“Brother, when will you come back? I have so much to tell you.”
“The school said my grades are good and I’m going to get a scholarship. The teacher says I have a good chance of getting into Magical Girl University.”
“Brother, I’m waiting for you. If you don’t come back tonight, I won’t be able to sleep well.”
Hiding in the dark, damp Subway, Lu Liang stared silently at the lit-up avatar on his phone screen.
Wearing black stockings over his head like a kidnapper’s mask, he paused for a moment before typing a line of text:
“Dummy, study hard. I made a big score today. When I get back, I’ll bring you a packed meal.”
Setting down the phone, Lu Liang closed his eyes and resumed lying on the ground, pretending to be dead.
In the distance, the aftermath of the battle between Magical Girls and Monsters reverberated through the walls of the underground passage.
The echoes rang loudly, shaking the entire Subway.
No one knew exactly when they first appeared — the Magical Girls and the Monsters — suddenly showing up in this world, locked in endless conflict.
Their war had raged for hundreds of years, and by Lu Liang’s time, the Magical Girl Organization and the Monster Association had both grown into massive forces.
The Government even set up a specialized Magical Girl School, recruiting talented boys and girls worldwide with the potential to become Magical Girls.
Graduates from the Magical Girl School were immediately snapped up by the top Big Factories, receiving substantial Magical Girl subsidies every month.
The Government also provided special welfare benefits to the families of Magical Girls.
In short, having a Magical Girl in the family was like smoke rising from the ancestral grave — a small but real step up in social class.
Fortunately, Lu Liang’s younger sister, Lu Xiaoling, had the aptitude to become a Magical Girl.
Unfortunately, the tuition for the Magical Girl School was prohibitively expensive, far beyond what an ordinary salary could cover.
Lu Liang had no choice but to quit his job as an editor and turn to illegal work to raise money for his sister’s tuition.
After a long while, the shaking stopped, the Monsters’ roars faded away, and the echoes of the Magical Girls’ fight fell silent.
Lu Liang opened his eyes, grabbed a rusty Kitchen Knife from the sewage, and headed deeper into the Subway.
This was his current job.
In this era, as the number of Monsters increased, and with a chance that Monster corpses retained some Miracle Power from life, the public’s pure hatred of Monsters faded.
Some wealthy conglomerates even started mass-buying Monster limbs for research.
Despite the danger, and repeated bans from the Government, some people chose to risk it all for the high pay, scavenging behind Magical Girls or even Monsters like hyenas.
These people were called Scavengers.
Lu Liang was one of them.
Stepping through the wet sewage, using the faint light of his phone, he avoided a passageway shattered by some kind of sword or blade, mentally rehearsing what to say if he was discovered by a Magical Girl.
Fortunately, he hadn’t encountered any Magical Girls so far.
Turning another corner, the phone’s light revealed a dying Tentacle Monster.
It looked like a giant octopus drained of water, its beak lined with sharp teeth.
Its neck had been cut open with a crude slash and it lay gasping on the ground.
Found it!
Lu Liang’s pupils contracted sharply, almost dropping his phone.
He carefully shuffled over and kicked the Monster’s body. There was no response.
A smile crept onto Lu Liang’s lips.
Score! Found a good one!
A whole Monster corpse!
At this quality, it could fetch at least three hundred thousand on the Black Market!
With that money, his sister could finish two semesters at Magical Girl School without worry.
Unfortunately, the Monster’s huge size made carrying it out too conspicuous.
He had no choice but to cut off some core parts to take with him.
Regretfully, Lu Liang gripped the Kitchen Knife, pressed it against a Tentacle, and cut deeply.
Sparks flew, and the blade chipped a big chunk.
He withdrew his hand, his palm stinging.
“This is troublesome.”
Lu Liang frowned.
He wasn’t a professional Scavenger, and his equipment was just a random Kitchen Knife from home — no match for the pros.
Being a Scavenger Rookie was tough; next time he’d have to buy some Professional Equipment.
“Where am I…”
Just as Lu Liang worried how to carry the Monster “corpse,” the Monster suddenly regained consciousness and mumbled incoherently.
Startled, Lu Liang sprang up, putting distance between them and raising his Kitchen Knife, then remembered that he couldn’t break through the Monster’s defense.
Resigned, he put the knife away.
The Monster was still alive, so he couldn’t take it.
But leaving empty-handed wasn’t an option either.
Torn, Lu Liang decided to try communicating with the Monster, hoping it might selflessly offer its body for him to sell, so he could pay for his sister’s schooling.
“This is the Subway.”
Hearing the voice, the Monster froze, then turned its head to Lu Liang, glancing at the battle-damaged Kitchen Knife in his hand.
“You’re… a Scavenger Rookie? Planning to sell me for cash? Just you… a newbie?”
The Monster’s eyes widened, staring at Lu Liang with those lifeless squid eyes, as if silently mocking.
Lu Liang wasn’t offended, but being called “newbie” and “Scavenger Rookie” repeatedly still felt somewhat disrespectful.
“How do you know I’m a rookie? Maybe I’m a legendary Scavenger.”
“Heh, you?” The Monster immediately scorned him, even spitting a blob of ink as if to emphasize its disdain: “You can’t even be bothered to buy a decent Dissection Knife.”
“Say whatever you want.” Lu Liang shrugged. “You’re dying anyway.”
At that, the Monster remembered its current state and lost the will to argue:
“Yeah… I remember now. I fought a Magical Girl — that lunatic. Where is she? Did she go after my companions? Wait! Who’s behind you?”
The Monster kept staring at Lu Liang’s eyes, while Lu Liang fixed his gaze on the Tentacle Monster, unwilling to let it slip away.
After failing to trick Lu Liang and unable to escape, the Tentacle Monster angrily spat a mouthful of red-tinged ink and cursed:
“I hate you humans the most! If Magical Girls are the shameless lions, then you’re the hyenas trailing behind! Got it, hyena? If it weren’t for bad luck, you’d only deserve to eat this…”
It arched its back, as if about to show off its plump rear, but the severe wounds left it trembling halfway, unable to bend or stretch properly.
It wasn’t exactly harmless — more like hurting the enemy a bit while injuring itself heavily.
The Tentacle Monster glared at Lu Liang, creating a moment of awkward silence. Its attempt to act tough had turned it into something resembling a helpless Sichuan Zero waiting to be exploited.
It turned its head away, trying to salvage some dignity:
“Human, I won’t live long. Time’s short, so I’ll ask only once — if I kneel, will you spare me?”
“…No.”
Lu Liang’s mouth twitched.
“Alright… look behind you!”
“Still trying to trick me?”
Lu Liang was unimpressed, thinking it was just another ploy.
Suddenly, the Monster struck, several Tentacles shooting out like arrows!
Lu Liang’s heart leapt.
He knew Monsters’ bodies couldn’t be cut by a Kitchen Knife.
If those Tentacles pierced him, he might not die but would be riddled with holes!
There was no time to dodge; Lu Liang shut his eyes and protected his vital points.
The sound of metal clashing against flesh rang out.
Opening his eyes, Lu Liang looked toward the Monster, then behind himself.
The noise came from behind.
At the edge of his vision, the Tentacle Monster’s Tentacles had all been severed, scattered in the sewage.
At the far end of the Subway stood a ridiculously large cleaver, held by a small figure.
It was a girl about the same age as Lu Liang’s sister, wearing a pink poufy dress stained with sticky blood.
Her golden wavy hair framed a very youthful face, oddly pale and lifeless in expression.
In her free hand, she grasped the Monster’s hair.
From the mop-like tail dragging behind her, it was clear she had been hauling the Monster corpse along the whole way.
The grisly scene and the weapon in the girl’s hand might have looked like a murder scene, but Lu Liang knew this girl wasn’t some ruthless killer — she was a bona fide Magical Girl.
“Eh, new Mr. Monster, are you here to save your comrades?”
The girl’s voice was lazy, as if she hadn’t fully woken up.
Supporting her frail body on the cleaver’s handle, her previously lifeless expression shifted slightly when she saw Lu Liang — like a bored lion spotting an interesting new prey.
“I’m not! I’m a Scavenger! Not a Monster!”
Desperate, Lu Liang quickly declared, not caring about the illegality of his work.
“Oh, a human, huh?”
The Magical Girl said this, but whether she believed him was unclear.
She leisurely picked up the cleaver and dragged the Monster corpse toward Lu Liang.
“Human, run! She wants to kill you!”
Sensing the Magical Girl’s murderous intent, the Tentacle Monster’s eyes widened with hatred and rage.
Before it could finish speaking, the Magical Girl hurled the cleaver with a whoosh, slicing through the air and space, aimed directly at Lu Liang.
His eyelids twitched.
He rolled aside just in time, looking back to see the cleaver lodged a third of its length into the spot where he had been standing.
Damn, she really wanted to kill me!
Was she crazy? He was human — a genuine human! Even if hanging around Monsters caused misunderstandings, didn’t she want to hear him out?
“Human, run! This madwoman’s gone berserk!”
The Tentacle Monster yelled again, spitting blood-tinged ink.
Using the moment the Magical Girl’s eyes were covered, Lu Liang gritted his teeth, grabbed the octopus-like Monster, and ran toward the other end of the Subway.
The ink dispersed.
The Magical Girl approached her cleaver, yanked it from the cracked ground, and looked in the direction Lu Liang fled, a twisted flush creeping over her face:
“Hehehe, another new Performance.”