Chapter 14 : Raid operation meow?

Late at night, Xiaoxi carried a cup of hot milk and knocked on Ye Xinglan’s room door.

When Xiaoxi entered, Ye Xinglan was leaning against the bed, playing on her phone.

She wore loose pajamas, the collar slipping off her shoulder, revealing a faint glimpse of something large and pale.

Suddenly, Xiaoxi realized she had just barged into a girl’s room in the dead of night.

Her face flushed slightly as she averted her gaze and quickly placed the milk on the bedside table.

“I warmed up some milk for you. Drinking it before bed helps with sleep.”

“So thoughtful? This is what being a couple feels like. Thanks.”

“Ahem…” Xiaoxi yawned awkwardly. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll go to bed now. I’m exhausted.”

“Okay~”

Xiaoxi returned to her own room, locking the door and turning off the light.

Hmm, that should be enough to prevent any problems.

Half an hour later, the magical girl [Sirius] arrived at the mission location.

This was the Manglang Gang’s hideout? Looking at the half-finished, abandoned building on the outskirts, Xiaoxi curled her lips in disdain.

The unfinished structure took on a sinister air in the night.

Xiaoxi knew this place—apparently a big investor planned a new shopping district here, but the project was abandoned after the investor ran off with the money.

What was left was a mess no one wanted to clean up.

These monster organizations have really gone downhill if they’re using a dilapidated site like this as their base.

Back during the chaos, powerful groups controlled entire cities without blinking.

Miss L handed out communicators to the three of them and briefly reviewed the operation plan.

Mu Xingge listened while sneaking glances at the two newcomers.

[Little Red Riding Hood] looked nervous, which was normal for her first mission like this.

But what surprised her was that [Sirius] showed no reaction at all—did this rookie really have such strong nerves?

“…Alright then, your mission is to capture all members of the Manglang Gang alive. Begin.”

After Miss L’s instructions, under the cover of darkness, the three magical girls stealthily entered the abandoned building separately.

Xiaoxi had initially been trying to focus, wanting to take the mission seriously, but she soon realized there were no low-level thugs patrolling or standing guard.

She didn’t even need to move silently; she could just storm in and search.

The Manglang Gang clearly hadn’t prepared any defenses.

Xiaoxi quickly searched the area and soon found their targets on the third floor.

Peering through a window, Xiaoxi saw many people gathered, drinking together.

In one corner, there were numerous boxes stacked up, contents unknown.

Scattered atop them were brand-name clothes, luxury watches, and other valuable items.

Xiaoxi frowned in disappointment.

These punks were all just ordinary humans—no monsters among them.

It seemed pointless to keep sneaking around.

But where did these lowlifes get so many valuables? Could it all be loot?

Feeling as comfortable as if at home, Xiaoxi pushed open the door and walked in.

“Good evening, everyone. The Magical Girl Association is here on official business. Please cooperate—”

“Magical girls!”

The sudden announcement stunned the punks, then panic set in.

“B-boss, what do we do? The magical girls really showed up!”

“Why panic?” A buzz-cut young man who seemed to be the leader stared hard at Xiaoxi. “This one’s magic fluctuation is only D-rank, and there’s just one of her. Magical girls aren’t all-powerful! Let’s take her down together!”

The Manglang Gang thugs snapped out of their shock.

Their eyes turned from confused to malicious as they raised their weapons and charged.

Xiaoxi shrugged expressionlessly and fought back with swift, precise punches, knocking out three of them in no time.

[Sirius]’s abilities were perfect for close-quarters combat, with strong solo burst power.

Yet this was also her weakness—after all, things that could be solved by blasting magic cannons in [Venus] form were now done through bare-knuckle fighting.

Beating up these punks was one thing, but if she ran into large monsters, close combat would be completely ineffective.

After knocking out a few more, Xiaoxi suddenly stopped and realized something.

“Wait, D+ ranked magical girls aren’t supposed to take down this many people so fast. Am I hitting too hard?”

She heard a “indeed” from Miss L through the communicator and scratched her head.

“…Maybe we should do it again, and I’ll go easier this time?”

Is this really the strength a D-rank magical girl should have?

The Manglang Gang thugs weren’t fools.

Now they all realized how terrifying this girl was.

One by one, they dropped their weapons and scattered.

Xiaoxi sighed. Following the principle that “D-rank magical girls can’t hold back this many people at once,” she knocked out a few more symbolically, then reported the situation to the other two via communicator.

The rest was boring.

With the other two joining in, the scattered thugs were quickly rounded up and tied together.

Xiaoxi shook her head.

It really was just a bunch of punks… but something felt off.

How could a gang of punks be connected to such a large-scale monster attack case?

“Minister L, the count is done. Except for the Manglang Gang leader, everyone else has been captured.”

Xiaoxi recalled—the leader was the buzz-cut youth from earlier.

Since he could identify the magic fluctuation levels on her, he must be the one Miss L mentioned who “knows a little monster tech.”

“Hmm…” Miss L hesitated briefly over the communicator. “Don’t pursue him. Let’s change tactics. If he wants to run, let him run.”

“Just block the exits. Don’t worry, logistics has people there too. He won’t get far.”

This building had only three exits—perfect for them to be blocked by one person each.

Miss L intended to trap him like a turtle in a jar.

***

Inside the higher floors of the abandoned building.

The buzz-cut youth who had shouted at the others was now trembling behind a large concrete slab.

When fleeing earlier, he went upstairs instead of with the others, so he wasn’t caught immediately.

With shaking hands, he pulled out his phone and slammed the call button.

After a few rings, the call connected.

“The Magical Girls from the Association have come! What should I do now?”

“Hm… that is rather unlucky, Canglang.”

A low voice came from the other end.

“Don’t give me that crap! You told me this job was safe! And you promised you’d save me if anything happened!”