At the Old Town Police Station, Wu Menghan and Xiaxiaoling rushed inside.
The sudden commotion startled several police officers, who instinctively grabbed their batons. They only breathed a sigh of relief when they saw it was Wu Menghan.
“Young lady, what’s the rush?”
“Officer, is Irena here?”
The officers on duty glanced at each other and shook their heads.
“Miss, Irena just left a moment ago.”
Wu Menghan’s brows furrowed. ‘Where would Irena go at this hour? Is it because of Eno?’
The possibility was high, yet for some reason, Wu Menghan felt an underlying sense of unease.
“Wu Menghan, let’s head back first. I think… it shouldn’t be a big problem,” Xiaxiaoling said. She had recovered quite a bit during the walk over.
Along the way, she had been constantly coaching herself mentally. ‘It’s just awakening magic. What’s the big deal? It’s not like I’ve never seen it before.’
“No, Teacher Xia, you have to listen to me on this. I’ll call her right now and ask where she is.” Wu Menghan’s tone was firm. She knew more than the others; an ordinary person would not awaken magic for no reason.
Irena had told her once that the only way for a human to awaken magic was to find a master to lead them through the initiation.
There were those with extraordinary talent who could awaken on their own, but such people were few and far between.
Furthermore, the magic element in this world was extremely scarce. Dreaming of a spontaneous awakening was nothing short of a fantasy.
That left only one other possibility: slime-ification.
Slime girls were born with a natural attunement to the magic element, making it much easier for them to learn magic than humans.
Last night, Xiaxiaoling had fallen into a coma after being hit, clearly affected by slime mucus.
The worst-case scenario was that the holy light from that night had failed entirely, and Xiaxiaoling was already transforming into a slime girl.
Looking back, Wu Menghan realized she had been far too impulsive. ‘I should have had Irena examine Teacher Xia thoroughly before we left.’
Regret gnawed at her as the phone remained unanswered. Wu Menghan’s mood grew increasingly complicated.
She checked the time; it was exactly 12:00 PM.
They had already requested leave from the school before coming out, so they had plenty of time.
Seeing that Irena’s phone was still not connecting, Wu Menghan had no choice but to look to others for help.
After a moment, Wu Menghan fell silent.
‘If she isn’t picking up my calls, it might be because she’s still angry about last night. But if no one else can reach her either, then there’s definitely a problem.’
Seeing their anxious expressions, a female officer nearby spoke up.
“Xiao Han, do you have urgent business with Irena?”
“Yes, very urgent.”
“I see… I think she went to Xingsheng south street. I’m not entirely sure what she’s doing there.”
“Xingsheng south street…”
Muttering the name, Wu Menghan seemed to realize something, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes. “Alright, thank you, ma’am.”
***
In a high-end residential complex in the Old Town.
With the slow turn of a doorknob and a creak, the wind from the hallway rushed inside.
Vivi tried her best to maintain a calm expression, forcing a strained smile.
“Sisters, why are you back so early today?”
Wu Menghan walked in ahead of Xiaxiaoling. She stared straight at Vivi like a predator eyeing its prey, making the loli’s hair stand on end.
“Vivi, have you seen Irena?”
Her voice was cold, more chilling than a winter gale.
Vivi’s neck shrank back as her gaze flickered toward the balcony curtains. She shook her head with difficulty.
“N-no, I haven’t. Why?”
“Really?”
“Really!”
Wu Menghan smiled and gently patted Vivi’s small head.
“My Vivi is such a good girl.”
*Gulp.*
Vivi swallowed hard. She felt that the current Wu Menghan was eleven out of ten levels of “wrong.”
Her eyes darted toward the balcony again, her palms drenched in sweat.
Wu Menghan secretly observed the loli’s reaction, the corner of her mouth curling into a slight arc.
She began to wander aimlessly through the apartment, paying close attention to the concentration of the magic element in the air as she walked.
Without Wu Menghan’s piercing gaze on her, Vivi suddenly felt much lighter.
Just as she was about to stretch and relax her nerves, her hand suddenly touched something soft.
Vivi froze and instinctively squeezed. It was soft and springy, like a very large piece of jelly.
Wait!
Realizing what was happening, she looked up and met Xiaxiaoling’s burning gaze.
Xiaxiaoling’s body seemed to have a mind of its own; she pressed her own hand over her chest, firmly trapping Vivi’s naughty little hand against her.
“Cough, sorry, Sister Xia, I didn’t mean to…”
As she spoke, Vivi tried to pull her hand away.
But no matter how hard she pulled, her palm wouldn’t budge, as if it were welded in place.
Cold sweat broke out. She felt that Xiaxiaoling was also acting exceptionally strange today. ‘She couldn’t have been infected by Wu Menghan, could she!?’
A flash of struggle appeared in Xiaxiaoling’s eyes, but she quickly succumbed again.
She sat down gently beside Vivi, bringing her nose close to the back of the girl’s neck, greedily inhaling Vivi’s scent.
“Vivi, did you put on perfume? You smell so good…”
The hot breath hit her neck, making Vivi shiver. Her speech became stilted.
“N-no, I didn’t. Sister… Sister Xia, what’s… what’s wrong with you?”
“Mm, it’s nothing. I just suddenly think you’re so cute, I want to…”
The words remained unspoken as Xiaxiaoling clutched her head. However, looking at the loli’s adorable face, she couldn’t suppress the desire deep within her heart.
“Vivi, don’t you want to be with Sister?”
“Huh? Sister Xia-Xia-Xia, what are you talking about?”
Things were clearly spiraling out of control. It seemed Xiaxiaoling really had been infected by Wu Menghan.
One Wu Menghan was already enough to handle. Now that Xiaxiaoling was acting this way too…
Vivi felt that her plan to run away needed to be implemented immediately. She didn’t want to become the plaything of these two; she had her dignity.
At that moment, Wu Menghan walked out from the inner rooms.
Seeing the two of them in their current positions, her brows knitted together in what looked like anger.
“What do you two think you’re doing?”
“Cough, n-nothing.”
Wu Menghan turned her gaze to Xiaxiaoling, who gave a gentle nod.
“Yes, we aren’t doing anything.”
Wu Menghan looked like she wanted to say something but stopped, clutching her head as it throbbed.
She felt a strange, inexplicable anger, but that was Xiaxiaoling. The woman had helped her so much; she couldn’t just lose her temper with her.
Calming her emotions, Wu Menghan finally fixed her gaze on the balcony curtains.
That was the spot Vivi had been looking at earlier.
The reason she had walked around the apartment was to set up a barrier.
She wasn’t afraid of Irena suddenly trying to flee. The front door was already locked; if she wanted to escape, she would have to use magic.
And the moment she used magic, Irena would be exposed.
The area was now completely sealed off by Wu Menghan. Irena certainly wouldn’t be able to escape in the short term. She wanted to see exactly how Vivi would explain herself then.