“Feng Ling…”
Lian Ge said as she watched her back, her eyes flickering with a mix of emotion, fear, and surprise.
The alley was very quiet, and the puddle of water that the demon beast had turned into still shimmered in the moonlight.
Feng Ling stood with her back to Lian Ge, less than two steps away.
She had exhausted all her strength and sat down on the ground, her cyan-white hair spreading across the floor.
‘So Feng Ling really is a good magical girl.’
Something touched Lian Ge’s heart.
Feng Ling wasn’t just a money-grubber obsessed with cash; perhaps under that shell, she hid the same ideals as herself.
She just wasn’t good at expressing it, and she had been protecting everyone in her own way.
Lian Ge stood up from the ground, her steps unsteady, but she walked step by step behind Feng Ling, leaned down, and hugged her.
Lian Ge pressed her forehead against Feng Ling’s back, the fabric of the light green dress brushing against her cheek.
She tightened her arms, as if confirming that this person was really standing here unharmed.
Soon, a few tears flowed from her moist eyes.
“Thank you, Feng Ling.”
Lian Ge murmured softly into Feng Ling’s back.
“Don’t, don’t hug me…”
Being hugged made Feng Ling instinctively struggle.
Flustered, she pried Lian Ge’s arms off her waist, broke free from her embrace, and took two steps back to create a safe distance.
“Feng Ling, what’s this…”
Lian Ge was stunned, then suddenly noticed the change in Feng Ling’s face.
Her entire face had become semi-transparent, with only the shape barely showing her features.
It looked like… a slime.
“What’s wrong with me now…”
Feng Ling instinctively reached for her face and touched a wet, jelly-like texture.
She then looked at her palm and realized that her hand had become semi-transparent at some point.
This was a side effect of the ability she had just used.
She had extracted the demon beast’s magic power, and thus was forced to accept the concept granting carried by that magic power.
Her body would temporarily exhibit some characteristics of the absorbed target.
The concept of this demon beast was “slime,” so her body also became semi-transparent and jelly-like.
“About this…” Feng Ling pointed at her cheek.
“It’ll be fine in a few hours. Don’t worry…”
Once this magic power dissipated, Feng Ling would return to normal.
It would probably take about a night’s sleep, and wouldn’t cause any permanent effects.
But the reason Feng Ling had been hiding her ability was simple.
If she was too strong, she would be sent to fight stronger demon beasts, and it would also make Qiabi believe she was the so-called “savior.”
But she worked hard and her salary didn’t increase.
She might as well pretend to be weak and slack off.
“Oh, and, considering that I saved your life, please don’t tell anyone about this, okay? It concerns my magical girl career…”
However, in Lian Ge’s eyes, this scene was interpreted as a completely different story.
Everyone’s magic power originates from Star Crystals and corresponds to a certain concept.
Even among magical girls, only concepts that are close can be mixed, let alone mixing between magical girls and demon beasts.
But it was different among demon beasts.
Without the constraints of Star Crystals, demon beasts could devour each other’s magic power, merge the magic power with its corresponding concept, and their forms would also undergo great changes.
Yet Feng Ling, as a magical girl, could directly absorb a demon beast’s magic power.
Didn’t that mean… she was actually a demon beast disguised as a magical girl?
Lian Ge looked at Feng Ling’s semi-transparent cheeks.
Her eyes suddenly widened.
She shook her head, thinking it impossible, but couldn’t help thinking in that direction.
On the other side, Feng Ling naturally didn’t know Lian Ge’s rich inner drama.
Seeing Lian Ge silent for a long time, Feng Ling thought she was going to report her for deliberately hiding her strength and slacking off, since she had always been at odds with her.
“Feng Ling, do you mind if I ask why you suddenly appeared here? Is your home nearby?”
This really caught Feng Ling off guard.
She couldn’t answer either question.
After all, the place she rented was “Jiang Zhu’s,” not hers, so she couldn’t say that.
“Uh…”
Feng Ling slapped her palm, quickly thinking of an excuse.
“Actually, I came to this area to look for a place to rent, and I just happened to pass by.”
“Rent a place? But I remember you’re only sixteen, right? Don’t you live with your parents?”
‘…So my setting is sixteen?’
Feng Ling herself didn’t even remember.
Feng Ling had a headache.
Once she met an acquaintance, she felt that her identity as a magical girl was full of loopholes……
But there was no help for it.
“Magical Girl Feng Ling” was a person who appeared out of nowhere.
It was too difficult to fabricate a perfect identity.
After thinking it over, Feng Ling had to choose the identity that would least cause trouble.
She could only wrong her parents:
“Actually, I don’t have parents. I’m an orphan.”
Lian Ge was stunned for a moment, then immediately apologized remorsefully:
“I’m, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring that up…”
“It’s okay, it’s fine. Anyway, I’m a wanderer. It’s possible to run into me anywhere.”
However, for Lian Ge, these words only confirmed her thoughts.
‘Feng Ling really is a demon beast…’
‘But if Feng Ling is a demon beast, how did she become a magical girl? Every magical girl must pass Qiabi’s personal assessment to sign a contract. Qiabi knows everyone’s identity clearly.’
‘That means Qiabi didn’t stop Feng Ling from becoming a magical girl, or rather, her existence itself has been certified by Qiabi.’
Feng Ling, as a demon beast, chose to become a magical girl who fought against demon beasts.
She carefully maintained the justice in her heart as a magical girl, while constantly afraid that her true identity would be exposed, misunderstood by her teammates, expelled by the Association, and treated as an enemy by humans.
That was why she cared so much about money.
A magical girl from a demon beast background had no support in this world, so she naturally lacked a sense of security.
The only thing she could hold on to was the tangible material things.
Lian Ge almost felt self-reproach for her slowness.
What a pitiful child this was……
Lian Ge’s gaze became gentle, as if she were looking at a helpless kitten that urgently needed comfort.
The arguments they had in the past were like the cat’s hiss, completely powerless.
Feng Ling also noticed her expression.
It was clearly kind, but for some reason, Feng Ling felt a chill down her spine, an inexplicable ominous premonition.
She couldn’t pinpoint the source of this feeling, but her intuition told her that Lian Ge might be thinking something very strange.
“Feng Ling, I will definitely keep your secret.”
Lian Ge said seriously.