There were more people than usual.
Having learned that Yao Ruoning was coming to work today, the familiar Xiao Pang Tuanhuo showed up again, with their buddies in tow.
All the usual faces were there, filling the milk tea shop to the brim.
A smile once again hung on the shop manager’s face as she made so much milk tea her hands went numb.
Xiao Yao’s influence was as strong as ever; rather than fading with time, it had only grown.
Because Yin Lin had become more and more active, and increasingly beloved, her reputation had spread far and wide.
As the cosplayer for Yin Lin, Yao Ruoning naturally drew more and more attention. Those who tried to ride her coattails benefited even more as the popularity increased.
Returning to this familiar place, she saw the usual street vendors outside, making a living by capitalizing on the milk tea shop’s steady stream of customers.
They sold roasted sweet potatoes, grilled sausages, and pickled snacks.
As soon as Yao Ruoning reached the entrance, people kept coming up to take photos with her.
The short ten-meter walk from the entrance to the inner room took five minutes.
Everyone was just as enthusiastic as ever.
Today, she also saw someone familiar—Xia Shiyao, who was sitting at table number 3.
Wasn’t she supposed to attend a meeting? Yet she came here?
Their eyes met, but neither spoke; both could see the curiosity in each other’s gaze.
After Yao Ruoning changed into her outfit and emerged from the inner room, the customers started cheering and hooting as if the real Yin Lin had appeared before them.
Many people rushed over again to take pictures.
Several more minutes were wasted like this.
Then came the time for taking orders, and Xia Shiyao called her over.
She asked casually, “Weren’t you supposed to go to a meeting? What are you doing here?”
Xia Shiyao replied softly, “It’s not time yet. They originally scheduled it late at night just for you, but you didn’t go.”
While jotting down codes for various juices in her notebook, Yao Ruoning replied, “I didn’t want to go.”
All her thoughts condensed into those three words.
Xia Shiyao looked worried and gently asked, “Are you… still feeling okay?”
Yao Ruoning didn’t answer, just kept writing, so she continued, “Don’t worry, we will definitely deal with Greenfield and avenge you.”
At those words, a flush crept up Yao Ruoning’s cheek, coloring her ear red.
Still saying nothing, she quickly finished writing the drink orders and left.
Seeing her reaction, Xia Shiyao confirmed that Huang Yi’s guess was right—something really had happened to Yin Lin.
So Xia stayed in the milk tea shop to watch over her, only leaving when it was nearly time for the meeting.
They agreed to meet on another rooftop, a place easy for a magical girl to reach.
Xia Shiyao transformed into Jin Luan before heading there, keeping her guard up.
When she arrived, Huan Hong was already there, chatting with Huang Yi for a while.
With Jin Luan’s arrival, Huang Yi started to get down to business.
“I’ll start with the teleportation gates. You already know about those, right?” He didn’t waste words and went straight to the point.
Huan Hong and Jin Luan both nodded.
Just as they thought Huang Yi was being efficient, he started from the beginning: “To prevent any misinformation between us, I need to go over it again. Yin Lin was the first to discover the teleportation gate; she sensed that Biscuit Boy might have used some kind of teleportation to escape an attack.
“After that, Huan Hong and Yin Lin found similar teleportation gate facilities underground.
“Through multiple investigations by the Eastern Alliance and the Human Alliance, as well as analysis from some specialists in the Witch Faction, we’ve confirmed that it’s indeed a teleportation gate. It’s made with very new technology, with traces of human technology in it.”
At this point, Huang Yi took out a thick stack of documents, shining his flashlight on them for Jin Luan and Huan Hong to read more easily.
Huang Yi continued, “This is highly classified information. Do not leak it. The impact on society would be tremendous.”
Jin Luan looked at the richly illustrated investigation and analysis reports.
Many experts had spent sleepless nights analyzing every detail—each sentence in there was the fruit of their endless toil.
For instance, [The entire teleportation gate is manufactured using a casting mold process, which suggests that their goal is mass production.]
Huang Yi began to explain, “We’ve compared multiple teleportation gates and found that each one looks nearly identical. Through various sampling and investigations, we’ve confirmed that they’re mass-produced, not built brick by brick.”
“Our experts have ruled out the possibility that the aberrations possess Industrialization capabilities on their own. We believe the aberrations acquired human knowledge after coming into contact with us.”
“Let me get to the conclusion: there is a Traitor among the humans.”
Huan Hong was shocked, her eyes widening as she stared at the words highlighted in red in the report.
Jin Luan’s pupils also contracted sharply, startled by this conclusion. “What’s the basis for this judgment? How many reasons are there?”
Huang Yi didn’t explain immediately, waiting for them to calm down before continuing. “During the previous battle, or more precisely, in the encounter with Lightning Man—a high-ranking aberration—there were signs of command, and Yin Lin nearly died.
“That aberration already demonstrated tactics commonly seen in human history: it hid its magical presence and ambushed Yin Lin in areas she frequented. If you two had faced it instead of Yin Lin, you would be dead.”
“We also found that the cadre-level aberration Lightning Man carried an earpiece and used our Channel Technology for communication. Biscuit Boy, also a cadre-level aberration, exhibited the same communication behavior.”
“Our investigation and analysis indicate a high likelihood that they’re in contact with humans, and someone is directing them.”
“Wait, I have a question.” Huan Hong suddenly interrupted Huang Yi, “Biscuit Boy is also a cadre-level aberration?”
Huang Yi: “Yes. See the Test Report on page 10; it has detailed information on Biscuit Boy. Although he seems weak, his parameters do meet the cadre-level standard.”
Huan Hong bit her lip, looking troubled.
Before Yin Lin’s debut, neither Huan Hong nor Jin Luan dared challenge cadre-level aberrations; countless people and magical girls had sacrificed themselves to defeat them.
After Yin Lin appeared and took down two cadre-level aberrations in a row, Huan Hong couldn’t help but feel useless.
She clenched her fist tightly, very upset.
Jin Luan had questions too. “Why do you conclude there is a Traitor among humans? Why not think it’s just aberrations commanding aberrations?”
Huang Yi explained, “It’s explained on page 6. Through our investigations of multiple teleportation gates, we found that at different times, different casting techniques were used. For example, there’s Pressure Casting, Centrifugal Casting, and Lost Foam Casting.”
“The people building the teleportation gates are testing various techniques to see how they affect the gates. Apparently, the materials for the gates are not easy to obtain, so they have to practice and manufacture the real thing at the same time.”
Wonder if MC can help Huan Hong become stronger