A Li could feel the surging power within her body.
That pitch-black armor seemed to have perfectly fused with every nerve in her body.
This was no longer just a set of armor… it had become a part of her.
An unprecedented illusion quickly poisoned A Li’s reason like venom.
I… am strong. Stronger than these two women in front of me.
The power born from the Mimetic Disaster amplified the greed in her heart, instantly suppressing the fear she once had of Rose.
Power… this is power! She gazed at her hands that had transformed into fierce claws, the cold gleam flickering at her fingertips filling her with excitement.
With this, do I still need to obey these two charlatans?
As long as I kill them both, I will be the strongest person in this world!
Her eyes slithered like venomous snakes between Rose and Si An, finally locking onto Si An, who appeared completely unguarded and was smiling cheerfully at her.
It’s her! I’ll take out the weakest-looking one first!
Killing intent surged.
In an instant, A Li’s figure became a black lightning bolt, her sharp claws stabbing directly at Si An’s neck.
This strike, she was determined to land it!
Yet, faced with this sudden lethal ambush, Si An showed no reaction whatsoever.
Or rather… she didn’t need to react.
She simply shook her head helplessly, as if looking at a noisy, ignorant child.
“Sigh…” Si An’s sigh dragged out like a complaint, “So, you see… wild dogs from the countryside just can’t be tamed, huh? You get a little meat bone, and you think you can bite your master in return?”
Just as those black claws were about to touch Si An’s skin—
“Ugh—!!!”
The Disaster Knight’s hand suddenly seemed to act of its own will, snapping back sharply in the opposite direction.
The degree of bending was impossible for a human; under the armor, A Li’s entire arm was broken.
“Crack, crack…” The sound of bones fracturing came from inside the armor.
The pitch-black armor that granted her power instantly transformed into a torturous instrument of pain.
“Ahhhh! It hurts! It hurts so much! Stop! Stop!” A Li screamed like a slaughtered pig, collapsing to the ground as the armor tightened further, suffocating her.
She could only writhe violently like a fish thrown ashore.
Now, she couldn’t even lift a single finger.
Rose didn’t even bother to glance back at her, maintaining her previous stance as if she had simply brushed away a buzzing fly.
Her voice was laced with disgust.
“Trash with an unchanging nature. You were given a little power, and now you think you can run a dye shop?”
She hated betrayal. This time, Rose hadn’t chosen to directly give A Li bullets capable of killing Magical Girls because of what happened with Officer Chen Xin before.
She would never let her pawn bite back again.
All the power she gave out must remain under her control.
“Was my lesson not severe enough? Made you think you could resist?” Rose’s tone carried anger.
“Every thought you have, I know it all. Useless trash, put away that ridiculous rebelliousness and wishful thinking.”
With her words, the already tightening armor constricted even more.
A Li even heard the agonized creak of her ribs.
She could no longer scream; her voice turned into choking gasps.
“Now.”
Rose’s voice was merciless, only absolute command.
“Kneel. Apologize to your master with kowtow.”
No sooner had she spoken, the oppressive pressure slightly eased—just enough for A Li to move.
Her survival instinct crushed everything else.
Pain and fear utterly shattered her earlier ridiculous arrogance.
She couldn’t think, only forcing herself like a servant, using the last of her strength to press her forehead heavily against the filthy ground.
“Y-yes… Master, I was wrong, I won’t dare again… please spare me…”
From beneath the faceplate came her broken, sobbing pleas.
Such a magnificent suit of armor reduced to this pitiful act was truly laughable.
“Remember this pain and fear, trash.” Rose said coldly.
“This is your last chance. If you have any more thoughts you shouldn’t have, I won’t hesitate to turn you completely into a writhing puddle of filth, or…”
She glanced at the shadowy tendrils beside her that had just devoured a small thug.
“Feed it to that for dinner.”
A Li shivered in terror, scrambling back up, bowing her head deeply, curling her body tight, not daring to breathe freely.
She was completely transformed into a scared bird with no trace of her former arrogance.
***
Only then did Si An, as if having watched a boring play, lightly clap her hands to celebrate the curtain call.
Her tone was playful: “Wow~ Training complete? The process was a bit clichéd, but the result’s effective. So, Master, who should our new ‘Disaster Knight’ go bite next?”
Rose ignored Si An’s teasing.
“Bite who? No, I want her to hide first.” Rose shook her head.
“Next, it’s time to bring back that ‘good pawn’ who’s been hidden away.”
Si An raised an eyebrow.
“Oh? What’s so special about her?”
“A more useful pawn.” Rose replied lightly.
“Much more valuable than trash like this, and she can definitely lure Lu Yuan in.”
“Chen Lianxue from the Nightingale Squad?” Si An asked.
“That pink-haired girl? She lives next door to Lu Yuan and Lin Wan, right? Planning to snatch her?”
Rose glanced at Si An with some surprise.
“You know quite a bit.”
“I’m no fool who goes into a mission unprepared.”
Rose smiled.
“I don’t intend to snatch her forcibly. Her power came from me; I have plenty of ways to lure her out.”
Rose pulled a black coat from the shadows and put it on, even slipping on pure black gloves, blending perfectly into the night.
“You don’t need to worry about this.”
“As for you…”
Rose looked at A Li.
“The first thing Tian Aixing will do after returning to Tongmen is to rescan the entire city. She and Su Li are the eyes of the Magical Girl Branch in Tongmen. I want you to poke out their eyes.”
A Li felt as if she had been pardoned, yet an immense pressure weighed on her.
She dared not ask further, only nodding hard, her voice still trembling: “Yes! Master! I will find her!”
“Don’t rush… we need a plan.”
Rose knelt on one knee, grabbed the Disaster Knight’s head, and forced her to look at her.
“Your existence is unknown to those adorable Magical Girls. Without the Disaster armor, you are just an ordinary person. Tian Aixing’s magical power detector can’t find you. I want you to infiltrate her side unnoticed.”
Rose threw a glass vial to A Li, who trembled as she caught it.
In just seconds, all the Mimetic Disaster energy inside her flowed into the vial like water.
Looking at her body, she was now no different from before—completely an ordinary person, even her previous hand injury healed.
“When you want to transform, just crush this vial,” Rose said.
“Now, go find Tian Aixing. Get out.”
“Yes!”
A Li immediately turned and staggered out of that terrifying place, her figure quickly disappearing at the stairwell leading down.
She only wanted to finish the task as soon as possible and get far away from that dreadful woman.
***
“You even know Su Li and the others have returned?” Si An asked.
“Aren’t they in Yunjing?”
“Magical Girls can never hide their movements.”
Rose waved her phone, displaying an app similar to social media.
“No matter where they go, as long as they transform even for a second, they’re snapped by countless paparazzi while transformed, and those paparazzi are my eyes.”
“So you follow each of their social media accounts?”
Si An stuck her tongue out.
“Wow, such a pervert.”
“This is strategy.”
Rose twitched the corner of her mouth, truly wanting to punch the girl in front of her.