Yingmeng said nothing more—most likely, she had already passed out.
Ye Jinyi continued dragging Yingmeng’s body, forcing herself to move through the sea of fire.
But her current speed was nowhere near fast enough to outrun the spreading flames, and the sound of the monster behind her was getting closer and closer.
Ye Jinyi panted heavily, wiping sweat from her forehead.
Was her life really going to end here?
Fine.
If it ends, then at least there’s nothing left to worry about.
“Shifu…”
At that moment, Yingmeng stirred slightly, though her voice was still unbearably weak.
“I just remembered… my bubble bell… on my waist… I secretly stored some magic in it… maybe we can use it… to avoid the flames…”
As soon as she finished speaking, she fell silent again.
“Why didn’t you say that earlier?!”
Ye Jinyi felt completely scammed.
But whatever—this wasn’t the time to argue about stuff like that.
Hope was hope.
Ye Jinyi set Yingmeng down and unfastened the bell attached to her waist.
“This has to be the one, right?”
She had no other choice—only one bell, so there was no way to pick the wrong answer.
Raising her left hand, Ye Jinyi gave the bell a little shake.
As it jingled, the Red Rose Ring on her finger faintly flickered with light.
Ding-ling-ling~
With the sound of the bell ringing out, all the flames in the area vanished rapidly along the expanding edges of the sound wave—not extinguished, but simply gone.
This thing was that powerful?
At the same time, Ye Jinyi noticed that the heavy footsteps of the plush bunny chasing them had disappeared.
Which meant… she was safe now?
Then what was she waiting for! Escape-first champion Ye Jinyi threw Yingmeng over her back, put on her pixelated sunglasses, and bolted.
As she fled the mall, Ye Jinyi vaguely saw a few magical girls streaking across the sky—probably here to eliminate the calamity.
Ye Jinyi didn’t dare make a sound.
She pulled up her hood and carefully slipped away down a side street.
Back at home, Ye Jinyi laid Yingmeng down on the bed.
The trip back had been surprisingly smooth—thankfully, she’d taken the small alleyways and hadn’t drawn much attention.
Ye Jinyi wasn’t sure whether to call herself lucky or unlucky.
If she hadn’t gone to the mall, Yingmeng would probably have vanished for good tonight.
But if not for that last bell, she likely would’ve died in there too.
Guess it was a disaster wrapped in fortune?
Seemed like the heavens still had her back!
That giant plush bunny wasn’t her problem anymore—magical girls would take care of it.
Ye Jinyi pulled out an old medical kit from under her bed, grabbing iodine and cotton swabs to treat Yingmeng’s wounds.
But just as she reached to pull up Yingmeng’s clothes, a sudden wave of embarrassment washed over her.
As someone who’d never even held a girl’s hand before, looking directly at another girl’s body was way too stimulating.
Smack!
Ye Jinyi slapped herself hard, trying to snap out of it.
“What am I scared of—I’m a girl now too! Nothing to be embarrassed about!”
“Yeah, that’s right! Totally!”
Ye Jinyi finally decided to abandon her meaningless sense of modesty.
After all, virtue is precious, but life is worth more.
She pulled back Yingmeng’s clothes, revealing pale skin blotched with swollen red bruises.
At that sight, Ye Jinyi’s thoughts were completely cleared of any lewd ideas.
“So pitiful…”
Good thing she’s a magical girl—if she were just a normal person, she’d be dead by now.
“G-rank magical girl… really does mean ‘gone-rank.’”
Ye Jinyi opened the bottle, dipped the cotton swab into the iodine, and gently began applying it to Yingmeng’s body.
“Mm! Ah…”
The sting of the medicine made the half-unconscious Yingmeng let out a faint cry.
Ye Jinyi quickly placed her left forearm into Yingmeng’s mouth.
“Bite down, and it won’t hurt as much.”
Yingmeng seemed to understand and clamped her teeth firmly onto Ye Jinyi’s arm.
“Ugh…”
For a moment, Ye Jinyi nearly teared up from the pain, but she gritted her teeth and kept applying the iodine.
After tending to the last injury, Ye Jinyi pulled Yingmeng’s clothes back down.
“All done.”
She slowly raised her left arm and withdrew it from Yingmeng’s mouth.
Truth was, Yingmeng had already fallen asleep long ago and wasn’t biting anymore.
But Ye Jinyi was afraid she might wake in pain again, so she hadn’t pulled her arm away earlier.
“Sleep well.”
Ye Jinyi pulled the blanket over Yingmeng to let her rest properly.
She really wanted to call an ambulance, but unfortunately, she had no money.
Even if it wasn’t too expensive, she simply couldn’t afford it.
If only that unlicensed street doctor was still around, maybe then she’d dare to seek medical help?
What can you say—being on the verge of bankruptcy… was really exhilarating!
Ye Jinyi kicked her feet up onto her desk and sat back in her computer chair.
This trip had completely drained her.
The bed was now given to Yingmeng, so she had no choice but to sleep in the chair.
“Munyaaa~”
Ye Jinyi let out a soft snore and immediately sank into a deep sleep.
She found herself walking across a pudding-colored land, surrounded by a world made of candy.
The sun hovered motionless in the sky.
When she got tired, Ye Jinyi lay on a pudding hill, broke off a piece, and popped it into her mouth.
“So happy~”
She savored the sweetness, then scooped a glass of orange juice from a nearby river.
Suddenly, the sugary flavor exploded in her brain, wave after wave of joyous sweetness washing over her.
“It’s a shame, Ye Jinyi, that you never used the secret phrase I gave you.”
“Pffft!”
Hearing that random voice from nowhere, Ye Jinyi instantly spit out the orange juice she’d just drunk.
“Who?! Can’t you see someone’s trying to enjoy a snack here?”
She turned around in a huff—only to see a little loli who looked exactly like herself, standing beside a mysterious figure holding a parasol whose face she couldn’t make out at all.
The little loli wore a smile, and the person with the parasol stood quietly, shielding her from the sun.
“It’s you!”
Ye Jinyi staggered back a few steps—but no matter how far she retreated, the distance between her and the pair remained exactly the same.
“Why run away?”
The girl dropped her smile and put on a troubled expression instead.
“Y-You, don’t come any closer!”
There it was—the original sin, the one who started it all!
“Sigh~ I tried to help you out of kindness, but you see me as a criminal… This world really is so tragic~”
As she spoke, a few tears slid from the corners of her eyes, looking genuinely wronged.
“If it weren’t for you, would I have lost my job?!”
Ye Jinyi had no interest in reasoning with her—no money, no conversation!
