Outside Yunjing, a music hall famed for its top-tier acoustics and privacy, the evening lights just beginning to glow.
The crisp tap of high heels approached steadily from afar.
Rose’s figure strolled calmly, dressed in a sharply tailored black suit skirt that accentuated her upright posture.
Between her fingers, she casually twirled an exquisite acrylic ticket.
This time, she chose not to sneak in but walked openly to the brightly lit main entrance of the music hall.
A security guard standing at the door in a crisp uniform smiled at her, his expression like a mask, eyes vacant.
He bowed deeply to Rose, his posture humble, as if greeting a distinguished guest.
Rose didn’t even bother to lift her eyelids, as if it were all perfectly natural.
She casually flicked her hand.
“Ah!”
The spinning acrylic ticket, like a living black dart, tore through the air with a faint, piercing whistle before embedding itself with a heavy thud deep into the wooden window frame of the guard booth.
Almost the entire ticket was buried inside, only a small edge vibrating violently outside, emitting an unsettling hum.
Its position was mere millimeters from the temple of the guard, who remained bowed without a hint of awareness, his hollow smile unchanged, like an exquisitely crafted puppet emptied of soul.
Clearly, it was Si An’s mental control at work.
Rose didn’t even glance at the guard, as if casually discarding a piece of worthless trash, and stepped straight into the music hall’s interplay of light and shadow.
***
Inside the music hall.
The air was thick with the scent of decaying wood and dust—this hall had long gone uncleaned.
In the silence, only the faint rustling of the wind pierced through.
A figure lounged lazily at the edge of the stage, legs dangling and lightly swaying.
Si An toyed with the living butterfly forever trapped in her hair, while her other hand held an old, dark brown violin, the bow carelessly resting on the strings as she hummed a discordant little tune.
She seemed lost in her own world, utterly indifferent to everything around her.
***
“Shu! Shu! Shu!”
Several pitch-black, viscous tentacles shot out like long-hidden venomous snakes from the shadows around her, striking with astonishing speed and cruel angles aimed straight at her vital points.
Just as the tentacles were about to strike—
“Clang—!”
The violin’s sound rang out.
Without any visible movement from Si An, the bow twitched as if on its own.
An invisible force field expanded instantaneously from her center!
The onrushing tentacles collided with the force field and seemed to sink into thick glue, their speed sharply reduced, their trajectories chaotic as they tangled and collided, instantly losing all threat.
“Oh dear…” Si An slowly turned her head, showing no surprise, smiling at the shadows, “Is that really how you greet the host of a party?”
The tentacles writhed as Rose’s figure slowly emerged, her face still pale but her eyes sharp as ever.
“Chaos Witch, Si An,” Rose said with a smile, “I believe I greeted you already back at the subway station.”
“Oh~ that? I thought you’d died back then.” Si An tilted her head, seemingly deliberately trying to provoke Rose.
“Oh? Then why did you send an invitation to a corpse like me?” Rose replied without anger, her tentacles undulating slowly as her gaze locked onto Si An, responding with words.
Si An’s smile faltered for a moment.
“Can’t help it, who wants boring ‘living people’ these days? Finding a companion who can really have fun with me is tough.”
“Besides… you’re a Magical Girl.”
Before she finished speaking, Si An’s finger slid sharply along the violin bow!
“Clang—!”
A soul-piercing sound wave shot directly toward Rose’s brow.
Rose was prepared; her tentacles instantly formed a twisted shield in front of her!
Hum!
The sound wave collided violently with the tentacle shield, causing the surface to ripple intensely. The wave dented the shield, almost breaking through.
“Used to be a Magical Girl, that’s all.” Rose answered.
At the same time, two thicker tentacles shot out like spikes from the shadow beneath Rose’s feet, aiming straight at Si An’s ankles.
Si An seemed to foresee this, lightly touching the edge of the stage with her toes and drifting backward as if weightless.
“Tentacles coming out of the shadow? You have more than one ability?” Si An asked, surprised midair.
“Guess so,” Rose smiled and sent the tentacles in again.
The two moved rapidly between the shattered stage and audience seats, clashing occasionally.
More than a life-or-death battle, it was a dangerous yet dazzling dance, each testing the other’s strength.
After a fierce clash, they separated briefly.
“Tch, not bad for someone who escaped that woman.” Rose shook her numb arm, “Not bad.”
“You’re no slouch either, sly and cunning, just my taste.” Si An patted the violin body, her smile radiant, as if their fight had been a mere game.
“So, all this trouble just to say hello? Want my autograph?”
***
Rose took a deep breath and spoke seriously, “I want to cooperate with you.”
“Cooperate?” Si An laughed, as if hearing something absurd. “Cooperate on what? A concert? You want me as your lead dancer?”
Her eyes meaningfully scanned the writhing tentacles.
“Don’t play dumb.” Rose said coldly, “We’re both thorns in the side of the Magical Girls. We have a common enemy.”
“Enemy?” Si An tilted her head innocently, “Who? Those lovely Magical Girls? I have fun playing with them~”
“Playing?” Rose scoffed, “Your ‘play’ means hiding here like a scared stray dog being chased by Commander Lingyan?”
Si An’s smile stiffened.
Rose continued, “My goal is simple—I want to become stronger, strong enough to overturn the existing order. Magical Girls… are excellent nourishment.”
She did not hide her ambition and desire.
“Getting stronger by devouring Magical Girls? Hahaha!” Si An suddenly burst into loud laughter that echoed through the empty hall, filled with mockery, “Seriously, like a beast—Is that really the extent of your goal?”
Rose’s expression darkened but she said nothing, only gazing coldly at her.
“What about you?”
“What about me?” Si An laughed enough and tapped her chin thoughtfully, “Me… I just think this world is too boring, too rule-bound. I’m just looking for some fun.”
Looking for fun? That’s your reason?
“So that’s why you go around causing havoc?”
“Well, kinda. The more chaos, the better.”
Rose stared at Si An intently and suddenly asked, “Your power doesn’t come from a Transformation Crystal, where does it come from?”
“Who knows~” She chose to keep it secret, her tone flippant, “Everyone has a little secret, don’t they?”
Rose understood without pressing further.
Everyone had their trump cards; as long as she could use hers, nothing else mattered.
“Alright.” Rose took a deep breath and laid out a concrete plan. “Since you want to cause trouble for those Magical Girls, I can help you.”
“Oh?”
“You want fun, right? I have a plan.”
She looked at Si An and offered bait impossible to refuse.
“When I’ve fully recovered my power, I’ll assist you in staging an unprecedented, grand, and utterly desperate script right under the eyes of Magical Girl Headquarters here in Yunjing, turning the entire city into chaos. How does that sound?”
Si An raised an eyebrow.
“You think Commander Lingyan is a pushover? Also, why do you think I can’t do what you can?” Si An mocked, “You said ‘once you’ve fully recovered your power.’ I’d say I’m stronger than you now, right?”
Rose smiled disdainfully.
“You just figured out, huh? I am a Magical Girl.” Rose said, “Though only formerly, I know Lingyan and the Magical Girls far better than you do.”
“Don’t you get chased around like a dog every time you make a scene? I can help keep Lingyan busy.”
Rose emphasized the word “dog” with a sharp tone.
Though Si An didn’t like Rose’s words, she agreed Rose was a persistent annoyance to Lingyan.
“Aren’t you afraid of dying?”
“I have Disaster Clones. I can’t die.”
“Oh?” Si An’s interest peaked. “So what’s your price? Nothing’s free, right?”
“Help me make a trip to Tongmen City.” Rose’s eyes gleamed with determination. “There are two special little mice there. Catch them and hand them over to me.”
“Little mice?”
“One called Qing, the other Lu Yuan.”
“Lu Yuan?” Si An recognized the name.
The Magical Girl who disrupted her livestream rhythm during her mischief, right?
“What do you want her for?”
Si An recalled that Magical Girl well.
[She turned my bullets into red spider lilies!]
She still sometimes thought of that phrase. That Lu Yuan seemed to see right through her.
“I have my reasons.” Rose said, “Everyone has secrets, don’t they?”
Lu Yuan’s Time System Ability… Rose cared deeply. She once thought Lu Yuan could foresee the future, but now felt she had been too hasty to judge.
She still needed more information about Lu Yuan.
For now, one thing was clear: Lu Yuan’s ability was definitely related to time. What exactly it was, only when Rose had completely consumed her would she know.
“Deal!” Si An barely hesitated.
She was also intrigued by Lu Yuan. To her, this was a good bargain.
***
“My magic recovery will take about a week.” Rose said.
“Speaking of which, do you have a plan to catch those two mice? We can’t just go on a rampage in Tongmen City, right?” Si An said. “The Magical Girls aren’t just decorations. You won’t die, but I really could.”
“Don’t worry.” Rose licked her lips. “I have a perfect landmine I haven’t detonated yet.
A week from now, I won’t let you down.”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.