When Huang Xi arrived at the dark alley, what she saw made her heart stop.
The Magical Girl with the codename “Poppy” was collapsed on the cold, filthy ground.
Her usual dashing battle suit was now disheveled, stained with dust, outlining a pitiful silhouette.
The face that always wore a bold smile was now as red as blood, the color spreading down her neck.
She was gasping for breath, her chest rising and falling violently, eyes unfocused, as if she had just endured an unspeakable nightmare.
“There’s no residual magic reaction in the surrounding airspace.”
A calm voice came from above.
The blue-haired girl with the codename “Wuwangwo” floated low in the air, sharp eyes sweeping the darkness like a searchlight.
The Magic Book in her hand glowed faintly with a blue detection light.
She adjusted her glasses, her expression grave.
“Poppy! Are you okay?!”
Huang Xi’s heart leapt to her throat.
She rushed forward, crouched down, and carefully supported her limp companion.
The sensation in her arm startled her—Poppy’s body was trembling.
“I… I’m fine…”
Poppy’s voice was weak, as if she had barely survived, carrying a hoarse embarrassment.
She avoided Huang Xi’s worried gaze.
“The enemy… ran away…”
“What happened? What attacked you?”
Huang Xi pressed anxiously, her eyes sweeping over Poppy’s bare feet, disheveled red hair, and the thin line of blood on her cheek, an ominous feeling growing in her heart.
At the question, Poppy seemed stabbed by an invisible needle!
She instantly lowered her head, the fading blush surging back, flooding her cheeks and ears as if to bleed.
She bit her lip hard, staring at the filthy cracks in the stone at her feet, unable to say a word, her body trembling even more.
Huang Xi had never seen Poppy like this.
Since she joined the Magical Girls a year ago, Poppy had always seemed straightforward, bold, even a bit of a tomboy senior.
This state of shame and near collapse was completely beyond her understanding.
“This is not a place to linger.”
Wuwangwo landed lightly, her voice still calm.
“Let’s take her back to Headquarters first.”
“Okay!”
Huang Xi nodded immediately, carefully lifting Poppy’s weakened body.
The three quickly left the alley, thick with humiliation and an eerie atmosphere, and flew toward the brightly lit Magical Association Headquarters at the city center.
Back at the solemn, busy Headquarters building, Poppy was immediately taken to the Medical Examination Room.
Huang Xi and Wuwangwo stood outside the cold metal door, waiting anxiously.
Only the emergency lights cast a pale glow in the corridor, highlighting the gravity on their faces.
After about fifteen minutes, the door of the examination room slid open.
A staff member in a white coat came out, looking puzzled.
“The physical examination results are out.”
The staff member adjusted his glasses.
“No obvious external injuries, magic flow is normal, and no signs of contamination or corruption detected.”
He paused, sounding even more puzzled.
“But… her mental state is very unstable. We tried to ask what happened, but she… refused to communicate, with strong emotional reactions. You… should go in and see for yourselves.”
The two immediately entered.
The light inside the examination room was soft.
Poppy wasn’t on the bed, but curled up on a single sofa in the corner.
Her arms were wrapped tightly around her knees, her face buried deep in her arms, like a snail withdrawing into its shell after being startled.
Only her fiery red hair hung in messy strands, and the flushed tips of her ears visible through the gaps betrayed the turmoil inside her.
“Poppy…”
Huang Xi stepped quietly to the sofa, crouching down, her voice filled with worry.
“Are you… really alright? Are you sure you’re okay?”
The figure on the sofa only shook her head harder, burying herself deeper, refusing all communication.
At that moment, the door burst open!
Mu Yurou rushed in, breathless and still in casual clothes—she must have transformed and come running as soon as she received the message.
“Sis Meiren!”
She dashed to the sofa, looking at Poppy’s trembling figure, her face pale.
“What happened? Was it a strong Insect Monster? Are you hurt? Are you contaminated?”
Her voice trembled on the verge of tears, filled with concern for her comrade.
“Her body isn’t injured, and there’s no contamination.”
Wuwangwo stood to the side, stating the facts calmly, eyes sharp behind her glasses as she watched Poppy.
“But… when we asked what happened, she wouldn’t answer.”
On the sofa, Poppy seemed to struggle.
A suppressed, deeply ashamed voice escaped from her tightly held arms.
“The enemy… wasn’t a Insect Monster…”
Her body trembled even harder.
“It was… it was a Witch…”
“A Witch attacked me…”
“Witch?!”
“Witch?!”
“Witch?!”
Huang Xi, Mu Yurou, and Wuwangwo cried out almost in unison, faces filled with shock and disbelief!
“Witch?!”
Mu Yurou’s voice shot up, trembling with horror.
“Why?! How could a Witch appear in Red Sea City without anyone noticing?! What did she do to you?! Did she hurt you?!”
She pressed even more urgently, reaching toward Poppy but hesitating, afraid to upset her further.
However, at the words “what did she do,” Poppy reacted as if electrocuted!
She shrank tighter, almost disappearing into the sofa, her deeply buried head shaking fiercely.
The skin on her neck was as red as a cooked shrimp, her entire presence radiating intense shame and humiliation.
She bit her lip hard, refusing to say another word no matter what.
“She… what did she look like?”
Wuwangwo pushed her glasses up, voice calm but eyes like an eagle’s behind the lenses, capturing every detail.
This was vital information.
Poppy’s body shook violently, as if waging a fierce internal struggle.
After several seconds, a voice trembling with humiliation drifted out from her arms, so soft it was barely audible.
“Her… hair was black… like… like ink…”
“Her eyes… red… like… like blood…”
“Red eyes?”
Mu Yurou picked up at once, her face tense.
“I’ve heard seniors who fought Witches say this! It’s one of the Witch’s most distinctive traits! Their eyes are that… ominous blood-red!”
“A Witch appearing in Red Sea City… this is no small matter.”
Wuwangwo muttered.
“It must be reported to the Association leadership at once…”
At Poppy’s description of “black hair and red eyes,” Huang Xi’s heart sank.
A familiar figure flashed in her mind—the mysterious white-haired, red-eyed Magical Girl who had appeared a few days ago during the deadly Abyssal Beast attack, saving her and Yurou’s lives.
She had seemed powerful and enigmatic, her aura reminiscent of the legendary Crystal Orchid Senior…
Red eyes!
Yurou had just said—Witches have red eyes!
Then… that white-haired, red-eyed figure who saved her…
Was she a Witch?
And she even resembled the Crystal Orchid Senior.
A cold, terrifying suspicion slithered through Huang Xi’s mind like a snake, making her hands and feet go numb.
At almost the same moment—
Mu Yurou seemed to realize something too!
She jerked her head up, her startled gaze meeting Huang Xi’s pale face.
From each other’s eyes, they saw the same crashing waves of shock and disbelief!