“What’s wrong? Looking so down?”
Ye Wanqing asked with concern, though inside she was quietly worried about something.
‘Could it be that she had discovered I sneaked some of her Wangwang Snow Cake? Maybe… I should find a chance to buy a few packs and put them back?’
Though she thought this, Ye Wanqing knew deep down the other person had probably already figured it out.
After all, she had nearly finished the entire bag of the Wangwang gift pack she had just bought.
‘How did it end up feeling like I’m the greedy little mouse here?’
But Ye Wanqing definitely wouldn’t admit to something like that, so she still held onto a sliver of hope.
“Well, I’m not telling you.”
Su Mu glanced at Ye Wanqing, thought for a moment, then decided not to ruin her mood.
Might as well take a good rest for a few days myself.
To be honest, after that dream constructed by Tang Nai the other day, she still felt a lingering strangeness in her heart.
The self inside that dream was really a lot like Su Ya.
Did that mean Su Ya had once been like her too?
Su Mu wanted to know what exactly had turned her into this exhausted, worn-down version of herself, beaten by life.
***
“I’m about to lose it. How much farther do we have to walk?”
Dragons are naturally lazy. T
he Dragon King never sets foot on the ground.
Either let me fly there, or get someone to carry me.
Walking a thousand kilometers?
What kind of joke is this?
Edma’s exquisite dress was now filthy and worn, and she was wandering across a sparsely populated plain, complaining as she kicked stones with her mud-caked round-toed boots.
Around her neck hung an almost invisible thin chain, extending to the hand of the black-haired woman beside her.
If not for being pulled along, she probably wouldn’t take a single step.
“Don’t make noise, I’m thinking.”
“Thinking again? What are you thinking about? You’ve been thinking the whole way.”
“About who I really am.”
The woman, unsure if she was Ning Xi or Luo Linglan, stared blankly at the distant sky.
Although her memories told her everything belonged to the name Luo Linglan, when she gazed at the vast blue horizon, she couldn’t help but feel a yearning.
She liked the feeling of being covered beneath this broad sky.
When the noisy crowds and towering buildings disappeared from beside her, that clear blue seemed to constantly call to her.
“But you’re right, we shouldn’t keep going.”
Though they’d been walking all day without food or drink, the distance they covered was only about a hundred kilometers.
If they wanted to return to B City this way, it would truly be deadly.
“Really? How are we supposed to get there?”
When the domineering, unfamiliar magic girl finally spoke like a normal person, Edma’s eyes lit up excitedly.
Finally, a chance to escape this nightmare.
Her boots were probably filled with a family’s worth of sand and stones by now.
Every step hurt terribly.
“We should fly back.”
“Right… wait, how do you plan to fly back? Don’t you know the entire national airspace is a no-fly zone?”
‘You think the Combat Division’s magic power radars are toys? You’d be shot down seconds after takeoff.’
“We’ll just fly back like this.” Ning Xi murmured.
The next moment, under Edma’s stunned gaze, her toes lightly pressed on an invisible gust of wind, effortlessly lifting her up. Her clothes fluttered wildly in the strong breeze.
Edma, unwilling to follow, suddenly felt a strong choking pressure at her neck.
Helplessly, she spread a pair of small dragon wings behind her and flew over to Ning Xi’s side.
Before she could question Ning Xi further, the latter was already speeding toward the distant sky at an incredible pace.
The sudden acceleration hit Edma hard, forcing her to flap her wings desperately to keep up, her eyes rolling uncontrollably.
‘This is bad. This woman is a total lunatic. I thought I finally found a way to escape Motes, but this woman is far worse—she doesn’t even consider me human.’
‘If I’d known, I would have just stuck with Motes. At least I’d get sweet and sour ribs at night, hear stories before bed, and occasionally get a reward… But since I’ve boarded this pirate ship, there’s no way off. This magic chain tightening around my neck is proof.’
“Waaa—”
Edma’s feeble cries trailed long in the air, but Ning Xi, immersed in flight, had no extra energy to pay her any mind.
Her hair, once dyed jet black by memories, now seemed to dissolve into the azure sky, becoming a striking water-blue that fluttered in the wind.
Her figure gradually shrank, becoming delicate, and a carefree, wild smile bloomed at the corner of her lips.
This is what freedom feels like.
Freedom.
Luo Linglan’s memories taught her how to restrain herself and exercise moderation, but the body’s instincts and hidden nature made her unconsciously embrace freedom.
‘Memories? Magic power radars? Nothing can bind me—I am the free Ning Xi.’
***
Meanwhile, inside the Combat Division, news of Ning Xi’s fusion escape cast a shadow over the room.
The lead scientist conducting the experiment remained calm under intense criticism, while nearby, the girl who had fused with Number Six Ning Xi trembled after being recaptured.
Every attendee held a copy of a report, and the topic under discussion was highlighted in the most prominent line.
[B-rank Free Magic Girl, Ning Xi, Power of Possession Concept — Freedom.]
***
G City, a night no different from usual, or perhaps a bit quieter than normal.
In a bar still filled with bright lights and revelry, a pink-haired woman with a striking figure and delicate features hesitated for a moment before pushing the door open.
The bartender behind the counter had thought she was a new customer and prepared a friendly welcome, but upon meeting her familiar weary eyes, his tone suddenly grew cold.
“Dressed like that again? You’re not taking what I said seriously, are you?”
Su Ya’s outfit was quite decent in other settings, but here it felt overly conservative, clashing with the surroundings.
As the manager, he had long disliked this unpopular hostess.
If it weren’t for some old customers specifically requesting her, he would have found countless ways to make things difficult for her.
She didn’t know how to do makeup, dressed outdatedly, didn’t know how to flirt or make herself liked, had a pretty face but drank like a fish.
If she couldn’t be drunk, she couldn’t be taken out.
That alone made customers dislike her.
Plus, she always vanished as soon as her shift ended, which made the manager dislike her even more.
But none of that was the real issue.
If someone was willing to place an order for her because of her looks, that’d be fine.
But whenever she stood with those superficial beauties, she was always instinctively ignored.
This made her performance dismally poor.
The only regular who ever came to see her was surprisingly a woman, and the manager had zero hope for any sparks between them.
“Sorry, I’m here to ask for leave today.”
Su Ya whispered, not daring to look at him, but already knowing what expression would cross his face.
More scolding, probably.
But she didn’t care anymore.
Whether insulted or drunk, none of it mattered to her anymore.
Even the strongest vodka no longer burned her tongue.
‘Maybe I’ve finally sunk completely.’
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