Chapter 144: Loophole

Student Council?

Su Ling instinctively put away the Magic Cube.

Three people, wearing matching uniforms, with standard-issue pistols holstered at their waists.

The one in front seemed to be the captain, holding a small notebook with a very serious expression.

She glanced at Su Ling, a flash of admiration in her eyes, then furrowed her brow.

“Name? What are you doing here?”

“Uh… what do you think?”

Su Ling blurted out.

Hearing this, the three exchanged glances.

Right, what else could someone be here for?

They looked at the various mutilated limb specimens on the walls, and the two behind the captain shivered.

The captain sized up Su Ling, lingering on her arm for a moment.

“Sha Yuan? Is she inside?”

An old acquaintance.

She actually knows Sha Yuan.

The captain walked toward the inner room, the two behind following closely.

Su Ling noticed their hands unconsciously drifting toward their holsters, and her heart sank.

Damn, how did the Student Council get here so fast?

Su Ling gritted her teeth and stood in front of the three.

The atmosphere instantly turned tense.

“What do you mean?”

The captain narrowed her eyes.

“My friend is treating her injuries inside… Can you wait a moment?”

“Injured? Where?”

Su Ling was about to say “leg,” since the Student Council was obviously here to investigate the suspect who had swapped severed hands.

But she caught a glint of scrutiny in the captain’s eyes—like an old fox patiently waiting for prey to step into a trap.

“Her hand. She went hunting earlier and broke her left arm, so I came to get a new one. A Transcendent Witch’s hand—cost me over five million.”

Su Ling stuck out her tongue.

Hearing this, the captain was visibly taken aback.

But the two behind got excited.

“Captain, she’s…”

The captain raised her hand to stop them.

She stared hard at Su Ling, trying to tell if this beautiful girl was lying.

No loophole.

“Then we’ll wait for your friend to come out. We have some questions to ask.”

The captain scribbled something in her notebook.

Su Ling breathed a small sigh of relief.

She could have said the leg or another body part, but then when Yan Lin came out, it would definitely raise suspicion.

These Enforcement Department people weren’t stupid—they could tell whether it was a hand or a leg being attached.

That would be a classic case of protesting too much.

Better to answer truthfully.

And she used the most common excuse for coming here—hunting injuries from elective courses at the Witch Academy.

Breaking arms and legs in fights with Magic Beasts was common.

But…

Su Ling bit her lip.

She was afraid the Student Council would take her away separately and then question Yan Lin.

If their stories didn’t match, it’d be disastrous.

Su Ling slipped her hand into her pocket, gently rubbing the Magic Cube’s surface.

Long Ying was already spent.

Only Luo Qianxue and the Five-Minute Elf remained.

Inside the room, the atmosphere was suffocating.

The captain seemed to be watching her, giving Su Ling no chance to pull out her phone and send a message.

Just as everyone was about to be crushed by the pressure, two figures finally emerged from the back room.

Yan Lin and Sha Yuan.

“What’s going on?”

Sha Yuan’s forehead was covered in fine sweat.

Yan Lin had fully recovered.

As soon as Su Ling saw her, she was stopped by the two behind the captain.

Su Ling’s heart sank.

Just as I feared.

Su Ling looked at Yan Lin.

At that moment, Yan Lin also looked over.

Their eyes met.

“Hello, we’d like to ask about a few things…”

Su Ling was led to the door by the two.

She could no longer hear the captain’s conversation with Yan Lin.

Su Ling sat by the door with the two.

On the left was the stall selling QQ Props.

“Tsk, long time no see. Never thought I’d run into this stuff here.”

The person on Su Ling’s left marveled.

The one on the right craned her neck to look, also unable to suppress a snicker.

Su Ling’s attention was drawn to it too.

“Haha, you must be an underclassman, right? Never seen these before?”

The left one chuckled.

Su Ling scratched her head and nodded.

She also leaned over to look at the stall.

All embarrassing little toys.

But why do they feel… so… cold?

“Your instincts are right. These aren’t for the living—they’re for the undead in the Third Universe.”

The one on the right could barely hold it in and burst out laughing.

Su Ling blinked in confusion.

“Huh?”

“Oh dear, not all undead immediately enter Samsara. They have to take a number and queue up. During that time, the undead live in the Third Universe.”

“Even though they’re undead, they’re still Witches, and they have needs too. These things are for them. Usually, you write the undead’s info on it, then burn it for them.”

The two went back and forth.

Su Ling’s mind was still reeling.

Then it hit her.

These two are distracting me!

Her heart jolted.

Just then, a figure appeared behind her.

It was the captain.

She looked down at Su Ling from above.

Su Ling’s hand tightened around the Magic Cube in her pocket.

Time seemed to stretch infinitely.

“Let’s go.”

The captain nodded at Su Ling, then called to the two at the door.

“Captain?”

“No problem. We’ll head to the next location.”

“Oh, I see. Hehe, by the way, Captain, I heard that sister-in-law has been feeling lonely in the Third Universe. Since they’re selling these here, why not…?”

“…………”

Watching their retreating figures, Su Ling suddenly realized her back was drenched in cold sweat.

“I don’t care who you people are, but the deal is done. If you need anything else, you’re welcome anytime.”

Sha Yuan yawned, signaling them to leave.

Then Yan Lin walked over.

They looked at each other, both knowing they had a lot to say.

Su Ling glanced at Yan Lin’s arm—pale, slender, beautiful.

Su Ling thanked Sha Yuan, then pulled Yan Lin to leave quickly.

She no longer had the mood to browse the Black Market.

Following the instructions in the document Tian Tian had given her, she found the way out.

After walking for what felt like ages, Su Ling spotted a street lined with neon lights, and her tense heart finally relaxed.

“What did that Student Council person ask you?”

Su Ling brought Yan Lin into a café that was still open.

They ordered coffee.

Under the caffeine’s stimulation, both seemed to shake off some fatigue.

“She asked me how I broke my hand.”

“And what did you say?”

Su Ling’s heart leaped into her throat.

“I said I broke it sparring with someone on the Heavenly Ladder.”

“!”

Su Ling’s breath caught.

She felt a chill run through her entire body.

Yan Lin seemed to realize something was wrong, her eyes filled with unease.

“What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?”

The Heavenly Ladder was where Academy students sparred.

Sometimes things got rough, breaking arms and legs was normal.

“That person asked me the same question earlier. I said… you were injured during a hunt…”

Su Ling’s scalp went numb.

She didn’t blame Yan Lin for not reading her mind—this wasn’t a novel; how could they be so perfectly in sync?

Now her head was filled with one question.

What the hell does that captain mean?

She clearly knows we’re lying, yet she said there was no problem?

At that very moment.

“Boo-hoo, Captain, can’t you just buy it with your own money? My piggy bank, boo-hoo…”

The trio.

The captain was holding a beautifully wrapped box.

On the box were drawings of very embarrassing toys.

“I’ll pay you back.”

“Oh come on, just think of it as repaying sister-in-law. If it weren’t for her, you’d be the one reporting to the Third Universe.”

“I didn’t say anything either… But Captain, is sister-in-law… okay? She still hasn’t got her number to enter Samsara. Is it because of those Company dogs we offended before?”

“Those Company dogs’ reach isn’t that long. Alright, don’t blame yourself. Xiao Ai saved you—it was her choice.”

The captain’s eyes dimmed a little.

She closed her notebook.

“Alright, mission complete. Let’s get back to sleep.”

“Yay!”

“Tch, that Minister is a real jerk, always rushing to lick the Company’s boots. I think Se Lin is a cat.”

The captain smiled but said nothing.

A breeze blew.

Under the night sky, a slowly burning piece of paper turned to ash.

On it were recorded the words spoken by Su Ling and Yan Lin.