Clues can’t be found just by sitting in the office, but that doesn’t mean Jiang Yin has to investigate them herself.
“Don’t worry, leave the task of looking into Zhuo Xun’s past to us.”
Zhang Feng gave his assurance, and the exhausted Jiang Yin and Wen Ling went to rest.
Last night, both of them had stayed awake to guard against the enemy pulling a Return Whip, and even a short nap on the return trip wasn’t enough to restore their energy.
Especially Jiang Yin, whose magic consumption over the past two days had been significant.
Ning Rong infused the girl with a bit of pure magic.
“You worked hard this time.”
Taotao had already been sent to pursue the ‘Ghost Face’ among the Twelve Pillars, and Xiao Zi was too young to be involved in such a grim case.
In all of Qizhou City, Ning Rong was the only reliable Magical Girl left, and she couldn’t be moved—she had to guard against the Yuan Ming Cult’s attempts to lure people away.
So, some matters could only be left to Jiang Yin.
“If only you had already Awakened.”
At this, Jiang Yin also felt helpless.
“Sometimes being too reliable isn’t a good thing, either.”
As the magic within her increased, Jiang Yin could clearly sense she was just one step away from Awakening, but she couldn’t force it.
It’s not like she could copy anime protagonists and deliberately throw herself into a life-or-death crisis to gamble, right?
She didn’t have the courage to try something so reckless.
“Speaking of which, I’m a little curious.”
Ning Rong paused, then, seeing Jiang Yin’s unchanged expression, continued.
“Why are you so strong?”
She was genuinely curious how Jiang Yin could adapt so quickly to all these monster incidents, especially her composure in critical moments.
First, she’d handled the monster blocking the road last time, then this time neutralized an assassination attempt.
Jiang Yin’s performance had far exceeded what an ordinary person was capable of.
Even a trained soldier wouldn’t necessarily make the right decisions instantly in these situations.
How did Jiang Yin manage it?
Just because of the week of Special Training she’d given her?
Ning Rong didn’t even believe her own teaching ability was that good.
Zhang Feng and Wen Ling didn’t know Jiang Yin’s background, assuming she was some secret agent cultivated by the Bureau.
But Ning Rong knew better.
This white-haired girl had been a regular thirty-year-old office worker just a month ago.
She hadn’t even witnessed a murder before, let alone fought monsters.
“Maybe it’s a special buff for thirty-year-old corporate slaves?”
Jiang Yin joked, then surrendered with both hands under Ning Rong’s calm gaze.
“All right, honestly, I don’t know, either.”
“Maybe it’s just my uniqueness?
In a crisis, solutions just pop into my head subconsciously.”
Hearing this unreliable answer, Ning Rong didn’t feel brushed off.
Instead, she nodded seriously.
“That’s possible, too.
Knowledge you’ve browsed in the past could exist in your subconscious, and under the stimulation of magic, form quick instinctive responses.”
“There have been similar cases before.
Magical Girls with this kind of ability are excellent at Information Synthesis—a support-type Magical Girl.”
At this, Ning Rong gave a light laugh.
“Congratulations.
If you Awaken, you can finally transfer to the Logistics Department as you wish.”
“Didn’t you say you were short on people?”
Lying on the bed, Jiang Yin instinctively shifted over and patted the space beside her, motioning for Ning Rong to sit down.
“Wouldn’t me staying be better for you?”
“But if you use your abilities, you can protect more people.”
Ning Rong didn’t sit, gently declining Jiang Yin’s invitation for a deeper talk.
She smiled and changed the subject.
“All right, let’s discuss this later.
For now, you need rest.”
“Since this case involves the Twelve Pillars, it won’t end so easily.
There’s still a lot you need to do.”
“Fine, then.”
Jiang Yin didn’t insist.
She covered herself with a small blanket and fell asleep instantly.
The red-haired woman looked at her, watching the way her sleeping face lost its maturity and became adorably childlike.
She sighed softly.
And quietly left the room.
“Good night.”
***
Early the next morning, Jiang Yin set out with Wen Ling.
To be honest, Jiang Yin didn’t really want to bring Wen Ling along.
It would have been safer for her to stay in the Bureau, especially since the enemy this time was truly capable of killing remotely.
Inside the Bureau, even if Ning Rong went out to patrol, there was still a monster in the medical room whose abilities were more than enough to keep Wen Ling safe.
Jiang Yin even suspected Si Beili wasn’t a simple healing-type Magical Girl.
But there was no helping it.
Today, they were going to visit Zhuo Xun’s mother, and to avoid causing unnecessary trouble, they could only go under Wen Ling’s name.
Previously, Jiang Yin had suggested having Zhang Feng find someone to invite Zhuo Xun’s mother to Qizhou City, but the elderly lady firmly refused.
The investigators tried everything, but couldn’t persuade her.
Her health wasn’t good, either, so in the end, they had to try a different approach.
Well, they managed to invite Aunt Wen.
As expected of a veteran Magical Girl—after just two days, she’d become old friends with Zhuo Xun’s mother.
Zhuo Xun’s mother’s spirits had also visibly improved.
Actually, this wasn’t unprecedented.
Magical Girls often had to take on tasks similar to psychological counseling, guiding ordinary citizens whose resentment might transform them into monsters.
But Magical Girls were all young, rarely over thirty.
While it was possible for a young Magical Girl to counsel a middle-aged person in their thirties or forties, facing elders of their grandparents’ generation left them at a loss.
To put it bluntly, these young girls might not even know how to comfort their own parents or grandparents, let alone strangers with psychological issues.
In such cases, they often relied on senior veterans.
After turning thirty, a Magical Girl’s magic would gradually fade.
They could no longer fight monsters head-on, but some magic still remained, similar to an unawakened Magical Girl.
Their control over magic was far superior to someone like Jiang Yin, though.
Their combat abilities were on a different level, and dispatching a few low-level monsters was just exercise for them.
They could still use Magical Devices, too.
There had even been cases of retired Magical Girls who had lost their Transformation abilities, but under extreme stress, their magic revived and they transformed again.
The miracle of the Magical Girl continued to gain value.
However, the seniors were retired and didn’t participate in Bureau operations, so actual investigations still had to be done by Jiang Yin and Wen Ling.
It was a form of training, in a way.
After a day’s journey, they finally reached Zhuo Xun’s hometown—a small village in the northeast at the foot of Changbai Mountain.
Walking through the bustling market, Jiang Yin bought two fried cakes for breakfast, failed to resist a passionate old man, and ended up taking a tractor to the village where Zhuo Xun’s mother lived.
“Grandma~”
Yes, Jiang Yin had come as Aunt Wen’s granddaughter.