Yin Lin continued chasing the aberrant demon.
As it fled, the demon kept deploying the Little Green Orb, trying to break through Yin Lin’s shield.
This move was very effective against Huan Hong, but it couldn’t pierce Yin Lin’s shield—the damage was too low.
Although the direct damage was minimal, the Corrosive Power was quite potent, steadily eating away at Yin Lin’s shield, causing it to flicker constantly, as if it could shatter at any moment, unsettling her.
To avoid the risk of the shield breaking and being hit at the exact same time, Yin Lin actively withdrew her shield whenever she had a moment of downtime, allowing the corrosive green liquid to detach, then immediately opened a new shield.
Though it was a waste of mana, it was far safer than letting the shield suddenly shatter and being attacked.
Her immense mana reserves certainly gave her the luxury to afford such extravagance.
The ground where the biscuit boy had passed was stained with green and orange liquids, both disgusting and terrifying.
A small number of citizens who didn’t escape in time were splattered with the liquids; thankfully, none died—a small mercy amid the misfortune.
After two minutes of pursuit, even Huang Yi couldn’t hold back anymore upon seeing the demon’s escape route.
He sent another Message, granting clearer authorization to open fire.
The conditions were roughly the same—absolutely under no circumstances should any civilians be harmed.
His tone softened, shifting from strict prohibition to negotiation.
Yin Lin knew what this meant; she suspected she might have one last chance to open fire.
From the high altitude, she could see the demon’s direction.
There was a river in the distance—only there was open enough to have a chance to fire.
That might be her final opportunity.
If she missed it, the demon would enter the densely populated City Center.
A rough calculation showed her charge level would be about 70% by then.
A direct hit on the demon could easily take down the biscuit boy.
Even an explosion within a two-meter radius would very likely kill it.
Yin Lin took a deep breath, calming herself.
She reached the tall building beside the riverbank before the demon, landed firmly, and began to aim.
Just as she was about to wait for the perfect moment, another sudden event refreshed everyone’s perception of the aberrant demon.
The biscuit boy spotted humans and suddenly rushed toward a car, tearing open the door as if it were made of paper.
Inside sat a family of three.
The demon grabbed the man driving and held him against its chest, taking him away.
It didn’t kill the man but instead took him hostage?
This display of intelligence stunned the experts at the strategy center again.
It almost felt like they weren’t facing a demon but a human.
“This is bad. Killing one person is one thing, but if it doesn’t kill, then it might cause widespread harm.
This is going to be a big problem,” a sociology expert said, making Huang Yi realize the situation was tricky.
After a moment of thought, he sent Yin Lin another Message.
“Don’t act. Retreat.”
Huh? Seeing this message, Yin Lin was surprised.
She replied, “You want me to just watch and do nothing?”
Huang Yi answered again: [Yes, retreat.]
Yin Lin: “The demon is heading to the City Center where too many people haven’t evacuated. If I retreat, the demon will massacre people later.”
Huang Yi sent some rather cold words.
[If you retreat now, whatever happens afterward won’t be your fault.]
[Whatever you do now won’t help; there are hostages. If you kill them along with the demon, you’ll face massive backlash tomorrow.]
[Listen to me this once, retreat, and act like nothing happened. What comes next is the special squad and failure team’s problem.]
Yin Lin continued watching from the tall building and noticed a car following the demon.
It was the family’s car.
After the man was taken, the woman drove the damaged vehicle, chasing after them.
Seeing this, Yin Lin made a decision.
She fired a mana cannon, aiming at the river Bridge about a hundred meters ahead of the demon.
Since it was a static target, the shot was accurate.
The cannon hit the Bridge, and a fierce explosion blew it apart.
The massive structure collapsed, falling into the river.
This temporarily delayed the demon’s progress, forcing it to make a choice.
Cross the river to continue to the City Center?
Go around?
Or escape completely?
The demon seemed determined to cross the river forcibly.
It turned back from the broken Bridge and headed toward the nearby riverbank.
At that moment, the pursuing car arrived.
The door was flung open, and a child was thrown out of the moving vehicle, tumbling several times on the ground before coming to a stop.
The car didn’t stop but continued driving, crashing into the biscuit boy at 100 km/h.
The demon didn’t dodge.
It seemed puzzled by the action, deliberately standing its ground to be hit.
It stood firm, leaving skid marks on the ground from its feet but didn’t fall.
Meanwhile, the car was no match—it began to emit smoke from the engine, and the hood crumpled.
The airbags deployed, and the female driver inside was injured.
Neither the demon nor Yin Lin understood—wasn’t that just a fragile human? One the demon could crush with a mere pinch.
Why would they dare to chase it like that?
It was like an ant continuously attacking a human invading its territory.
From the human perspective, it was somewhat amusing—what was this ant even trying to do?
Humans might just laugh it off and pretend nothing happened.
The demon, however, seemed troubled and wanted to delve deeper into this matter.
It had been driven into retreat by Yin Lin’s attacks, then mauled by the failure team and city defense artillery.
Could it just let that go?
Pretend nothing happened?
No—it was about to make a move.
With one hand, it grabbed the car’s front end and violently flipped it over.
The roof hit the ground; the underside faced up.
The woman driver scraped her head in the process but regained consciousness and tried to climb out.
Yin Lin didn’t continue to watch the scene play out.
She flew lower, intentionally hovering within 100 meters—close enough for the demon to attack her with gravity magic.
Yet, the demon’s attention remained on the woman inside the flipped car.
Seeing this, Yin Lin charged a small mana cannon, firing with just 1% power.
The biscuit boy didn’t dodge or flinch, taking the hit head-on.
The 1% mana cannon caused only a wisp of smoke and some pain, but the demon merely glanced at Yin Lin and returned its focus to the woman.
It reached into the overturned car, trying to pull her out.
Yin Lin descended further to only 60 meters, using her body to attract the demon’s attention.
She took a deep breath, calming herself again, then began to cast a new spell she hadn’t yet fully mastered.
With her mana cannon restricted, only the Spear of Heaven could be used in this situation.
Feeling the mana within her, she precisely manipulated her energy to use [Mana Attribute Conversion] and [Magic Construction].
There was a faint barrier she couldn’t overcome.
Casting the Spear of Heaven wasn’t smooth.
She understood these basic magical principles well—they were the easiest teachings the Contract Goddess had used to train her, and her future self knew exactly how to teach her.
So the theoretical knowledge was fine, and she was nearly able to cast the spell, but always fell just short.
At that moment, the demon grabbed the woman inside the car.
Even though the woman held onto the A-pillar with both hands, it was useless. The demon tugged, dislocating her arm.
The man in the demon’s arms struggled desperately—punching, kicking, biting—but failed to inflict even the slightest injury.
Holding the woman, the demon looked up at Yin Lin, who was now practically within arm’s reach.
Suddenly, it squeezed hard, crushing the woman’s left leg.
She screamed—a sharp, piercing sound that tore through the night sky.
The demon, probably irritated, stomped down, smashing her skull.
The ground beneath caved in, cracking in multiple places.
It then looked up at the stunned Yin Lin, as if showing off.
It did this deliberately—it could have spared her but chose not to.
Was it a message for the human alliance?
For the magical girls?
Or just for Yin Lin herself?