Chapter 108: Traitor

“Mom is lacking not just money, but she’s useless—can’t do anything right.”

Su Ya’s hands clenched tightly on her lap, her nails digging into her skin, her whole body tense as she answered with great difficulty.

Seeing Su Ya become so fragile in an instant, Su Mu felt an inexplicable pang in her heart.

But she had to keep asking—some things she needed to understand no matter what.

“I’m not a child anymore. Why do you keep hiding things from me? What exactly is Dad doing, and what are you doing? I’ve always wanted to know!”

Although Su Mu still looked young and innocent, she was eighteen now—an adult with her own opinions.

Whether it was about money or more complicated matters, she was already capable of facing them on her own!

Su Ya furrowed her brows, both hands tightening even more as if she were a child being scolded, nervous and unsure of what to say or not say.

“No, there are some things I can’t be honest with you about. I want you to grow up safe and peaceful.”

“But I’m already a Magic Girl!”

The moment those words left her mouth, Su Ya fell silent, her pupils trembling slightly as she tried to look away from Su Mu.

It was as if she couldn’t bear to face the person she once was—Su Mu looked far too much like her.

“Why do you look so unsurprised?”

Su Ya said nothing, slightly bowing her head.

Since Su Mu was taller, she was easily overshadowed.

“I’m going home right now. I’m going to ask everything face to face.”

“No, you can’t…”

“I’m not asking for your permission.”

Su Mu’s eyes burned with intensity as she stared at Su Ya, her teeth clenched on her lower lip.

“Don’t say it’s to protect me or anything like that. You’re always asleep when I need you… Don’t blame me for being stubborn, I just want answers.”

Still, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything truly hurtful.

She didn’t know why she was so soft-hearted—online, she had been merciless in provoking others without hesitation.

A suffocating silence fell between them, long and heavy.

The delicious food remained untouched, but thankfully, this was just a dream—it wouldn’t get cold.

Until the dream’s owner grew tired of it, the food would stay forever fresh and tasty.

But sadly, it was only a dream.

No matter how much she ate, she couldn’t feel full.

No matter how much love and guilt she felt from Su Ya, it didn’t feel real.

Su Mu even doubted whether this Su Ya was real—that maybe she was just the ideal mother she wanted, the excuse for why her real mom hadn’t been there, someone with her own hardships, who could still show up when needed.

She wished this was the real Su Ya, but every time she recalled her mother’s dazed, foggy state, the sharp divide between reality and dream tore her back to the harsh truth.

“I’m leaving.”

She had planned to move on to the next memory point, but now, she had to wake up and book a ticket.

Hearing Su Mu’s last faint words, Su Ya suddenly lifted her head like she’d been shocked by an electric current, trying to grab Su Mu’s hand.

But she was too far away and too late; all she could do was watch Su Mu’s figure vanish from the dream.

Regret, guilt, helplessness—a tangled mix of emotions fought to break free from the dream’s chains.

Su Ya, heavy-eyed on the sofa, looked up again at the familiar, grayish ceiling.

Her ice-blue eyes, reflecting the dull ceiling, seemed to grow dim.

All the feelings from moments ago were filtered out and wiped clean, leaving only exhaustion in her body.

She wanted to cry, but no tears came.

Without the sparkle in her eyes, she was like a dried-up lake, no longer shimmering as before.

***

“What—what are you doing?! I’ll kill all of you!”

Ning Xi No.6 struggled against her restraints.

She had lost count of how many times she had faced this same fate.

— Bound tightly.

It was as if those who restrained her were deliberately tormenting her voluptuous figure—unbearable but not suffocating, unbearable for bystanders to watch.

As an experimental subject, her Bu Mo Index was only 5%, not the type skilled in strength.

The restraints used on mental patients were enough for her.

On top of that, the Magic Suppression Shackle sealed her Magic Power, and now she was being leered at by a group of lascivious researchers.

But even those powerless men knew that despite her Magic Power being sealed, her body was still lethal to ordinary people.

One wrong touch, and she could easily make them her dogs.

So though they itched with desire, their baser impulses were held back—they dared not cross the line.

“Hehe, don’t be so anxious. Take a good look at who I am.”

Suddenly, a girl with the same face popped out from the side, grinning flamboyantly as she got close to Ning Xi No.6, her expression the exact opposite—an exaggerated smile.

“You… No.1? You traitor!”

“Oh? Who did I betray? You? The Combat Division? Or Magical Girl Ning Xi?”

“You’ve sided with the people dissecting us, standing with those disgusting bastards around you…”

“What do you mean ‘sided with’? We never should have rejected the Combat Division. They’re the ones who gave us life.”

They stared each other down—one a senior agent of the Combat Division, the other a runaway experiment, a failed rebel prisoner.

Their worlds stood at vastly different heights.

Both experimental subjects, yet burdened with different fates, naturally viewing the world differently.

Especially since Ning Xi No.6 was the most twisted among them.

“Don’t blame me. I didn’t come here just to mock you, though it’s quite amusing.”

“Then what do you mean?”

“I want to merge with you.” No.1 Ning Xi suddenly grew serious.

Her eyes curved like crescent moons, but her tone held no hint of joking.

“Merge? Hah, didn’t expect you to have such a masochistic fetish. Come on then, let me feel what it’s like to be nourished by myself.”

At those words, No.6 Ning Xi blinked in surprise, then a wicked, knowing smile spread across her face.

She flicked out her pink tongue to lick her bright red lips, her demeanor instantly turning more seductive and alluring.

From hatred to desire, with barely a gap between, No.1 Ning Xi couldn’t help but laugh silently.

Longing for affection while hating the lustful men eyeing her body—it was baffling how such contradictions coexisted in her.

“Now’s not the time for jokes. Even though I am serious, so of course, I mean business.”

“Don’t tell me you mean…”

“That’s right. I’m tired of being incomplete. So tell me, how many emotions do you think I’m carrying right now?”