The red-haired, green-eyed girl with a single braid appeared once again.
She was Yang Mo’s older sister, Yang Xia, and today she was also wearing her school uniform just like Yang Mo.
At first, Yang Xia looked like she was in a hurry, but upon seeing Yang Mo, she seemed to let out a sigh of relief. At that moment, Yang Mo was still standing in the living room, and she asked the girl at the door, “Sister, why are you here today?”
“Yang Mo, thank goodness you’re alright.”
She immediately pulled out her phone and showed Yang Mo a screen that looked like some sort of forum app.
“Haven’t you checked the Message Board?”
“Not yet, I don’t really use my phone at school. Did something happen?”
Yang Xia sighed at her response, then said, “Just look and you’ll understand.”
So, Yang Mo took out her phone and opened the same panel.
This software, which Yang Xia called the “Message Board,” was a tool for Magical Girls to share information.
It looked just like an ordinary forum, but in fact, it was strictly managed by an organization known as the “Support Club,” and all users were one hundred percent Magical Girls.
The most common posts on this board were about enemy intel and requests for help from other Magical Girls.
The most recent post immediately caught Yang Mo’s attention.
She clicked into it and found that it had been posted by a user with the ID “Huang Ya,” whose profile picture was a steaming cup of coffee.
The post was brief, saying:
A Bad Witch escaped from me, and may have fled to Xinghu Town or even further from the city center.
The target is a doll in the shape of a girl, with silver hair and red eyes, capable of rapid movement using steel tentacles that shoot from her palms.
Be careful, she’s the kind who targets Magical Girls.
A post like this naturally sparked a heated discussion among the Magical Girls.
User ID “Su Xi”: She actually got away from Huang Ya? Looks like she’s a worthy opponent.
User ID “Yuan Wei”: Could she come to my area… Wow, I’ll be careful!
User ID “You Ying”: What a tenacious one. If I run into her, I’ll make her regret not being finished off quickly and cleanly.
However, no one reacted as strongly to this post as Yang Mo did.
“This… these features!” Yang Mo was so shocked her jaw dropped.
A doll with silver hair and red eyes… Isn’t that Qian Ling?!
She forced herself not to shout out the words.
“That’s right, the reason I rushed back was exactly because of this.” Yang Xia took two steps closer, her expression severe as she said, “There’s no doubt that the one they’re talking about is the same as yesterday. Now you see? She’s attacked other Magical Girls—she’s absolutely an evil Bad Witch.”
But Yang Mo stubbornly held her ground, pouting. “There must be some misunderstanding. Qian Ling would never do something like that.”
“Qian Ling is that doll’s name, right? Why are you still calling her that so intimately?”
As soon as she finished, Yang Xia seemed to realize something.
“Don’t tell me…”
“Ah…” Yang Mo realized her mistake and reflexively covered her mouth with her hand.
This only made Yang Xia more certain of her suspicions.
“She’s still here, isn’t she!”
Saying this, she immediately headed toward the deeper part of the house.
“Sister, wait!”
Even though Yang Mo tried to stop her, Yang Xia ignored her completely.
Yang Xia went straight into the most suspicious room—the storage room.
Compared to yesterday, nothing had changed in the room except for a cardboard box in the corner.
Unlike last night, without the cover of darkness, the difference was quite obvious.
With a disdainful snort, she grabbed both sides of the box, intending to lift it.
Just as she was about to use force, she suddenly felt resistance pulling the box back.
“You’ve been found, so you might as well give up!”
Yang Xia called out to the box, but the person inside seemed determined to compete with her in strength.
“Nnngh…!”
When she finally used her full strength, the box was completely flipped over, and she casually tossed it aside.
The person hiding inside was instantly exposed.
It was a doll-like girl in a maid outfit, kneeling with her hands raised midair, still in the posture of trying to hold onto the box.
Though her face showed no other expression, her slightly open mouth seemed to show her surprise.
Thinking you could go into stealth mode by hiding under a cardboard box… what a lie.
That was exactly what she was thinking at that moment.
“You…”
Yang Xia had barely spoken when Qian Ling retreated in a flash to the window, striking a defensive stance and reaching into her pocket for something.
The movement made Yang Xia tense up at once, ready to transform into a Magical Girl at any second.
But when Qian Ling finally pulled out the object, Yang Xia was left speechless.
“I surrender. According to the Geneva Convention, you’re not allowed to mistreat prisoners of war.”
What Qian Ling held was a tiny white flag, no bigger than a palm.
Looking at Qian Ling’s strange actions, Yang Xia felt her whole body lose strength.
She thought long and hard, unsure of what kind of mood she should have in this situation.
In the end, holding her forehead, she said, “Fine. I’ll give you a chance to explain yourself. If I can’t accept it, I’ll destroy you, got it?”
“That’s wonderful, Sister! You’re finally willing to make peace!”
Beside her, Yang Mo clapped her hands together with a bright, joyful tone.
Even though Yang Xia immediately objected, “I never said I’d make peace!”
It sounded no different from a breeze blowing past her ear.
Qian Ling silently gave Yang Mo a big thumbs up, as if declaring victory, and Yang Mo beamed as she returned the gesture.
Seeing how in sync the two were, Yang Xia felt even weaker in the knees.
As for Qian Ling, this outcome was not entirely unexpected.
She’d been thinking since yesterday about how to handle the Yang Xia problem.
If she kept hiding or running away, that would only increase the chances of a fight between them.
If possible, she wanted to talk things out…
She recalled what happened yesterday when she fled Yang Mo’s house.
Back then, Yang Xia hadn’t given chase—could it be she’d listened to what I said?
If I can get her to relax, maybe there’s a chance for a conversation.
That was why she didn’t immediately run even after being discovered.
But even so, she still had one worry.
What if Yang Xia attacked on sight—what then?
After fighting with the Bad Witch this morning, that concern had been put to rest.
If it comes down to it, I’ll just run away again, and keep explaining as I go until she’s willing to listen!
With her current strength, she was confident she could pull that off.
Thinking of this, she grew smug and folded her arms, letting out a “hmph hmph” of self-satisfaction.
Little did she know, this only made Yang Xia sigh helplessly once again.