Muxingge’s created illusion shattered in an instant, and several tentacles burst out from the monster’s body.
When Shandie tried to dodge, she found that her body couldn’t move at all!
A numb, paralyzing sensation spread through her arms. Shandie’s gaze fell on the monster’s tentacles, and her expression darkened.
It was Magic Poison… Damn it, I didn’t expect to get caught off guard in a place like this!
Fortunately, the other three arrived just in time. After the monster was scorched and sent flying, Muxingge caught the paralyzed Shandie.
The musical notes floating around her radiated gentle ripples, and Shandie immediately felt her body regain movement.
“Are you alright, Shandie? You were too impulsive. We’re teammates; you shouldn’t have acted recklessly on your own.”
Shandie instinctively avoided the concerned looks from her teammates.
She didn’t like these three, but it felt awkward to have just criticized them in her head and then be saved by them moments later.
“Sorry… I just wanted to trap the monster in an illusion to prevent it from causing any damage here,” Shandie offered a reasonable excuse for her actions.
Muxingge didn’t expect Shandie to be able to use a special ability.
Usually, D-rank Magical Girls could only fight with the simplest magic power output; they needed to level up before unlocking their own special abilities and skills.
“Illusions don’t work well on monsters with low intelligence like this one. Try that trick when you face humanoid enemies—maybe it’ll be surprisingly effective.”
Muxingge hadn’t joined the fight herself, as she wanted to see how quickly Xiaohongmao had improved in real combat.
“What is this thing? Looks kinda… disgusting.”
The monster in front of them had no fixed form. Tentacles, crab pincers, fish tails, and all sorts of chaotic limbs stretched out from a black fog-like mass.
It looked utterly messed up.
“Probably a monster formed from the animal grudges of creatures that died in the restaurant,” Xiaoxi explained. “After all, it’s not only human emotions that generate magic power. This at least proves one thing…”
Xiaohongmao blinked: “That this restaurant doesn’t use pre-made dishes?”
“…No! It proves the monster is made from the combined grudges of many different animals, which is why it has no fixed shape. Besides, if such an expensive restaurant used pre-made dishes, that would be kind of pathetic.”
“I’ll handle this one. You guys help Shandie to the side to rest,” Muxingge interjected. “Let’s finish this quickly—we still have other plans this afternoon.”
Muxingge thought to herself that handling a sudden monster incident like this would waste at most half a day. Their afternoon schedule shouldn’t be affected… probably.
Though today’s main goal was to set up the Royal Palace Banquet for Magic Girl Sirius, Muxingge still carefully planned the schedule to build good relations with her teammates.
After all, Ali had said that the Magical Girl Team was a community of shared destiny.
……
Night fell quickly, and when the four of them stepped out of the Association building, it was already dark.
Muxingge covered her face with both hands. “It’s all ruined! My precious half-day off squeezed out with difficulty, wasted! Why do so many problems have to happen this afternoon?!”
She couldn’t understand it. Even during her usual shifts, she rarely encountered so many monster attacks.
But the moment she had a day off, monsters popped up like mushrooms after rain. And they appeared wherever they went.
Her carefully arranged afternoon plans were all ruined!
Xiaoxi knew how busy Muxingge was—being a famous idol and the Guardian of Summersea City kept her schedule packed. This half-day break was truly hard-won.
Shandie didn’t say anything, but her eyes showed a trace of exhaustion. She hadn’t expected so many unexpected monster incidents this afternoon either.
Previously, Shandie had looked down on the work of Magical Girls, thinking defeating monsters was no big deal. But today she finally realized just how troublesome their job really was.
There were so many rules and restrictions when fighting in the city, and sometimes after defeating monsters, they still had to cooperate with logistics to complete other tasks…
In short, monsters only needed to jump out and cause trouble, but Magical Girls had to consider so much more.
The entire afternoon’s plans were dashed, but Muxingge refused to give up. She glanced at Xiaoxi—letting a bird fly out of your hands after you’ve caught it was just not her style!
“No way! This hard-earned half-day off can’t just be wasted. We haven’t done anything yet! Let me think…”
Muxingge blinked. “Let’s go sing at a KTV—I know a pretty good place.”
Xiaoxi was stunned. She had been about to find an excuse to go home, but Muxingge’s words changed her mind.
After agreeing with a quick “I’m fine,” Xiaoxi sent a message to Ye Xinglan, telling her she’d been busy today and probably wouldn’t make it back in time to cook dinner.
Shandie hadn’t wanted to waste any more time either but thought about how they hadn’t figured anything out all day and reluctantly agreed.
On the way to the KTV, Muxingge suddenly asked, “By the way, does anyone here drink alcohol?”
Xiaoxi’s heart skipped a beat, and she immediately refused, but that didn’t stop Muxingge’s plan to drink.
The other two also declined, and Muxingge sighed, “Is that so? Looks like I’ll have to drink alone then.”
“Muxingge-senpai, are you sure you’re okay with drinking?” Xiaoxi asked tentatively.
“What could possibly go wrong? Don’t be fooled by my idol image—I’m actually pretty good at drinking. Back when I was on the team, only one person could keep up with me!”
Muxingge was full of confidence, but Xiaoxi stared at her in horror. Muxingge wasn’t lying—other team members didn’t drink, and only Miss L used to keep her company.
But after a few times, Miss L ran off, swearing never to drink with Muxingge again because Muxingge’s tolerance was awful—both terrible and playful.
When drunk, she was even more troublesome than the Blood Moon Witch!
Now, with Muxingge’s current status, there was nothing Xiaoxi could say.
She could only watch as Muxingge led them into a convenience store and started stuffing cans of beer into a shopping basket.
Xiao Keke had a new question: Isn’t it usually forbidden to bring outside alcohol into KTV?
If Muxingge was trying to save money by sneaking a few cans in, that might be understandable, but buying so many… wouldn’t they be stopped?
The other two said nothing, and Xiao Keke held back from asking what might seem rude.
Sure enough, at the KTV, a staff member stopped Muxingge.
“Sorry, miss, outside alcohol isn’t allowed in the rooms.”
“You’re new here, right?” Muxingge sized up the staff member. “It’s okay, go get your boss and tell him [Bailing Songstress] Muxingge is here.”
As a famous idol, Muxingge’s name carried weight. The staff member hesitated, looked her over, then decisively went to get the boss.
Shandie frowned from behind. Was Muxingge planning to use her fame to push people around? Famous Magical Girls really were arrogant sometimes.
For something as small as outside alcohol, she even had to use the Bailing Songstress title?
The group hadn’t settled into the room long before the KTV boss arrived—a middle-aged man with a beard, slim build, and features resembling Xiaoxunli.
As soon as he entered, he warmly greeted Muxingge.
“Well, if it isn’t superstar Miss Muxingge! Your visit truly honors our humble establishment…”
Shandie snorted and turned her head away. However, the expected scene of Muxingge showing off didn’t happen; instead, she shyly covered her face.
“Stop joking, Lu Shu, it’s embarrassing!”
Lu Shu chuckled, “Who would’ve thought you’d be so popular now? Where are the others? Xiaohongmao and the others not here? Wow, you bought so much beer. I remember your drinking capacity back then…”
“Not so easy to gather everyone these days,” Muxingge interrupted hastily. “I brought the team out to have fun today.”
“Got it, have a good time. You’re a regular here, Muxingge. If you need anything, just call me.”
Xiaoxi nervously watched Lu Shu casually crack open a beer and drink it with Muxingge. After Lu Shu left, a faint blush stained Muxingge’s cheeks as she began to explain.
“Lu Shu has run this KTV for a long time. Monsters once attacked around here, and my teammates and I helped protect his place from being wrecked.”
“That’s why Lu Shu said we could come here anytime. We used to hang out here a lot… Speaking of which, Shandie, don’t you think the work of a Magical Girl is pretty troublesome?”
Shandie was taken aback. Muxingge’s sudden change of topic made her hesitant to answer.
“Don’t be nervous. I’m not blaming you. You became a Magical Girl through spontaneous awakening and joined the Association directly, so it’s normal that you have a skewed perception of the job.”
“You tried several times today to break command and attack monsters on your own. Shandie, what do you think is the primary duty of a Magical Girl?”
After some thought, Shandie spoke honestly, “Isn’t it just to eliminate monsters?”
“Of course not,” Muxingge smiled. “The primary task of a Magical Girl is to protect the people and the city. Sure, killing monsters is easy, but if it’s not to protect, fighting monsters is meaningless.”
“Like how Ali once took a hit from a monster to protect Lu Shu’s shop back then. Lu Shu had taken in many children who lost their families during the Great Chaos Era. If the shop had been destroyed, all of them would’ve been left starving.”
Shandie nodded silently, her eyes flickering with contemplation. She’d never thought about it that way.
Muxingge sighed. “It’s a pity that after the Great Chaos ended, it became hard for us to gather here again. That jerk Ali is even worse—she hasn’t contacted old friends in years, despite how well Lu Shu treated her.”
Muxingge angrily downed a big gulp of beer. Xiaoxi sat quietly, knowing it was truly hard for old teammates to reunite.
They were all strong, so after the Association was founded, everyone was assigned to different cities.
If Xiaoxi had joined the Association back then, she’d probably be stationed in some city guarding it right now.
“Muxingge-senpai, you were teammates with Eternal Star. Don’t you know what happened to her?”
Shandie finally seized the chance, wanting to pry on that topic.
“No idea. Good riddance if she’s dead,” Muxingge said angrily, drinking more beer. “If I catch that jerk again, she won’t have it easy.”
Xiaoxi pretended not to hear and lowered her head, singing along with Xiao Keke.
“Then, senpai, you don’t know her real identity either?” Shandie persisted. “I’m just curious because Eternal Star is so mysterious. I’m her fan too…”
Muxingge replied immediately, “A thirty-year-old divorced widow with a kid.”
“Why are you all staring at me? It’s the truth. Otherwise, why would she hide her real identity so strictly? It’s all to protect her child.”
Emboldened by the alcohol, Muxingge began rambling seriously and nonsensically.
She snorted internally, feeling that badmouthing Ali behind her back was just fair play—after all, Ali couldn’t hear her.
“Ali’s real identity was exposed to the Divine Summon Order back then, which led to her husband being brutally killed by the Blood Moon Witch. After that, Ali resolved never to reveal her identity again, to protect her newborn child…”
On the surface, Shandie remained silent, but inside, she took note of every word.
Xiaoxi initially wanted to ignore it, but Muxingge’s rambling got more and more absurd.
She couldn’t help but look up to gently advise, only to find Muxingge’s face was ridiculously flushed.
Damn! Xiaoxi’s eyes scanned the table, already littered with four or five empty beer cans. Judging by Muxingge’s state, it was clear she was far from sober.
Damn it, after all these years, Muxingge’s drinking ability hadn’t improved—it had actually gotten worse by several cans!
Xiaoxi hadn’t noticed this earlier while singing with Xiao Keke, and Shandie hadn’t tried to stop Muxingge either.
After all, alcohol often brings out the truth, and Shandie was hoping Muxingge would spill more useful information once drunk.
“Muxingge-senpai, you seem a bit drunk. Maybe you should drink less…”
Xiaoxi was about to intervene, but Muxingge suddenly wrapped an arm around her neck.
“If I catch Ali, I’ll tie her to a post and beat her! And that other one… the one who writes those silly little royal harem stories—I’ll tie her up too! Xinglan, you help me bind them both tight, alright?”
Xiaoxi smiled awkwardly. At times like this, all she could do was go along with Muxingge’s words.
“No problem, senpai, but about the alcohol…”
“Xinglan, tell me,” Muxingge’s flushed face locked onto Xiaoxi’s eyes, “don’t you think those social parasites who write royal harem stories deserve to suffer through the plots they create themselves?”
“Y-yeah…”
“If I catch the one writing my little royal harem story…” Muxingge tightened her grip around Xiaoxi’s neck a little more. “I’ll throw her into a slime and tentacle monster nest, what do you say?”
“I’m with you on that…”
Xiaoxi lowered her head to avoid meeting Muxingge’s gaze. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Muxingge’s words meant more than she let on.
If Muxingge knew that the two people she wanted to tie up and the one helping were actually the same person… it probably wouldn’t be solved by just tying her up and giving her a beating.
Xiaoxi’s heart fluttered nervously at the thought.