‘Resentment and negative emotion are different.’
Recalling the lesson Ning Rong gave her a few days ago, Jiang Yin silently reviewed it in her mind.
‘Everyone goes through lows, and during those times, bad emotions grow in abundance, becoming food for Monsters. But normal people eventually get through those lows, rise up, and their emotions fluctuate until they stabilize.’
‘But resentment is like a disease—a disease only a Magical Girl can cure.’
‘It doesn’t disappear naturally. As time passes, it takes deeper root in the human heart, multiplying and spreading like cancer cells. People afflicted with this disease experience an unnatural emotional decline, getting worse and worse. They no longer have happy moments, become manic and gloomy, and can’t listen to others.’
‘It sounds a lot like a mental illness. In reality, it’s often mistaken for some kind of psychological disorder, and then…’
At this point, Ning Rong’s mood dropped, as if recalling a failed rescue from the past.
‘Here’s something ridiculous—the side effect of antidepressants is depression.’
‘That’s why patients with mental symptoms are key observation targets for the Bureau. We’ve invested a lot of manpower in this area. Many Magical Girls who aren’t good at fighting actually do work similar to psychologists.’
‘You’ll encounter tasks like this sooner or later, so be mentally prepared.’
Ning Rong’s explanation had been messy at the time, but Jiang Yin remembered one important thing.
That was—humans with resentment in their hearts are easily affected by Monsters, showing mental symptoms in a flash or even being directly transformed into Monsters.
From the moment she entered, Jiang Yin had felt her bracelet heating up slightly. At first, she thought it was because of the lingering influence of the Marionette Monsters outside. But after confirming with Qv Si Nan that Lu Zhizhi indeed had mild mental symptoms, she realized the real reason.
——This was already timely enough.
Because in reality, most people don’t have the money to see a psychologist, and mild mental illnesses aren’t even taken seriously, let alone treated.
Lu Zhizhi had money and a clear diagnosis, so Jiang Yin could quickly rule out this hidden threat. That was already fortunate.
‘Though the mission isn’t simple, at least everyone we’ve met has brains.’
The Bartender is strong, the Heiress is calm.
Maybe they each had their own personality flaws, but to Jiang Yin, the fact that these two weren’t the kind of brainless horror movie heroines was a huge help.
——Based on Jiang Yin’s past work experience, mild stupidity made up the majority among ordinary people.
Meeting these two was truly her luck.
‘Is this beginner’s luck in a way?’
“Let’s go.”
Jiang Yin changed the Heiress’s outfit to something less alarming—a bloody look like a psychopathic killer.
“These Marionette Monsters aren’t fast, and their combat power isn’t strong. It’s safer for us to drive.”
“Are we… driving this?”
Lu Zhizhi looked at the silver sedan, which seemed to have just come from the Iraq Battlefield, bloodstains still unclean at the corners.
“We could use a car from my garage. They’re all…”
“This is a Modified Car. Forty tons.”
Jiang Yin was about to explain to Miss Lu that this car was much safer than a normal sedan, but in the next second, she saw the other already in the driver’s seat, fastening her seatbelt and waving them in.
“Come on, what are you waiting for?”
“Turns out the rich value their lives even more than I thought.”
The white-haired girl grinned at Qv Si Nan.
“The Heiress even knows the worth of a Modified Car.”
“She used to play Racing for a while, of course she understands.”
After getting in, Jiang Yin didn’t fasten her seatbelt, but turned and smiled at Lu Zhizhi.
“Didn’t expect you to be a street racer.”
“Only for socializing.”
Lu Zhizhi didn’t want to talk more about it, and instead tried to probe the relationship between the two.
“You two have known each other for a long time?”
“I feel like you and Nannan are more in sync than me and her…”
Qv Si Nan tensed, wanting to warn Jiang Yin not to reveal the truth, but worried Lu Zhizhi would notice if she acted suspicious.
She could only grip the hem of her clothes tightly.
But the girl just laughed crisply.
“Fate between people is mysterious like that. We haven’t known each other long, but we just click, with a lot in common.”
“But even people with a lot in common might not become friends—sometimes they might just hate each other. For love, it’s better to find someone with a complementary personality.”
She tried to change Jiang Yin’s view on relationships, not necessarily to separate her from Qv Si Nan, but…
Unhappy.
After all, it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since the breakup, and now she was seeing her ex matching perfectly with another beautiful girl. Anyone would be upset, right?
If not for the special circumstances, the Heiress would have already started personal attacks.
But Jiang Yin drove calmly, her mood unshaken.
“If you like yourself, you’ll like people similar to you. If you hate yourself, you’ll find those like you disagreeable.”
“I think your bad relationship with your mother probably has something to do with this.”
“You—!”
Mistake!
This seemingly soft white-haired girl was prickly all over, not a gentle little rabbit at all.
Well, she was someone who could wield a knife and slaughter Monsters single-handedly.
Lu Zhizhi reflected, swallowed her anger, and fired back.
“Since you’re so good at analyzing others, how’s your family?”
“Pretty good.”
Jiang Yin smiled lightly.
“I made peace with myself a long time ago.”
“Made peace?”
Lu Zhizhi was stunned, about to retort when she saw Qv Si Nan’s warning glance.
Her heart went cold at first, then suddenly she understood.
“Sorry…”
“It’s fine. I forgive you.”
Jiang Yin smiled, unconcerned, and kept driving towards the outskirts where there were fewer people.
It wasn’t about being bait to lure Monsters—it was simply that it was easier to speed and escape in the suburbs. If they got stuck in the city center, it’d be a Zombie Siege.
Much more dangerous than the retreat-and-attack flexibility of the suburbs.
All she had to do was protect these two and wait for Ning Rong and the others to find the Puppeteer Hunter’s hideout. Time was on her side, so she had room to tease the Heiress a little.
And to enjoy the drama of the old maggot.
“By the way, what’s with your Matchmaking Marriage?”
“If all you want is an heir, you don’t have to… do it yourself, right?”
“What do you mean?”
Before Lu Zhizhi could answer, Qv Si Nan was already unsettled.
Jiang Yin shrugged.
“Overseas, the Test Tube Baby and Surrogacy industry chains are well developed.”
“First, go to Eagle’s place and make a test tube, then find a uterus in Eastern Europe for surrogacy. This way, even if the two parties never meet, they can have a child. It’s immoral, but I don’t think the rich have much moral restraint…”
“In the past few years, people would even pretend to be loving couples for the sake of Company Stock Price.”
Qv Si Nan was still digesting Jiang Yin’s words when Lu Zhizhi leaned her face against the window and looked out.
“You don’t understand this circle. Having been with a man doesn’t mean much. Among lala couples, it’s common for one side to run off with a random man.”
“The key is—”
Lu Zhizhi gave a small, self-mocking laugh.
“Nannan didn’t love me that much. I was the one who kept clinging.”