People at Tracen, Skilled at Serving Time

'Wait, this... something's wrong!'

Tenno Sho Autumn?

Could it be that race?

When the plot itself made him say those words, sharp-eyed Zhou Yuang immediately realized when this scene took place.

The Uma Musume understood as well: this was a scene from Tenno Sho Autumn.

[Uma Musume Fan]: Tenno Sho Autumn? In other words, this is the story of Silence Suzuka entering the Old Horse Era... Can she still show that kind of Front Runner while competing against the other older horses? I'm looking forward to it! #(starry-eyed)#(starry-eyed)#(starry-eyed)

In reality, horses generally made their debut at age two.

Because Silence Suzuka was born late and did not develop quickly enough, she made her debut at age three.

In the year they debuted, two-year-old horses ran lower-tier graded races to earn prize money. Then, in the following year, when they were three, they could compete in the Classic Triple Crown.

By their third year after debut, the horses were four years old, and four-year-old racehorses were also called older horses.

Races like Tenno Sho Autumn were primarily contested by older horses.

Because Tenno Sho Autumn and Kikka-sho, the final race of the Triple Crown, were both held in October, they were too close together for a racehorse to adjust its condition in time.

The three Triple Crown races in the Classic Year were all competitions between horses of the same age. Going up against horses a year older was an extremely bold idea.

Only a racing genius had any chance of taking on those well-trained older horses at age three.

The audience was full of curiosity, while also lamenting how abrupt it felt when someone suddenly grew stronger during a game's story sequence.

That Uma Musume who simply loved running had also made it to the highest-level G1 race.

"An older-horse battle?"

What would happen? They could hardly wait.

Outside the screen, Silence Suzuka watched her on-screen self prepare for the race, her hands held against her chest.

Even though the one competing was not the Silence Suzuka of the present, she still felt nervous.

The Uma Musume spectators did not sense anything amiss, but Zhou Yuang alone looked troubled.

Without a doubt, this Tenno Sho Autumn was the famous Sunday Silence.

It was also the content of the anime's seventh episode.

After seeing Silence Suzuka through the athletes' tunnel, Zhou Yuang was teleported to the spectator stands.

After the standard procedures, Silence Suzuka entered the starting gate alongside the other Uma Musume.

As the race began, Silence Suzuka launched into a Front Runner the moment the gates opened.

She pulled far ahead without hesitation, keeping her distance from Fifth Pack behind her.

The commentator could not help shouting Silence Suzuka's name. Before this race, Silence Suzuka had already achieved the incredible feat of six consecutive graded-race victories.

The spectators present all believed that, barring any accidents, Silence Suzuka would definitely win.

'But... should I give those people in the chat a warning?'

The spectators around Zhou Yuang were all excited, and the Uma Musume in the Livestream Room were just as thrilled.

Telling everyone that Silence Suzuka would end her racing career on this track didn't seem like a good idea.

But they were about to see it.

On the track, Silence Suzuka was making an unprecedented Front Runner. Her speed was almost impossible for anyone to match.

"My body feels so light, and my steps are so easy... I feel like I can run even faster!"

Looking at the empty path ahead, at the scenery that belonged only to her now, a smile appeared on Silence Suzuka's face.

There was nothing she feared, and nothing she needed to worry about.

All she wanted was to keep running until she reached her finish line.

Faster, faster, faster!

All she could hear was the sound of the wind. She could no longer hear the spectators shouting from the sidelines, and she paid even less attention to the commentator.

She watched the scenery at the very front and continued running.

So she kept running, kept making her Front Runner, kept leading the race.

In that moment, she seemed to have found the meaning of her life!

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Silence Suzuka opened a lead of more than a dozen lengths over Offside Trap behind her.

She covered the first thousand meters in 57.4 seconds!

"So fast. With a time like that... Can I really run that fast?"

Outside the screen, Silence Suzuka was startled by the prompt and looked at her on-screen self.

She could not help yearning for it, envying that version of herself for possessing such strength.

And that smile... She really looked so happy.

Like both the spectators outside the screen and those inside it, she stared fixedly at Silence Suzuka as she made her Front Runner. Silence Suzuka wore a smile as she continued to surge ahead...

However, before the Fourth Turn, there was a blind spot that no one could see from.

A Thicket blocked the view between the track and the spectators.

The audience could not see how the Uma Musume passed through it.

Zhou Yuang knew exactly what was happening. He did not think the atmosphere around him was pleasant at all; he found it noisy.

Realizing that he could not move, he stood there quietly and waited.

"She's here! Silence Suzuka is about to reach the Fourth Turn... What's going on? She's slowing down!"

Everyone had thought they were about to witness another breathtaking Front Runner, but once Silence Suzuka passed through, they all froze.

Silence Suzuka kept slowing down, and her running form had become completely disordered.

Her arms no longer swung with the same rhythm as before. Instead, they looked like the desperate movements of someone drowning, reaching for something to cling to.

She tried to maintain her balance.

Even from far away, everyone could see how chaotic Silence Suzuka's steps had become.

She had fractured a bone.

The double-edged sword of a high-speed Front Runner had ultimately turned against her because of her own misstep.

Every step now felt like walking on a bed of needles. She was in agony, but she could not suddenly stop.

If she stopped abruptly, she would fall to the ground.

And then it would not be only her leg that was fractured.

"Silence Suzuka! Damn it, is she still unable to move?"

What the hell are you doing? Aren't you going to help her?

Zhou Yuang discovered that his character in the scene was standing there like an idiot. He wished he could slap himself.

But what good would that do?

In the distance, Silence Suzuka gradually slowed down and was about to fall.

"Special Week!"

After trying several times, Zhou Yuang opened his mouth and shouted toward Special Week beside him.

Only then did Special Week snap out of her daze. At Zhou Yuang's shout, she rushed toward Silence Suzuka.

Just before Silence Suzuka fell, Special Week caught and supported her.

"There's been an accident! Silence Suzuka... She can't continue the race!"

After the commentator spoke, the spectator stands fell terrifyingly silent.

Silence Suzuka had fractured a bone before entering the Fourth Turn and was forced to withdraw from the race.

The shooting star that had streaked across the sky fell silent.

Then Zhou Yuang's vision went black, and a hospital scene appeared.

A doctor spoke to Zhou Yuang and Special Week.

"I'm sorry. Silence Suzuka has suffered a comminuted fracture in her leg."

A comminuted fracture was a condition that amounted to a death sentence once a racehorse suffered one.

Although it was not fatal for an Uma Musume, it was still a devastating blow to her racing career.

[Uma Musume Fan]: What?! Holy crap! Why did this happen?! I can't accept this! I can't accept it! Not this! #(sobbing)#(sobbing)#(sobbing)

[Invincible Lord of Seaside]: A comminuted... fracture?!

[Unbreakable Glass]: This... How could something like this happen?

[Skipping Genius Girl]: You've got to be kidding me, right? How could this happen all of a sudden?!

[Tracen Cold-Joke Master]: What AT said before has happened.

[Uma Musume Fan]: Stop! No! AT! Didn't you say you would support Silence Suzuka unconditionally? Why did you still let her break her leg?! #(sobbing)#(sobbing)#(sobbing)

The messages nearly exploded as everyone was caught completely off guard by Silence Suzuka's sudden accident.

"You're kidding!"

A comminuted fracture? How could this happen?!

Outside the screen, Silence Suzuka's eyes widened.

She never could have imagined that the version of her on-screen would suffer a fracture after taking the lead, smiling, and passing through the blind spot.

For an Uma Musume, that was a horrific accident severe enough to end her career.

And even if she recovered, there was a high chance she would never be able to run again.

A future like that...

"No... I don't want this!"

I still want to keep running.

She felt her heart pounding violently, and her hand instinctively gripped the front of her clothes.

Even though this was not a problem she was facing now, Silence Suzuka still felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.

If she could not run, then how was that any different from being dead?

Her trembling eyes stared at the doctor's merciless verdict in the dialogue box.

She wanted to say something else, but she did not dare, terrified that it would be confirmed again.

"This doesn't make sense. Why was everything fine before, only for it to suddenly turn into this kind of BAD END?"

Zhou Yuang was suffering a headache as well. He had suddenly been shown Sunday Silence.

Three Goddesses, were you really afraid something wouldn't go wrong?

As he spoke, Zhou Yuang tried to calm the messages.

"Everyone, calm down. This should only be part of the story. I remember someone saying earlier that this filter might indicate a memory or a dream, right? If that's the case, then this should be a BAD END caused by making the wrong move. It isn't real!"

After saying that, Zhou Yuang discovered that his character had run to the hospital room with Special Week.

Inside the hospital room, Silence Suzuka saw Zhou Yuang walking over.

Looking at her trainer, the injured Uma Musume smiled and indicated that she was fine.

She did not cry. Special Week cried first instead, and Silence Suzuka smiled as she comforted Special Week. Zhou Yuang then comforted Special Week as well.

After Special Week stopped crying, Silence Suzuka comforted her and told her not to overthink things, but to go back and rest.

Realizing that she was not needed here, Special Week left reluctantly, looking back three times with every step.

Once Special Week had left and only one trainer and one Uma Musume remained in the hospital room, Zhou Yuang's character spoke first.

"Silence Suzuka, are you really all right?"

Sitting on the hospital bed, Silence Suzuka turned her head toward the window instead of looking at Zhou Yuang beside the bed.

"I'm fine."