Inside the special isolation cell at the Magical Girl Headquarters.
It was a purely white, sterile space— a room specially designed by Headquarters to detain Rose.
It had been unused for a long time, but now it was finally put to use.
Only, the person imprisoned wasn’t Rose.
Si An sat boredly on the metal chair, her wrists and ankles locked in a specially designed restraint device.
She showed no hint of fear or anxiety after being captured; on the contrary, she appeared somewhat at ease, rhythmically tapping the armrest with her restrained fingers, humming a strange melody.
Behind the one-way glass, Tian Aixing watched her expressionlessly.
Her face was pale, her brows heavy with fatigue. It had been such a long time since she’d rested; Tian Aixing could barely remember the last time she’d slept until waking naturally.
Headquarters really needs to give me a raise.
Tian Aixing shook her head with a sigh, picked up the communicator, and her cold voice echoed in the cell: “Si An, cooperating with the investigation is your only option right now. Tell me, where did Rose escape to? And what exactly is the source of your power?”
Si An stopped humming, lazily lifting her eyelids to look at the speaker that had spoken.
“Again? Interrogator Miss, your questions have repeated countless times already~ Why not just release me and let me play a tune to ease your boredom?”
“Your music won’t work here,” Tian Aixing said coldly. “Delaying any further is meaningless. Are you still hoping Rose will come to rescue you? She didn’t hesitate even once when she abandoned you.”
That sentence seemed to hit Si An’s sore spot precisely. The calm on her face instantly vanished, replaced by a surge of anger.
“Hah! Don’t bring up that damn woman!” Si An’s voice was thick with resentment. “What cooperation? What ended up happening? She ran faster than a frightened rabbit! Threw me away like trash whenever she saw someone tough! Is an A-rank Disaster Clone more precious than me?! Damn it! That selfish, poker-faced bitch! I f*cking hate her!”
She was clearly furious about Rose’s betrayal, venting one complaint and curse after another, completely losing her previously carefree demeanor.
Tian Aixing listened calmly to her rant; this only confirmed how fragile their relationship really was.
When Si An paused to catch her breath, Tian Aixing spoke again, her tone unchanged: “So, to her, you’re just a disposable pawn. If that’s the case, why keep secrets for her?”
Si An, still breathing heavily, glared fiercely at the one-way glass, seemingly realizing her outburst. She forced down her anger and reverted to her usual impassive attitude, sneering: “Hmph! Even if she’s a bitch, I don’t want to tell you~ That’ll piss you off~”
In truth, she didn’t know where Rose had gone either, but she just wanted to irritate Tian Aixing a little.
The routine interrogation hit another deadlock.
But this time, the focus wasn’t on Rose, but on the power inside Si An.
Tian Aixing was unsurprised. She whispered into the microphone, “Prepare for sampling.”
Suddenly, several nozzles on the ceiling of the cell released a faint white mist.
It contained a potent anesthetic and magic power suppressant, ensuring the subject could neither resist strongly nor use dangerous abilities.
Si An’s body visibly weakened, losing even the strength to curse, mumbling unhappily: “What the hell… so dirty…”
At that moment, by Tian Aixing’s side, the phantom of the Ming Snake silently appeared.
It passed through the thick isolation wall as if it had no physical form and entered the cell.
The icy snake’s eyes locked onto the slumped Si An and slowly approached.
“Hey, hey… what the hell is that thing?” Si An looked at the translucent, eerie blue serpent, clearly resisting.
The Ming Snake ignored her, slowly winding up Si An’s leg, slipping under her clothes.
“You’re a pervert!” Si An started to panic. “Are all Magical Girls like this?!”
The snake’s head emerged from Si An’s chest area, its tongue flickering, but it didn’t attack.
Instead, it lightly bit the exposed side of her neck.
No real wound appeared, but Si An shivered as if something had been drained from her.
A small dark red blood sample condensed in the Ming Snake’s phantom mouth.
After completing the sampling, the Ming Snake instantly retreated, passing through the wall again, disappearing beside Tian Aixing.
The mist stopped releasing, and Si An gradually regained control of her body.
She touched her bitten neck but felt nothing, though the invasive sensation left her very annoyed. She muttered lowly: “… pervert!”
Tian Aixing ignored her curses, focusing all her attention on the blood sample the Ming Snake brought back.
The sample was quickly loaded into a sophisticated analyzer.
Minutes later, preliminary analysis results appeared on Tian Aixing’s screen.
The earlier data looked perfectly normal—well within human parameters.
However, when her eyes landed on Si An’s magic power analysis chart, her breath caught.
She had seen the components of that magic power many times before, but never in a human.
It was the power of a Disaster.
Though the concentration was very low, almost like some deep symbiosis, it was definitely there.
A human body… with the power of a Disaster.
Tian Aixing’s fingertips grew slightly cold. This discovery was far more alarming than Si An’s refusal to speak.
Si An’s power didn’t belong to the Magical Girl system at all—it came directly from the Disaster itself!
How was she able to withstand and wield such power?
No, no… who gave her this power?
Was it Qing? No, Qing barely ever contacted Si An; it couldn’t be her.
A bold thought surfaced, almost suffocating Tian Aixing with its weight.
***
Lu Yuan lightly turned the key and opened her front door.
Her cheeks were flushed, still savoring the memory of Lin Wan’s domineering kiss.
Really… that Lin Wan.
Lu Yuan smiled helplessly and pushed open the door.
The living room’s main light wasn’t on. Qing sat curled up in the corner of the sofa, hugging her knees.
She wore a short dress, her light green hair tousled and loose.
Hearing the door open, she suddenly lifted her head.
Her eyes, usually clear and innocent, were now noticeably misty.
Her cheeks were puffed out roundly, like a little hamster that had stored too much food.
It was as if her whole body radiated a strong aura of “I’m really mad, come comfort me.”
Lu Yuan paused opening the door, the faintly ambiguous mood she’d been feeling instantly dissipated by the low-pressure scene before her.
She changed her shoes and walked over, hesitating slightly before asking, “Qing? Why aren’t you asleep yet? What are you doing sitting here?”
Qing didn’t answer, only staring at her with those big watery eyes filled with grievance.
She deliberately turned her head away from Lu Yuan, her shoulders trembling slightly, as if holding back tears.
Lu Yuan roughly guessed what was going on.
She sighed and sat beside the sofa, softening her voice as much as possible: “Are you upset?”
Qing quickly turned her head back, still with puffed cheeks.
Then, she grabbed the phone lying nearby and started furiously poking the screen, the tapping sounding sharply.
Soon, she shoved the phone screen right in Lu Yuan’s face.
In the largest font, the screen read:
【Lu Yuan, you big dummy!】
Lu Yuan was momentarily stunned; Qing actually used the word “dummy.”
【Didn’t come home tonight! Went out with someone else! Ignored Qing! (≧A≦)ノ】
A furious emoji puffing smoke followed the message.
Lu Yuan stared at this powerful accusation, speechless for a moment.
She tried to explain: “I wasn’t going out to play, I was with Lin Wan…”
Before she could finish, Qing angrily took back her phone, quickly typing again, and raised it:
【Lying! Amusement park! Fireworks! I saw it!】
An angry emoji 【(; O)o】 followed.
Lu Yuan was curious how Qing found out… Could she and Lin Wan be picking up bad habits?
Looking at Qing’s almost tearful expression, those beautiful eyes full of “I’ve been abandoned” sadness, Lu Yuan’s heart softened involuntarily.
She felt a little amused and helpless.
She reached out to pat Qing’s head, but Qing tilted her head and dodged.
Qing kept her head down, poking the phone frantically, then raised it again:
【Lu Yuan doesn’t like Qing, T.T】
Now the accusation was serious.
“How could that be…” Lu Yuan scratched her head, not very good at comforting others.
But Qing seemed slightly comforted by her simple words.
That was just how she was—such a simple sentence could soothe her.
Yet, she still pouted, holding up the phone again.
The words on the screen changed to:
【Then why take her and not me? (>_<)】
Lu Yuan looked at the question silently.
She couldn’t tell Qing it was because Lin Wan had emotional barriers to overcome—it was Lin Wan’s privacy.
After thinking for a moment, she chose a reason Qing could understand:
“Because Lin Wan was hurt and needed to relax. You’re healthy and well-behaved. You don’t need to go to places like that to have fun, right?”
That seemed to help a little. The anger on Qing’s face eased somewhat, though the grievance remained.
She lowered her head and slowly typed with her fingers, then timidly raised the phone again, her eyes hesitant:
【Next time, take Qing, just me and Lu Yuan… (‘·ω;`)】
“Okay.” Lu Yuan patted Qing’s head.
Qing smiled foolishly, seeming to really enjoy the affection.
Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and raised her phone.
【By the way, Qing has a new discovery.】