Inside Lu Yuan’s room.
“Beep beep beep… The number you have dialed is out of service area. Please try again later.”
Lu Yuan anxiously dialed Su Li’s number again and again, but not once did the call connect.
Her fingers swiped across the screen several times; this was already her seventeenth call.
Instinctively, Lu Yuan bit her finger, her face full of worry. She had just been to Headquarters, where the staff told her Su Li was out on a mission, so they couldn’t find her. But… why can’t she even be reached by phone?
Why?! Why is the signal out of range? Tongmen City has long had full coverage. Where has Su Li gone? Could she be outside the city limits?
Damn it, why does this have to happen now…
Lu Yuan scratched her head.
Chen Xin’s backing was Rose. Acting alone would only lead her straight into the wolves’ den. She had to tell Su Li this.
Only Su Li… only she could solve this…
Reluctantly, Lu Yuan dialed Su Li’s number once more—this time, the eighteenth call.
“Beep beep beep…”
“Hello… this is Su Li.”
Connected!
“Su Li! I have something to tell you!”
Lu Yuan’s voice was nearly a shout. On the other end, Su Li seemed momentarily stunned, then took a deep breath.
“…Lu Yuan?” Su Li’s voice was more tired than usual, hoarse as if she had just been through a fierce battle. “What’s wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?”
“Chen Xin has a problem!” Lu Yuan lowered her voice, afraid someone might overhear. “She wants to kill me.”
There was silence for a few seconds, then Su Li’s voice came back calmly: “Where are you?”
“At home.”
“Don’t say it over the phone,” Su Li said. “Go to Zuilu, the usual spot. I’ll be there in half an hour.”
“Okay!” Lu Yuan was about to hang up but couldn’t help asking, “Su Li, are you okay? You don’t sound well.”
“I’m fine. I just cleared a batch of Calamities,” Su Li paused, “Don’t tell anyone, including Lin Wan.”
The call ended. Lu Yuan was stunned for a moment.
More Calamities? Why did Headquarters say nothing at all?
Biting her lip, Lu Yuan decided to follow Su Li’s instructions first. She quickly changed into casual clothes and quietly left home.
Before going downstairs, she glanced once at Lin Wan’s house. The front door was tightly shut, no sound.
Lu Yuan pulled back her gaze and hurried downstairs.
Not involving Lin Wan was a relief.
***
Zuilu Café. For Lu Yuan, this was a place she couldn’t be more familiar with.
Back in her student days, she came here every day to do homework. Now she was here discussing life-or-death matters.
Lu Yuan pushed open the door. The familiar aroma of coffee greeted her as she headed straight to the corner seat, not wanting to attract attention.
Su Li hadn’t arrived yet.
“May I take your order?” The waitress immediately approached with a smile.
“Two black coffees,” Lu Yuan said.
“Sure!” The waitress bowed and was about to leave.
Suddenly, Lu Yuan seemed to realize something.
“Ah! Wait…”
“What’s wrong?” The waitress paused, a bit puzzled.
“Uh… one black coffee, one milk, please.” Lu Yuan corrected her order.
“Alright.”
“Thank you.” Lu Yuan smiled.
After all, Su Li didn’t seem to be used to coffee.
The drinks arrived quickly. Lu Yuan held her cup with both hands, fingertips tapping rhythmically on the rim.
Her eyes kept flicking toward the door; her heart still hadn’t calmed.
Why would Chen Xin want to kill me? Is Rose coercing her?
Countless questions swirled in her mind. Lu Yuan felt uneasy. She hadn’t been this nervous in a long time.
“Tap, tap, tap…”
***
The sound of high heels came from the entrance. Lu Yuan suddenly looked up.
Su Li wore a white trench coat. Her face was pale but her steps steady.
She pulled out a chair and sat down, surprised to see the milk in front of her.
“You ordered this?”
“Yeah.” Lu Yuan smiled and pushed the cup toward her. “You don’t usually drink coffee, right?”
Su Li gave a wry smile. She hadn’t expected such concern from a junior.
But now was no time for small talk.
“Get to the point. What’s wrong with Chen Xin?”
Lu Yuan took a deep breath and lowered her voice.
“It’s a long story, but I’m sure Chen Xin tried to kill me.”
She didn’t reveal her ability to rewind time, instinctively feeling this power shouldn’t be told to others.
***
“What evidence…?”
Su Li frowned deeply, her face full of doubt. Lu Yuan expected as much.
No one would believe a longtime acquaintance was a traitor right away.
“I know it’s hard to believe.” Lu Yuan gave a bitter smile. “But the fact is, Chen Xin tried to shoot me and Lin Wan while we were clearing Calamities, taking advantage of our unpreparedness. And she used bullets that can kill Magical Girls.”
Su Li’s expression suddenly turned serious. The fact that there were Calamities in the city was big news, but the fact that Chen Xin had a way to kill Magical Girls was even more critical.
“Bullets that can harm you in transformation… special bullets?”
“Exactly… regular bullets can’t hurt Magical Girls, but hers can.” Lu Yuan answered, a bit surprised Su Li believed her so quickly, almost unconditionally.
Su Li was silent for a few seconds, then took out a document from inside her coat and slid it toward Lu Yuan.
“I just cleared all the B-level Calamities around Tongmen City, but they all have one thing in common—their magical energy waves were tuned to Rose’s frequency.”
Lu Yuan flipped through the document. The paper rustled softly. It was the analysis report of the Calamities, each page marked with the word “Mimic-type.”
“You cleared dozens of B-level Calamities by yourself in a single day…?”
Lu Yuan was so shocked her jaw nearly dropped. She and Lin Wan could only barely win when working together, but Su Li cut down dozens like chopping vegetables?
“That’s not the point.” Su Li shook her head lightly. A lock of white hair slipped behind her ear. She reached out to tuck it back.
“The point is, based on what you said, someone is deliberately creating fake signals to divert our attention, giving Chen Xin the chance she needs,” Su Li analyzed. “They want to lure me out to the Komen Suburbs, where sudden situations can’t be quickly supported, then move against you.”
“So we really were played.”
Su Li tapped the document with her finger and sighed.
Lu Yuan looked at the tired Su Li. She didn’t understand why Su Li accepted the idea of Chen Xin being a traitor so quickly.
“Don’t you doubt what I’m saying?” Lu Yuan asked.
“Hm? No need. You have no reason to lie when it doesn’t benefit you,” Su Li replied, taking a sip of milk, leaving a faint lip print on the rim. “Keep flipping through the report.”
Puzzled, Lu Yuan turned another page. It was the investigation report of the missing Transformation Crystal.
This report was freshly written, timestamped an hour ago.
“We found nine shell casings at the scene—all from Officer Chen Xin’s service pistol, but… only eight bullet holes.”
“Eight? Was one missing?” Lu Yuan asked.
“Impossible. I asked Jasmine Star Doctor’s Ming Snake to investigate. There were definitely only eight bullet holes, and all from Chen Xin’s gun.”
“Then the last bullet hole vanished into thin air?” Lu Yuan was confused.
“No, it didn’t disappear.”
“Where then?”
“On Chen Xin’s own leg.”
A flash of a memory hit her. Lu Yuan suddenly remembered—Chen Xin had a gunshot wound on her thigh.
She shot herself?!
“You mean the whole missing Crystal case was staged by Chen Xin herself?”
“Most likely.”
“What does she want with the Transformation Crystal?”
“I don’t know either. But now the target is clear,” Su Li said, standing up and downing the milk. “Catch her. Get everything out of her.”
***
“Ding ding ding…”
Su Li’s phone rang at that moment.
She adjusted her mindset and answered. It was Tian Aixing calling.
Her voice on the line was heavy.
“Captain, I have something you must see with your own eyes.”