“One month… if I remember correctly, the detection report for that piece of monster tissue… was also left about one month ago.”
Ye Xingyao recalled the detection report attached to the mission description; it didn’t seem like a coincidence.
“Yes, let’s collect a sample first.”
Lark nodded, confirming Ye Xingyao’s speculation.
“You do it. I might not be able to handle such delicate work.”
Ye Xingyao took a step back, yielding the stage to the more professional individual.
While waiting for Lark to crouch on the ground and collect the samples, Ye Xingyao took a small box out of her hiking bag. She then pulled a magic stone from her jeans pocket and, feeling a bit of heartache, placed it into the box.
“What is this?”
Ye Xingling had always been curious about novel things she hadn’t seen before.
Beside her, Jin Ming held her wand-blade, observing the surroundings with a wary expression. Suddenly, she turned around and realized the other four people didn’t seem nearly as alert. She walked over to the Hunter Miss’s side with some embarrassment and joined Ye Xingling in observing the small box.
“A simple device that can detect the mana of nearby monsters. As for the principle… you can ask Lark.”
Ye Xingyao explained patiently.
When leading newcomers, wasn’t it normal for a Magical Girl to be curious and ask questions? Since they were so eager to learn, she would tell them everything she knew.
“The principle is that monsters leave behind magic stones after they die. Using a specific method, the mana inside the magic stone is activated in the form of an area-of-effect spell to find mana locations that share the same resonance as the monster’s mana.”
Lark collected the samples, taking a moment to glance at the small box in Ye Xingyao’s hand. As she continued her work, she explained to her juniors.
“Isn’t that very convenient? Why don’t we have a device like that?”
Jin Ming asked.
“Because this thing has side effects, after all,” Ye Xingyao said with an indifferent shrug.
“Moreover, to compress the volume of a mana-activation device to this extent is either technologically impossible or extremely expensive. The one in Ms. Yexin’s hand looks more like a self-researched, modified version.”
Lark stood up, stowing away the collected items. She walked over to the group and briefly observed the object in the Hunter Miss’s hand.
“I see… Then what are the side effects?”
Jin Ming pressed further.
“Think about it. Based on the habits of monsters, if one knows there’s another monster nearby besides itself, what would it do?”
Ye Xingyao guided her patiently.
“It would fight it…”
Ye Xingling frowned, as if she had thought of something.
“Bingo! Correct!”
Ye Xingyao clapped her hands encouragingly.
‘Wait, what is Shiyue doing… why hasn’t she spoken since earlier?’
She nudged the girl who had been spacing out beside her with her elbow. Only then did the latter snap back to reality.
“Be… careful. What does this red light represent?”
Yi Shiyue pointed to a small red dot on the edge of the box and spoke hesitantly.
‘Phew… that was close. I almost blurted out “Xiao Yao.”‘
“Hmm?! Let me see…”
Ye Xingyao looked where she was pointing. Sure enough, there was a faint red dot, which happened to be in everyone’s blind spot.
“Underground? Lark, is there a basement or something similar to the northwest of our current position?”
The young woman’s beautiful eyebrows immediately furrowed. She looked up and asked the white-haired girl nearby quite seriously.
“…Yes. About 300 meters to the northwest, there is a worker dormitory. There is a cellar there that the workers used to dig out to use as a storage room.”
“300 meters… The distance isn’t quite right. What about anything else? Somewhere around 400 or 500 meters away?”
Ye Xingyao’s expression appeared somewhat grave.
“I am certain there isn’t. That’s already near the edge of the factory area; it’s an empty unloading zone.”
The white-haired girl thought about it seriously and confirmed.
Ye Xingyao observed the red dot for a while longer, confirming that there was nothing wrong with the device and that it was still operating normally.
‘If the equipment is fine, then Lark’s memory wouldn’t be wrong either…’
“Let’s go. That monster hasn’t moved. We can pray that we won’t encounter a monster that can burrow.”
She knew this investigation mission wouldn’t be that simple.
Investigation missions were always difficult to assign a rank. They could only outline a rough range based on clues. Their joint investigation this time was roughly between Hanguang-rank and Dream-rank.
Of course, with Lark being a Dream-rank Magical Girl, plus an experienced Ye Xingyao who had faced Midnight-rank monsters, and a Moon Elf who seemed completely overpowered at every stage, this was an incredibly luxurious lineup for such a mission. Calling it a Galaxy Warship wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
“Are burrowing monsters very powerful?”
Ye Xingling continued her role as the curious baby.
“They aren’t necessarily powerful… It’s mainly that they’re troublesome. Except for Shiyue, none of us know any Earth Magic.”
In truth, Ye Xingyao also knew a little bit of Earth Magic. However, her research and practice of Earth Magic were minimal. She only knew a useless spell that made a wall appear on the ground. It was better left unsaid…
Ye Xingling nodded, seemingly understanding.
—
Soon, the group arrived at the employee dormitory Lark had mentioned. They couldn’t help but realize the living conditions here were a far cry from the environment they had in the Satellite City.
“The Satellite City truly has a group of respectable builders…”
Ye Xingling felt somewhat emotional.
Hearing those words, Jin Ming opened her mouth to say something but then swallowed it back down.
Lark’s expression remained calm and unchanged. Well… if her expression actually changed, then something truly major must have happened.
Ye Xingyao shrugged. She always felt this Magical Girl named Frost Flower was just like her sister. Being naive had its pros and cons.
This was also the most endearing trait of newly-minted Magical Girls. Naivety, passion, strength, and beauty had always been synonymous with Magical Girls.
Walking down the stairs at the edge, they saw a wooden trapdoor. It seemed there was no electricity here, so the girls could only turn on the flashlights they had brought.
Both Ye Xingyao and Yi Shiyue could have used their own elemental magic light to illuminate the area, but if they did that… they would be exposed. It would be far too stupid to reveal their identities just because they wanted to provide some light.
Pushing open the trapdoor, Ye Xingyao took the lead and walked down the sandy stone steps. After descending about the height of a person, they reached the cellar that people had dug out previously.
Entering the small space, Ye Xingyao cautiously glanced at the small box in her hand. She confirmed that the red light was still flickering faintly. Although it was much closer to their position, there was still no sign of movement. Only then did she relax and begin observing the surroundings with her flashlight.