Chapter 19: Fight

Haah ~ ~ That was a great sleep ~ ~ ~

It feels like I had a wonderful night, and now I’m full of energy.

It would be perfect… if I weren’t completely entangled by these soft, squishy tentacles.

“Stupid octopus! Wake up! Let me go!”

“Let go? Pathetic magical girl… You dare trespass into the domain of an eldritch god and still dream of escaping? Hehehe~ Little kitty, you’re about to get dirty…

lreiolruiolruiolruio…”

In her sleep, the girl’s tiny tongue flicked rapidly, chanting strange incantations.

“?” What is she doing? Are magical girls’ wands… sweet?

“Let go already, I’ve got important things to do… come on… let me go…!”

Cluru: “lreiolruiolruiolruio…”

“……”

Before Cluru sent those seven flying last night, I had marked them with sensory sigils.

Now, I can sense them all gathered in the same location—that must be their base of operations.

Hmph, let me see which arrogant mastermind thought they could lure me in with a lollipop…

……

……

Same morning.

Some people wake up refreshed, others are on the verge of a breakdown, and some just finished a brutal debriefing.

“You seven useless idiots!”

Mu Ling, special ops commander of the Division of Internal Security, was furiously scolding her subordinates.

Inside a secret DIS base, in the roundtable meeting hall, Mu Ling sat with seven people around the table.

Usually cocky and unruly, the seven now hung their heads so low they were practically stuffed into their pants.

“Boss, I think it was an intel issue. The report didn’t mention that girl beside Qilin at all… She’s strong!”

“Strong? No matter how strong, they’re still just two kids! Seven of you went after two, and Qilin didn’t even lift a finger! And you dare talk back?!”

A team member protested, “We wanted to leave a good impression on the target, so we didn’t summon our spirit beasts right away. That was our mistake. But that girl guarding Qilin, the one commanding the octopus, is way beyond our expectations. I recommend the intel division investigate her thoroughly and revise the operation plan.”

“So you’re saying it’s the intel team’s fault?!” snapped the intel officer in the same unit.

“What else?”

“You’re just weak and blaming others? Pfft, got smacked away by a little girl and still has the nerve to talk!”

“And you didn’t get smacked away?”

“I’m an intel officer—if I get smacked, fine. You’re combat personnel. You get smacked, you’re trash!”

“You—”

As an all-out brawl was about to erupt among her subordinates, Mu Ling slammed her palm on the table with a loud bang.

“Enough! All of you, shut up!”

“Doesn’t matter whose fault it was,” Mu Ling rubbed her temples, “I already tricked Captain Ishida once—it won’t be easy to lure him out again.”

“Captain, if that’s the case, then why not escalate and use force? Grab the targets first, we can explain later.”

“…”

That was the worst possible option.

But it seemed like there was no other choice.

“I’ll request a deployment of more elite units. You guys try to dig up intel on that little octopus girl ASAP. We move again tonight—bring a few bug-type spirit beasts and scatter paralyzing powder over a wide area… This mission must succeed. No failures allowed!”

“Understood!” eight voices replied in unison.

Eight voices?

Huh?

Wait a minute… There are only seven in the elite squad. Eight voices?

!

“Who?!”

Everyone whipped around, weapons drawn in alarm, scanning for the mysterious eighth member who wasn’t supposed to be there.

But this secret base was tiny—there was no room to hide. 

A glance revealed only Mu Ling and the elite seven.

Then everyone’s eyes locked onto the center of the round table.

[Domestically Farmed · Genuine Fur Products]

Somehow, a massive box now stood there.

When did that get there?! 

The table was completely empty just moments ago.

This was a DIS secret base! Heavily fortified! 

Every door and wall is alarm-rigged—no ghost-type spirit master could have snuck in!

Who the hell was this?!

“Who are you?! How did you get in?!” Mu Ling pointed her gun at the box.

“Heh…” A voice echoed from within the box, ancient and godlike, “In broad daylight, under heaven’s gaze, you impersonate law enforcers and plot to lure a young girl… Tell me, how do you want to die?”

As it spoke, a suffocating pressure swept through the room. 

The murderous intent was so overwhelming, the agents felt like their throats were being crushed.

Strong. Unstoppably strong.

That thought hit everyone at once.

“Impersonate law enforcers? Plot to lure a young girl?” Mu Ling was stunned, and struggled to explain, “Senior, you misunderstand. We’re not impostors—we really are law enforcement.

And we weren’t ‘openly discussing’ anything. 

This is a law enforcement briefing room. And we didn’t lure—”

“You still dare to argue!”

That furious voice boomed like thunder, and the deliberately archaic phrasing only amplified the authority, exuding the presence of a reclusive immortal master.

“That Qilin Master is my personal disciple! It was bad enough you deceived him, but to think you’d try to deceive me as well! Today, I shall personally eliminate you lawless scum on behalf of my pupil!”

“Well then.”

Hmm?

“Please take a look at this,” Mu Ling, sweating under the pressure, took out her phone and showed the contents to [Domestically Farmed · Genuine Fur Products].

She calmly swiped through the images, patiently explaining:

“These are the promises we made to her: a private island, maids, the latest gaming equipment, a 152-inch ultra-large display, a massive eSports complex spanning ten thousand acres, unlimited in-game currency from all major game companies, and the island’s full security team…”

“…Nest…” The box trembled.

“After an all-night request last night, the higher-ups approved all of these. In fact, the private island had already been prepared in advance.

Senior, we never had any intention of deceiving a child. Since we made a promise, we must fulfill it. We can’t allow Qilin Master to feel betrayed—that would damage her impression of the Division of Internal Security.”

“……”

The box at the center fell silent for a long time.

Suddenly, it laughed.

“Heh… hehahahahaha—You lot… you’re professionals, truly!” 

The box let out a mocking, self-deprecating laugh. 

“Even prepared photos and chat logs—what a farce… What a farce, I nearly believed it.”

The pressure returned, heavy and suffocating.

“Oh, these are our officer credentials,” said Mu Ling. Without hesitation, she and her seven team members produced their IDs. 

“If you still don’t believe us, you’re welcome to accompany us to the DIS headquarters to verify them. Here’s also my firearm, badge, and license.”

“……”

The box seemed stunned.

For a long, long while, no sound came from it.

“Senior!”

After some deliberation, Mu Ling gathered her courage and looked sincerely at the box.

“Senior, we honestly didn’t know Qilin Master was your disciple. If we had, we absolutely wouldn’t have acted so rashly.”

“Rashly? Ah? No…”

“Senior!” Mu Ling spoke firmly. “I understand—DIS’s actions have offended and disrespected you! That was our mistake, and we will never repeat it!”

“Ah? No, wait, I didn’t mean—”

“I can’t believe I tried to insult Qilin Master, and a cultivator of your level, with such worldly bribes.

To someone like you, wealth is meaningless—you could have it in endless amounts. But to you, it’s nothing but filth, a threat to your cultivation. 

Sigh… I truly… I am utterly ashamed!”

“……”

The box was shaking.

From inside came soft slapping sounds—smack, smack—like hands hitting tender flesh. 

No one knew what the senior was doing there.

“Alright, truly, you need not blame yourselves like this,” the ancient voice inside the box now trembled as well. 

“I… I misunderstood you. I thought you were villains. But if you’re not a villain, then, about those conditions you mentioned earlier…”

“Please rest assured, Senior! We will never again try to pollute Qilin Master with such filth! I have reflected deeply on my wrongdoing! From now on, we will only offer auxiliary protection, and will never interfere with Qilin Master’s natural development!”

……

I don’t even remember how I got back to school.

“Why is Xiao Luoxian crying?” Ishida asked Cluru curiously.

“I don’t know,” Cluru shook her little head in concern. “She left this morning, and came back like this. She’s been crying all day.”