Jiang Yin’s logic was simple enough that Qv Si Nan could understand it with a little thought.
After two failed attacks, the monster, realizing she had someone protecting her, would naturally shift its target temporarily. The most suitable and likely next target was, of course, Lu Zhizhi.
In fact, there were already Bureau investigators secretly protecting Lu Zhizhi, but Jiang Yin still felt uneasy. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the so-called lala messenger was about to pull off something big.
The first attack was a nighttime ambush, the second a daylight assault, and the third sent a whole group of monsters to besiege the police station.
It was getting more and more desperate.
This meant Ning Rong and the others were closing in on its hiding place—the best chance to wipe it out, and also the moment it was most likely to go all out.
But Jiang Yin couldn’t be everywhere at once. She could only protect a few targets, and if she tried to cover too many, her small frame couldn’t handle it.
Nor did she need to shoulder so much responsibility alone.
The local Magical Girl Administration Bureau had operated smoothly for years, with a complete set of response plans in place. Jiang Yin only needed to fill in the gaps and hold the most critical positions.
Other possible targets would naturally be protected by other investigators.
She was stronger than an ordinary investigator, but not as powerful as a Magical Girl—a special unit perfect for protecting this pair of ex-lovers.
Except…
“Are you a child?”
Qv Si Nan had already resorted to a tantrum, being dragged by Jiang Yin by the right hand, squatting on the ground, her feet nearly sliding across the floor tiles.
She was over 1.7 meters tall and weighed more than 110 pounds. If it weren’t for her body’s strength, Jiang Yin really wouldn’t be able to drag her.
“Can’t I not go?”
Qv Si Nan felt embarrassed under the stares of passersby. She stood up, blushing, and spoke softly.
“What will you do if you’re in danger?”
“I can run! I’m fast…”
Before she finished, Jiang Yin’s stare shut her up.
Given what happened last night, she couldn’t bring herself to argue.
“How do you think Lu Zhizhi will react after seeing me, knowing you used me as a shield last night?”
“Can I even say more than three sentences in front of her? Would she believe anything I say?”
Qv Si Nan: “…..”
With Zhizhi’s impulsive heiress temper…
Qv Si Nan gave in.
Even though they had broken up, and not on good terms, they had once been in love for years.
At the very least, Qv Si Nan didn’t think she could stand by and watch Lu Zhizhi die.
The love hadn’t been so deep as to die for, nor the hatred so strong as to be unforgivable.
She was never the kind to take emotions to extremes.
Even knowing Jiang Yin was manipulating her with guilt, Qv Si Nan couldn’t resist it.
Still, it felt a bit strange.
“Are you this accurate at analyzing everyone?”
Qv Si Nan still felt the white-haired girl understood her too well. Otherwise, how could she always pinpoint her weak spots, and even seem a bit familiar with Zhizhi?
“It’s just a basic life skill in our line of work.”
The girl lied casually.
Anyway, after this incident, she probably wouldn’t have any more contact with Qv Si Nan, so there was no risk of being exposed.
Meeting old friends and knowing someone still cared about her was nice, but the old ‘Jiang Yin’ was already dead. She couldn’t reveal her identity, and lingering in the past would only bring trouble.
And Jiang Yin hated trouble.
It was better for Qv Si Nan too. After all, being friends with a Magical Girl…
Was also quite dangerous.
Even if the odds of something happening were one in ten thousand, Jiang Yin didn’t want to gamble.
What if she lost?
She didn’t have many friends left she could fight with so recklessly.
“So you must have trained since you were young in your line of work.”
Qv Si Nan didn’t notice the girl’s emotional shift. Although she’d made up her mind, she still felt reluctant to face Lu Zhizhi again.
Her dragging steps screamed rejection.
“Alright, let’s go faster. Do I have to coax you, too?”
“Why can’t you?”
“I’m not your girlfriend, or your mom.”
Jiang Yin looked confused. “Why should I coax you?”
“Can’t you?”
Qv Si Nan seemed to hit her sweet spot, her tone even carrying a hint of hope.
“guna!”
Jiang Yin couldn’t hold it in and shouted.
Fortunately, there were only the two of them in the elevator, so it didn’t matter.
The elevator slowly rose. As they neared the twenty-fourth floor, Jiang Yin tried to recall the door number from Lu Zhizhi’s file. Suddenly, her right wrist felt hot.
“Tsk, aren’t monsters supposed to be idiots?”
Qv Si Nan reacted instantly, stepping back without a word and hiding behind Jiang Yin.
The door opened.
“Roar——!”
“Not bad, not bad.”
A silver-white dagger flashed, slicing clean through the extended arm of a Marionette Monster. The white-haired girl cut it off entirely, kicked it away, adjusted her stance, and pulled at the collar ring on her neck with her left hand. Instantly, blue magic light spread out, forming a three-dimensional protective barrier.
She kept Qv Si Nan securely inside the elevator and stepped forward herself.
“Wait for me.”
“Okay. Should I call the police?”
“You’re so obedient it’s surreal.”
“Surreal?”
Qv Si Nan took out her phone, watching the white-haired girl’s cool back as she faced the roaring monster. She asked curiously.
“I mean, I feel like a horror movie protagonist.”
“You’re overthinking it. The horror movie lead is supposed to be an ordinary person without special powers, like me.”
Qv Si Nan calmly dialed and reported an address. “Yes, it’s me again. Lakeside Community, Building 3, 24th floor. At least five monsters.”
After hanging up, she watched the girl kill another monster and added, “You know, mysterious special ability types like you usually die either at the start or before the end of the film.”
Jiang Yin turned, stepped back, raised her hand, and the magical device on her wrist glowed faintly.
She seemed to have gotten a bit better at controlling the faint magic in her body, coating her left hand in blue light before punching another monster three meters down the hall, splattering its brains everywhere.
The stench was overwhelming.
But she quickly used magic to mask the smell—whether it was standard for Magical Girls or unique to her, she didn’t know. Either way, every time she used magic, her mind became unusually clear and rational.
Not the emotionless, mechanical kind, but a calm, serene, best-state-of-mind clarity.
She even had the presence of mind to retort, “Are we enemies? Why does it sound like you’re hoping I’ll die?”
“Not really.”
Qv Si Nan pretended to think seriously, though Jiang Yin couldn’t see it.
“I just find it annoying that you never call me by name.”
Jiang Yin was getting used to cutting down humanoid monsters. After finishing off the last Marionette Monster, she walked back down the blood-soaked corridor, sighed helplessly, and, like coaxing a child, said, “Fine, fine, Qv Si Nan, Qv Si Nan, Qv Si Nan, Qv Si Nan, satisfied now…”
When she looked up, she met the gaze of Lu Zhizhi, who was peeking through a crack in her door.
In the hallway, surrounded by blood, brain matter, and the stench of rot, stood a white-haired girl clutching a dagger, covered in blood, calling out her ex-girlfriend’s name with a doting smile.
Lu Zhizhi’s mind blanked.
She pulled out her phone and dialed 120.
She wondered if she’d gone insane.