“Yunque, Vice Leader, specialized in intelligence gathering, Dream-Entry rank.”
The white-haired girl nodded expressionlessly at Ye Xingyao. Because of Qila’s role as an intermediary, the two of them had been acquainted for some time now.
“Jin Ming, Magical Girl. My abilities lean more toward the power-type superhuman category. Initial Night rank. Please look after me.”
To Ye Xingling’s surprise, the usually awkward Jin Ming introduced herself with poise and grace. She was so polite that Xingling felt as though she were standing next to a high-class young lady rather than a Magical Girl.
“Shuanghua, Magical Girl, specializes in ice magic, Han-Guang rank.”
Ye Xingling curiously sized up the girl named Ye Xin. This hunter girl, who didn’t seem particularly serious, didn’t appear to have any qualities that would earn such high praise from Qila.
Noticing Ye Xingling’s gaze, Ye Xingyao gave her a puzzled smile.
“It looks like everyone arrived quite early. If there’s nothing else, let’s head straight in. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish.”
Yunque wasn’t much of a talker, while Shuanghua and Jin Ming were more reserved alongside Yi Shiyue. ‘It seems this mission is destined to be boring…’ Ye Xingyao thought. She even had to be the one to break the ice.
As for herself, she had been a lone wolf for a long time — how was she supposed to liven up the atmosphere?
After the girls nodded, the atmosphere among them dropped to freezing point. Aside from necessary exchanges between Ye Xingyao and Yunque, or quiet whispers between Ye Xingling and Jin Ming, there was almost no interaction along the way.
It would have been fine if they were just being quiet, but since entering the blood processing plant’s grounds, nothing noteworthy had happened besides the pervasive scent of decay.
The five girls walked along the gravel-like ground, strolling outside the deserted core area.
Ye Xingyao felt a sense of déjà vu, as if they were in the ending credits of some anime.
For some reason, night was falling quickly today. Perhaps it was because she had spent too much time soaked in neon lights, but she always felt that the darkness in Satellite City arrived quite late.
“It’s getting dark. There doesn’t seem to be anything of interest on the outskirts, so we should head toward the core area together. I know investigation missions are usually quite boring, so don’t go yawning on us, Miss Shuanghua.”
Called out by Ye Xingyao, Ye Xingling jolted like a student caught dozing off in class. Her face flushed red as she lowered her head.
“Miss Yunque, do you remember where the fuse box for the core area is? Let’s flip the breakers first so we don’t have to fumble around in the dark with flashlights.”
“Yes.”
After arranging the next steps, Ye Xingyao sighed quietly to herself.
‘Ugh, talking to others about mission details is such a hassle…’
It would be much more efficient if she just did it herself.
Following Yunque, the group arrived at a warehouse on the edge of the core area.
“The fuse box is inside.”
Yunque, who had been leading the way, took a step back, signaling it was time for the experienced hunter to step up.
Facing the tightly sealed warehouse, Ye Xingyao set her backpack on the ground. Just as she was about to look for lockpicking tools to open the door, Jin Ming suddenly struck it with a blade.
The lock fell with a loud clang. The sound of metal hitting metal echoed throughout the entire plant, and the empty surroundings even produced a faint reverberation.
This was truly something Ye Xingyao hadn’t expected.
“Is there a problem?”
Seeing Ye Xingyao’s surprised expression, Jin Ming thought she had accidentally messed something up.
“No problem. However, is that your wand? It’s my first time seeing a Magical Girl use a cold weapon as a wand.”
In her memory, once a Magical Girl reached the Initial Night rank, they would find their own path and obtain their own unique wand. For instance, Yunque’s wand was a gun, while Qila’s was a traditional carved short staff.
After packing her things, Ye Xingyao stood up and curiously observed the Golden Longblade in Jin Ming’s hand.
As someone who was once a young boy, she still felt a certain thrill toward cold weapons.
After all, who wouldn’t want to be a master swordsman who kills monsters in a single blow, leaving behind a mysterious and powerful silhouette?
“Jin Ming is a very rare type of Magical Girl. She possesses the standard set of spells while also having superior physical fitness and close-combat capabilities. There are very few Magical Girls like her in any association across the world…”
While Jin Ming was trying to figure out how to politely introduce her abilities without starting with ‘this lady,’ Yunque uncharacteristically spoke up.
“I see. That’s certainly eye-opening.”
Ye Xingyao shrugged, ending the conversation. She turned on her flashlight and led the group into the room containing the control panels.
“There are quite a few. Let’s just flip them all for now; otherwise, we might have to run back later.”
Looking at the power control gates divided into various sectors, each with its own set of small switches, Ye Xingyao decided not to choose…
“Let’s go check the area where the monster tissue was found. We might find something. We even have to open the doors ourselves… Did the Human Alliance delegate the entire responsibility to us?”
As they walked, Ye Xingyao reflected on everything happening. She didn’t feel like the Human Alliance was taking this very seriously.
Logically, a Midnight-rank humanoid monster had just appeared a few days ago, and now physical monster tissue had been found. They were currently in a delicate, sensitive period. Didn’t Hongye Qiu say the Satellite City Human Alliance planned to purge the elf factions within the city?
She couldn’t quite figure it out.
Soon, they reached the location marked by the person who had found the monster tissue. It was only then that they saw fresh traces left by humans.
For some reason, even though they had flipped the breakers, the large lamps hanging from the rafters of this open space refused to turn on.
“Miss Yunque, this is blood, right?”
Somehow, in the dim environment, Ye Xingyao could see quite clearly. However, even upon making the discovery, she didn’t feel anything was wrong.
After all, a boy turning into a girl and a human youth turning into a Star Elf girl had already happened.
‘Could there be anything more ridiculous than this?’
“Yes. It looks like the traces have been here for about a month.”
Yunque frowned as she looked toward the beam of Ye Xingyao’s flashlight.
This place should have been cleaned thoroughly when it was abandoned. Biomass without a living host would become a breeding ground for countless bacteria and viruses.
Therefore, she could only tentatively conclude that these bloodstains were signs of someone being active here.