Chapter 416: Real and fake horses in a race.
The vacation was paused on the day of the Sydney Cup. Thousands descended on the city like over caffeinated flies, filling the streets and venue. The event was always a spectacle when it came around. Floats in the city, flutes that made eardrums tremble, hats so wide that people had to duck and jump to avoid colliding. It had a richer history than the Vermillion derby, having existed for over a century.
This year, a change had been made. They were finally allowing smart tech and gadgets into the race so the spectacle had multiplied. Smart whips, smart saddles, smart helmets, smart glasses even the clothes on the riders bodies were installed with chips and their gloves had biometric sensors.
The crowd went wild as a steel horse was led out by a rider and taken to the starting line. Other riders started to sweat while officials went crazy. Yes, smart tech had been approved but nothing had been said about a smart horse with no physical flesh.
In the live crowd were those who were booing and Chi Lian was among them. Through her binoculars, she was watching Mei Mei, sitting on the back of her horse, head held high proudly. She did not show the nervousness of those around her.
Muyang was feeding his wife popcorn, one at a time while watching their daughter through smart glasses like many others in the crowd.
"She is not nervous. Why isn’t she sweating?" He asked.
Next to him, Prince Long Aotian said, "She is representing our empire so she cannot sweat or show fear. Even if we don’t win, we will do so with pride."
"She is not losing." Junjie, Mingzhe and Jingzhe said together.
The officials announced at that moment that the mechanical horse would be allowed to race.
"Boooooo....." Chi Lian screamed.