I'm Ornn, and I'm about to be beaten to my knees by the Man-eating Horse Girl!

Orn simply ordered her to clean up the room by herself and then run a few laps around the beach, and the punishment would be over.

This punishment, which felt like a mere tickle, made Shining Bright feel uneasy, and greatly disappointed Megumi Ardan, who had come to join in the fun.

After changing into their training clothes, the group went to the open space near the tires.

This spot is on the edge of the hotel's beach training area. The scenery is beautiful, with coconut trees and a rocky outcrop just a few dozen meters away. There are many clams in the crevices of the rocks; Little Chestnut Hat has gone there to dig for them many times.

Logically, such a scenic and shady place should attract many trainers, but apart from Dolan's team, no other horse girls come here.

The root cause is that the sand in this corner is too soft, making it difficult for the horse to exert force on it, which is very unsuitable for speed training.

Unlike in games, in reality, the upper limit of speed is the most pressing requirement, especially for horse girls who have just stepped onto the track, where speed is of utmost importance.

Therefore, most trainers prioritize grabbing training equipment that directly improves speed, such as shoes, while training equipment that improves strength and endurance becomes a secondary option.

Orn clapped his hands and said, "Alright, you guys wait here for a bit. It's 8:30 in the morning. I'm going to make a phone call and I'll be back in a bit."

Watching her trainer's departing figure, Shining Radiance quickly looked in the direction of Fujisei March and asked, "Hey! March! Why do I feel like my benefactor has changed a lot this time? Did something happen when you went out?"

"Think about it, the last time I made the same mistake, he immediately grabbed a slipper and spanked me! Why didn't he do that this time?"

Fujimasa looked at the newly radiant light with a strange expression and asked, "Do you want him to spank you?"

"Oh! No, no! Of course that's not what I meant!"

Shining Radiance blushed slightly and explained, "Well... how should I put it, I have a feeling this time is a little different! I think Oguri and Aldan feel the same way!"

Megumi Ardan thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "No, I think Mr. Orn has always been like this. Perhaps, maybe he's just gentler this time?"

Shining Brightly's lips twitched, and she muttered, "I don't think it's kind of someone to make their own people pull a rickshaw. What era are we living in? They're still using that old-fashioned horse-drawn rickshaw system."

"What about Xiao Li? What do you think?"

Little Chestnut Hat stroked her chin, mimicking Orn's usual way of thinking, and said, "Torna... I feel like he must have his own things to do, right?"

"He's like he was in Kasamatsu right now... like when you're eating a hamburger and find your least favorite pickle on it, and you're desperately trying to get rid of it!"

"Yes! That should be the feeling!"

Seemingly worried that she hadn't explained herself clearly, Oguri Hat used her own method to express what she wanted to say.

But from DouDou's perspective, the others in Dolan's team didn't seem to understand what she was saying either.

Fujimasa sighed, patted Oguri's drooping ears in comfort, and then said to the other two, "If there are any problems, ask him when he gets back."

"Let's do some warm-up exercises first. I think Ornn will release new training content after that."

On the other side of the beach, Orn was holding his phone and dialing a number.

A familiar voice came from the other end of the phone: "Brother Orn, we have reviewed your investigation request that you sent at 3 a.m. last night and have obtained some preliminary investigative information."

Asuka Izumi used a very loud tone when mentioning "3 a.m.," which shows her disgust and hatred for this time of day.

Ornn could only cough lightly and say, "Sorry, thank you for your hard work, Brother Asuka."

"I had no choice but to do this. After all, the incident happened suddenly, and this is the only time I can give you the information I have."

Asuka Izumi let out a heavy sigh. He said, "It's alright. After all, the person who did the research wasn't my colleague. To be precise, it was someone under Kitajima-senpai."

"You have no idea, when he called today, the tone of his voice sounded like he wanted to kill me and sink me into Tokyo Bay. It gave me quite a fright,"

"Let's not talk about that now. Let me tell you what I've found out!"

Izumi Asuka put his phone on speakerphone and then began reviewing the documents sent to him by the intelligence personnel.

"Nonishi Ranch has been established for eighteen years. It is a private ranch founded by Nonishi Soichiro and his friends, specializing in the elementary education of horse girls."

"At the very beginning of Nonishiki Ranch, Soichiro Hanano recruited a group of highly qualified and dedicated teachers through his connections. Of the forty-two students who graduated in the first class, twelve were directly recruited by Teresen, a local district in Hokkaido,"

"Meanwhile, of the remaining thirty students, thirteen of them, after a year of training, were promoted to the local Teresa district and became racehorse girls,"

"Seven students gave up their racing careers and chose to attend regular secondary schools, while the last ten students did not want to give up their racing dreams and instead studied in the direction of supporting horse girls,"

"In other words, 70% of the first graduating class of Nojin Ranch went into the running industry, and of the remaining 30%, half of them also became involved in running. This ratio is quite astonishing, even in Tokyo!"

Orn raised an eyebrow; it seemed his judgment hadn't been wrong after all. Wild Brocade Ranch had indeed once been glorious.

Asuka Izumi continued, "The second and third cohorts of students were also quite good. From the information I've been able to find online, their success rate is generally around 60% to 70%."

"It was even reported in the local newspaper, and even recruiters from the central government came here to see it. At that time, Yejin Ranch was incredibly prosperous!"

"However, starting with the fourth cohort of students, there has been a surge in online criticism of Nojin Ranch. I did some research, and most of the comments came from horse girls who claimed to have studied at Nojin Ranch,"

"From issues like school cafeteria food to school running tracks, and even teachers' professional ethics, all sorts of dissenting voices will emerge,"

Asuka Izumi clicked her tongue: "This situation continued until ten years ago, when the fifth class of students graduated. However, the change was not for the better, but for the worse."

"An anonymous netizen posted on Twitter that students who graduated from Wild Brocade Ranch and went on to work in the local Teresen area are being targeted for no apparent reason."

"This ranges from minor conflicts between classmates and school violence to major issues like schools expelling students without cause and even forcing trainers to terminate their contracts with students,"

"The post has now been deleted, and the anonymous user should have been banned, but her words still circulated online at the time, sparking widespread discussion."

"Soon, students graduating from Wild Brocade Ranch also discovered this problem, and this targeting gradually became stronger over time,"

"Until... a horse girl who graduated from Nojin Ranch was participating in her debut race when a strange stampede occurred, causing her to be forced to withdraw from the race due to injury."

"And the time was seven years ago in the spring, two months before the Wild Brocade Ranch abandoned several teaching buildings."

Chapter 186 Past Events of the Ranch (Part 2)

Seven years ago...

This should be exactly the time when Tamamo Cross enters Nonishiki Ranch.

Orn had heard Oguri Hat and Komiyama Komi mention that Tamamo Cross hadn't completed all six years of elementary school at the ranch; instead, she had transferred from another elementary school to the ranch for training.

Due to her family's poverty, they initially did not want her to embark on a racing career. After all, becoming a racehorse girl required resources and expenses far beyond what a family that had just barely escaped poverty could afford.

When the director of Nogishi Ranch heard about Tamamo Cross's situation, he discussed it with her family and expressed the ranch's willingness to sponsor her to study at the ranch.

After some consideration, Tamamo Cross's family finally decided to let her give it a try.

Even if it doesn't work out, it can still fulfill the child's wish, right?

Orn sighed. The former headmaster... was completely different from the resigned man he was now. Back then, he still held onto his faith in his ranch and hope for his team, a far cry from the desolate state he had witnessed that night.

Furthermore, the timing of this horse girl's disappearance is extremely close to the time when the ranch was shrinking. Did Nogishi Soichiro receive some information? Or did this horse girl say something?

He pondered for a moment, then asked, "Brother Feibiao, you said she encountered a strange accident. Is there something fishy going on here?"

"Yes, this accident is indeed a bit strange."

As Izumi Asuka flipped through the documents, he said, "Judging from the photos taken at the scene and the accounts of other athletes involved in the stampede, the child's injuries shouldn't be serious."

"But after being taken to the hospital for examination, the doctor announced that she had developed fine cracks in her shinbone and could no longer engage in strenuous exercise. The accident was ultimately classified as an accident."

"According to them, there was a sharp stone hidden under a patch of grass, and after the lead horse stepped on it, the stone was exposed on the ground,"

"The horse girl didn't notice this sudden obstacle, which ultimately led to the tragedy."

At this point, Asuka Izumisuke's voice seemed somewhat indignant.

"I find the results of this investigation quite strange. Moreover, this woman seems to have disappeared from public opinion after that. After a rough investigation, Brother Wada's men couldn't find any information about her identity, and they didn't even know if she was still living in Hokkaido!"

"It's like someone cleaned up her information online. It's obvious that someone is deliberately covering something up. This matter is probably a bit troublesome."

Orn thought for a moment and asked, "Brother Flying Bird, as long as she once existed, she must have left traces. I think she should hold the key to solving the problem of Wild Brocade Ranch."

Asuka Izumi sighed and said, "Well, okay, I'll go talk to the technicians. Although I'm not the one who's exhausted, it's still hard to bear seeing my seniors working so late."

"Ah! Brother Wada, turn right ahead, and then we just need to keep walking along the forest path."

Orn listened carefully to the background noise on the other end of the phone and asked curiously, "Judging from the sound, you're in the car right now?"

"Yes, in the car."

Then Asuka Izumi continued, "We're heading towards Shin-Totsugawa-cho right now. Didn't you say you ran into the Gonra Company people near that melon patch? Wada-nii and I are heading that way now."

“Yesterday we went to the neighboring city of Sunagawa and Uryū County to investigate. The local people do know about this company, and some enthusiastic citizens have even provided us with information about the person in charge of this area, and some have even provided evidence that they are trafficking in controlled items,”

"Tsk tsk, looks like this company doesn't have a very good reputation locally."

"Ah, we're going into a tunnel. There might be no signal for a while."

As soon as Izumi Asuka finished speaking, a crackling sound came from the phone.

Orn pondered for a moment, then put on his Bluetooth headset and slowly headed towards the training assembly point.

"Brother, are we just going to resign already? Didn't we say we'd wait until we got all our salary this month before leaving?"

A fat man covered in bulging muscles was huddled in the driver's seat, while the short man he called "Big Brother" waved his hand impatiently and said, "Enough with the nonsense, just drive!"

"Oh! Oh! Okay!"

Some old vans roared to life and then slowly drove towards the city center.

The skinny man patted the fat man on the shoulder and frowned, saying, "Turn left, onto Shanglin Road. We'll leave the city through the woods."

Although the fat man driving didn't quite understand, he still turned the steering wheel left and drove into the woods.

The skinny man cautiously pulled out a metal device and scanned the inside of the car. Then, watching the company headquarters recede into the distance, he said softly, "Didn't you just ask me why I was in such a hurry to leave? Well, I'll tell you now."

"The day before yesterday, after we returned to the company, didn't we tell the higher-ups about what happened? Then those idiots held a meeting and unanimously concluded that I, as the team leader, hadn't set a good example and had been scared back by some greenhorn,"

"So they gave me a new mission: to take you guys to the melon patch again, and if we run into that guy again, smash his head in!"

The skinny man scratched his head and said angrily, "Damn it! We finally managed to clean up our act and become a security thug company! Why are those idiots upstairs still thinking about fighting and killing?!"

"A bunch of bastards! They even said if I didn't go, they'd fire me from my position as group leader! Then they'd handcuff me and drag me there!"

"Luckily, I had a good relationship with a few of the managers, so I got all the brothers in the team who wanted to leave with me to resign. Damn it! If they don't want me here, there are plenty of other places that will! I'm off!"

The fat man didn't seem to care much. He chuckled and said, "It's alright, brother. Don't you have a few brothers who are willing to go out and do business with you? By the way, what kind of business should we do next? Collect protection money?"

"What protection money! We're just doing legitimate business! Opening a restaurant! You know what a restaurant is, right!"

The skinny man's tone suddenly turned melancholy. He said, "Actually, before I entered this industry, I had a dream."

"Opening a restaurant, growing it with my brothers, and then getting a dog to drive around the city every day—that would be wonderful,"

"I insisted on staying in the organization before because I still owed favors to the higher-ups, but now... I've almost paid them back!"

"Let's drive. Once we get through the tunnel ahead, we'll meet up with the brothers who set off earlier."

The fat man laughed and said, "Okay, I'll listen to my brother."

The van was driving smoothly on the road, but whether it was due to years of disrepair or some problem with the fat man's driving, the tire under the driver's seat started to come loose.

Just as it was about to enter the tunnel, the entire right front wheel suddenly detached from the rim and bounced into the jungle next to the tunnel!

The fat man felt a violent jolt in the vehicle. In a panic, he jerked the steering wheel, swerving to the other side of the lane in an attempt to stop the car.

The black luxury sedan that had just exited the tunnel from the other lane was clearly taken aback, and the two vehicles collided.

Fortunately, both drivers were experienced, and apart from some minor collisions at the front of the vehicles, the overall appearance of the vehicles was well protected.

Hey! What's wrong with your car? Why is one tire missing?

A man in a suit wearing sunglasses and with a cigarette in his mouth got out of the driver's seat of a black sedan.

He sized up the two people, one fat and one thin, who hurriedly jumped out of the van, and frowned, saying, "Tell me, what's going on? Did this car fail its annual inspection?"

The fat man and the thin man stammered for a long time, but couldn't utter a single word.

Seeing this situation, Wada could only sigh, then turned around and shouted to the passenger seat, "Asuka, call the traffic police, we'll wait for them to come."

Asuka Izumi got out of the passenger seat. He was about to hang up the phone and call the police station as Wada had instructed, but when he saw the faces of the two people opposite him, he suddenly changed his mind.

He said into the phone, "Brother Orn, I think I've found those two people."

Chapter 187 is simple; all you need to do is concentrate your chakra in the soles of your feet...

"My benefactor! Where did you go? Why haven't you come back for so long?!"

Orn said with a smile, "I haven't been back for a while because I wanted to see what my team members were up to~"

"Ah... haha,"

"So, my benefactor, now that you've seen it all, could you please put down that branch you're holding?"

Shining Radiance was clinging to the coconut tree, a patch of yellow cream still lingering on the corner of her mouth. Her hands were tightly wrapped around the top of the tree trunk, and her legs were also tightly wrapped around it. No matter how Orn tried to coax her down, she wouldn't come down.

Orn gestured with a branch, then looked at Little Chestnut Hat, whose face was covered in cream, and asked with a smile, "Little Chestnut, how many cakes did you just steal?"

Here he used a little trick; instead of directly asking Little Chestnut Hat if he had stolen any food, he asked directly how many he had stolen.