Jin Luan’s mood turned sour. Old Wang wasn’t very clear about the complex relationships among humans, and he didn’t notice anything unusual about Jin Luan. He continued cheerfully talking about what he had seen and heard in Busan City.
A very interesting ecological zone had been established there. The citizens’ dissatisfaction with magical girls was slightly higher. They felt that after magical girls received subsidies from the Eastern Alliance, they became “civil servants,” so the magical girls lost some of their “selfless” labels.
They gained an attitude of “since you take our taxpayers’ money, you have to work for the taxpayers.” This led to the city being destroyed by demonic creatures, or when citizens died in demon incidents, the citizens’ harsh words toward those magical girls were a bit more frequent. Unlike the more friendly atmosphere in Yiri City.
Old Wang told it in a simplified way, not detailed enough. He didn’t know the human relationships behind it. With a phrase like “the atmosphere there is a bit strange,” he overlooked the psychological maneuvering behind it.
Huan Hong also couldn’t tell, unaware of how many small tricks the Eastern Alliance had used behind the scenes. While eating, with her mouth full of grease, she interjected a sentence: “Those people over there are really annoying. We have them here too. We work hard to protect them, and yet they speak harshly to us.”
Jin Luan and Yin Lin didn’t speak. They could see the twists and turns behind it. Yin Lin relied on Song Wuli’s thirty-four years of rich experience to see it. She had seen too many troublesome things and had experience.
Jin Luan, on the other hand, relied on the knowledge her family had instilled in her, along with her daily studies, so she understood this aspect. Her family needed to be involved in business and official circles, so it was natural for her to be a bit precocious.
Old Wang continued talking, adding some positive words. Over in Busan City, the magical girls led by Lan Xiuzhen, after receiving subsidies from the Eastern Alliance, saw some changes in their methods of dealing with demonic creatures.
They began to adopt a mixed formation of soldiers and magical girls to fight demonic creatures, dividing labor and cooperating, which reduced the losses caused by demon incidents and improved the efficiency of magical girls in dealing with demonic creatures. It could be said to be thriving.
When he said this, Old Wang’s tone was also relatively cheerful: “In short, things are thriving over there.”
After eating, drinking, and resting a bit more, urged by Huan Hong, Old Wang started talking about Old Japan. Going from Busan City to Tokyo City was a bit troublesome. Air transport was inconvenient because there were a large number of flight-type demonic creatures in Old Japan.
Why? Because it was an island nation, with fewer common land-type demonic creatures. The ocean became Tokyo City’s natural protective barrier. Of course, it was also a major reason for their severely hindered trade. They were very dependent on sea transportation.
Old Wang followed the merchant caravan by ship, taking a long time to reach Tokyo City. There were many thrilling scenes along the way: encountering flocks of flight-type demonic creatures passing overhead, and also encountering submarines passing by, almost resulting in a battle with demonic creatures.
Fortunately, those demonic creatures were also in a hurry to do something, flying over at an altitude of nine thousand meters, ignoring the small ships on the sea surface that were like a few leaves.
They also encountered a lone lower-level flight-type demonic creature attacking. It was the weakest lower-level demon, of the physical enhancement type, not the magic enhancement type.
It sought close combat opportunities and fought with the security company’s ship. In the end, the security company suffered heavy losses, and the caravan also lost a lot, barely managing to drive away that lower-level demonic creature, not killing it.
When approaching Tokyo City, they encountered that same lower-level flight-type demonic creature again, seeking revenge. Just when the caravan was about to be wiped out, a magical girl appeared and eliminated the lower-level demon.
Old Wang seemed very excited. He had probably been pent up during that time and only felt better after seeing the magical girl. Yin Lin also understood that feeling of despair when a ray of light appears before you. It was a scene that could be unforgettable for a lifetime.
Old Wang’s excitement was understandable. He talked endlessly about the stories of Tokyo City, long surpassing Yin Lin’s “one hundred word” limit. He talked until nearly midnight, with the food getting cold and reheated multiple times.
There was also a regrettable aspect to this meal. The advantages of magical girls might also be a disadvantage—humans would be full after eating for an hour, but magical girls couldn’t get full. They had lost the traditional sense of satiety.
For magical girls, “being full” wasn’t that kind of feeling. Instead, as they ate, their bodies would automatically convert food into mana. So their “fullness” was actually the sensation that their current mana had increased. No matter how much they ate, they might never be full, just tired.
Moreover, each magical girl’s mana conversion efficiency was different, making it difficult to fully replenish mana through eating. Individuals like Yin Lin were ultimately special cases, not the norm.
This welcoming banquet didn’t end until the early morning hours. Huan Hong yawned and said goodbye first. She still wasn’t used to being active in the early morning, and she was physically exhausted. Recently, she had been training heavily every day, hoping to quickly get used to the resonance state.
After she left, it was time for Yin Lin to leave too.
“It’s too late. Why don’t you stay here for the night?”
Jin Luan suddenly extended an invitation.
Seeing her expectant look, Yin Lin naturally refused. Jin Luan seemed to want to insist. Yin Lin was about to take her wand and leave, but found Jin Luan also holding onto the wand, not letting go.
Only after Yin Lin tugged a few more times did Jin Luan reluctantly let go. Watching the silver-haired girl’s departing figure, Jin Luan rubbed her hands together, as if scheming something bad.
She began to clean up the mess. Old Wang was grooming his fur nearby.
“There’s actually something you haven’t said, right?”
Jin Luan seemed to be tidying up, but her tone was very serious, as if interrogating.
“What are you referring to, Jin Luan?”
Old Wang also used her full code name, sounding very formal.
“I checked. The most recent fleet returning to Yiri City was four days ago. There are no flights. So where did you go these past few days?”
Jin Luan threw the leftover food into the trash.
Old Wang groomed his fur again, his big eyes fixed on Jin Luan, and replied, “I also had very important things to do. That is one of my missions. If one day Yiri City suffers an unimaginable disaster, what I did these days can protect Yiri City once.”
Jin Luan was silent for a moment. “Can’t you tell me more specifically?”
“The orders I received were to keep it confidential and not tell irrelevant people.”
Old Wang’s tone remained calm.
Jin Luan silently cleaned the table until she finished, then her tone turned a few degrees colder. “Old Wang, are you really on our side?”
“Without a doubt, we contract beasts always stand on the side of magical girls and humans.”
Old Wang’s answer was very formulaic.
“To what extent? For the sake of humans and magical girls, what would you do? What can you do?”
Jin Luan changed her questioning method.
Old Wang stopped grooming his fur, calmly met Jin Luan’s gaze, and said, “For the sake of humans, I can use any means. This is the clear order I received from the moment I was born.”
“Then who gave you that order?”
“I still can’t tell you, the current you. You don’t need to know so many unimportant things.”
Old Wang was, after all, just a contract beast, not a human. He didn’t know just how unsettling those mysteries were.