At this moment, outside Qianhuo Mall, several reporter vans had already gathered, and journalists from various media outlets began carrying cameras, reporting on the current situation in front of the lens.
“Right now, as we can see, the interior of Qianhuo Mall is already in ruins. Outside, many people who escaped are sitting on the ground, most of them covered in blood. It reminds me of the war refugees I saw during my time as a war correspondent abroad. This incident is truly tragic, with at least a hundred injured. According to those who managed to escape, there are still hostages being held inside the freezer.”
“The Special Police Unit has not yet arrived due to a massive traffic jam caused by a chain-reaction car accident on the approach road, and their helicopter was damaged on its way to a neighboring city a few days ago and is still under repair. It will be at least five more minutes before the Special Police Unit can get here!”
“We can also see that two magical girls have already arrived on the scene and are treating the seriously wounded, but they haven’t gone in to stop the attackers.”
A journalist with a badge marked ‘Xingyuan Media’ walked over to stand behind the magical girl Moshui and asked, “Hello, if it’s not too much trouble, could you please answer a few questions for us?”
“Hmm? Go ahead.”
Moshui turned around, her calm and composed demeanor showing that it was far from her first time dealing with the media.
“May I ask why you haven’t gone in to stop the attackers? Is there some reason for that?”
“Because we’re not combat-type magical girls. Ah, but Qiuyu has already gone in to help people.”
“Huh? Are there only three magical girls in Huahai City?”
Uh, this. Moshui was speechless—this reporter must have come from out of town.
How many magical girls does an inland city like Huahai even have?
Excluding the support types, there were only three combatants at most, counting Luo Zining previously. Now that Luo Zining was gone, another girl, Jinlin, barely managed to fill the gap.
Defense is always this weak inland; the powerful ones all get transferred to the border passes.
***
After the reporter asked this, she seemed to receive some instructions through her earpiece and continued, “Excuse me, do you know where magical girl Jinlin is? In a situation like this, she should be here, right?”
“Uh, our division isn’t like the Wujing Department or the Military—we don’t have to be on constant alert. Sometimes we just can’t get in touch. Maybe Lord Jinlin doesn’t even know something this serious has happened yet.”
“That can’t be. We’ve received information that someone inside might be colluding with Borderworld forces. Since Jinlin is from the Manjusaka Faction, why would she miss something like this? If she’s not here, then why did the people inside suddenly go on a rampage?”
Before Moshui could answer, a third party suddenly chimed in.
“Hmm, you have a point, why is that? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Right! Even bystanders think it’s suspicious—”
The reporter bit his tongue mid-sentence.
The person who interrupted wasn’t just some random passerby. It was Jinlin herself—the hottest magical girl around right now—whom they’d just been discussing.
“Lord Jinlin!”
Moshui stood up in surprise, “Please, you have to go in! The situation inside is—! If it’s you, Lord Jinlin, I know you can do it!”
Her voice trembled, almost on the verge of tears.
She was, after all, just a teenage girl—sensitive and emotional.
Faced with such carnage, her fear showed through.
But Luo You shook her head calmly.
“No. If I just charge in, what if more people die?”
***
“What are you saying!?” the reporter exclaimed in disbelief.
“At a time like this, as a combatant, why aren’t you rushing in? There are still hostages inside!”
All the cameras swung to focus on her.
Luo You only shook her head.
“I’m not trying to diminish the efforts of magical girls in maintaining social stability, but our record against terrorists isn’t exactly glorious. I have to be cautious.”
“But you can’t just do nothing, can you?”
“Who said I’m doing nothing? Listen, the commotion inside has already calmed down. If a magical girl of my level rushes in now, it’ll only agitate them again. You can’t play with people’s lives like that.”
Luo You raised her hand, stopping the reporter’s next question, and began to ask her own.
“By the way, are you broadcasting live?”
“Yes, this is a live broadcast, so please be careful with your—”
“I just! I just heard your colleague say the Wujing Department can’t get here because of the traffic jam?”
Luo You crossed her arms and glanced at the impressive line of media vehicles.
“But I see your TV vans arrived in force. What, did you get advance notice? Did you all come here specifically to cover a terrorist attack?”
The reporter was suddenly at a loss for words.
Not that he didn’t want to answer—it was Luo You’s sudden, overwhelming aura that made it impossible for him to speak.
As the reporter and the people behind him were cowed, Luo You casually crossed her arms, strolled a few steps, and posed as if reciting poetry.
“You said you ‘received information’? Who sent you that? When did you get it? Did you notify the relevant authorities? Did you inform the Magic Alliance branch?”
Not far away, outside the Xingyuan Media van, the Director instantly felt his scalp tingle.
Can you say that on a live broadcast?
This is slander—slander!
He immediately grabbed his walkie-talkie and said, “Switch to commercial—”
“If you dare cut the feed, I’ll end you right now.”
The Director shuddered violently, turning his head to see Luo You staring straight at him, pointing directly at him, while no one else seemed to notice.
[Can—can only I hear this??]
Instantly, cold sweat poured down the Director’s body, and his walkie-talkie slipped from his palm to the ground.
His heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst—Luo You’s pressure was terrifying, as if at any moment red lasers would shoot from under her mask and slice them all into bloody pieces.
Luo You turned her gaze back to the reporters.
“When you asked this girl about my presence, you emphasized whether I was here, why I wasn’t, and even pointed out that I, as a Manjusaka Faction member, had to be present?”
“So? If this incident is so closely tied to me, and your station has insider information, how come no one thought to give me a heads-up?”
Luo You shrugged.
“Anyway, I haven’t heard a thing.”
Next to her, magical girl Moshui was so shaken by her aura she couldn’t even speak, just stood there staring with her mouth agape.
“Your turn, I’m done talking.”
Now, Luo You spread her hands, finally giving the reporter a chance to respond.
The reporter instinctively scrambled his increasingly chaotic thoughts and stammered out:
“N-no, it’s not like that, our van just happened to be passing by on the way to another assignment when we stumbled across this terrorist attack, so we got here quickly. And I—I’m only asking questions from the script! …I don’t know anything!”
…This reporter probably didn’t even know what he was saying anymore.
Luo You shook her head inwardly.
Looks like the enemy’s got deep roots in the media too.
By now, the reporter’s bosses were probably preparing to run.
“Oh, the professionals have arrived—make way, don’t get in their way.”
Following Luo You’s gaze, a squad of Fusion Warriors from the relevant departments arrived amid the chaos, trailed by a well-equipped Special Police Unit, who began clearing the scene.
These Fusion Warriors were quite aloof.
Even when they saw Luo You and the others, they simply walked past as if nothing was there.
Well, magical girls really didn’t have a good track record in handling incidents like this in the past. Not being trusted was only natural.
And now the government needed to prove to the people that Fusion Warriors were the real core force for maintaining order, and that magical girls were no longer the only elite combat power.
This was also a way to weaken the influence of the Magic Alliance among the public.
After all, the Magic Alliance was a bit too powerful these days.
For sovereign nations, a well-behaved Magic Alliance was a good Magic Alliance.
However, the Special Police Unit and the Fusion Warrior program were not the same operational system; generally, the Special Police Unit had a favorable impression of magical girls.
The squad captain, upon seeing Luo You, immediately jogged over.
“Comrade magical girl, the situation is urgent. Please help us evacuate the civilians.”
“Alrighty.”