Yunjing City, Magical Girl Headquarters Affiliated Medical Center.
“Beep, beep, beep…”
The vital signs monitor emitted a steady and faint beeping sound.
Su Li lay on the pure white hospital bed, her long white hair spread across the pillow. Her complexion was still somewhat pale, but her breathing had become steady.
Her long eyelashes fluttered a few times as Su Li’s ice-blue eyes slowly opened, initially clouded with the daze and fog of long sleep, but soon clearing up.
She instinctively tried to move but felt a wave of weakness and softness, the typical aftereffect of magical power exhaustion.
“Captain Su Li! You’re awake?” An anxious voice sounded beside her.
Su Li turned her head slightly and saw Aoi Hoshino leaning in, her orange short hair messier than usual, a lollipop habitually dangling from her mouth, but her eyes full of concern.
In her hand was a freshly peeled apple.
Another apple…
“Aoi…” Su Li gave a bitter smile and shook her head. “How long have I been asleep?”
“Almost a full day and night,” Aoi said, handing over the apple. “How do you feel? Tian Aixing said your magic is completely drained. You need to rest properly.”
At that moment, the soft sound of keyboard tapping came from the corner of the ward. Tian Aixing closed the laptop on her lap and approached, her gaze calm and professional as always.
“Vital signs have basically returned to normal, and magic is slowly recovering on its own. However, I recommend avoiding any intense combat or large magical output within the next 24 hours.” Despite Tian Aixing’s serious tone, a faint note of relief could be heard.
“Thank you for taking care of me.” Su Li nodded gently, attempting to sit up. Aoi quickly moved forward and placed a pillow behind her back.
Leaning against the pillow, Su Li exhaled deeply.
“Captain Su Li, I’m so glad you’re okay! Yesterday scared us to death—you just suddenly collapsed…” Aoi said, still uneasy. “It’s all your fault for not waiting for me! I saw Lu Yuan just run off by himself during the livestream. What if something had happened?”
Su Li smiled softly. “Thank you.”
“Where’s Lu Yuan?”
Su Li put her hand on her forehead and closed her eyes to rest.
“You kept thinking about that girl when you left alone, and now you’re asking about her again, Captain Su Li. Do you like Lu Yuan that much?” Aoi teased.
“Well…” Su Li felt a little embarrassed.
“She was sent back by Commander Lingyan. Yunjing isn’t a place for rookie Magical Girls like her anymore,” Tian Aixing answered. “She’ll probably leave Yunjing before tonight.”
“That’s… good.” Su Li replied.
Tian Aixing stayed silent beside her. Su Li sensed she had something to say. She knew Tian Aixing wouldn’t stay here without a reason.
“Tian Aixing?” Su Li asked.
Tian Aixing caught her gaze, furrowing her brow slightly, her expression growing more serious.
“Captain Su Li, you woke up just in time. There’s a situation.” She got straight to the point. “While monitoring the entire Yunjing area’s magic fluctuations, I detected a very faint but distinct signal source.”
“Although it was fleeting and deliberately disguised and interfered with, I still recognized it. It’s Rose.”
“Rose?” Su Li’s eyes sharpened instantly. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.” Tian Aixing confirmed. “The signal source is roughly located in the southern part of the city center, but it can’t be pinpointed precisely. The opponent’s anti-tracking awareness is very strong.”
She paused, then added crucial information: “Combined with this morning’s news report about the high-end hotel’s penthouse suite suffering severe damage from unknown causes, the location overlaps with where the magical energy fluctuations appeared.”
“The scene described remnants of what looked like tentacle-like severed limbs… most likely Rose’s.”
Tian Aixing looked at Su Li. “It’s safe to conclude that Rose has not only infiltrated Yunjing but has already begun acting.”
“Furthermore, she’s back to her old tricks. The entire city has been unknowingly planted with many bottles containing Calamity. Now, those bottles are like ticking bombs, intermittently erupting and tying up most of the Magical Girls’ power… Commander Lingyan has ordered us to clean up the Calamity in Area C.”
Yunjing City is now divided into four zones—A, B, C, and D. Lingyan alone is responsible for zones A and B, while small teams led by city heads handle zones C and D.
Su Li was silent for a moment. She gently lifted the blanket, ignoring the weakness in her body, and set her feet on the floor.
“Captain?” Aoi looked at her worriedly.
“I’m fine.” Su Li’s voice regained its usual calm and resolute tone. “Tian Aixing, keep monitoring and expand the sensing range. Focus on scanning that area, then inform Commander Lingyan about Rose.”
“Aoi, get ready…”
She lifted her head, gazing out the window at Yunjing’s sky, heavy with dark clouds.
A black cloud presses down on the city like a weight ready to crush.
“It’s going to rain.”
***
The subway station entrance resembled the jaws of a steel beast, swallowing the bustling flow of people. The cacophony of voices, broadcast announcements, and the rush of wind stirred up by incoming trains blended into an overwhelming background noise typical of a big city
Lu Yuan stood in the shadow by the entrance, feeling uneasy all over.
She was no longer wearing her signature black lace battle suit but a set of perfectly ordinary clothes.
A loose pure white hoodie, light blue washed denim jeans, and a pair of worn white canvas shoes.
This outfit blended flawlessly among the surrounding university students and young office workers, inconspicuous to the extreme.
But Lu Yuan knew this outfit was far from ordinary.
Its material… was alive.
***
A few hours ago, in an abandoned workshop, Qing had finished treating her. Qing had sloughed off from Lu Yuan’s body, squatting beside her like a lost child, bracing for scolding.
But Lu Yuan didn’t yell at her. Her feelings toward Qing were too complicated and awkward. For a moment, she didn’t even know what expression to face Qing with.
Qing was about the Calamity… only Lu Yuan and Rose knew about her for now, so she’d keep it a secret temporarily. After all, Qing hadn’t rampaged like other Calamities and was relatively docile, except for the occasional perverted behavior toward Lu Yuan, which posed no real threat.
Moreover, if Headquarters found out, Lu Yuan dared not imagine what fate awaited Qing… She didn’t want Qing to become just another lab experiment.
“I… will take you back to Tongmen City.” Lu Yuan hesitated before saying.
Qing’s eyes suddenly brightened.
“You want to become human, right? And get to know me better…” Lu Yuan said, “I’ll take you in for now. When you want to know anything about humans… I’ll tell you. But you have to promise not to hurt anyone and never become like Qianqian again.”
Qing nodded vigorously, like a chick pecking at rice.
Lu Yuan covered her face.
Seriously… adopting a Calamity… What am I even doing?
Because of Rose’s sudden attack, Lu Yuan had only a bath towel, a coat, and her phone on her body… not even the Transformation Crystal.
Rose could strike again anytime. She had to escape Yunjing as soon as possible.
Liu Zhe should be at the airport now. Her current goal was to use the subway to get to the airport before Rose found her again.
“But before that, I need some casual clothes…” Lu Yuan looked herself over—only the towel—and realized she clearly couldn’t go out on the street like this.
She irritably scratched her head.
***
Qing, who had been quietly crouching nearby, tilted her head to look at Lu Yuan, then glanced down at the smoky gray long skirt she wore.
Then, she reached out and gently touched Lu Yuan’s arm.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Yuan asked.
Qing said nothing. She just tapped herself with her fingertip, then tapped Lu Yuan, and finally opened her hands slightly, making a “wrap around” gesture.
Lu Yuan didn’t understand. “What do you mean?”
Qing seemed to think for a moment, then slowly her body became semi-transparent, a flowing, water-like luster appearing beneath her skin.
She raised her arm, which softened like melted wax and slowly flowed toward Lu Yuan, gently wrapping around her wrist.
An icy, jelly-like chill spread instantly.
“Ah?” Lu Yuan was startled and tried to pull her hand back sharply, but the gelatinous wrap was soft yet resilient, refusing to be escaped from.
“What are you doing?” Lu Yuan’s heart inexplicably quickened. Being touched this way felt too strange.
Qing looked at her. In her pale green eyes, there was no malice—only a desire to help.
She shook her head slightly, then used her free hand to point at her own clothes.
Then, something even more shocking happened.
The pale blue gel covering Lu Yuan’s wrist began creeping upward like a living thing.
Lu Yuan froze, too scared to move.
“W-what exactly are you doing…” Her voice trembled slightly.
Qing didn’t answer, only focusing on her.
Several minutes later, the slime completely covered Lu Yuan, then started to change color and texture.
The cold touch gradually turned warm, and the slippery feeling against her skin transformed into the soft friction of cotton fabric.
Lu Yuan watched as the gel on her body changed from translucent pale blue to fading, solidifying into pure white cotton-linen fabric with knitted texture.
A faint black logo-like print appeared on the chest, resembling a brand emblem.
Not only the hoodie—the pants and shoes were also materialized by Qing, becoming a pair of jeans and canvas shoes.
When it was all done, Qing retracted all the gel and returned to her original form, quietly watching Lu Yuan as if waiting for feedback.
Lu Yuan stared dumbfounded at her new outfit.
She carefully touched the fabric of the hoodie.
Soft, breathable, indistinguishable from real cotton, even feeling the texture of the fibers.
“You… you used your own body… to make clothes for me?” Lu Yuan asked.
Qing nodded, clearly proud of her work.
She even helped adjust the hoodie’s hood for Lu Yuan, her movements so natural it was like she’d been married to Lu Yuan for years.
Lu Yuan’s emotions were extremely complicated.
On one hand, the ability was so convenient—it perfectly solved the immediate problem.
On the other hand… just thinking that from head to toe she was wearing clothes materialized from Qing’s own body filled her with an intense shame and an inexplicable restlessness.
The feeling… was like Qing was constantly wrapping and touching her all over, even her “absolute territory” was covered by transformed clothing.
Qing had never seen other underwear before, so she replicated the style Lu Yuan herself had worn before—exactly the same.
It was the one with bold cutouts.
“Pervert…” Lu Yuan cursed softly with a red face, unsure if she was scolding herself or Qing.