Chapter 88: Sand Gun

Jiang Lingwei had always dreamed of coming to the seaside after retiring.

She planned to try every activity related to the ocean—after fighting battles all her life, it was finally time to enjoy herself.

Even if she had to wear a swimsuit by herself, it wasn’t something she couldn’t consider.

But now that she was actually by the sea, Jiang Lingwei just wanted to lie back on the lounge chair, close her eyes, and feel the warm, comfortable sea breeze.

She could have gone to play just now, but Jiangcheng and the others hadn’t arrived yet.

If she played with everything ahead of time, it wouldn’t be fun to do it all again when they got here.

It was like finding a delicious snack stall after school but forcing herself to wait for her friends to come so they could all enjoy it together.

Jiang Lingwei wanted to wait for her friends and… the kids’ father before going out to play.

Besides, lying here, eating ice cream, and feeling the sea breeze was really comfortable.

Suddenly, Jiang Lingwei opened her eyes.

Something was off.

The sea breeze was supposed to be pleasant, but why did it carry a faint, lingering scent of blood?

The waves of the ocean remained the same, calm and undisturbed on the surface, yet an intense unease suddenly bloomed inside her heart.

“Scritch scritch…”

Before her consciousness fully registered it, her fingers were already touching the area near her collarbone.

Immediately, the sensation told her that her magic core was not there.

Of course, she had already decided to retire; at this moment, she was more ordinary than Jiang Yao, Jiangcheng, or even Wen Yanquan.

But if she was just an ordinary person, how was it possible for her to sense such a strong danger in this peaceful ocean?

“Yao Yao! Come quickly!”

“Hmm?”

Jiang Yao, who was digging in the sand, heard her mother’s call and immediately looked up, running toward her.

“What’s wrong, Mom?”

“I… uh…”

Jiang Lingwei hesitated. Calling Jiang Yao back was an instinctive move; she suddenly didn’t want her daughter to go near the sea.

But that explanation wasn’t something she could tell Jiang Yao.

She couldn’t just say, “Mom suddenly feels uneasy, so I’m bothering you.”

After a few seconds of thought, Jiang Lingwei said, “Um, Yao Yao.” She took off her sunglasses and pointed at the sea. “Do you smell anything? Like the scent of blood?”

“Blood?”

Jiang Yao tilted her head and sniffed hard.

Then she said puzzled, “No, Mom. Did you see someone hurt?”

No?

Jiang Lingwei confirmed once more; the hidden bloodstain in the sea breeze was still there—actually, it was slightly stronger than before.

Looking around at the other people on the beach, some were playing piano, others singing, and some swimming in the sea. No one was acting abnormally.

Right in front of her was the active magical girl known as [Crystal]. Although Jiang Lingwei had never seen her daughter’s transformation animation, she could sense that even in normal form, Jiang Yao’s body contained magical power.

Her daughter hadn’t noticed anything, and Jiang Lingwei, just an ordinary person, couldn’t say anything either.

(Am I imagining things…)

Jiang Lingwei’s eyelids flickered.

(No!)

She suddenly opened her eyes wide, staring straight at the boundless ocean.

(It’s definitely not an illusion. That smell… that disgusting smell is getting stronger. Ugh… I feel like throwing up.)

“Splash!”

Waves splashed as many people happily swam in the sea.

In this era, the ocean was much more dangerous to humans because of those dark enemies.

Canghai City, as a small city, had developed mainly because it was located in a bay with other cities acting as defense lines outside. Thanks to this, it was a rare place safe enough for people to swim.

Although this area hadn’t been heavily developed or widely known yet, many keen tourists were already playing in the water here.

“So comfortable!”

A young man was showing off his swimming skills between the waves to his girlfriend.

“Ha ha, am I not handsome enough to impress you, wifey~”

The woman opposite him enthusiastically cheered, “Hubby is so handsome!”

Encouraged by the praise, the young man grew even more confident, spinning and heading toward the deep sea.

“Ah, hubby?!”

His girlfriend called after him from behind.

“It’s okay! Watch how far I can swim! I’m going to catch a starfish in the deep!”

His confidence wasn’t unwarranted; he was a member of the district swimming team. Although the ocean had more waves than a pool, he didn’t think it was anything special.

“No! No! Come back! Run!”

After swimming underwater for a while and finding his target on the seabed, the young man surfaced to catch his breath, only to hear his girlfriend’s panicked screams.

“Huh?”

He turned around and saw her floating a few meters away, swimming back while shouting like that.

(What’s going on?)

The thought flashed through his mind, but just then, a rush of water swept past his legs.

Then, a thick, pungent stench of blood filled the air.

His survival instinct forced him to swim immediately toward the shore, but human nature made him glance back.

What was it?

Turning around, he only saw a massive fin, several meters high, cutting through the waves as it charged toward him.

“Ugh!”

His eyes widened in terror. Coughing up water, he lost control of his swimming posture and breath, struggling like a drowning animal, writhing toward the shore.

But how could he escape the bloody, stinking giant mouth behind him?

“Ahhh! A shark!”

He let out a sharp, desperate scream just as a blood-soaked mouth broke the sea surface and swallowed him whole.

“Ahhhhhh!”

People on the shore reacted quickly. In these times, quick reactions were a necessity.

Many didn’t even look back upon hearing the screams; they simply started running.

Naturally, Jiang Lingwei and Jiang Yao also noticed what was happening.

“Mom!”

Before Jiang Lingwei could react, Jiang Yao grabbed her arm tightly.

“Let’s run!”

“Eh? Uh… oh!” Jiang Lingwei hurriedly put on the shoes next to the lounge chair and started running inland.

(Is it because I’m here? But that thing in the sea will come up soon!)

(Yao Yao, you have to save people!)

As for Jiang Yao, she didn’t care about the fleeing crowd; she just held Jiang Lingwei’s hand and ran forward with the flow.

Of course, this wasn’t because she lacked compassion; it was because she already knew someone would handle the situation.

Before the monster could harm another person, a magical girl would intervene!

“Step.”

While Jiang Yao was lost in her thoughts, the magical girl had already stepped onto the sand.

With an hourglass figure, wearing a trench coat and riding boots, a cowboy hat on her head, and a revolver holstered at her waist, the magical girl with golden wavy hair stood at the shore.

Among the people present, only Jiang Yao knew who she was.

Magical Girl [Sandgun], recorded as a veteran with extensive experience resolving city-level crises.

If anyone still had the courage to look back, they would see her lone figure standing before the ocean, as dashing as a cowboy in a Western duel.

No matter who the enemy attacking from the sea was, in a small city like Canghai with few distinctive features, they probably wouldn’t be very strong.

With this senior around, Jiang Yao—the rookie magical girl—probably wouldn’t need to step in.

While the crowd fled, Sandgun watched the approaching shark fin.

From behind, her figure was tall and confident.

Yet if someone stood beside her, they would easily notice her hand trembling slightly as it rested on the gun holster.

“I… huff… I…”

Sandgun breathed heavily, her voice trembling with sobs as she whispered, “Why is there a dark incident here too…”

“It should… it should not be very strong…”