Three days later, on Nanda Street not far from Li Xiaoxi’s home.
Xiaoxi struggled along the way back, carrying two large bags filled to the brim with groceries.
Xiao Keke, that little brat, had messaged her earlier saying she was coming over for lunch and specifically told her to cook extra dishes. So, gritting her teeth, Xiaoxi used the pitiful balance in her WeChat wallet to buy a huge pile of things, including various snacks.
After all, it was her own little sister. If she didn’t spoil her, then who would?
Xiao Keke loved cola chicken wings, and she still had to buy a bottle of cola from the convenience store downstairs… Xiaoxi was calculating in her mind if there was anything else she hadn’t bought yet, but when she saw a bench by the street, she couldn’t help but plop down on it.
If it weren’t for being broke, she would’ve at least taken a taxi home. Carrying two big bags under such a scorching sun was torture!
Wiping the sweat off her brow, Xiaoxi was about to rest a bit longer before continuing, but less than a minute after closing her eyes, a loud explosion sounded nearby, startling her wide awake.
At the intersection not far away, a pitch-black monster about two or three people tall was rampaging, smashing everything around. The explosion just now was caused by it smashing a car.
Another monster?
Xiaoxi frowned. Normally, from the monster’s cocoon to its birth, a long time should pass. How come monsters recently were appearing suddenly, like random spawns? And why did they always show up in the city center?
Her first reaction was… to grab her groceries and run!
No question—if the monster destroyed her groceries, she definitely didn’t have money to buy them again!
Anyway, just like the last time at the café, Xiaoxi trusted the efficiency of the Magical Girl Association. Besides, no one had been injured yet.
The next second, Xiaoxi saw a blurred figure dart out from the roadside. That person casually put down a box they were carrying, sprinted against the flow of people, and transformed mid-run, quickly engaging the monster in battle.
That fast? Xiaoxi glanced at the large box on the ground. Probably a magical girl who happened to be on vacation nearby.
But looking at the transformed magical girl’s appearance, Xiaoxi frowned again.
There were no distinctive personal features on her, and she wielded a standard magic wand issued by the Association. This was obviously a rookie who had just recently become a D-rank magical girl.
In theory, the Association shouldn’t send such a newcomer to face monsters alone. At the very least, a higher-ranking magical girl should be leading the team.
Yet Xiaoxi stared at the sky for a while but didn’t see any reinforcements arriving. Around her, the civilians had mostly fled. Only that rookie magical girl was still struggling to fight the monster.
She was definitely going to lose—Xiaoxi immediately judged with her experience. Judging from the magic power fluctuations, that monster was at least C-rank. A fresh rookie couldn’t possibly defeat a monster of that level alone.
Damn it, is the Magical Girl Association just twiddling their thumbs?
Xiaoxi cursed silently and looked back at the battle figure. That girl obviously wouldn’t hold out much longer… Instinctively, Xiaoxi placed her hand over her chest.
Should she transform? Here? Now?
Although she had already decided not to get involved with magical girl affairs anymore,
Xiaoxi clenched her fists. Leaving someone to die weighed heavily on her conscience.
“[Little Red Riding Hood], if you can’t hold out, evacuate the crowd and retreat! You’re a rookie and shouldn’t be facing monsters alone!”
“There were eight locations in Xianghai City with simultaneous monster appearances just now. All magical girls from the Association have been dispatched. No one can support your area for the time being, understand?”
Listening to the stern voice of Minister L over the communicator, the magical girl codenamed [Little Red Riding Hood] didn’t reply. She dodged a car thrown by the monster clumsily, stubbornly trying to gather magic on her wand to counterattack.
What a joke! How could a magical girl abandon her post in the heat of battle?
But she really had no combat experience. Facing a monster as huge as a small mountain, Little Red Riding Hood’s hands trembled slightly on the wand.
The monster’s attack came again, black magic swirling in its mouth. Sensing danger, Little Red Riding Hood immediately stopped charging.
This time, it was going to release a big attack!
But as she hurried to dodge, she tripped on something unknown and fell to the ground.
It’s over… Watching the pitch-black beam gradually swallow her vision, a flicker of despair flashed in Little Red Riding Hood’s eyes. Her body stiffened, and she instinctively closed her eyes.
She wasn’t a battle-hardened veteran magical girl; this was her first solo fight with a monster. At the critical moment, all the combat techniques she had learned vanished from her mind.
The black beam shot straight at her… huh? It doesn’t hurt?
Little Red Riding Hood squinted and saw a huge starlight shield blocking all the monster’s attacks right in front of her.
Before she could react, the next moment, a gigantic starlight beam pierced straight through the monster’s skull, ending the fight with brutal force.
Then, Little Red Riding Hood saw a scene she’d probably never forget—
A graceful figure slowly descended in front of her, silver-white flowing hair interwoven with white and pale gold, a starry gown sparkling with starlight, and a star-shaped long magic wand—she couldn’t be mistaken. How could she mistake her own idol?
It was Eternal Star!
Though there was one slightly amusing detail—Eternal Star landed with open arms, holding two big bags of meat, vegetables, eggs, milk, and snacks, looking like some auntie who had just finished a supermarket spree.
Eternal Star senior was buying groceries just now? Xiao Keke suddenly felt a bit detached.
“Little Red Riding Hood? What’s your situation over there? Answer me!”
Ignoring the question from the communicator, Little Red Riding Hood took a deep breath and spoke excitedly—
“Senior [Eternal Star]! I’m your fan!”
Damn! Xiaoxi’s heart sank, knowing the most troublesome situation had arrived.
“I’ve liked you for many years! I know all your battle achievements,” Little Red Riding Hood’s voice suddenly lowered, “but why have you been absent these past three years…”
“Are you hurt? Does anything hurt anywhere?” Xiaoxi interrupted, helping her up.
“No, luckily you arrived just in time, thank you…”
Little Red Riding Hood realized her earlier slip-up and toned down her voice, but her small face was still flushed with excitement.
However, her gaze fell on the thing that had tripped her earlier, and she suddenly gasped.
“Oh no!”
She hurried over to check the box she had casually tossed to the ground—it was the thing that caused her to trip. She had brought this upon herself.
Xiaoxi also followed to take a look. The box contained a large cake, which had been squashed halfway when Little Red Riding Hood fell.
Originally, there were blessing words on the cake, but now only the characters “祝” and “乐” (meaning “wishes” and “joy”) at the beginning and end could be barely made out.
“It’s ruined, it’s ruined. The cake for my sister is smashed. This is a big loss!”
Little Red Riding Hood’s tone was full of pain. “This store’s ten-inch cakes are expensive! Throwing it away like this is such a waste, but it can’t be used like this, right…”
Xiaoxi didn’t follow Little Red Riding Hood’s scattered train of thought, but she immediately realized this was a perfect chance to escape. The longer she stayed to be pestered with questions, the worse it would be. If the Magical Girl Association reinforcements arrived… Xiaoxi really didn’t want to meet any of them.
So, while Little Red Riding Hood was lamenting the cake, Xiaoxi quietly transformed into a streak of starlight and slipped away.
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