Although she didn’t understand why Xiaoxi was so adamant about not letting her help, Ye Xinglan still obediently returned to the compartment as Xiaoxi insisted.
After all, the great Blood Moon Witch was confident enough in her own abilities—if anything really happened to Xiaoxi, it still wouldn’t be too late for her to step in and save the day.
So Ye Xinglan secretly used black mud, stretching out a slender tentacle near Xiaoxi and Xiaohongmao to observe the situation.
Then, she overheard Xiaoxi’s two responses.
Hearing this, Ye Xinglan, who had just been worried about Xiaoxi, couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Just one look and she could diagnose it: Hakixi really needs to be taught a lesson.
Hearing Xiaoxi’s quick and fluent replies, Xiao Keke stopped asking questions.
Judging from this, the person she mentioned earlier really doesn’t sound like Xinglan-jie.
Could she have mistaken someone else?
No, if Sirius really is my older sister, she definitely wouldn’t tell me the truth.
With that half-skeptical mindset, Xiaohongmao kept secretly observing Sirius’s battle.
Honestly, deep down, she didn’t really believe Sirius and her sister were the same person.
To her, Sirius’s fighting style was crisp and efficient.
The wolf tail and gauntlet design looked heroic—completely different from the image of her sister in her mind.
As for what her sister was like in her mind?
A shut-in, perverted, good-for-nothing degenerate, who—besides looking a little cute—had absolutely no redeeming qualities.
Someone completely incompatible with a dashing girl like Sirius!
Seeing that the monsters were about to be cleared out, Xiaohongmao also withdrew her gaze.
Well, it doesn’t matter. If Sis is also taking this Train back to North Blossom City, then she doesn’t have to use this method to confirm whether Sis and Sirius are the same person.
Hidden in the shadows, Ye Xinglan pouted. These two are taking forever to clear out such a weak group of monsters.
If she had gone in, it would have been over already.
Clumsy and slow, wasting time. Of course, Ye Xinglan was talking about the other Magic Girl—their own Xiaoxi was performing excellently~
“Phew, finally done~”
Xiaohongmao wiped the sweat from her forehead, while Xiaoxi was already sneaking away.
“Aha, since the monsters are dealt with, I’ll head back first…”
The ground gave a slight tremor, interrupting Xiaoxi’s words.
Xiaohongmao, who had been resting on the ground, sprang to her feet in alarm.
“What now? Don’t tell me it’s an earthquake?”
“No, I don’t think so…”
Xiaoxi’s expression grew serious as she stared at the ground.
She’d already sensed the rapidly rising surge of magic energy from below.
“Speaking of which, according to some legends, the Shandie Worms are a clan species with a leader—among a group of worms, there’s usually a Worm King… Xiaohongmao, get back!”
Xiaoxi’s face changed as she grabbed Xiaohongmao and dove aside. In the next second, a massive worm burst from underground, kicking up a storm of dust.
With a resounding “clang,” the worm’s abyssal maw snapped shut, its jaws clashing with nothing between them.
Just from its sheer size, you could tell that this Shandie Worm was in a completely different league from the earlier ones!
The body of this Shandie Worm was five or six times thicker than the previous ones, and its length was immeasurable.
The upper half crashed down on the tracks, while the lower half was still bursting from the giant hole in the ground.
The part of its body above the surface was already as long as half the Train carriage.
Compared to this Worm King, those earlier Shandie Worms were nothing more than Q Version Pets!
Xiaoxi clenched her fist. This Worm King was at least a B-class Monster…
Damn, she’d already smashed a C-class Monster with one punch in front of Xiaohongmao earlier.
If she, a C+ rank Magic Girl, suddenly powered up and punched this B-class Monster to death, it should barely make sense, right?
But before Xiaoxi could act, a beam of magic light suddenly exploded on the Worm King’s massive body.
The Worm King howled, slamming its weight down on the wasteland.
“Be careful! Don’t let the monster’s body damage the Train! Lure it over here before attacking!”
“Magic Girls with [Guardian] Attribute, go protect the parts of the track where the magic barrier has failed!”
Urgent voices rang out from nearby. Ye Xinglan, hiding in the Train, gave up the idea of transforming…
Looks like North Blossom City’s Magic Girl Squad had arrived to support them.
That meant the great Blood Moon Witch wouldn’t need to take the stage, right?
Xiaoxi breathed a sigh of relief, watching six or seven Magic Girls engage the Worm King.
It looked like they wouldn’t need to intervene any further.
A girl with short chestnut hair walked over to the two of them. “It was you two stalling for time just now, right?”
The short-haired girl looked them over, and Xiaoxi studied her in return.
She had crisp chestnut hair and deep brown eyes, her face expressionless.
Even though she was making small talk, her tone was quite cold.
“You’re a Magic Girl from North Blossom City?”
Xiaoxi sensed something was off. The newcomer was definitely from The Association, but she wasn’t sure if she was a Magic Girl—she didn’t have any Recognition Filter Magic on her.
If she was from the Logistics Department, then according to the rules, Logistics staff shouldn’t appear at the scene before the Magic Girls finish their battle.
“I’m from the Magic Girl Squad—Qiuli. Are you two Magic Girls dispatched to support North Blossom City?”
Her reply seemed a bit off-topic, but Xiaoxi still politely shook her hand and confirmed.
“I see. Thank you for your help. We’ll take over from here.”
Clearly, this Qiuli was the cold and quiet type. After just a couple of greetings, she turned and left.
“Hey, Alang, our new colleague doesn’t look very easy to talk to… Huh? Alang?”
When Qiuli walked away, Xiaohongmao nudged Xiaoxi with her elbow, only to jab empty air.
She turned, discovering that Xiaoxi had vanished without a trace.
Where’d she go? How could she disappear in the blink of an eye? Clocking out this fast?
Something’s off… Alang’s always been mysterious, but running off this fast today? Something definitely feels fishy!
Xiaohongmao narrowed her eyes, glancing at the halted Train not far away.
When Xiaoxi sneaked back to her seat, Ye Xinglan was sulking with her arms crossed.
“Hmph! So this is why you wouldn’t let me help, huh? You wanted to duo up sweetly with that little fox spirit. And just now you said you didn’t know me and even called me ugly! You really don’t want to admit you know me in front of that fox, do you?”
“I remember now! That Magic Girl was your teammate in Summersea City, right? She totally has the aura of a fox seductress! And such a weak fighter… Was she waiting for you to save her on purpose? Shameless!”
“The way you dove in to save her, all heroic and dashing, was so cool, Xiaoxi~”
Ye Xinglan’s tone was laced with sarcasm. She wasn’t truly angry; she just felt unsatisfied with Xiaoxi’s earlier replies.
Now she wanted to seize the chance to find an excuse to give Xiaoxi a good thrashing later.
“Tell me! Did that little fox spirit seduce you first, or did you seduce her?”
Faced with Ye Xinglan’s barrage, Xiaoxi smiled helplessly.
“That Magic Girl just now was actually Xiao Keke.”
Ye Xinglan: “.…”
“…Ah, so it’s our little sister! Why didn’t you say so earlier? Our sister’s battle was amazing—I thought that Magic Girl fought really well and had such promise! Seriously, so it was our sister, huh? That explains everything!”
Ye Xinglan changed her expression in an instant, giving two big thumbs-up and grinning kindly.
Then she slapped Xiaoxi’s back heartily, not looking the least bit embarrassed—like the person who’d just been cursing the fox spirit moments ago wasn’t her at all.
“This isn’t the time to talk about this! Xinglan, that brat definitely noticed you just now!”
Judging from those two rounds of questioning earlier, that brat was obviously suspicious.
Xiaoxi was sure she’d go as far as to search every Train compartment one by one.
If she caught them on the spot, Xiaoxi knew she’d never be able to explain it!
But the problem was, the Train was only so big—there was nowhere to hide!
They couldn’t just sit at their seats and hope Xiao Keke wouldn’t find them, could they?
No, calm down!
Outside, the giant Worm King crashed to the ground, clearly finished off.
That meant the Train would be running again soon, right?
If the Train was still in the middle of nowhere, there’d be no escape.
But Xiaoxi remembered the attendant had said they were only a few kilometers from North Blossom City.
At the Train’s speed, they’d arrive in just a few minutes—there wouldn’t be enough time for Xiao Keke to search all the carriages!
As long as she and Ye Xinglan covered their faces and pretended to sleep, maybe they could muddle through!
Xiaoxi clapped her hands, just about to tell Ye Xinglan this plan, when the Train’s announcement system suddenly sounded.
“Dear passengers, due to track damage from monster attacks, this train will be delayed for repairs. Please wait patiently. We apologize for the inconvenience…”
Complaints filled the carriage, and Xiaoxi’s cheer instantly faded.
She remembered—when that Worm King burst up from the ground earlier, it had landed right on the stretch of rail without a magic barrier!
Darn it, could Alanbel spare her some of her good luck for once?
Now, there was more than enough time for Xiao Keke to search the whole Train.
No excuse would be good enough to fool her—they’d have to find a place to hide. But…
For a moment, Xiaoxi felt she’d been forced into a corner. This was the Train, and space was so limited.
Unless she hid outside the train, there was nowhere to go!
“Xiaoxi, Xiaoxi, look—all the Magic Girls are done and leaving. How long are we supposed to wait here?”
Following Ye Xinglan’s finger, Xiaoxi saw the Magic Girls, having finished the battle, laughing as they got into a small bus parked nearby—clearly heading home after completing their mission.
Xiaoxi’s eyes instantly lit up. That’s right! Who says there’s nowhere to hide?
The sky never closes all paths—so long as she wants to leave, there’s always a road beneath her feet!