"A hidden door, huh." Symboli Rudolf stared at the entrance stairwell's corner, where a door had suddenly popped out, her brows knitting tight.
She hadn't expected to be played like this. Her past experiences raiding basements had actually become a fog that blinded her to the obvious—she'd never even considered Gold Ship might leave a secret door, so she'd just stood here stupidly, kicking at doors, giving the enemy a perfect show to laugh at…
This little "wily rabbit with three burrows" trick of Gold Ship's made Rudolf realize—the so-called trial was definitely not going to be that simple! There were probably even more devious, cunning challenges lying in wait.
Rudolf still had confidence in clearing every trial Gold Ship could throw at her, but since Gold Ship wasn't allowing her or Air Groove to participate, all she could do now was place her hopes on these younger juniors to rescue Mizuno.
She put a hand on Tokai Teio's shoulder and gave her a grave reminder: "Teio, it's up to you now…"
In her eyes, among all the juniors present, only Tokai Teio had both the strength and the leadership needed to take command and lead the team to save Mizuno.
"Don't worry, Prez! I'll definitely bring Trainer-san back!" Tokai Teio thumped her own chest, brimming with confidence.
For her beloved's safety—and not to let down her idol's trust—Teio swore to be the first one into the room holding their "prince," and to return triumphant.
"Little Gou, let me be the one to save you this time!" El Condor Pasa, hand pressed to her eyepatch, radiated fresh fighting spirit.
"This time, it's our turn to show what real chivalry looks like!" Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka exchanged a look, then nodded in perfect sync.
"All of Trainer-san—The Mejiro's must keep him firmly in our grasp!" Mejiro McQueen thought back, clenching her fist tight.
"Gotta bring him back quick, so Urara-chan can be happy again!" King Halo glanced at a photo on her phone—one taken with Mizuno and Haru Urara—and felt a surge of motivation.
"Onii-sama… I'll definitely protect you…" Rice Shower gripped her fragrant sachet, resolve solidifying in her gaze.
Gold Ship saw the girls still huddled at the starting line, hyping each other up, and finally lost her patience:
"What are you whispering about? If you don't get in now, I'm closing the door."
"Wait, wait! We're going!"
Prompted by Gold Ship, the girls hurried to the hidden passage, throwing open the secret door in front of them.
The hidden door revealed a narrow corridor—barely wide enough for two. Lamps mounted along the walls gave off a gentle light, enough to show the way forward, but that cramped space and the uncertainty of where it led—it felt like they were crawling straight into the belly of some giant python. No matter how brave they talked, these sheltered girls couldn't help but feel a chill of fear.
Gulp. Tokai Teio swallowed hard, clutched her trembling arm, and stepped inside first.
With Teio leading, the others found their courage, following her into the passage beyond the secret door.
"Good luck." Rudolf and Air Groove, forbidden from entering, could only stand watch at the doorway, their eyes locked on the backs of Teio and the others, silently cheering them on.
The lights inside the tunnel weren't bright enough to reach the whole way, so after about twenty meters, Teio and the group's figures faded from Rudolf and Air Groove's view.
"Hmph~" Gold Ship, watching their nervous faces, couldn't help but let out a laugh.
Her laughter had a sly edge, but she wasn't a truly evil Uma—she had no intention of really hurting the girls who'd come here trying to snatch Mizuno away.
Everything Gold Ship was doing, she was doing to make it clear: in this world, no one was more qualified than her to protect Mizuno!
That's why she'd give Teio and the others a chance—to let them prove if any of them were truly worthy to take her place, to protect Mizuno for a lifetime. If they lost, she'd just send them home; but if any one of them surpassed her, well, maybe then she'd think about entrusting Mizuno to her…
But Gold Ship didn't believe for a second that any Uma Musume cared more for Mizuno's safety than she did.
After all, Teio and the rest had their own worlds—their own friends to share happiness with, their own hearts to confide in.
But Gold Ship's barren planet… only had him.
I can't lose him! I absolutely can't!
Even if I have to use force—even if I might hurt him—I will keep him by my side, do whatever it takes to keep him safe!
No one loves him as much as I do. Not one of you!
...
Just as Gold Ship was preparing the first phase of her qualification trial, a sound came from behind her.
"Ugh… aaah…" The voice was faint, weak, but carried a stubborn resistance—the way a terminal patient, battered by pain, still manages a defiant roar.
Gold Ship turned and spotted Mizuno—at some point he'd rolled off the bed, and was now crawling in the gloom across the floor.
"Ugh… As long as I can get there… If I can just reach that place…"
He crawled like he was scaling a sheer ninety-degree slope, pushing himself forward, inch by painful inch, straight toward the monitoring room where Gold Ship sat. The bed wasn't far from the monitoring room, so clenching his teeth, Mizuno managed to drag himself to the doorway, just as Gold Ship had opened the heavy iron door, catching his first glimpse of the full room beyond the standing mirror.
It was only about thirty square meters, but it was packed with equipment: monitors for keeping an eye on everyone, buttons for opening and locking doors, levers to trigger all sorts of mechanisms—everything you could ask for.
Gold Ship was right in the center of the room, one leg crossed over the other on a swivel chair, watching Teio and the others through the surveillance system.
On the wall in front of her hung six massive LCD monitors—five for checking various spots throughout the underground, and the last one displaying a full top-down map of the entire space.
"That's—!" Mizuno looked at the floor plan on the monitor, and a chill ran down his spine.
Where Symboli Rudolf and the others were—was just the uppermost passageway in this entire underground complex. On the map, it was nothing more than a thin line, no thicker than a pen resting on a desk. But beneath that, there were even more meticulously designed spaces—far more than anyone would imagine for just digging a hole under the ground!
All those twisting corridors, all those tightly-packed rooms—the whole thing was more like a sprawling ant colony he'd seen in a science magazine than a "basement." Calling it an underground military base wouldn't be an exaggeration!
"Broshi, you dug all this in just three weeks?!" Mizuno asked, incredulous.
"Hmph, obviously." Gold Ship came over with a smile, carefully picking Mizuno up from the floor and setting him gently in the chair she'd just vacated. In her pale-pink eyes, gazing straight at him, was a devotion as vast as a tidal wave.
"Trainer-san, this is our forever home. If I don't fix it up properly, how are we supposed to spend our whole lives together, safe and sound?"