Yunjing, Magical Girl Headquarters, Full-Domain Surveillance Center.
On the massive circular screen was a map of the entire Yunjing, roughly the size of three or four Tongmen Cities combined.
In one corner of the room, Tian Aixing was curled up in a large office chair, a thin blanket haphazardly draped over her. Her head tilted to one side, breathing steady—clearly exhausted and just fallen asleep. Beside her sat a cup of coffee, long since cold.
Click.
The door to the surveillance room slid open with a faint sound.
Tian Aixing jolted awake instantly, her body trembling as she instinctively glanced at the screen. Only after confirming there were no new alarms did she let out a sigh of relief, rubbing her drowsy eyes as she looked toward the door.
“Did I wake you?” Su Li entered, her gaze softening at Tian Aixing’s tired appearance, apologizing.
“It’s fine. I was due to wake up anyway.” Tian Aixing gave a weary smile, folding the blanket neatly and setting it aside. “I only meant to nap for five minutes…”
“Really appreciate your hard work.” Su Li walked over, gently patting her on the back.
Maintaining high-intensity surveillance across the different Tongmen districts in Yunjing was an immense mental burden.
“Well, out of all the Magical Girls, I’m the only one with such a broad reconnaissance ability,” Tian Aixing said, though fatigue was evident in her voice. “But it’s okay, it’s my duty. It’s just…”
Her eyes flicked back to the calm main screen, brows furrowed slightly. “We still can’t detect any magical fluctuations from Rose or Si An… Those two have vanished into thin air—no traces left behind. I don’t know where they’ve hidden this time, or what schemes they’re plotting.”
Su Li followed her gaze. The data on the screen appeared completely normal—almost unnervingly so.
This kind of calm before the storm was often the most unsettling.
Su Li was silent for a moment before speaking, “They can’t stay in hiding forever. Once they leave Yunjing, their likely target would be other areas with relatively weaker defenses.”
She turned to face Tian Aixing. “Headquarters just issued new orders. Since the greatest threat in Yunjing has temporarily disappeared, and General Lingyan has urgent matters and has long since left Yunjing, there’s no need for us—those of us temporarily dispatched here—to stay concentrated.”
“General Lingyan has already left?” Tian Aixing looked surprised. “When did this happen? What mission is she on?”
Su Li shook her head, her tone grave. “Unknown. The General’s whereabouts are top secret. It’s only said to be a covert mission with an indefinite return date. For now, command in Yunjing is handled by other senior Headquarters officials.”
General Lingyan was the steadfast pillar of Headquarters, and her movements were always highly confidential.
She paused before continuing, “Therefore, from today onward, we and several other temporarily deployed agents from other cities will return to our respective cities for garrison duty. You need to rest as well, Tian Aixing. Subsequent surveillance work will be taken over by other technical teams at Headquarters on a rotating basis.”
Tian Aixing was momentarily stunned, then comprehension dawned.
The top forces were missing, and the disappearance of two major threats possibly signaled a shift in the crisis. Headquarters was pulling back forces to focus on defending regional cities—especially those likely to become the next target.
“I understand,” Tian Aixing nodded.
Su Li glanced out at the gradually brightening sky. Yunjing’s bustling prosperity remained, but the shadows had already shifted.
“Troubled times,” she whispered—whether in lament or warning was unclear.
General Lingyan’s departure was like removing the greatest safeguard.
Rose and Si An’s disappearance meant no one knew where or how the next crisis would erupt. The remaining Magical Girls would have to stay vigilant and face the impending storm alone.
***
Following the lead from Chen Xin, Lu Yuan and Lin Wan shot out of the detention center like arrows loosed from a bow.
“Behind the old hospital building, the garden! Hurry!” Lu Yuan shouted as she ran, quickly pulling out her phone to call a ride.
“No need for a car,” Lin Wan said, grabbing Lu Yuan’s arm.
Lu Yuan froze.
What? No car? Then how are we getting there?
Lin Wan took a deep breath and pulled out her Transformation Crystal.
“Transform!”
A radiant light enveloped Lin Wan. The next moment, an extraordinarily shaped giant metal folding fan appeared on her back.
It was a massive folding fan, about eighty centimeters tall.
The fan’s surface was deep blue, and when closed on Lin Wan’s back, it looked like she was carrying a box.
“Fan?” Lu Yuan looked confused.
“Not just any fan.” Lin Wan removed the fan, planted it firmly into the ground, then kicked it open with a sharp motion. “This is a weapon customized by the Equipment Department based on my abilities.”
The entire fan looked hefty, but the most unique feature was that the thick ribs didn’t end in ordinary tips but seven exquisite sword hilts.
Those seven ribs were actually sheaths for seven swords.
This was the new weapon Lin Wan received upon officially becoming a Magical Girl.
Her power was telekinesis, and this fan was the perfect extension of that ability.
She couldn’t precisely control too many objects at once, but these seven swords, made of special alloy and highly resonant with her telekinetic power, she could wield effortlessly.
When folded, it was easy to carry; in battle, the swords could be drawn instantly.
Lu Yuan’s jaw dropped in amazement.
“Hehe, I’ll have made some progress by the time you head to Yunjing, too,” Lin Wan smiled, waving her hand.
With a thought!
Shing! Shing!
Two long swords shot out from the fan’s ribs, but instead of falling, they hovered in midair.
Lin Wan slung the fan back onto her back and leapt, landing precisely on one of the floating swords.
“Flying’s faster than running, right?” Lin Wan grinned. “Try it—it’s kind of like skateboarding.”
Lu Yuan stared at the sword floating before her, then cautiously stepped onto it.
Seeing Lu Yuan settle, Lin Wan began to control her telekinesis.
“Let’s go!”
Driven by telekinesis, the two swords carried them half a meter off the ground, gliding through streets and alleys with incredible speed and agility—far more nimble and swift than any vehicle.
Lu Yuan wobbled on the sword, the wind roaring past her ears.
What is this?!
Who says Magical Girls can’t practice cultivation?!
***
Soon, they arrived at the old building of the City People’s Hospital.
It had been abandoned for years, the structure weathered and dilapidated, rarely visited.
Without hesitation, they rushed toward the backyard.
Sure enough, there was a small garden nearly swallowed by overgrown weeds.
In one corner, under an ancient tree, a worn blue swing hung silently.
The swing’s paint was peeling, and it gently swayed in the breeze.
The two jumped off the swords and began searching for Chen Lianxue.
“Lian Xue!” Lin Wan shouted, retracting the swords back into the fan.
“Chen Lianxue! Are you here?” Lu Yuan anxiously scanned the surroundings.
No response.
Only the rustling of the dry grass and the faint clinking of the swing’s chains.
Their hearts sank bit by bit.
They searched every corner of the garden—behind trees, in bushes, under benches… but found no sign of Chen Lianxue.
She seemed to have been here, yet had left again.
“How could this be… Aunt Chen clearly said she’d be here…” Lin Wan’s voice cracked with tears.
Lu Yuan refused to give up. She approached the blue swing and ran her fingers over the rusted chains.
She seemed to see a small figure—once lonely, sitting here, waiting for a father who would never return.
And now again, waiting here for a mother trapped in captivity.
***
Lu Yuan’s eyes unconsciously swept over the muddy ground beneath the swing.
Suddenly, her pupils constricted sharply!
Right under the swing, among a pile of withered yellow leaves, something stood out with unnatural prominence.
A flower.
A solitary, eerily blooming Red Spider Lily.
Its blood-red petals resembled bloodstained velvet, curling and stretching.
The golden stamens trembled in the breeze, glaring sharply against the desolate, ruined backdrop.
This was absolutely not a place where such a flower should grow!
Lu Yuan’s breath hitched abruptly.
A chill shot from her feet to her head, freezing her to the core.
Lin Wan saw the flower too. She gasped, instinctively stepping back.
“What is this…?”
She had seen this flower before in the Magical Girl’s wanted system. According to that, its owner should still be in Yunjing.
The two exchanged a glance, disbelief shining in their eyes.
This Red Spider Lily appearing here was no coincidence.
It was a sign.
An ominous mark belonging to Si An.
Chen Lianxue had been taken.