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

Well, before encountering the Manchester Tea House, Golden Ship didn't actually believe in ghosts. Even after experiencing the incredible prophecies of Kobayashi's adventures and Machigane Fukuro's stories, she still didn't believe.

But the appearance of the Manchester tea house made her begin to think that perhaps... there really are things in this world that are hard to explain, just like that "friend."

To be honest, she really wanted to run away right now. If it weren't for that weirdo who could start a fire with a hammer staring at her, she would have already turned tail and run away.

Orn looked the golden ship up and down. After removing the human-made earmuff from her head, he didn't immediately recognize her.

As expected of a horse girl, even such a neurotic horse girl is incredibly beautiful when she's quiet. She's truly blessed with natural beauty...

"Hey, I have a feeling you're thinking something really rude!"

Golden Ship, somewhat displeased, put the earmuffs back on her head and continued, "You're not thinking things like, 'How could that white-haired beauty be Golden Ship?' That's offensive to girls!"

Orn shrugged. After thinking for a moment, he decided to find an excuse to cover up his earlier act of forging iron.

Although he wasn't familiar with Golden Ship, he had heard of her antics and witnessed them countless times.

If we do nothing and just let the gold ship go back, then this afternoon, news of my blacksmithing in the back mountains will probably spread all over the country, and I might even see my name trending on Twitter.

No, we have to come up with a way to keep her in check! At the very least, we have to shut the Golden Ship up!

Thinking of this, Orn quickly changed the subject, saying, "Well... I was just thinking that my carefully prepared magic trick was still in the practice stage when it was accidentally seen by other horse girls, which made me feel really disappointed!"

"magic?"

Golden Ship glanced at the oven in front of Orn and suddenly realized, "So that's it. You're preparing a magic trick for the New Year's Eve show at Central Treisen this year?"

What the heck? The central government has this kind of activity?

Although he didn't know what this so-called New Year's Eve performance was, Orn went along with it and nodded, "Yes, this magic trick is still being tested, so Golden Ship, in order to keep everyone at school in high spirits, please don't tell anyone!"

"Haha, of course, of course I'll keep it a secret!"

Golden Ship laughed and scratched her head. She glanced discreetly at the Manchester City tea house next to her, then said to Ornn, "In that case, I'll be going now!"

"I found your magic trick quite interesting. If you need any materials or techniques, I can offer some assistance!"

"Alright! The journey ahead is long, we'll meet again later! Little Golden Ship engine! Start!"

Before the words were even finished, the golden boat sped off down the mountain path.

As expected of a runner who once dominated the G1 race, her figure completely disappeared from their sight in just a few breaths.

Ornn reached out and wiped the flames off the grill.

Having been watching him for so long, the woman at the Manchester tea house probably saw everything he did, so there was no need to hide his special qualities. Perhaps after seeing this, she wouldn't dare to probe any further.

If Orn hadn't felt that the horse girl meant no harm, he would have dragged her out and questioned her the first time she spied on him.

Just like this time, the Manchester City tea house deliberately revealed some flaws, seemingly indicating an intention to communicate.

Orn naturally spoke up to remind him, also wanting to see what the other party was up to.

After tucking the metal objects disguised as grilled meat from the barbecue grill into his pocket, Orn clapped his hands and slowly walked to the Manchester City tea house, asking, "Let's go, where's your classmate? Shall we go over now?"

"It's on the fourth floor of that laboratory building over there. Let me take you there."

Manchester Tea House pointed to the building on the other side of the hill behind the house, and the two of them walked down the stone steps in the opposite direction from where they came from, towards the foot of the hill on the other side.

Just ten minutes after Ornn and Manchester City left the workshop, two more figures arrived.

"My benefactor! My benefactor!! Are you there!? Look what treasure I brought back for you!!"

With brand new radiance, he placed his hands to his mouth and shouted twice towards the workshop with its doors tightly shut.

Then she raised her large foot and kicked the metal plate that served as the workshop door, which looked like some kind of scrap metal.

Normally, this rusty iron plate should shatter instantly if kicked by Ma Niang.

But when the brand-new, radiant foot kicked at it, not only did it leave no dent, but the seemingly dilapidated door remained completely unharmed. Instead, Radiant himself clutched his foot and started jumping around on the ground with a ferocious expression.

Qingyun Tiankong quickly reached out to support the agonizing Xin Guanghui. She looked around and noticed that there seemed to be some glowing red ashes remaining on the barbecue grill not far away.

"Hey, Glorious, look over there! That thing looks like it was just cleaned up. Did your trainer just leave?"

Shining with newfound radiance, she rubbed her right foot and limped over to the grill, reaching out to feel the temperature.

Then she sighed and said, "It seems that's how it should be."

"I just asked Xiaoli and the others, and our benefactor wasn't on the playground either, nor is he currently staying at this secret little base,"

"That's strange, where on earth did he go?"

Qingyun Tiankong asked with some doubt, "Guanghui, can't we just call him and ask? Since he's your trainer, we should be able to contact him, right?"

With a helpless shrug, Xin Guanghui said, "Under normal circumstances, it is indeed possible to contact him."

"But as soon as his benefactor entered the back mountain, he would put his phone on airplane mode, saying, 'Don't disturb his cultivation, otherwise something very dangerous might happen.'"

As she spoke, she took out her phone and dialed Orn's number.

Looking at the message "[Temporarily unavailable]", the newly radiant figure deduced, "Judging from the current situation, it seems our benefactor had to go out for some urgent matter, but didn't have time to turn off airplane mode."

"There's no other way now, I can only wait for him to see the missed call and then call me back,"

"Sky, why don't you come with me to the playground for some warm-up training?"

Qingyun Tiankong pondered for a while. Along the way, she had heard Xinxin Guanghui talk about many interesting aspects of their trainers.

Including but not limited to: being an excellent cook, having unfathomable wealth, being able to pull out all sorts of bizarre training gadgets from his pocket like Doraemon, and possessing unique massage techniques, etc.

Although she hadn't met him in person yet, her curiosity had already been piqued.

Even if I don't end up joining Dolan's team, it would still be a very interesting thing to meet this legendary rookie trainer!

Thinking of this, Qingyun Tiankong nodded and walked towards the playground with the newly radiant light.

On the other side of the mountain road, the Manchester City tea house was also very interested in Ornn, who was following behind them.

She began paying attention to Ornn shortly after the march revealed the strange red amulet, just as Dolan's squad entered the center.

As a professional, the moment Manchester Tea House saw that thing, he knew it was something no ordinary person could make.

The last time she saw an amulet of similar quality was on the head priest of Kofuku-ji Temple in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City, a place where incense is offered year-round.

It was a crown, worn during the Three Goddess Festival, which is why the abbot wore that crown, which had been passed down for hundreds of years.

Now, a talisman with a similar aura has so easily appeared in the hands of a transfer student; this is truly unusual.

Moreover, when the friend at the Manchester tea house saw the amulet that the March presented, she was even suppressed by some strange aura, as if she were being burned by raging fire. She herself could feel that intense heat.

After the march ended, the Manchester City tea house had a friend quietly follow them and find the source of the strongest scent, which was Ornn himself.

Meanwhile, she also discovered that Ornn was secretly building a base on the back mountain, so she asked her friend to conceal their presence and hide in a secluded spot to curiously observe Ornn's actions.

Naturally, she also witnessed Ornn's forging techniques, which were nothing short of miraculous.

Within Central Teresen, there are many people harboring all sorts of secrets: a strange alien horse claiming to be from the Golden Star, with eyes as hard as diamonds; a gaunt old man who can slice through streams with a single strike, commanding dozens of disciples whose strength rivals that of a horse girl; and the one who has earned the title of "Last Sword Saint."

There's also the superhuman trainer who can get up from the ground as if nothing happened no matter how many times he's kicked away by the horse girl, and the masked doctor who, despite having superb medical skills, sometimes deliberately causes the trainer's blood pressure to rise and the horse girl's motivation to drop due to a wicked sense of humor by failing at bamboo needle treatment.

Mad scientist, master of dry humor, synonym for arrogance! A princess, a mysterious cuckold, a feng shui master, a ramen sage, the Matrix...

Even she herself, the owner of the Manchester tea house, harbored unspeakable secrets.

In the Central Tereson, a place teeming with immortals, having another trainer skilled in magical forging doesn't seem like such a strange thing.

But there was one thing she couldn't understand: how exactly did Orn discover her?

With the help of his friend, not only could he not make any noise, but he could also cover up his body temperature, smell and breathing. Apart from his strong forging skills, the other party did not seem to have anything special. How did he discover me?

Walking along the path leading to the teaching building, unable to contain his curiosity, Manchester City Tea House asked, "Trainer Orn, may I ask how you found me?"

“I’m not bragging, but when it comes to concealing my presence and aura, I’m probably the most skilled at it in Central Tresen. Yet you spotted me the very first day I arrived at the back mountain. How… how did you find out?”

Orn chuckled and said, "Tea House Student, your concealment skills are indeed quite superb, and truly impressive."

"I think even if I asked you to infiltrate the Pentagon, it would be an easy task."

"but........"

He paused, then pointed to the trash can next to the Manchester tea shop: "Whenever you're near, I can always feel a very cold aura."

"I can't quite explain what it is either, but... it's definitely there, right?"

"This aura is so special that I can sense its presence even without looking at it, so I saw it as soon as you appeared."

The black-haired girl stopped in her tracks, looking at Orn in astonishment, as if she had heard something unbelievable.

Since her birth at Manchester Tea House, apart from her mother who went abroad, only three people have felt the presence of true friends.

Alice, who locks herself in the laboratory building; Fukuro Machigane, who is said to have inspiration from Lord Hakuho; and Kobayashi Riki, who is well-versed in feng shui and can even unleash a Kamehameha wave.

Aside from these three, the other horse girls could only vaguely sense its influence, but couldn't perceive it concretely. Like Rong Jin Shan Yao, who mistakenly thought he was hallucinating, they couldn't sense their friend's true form.

If even highly sensitive horse girls are like this, one can only imagine how sensitive ordinary humans are.

They were completely unaware of not only seeing their friends, but also of the many influences their friends had.

And now, it seems that the first person who can be seen, and even whom friends cannot approach, has appeared.

Orn blinked, then pointed to the top of the girl's head and said, "Oh, now it's on your head. Can you make this thing obey your commands?"

"Ah, it seems a little angry, but it's too scared to come near me; it just keeps circling around me."

"It feels just like being a Stand user from that manga, how interesting!"

Manchester City's tea room staff intently watched Ornn, while also sensing the annoyance conveyed to her by her friend.

Just as Orn said, his friends were indeed afraid to approach him; more accurately, they were unable to approach him.

To the people at the Manchester City tea house, the hammer hanging from Ornn's waist was just an ordinary hammer, but to his friends, it looked like a crimson stone forged from lava.

Let alone getting close, even when facing the light of the hammer directly, my friend's figure seemed to float away a bit.

He's a... very peculiar person.

If it were him, he would definitely be able to help Suko get out of that room, right?

Manchester Tea House's left hand unconsciously tightened its grip on the hem of her school uniform skirt. After taking a deep breath, the girl suppressed her inner excitement and continued walking towards the teaching building.

"Trainer Orn, my friend might have said something offensive... Please forgive him."

"Let's go, we'll be at the lab building soon."

Chapter 234 The Secret Laboratory of Central Teresen

Ornn followed the Manchester City tea shop to the foot of the laboratory building. It was lunchtime, and since most students hadn't returned to school yet, the building was practically deserted.

The laboratory building has five floors in total, and the corridors and balconies on each floor are decorated with transparent glass windows.

But the windows on the fourth floor were different; all the windows on that floor were covered with something black, making it impossible to see what was inside.

Orn squinted at the fourth-floor window and said, "Speaking of which, I heard from Komiyama-senpai that there's another horse girl who joined the Dream Cup on the fourth floor of this laboratory?"

"I remember... her name was something like Alice? Could she be the classmate you were talking about?"

The woman in the Manchester tea room nodded and said softly, "It's her. I invited you here today to see if you can help her recover."

"In return, and as compensation for my mistake of spying on you, I will participate in your team's simulation training and help you teach your subordinates the skills I have learned."

"Don't let my current status as a member of the Dream Cup fool you; I'm still incredibly strong, you know?"

"Rehabilitation?"

Orn frowned and asked, "Is she injured? Shouldn't she go to a doctor for a diagnosis first? Why did she come to me?"

The black-haired girl reached out and pressed the elevator button. She sighed, "If doctors could cure her illness, she would have gone to the hospital long ago."

"And she herself didn't want to go to the hospital; she trusted her own calculations, and only her own calculations,"

"Even research findings that are still in the process of being deduced will be used on her own..."

"You'll understand when you see her."

Ornn knew a bit about the Manchester City player, Ma Niang. Anyone who could participate in the Dream Cup was extraordinary, and her skill level was absolutely top-tier.

After all, one of the prerequisites for participating in the Dream Cup is that only those who have achieved great honors during the classic era of the event can apply.

In this world, the peak period for Equestrian Girls is actually quite unpredictable. Newspapers, trainer manuals, and mainstream media typically state that the peak period only lasts for three years.

But after consulting with many seniors at the Central Command, Ornn discovered that... his peak period actually fluctuated between two and eight years to be precise.

Some female horse racing enthusiasts can already compete with those four or five years older than them while they're only in junior high school, while others don't reach their peak until their final year of high school.