The kitchen door clicked shut, cutting off Li Chi’s view.
Li Guang and Chi Zaozao exchanged a glance, their steps quickening in perfect sync as they practically dragged the two Contracted Beasts up to Li Guang’s bedroom on the second floor.
The door locked with a snap.
The curtains were yanked shut.
The room was left bathed only in the warm yellow glow of a small nightlight by the bed.
The two girls and their beasts finally shed the masks they’d worn in the shared spaces.
They let out a collective sigh of relief, only to spark with excitement the next second over their shared secret.
“Hurry, hurry!”
Chi Zaozao was the first to leap onto Li Guang’s soft bed, crossing her legs as she sat.
Her eyes sparkled as she stared at her friend. “Xiao Guang, we need to go over this properly! Your brother is definitely hiding something!”
The red pony landed on the pillow, folding its little wings and striking a serious discussion pose.
Xiao Qi the panda plush was cradled in Li Guang’s arms, its beady black eyes scanning the room to ensure no surveillance magic or anomalies were at play.
“There are definitely issues,” Li Guang said, hugging her knees as she perched on the edge of the bed, brows slightly furrowed.
“But the ‘magical girl’ possibility is already ruled out. Xiao Qi, Little Pony—are you really sure my brother has no mana fluctuations at all? Not even the most subtle, deliberately suppressed kind?”
“Absolutely certain,” Xiao Qi’s voice echoed in both Li Guang’s and Chi Zaozao’s minds, carrying the unshakeable confidence unique to Contracted Beasts.
“Magical power is like ripples on water. No matter how you try to hide it, for us who share the same source, getting as close as we did earlier makes it impossible to sense nothing.”
“Exactly!”
The red pony nodded vigorously.
“And as for those adaptive adjustments… even if they existed, the soul’s gender imprint and a magical girl’s hope imprint are two totally different things. No mixing them up!”
“What about a mage, then?”
Chi Zaozao pressed, unwilling to let it go.
“Powerful mages can hide their presence completely, right? Like those urban legend reclusive experts!”
“Theoretically… possible.”
Xiao Qi paused thoughtfully.
“But it’s extremely difficult. Mages use mana like breathing—it always leaves traces.
Unless he has a concealment ability on a level far beyond our understanding, something near rule-tier… or…”
“Or what?”
Li Guang prompted.
“Or the power he’s using isn’t from our recognized magical system at all.”
Xiao Qi spoke slowly.
“But some other force that’s completely different in nature… yet equally powerful.”
The room fell silent for a beat.
This guess sounded more plausible than “magical girl brother,” but it was also far more unsettling.
“Some other force?”
Li Guang mulled over the words.
“Like those ‘anti-human’ monsters?”
“No, anti-human energy is full of distortion and malice—easy to spot.”
The red pony chimed in.
“Your brother’s aura is clean. Just… pure ’emptiness.’ It’s like mana automatically veers away from him.”
“Automatically veers away?”
Chi Zaozao blinked.
“That sounds more like… a magic-immune constitution?”
“Could be.” Li Guang’s fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her pajamas.
“The key is, if my brother really has some special ability or is hiding a secret, why keep it from us? Especially from me?”
There was real resentment and worry in Xiao Guang’s voice.
With their parents gone for three months every year, the responsibility of looking after her had naturally fallen to her big brother.
Sure, nannies used to come, but as her actual blood relative, her brother was basically her second dad.
“Big brother like a father” wasn’t just a saying.
“Aren’t you hiding the fact that you’re a magical girl from the family too?”
The red pony continued.
“You’re such a hypocrite.”
“Haha… yeah, I guess so…” The serious mood shattered in an instant.
Li Guang and Chi Zaozao scratched their heads awkwardly, suddenly realizing that what they were doing was the thing most likely to worry their family.
“Xiao Guang, don’t overthink it.”
Xiao Qi patted the back of her hand with its fluffy paw.
“Maybe your brother really did just get lucky and ran into a butcher with special connections.”
“Yeah, yeah!” Chi Zaozao jumped in to comfort her too.
“You don’t know—some people’s luck is straight-up explosive! They can trip over money while walking!”
Li Guang knew her friends were just trying to ease her mind. She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
“You’re right. Right now, it’s all just guesses.” Her eyes regained their resolve.
“But we still need to keep an eye out. After all, that’s my brother!”
“Mm!”
Chi Zaozao and the two Contracted Beasts nodded in unison.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Li Chi had finished cleaning the kitchen and glanced at the time.
He headed to his room, changed into something more practical for movement.
According to the agreement from yesterday’s parting, this afternoon was when he, as a temp worker, was supposed to report to the organization’s base for the first time.
He slipped into comfortable sportswear, opened the door, and called out toward the next room.
“Xiao Guang, Zaozao, I’m heading out!”
“Okay.”
Xiao Guang, her heart now at ease, was playing an online game with Chi Zaozao.
The two Contracted Beasts watched from the side, looking envious.
Li Chi withdrew his super senses once he confirmed what the two little girls were up to in the room.
He didn’t waste any time, hurrying out the door.
Cleaning the kitchen had taken a little extra time.
If he didn’t hustle, he’d definitely be late.
Being late on his first day reporting in?
The boss definitely wouldn’t like that.
And this job’s benefits were super, super good—he couldn’t afford to mess it up.
He jogged to the park near the house.
Seeing no one around, Li Chi immediately activated his invisibility.
Yes, some skills could be used even without transforming into Amazon Omega.
Invisibility was one of them.
But using it directly in public still carried a slight risk of exposure.
Especially Amazon’s transformation process, which had a powerful aura—way too high a chance of blowing his cover.
This was when you needed the ultimate superhero transformation spot: a public restroom!
Once he found a clean stall, Li Chi twisted the grip.
“Amazon!!!”
A powerful surge of cyan airflow erupted, instantly engulfing the entire space.
At the same time, from one of the stalls came an untimely noise—like something dropping to the floor.
It sounded more like someone had tripped and fallen.
“WC!! Who the hell!! Which bastard!! Don’t you dare leave, wait right there for me!!”
An enraged male voice followed, laced with a mix of grievance and pain.
Who knew what the poor guy had just gone through in there.
“Aaaah, sorry, sorry! I didn’t know anyone was in here!”
Omega, in his black bio-armor, immediately apologized like a kid caught red-handed, bowing frantically toward the stall.
After his apologies, Li Chi bolted out like he was fleeing for his life.
In the split second before he burst from the restroom, he vaguely sensed a figure chasing after him from behind.
He knew that if he didn’t run now, what awaited him next was the most terrifying, most horrifying revenge in the world.
A billion times scarier than getting kicked around by magical girls!