Once again.
What exactly made Luo Shuangyue’s face turn so pale?
Luo Xiangyue sighed but didn’t answer.
She couldn’t very well say that she’d drunk a sip of tea in her dream, and that the taste had lingered on her tongue ever since, refusing to fade away, could she?
Phantom Thorn had proven with facts that when many delightful flavors are mixed together, it’s more likely to be a disaster—a cataclysmic catastrophe.
Anyway, there was no hope for Luo Shuangyue to regain her normal complexion today; her sense of taste was basically on the verge of collapse.
“Any experiments planned for today?” she changed the subject.
“Nothing much. Those people all ran off next door.”
“Next door?” Luo Shuangyue scratched her head. What could possibly be more attractive than my Little Ghost Scythe?
My Little Ghost Scythe is the very first humanoid weapon in the world, the future path of Magical Girls!
And you researchers actually look down on my Little Ghost Scythe?
Monice shrugged, indicating she wasn’t quite sure what was going on either.
She was here to assist Luo Shuangyue with research because, firstly, she was genuinely strong; secondly, she was Luo Shuangyue’s direct superior. It wouldn’t do to exclude her from research involving Luo Shuangyue.
But regarding other affairs of the Magic Department, Monice had little say.
Some of the more secretive matters were not even disclosed to her.
“Apparently, there was some new discovery elsewhere. Those people seem pretty excited,” Monice said.
New discoveries had been coming one after another recently, making it a bit overwhelming.
But Monice wasn’t very interested in these things; she preferred to focus on her own tasks first before discussing other matters.
“There’s nothing for you to do today. I’ll go check on that Transhuman over there, see if I can get any new inspiration.”
Magic Four was still being kept alive by the Magic Department by a thread.
The reason for his survival was simple: Monice wanted to use him to glimpse the prospects of Transhuman technology.
But breaking through bottlenecks wasn’t easy, and Monice’s energy was limited.
She’d been focused on the Little Ghost Scythe recently, causing progress on this front to fall behind.
Now that she had some free time, she naturally wanted to properly handle this important task.
Once this bottleneck was overcome, she could give Jiu Ye and the others even greater strength, allowing them—currently struggling against New Bud Level Magical Girls—to instantly rise to Bud Level or even Initial Bloom Class!
If that were possible, Monice’s long-cherished wish would be fully realized!
A Transhuman, who retained human self-awareness but fought on par with an Initial Bloom-Class Magical Girl—that would be a technology of profound significance in today’s world!
Magical Girls appeared by luck, but Transhumans didn’t rely on luck.
Although their upper limit wasn’t very high, their numbers and baseline capabilities could more than make up for that.
The Magic Department’s current failure to expand human territory was because there weren’t enough Magical Girls, and ordinary Magic Department forces lacked resistance when facing powerful monsters.
If the Magic Department had enough Transhumans in their ranks—strength not necessarily very high, but at Bud Level—they could turn the tide!
Unfortunately, the problem with Transhumans was that those who were safe weren’t strong enough, while the powerful ones were easily influenced by the monster’s consciousness, eventually turning into humanoid monsters themselves.
This dilemma had troubled Monice for a very long time, and she still hadn’t found a suitable solution.
“Sigh, I wonder when there will be progress…” Monice sighed softly.
Luo Shuangyue watched this scene but had no particular thoughts. She only understood a little about these matters and knew Monice wanted to do good but hadn’t succeeded.
She couldn’t help much with these things either; she wasn’t some innate genius. Her greatest contribution to this research was probably being the research subject.
Monice left, and Luo Shuangyue had nothing to do here, so she decided to wander around a bit.
She wasn’t very familiar with the Magic Department, and as she strolled, she eventually reached the place she knew best: the Magical Girls’ lounge.
Pushing open the lounge door, only Xiao Mimi was inside reading a book. Luo Shuangxing and Xia Mo were nowhere to be seen.
Hearing the door open, Xiao Mimi’s Mechanical Cat twitched slightly. She then looked up toward Luo Shuangyue, “Meow?”
She had expected Xia Mo or Luo Shuangxing, but instead, it was someone she never would have guessed.
“Hehe, Miss Dark Moth, meow?”
She remembered Dark Moth was supposed to be an enemy of the Magic Department, or at least not one of them.
When they’d interacted before, Dark Moth’s disdainful attitude toward the Magic Department was still fresh in memory. So why was Dark Moth suddenly walking in here as if coming home?
Surely she wasn’t just here out of boredom to drop by?
“Are you the only one here?” Luo Shuangyue entered the lounge, casually finding a seat and giving Xiao Mimi a rather friendly smile.
“Mm, Senpai and Lily of the Valley both had things to do, meow,” Xiao Mimi nodded, then curiously asked why Luo Shuangyue had come to this place.
Luo Shuangyue scratched her head, saying it was a complicated story.
In short, she was now an unofficial member of the Magic Department and would probably be appearing here often in the near future.
Unofficial member of the Magic Department: refers to someone considered a valuable research subject by the Department.
“Oh! So Miss Dark Moth is joining us too, meow!” Xiao Mimi immediately misunderstood Luo Shuangyue’s meaning, thinking Luo Xiangyue was switching sides.
“That’s not quite right. It’s just that my boss and the Magic Department have temporarily agreed on cooperation. Once it’s over, I’ll leave,” Luo Shuangyue corrected Xiao Mimi’s assumption.
She had no intention of joining the Magic Department—absolutely not!
But Xiao Mimi didn’t care.
As far as the cat was concerned, Luo Xiangyue was now both a friend and an ally.
Since that was the case, Xiao Mimi wanted to ask Luo Shuangyue about Jiuyou.
She’d never found the chance or courage to ask before, but now she felt the time was right.
“Um, Miss Dark Moth, could you tell me what kind of girl Jiuyou is, meow?” Sitting on her knees on a cushion, Xiao Mimi’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
What kind of person was Jiu Ye?
That was a good question.
Luo Shuangyue really wanted to tell Xiao Mimi that Jiu Ye was someone who would meow meow after you hit her.
You two met long ago, and at that meeting, you actually beat your good friend into a mess.
But Luo Xiangyue was a considerate superior and wouldn’t just sell out her subordinate like that.
So when faced with Xiao Mimi’s question, Luo Shuangyue decisively put on a clueless expression, “She’s a very cute and kind child, much like the impression you give, Mimi.”
You’re both cat girls, so it’s not wrong to say you feel similar, right?
As for any useful information about Jiu Ye, Luo Shuangyue didn’t reveal a single word.
Xiao Mimi naturally caught the hidden meaning; she didn’t believe Luo Shuangyue didn’t understand the question.
“Miss Dark Moth, I want to meet Jiuyou. Could you help me tell her, meow?” Xiao Mimi tapped her finger, asking softly.
This wasn’t impossible, but Luo Shuangyue was curious—she remembered Jiu Ye and Xiao Mimi had each other’s contact info, so why ask her to be the messenger?
“Why don’t you just tell her yourself?”
“I’ve invited her many times, but she always finds an excuse. Sometimes she says she’s busy; sometimes she says she’s rushing homework, meow…” Xiao Mimi’s tail wagged weakly behind her as she explained.
Asking Luo Shuangyue for help was a last resort.
If she could have gotten Jiuyou out on her own, she would have done so long ago.
And among the people she knew, Luo Shuangyue was the only one who was close to Jiuyou and had even met her offline.
So there was no other choice.
“I see…” Luo Shuangyue hesitated and nodded. Passing along a message was no big deal.
This wasn’t betraying Jiu Ye; on the contrary, it was helping her find a friend—doing a good deed!
“I can bring your message, but I can’t guarantee the outcome.”
“Really, meow? Thank you, Miss Dark Moth, meow!” Xiao Mimi cheered excitedly. Her previously listless tail immediately perked up.
It was as if Luo Shuangyue’s agreement to deliver the message meant Jiuyou would agree to meet.
Luo Shuangyue didn’t think her favor carried that much weight. Besides, Jiuyou’s appearance probably wouldn’t match Xiao Mimi’s expectations.
“Eh? Mimi actually asked Lord Dark Moth to invite me?” Upon hearing Luo Shuangyue’s message, Jiu Ye fiddled with her cat ears and voiced her confusion.
Despite her doubt, she still firmly refused Xiao Mimi’s invitation.
“No way, meow. I can’t go out looking like this.”
As a Transhuman, Jiu Ye couldn’t openly appear in public. People nowadays were used to monsters, but cat girls were still unfamiliar.
And since she was going to meet Xiao Mimi, she couldn’t show up wearing a thick coat and a big hat; that would just scream suspicious.
So the best way was not to meet at all.
A spiritual connection was enough; real-world interaction wasn’t necessary.
Luo Shuangyue had already predicted Jiu Ye’s answer. For this cat girl of hers, going out was indeed troublesome.
Transhumans like her were not yet accepted by human society.
“Does Lord Dark Moth get along well with Mimi?” After refusing Luo Shuangyue’s invitation, Jiu Ye noticed something else—Xiao Mimi had asked Luo Shuangyue to deliver the message.
She had thought Luo Shuangyue’s contact with Xiao Mimi was limited to helping her pass things before, but now it seemed Dark Moth had also become friends with Mimi since then.
Now Mimi could even get Lord Dark Moth to pass a message!
Jiu Ye knew how cold and merciless Lord Dark Moth was to those she didn’t care about.
If Mimi could mobilize Lord Dark Moth, that meant something significant.
At least it showed Mimi and Lord Dark Moth weren’t strangers!
“Not that good. She’s a very enthusiastic girl. The last time she helped deliver something to you, she nearly stuffed me full of coffee,” Luo Shuangyue said with a mix of helplessness and embarrassment. That first meeting was something she wished not to recall.
As for what happened afterward, there wasn’t much to say.
Luo Shuangyue and Xiao Mimi got along okay.
It was mostly because the girl wasn’t disliked by those around Luo Shuangyue, and the cat girl wasn’t particularly annoying—so maintaining good relations was no harm.
“What, afraid I’m going to steal your friend?” Before finishing, Luo Shuangyue teased Jiu Ye.
Jiu Ye’s ears twitched twice but didn’t show the possessive expression Luo Shuangyue wanted to see. She was a smart cat and immediately recognized it as teasing.
Friendships aren’t about stealing. Just because Mimi and Lord Dark Moth became friends doesn’t mean Jiu Ye has no one who likes her.
“Lord Dark Moth, please don’t make fun of me. By the way, Hei Ting just said she got some intelligence and wants to tell Lady Monice,” Jiu Ye chuckled and then told Luo Xiangyue about another matter.
In the organization, she was part of the fighting force. When Hei Ting said she was looking for Monice, Jiu Ye hadn’t paid much attention, but now she casually mentioned it to Luo Shuangyue.
“Oh, Monice probably won’t be back for a few days. I’ll go find Hei Ting,” Luo Shuangyue nodded. As the second-in-command of the organization, with the leader partly absent, she had to take on some responsibilities.
For example, going to ask Hei Ting what information she had obtained.
This girl, who looked even less human than Jiu Ye, might not be that impressive in combat, but she was pretty good at intelligence gathering—far more useful than Jiu Ye in that regard.
Finding Hei Ting wasn’t hard. Luo Shuangyue just wandered around outside Monice’s office and found her.
After explaining Monice’s current situation, Hei Ting told Luo Xiangyue what she had learned.
“I’ve heard other organizations in Xinghai City talking lately. A few days ago, a Meteor fell from the sky and crashed onto the Wasteland. There are many treasures on that Meteor, and now they’re all scheming on how to find it.”
“Huh?” After hearing Hei Ting’s story, Luo Shuangyue’s head felt a little hot.
What kind of nonsense was this? The people in Xinghai City must have been so saturated with Demonic Energy that their minds were messed up to say such things.
A Meteor, treasures—these were all baseless fabrications!