Facing the sudden arrival of Lu Yuan to save the day, Rose felt a flicker of unease.
She had only briefly lost sight of Crow’s perspective.
In just a short pause during the battle, Lu Yuan had not only precisely identified the real Chen Lianxue from dozens of identical clones but also cracked the code of that bomb collar and arrived at the Ferris wheel to provide support without a scratch?!
The speed was too fast—unbelievably fast, as if she had skipped over every trial and error, every search process.
That’s right, she had indeed skipped the trial and error process.
Rose let out a faint laugh, finally certain of Lu Yuan’s ability.
If it were precognition, she might be able to see fragments of the future, but cracking a bomb collar’s code—something that requires repeated attempts—would be impossible by mere “seeing.”
She would still need to make choices in reality, try, and verify which version of the “future” she saw was correct.
That process takes time and cannot be so quick and precise!
Unless—
She hadn’t foreseen the future.
She had… lived through the future.
Over and over, making choices, failing repeatedly, dying countless times, then returning to this exact moment with all the memories and answers.
Only in this way could she avoid all wrong options like a seer, find the one true Chen Lianxue so precisely, enter the correct code so swiftly, and execute those unbelievable subtle moves in battle that seemed to predict everything in advance.
That wasn’t prediction! It was real, hard-earned “experience” gained through countless failures!
Time rewind…
This was absolute power… the power she longed for.
How domineering, how covetable this power was! It transcended all rules, an absolute authority! The very thing she had dreamed of!
Rose’s face uncontrollably revealed a near-ecstatic expression, as if she were admiring a priceless treasure.
Her gaze at Lu Yuan brimmed with possessiveness, almost spilling over.
She had to have her! At any cost!
Yet in the very next second, rationality swept over that extreme desire.
Because she knew how terrifying this power was, Rose understood more clearly that confronting Lu Yuan, who possessed such an ability, here and now was utterly foolish.
She could kill Lu Yuan once, ten times, even a hundred times—so what?
As long as Lu Yuan was willing, she could rewind infinitely until finding the only way to defeat her.
Her precious A-rank Disaster Clone was doomed to be thoroughly destroyed after Lu Yuan learned all its weaknesses through countless deaths.
Continuing to brawl held no chance of victory; it would only waste this hard-earned clone and possibly expose more information.
Greed required rational execution. She needed a plan.
Almost at the moment she came to this realization, Rose made the most decisive choice.
The sharp aura around her receded like a tide, her brow lowering as if she suddenly lost all interest in the battle before her.
She glanced at Si An, who was preparing to fight, and spoke flatly as if commenting on the pleasant weather:
“Looks like today’s ball is ending early.”
Si An was stunned, still not understanding: “Huh? Rose, what do you mean? We…”
Before she finished, Rose’s figure began to blur as thick black mist surged from beneath her feet.
“Sorry, Si An.” Although it was an apology, Rose’s voice was perfunctory and insincere as she fully merged into the black mist.
“This clone took quite some resources to cultivate. Can’t just waste it here. You’ll have to figure out how to get out on your own.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than her figure vanished completely, leaving only a patch of black mist in place.
She had just so decisively abandoned her ally and fled alone!
“Rose?! You—!” Si An was utterly shocked, her smile frozen.
She knew Rose was unreliable, but never imagined she would betray her so decisively!
Now, left alone, she faced the cold gazes of Lu Yuan, Aoi Hoshino, and Tian Aixing.
The black mist portal that had just transmitted Rose away had yet to close, and Tian Aixing immediately summoned Ming Snake to interfere with the closing portal.
However, Rose’s escape was incredibly swift. Before Tian Aixing’s Ming Snake arrived, the black mist had already vanished without a trace.
Only a dumbfounded Si An remained, along with three enraged Magical Girls.
Si An was confident she could beat one opponent, but three against one…
“Pfft, can we settle this peacefully?”
***
After the amusement park incident, inside the Headquarters infirmary.
Rose was missing, while Si An was locked in a special cell within Headquarters, with Tian Aixing researching the unusual abilities on her that didn’t belong to a Magical Girl.
Lu Yuan thought for a moment—Tian Aixing really was a superhuman, not having rested at all.
Morning sunlight filtered through the blinds, shining on the hospital bed where the faint scent of disinfectant mingled subtly with a hint of floral fragrance.
Lying on the bed was Chen Lianxue.
“How are you feeling?” Lu Yuan asked. “Any discomfort?”
“I’m sorry… Lu Yuan-jie, I caused so many people to get hurt because of me.”
Chen Lianxue lay in Lu Yuan’s arms, suppressing her urge to cry as she apologized.
No one liked a kid who cried all the time, especially not one who had brought harm to so many—she felt she had no right to cry.
Lu Yuan said nothing at first.
Her hand gently rested on Chen Lianxue’s head, her voice calm:
“Lianxue, look up at me.”
Timidly, Chen Lianxue raised her head, meeting Lu Yuan’s gaze.
“Did you want to get sick?” Lu Yuan asked.
Chen Lianxue paused, then shook her head vigorously.
“Did you choose to be taken by bad people?”
Again, Chen Lianxue shook her head hard, a tear slipping down.
“Your mother made choices to protect you, Sister Su Li, Sister Lin Wan, and I chose to save you, to fight for you…” Lu Yuan said slowly, “These were decisions we made because we care about you and want to protect you. The consequences—good or bad—should be borne and considered by those who made those decisions.”
Her fingers lightly brushed Chen Lianxue’s cheek, wiping away the tear.
“And you, Lianxue, you’re the child loved and protected by everyone. You never did anything wrong.” Lu Yuan’s gaze was earnest. “So you’re the one who least needs to apologize. The ones who should say sorry are the people who hurt you, the bad people who put you in danger—not you.”
Not me…?
Chen Lianxue had always thought she was the root of all problems, a burden, the culprit.
But Lu Yuan told her she was simply the one loved and cherished, not to bear the chains of others’ choices or evil deeds.
“Have a good cry.” Lu Yuan smiled as she pinched Chen Lianxue’s cheek.
A flood of pent-up grievances and relief surged, and the tears she had held back finally broke free.
She buried herself in Lu Yuan’s arms, clutching Lu Yuan’s clothes tightly, sobbing loudly: “Ugh… Lu Yuan-jie… I’m so scared… I thought… I thought everyone would hate me…”
Lu Yuan said nothing like “Don’t cry,” only gently wrapped her arms around her and patted her back, letting her tears soak her shoulder.
“No one will.” Lu Yuan said softly. “Everyone was worried about you. Now that you’re safe, we’re all just glad.”
After crying for a long time, Chen Lianxue’s sobs gradually softened into quiet sniffles.
She lifted her head from Lu Yuan’s embrace, her eyes and nose red.
Lu Yuan tidied her messy hair. “Alright, now you just need to rest well and get better soon—that’s the best way to thank everyone.”
Chen Lianxue looked into Lu Yuan’s eyes and finally nodded slowly.
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