"Do you know, Guinea Pig-kun? The human body emits pheromones. When an attractive member of the opposite sex smells them, they perceive a wonderful fragrance."
Lying on his lap, Tachyon squinted. "You have quite an incredible scent on you right now. Did you just finish exercising?"
If you counted "that" as exercise, then yes.
Tachyon nuzzled his thigh. "Can you smell me, Guinea Pig-kun?"
"You mean your fragrance?"
"Secretions are most potent in three places: the head, the armpits, and the feet... which one would you like to smell?" Tachyon tilted her head, a cryptic smile on her face.
"...The head."
Luo Cheng's body felt weak; he didn't have the energy to play games with Tachyon or "sample her snacks" right now. Tachyon propped herself up.
"Mmh..." She nipped at his ear and licked his cheek.
"...I thought you were letting me smell you."
"When I approach you, you are also approaching me, Guinea Pig-kun. Besides, I thought you would prefer a girl's armpits or feet. I didn't realize you were so... traditional." Tachyon toyed with a lock of hair by her temple, her lips twitching.
"Hardly."
Luo Cheng felt the need to clarify: he wasn't an armpit or foot fetishist. He just occasionally found his heart racing at the sight of a girl's translucent underarms or tender, cute feet. Originally, his tastes weren't so broad, but after spending so much time in the game world, he had slowly become a "connoisseur" who could appreciate an Uma Musume from any angle.
Color, shape, taste, scent, sound, softness, comfort—all of these had become criteria for his evaluation. Every part of an Uma Musume was a treasure.
"Actually, my 'type' is just... Uma Musume."
"Hoh? The whole package?"
"Yeah."
"Then I can rest easy."
"Why?"
"If there's nothing you dislike, that means anything is permissible, doesn't it?"
"What are you planning?"
"There is a spot with the most concentrated scent. You might find it to your liking."
Sitting up with a look of satisfaction, Tachyon let out a yawn and asked Luo Cheng to brew her a cup of black tea. With the pleasantries out of the way, they got down to business. Listening to Luo Cheng's description, Tachyon shared her latest research findings.
"This world truly has many irrationalities," Tachyon said, stretching. "A few weeks ago, when you gave me that flyer, it was blank. But this morning, text suddenly appeared on it. Moreover, my own memory glitched; I felt as though the text had always been there."
"Then how did you find out?"
"Written records. The photos I took of the flyer change along with the object itself, but written text does not. I wrote 'Flyer without any markings,' yet there is handwriting on it now. That proves an anomaly."
Tachyon sipped her tea. "Based on your description and my experimental logs, I suspect you are traveling between two worlds. The 'Real World' is like a piece of software you've opened, while the 'Game World' is the running code of that software. Whatever you do to that world results in a corresponding feedback over here."
"The world is a computer?"
"Don't look so tense, Guinea Pig-kun. The world has always been a computer. What do you think physical and mathematical formulas are? The world you inhabit is the same, except that world visualizes the code into something you can perceive."
Luo Cheng was silent for a moment. "Then how do I leave?"
"Leave? Why would you want to? What's wrong with this?"
"If I stay there too long, I'll lose my mind. Humans should play games; games shouldn't play humans."
"Every piece of software has its internal logic. As long as there is logic, it can be manipulated. We simply haven't found the method yet. It's been too little time, and we lack data. Everything you've described has only been discovered in the last few months. You don't fully understand the operational laws yet. To control something, the basic prerequisite is to understand it."
"So... I have to understand it first?"
"It might be quite a burden for you. Therefore—" Tachyon patted his face. "I'll grant you a special privilege. Whether in the game world or this one, you may do whatever you like to me."
[Agnes Tachyon: Additional Command Permissions Unlocked.]
A semi-transparent screen flashed before Luo Cheng's eyes and then vanished.
"This is..."
"What is it, Guinea Pig-kun?"
"It seems there's a new function." Luo Cheng shook his head, planning to test it once he returned.
Tachyon was right: control required understanding. He was still seeing random prompts pop up; he hadn't mastered the game yet. Perhaps once he unlocked all functions, he could do whatever he wanted.
"Suddenly, I feel like I have a quest."
"Is that so? Good. In truth, I am also very interested in your experiences. You are truly an invaluable experimental subject. If I could, I would even go to that world myself."
"What would you do there?"
"I'd use everyone for drug trials, of course. And..." Tachyon looked at him with her dark red eyes. "I'd strap my Guinea Pig to an experimental table and extract his body fluids twenty-four hours a day without end."
"..."
"Don't worry. I'll keep you properly nourished."
"I'm starting to wonder if I was being too 'modest' over there."
"Indeed, Guinea Pig-kun. you still have much growing to do."
"You want to turn into a 'cream puff', Tachyon?"
"Haha! I don't know what it's like over there, but here, you're the one who will be turned into cream."
"Fine. Just you wait. Once I've recovered my strength..."
"What's wrong? Are you sick?"
"Just a bit 'depleted' right now."
Under Tachyon's cryptic smile, Luo Cheng left the room.
Besides the system matters, he had another task: buying items from the outside. It seemed objects from reality gained special effects when brought into the game world—like the shoes, the grilled fish, or the flyer. Luo Cheng planned to buy as much as he could. He was going to use items to max out his horse girls' abilities.
But time was running out today. He decided to buy things tomorrow when he went to the arcade with Teio.
Wait, this story event is so short. Only two days? Last time it was a whole week.It wasn't just the trigger conditions that were random; even the duration was unpredictable. As for the underlying logic, Luo Cheng couldn't figure it out for the life of him.
Back at the dormitory, Luo Cheng took a shower, exchanged greetings with colleagues whose names he was already beginning to forget, and went to bed. Tomorrow would be another day of returning to reality.
Luo Cheng waited with anticipation.
Slurp... gurgle... chuu...
After an indeterminate amount of time, a wet, swirling sensation jolted Luo Cheng awake. He opened his eyes groggily to find a cold moonlight filling the room, and a large black tail swaying back and forth right in front of his face.
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Uma Musume: Inside the Game (71 Chapters – Ongoing)
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