“Why are you wearing such shameless clothes!?”
After changing back into her own clothes, Zhizhi threw the apron onto the floor.
She couldn’t believe she had let herself be fooled by that little brat—actually putting the thing on, and then scrubbing bowls back and forth for eighteen rounds!
“Eh… do you still care about that? Didn’t I wear it with you too?”
“Hurry up and give me my clothes back! What if Xingyue comes back? How am I supposed to explain this?!”
“Puh, and who was it earlier that said we should hold a little-brat showdown in Xingyue’s dormitory just for laughs? Now you’re suddenly worried about what other people might think?”
Luo You put her hands on her waist, the creamy-white skin beneath the apron seeming to glow like flowing cream.
“I’m telling you right now, my persona is a pyromaniac, so I’m not scared! Even if Xingyue comes back, I can still dance in front of her wearing this!”
“No way!”
Zhizhi covered her face, her whole body trembling.
This wasn’t shyness, it was pure embarrassment—a feeling as if her pyromaniac mother had gone out and made a fool of herself in public.
She wished she could knock Luo You out with a stick and drag her back into her room to reflect on her behavior.
“Forget it! I’m really leaving this time!”
Of the thirty-six stratagems, running away is the best—she refused to believe that once she was gone, this nutcase would keep wearing that apron and doing degenerate things in Xingyue’s room for her own amusement.
“Oh~~”
Luo You began analyzing the battle report.
“Mm… While filming for social media, she snuck a glance at me sixteen times, tried to touch me five times, and her body’s sensitivity during contact was higher than normal…”
No doubt, Zhizhi was in a highly excited state.
This little brat—she wasn’t feeling the warmth of family and turning over a new leaf at all, she was getting even worse!
“Heh, didn’t I say it? How could a mere Zhizhi possibly resist Mama’s charms?”
Luo You wore the expression of a triumphant victor.
If things continued this way, and followed the honorable traditions of magical girls, as soon as she formed a bond with Zhizhi, that brat would be hers for sure.
“Heh, hehe… hehehehehe…”
Luo You’s smile gradually became twisted.
Hmm?
Suddenly, she sensed that the atmosphere in Huahai City had changed.
Frowning in confusion, she walked to the window.
The wind blowing in was filled with fear and tension, making Luo You squint her eyes.
“What’s going on…?”
She saw the Military Base next to Huahai City sending up a massive number of fighter jets and helicopters in just over ten minutes, non-stop.
Not long after, evacuation sirens began to blare throughout the city.
Luo You’s communicator buzzed at the perfect moment.
“Hello? Qiuyu, what’s going on? The whole city’s in chaos.”
“Lord Jinlin! Urgent report from Border Customs! At 19:17 on the night of January 20th, the customs station at Jiuyun Sea was forcibly breached!”
“Oh, I see.”
“Lord Jinlin, aren’t you worried at all?”
“The customs station at Jiuyun Sea has been breached before. What’s there to be surprised about?”
Border Customs being breached was hardly news.
It happened every year, always causing huge losses, but never crippling damage.
“This time is different. It’s in a semi-collapsed state! The Devouring Giant has appeared, blasting nearly a kilometer-long breach in the seawall, letting the sea water from the border flood in. The entire defensive line was forced to retreat!”
Qiuyu shouted loudly.
Luo You frowned slightly.
She hadn’t expected it to be a semi-collapsed state.
There had never been a total collapse of Border Customs in history—not even during the Black Candle Giant’s invasion four years ago.
Then again, that was because the Black Candle Giant hadn’t purposely destroyed the seawall.
Border Customs collapsing—this was a disaster that would shake the world.
And this time, the Devouring Giant had done it personally.
That guy hadn’t been heard from in ages, and now he suddenly started causing trouble.
There had to be more to it!
“Lord Jinlin, don’t worry about us, just head to the front line!”
Qiuyu said in a low voice.
“Hm? Me?”
“Eh? Lord Jinlin, aren’t you planning to go?”
“…I’ll play it by ear.”
With that, Luo You hung up and immediately called her aunt at Jiuyun Sea, then Luo Zining, and also Ji Meng Liyun.
Only Liyun answered.
“Yuyu? My sister and I are fine. The situation is urgent now, so I’ll hang up first!”
Even Ji Meng Liyun, who always wanted to chat with her, only called to say she was safe before hanging up.
With the seawall shattered for nearly a kilometer, even if there wasn’t a dimensional beast invasion for now, the consequences were already severe.
Unless someone of great power could move mountains and fill the sea, Border Customs was basically lost for good.
The Devouring Giant had obviously planned this.
When a Radiant-tier dimensional beast gained intelligence, its threat was fully displayed.
The enemy could strike with precision and overwhelming force at strategic targets, tipping the scales in an instant.
***
“Oh?”
Luo You stuck her head out the window—the Huahai City branch’s rooftop was glowing with the light of long-distance teleportation magic.
Judging by the magical intensity…
It must be Xingyue.
With something this serious happening, she had to go.
“…Is Xue alright?”
Luo You suddenly felt uneasy.
No real reason—just pure instinct.
She immediately set off to where Xue was.
“…Ueh?”
Xue groggily woke from sleep, drooling at the corner of her mouth.
“Getting spied on again…”
Those repressive eyes once more startled her awake from countless angles.
She knew—the source of those eyes was the Black Candle Giant, now awakened in the border sea.
Its constant peeping in her dreams was a warning to her.
All she wanted in her dreams was a life as ordinary as any normal person…
But even a dream like that wasn’t allowed, as if to say such longing was something she could never have.
“Sigh~”
Xue skillfully turned on the room light, pressed the computer power button, started the accelerator, logged into the Steam platform, and entered a certain FPS blockbuster.
“Xue.”
“Ahhh what the hell!”
“Let’s rank up, let’s rank up~ Forget all about the spying!”
Startled, Xue’s mouse flew off the desk.
“Yu!”
“Don’t freaking call me Yu! Can’t you see I’m transformed right now!”
Luo You glanced around, asking, “Nothing strange happened, right?”
“Nope.”
As if Luo You would believe that.
She immediately activated the Crimson Authority.
“Great Tremor.”
Aimed at the wall, Luo You suddenly unleashed a spell—whoosh!
A fusion warrior lurking in the corridor, still scanning the room with high-tech devices, suddenly lost half his body.
Blood, guts, and bone fragments splattered all over the neighbor’s exterior wall.
“We’ve been discovered! Go! Go!”
The fusion warriors, who had been lying in ambush at every corner and waiting for orders, sprang into action.
The commander, Haiyan, led his squad from above, while the rest advanced through the hallway.
This time, in order to capture the target, they had sent two fusion warriors of King-level caliber—the top combat force of the organization—all to catch one little brat.
“It’s Magical Girl Jinlin! Damn it, why is she here all of a sudden?!”
“Don’t let them get away!”
Bang!
The first team of fusion warriors that broke into the room was sent flying back, as if smashed against the wall by a hundred-meter-high wave.
Blood gushed from their seven orifices like fountains.
“Who’s running? Me?”
Luo You’s icy voice echoed all around.