2 a.m., Binhai City, New District.
In the depths of night, even the only dazzling city standing tall amidst the darkness was sinking into a rare moment of calm; there were few pedestrians on the streets, and the occasional figure hurried past, without a hint of nostalgia.
Such tranquility seemed particularly eerie in the dead of night.
In the pitch-black sky, the slender crescent moon was shrouded by dark clouds, only a faint white halo escaping; below the night sky, a certain street had grown cold and deserted, with only a drunken man, his face flushed, staggering ahead.
Two shadowy figures crept after him, and as the drunk man turned groggily into an alley, the two exchanged glances. One swiftly covered the man’s mouth and nose, while the other delivered a sharp hand chop to the side of his neck.
The drunk collapsed instantly, limp as a ragdoll, toppling to the ground.
The two assailants moved with practiced efficiency to strip their spoils.
“Big bro, this catch is loaded! Never mind the bank cards—he’s got at least twenty thousand in cash!” said one, a shifty-eyed young man, excitement clear in his voice.
His “big bro” was close to 1.8 meters tall, built like a bear with muscles bulging, a face full of menace, and eyes sharp and intimidating—a true thug.
“That much cash, more than enough for the two of us to live large for a while. Luck really smiled on us tonight—we netted a fat one.” “Big bro, what about this guy?” “Same as usual. Dump him in the trash.”
“Got it!”
The drunk was dragged by the pair, ready to be tossed into the trash bin.
“Stop right there!”
A pleasant female voice descended from above, halting their actions.
At that moment, a breathtaking figure landed from the sky!
A pure white miko robe, nearly devoid of any ornamentation; a softer, silken inner layer that gleamed even whiter; the miko skirt flared scarlet at the hem, a glimpse of slender legs clad in white tights peeking beneath—just these elements alone, even without looking at anything else, were enough to spark the imagination. And the girl’s appearance was a perfect match for this attire.
A white-haired maiden suddenly appeared, her expression cool and aloof, her skin like flawless jade, her youthful figure near perfect. Dressed in the miko robes, she looked for all the world like a shrine maiden from the annals of history come to life.
“The representative of love and peace, the very definition of beauty and charm, the dashing and captivating me, defender of justice—the Magical Girl is here!!”
No one knew how many times Xu Yinsheng had recited such a mortifying line. Standing atop the alley wall, looking down from above, she extended her delicate hand, pointing her slender finger at the two thieves.
“Let go of that man, and come at me instead.”
Uh… yes, Xu Yinsheng was the very girl who had nearly become an urban legend lately—a beautiful warrior, or more accurately, a Magical Girl.
Though word on the street called her a “beautiful warrior,” her current ever-changing form was truly that of a Magical Girl who specialized in striking down evil.
But when it came to image, there was no helping it—she couldn’t possibly go explain to everyone in person.
After all, the title “beautiful warrior” spread much wider than “Magical Girl,” didn’t it?
The two men were stunned for a moment, then snapped to their senses.
“Holy crap, big bro! She’s the real deal!”
“What are you waiting for? Take a picture, quick! I heard just one photo sells for 500,000 on the black market!!”
Click, click, click, click!!
A flurry of flashes went off, capturing Xu Yinsheng’s figure on their phones.
Xu Yinsheng was neither anxious nor annoyed. A Magical Girl’s innate ability was information shielding—not only would photos fail, but even if someone sketched her on the spot, the image in their minds and what was drawn would both be automatically scrambled afterward.
With a light leap, she landed on the ground, the crisp sound of her heels striking the pavement echoing in the alley.
She strode up to the burly thug, the obvious ringleader, and held out her pale, slender hand, palm open.
“Since you know my reputation, let the man go now. And hand over the money, unless you want to suffer for nothing.”
Xu Yinsheng declared magnanimously.
But the two men paid her no heed at all, huddling together to whisper.
“Big bro, why won’t the pics come out? They’re all pixelated.” “Who knows, is this some kind of black tech?” “Black tech? What kind of black tech does that?” “You ask me? Who am I supposed to ask? I dropped out after high school.”
“.”
Watching them disregard her entirely, blue veins popped on Xu Yinsheng’s forehead as she immediately dropped into a fighting stance.
“You two—if you don’t hand over the man and the cash right now, I’ll show you what justice’s iron fist really means.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the two men turned, eyeing the slender Magical Girl, their mocking laughter ringing through the narrow alley.
“You? Justice’s iron fist?”
The big thug flexed his biceps, then compared them to Xu Yinsheng’s thigh, which wasn’t even a quarter as thick.
“I’ve been in this business for years, and the only thing I trust is muscle. And you, little girl?” The thug’s face was full of scorn.
He tossed the drunk into the trash bin and cracked his knuckles, his bear-like frame casting an enormous shadow under the dim lights, as if he could swallow up the petite figure before him.
A few minutes later.
Xu Yinsheng elegantly dusted off her hands and walked out of the alley. She glanced back at the two men, now stacked atop one another and beaten into pig-headed lumps, and snorted coldly through her nose.
“Small fry, trying to mess with me? Did you really think I’d dare go after evil without some real power? Weren’t you afraid you’d end up as a tragic extra in some dark comic?”
She then patted her slightly rounded lower belly under her miko robes, muttering to herself.
“Stopped three crimes tonight, and finally recharged my Energy. Clean up and head home for some sleep. Gotta go stone cutting with that kid tomorrow.”
Xu Yinsheng’s latest transformation was different from any before.
She’d played a blood-sucking loli vampire, a gemstone loli who fed on precious metals and jewels, but this was her first time being a Magical Girl who survived by striking down evil to sustain herself with Energy.
Ordinary food gave her taste and a sense of fullness, but it couldn’t supply any of the Energy her body required. To keep her body functioning, she had to strike down evil and draw Energy from her acts of justice.
If not for that, would Xu Yinsheng be out here at night striking down evil and stopping crimes?
With this time, she’d rather be catching up on dramas, binging shows, sleeping, or partying away the night at a club.
At the trash bin, the drunk’s body was half-buried in the heap, only his long legs sticking out.
“Wake up, wake up, sir, wake up.”
With a gentle tug, she effortlessly hauled the man out of the trash, the stench of rot and filth thick in the air, his clothes now stained in every color from the garbage.
Xu Yinsheng wrinkled her brow, just about to try some physical sobering technique, when the drunk man, still in a daze, turned his head toward her—a neat pair of brows, handsome features, surrounded by a nauseatingly strong stench of liquor, and a face that Xu Yinsheng knew all too well.
Zhao Yicheng?!
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