I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

I won't say any more cheesy things, because no matter how much I say, nothing beats a big update. So I'm going back to writing now and try to release more chapters in the future so everyone can enjoy it.

And I wish everyone success in your studies and careers in the coming period. May those who are single have abundant romantic opportunities, and may those who are in a relationship have even more love and happiness. May you all rise higher and higher in life and live better and better.

Turn on the repeater.

Chapter 50: The Key Arrives!

The sun sets, then rises again.

The holiday is over, a new day begins, and it's time to go back to work.

I washed up and got dressed as usual, went to the Treson canteen, ate, and then went to the training field as usual.

Very good, very peaceful, looks like we can make a good mess today.

Just as Kitahara Shinji was thinking this, he stepped into the training ground.

Then, the next second, a strange feeling suddenly enveloped his heart, making his eyelids twitch involuntarily.

what's the situation?

Puzzled, he looked up at the agreed meeting point for his team, and then saw an even stranger scene.

At this time in the past, because he had been neglecting his duties for a long time, the female horses in his team would have already started training on their own. At most, there would be one or two resting after finishing a set of races, who would greet him with a smile when they saw him.

Of course, except during a solar eclipse, she'll stand there the whole time, acting more like a trainer than the trainer herself.

But today, at the agreed meeting point, all seven of his female horse handlers stood there neatly, not one missing.

And after he looked over, all the horse girls raised their heads and looked at him at the same time.

"Good morning, trainer! Let's do our best in the new week!"

The Emperor of the East Sea had a big smile on his face, and as always, he looked full of energy.

"Good morning, Guinea Pig! Want to try my new medicine?"

Alice smiled, her ruby-like eyes gleaming with an unusual light.

"Good morning, Trainer Kitahara..."

Oguri Hat was speaking when, for some reason, she touched her stomach, a look of confusion appearing in her eyes.

Good morning, Mr. Shinji.

Zhou smiled sheepishly as usual, but for some reason, his hair seemed to have grown longer than when they parted yesterday.

The moment he looked over, all four of them spoke at the same time and greeted him.

As for the remaining three, Grasshopper seemed a bit down and reacted a beat slower. After the four of them greeted him, he finally came to his senses, politely greeted him, and then his gaze drifted towards Special Week again.

Alice Digital stood among them, looking around excitedly. After Grasshopper greeted them, she also greeted him. Then her gaze began to linger between him and Eclipse, her eyes sparkling with bliss.

As for the solar eclipse...

"Good morning."

She gave the last greeting, and simply nodded without saying anything more.

This sudden anomaly startled Kitahara Shinji, who almost thought they had conspired in that group chat where he wasn't, planning something big to pull off for him.

Fortunately, this strange phenomenon only lasted for a moment, and after greeting him, everyone returned to normal.

The training should be done, the shrugs should be done everywhere, and the look of disappointment on Special Zhou's face should be shown.

The remaining Eclipse, which is always black, stands beside him, making him look like an assistant trainer in everyday life.

Seeing that they had gradually returned to normal and did not exhibit any unusual behavior afterward, Shinji Kitahara's brows relaxed, and the strange feeling in his heart gradually dissipated.

It's probably just a coincidence.

With that thought in mind, he took out his phone and began his daily routine.

However, today he didn't start browsing videos as usual as he would when he turned on his phone. Instead, he opened the Treson Academy forum, clicked on the anonymous section, and started browsing the content there.

About three minutes later, he found the post he was looking for.

[Anonymous question: I have a feeling there's something wrong with that trainer named Shinji Kitahara?]

[Anonymous questioner: It's been two weeks, and I've hardly seen him work at all. Most of the time he's just standing there fiddling with his phone. He doesn't even talk to the female engineers he's in charge of very often. It feels a bit strange.]

[Anonymous Answer A: Why is the questioner so concerned about others? Are you just bored and have nothing better to do, or are you not training enough?]

[Anonymous poster: The problem is that my training location is right next to his team's; it's hard not to notice him.]

[Anonymous Answer B: I've noticed that too. He does seem different from other trainers, and it's not just that he rarely provides guidance or communicates; if I had to say, it's more like he's afraid of trouble.]

[Anonymous questioner: Yes, yes, I feel the same way]

[Anonymous poster: I don't mean to stir up trouble, but he just seems really strange to me and a bit irresponsible. I suggest everyone avoid him.]

[Anonymous Answer A: But the problem is, he's the trainer of the East Blue Emperor, how could he be like you say? Are you just jealous? Really?]

[Anonymous Answer B: It's precisely because he's the East Blue Emperor's trainer that he has even less energy to care about others.]

[Anonymous Answer B: Besides, I just checked the official website, and he already has seven horse girls in his team, and he's the only trainer. Even if he's highly skilled, can he manage to train seven horse girls at the same time?]

[Anonymous Answer B: In short, regardless of whether he is truly irresponsible or not, I share the same opinion as the questioner and advise everyone to avoid him.]

This post was made after training last Friday, and because it involves a well-known figure, it even topped the anonymous forum when it first appeared. Now there are hundreds of replies below.

However, unlike in the past when people were stirring up trouble, this question, although asked anonymously, received much more rational responses.

Although most of the answers agreed with the views of the anonymous questioner and anonymous answerer B, the language was not too extreme.

Among the remaining few who disagreed with the original poster and anonymous answerer B, some speculated that he was a data-driven trainer, and that he was constantly staring at his phone to collect and calculate data.

Some speculate that this might be his special training method, while others guess that he has a team behind him, and that he is actually communicating with his team by fiddling with his phone, pooling their wisdom and efforts to provide training assistance to the Emperor of the East Sea.

However, whether one supports or opposes the questioner's statement, they all agree on one point: it is not recommended to choose him as a trainer.

If he's truly irresponsible, then I definitely recommend avoiding him.

If he were in charge, those seven horse girls would already be enough.

As he browsed through the various negative comments about him, Shinji Kitahara's lips slowly curled into a smile.

Yes, he posted this himself.

Moreover, the initial three accounts, [Anonymous Questioner], [Anonymous Answer A], and [Anonymous Answer B], were all his own alternate accounts.

As for why I posted this? Well, it's obviously to reduce the chances of other female fans being interested in me.

That sounds a bit strange.

After all, judging from the results, although he had been trying to slack off since he joined the company, the results were not satisfactory. He not only got involved with a bunch of dangerous horse girls, but the team size even reached seven people.

But this is actually a wrong view.

Thinking back carefully, the way the female horse riders in his team joined was rather unusual.

There are generally two ways for horse girls to join the team.

One type is those with outstanding results, performing well in their debut battle. As soon as the battle ends, countless trainers will flock to them, actively recruiting them. The trainer will then consider various factors and choose a team to join, or may directly find a dedicated trainer.

As for the other type, it is the female horse girl who did not perform well in the debut battle and did not perform well in the debut battle.

Although there is a certain probability that they might be recruited, this probability is not high.

Moreover, teams that can recruit these horse girls are usually not very strong, and their trainers are also quite limited in skill.

If you don't want to join such a team, then you have to collect information about various teams and trainers on your own.

Then, based on their own skill level, abilities, and compatibility with the team and trainers, they can choose to apply and only after passing the assessment can they apply to join the team.

As for the more advanced dedicated trainers, that's what we've mentioned before.

Newly hired trainers and less successful horse girls spend some time in the same team, then they will choose each other, take on responsibilities, and begin to write their own stories.

But for Shinji Kitahara...

The solar eclipse was tied to him; the Emperor of the East Sea had asked him to shirk his responsibilities.

Special Week and Oguri Hat are old acquaintances, and Alice found him interesting, so she insisted on meeting him.

Grasshopper was hired by the student council for security and to find Special Week, while Alice Digital was there to take care of Alice Hayako and also to promote her newly found CP and other horse girls...

The reasons were varied, but none of them were legitimate reasons for joining the team.

Therefore, to determine the effectiveness of Shinji Kitahara's "playing dumb" strategy, we must first rule out these unexpected situations.

Once they are excluded, the number of normal female riders remaining on Shinji Kitahara's side...

is zero.

Some might say this is normal, since Shinji Kitahara is just an ordinary rookie trainer in the eyes of Uma Musume, and even if a team is formed, probably no one will consider him—but the problem is that it's not that simple.

Because not all horse girls like those well-established and powerful teams.

"Better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond." The horse girls who come to Tressen are basically recognized elites among horse girls. In addition, they are in their adolescence, and rather than continuing the legend, they prefer to create their own legend.

For this type of female player, creating her own strong team is undoubtedly a more attractive option than joining an established powerhouse.

Moreover, while established powerhouses have their advantages, they also certainly have their disadvantages. Seniority-based ranking and rigid hierarchies are just minor issues.

The real danger lies in having a possessive female horse that, while outwardly agreeing to the trainer's request to recruit riders, might secretly do something quite unpredictable.

Although the trainers are the ones who suffer the most in the end, a trainer's injury and hospitalization will also delay training, right?

Furthermore, another point is that Kitahara Shinji's team has the famous Tokai Emperor, so just by having her there, she can attract a large number of horse girls who are aiming for her.

At this point, some people might be wondering, thinking that this is not a big deal. After all, no matter who wants to join the team, no matter what the reason, as long as Shinji Kitahara firmly refuses, isn't that enough?

The problem is, if he could really do that, he wouldn't be trying to avoid the possibility by resorting to a tanking tactic.

Others may not know this yet, but at least the solar eclipse is very clear. Shinji Kitahara is extremely resistant to being persuaded by gentleness but not by force.

To give a simple example, when he first met Elisako, and she used words to subtly threaten him, he decisively rejected her without any hesitation.

But when Alice took the initiative to say that she would not reveal his secret, and began to truly explain her purpose and try to discuss things with him properly, his attitude quickly softened.

And when it comes to solar eclipses, we must be even more vigilant.

Initially, Shinji Kitahara thought she was the safest one, which is why he wanted her to take on the responsibility. But judging from the current situation, she has become the most dangerous one.

Shinji Kitahara even suspected that if someone actually applied to join the team in front of her, no matter who the person was or what their reason was, she would most likely try to help them out and then pull some strings to get them in.

This is terrifying. What's even more terrifying is that Shinji Kitahara has absolutely no idea how to resist the eclipse's behavior, so he can only try to reduce the probability of attracting other horse girls.

Putting yourself down is just the beginning; the more important thing is to find a way to create a good external image so that others think you are terrible.

Moreover, this wasn't the first time he'd had this idea; it's just that some unknown, enthusiastic person named Black Forest had done it for him before, so he hadn't taken the initiative himself.

But who knew they would arrive so quickly? After thinking it over, he decided to do it himself.

Judging from the replies under the post so far, he has achieved quite good results.

It's important to know that the anonymous forum is the main source for female gamers to gather information about teams. Many negative comments about certain teams that are inconvenient to express on the main forum are basically made here.

The fact that it received such high and consistent negative reviews on the anonymous forum basically eliminates the possibility of other female characters applying to join the team.

However, as he scrolled through the post, he suddenly noticed that the comments following the post were gradually changing.

Moreover, things are changing in a direction that benefits him and others.

The change began with a post by an account with the ID "East Sea Emperor, Number One Under Heaven".

[East Sea Emperor is Number One: That's not true. Kitahara Trainer is a very good person. Not only is he a highly capable trainer, but he is also very responsible towards the horse girls. He is an excellent trainer.]

[The Emperor of the East Sea is Number One: The reason why Trainer Kitahara rarely provides guidance to his horse girls is because he believes that the horse girls' will is paramount, and the trainer is merely an assistant. He chooses to respect their choices and therefore tries his best to avoid interfering in their training...]

[The Emperor of the East Sea is Number One: Moreover, even though he has a full seven horse girls in his team and not a single support trainer, he still manages to handle everything with ease. Doesn't that just prove he's quite capable?]

[The Emperor of the East Sea is Number One Under Heaven: And More...]

Who the hell is this?!

Shinji Kitahara was shocked.

There are already hundreds of posts, the evaluations and discussions about him have settled, and the hype has subsided.

If nothing unexpected happens, this post will sink to the bottom soon, and will only be found when those female fans want to consider joining his team, and then they will choose to give up among the many advice to avoid it in the post.

But ever since the appearance of "[East Sea Emperor is the Number One Under Heaven]", not only has the tone of the comments in the post changed, but also because "[East Sea Emperor is the Number One Under Heaven]" is quite powerful and posts and replies very quickly, the popularity has started to rebound, and many more forum members have come to watch and enjoy the drama. It looks like it is about to rise back to the top spot.

Shinji Kitahara's eye twitched at the sight.