After the joke, Xu Wenxing returned to his seat and resumed playing games to pass the time.
Meanwhile, Blazing Flame unlocked the phone that the Official had given her and swiped through the screen.
Apart from having secretly installed the Monster Response Department’s covert software, the phone was nothing special—just like a brand-new phone bought off the shelf.
Blazing Flame weighed it in her hand, gently shook it, but still found no peculiar features.
Not even a built-in little gadget; it was simply an ordinary phone.
This was completely at odds with the secretive, covert style she had stereotypically imagined for agents.
With these thoughts, Blazing Flame put the phone aside, leaned back in her chair, planning to play some games herself once her transformation naturally wore off.
Just as Blazing Flame idled, a notification suddenly flashed across the top of the screen.
She fixed her eyes on it and realized the message was actually from the covert software.
“What’s going on?”
Curious, Blazing Flame tapped on it, and the phone automatically switched to a chat application she had never seen before.
Against a simple white background, new chat messages kept popping up on the left side of the chat window.
“Blazing Flame, Meteor. Jia Yi’s test results are out.”
“A large amount of banned substances were detected in his body, but these are a new type of banned substances we’ve never encountered before. The specific effects on the human body remain unclear.”
“The doctors are conducting secondary tests; please wait a moment. I’ll wait here for their notification.”
“[Location Image]”
A group chat member named Sapphire was continuously sending messages and ended by sending a photo for Blazing Flame and Meteor to see.
Blazing Flame zoomed in on the picture and saw that Sapphire had taken it at the entrance of a laboratory, where various reagents she had never seen before were stored.
After a moment’s thought, Blazing Flame picked up the phone and typed back.
“Thanks for the hard work. Are there results for anything else? Like the instruments Jia Yi used?”
“Hold on, I’ll check.”
“Okay, thank you.” Blazing Flame replied.
“No trouble at all, just work.”
After Sapphire responded to Blazing Flame’s message, she briefly fell silent.
Seeing Sapphire didn’t reply immediately, Blazing Flame opened a video site and played a song to relax.
While Blazing Flame waited patiently, Xu Wenxing suddenly jumped up excitedly from his chair and hurried over to her side, speaking eagerly.
“Ren! Look at the news! Oh man! You’re famous now!”
“What did you say?”
Blazing Flame frowned, looking at Xu Wenxing strangely.
Famous? Wasn’t she already famous? Magical Girls were so rare; how could one not be well-known?
“Hey, just look it up online! Hurry, hurry!” Xu Wenxing pressed without explaining.
“Wait, let me see first.”
Blazing Flame opened a new webpage, intending to browse the latest news in City A as usual.
But as soon as she opened the News Center, she found her own picture strangely featured right on the homepage.
Clicking in, there was an article about her.
“City A Missing Persons Case Solved! All Twelve Missing Citizens Found! Three Magical Girls Play Key Role, Assisting Officials in Cracking Major Case!”
Just reading the headline made Blazing Flame’s scalp tingle.
What on earth was going on?!
The title said three Magical Girls, so why was only her photo displayed?
Shouldn’t it be Sapphire or Meteor given their fame and strength?!
“Ren, your headline is so conservative. The one I saw was way more exaggerated,” Xu Wenxing glanced at the news title and immediately looked disappointed.
So disappointing—this headline wasn’t even half as eye-catching as the one he had just seen.
How could this attract any views?
The site’s reporters really didn’t know what they were doing.
“This is already exaggerated enough; you have to remember it’s a semi-official news website,” Blazing Flame retorted.
“A so-called ‘key role’ isn’t impressive enough. Here, Ren, look at mine.”
Xu Wenxing picked up his phone and showed Blazing Flame the news he’d seen earlier.
Following his lead, Blazing Flame saw the headline was absurdly exaggerated.
“Turning the Tide! Supernova Magical Girl Singlehandedly Solves Major Case! Finds All Missing in Two Minutes and Fifty-Seven Seconds!”
But after noticing the site’s identity, Blazing Flame relaxed a bit.
Fortunately, it wasn’t an official news site, so they could say whatever they wanted.
“How’s that? This kind of headline actually gets views. Honestly, only such a headline fits your performance, Ren!” Xu Wenxing said with a grin.
“Scram, go away,” Blazing Flame waved him off disdainfully. “If you keep reading this kind of news, you’ll end up with brain rot.”
“Traffic sites gotta have flashy headlines, Ren, don’t you get it?” Xu Wenxing replied.
“I don’t. Now go. I’m going back to gaming.”
Blazing Flame closed the news site she was browsing, then double-clicked the “Dungeon of Darkness” icon on her desktop, ignoring Xu Wenxing.
Seeing that Blazing Flame wasn’t interested in his banter, Xu Wenxing shook his head regretfully and returned to his own seat.
Soon, the dorm’s atmosphere calmed down again.
After Blazing Flame struggled through a dungeon level in her game, the phone on the desk finally received new messages.
Opening the chat software, she saw new photos and messages from Sapphire.
“Blazing Flame, here are the results you asked for.”
“All the instruments Jia Yi used came from a local hardware store in City A, but the owner has no recollection of having such equipment.”
“The results on how Jia Yi abducted so many people without being detected are also out: all the street cameras malfunctioned at the time, and the twelve victims felt weak and had heavy eyelids around the time of their abductions.”
“Jia Yi also has a bank card with 1.2 million yuan, funded by sponsorship from this website, but this transaction is nowhere to be found in the website’s accounts.”
“[Website Image]”
Watching Sapphire’s continuous stream of messages, Blazing Flame furrowed her brows and opened the screenshot of the website’s name that Sapphire had sent.
The name was shockingly familiar—one she had just seen on Xu Wenxing’s phone.
“The sponsors behind Jia Yi… are they connected to this website?”
Blazing Flame muttered to herself, sensing the truth might be more complicated than she had imagined.
She looked up at the ceiling and felt a headache coming on.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and lightly patted her face.
Gathering her focus again, she continued reading.
“Blazing Flame, Meteor, something’s off.”
“The banned substance’s effect has been identified: it’s an emotion-amplifying drug.”
“This stuff not only makes people feel excited but can rapidly alter a person’s personality, letting any single emotion dominate their character.”
“The doctors say it’s similar to a perfect version of lobotomy surgery—it can turn the user into whatever the pharmacist wants.”