After steadily catching the unconscious Blazing Flame, Xu Wenxing’s heart was thumping, and he gasped for breath.
He hadn’t expected that Blazing Flame, who usually seemed the most reassuring and was publicly recognized as the strongest, would actually suffer from extreme exhaustion.
‘Was this Shadow Beast too strong, forcing Blazing Flame to give her all, or has she been overworking herself all this time?’
Xu Wenxing grew curious, imagining various possibilities in his mind.
As he thought, he reached for his mobile phone, intending to call a few colleagues he knew.
Xu Wenxing knew very well that no citizens were staying in the area he was responsible for.
He had come here to notify everyone of the critical situation purely to prevent people from seeking death by trying to take photos on the front lines of the battle.
There wasn’t even a taxi nearby. If he had to rely purely on physical strength to carry a person all the way back home, he hoped they would just spare him.
However…
Well…
Looking at Blazing Flame’s peaceful sleeping face, Xu Wenxing felt a bit surprised.
Although the everyday Lu Ren had a steady personality, he was a very reliable person.
It was for that reason that he had always viewed the other as a friend.
Even after learning that his friend was the Magic Girl Blazing Flame, he never felt there was anything particularly special about it.
He only thought, ‘It’s great that Blazing Flame is actually Brother Ren. Brother Ren is quite dependable.’
It wasn’t until today, seeing Blazing Flame collapse before him and feeling the warmth of that petite body resting against his arm, that he realized some things were different.
Magical Girls were called girls because they were girls who could use magic, weren’t they?
A girl was a girl. No matter how much things changed, their essence was still that of a girl…
‘No, what am I thinking?’
Realizing his thoughts were going down a rabbit hole, Xu Wenxing hurried to shake his head.
He carried Blazing Flame to an open space and leaned her body against a tree, then picked up his mobile phone to start looking for help.
Director Xu’s phone returned a busy signal, and Sapphire’s phone only gave a series of beeps.
It wasn’t until he dialed Meteor’s number that a familiar voice finally came from the other end.
“Hello? Xu Wenxing? Do you need something?”
“Cough, Miss Meteor, can you drive to the vicinity of Fanxing Church?” Xu Wenxing said hurriedly.
“Blazing Flame has fallen unconscious at the scene. I want to transfer her to the hospital or take her back home. Please.”
“Eh? Bla—Blazing Flame lost consciousness?! Wait! I’ll be there right away!”
“There’s no need to be that rushed; Blazing Flame’s vital signs are all normal…”
The call was disconnected.
Hearing the situation Xu Wenxing described, Meteor seemed like a different person, instantly becoming frantic.
As a result, less than ten minutes after Xu Wenxing finished the call, he saw a private car racing toward him at a breakneck speed.
It was moving so fast that it seemed to disappear from its original spot in the blink of an eye.
“Quick! Get in! We’re taking Blazing Flame to the hospital!”
“Uh…”
To Xu Wenxing’s surprise, the person driving wasn’t Meteor, but Xu Panfeng, whose phone hadn’t gone through earlier.
His expression was tense, as if he had encountered a monumental disaster, fearing that something might happen to Blazing Flame.
Xu Wenxing looked at Director Xu, then at Meteor. After a few seconds of silence, he slowly spoke up to explain.
“Blazing Flame just fell unconscious due to overwork. It’s not like she needs a trip to the hospital, right?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just go to the hospital for a checkup first!”
Director Xu waved his hand with a serious expression. There was simply no room for Xu Wenxing to refuse in his tone.
Seeing the other’s firm attitude and also wanting to prevent any actual accidents from happening to Blazing Flame, Xu Wenxing nodded.
He lifted Blazing Flame into the back seat and followed Director Xu into the car.
On the way to the hospital, Xu Wenxing occasionally shifted his attention, moving his gaze to Blazing Flame, who looked like an exquisite porcelain doll, quietly watching her.
He didn’t know why he cared so much about Blazing Flame’s condition, but he just couldn’t stop worrying and wanted to keep an eye on her.
It wasn’t until the hospital staff carried Blazing Flame into a ward to perform various physical tests that the worry in Xu Wenxing’s heart finally subsided.
He sat down in a seat in the hospital corridor, scanned his surroundings, and waited quietly for the test results to come out.
Xu Panfeng stood at the hospital entrance for a while before coming over to Xu Wenxing’s side.
“Want one?”
Director Xu took a pack of Lizhong cigarettes out of his trouser pocket, offered one to Xu Wenxing, and asked with a calm face.
Xu Wenxing shook his head and replied, “I don’t smoke. By the way, I remember you didn’t use to smoke these either, Director Xu. Why did you start lighting up recently?”
“Exhaustion.”
“Exhaustion?”
Xu Wenxing was a bit confused. He carefully observed the other man and found that his physique was still robust, with no traces of fatigue visible anywhere on his body.
Noticing Xu Wenxing’s gaze, Director Xu just smiled slightly, put the cigarette back, and spoke.
“You and your roommate worked hard regarding the Fanxing Church matter. You’ve done City A a great favor. I can apply for a lifelong subsidy for both of you, guaranteeing that you’ll have no worries about food or clothing for the rest of your lives.”
“Uh… ask Brother Ren about that. I’ll pass. I feel like I just did a small amount of work.”
“Haha, if you think you’ve only done a small amount of work, then the staff members of Monster Response Departments across the world would be lazy employees who eat but don’t work.”
Director Xu laughed loudly. The expression on his face gradually softened, and his whole being seemed much more relaxed.
Xu Wenxing scratched his head. He thought to himself that he really hadn’t done much, but since he didn’t want Director Xu to misunderstand, he looked around and spoke up to change the subject.
“Right, where’s Meteor? Wasn’t she with us just now? Why is she gone?”
“Oh, you mean Meteor? She went with Sapphire to handle the remaining Shadow Beasts. I expect this accident will be wrapped up in about two hours,” Director Xu replied.
“That fast? Then it seems the impact wasn’t very large.”
“Not very large?” Director Xu let out a cold laugh. “You’re overthinking it. The impact caused by this accident was quite staggering. In just half a day, it almost claimed the lives of all citizens in City A!”
“…What?”
“If Blazing Flame hadn’t succeeded in her decapitation strike, causing the majority of the monsters active in City A to suddenly die, City A would have been reduced to a dead city in five hours.”
Looking at the stunned Xu Wenxing, Director Xu lowered his voice and told him just how violent the severity of this hazard was.
Hearing this, Xu Wenxing bit his lip and rubbed his chin. He hadn’t expected the Shadow Beast disaster that occurred today to be so terrifying.
Seeing that Xu Wenxing had understood the impact of the disaster, Director Xu nodded with satisfaction and continued.
“That’s why I said you and your roommate have done us a huge favor. You are qualified to have no worries about food or clothing for a lifetime.”
“…I thought you were just being polite a moment ago.”
“How could that be? Do you think someone like me has the energy to play word games with you young people?” Director Xu laughed. “Wenxing, once Blazing Flame wakes up, please take good care of her. Go out for more walks with her and help her relax.”
“Oh, okay.” Xu Wenxing nodded and agreed.
“Additionally, there’s something I need to explain to you in advance. I hope that after you know this, you can still look at your roommate with a normal perspective rather than discriminating against her.”
“What is it? Something that could lead to discrimination? That’s an exaggeration.”
“Of course not; this is about Blazing Flame herself.” Director Xu stopped smiling. “According to our investigation, Blazing Flame’s birthplace and parents are all unknown. She is a person of unknown origin.”
“…Unknown origin?” Xu Wenxing muttered to himself.