After a full lap around the playing field, Mari-Henri Berla ended the expedition. During this lap, he saw several rich men running on the track on horseback. Several of them are also passable, but none of them are as good as "Miss Chrissy". The others, although they didn't happen again, did serve to boost the confidence of Mari-Henri Berla.

"Most people are wasting horses." After the visit, Mari-Henri Berla came to such conclusions.

As he was about to go out, the staff member who had been with him told him: "Mr. Berla, two days later, the day before the start of the race, the organizing committee can arrange for all the competitors to familiarize themselves with the track." Tomorrow we will have a draw here to familiarize ourselves with the order of the tracks. ”

"Can't we draw lots now? It just so happens that every contestant is coming, so let them smoke it directly. Mari-Henri Berla said.

"Ah, it's a little easier, and it's the same for us - we're going to get all this mess done today, and then everybody's a lot easier. But God knows what the guys above think? Anyway, we don't care how the guy above pats his head. And what they shoot after they pat their heads, we have to do it to the letter. That's a ......," the staff member complained.

"Can't you give your opinion to the above?"

"Of course, in any department of the Olympic Committee, like any department of the French government, there is a mailbox dedicated to giving advice to superiors, and anonymity is allowed. But...... It's the same as the mailbox of the government department. It was basically an ornament, and even if it was written, it was estimated that the final use of those letters would have been sent directly to the paper mill. ”

"At this point, I have to say that the French Army is doing a better job than you and the government." Mari-Henri Berla couldn't help but think back to those days in the Army.

So in the next two days, he came here twice, once to draw lots, and the second time to take the "little clever ghost" for a lap. This time, Mari-Henri Berla saw the performance of all the contestants in their entirety. Based on these performances, he came to the following conclusion:

"Miss Chrissy" has a clear advantage. Especially at several higher obstacles. This is not only because of her good technique, but also because she has the lowest weight of all the competitors, and her horse is also outstanding in its ability to jump. And training on the track for a long time has made her and her horse very familiar with the track. In many cases, Miss Chrissy doesn't even need to give any commands, and her horses are already making their own pace and speed adjustments for the next hurdle.

As for the others, there are those who are very good at skill, but the horses are average; Some people are good, but their skills are average. Overall, Mari-Henri Berla feels that he still has a good chance of reaching the final, and as for the rankings, it is quite difficult.

While Mari-Henri Berla was assessing the level of the other contestants, Polina's team was also assessing his performance.

"That Mari-Henri Berla has very good skills, but his horses are too old, and although he is very well connected, the lack of physical fitness cannot be compensated for by technique. But he and his horse may have another hidden advantage, which is that they are in a good state of mind. Both he and his horse were on the track for the first time, but they were quite composed, and although the speed was not particularly fast, every obstacle crossing was quite stable. So we think he's a limited threat, but he's also the one who can go for a medal. "An equestrian instructor in his forties was telling Polina what they had learned about the competitors they had observed.

"I noticed the guy, his technique and mentality are really good. If it weren't for his horse — well, his horse seemed like a war horse? Polina asked.

"Yes, miss." Another replied, "Marie-Henri Berla was a cavalry captain in our army, and participated with the First Consul in the Battle of Verdun and thereafter against Prussia. For his bravery in battle, he was awarded a medal. After retiring, he entered the Paris Polytechnical School to study mechanical manufacturing, and his grades were not bad. In addition, he published a number of articles on the art of painting and sculpture in the Art Review, under the pseudonym 'Stendhal'. ”

"Ah, when you say that, I think of it, I've read this man's article, and he's quite sensitive to art—how did he learn mechanical engineering instead of art?" Polina said.

"It should be because the mechanical manufacturing major is now easy to find employment and the salary is relatively high. Nowadays, being an engineer is more reliable than being a writer, and, as far as I know, the engineers on duty in some companies, as long as there are no problems with the machinery, they don't have to worry about anything, and they can write in the office all day long, or study mathematical problems such as the 'three-body problem'. It's much more convenient than learning art or something. Another young man replied.

"Ah, I forgot if you didn't speak, you also studied mechanics, didn't you? Don't tell me, Ralph, that's how you worked. Polina laughed.

"No, no, no, how could I be such a person? I never write when I was at work, and I never study math problems. Ralph replied.

"That's it, you're just going to sketch secretly." Polina laughed, "Well, no, I'm going to send someone to keep an eye on you, so you don't have to do anything else while you're designing your clothes." ”

"Ah, Miss Bonaparte, if you insist on this, then—then I beg that you may have Miss Chrissy supervise me." Ralph put on a serious face at first, but laughed at the end.

After everyone has completed the adaptation of the venue, it is time for the preliminary group.

The preliminary round grouping is naturally carried out by lot, which is completely open and fair, just like the draw of the UEFA European Cup and the Champions League in the future, there is absolutely no one in it. As for the fact that sometimes there are some groups of death that the strong have met together, or they have escorted so-and-so all the way into the *strong, etc., that is not something we deliberately do, it is all the meaning of God and his old man, or if you go and ask His Majesty the Pope, he will definitely agree.

Mari-Henri Berla had good luck, at least in the first round, when he was placed in the same group as Miss Chrissy, who was too slow compared to Miss Chrissy, but in this group the others were not very good except for Miss Chrissy. So when the draw came out, his friend, Baussion, who had officially stopped outside the final of the 100m, congratulated him in particular:

"Hey, buddy, I'm going to be jealous of you, your grouping is so good. Unlike me, in the final round, there were two reporters from The Sun. Hell, they're grouped like this just to make sure that the Science Pravda guys make it to the finals. ”

"I'm in the first round. To be honest, I may not, if not mostly, go as far as you do. Mari-Henri Berla replied.

"When you went to get acquainted with the track, I watched it too. I also wrote down the names of all the people who successfully passed all the obstacles, as well as the approximate time they took to complete them. As Bausayon said this, he raised his wrist consciously or unconsciously, revealing the gold watch on his wrist, "Your results are not bad among everyone." In this group, no one other than 'Miss Chrissy' can pose a threat to you at all. Besides, well, damn it, I can't take it anymore, you have to treat me to a big meal to calm my soul - you guy set out in the fourth lane, 'Miss Chrissy' in the fifth, you guys next to each other! That's really ...... It's so jealous. No, the fire of my jealousy is already burning unless you are willing to douse it with foie gras. ”

"Yes, you can, but you also have to promise me one condition." Mari-Henri Berla said, "Lend me that tracksuit of yours." I'm going to reduce the weight as much as possible. ”

"You're not, you're trying to get eyeballs. That's not a problem, though. Who made us brothers? It's a pity that my family's Arabian horses are all watched closely by my father as treasures, or if you change to an Arabian horse, maybe you will be able to enter the finals. Baussion said.

"Unless I can train on the field like Miss Chrissy and I have been training on the field, we will not be able to form a tacit understanding in such a short period of time, and in the end it is probably better to race with the 'little clever ghost'."

"I studied the schedule and you are in the top half of the bracket and there are generally no particularly good players in the top half. Well, if you qualify in second place, then you might be in the next match with ......"

The eyes of all of Europe are firmly drawn to the Olympics. Coverage of the Olympics takes up the majority of the pages of almost all newspapers, and this provides some sort of cover for many things to go on.

On the night of the completion of the show jumping ceremony, Bishop Leonard, who had come to Paris with the Pope, quietly left Notre-Dame Cathedral under the cover of night and went to the Ministry of Truth, where he began to discuss with the French government about missionary work to other countries.