Following the "vacuum" session with Hayakawa Tazuna, Luo Cheng was immediately met with a "face-masking" by Tokai Teio.
With her cotton socks pressed against his nose, Luo Cheng couldn't breathe. The soft, damp fabric carried the girl's fragrance—a concentrated blend of citrus and sweat that was amplified a thousandfold in his nostrils.
"Trainer, your breathing is tickling me... I'm telling you about those awful AIs! One of them actually dared to mock my Teio Step! I have to teach her a lesson. You have to help me, Trainer!"
Luo Cheng began to struggle. He found that the faster he breathed, the harder Teio pressed down. He truly did love the soft, elastic feet of the horse girls, but at this rate, he was going to suffocate!
He was about to drown beneath the soles of an Uma Musume.Luo Cheng struggled.
"Trainer, honestly, stop squirming." Tokai Teio's face was flushed, her gaze burning as she looked down at the Trainer, who was gripping her ankles with both hands.
With a final heave, he pushed her feet up. Fresh air rushed into his lungs, and Luo Cheng's semi-conscious mind finally cleared.
"What are you doing, Trainer?"
Luo Cheng let go of her ankles and wiped his face, which was slick with Teio's perspiration.
"I almost bit the dust. Dying by a horse girl's sweaty feet... what a pathetic way to go."
"Don't worry, I wouldn't let you die," Teio said with a giggle, seemingly unaware of how she had just been toying with him. In her mind, such things probably didn't even register as unusual anymore. "Trainer, you have to help me take down that wretched AI!"
"Take her down? You're not planning to delete her, are you?"
"Huh? Why would Trainer think of something like that? By 'take her down,' I mean beat her!"
"You lost?"
Teio's expression immediately soured into a "grumpy pony" face.
"It's just that she performed the most popular dance out right now! If I knew it too, a mere AI would be no match for me!"
Luo Cheng had almost forgotten—besides racing, an Uma Musume's skill was also judged by their dancing. They were athletes and idols all at once.
"You want to go practice dancing?"
"Exactly. Trainer, you're coming with me tomorrow."
"Where to?"
"The arcade."
As expected, the plot triggered in strange ways. Last time it was Seiun Sky; this time it was Tokai Teio. It seemed the trigger was random, or rather, based on Luo Cheng's choice to bring Teio for this specific test. Without that coincidence, the event wouldn't have started. Finding a consistent pattern was proving to be incredibly difficult.
"Trainer, come with me. Do you hear me?"
Seeing that Luo Cheng hadn't answered, Teio impatiently flopped onto him. Even through the thin duvet, Luo Cheng could feel her soft weight.
"I hear you. We'll go tomorrow."
"Yay!" She giggled and scrambled off him. "It's a promise, then. I'll come find you in the morning."
After slipping her shoes back on, Teio hopped off the bed. At the door, she paused. "By the way, Trainer, why did you suddenly run out in the middle of the test?"
"Bathroom emergency."
"You have to make up for the time I missed. I, the Great Tokai Teio, had to cover your half of the test, too! So tomorrow, you stay with me until I'm satisfied. Oh, and one more thing!" Teio adopted a stern expression. "Tomorrow, it's just the two of us. No one else. Otherwise, be prepared to be dragged away by yours truly! Hmph!"
Recalling how their previous date had been ruined by Seiun Sky, Teio gave a little pout.
Every time he returned to the "Real World," these horse girls took charge, and Luo Cheng was powerless to stop them. He had no special abilities in reality—he couldn't change clothes in a second or refresh his physical state. He could only let these girls have their way with him.
However, the sensation wasn't bad. Luo Cheng quite enjoyed the simple happiness of being an ordinary person. It would be even better if the girls didn't turn everything into a "battleground." With so many cute girls, a "Love Triangle" or a "Harem War" could literally be life-threatening.
After Teio left, Luo Cheng dragged his somewhat weak body into a sitting position. He had actually fallen asleep. His last memory was Hayakawa Tazuna's kiss—a kiss that had lasted so long it deprived his brain of oxygen, causing him to black out.
And the moment he woke up, he was greeted by Teio's sweaty feet.
Peeling back the covers, Luo Cheng looked at his clothes. There were obvious signs they had been put back on improperly—they had clearly been taken off and then put back on by someone else. His body had been cleaned, too; any traces on his stomach or the sheets had vanished.
Tazuna probably tidied up, he thought.
The VR machine had automatically shut down, but the monitor was still on. Luo Cheng stood before the computer, looking at the dizzying interface. It definitely required a professional.
His attempt to sign a contract with Hayakawa Tazuna had ended in failure. Despite their maxed-out affection, it wasn't enough. Tazuna would rather "eat" him than become his trainee. Do they have boundaries that absolutely cannot be crossed? He considered their character settings. Tazuna was hiding her identity as a horse girl to be a secretary; she wouldn't reveal her secret easily. Teio's dream was the Triple Crown; stopping her would surely make her furious. Even Seiun Sky and Manhattan Cafe had things they wanted to do and things they refused to do.
Luo Cheng made a mental note of this. He was treating this world like a game, but he didn't want a slip of the tongue or a moment of curiosity to turn a "dating sim" into a "horror survival" game. Letting these girls turn "yandere" would be a nightmare.
With "hazard avoidance" in mind, Luo Cheng headed to Agnes Tachyon's research lab. Now that he had the chance, he needed to tell her about his recent experiences.
Upon entering, he saw Tachyon sleeping on the sofa. On her desk was the flyer he had given her. However, the flyer he had given the "Game Tachyon" had no signature, while this one had regained its signed status.
Sitting on the sofa, Luo Cheng watched the sleeping girl. Curled up, she looked like an ordinary young girl. He brushed aside her messy bangs; she looked like she hadn't slept in days.
Back in the game world, he often saw Tachyon pull all-nighters. Her green stamina bar was never full. Even when he commanded her to sleep, she would sneak back out in the middle of the night to continue her research. Only when Luo Cheng used her as a human pillow would she sleep properly and recover her stamina.
At his touch, Tachyon slowly opened her eyes. Those lifeless, dark red eyes fixed on Luo Cheng. Once she recognized him, she shifted her body and lay her head on his lap.
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Uma Musume: Inside the Game (71 Chapters – Ongoing)
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