The store manager paid her daily wages again, never delaying her pay, always settling it at the end of the day.
When she was tidying up the tables, the store manager chatted with her.
“Xiao Yao, have you been busy with something lately? Feels like you never have time anymore.” The manager was clearly hoping she would pick up more shifts.
But she had been coming here much less often.
“Final exams.” Yao Ruoning lied again.
“Which grade are you in?” the manager asked.
“Second year of high school.”
She didn’t dare claim to be in the third year of middle school—it would make her seem too young. After all, she wore makeup, and her face looked a little more mature than Yin Lin’s.
Nor did she dare say she was in her final year of high school, since seniors were supposed to be busy and certainly wouldn’t have time to wander around like her.
Hearing she had finals coming up, the manager began his usual lecture.
“Second year is great, it’s a crucial time in life, you have to study hard, so that when you get out later you can…”
It’s estimated that fifty percent of this city’s population could recite that whole speech by heart.
Yao Ruoning couldn’t be bothered to listen, letting it go in one ear and out the other.
When the manager finally finished his sermon, five minutes had passed. He called a Didi Chuzuche, prepaid a hundred yuan for the fare, and asked the driver to take Yao Ruoning home.
She didn’t refuse and got into the car.
At the moment, things were still safe; there was no magical energy source within her perception range.
There were only two known ways to launch a sneak attack on her—either use the demon’s technique for hiding magical power, or take off all her clothes that emit magical energy.
So she had to use her eyes to observe the surroundings.
“Little girl, is someone bothering you? Are you worried about something?” The lady driver suddenly started a conversation.
Through the rearview mirror, she’d noticed the girl in the back seat scanning both sides of the car.
If she just looked in one direction, it could be interpreted as sightseeing, but glancing at both left and right windows every two seconds was far too frequent—it couldn’t just be enjoying the view.
This lady driver had seen all kinds of people, and naturally guessed her intentions right away.
“You look so much like that magical girl, the one with a name like Yin something. Are you that magical girl?” the driver continued.
“No,” Yao Ruoning denied.
“Ah, listen to me… Even if you were, you wouldn’t admit it. Back to my previous question: such a pretty girl, is someone following you?” The driver was quite chatty.
“No, it’s just that according to the internet, there’ve been demons around lately. I’m a little scared.” She had an excuse ready.
“Haha, it’s actually been pretty safe lately, haven’t heard anything about demons.” The driver seemed well-informed.
Drivers had their own circles—if something happened, word would get around quickly.
If a demon really had shown up, this lady would have known.
The car kept moving, passing by the sparse traffic on the street.
The two of them continued chatting amicably in the car. It was clear the lady was just trying to ease her tension, with no other motive.
But her anxiety was not something the lady could understand.
In her heart, she prayed she would get home safely, hoping nothing would happen.
Suddenly, the face of the Contract Goddess flashed through her mind, that calculating expression, having predicted everything about Song Wuli.
No way… something really is about to happen, is it?
Suddenly, she sensed a familiar magical energy.
It was about two kilometers away, and in her perception, it was crystal clear—she had locked onto the location.
It felt like it was thirty meters underground, two kilometers away.
Without a doubt, the portal had been triggered.
She could also sense the aura of a demon—an advanced demon’s magical energy.
She hurriedly pulled out her silver phone and quickly sent her location in the Gold, Silver, and Scarlet Sisters’ group chat, then added a few words: [The portal has been triggered, hurry over.]
This was urgent, but there was no response from her phone—after all, it was the middle of the night; they were probably all asleep.
She quickly called Jin Luan, but no one answered.
Did she put her phone on silent and go to sleep?
She tried calling Huan Hong, but again, no answer.
Something’s not right. Could they be messing with me on purpose, deliberately not picking up?
She remembered Huang Yi, and stopped caring about which side he was on. She called Huang Yi through a social app with a voice call.
After only two seconds, the call was picked up. She could hear Huang Yi’s slightly hoarse voice—he’d probably been sleeping.
“What’s wrong? Why the rush?” It was the first time Huang Yi had gotten a voice call from Yin Lin.
“I’m sending you my location.” She hung up right after speaking—there was no way to explain much in a Didi Chuzuche.
Then she sent the approximate location to Huang Yi, followed by a message telling him there was a portal and that she could sense an advanced demon’s magical energy.
After receiving the message, Huang Yi immediately made arrangements and took the time to ask her a few questions.
Like why she was there, and since she knew about it, why not handle it herself?
After all, this was an advanced demon, and magical girls had a much higher attack efficiency than humans. Besides, she was BOSS-level magical girl Yin Lin—dealing with advanced demons should be easy for her.
Instead, she was informing others to handle it. Why not go herself?
This was the difference between Huang Yi and a middle-aged man’s way of thinking, as well as the difference between the Witch Faction and the Humanity First Faction.
Huang Yi believed that defeating demons was the duty of magical girls.
Humanity First thought the opposite—that dealing with demons was humanity’s own business and had nothing to do with magical girls. In fact, they’d even lump magical girls together with demons, seeing them as disasters.
So, Huang Yi asked: Since Yin Lin could sense it, why wasn’t she taking care of the advanced demon?
Youngsters like Jin Luan and Huan Hong didn’t understand what Huang Yi’s words really meant.
That was the weight of trust.
Yin Lin felt immense pressure; even her fingers holding the phone felt unbearably heavy, unable to type out more lies.
Song Wuli was no clueless teenager—he fully understood Huang Yi’s thinking.
After half a minute of thought, she replied with just a few words: [I’m on my way.]
“Stop the car, I’m here.” She called for the Didi Chuzuche to stop.
Looking around, there really was a residential compound nearby.
“I’ll walk you into the compound,” the lady driver offered warmly. Her smile was so infectious, like a kind elder.
“No need, my stomach’s a bit bloated. Walking back feels better.” Yin Lin got out of the car, then added, “By the way, Auntie, I heard there were troublemakers making a scene on that street in the south. Don’t go over there.”
“Got it, thank you, little girl.” The lady driver drove off.
After watching the car leave, Yin Lin turned into a deserted alley, took off her clothes, canceled her transformation, then transformed again into a magical girl, her official magical girl uniform reappearing on her.
She hid her belongings, leapt into the air, and flew toward the advanced demon three kilometers away.
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