Lu Yuan felt a warm liquid trickle down her forehead.
It was blood.
“Huff… huff…”
“Ugh!!!”
A sharp, sudden gasp, and Lu Yuan’s consciousness jolted awake as if the world before her had been rewound in reverse.
The centipede’s corpse began writhing again, Lin Wan stepped back away from her, and Chen Xin withdrew her gun from Lin Wan’s back, letting it drop to her side.
Everything had returned to thirty seconds earlier.
Back to the moment when Lu Yuan had last fired her shot, killing the centipede.
Chen Xin… was going to kill me?!
Lu Yuan’s pupils constricted fiercely, cold sweat drenched her back, and her hand raised the gun, aiming at the centipede with her finger on the trigger—but she hesitated for a long moment without firing.
The time rewind had triggered again… I really did die just now.
“Lu Yuan?!” Lin Wan’s voice pulled Lu Yuan’s awareness back into her body.
She suddenly noticed the distorted centipede in front of her. This time, she didn’t choose to fire at the centipede’s face up close.
Lu Yuan raised her gun, transforming the rifle into sniper mode. The stock extended backward, while a stabilizing bipod unfolded beneath the barrel. The scope rose from above the barrel, multiple lenses spreading out like blossoming petals.
A deep breath, aim, fire.
“Bang!”
A precise sniper shot—the centipede calamity’s corpse collapsed with a thunderous crash. This time, its death throes didn’t entangle anyone.
Lin Wan exhaled in relief, wiping the sweat from her forehead. “Finally taken care of.”
She turned to Chen Xin with some concern. “Officer Chen, are you okay?”
Chen Xin’s expression stiffened for a moment.
Her fingers absentmindedly caressed her sidearm as her gaze flickered between Lu Yuan and Lin Wan. Finally, she forced a slightly awkward smile. “I’m fine… thanks to you.”
Lu Yuan stared intently at Chen Xin’s hand. She could feel the subtle attempt to conceal the pistol.
She was still pretending.
Lu Yuan frowned.
Because I wasn’t entangled, she had no chance to act.
Unaware, Lin Wan stepped beside Chen Xin. “Is your leg injury serious? Let me help you back to the car.”
“No need.” Chen Xin smiled. “You two should check the calamity core first.”
Why… why would Sister Chen Xin turn on us? She’s the kind of good cop who would help an old lady catch a cat, who even pretended to be the daughter of that old lady just to make her happy. Why?
Lu Yuan stood still, unsure what expression to wear toward Chen Xin now.
Moreover, ordinary bullets couldn’t possibly harm a Magical Girl… What kind of bullets did she have in that pistol?
A normal police officer shouldn’t have access to bullets capable of killing a Magical Girl. Who gave her that?
The enemy of Magical Girls is the Calamity, which has no intelligence. She couldn’t have gotten it from a Calamity, so…
***
Rose?!
“Lu Yuan?” Lin Wan tilted her head. “What are you spacing out about?”
“Nothing.”
The rifle shifted and shrank back into a crystal in Lu Yuan’s hand. She hung it back on her chest.
For now, she couldn’t let Chen Xin see that she knew her true intentions. Nor could she make a move to arrest her outright—not without knowing if Chen Xin had other trump cards.
She smiled at Chen Xin.
“We need to report this calamity to Headquarters. Sister Chen Xin, please handle the scene here.” Lu Yuan said, “Thank you for your hard work.”
“No problem, no problem. It’s what we police should do.” Chen Xin smiled and waved her off.
“Eh? There’s no rush to report…” Lin Wan started to say something but immediately had her mouth covered by Lu Yuan.
“Sister Chen Xin! We’re heading out first!” Lu Yuan grabbed Lin Wan’s hand and dashed away.
“Oh… okay.”
***
Lu Yuan dragged Lin Wan running until Chen Xin was out of sight before stopping.
Lin Wan finally pulled free, slightly breathless from having her mouth covered.
“Huff… huff…”
Her cheeks flushed red as she caught her breath.
Lu Yuan looked at Lin Wan’s flushed face and realized she might have been a little rough just now.
“Sorry, I went a bit overboard…” Lu Yuan apologized.
Lin Wan said nothing. She licked her lips, looking rather wistful.
The scent of Lu Yuan still lingered on her lips, but the girl didn’t seem to mind the rough treatment.
***
Shaking her head, Lu Yuan returned to the matter at hand. She pulled Lin Wan into a nearly deserted corner.
“Eh? Lu Yuan… not here…”
Lin Wan fidgeted nervously. Lu Yuan sighed inwardly, wishing she could shake some sense into this girl’s love-struck brain.
“Chen Xin is trouble.” Lu Yuan cut to the chase.
“Huh?” Lin Wan had been ready to close her eyes and lean in for a kiss, only to hear this instead. “You can’t be out of your mind from being hit by the centipede, right? Officer Chen clearly…”
“She tried to kill us just now.” Lu Yuan lowered her voice.
Lin Wan’s shock faded into worry as she reached out to touch Lu Yuan’s forehead. “Oh no, this is serious.”
“I’m not crazy!” Lu Yuan pushed her hand away. “She already made a move!”
At that moment, Lu Yuan suddenly hesitated. It seemed she couldn’t bring herself to say the words “Death Rewind” directly.
“What’s wrong?” Lin Wan blinked in confusion.
“No…” Lu Yuan pressed her hand to her forehead, regretting revealing that secret. “I might be a bit confused. Sorry.”
When Chen Xin tried to kill her, she said, “I want your life.”
“She” could only be Rose.
Lu Yuan thought that if Rose truly just wanted her life, then Lin Wan was an unlucky bystander dragged into this.
She recalled Lin Wan gradually losing energy right before her eyes, and a wave of nausea rose in her chest.
Lu Yuan fought to keep her discomfort hidden from Lin Wan.
It was better to keep this secret from Lin Wan for now.
“Nothing. I might really have been knocked silly by the centipede.” Lu Yuan laughed awkwardly and scratched her head. “Let’s get back to Headquarters first.”
“Oh… okay.” Lin Wan replied.
***
Night.
The key turned in the lock. Chen Xin pushed open the door to her home, stepping into total darkness.
She didn’t turn on the lights. Silently, she removed her bloodstained police jacket and hung it on the coat rack by the door. The blood wasn’t hers—it was from handling the Calamity—but the stains still made the jacket look grim.
Even when alone, her expression remained stern, cold in the dim environment.
Barefoot, she entered the living room. The floor was cold. On the dining table sat a single serving of last night’s leftover meal, the bowl and chopsticks untouched, plastic wrap still sealed.
Several sticky notes were pasted on the refrigerator door, all written by herself:
[Remember to buy milk]
[Electric bill due]
A bath was always the best way to wash away exhaustion and refresh oneself.
Chen Xin went to the bathroom and undressed. The woman in the mirror looked pale, dark circles heavy beneath her eyes. Mechanically, Chen Xin turned the faucet and cold water cascaded over her blood-stained fingers. The dried stains refused to wash away.
Just like her life.
Forever insignificant.
She had been an orphan. She’d managed to marry and have a daughter, but the child’s father died young, leaving only her and her daughter to rely on each other…
Her daughter was her only family in this world—her lifeline.
People said those close to her would get dragged into misfortune. Sometimes Chen Xin thought maybe it was true—that her daughter’s rare disease and vegetative state might be her fault. If the child wasn’t hers, maybe she wouldn’t have fallen into such a plight?
“Old Lady Zhang’s daughter has come home…” she murmured. “Even that senile old woman can tell who her real daughter is.”
Chen Xin hadn’t felt emotion in years, which had made her numb. Colleagues called her the Ice Queen.
After her daughter became a vegetable, Chen Xin felt cut off from the world—as if she were a ghost drifting outside it.
When Old Lady Zhang mistook her for her own daughter, Chen Xin felt a long-lost warmth.
But in the end, she was a thief—a thief who stole the affections of others. When the real owner returned, she would quietly break down in disgrace.
The faucet still gurgled, cold water spilling over the back of her hand.
She was still powerless, just as she had been ten years ago beside her daughter’s sickbed. Ten years had passed, and nothing had changed.
If only her daughter were a Magical Girl.
Chen Xin had seen Magical Girls fight. No matter how severe their injuries, they could rise again. If her daughter had been a Magical Girl, she wouldn’t have had to endure so much pain.
But her daughter wasn’t a candidate for a Transformation Crystal and was still lying in a vegetative state in the hospital.
***
Suddenly, her phone vibrated. An anonymous message popped up: [Time waits for no one. Act quickly.]
Chen Xin’s finger hovered over the screen but she didn’t reply. She set the phone down, exited the bathroom, and pulled a spare sidearm from deep within the nightstand drawer, checking the magazine with practiced ease.
That Magical Girl named Lu Yuan had looked at her differently today. Chen Xin knew her time was running out.
The click of the chambered round echoed in the empty room.
On the nightstand lay an Unclaimed Transformation Crystal.
Su Li and the others couldn’t make her daughter a Magical Girl, but Rose could.
For her daughter, Chen Xin would kill whoever she had to.
Even if it meant killing a Magical Girl.
Even if she was just an ordinary person.