone to counter the influence of the gate skills, she quickly chased after the leaders. She finally realized that this Admire Vega robot was a genuine, pure gate-horse with terrible stats!
Admire Vega, overtaken by Gold Ship, was expressionless.
Her face seemed to say: "My mission is complete."
Damn it, Mejiro McQueen!
You bastard even let a gate-horse in to protect yourself!
Gold Ship's eyes were glowing red.
She knew Mejiro McQueen hadn't done it on purpose—that person wouldn't stoop to such a thing. But the problem was that she was genuinely disgusted by this Admire Vega robot, a pure gate-horse with gate skills all over her body! How could such a disgusting thing exist?!
While Zone could counter some of the gate skills' effects, it couldn't grant complete immunity. She barely managed to maintain her speed, but the stamina consumption was genuinely doubled, and her morale was utterly ruined. The lethality of a pure gate-horse was thus evident.
Meanwhile, the noble Mejiro McQueen was unaffected by lock-on skills; all gate skills that landed on her were MISS.
...
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