The Octopus Tentacle Monster had already vanished, so Silver Lin couldn’t experience it for herself for the time being.
The cleanup work was still ongoing.
Nowadays, even clearing a scene required speed, precision, and ruthlessness; the citizens had even given them the complimentary nickname of the “Quick Response Department.”
The people working weren’t soldiers from the army, but ordinary civilians who had been hired.
Silver Lin had already removed her disguise and was flying high in the sky, completing a circuit to inspect the area.
A faint aura still lingered at the site where the Octopus Tentacle Monster had been, but it was slowly fading until it would eventually become impossible to perceive.
Such a weak aura was likely beyond the perception of Huan Hong and Jin Luan; it had already reached a level that was almost undetectable.
She landed from the high altitude to conduct a personal investigation of the scene destroyed by the tentacle monster.
“Hey, unauthorized personnel aren’t allowed—”
The staff member’s words cut off abruptly when he saw that the newcomer was Magical Girl Silver Lin.
He immediately changed his tune.
“Could I get a photo with you? I’m a huge fan!”
As soon as he spoke, the surrounding workers who were clearing bricks came running over, one after another asking for a photo.
Silver Lin didn’t refuse.
She put on a professional smile, but at that moment, her bratty aura was in full swing, giving off a slightly annoying vibe.
She could now switch between personalities with ease, smiling whenever she wanted.
Her expressions were becoming more and more realistic; before long, she might reach the level of an Oscar nomination.
After finishing the photos with the workers, one of them whispered to her, “Outside people aren’t usually allowed in here, so make sure not to cause too much of a stir later. It wouldn’t be good if the higher-ups found out.”
Silver Lin agreed and began walking around the scene, investigating the areas destroyed by the Octopus Tentacle Monster and the lingering liquids left behind.
The suspicion in Silver Lin’s mind became clearer and clearer.
She felt that this thing was something created by magic.
It was likely similar to the “Mage Hand” known to D&D players.
Even if the octopus looked real, it was actually a fake.
It wasn’t a summoned creature; for the time being, she would call it a “Construct.”
Based on the principles of magic, such a spell should establish a connection between the Construct and the caster, creating a sustained entity.
If continuous control was required, there would have to be a “pipe” to transport mana.
When this thought arose, Silver Lin shook her head slightly, denying her own speculation.
She hadn’t sensed any mana connection between the Contract Goddess and that octopus fellow.
Either her “Soul Projection” state prevented her from perceiving mana normally, or her theory was wrong.
Silver Lin’s mind wasn’t yet capable of thinking toward more complex conclusions.
The reason she could even think of these surface-level details was because she had developed a deeper understanding of magic after learning “Magic Attribute Conversion” and “Magic Construction.”
It was just like children in school who, after learning about sulfur, saltpeter, and carbon, would begin to hypothesize what would happen if those elements were combined.
After learning those two basic spells, Silver Lin understood the process of how a spell was formed.
She vaguely felt that the tentacle monster had been formed in such a way.
Theoretically, it seemed as if she could do it too, but she just needed to figure out more of the principles.
She looked over the scene several times with many doubts, but she still couldn’t figure it out.
She squatted down, looking at the translucent liquid left behind.
The workers were cleaning it up with looks of disgust.
These were the liquids produced by the tentacle monster.
Many people were wiping away sweat, working under the scorching sun.
If not for Silver Lin’s appearance, they probably would have continued working shirtless.
Several men could no longer handle it; after working for a while, they went to rest in the shade with flushed faces.
The ones resting were the specific workers who had been cleaning the liquid.
‘I have a feeling… the look on their faces isn’t just caused by the sweltering heat. There’s a subtle difference.’
Silver Lin thought of something.
Her experience from watching countless “films” helped her brain arrive at a “standard answer.”
She tried touching the disgusting liquid.
Without any protection, she used her finger to touch it directly, picking up only a tiny bit.
Even though the tentacle monster was dead, the liquid it left behind was warm.
She wasn’t sure if it had been heated by the scorching ground.
The finger touching the liquid felt slightly warm.
After about ten seconds, the liquid seemed to evaporate, vanishing into thin air.
She quickly realized that it hadn’t evaporated, but had been absorbed by her body.
Her body began to feel slightly hot and restless, a marked difference from half a minute ago.
‘This tentacle monster really is a wicked thing.’
These liquids had an effect that everyone understood but found difficult to discuss in detail.
The impact on men was minimal, but the effect on human females was slightly higher—and for a Magical Girl, the effect was incredibly potent.
Jin Luan and Huan Hong were being dishonest; they hadn’t mentioned this in the group chat for the Gold, Silver, and Red Sisters.
No wonder they had run off so quickly without any intention of lingering.
They even claimed they had been “mana-drained” by the tentacle monster and had to leave because they were out of energy.
‘Hmph, how dishonest.’
‘They probably just went home to reward themselves.’
Having finished her investigation, Silver Lin bid the workers farewell and left.
As she flew into the sky, she noticed the workers were tidying the scene very quickly.
The obstacles on the road had already been cleared.
Half of the cordoned-off road had been reopened, while the other half remained closed as engineering equipment worked to demolish the destroyed houses.
As for what would happen to those who lost their homes and were left homeless?
The Human Alliance had a standard procedure: relocate them elsewhere first, with all expenses covered by the Alliance, and have them move back once the housing was rebuilt.
Besides this general practice, there were many other rescue plans.
Since it was a topic related to politics, Song Wuli usually didn’t bother to learn about such things.
Silver Lin didn’t go home.
Instead, she flew toward the location of the Underground Distribution Center.
She had obtained this information from Huang Yi.
Huang Yi, in turn, had asked experts and various staff members to find out exactly where the three underground distribution centers she referred to were located and where those goods would be transported.
It was a place near the sea, about ten kilometers from the pier.
This area was considered a suburb.
Usually, there were no outsiders; everyone who came here was here for work.
From high above, she watched the busy freight yard where countless vehicles came and went, loading and unloading cargo.
The security in the area was also very strong.
Someone had already spotted Silver Lin in the sky.
This was why she hadn’t hidden her identity when asking Huang Yi for information—she couldn’t have hidden it anyway.
She didn’t perceive any mana from the high altitude, so she tried lowering her height.
Even when she reached the ground, she still couldn’t sense anything.
The materials carrying mana had already been moved.
She hurried toward the pier.
There were still some brave cargo ships here that dared to sail long distances, and it seemed they were preparing to travel in a group soon.
Sure enough, on a large cargo ship at the dock, she sensed mana.
After a thorough search, she discovered the mana was coming from inside a shipping container.
There was a high probability it was the mana-infused materials rather than a Demonic Creature.
The aura was extremely weak, requiring an incredibly strong sense of perception to discover.
Secret Investigator Silver Lin, moving out!