Chapter 224: Got the Underground Pass

Yin Lin rested for one day and was discharged from the hospital.

The coma this time had been a close call, but it was just weakness caused by her MP Value hitting rock bottom; it wasn’t a major issue.

The wound blasted into her by the Elite Flying High-Level Anomalous Demon was much more dangerous.

The Elder Physician had examined her and suggested she rest for a period of time.

If she insisted on being discharged, she was not to engage in physical activity, must sleep and wake early, avoid staying up late, and abstain from spicy food.

Thus, Yin Lin snuck out of the hospital, keeping it a secret from Jin Luan.

Predictably, she received a message from Jin Luan that evening, who was absolutely furious.

When Jin Luan had arrived at the hospital with a carefully prepared lunch box only to find that Yin Lin had snuck out, she was livid.

She gave Yin Lin a deadline of 1 hour to meet her at the Building Shack.

‘Sigh, women.’

Yin Lin went anyway.

She quite enjoyed the feeling of flying now, leisurely gliding through the air.

The sensation was incredibly comfortable, capable of dispelling a weary body and mind and allowing one to forget the troubles of work and life.

When she arrived at the Building Shack, Jin Luan was already waiting there.

“Why are you still in your transformed state?”

Yin Lin asked, feeling a bit curious.

Wasn’t Jin Luan usually quite stingy with her mana?

“Don’t try to change the subject. Why did you leave the hospital without permission?”

Jin Luan grabbed her hand and pulled her into the shack to sit down.

“I couldn’t stand the feeling of sitting around doing nothing in the hospital. I’d rather come out to breathe the air.”

Yin Lin’s answer was rather poetic.

“If you know the hospital is unpleasant, then why did you get yourself covered in injuries?”

Jin Luan’s voice grew smaller; she knew her question wasn’t entirely logical.

It was an unsolvable problem.

If a Demonic Creature appeared, what else could be done?

Humans found it difficult to deal with mid-level Demonic Creatures or higher, so only a Magical Girl could step forward.

Since she had to fight Demonic Creatures, how could she avoid getting hurt?

Jin Luan added, “Don’t go outside the city anymore. We can’t manage things beyond the city limits. Being able to protect the city itself is already our limit.”

Yin Lin didn’t nod.

She had a faint feeling that her vast Mana wasn’t meant for fighting within the city.

It was highly likely she would head out of the city again in the future.

She changed the subject, saying, “I’m hungry.”

Jin Luan didn’t notice the intentional shift in topic and hurriedly took a still-warm bento box out of an insulated bag.

“I made it myself. See what you think.”

She opened the box, revealing the sumptuous meal inside.

‘Holy crap, there’s even eel. This is a wealthy family right here.’

Even though Song Wuli’s income was decent, he hadn’t eaten eel rice many times.

In this era, common poultry like chicken, duck, and goose were more frequently raised, along with cattle and sheep.

Then there were more unusual meats like rabbit and bullfrog, as well as some aquatic products.

As for eel, it was also farmed.

However, because very little land was approved for it and there were strict entry thresholds for farming, the yield was low, and the price remained high.

Yin Lin had learned about these things today from Huang Yi; she had sought him out because she needed his help.

Even if Yin Lin’s mouth was stubborn, upon encountering rare eel, she couldn’t help but eat the food offered, not even worrying if it was poisoned.

Jin Luan sat to the side, resting her chin on her hand as she watched.

“How is it? Is it good?”

She asked, looking very happy.

“Are you referring specifically to the cooking skill or the fish?”

Yin Lin felt she should tell the truth.

Jin Luan asked, “How many points do you give each?”

“The fish gets 100 points, but the skill only gets thirty points. It’s not even as good as a single hair of mine,” Yin Lin replied.

Jin Luan’s smile gradually faded.

She grabbed Yin Lin’s waist and began to poke and tickle her, making it impossible for Yin Lin to eat.

Seeing this, Yin Lin quickly put up a Magic Shield, which finally stopped Jin Luan’s antics.

Her words had been quite a blow to Jin Luan.

After the meal, Jin Luan suddenly said, “Then it’s your turn to cook for me next time. Since you only gave me thirty points, I want to see just how good your cooking really is.”

Yin Lin didn’t think too much of it and agreed, assuming it was just a young girl’s competitive nature.

“Fine.”

‘I’ll let you witness the culinary skills of a 34-year-old man who lived alone for many years.’

She suddenly remembered her previous question.

“Aren’t you short on Mana? Why are you still transformed here?”

Jin Luan replied, “I’ve been too stingy with my Mana usually and have never trained it. So, I want to try using up my Mana frequently to see if I can increase my maximum capacity. Previously, there were only Huan Hong and me in Yiri City, so I didn’t dare use up my Mana for fear a Demonic Creature would suddenly appear.”

The implication was that ever since the Great Demon King Yin Lin arrived in Yiri City, Jin Luan and Huan Hong were no longer the primary line of defense.

Therefore, it didn’t matter if they used up their Mana.

With Yin Lin holding things down, Yiri City could be protected.

‘Crap, it seems I’ve triggered Jin Luan’s Heart Demon.’

Huan Hong had already found her direction and was training hard.

Jin Luan, however, seemed to have lost her way.

Yin Lin hesitated to speak.

she could see the problem, but she didn’t probe.

She had been a Magical Girl for too short a time and had too little professional experience to offer advice to an Elder Senior.

Moreover, her position wasn’t quite suitable for lecturing others.

As someone with an elite “bloodline,” she couldn’t exactly persuade others that as long as they worked hard, they would grow to reach the peak, could she?

It would be like a battle shonen protagonist—someone with a special bloodline, rare ocular powers, a body full of fortuitous treasures, and God-level parents and ancestors backing them up—telling an ordinary character to just work harder and strive more to reach the same heights.

To be honest… Yin Lin couldn’t bring herself to say such nonsense.

After the meal, Yin Lin left and returned home to rest.

2 days later, news finally arrived from Huang Yi.

He said he could process a pass for her to the Underground Industrial Area, but in exchange, she needed to provide items from the Star Summoning Society.

Song Wuli naturally agreed.

He knew Huang Yi was giving him an out, and he would take it.

Old Song had no use for those items anyway; without any Science Research experts around him, keeping them was a waste.

Giving them to government personnel for research was the most appropriate choice.

He had only been disgruntled because he was ambushed by the Defeated Team and targeted by the Special Dispatch Team; seeing them just annoyed him.

That was why he had taken the items and left nothing for them.

Now that Huang Yi had proposed a trade, Song Wuli’s anger had mostly dissipated.

Giving the items back to them didn’t matter anymore.

He checked the messages on his phone.

Huang Yi: [You think our industrial area will be attacked?]

Yin Lin: [Yes.]

Huang Yi: [The experts on our end have reached a similar conclusion. How did you determine this?]

The underlying meaning was that Yin Lin was so simple-minded, so how could she have thought of these things?

There was a bit of “looking down” in his tone.

Yin Lin: [I have a reliable information source. The industrial area will become the enemy’s target.]

She felt like she was taking an open-book exam.

The Contract Goddess had already told her to get an underground pass.

By reverse reasoning, wasn’t it obvious the Underground Industrial Area would be under enemy attack?

Even with Yin Lin’s not-so-high IQ, she could figure that out.

Huang Yi also explained their method of judgment.

Now that they knew about the existence of the Star Summoning Society and that the enemy included humans, they naturally judged the problem from a human perspective.

If they were the enemy, how would they attack humanity?

They would certainly attack human industry.

That was the cornerstone of human development.

A Demonic Creature didn’t know what industry was, but humans understood its importance better than anyone.