The same night, while some were fast asleep, others fought fiercely for the city.
The night sky over the outskirts of Tongmen City was torn apart by streaks of fire, explosions sending shockwaves rippling across the fields.
“Boom!”
Aoi Hoshino’s massive hammer, crackling with electricity, slammed down heavily, pinning a wolf-type Calamity into the ground.
“Awooo!” The wolf howled mournfully before dissipating.
“Huff… huff…” Aoi wiped the sweat from her forehead. This was the ninth B-level Disaster she had slain tonight.
Her entire body felt like it had been pounded a thousand times over like a Chaoshan beef ball, sore and aching all over.
She planted the hammer in the ground and stretched her back.
“Phew… I’m so tired.”
Are there still any Calamities left to deal with…? Aoi glanced around.
Most of the surroundings were abandoned farmland and numerous small, uninhabited huts.
Since the emergence of the Magical Girls, the city’s economy had boomed rapidly. The vast majority of people could afford houses within the urban district and, for safety reasons, had moved into the city. As a result, this area was filled with many deserted houses.
In other words…
“Aoi! Behind you!” Tian Aixing’s voice crackled in her Bluetooth earpiece.
“Swish!”
A dark shadow brushed past her shoulder, a sharp bone spike slashing a bloody cut across her arm. Gritting her teeth, Aoi held her ground, her face calm and fearless.
She clearly saw the shape of the Calamity—a moth.
“A rare type of Disaster…” Aoi licked the blood from her lips.
Right, what was I about to say?
Oh yes, since this area is full of abandoned houses and no civilians would appear here, then in other words…
No matter how wild things get here—
It·does·not·matter!
Aoi gripped her hammer tightly and with all her strength swung it around. The giant hammer crashed through the moth Calamity’s bony wings.
“Bang!”
As if erased completely, the moth was hammered away into nothingness, only a few fluttering wings falling to the ground.
“So satisfying!!!” Aoi shouted gleefully as she spun her hammer around in circles.
“Fighting like this doesn’t fit your ‘Little Sun’ image at all, Aoi,” Tian Aixing said with a wry smile.
Within the idol group Starlit Glass, Aoi Hoshino was cast as the cute, lively girl affectionately called Little Sun. But in reality, she wasn’t that innocent—rather, she was bold and uninhibited.
“Who cares!! Su Li isn’t here anyway!!!” Aoi yelled.
Tian Aixing glanced at the red dots on her tablet—there were still over a dozen Calamities left not far away. But the time wasn’t pressing yet. For now, she’d let Aoi relax a bit.
“Aixing! What do you think Su Li is doing right now?” Aoi hopped up onto the ridgeline of the field, cupping her hands around her mouth to shout.
Her voice echoed across the empty fields, scattering a few birds into flight.
“You don’t have to shout so loud, I can hear you…” Aixing muttered, pulling off her earpiece.
She drove the off-road vehicle toward Aoi, the engine roaring as a modified open-top SUV screeched to a drift and stopped beside her.
This off-roader had no roof, every part tuned for performance—Aixing’s own handiwork.
Aoi bounced over and leapt inside in a few quick moves, settling on Aixing’s back like a golden retriever, chin resting on her shoulder. “Answer me first!”
“Captain Su Li… should be alone with Lu Yuan now, right?” Aixing pondered.
After all, a personal bodyguard should never leave their charge’s side.
“So, don’t you think we’re just sidekicks for Su Li?”
“Sidekicks?” Aixing frowned, “I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Can’t you see? Su Li’s interested in Lu Yuan!”
“Is that so…?”
“Look!” Aoi suddenly pulled out her phone and swiped through a few photos.
“This one’s from last time—look at how Su Li looks at Lu Yuan~” She zoomed in, poking the screen. “So tender it’s practically dripping! Not at all like the ‘I’ll kill you if you say another word’ look she gives us!”
***
“So tonight, we’re clearing Calamities so hard…” Aoi stomped her foot on the passenger seat and struck a cool pose, “We’re the best sidekicks ever! Creating the perfect two-person world for Su Li!”
Aixing quietly said, “…I thought we were on a mission.”
“You really are a science girl, totally clueless about feelings, Aixing!!” Aoi hooked her arm around Aixing’s neck.
“Alright, alright! Let’s get back to work!” Aixing struggled free from Aoi’s embrace. “I was thinking of letting you rest, but I guess you can’t stay still.”
“Eh~~ okay.” Aoi looked “disappointed” as she settled back into the passenger seat.
“So tell me~ do you think Su Li and Lu Yuan are… close right now?”
“Aoi Hoshino!”
“I’m sorry, Aixing! Don’t twist my ear!!”
The engine roared as the SUV sped toward the next Calamity sighting.
***
The next morning.
“Su Li… do we really have to leave this early?”
Lu Yuan rubbed her eyes, still half-asleep with a pouty face.
At 5:30 a.m., Tongmen City was shrouded in mist, streetlights casting a warm yellow glow across the windshield.
Lu Yuan sunk deep into the leather seat of the Maserati, clutching the hot coffee Su Li had forcibly given her. Her eyelids fought to stay open.
“Considering the circumstances, you’re lucky you managed any sleep at all,” Su Li said, closing the driver’s door and starting the engine.
“Vroom—” the sports car hummed to life.
“I already called Officer Chen Xin. From her tone, she probably doesn’t know she’s been compromised yet,” Su Li explained, adjusting the rearview mirror reflecting Lu Yuan’s face. “I told her I’d have you intern at the Police Department of Tongmen City for a few extra days. Stay close to her and find out if there’s any link between her and Rose.”
“When you find clues, we’ll strike directly and take down Rose in one fell swoop,” Su Li laid out her plan.
Lu Yuan opened her mouth to say something but swallowed it back.
“I know you’re worried about safety, but don’t worry. I’ll protect you from the shadows,” Su Li reassured.
“…Okay.” Lu Yuan nodded.
The car quietly pulled away from Lu Yuan’s house.
Upstairs, a blue figure nobody noticed silently watched Su Li’s car carrying Lu Yuan vanish into the morning mist.
***
Tongmen City Police Station.
The sports car stopped outside the closed police station. Su Li stared at the locked doors, deep in thought.
This can’t be right… The station shouldn’t still be closed at this hour.
“Su Li… I told you we were too early!” Lu Yuan complained.
“Sorry… I’m just used to getting up early,” Su Li replied. She turned and straightened Lu Yuan’s crooked collar with a sudden tender gesture that made Lu Yuan forget to protest.
“Fine… I’ll go in first,” Lu Yuan pouted.
Just as she was about to step out of the car, Su Li grabbed her wrist.
“If anything you can’t handle happens, run immediately. It’s okay if you get exposed—your life is the most important thing. Understand?”
“Mm-hmm.” Lu Yuan nodded.
“And if she offers you any drink,” Su Li’s voice turned serious, “make up an excuse to go to the restroom and dump it out.”
“Okay.”
“One more thing…” Su Li waved her hand and motioned Lu Yuan closer.
“What is it, Su Li?” Lu Yuan leaned in.
“Remember, I’m right by your side.” Su Li whispered into Lu Yuan’s ear before gently pushing her out of the car.
The Maserati slipped silently into the fog, leaving Lu Yuan alone at the police station’s entrance, clutching her half-cold coffee.
“Well then…” Lu Yuan sighed.
The police station doors weren’t locked. Her flushed face reflected in the glass as she took a deep breath and pushed the doors open.
The glass door creaked softly as she stepped cautiously into the lobby.
If the police weren’t on duty yet, I’ll just wait here…
That had been her thought.
Clatter.
Her coffee cup shattered on the floor.
But what lay before her shattered all calm.
The officers were not absent.
Lu Yuan’s pupils trembled as she looked down at the floor of the station lobby.
There, strewn in every direction, lay the lifeless bodies of officers in uniform.
All… dead?