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“Have we achieved the feat of capturing an intermediate demonic creature? Is Yiri City’s Defeated Team about to gain new glory? Will this be the first capture ever?”
The Defeated Team stared at Huan Hong and the demonic creature, while the creature lay on the ground, roaring constantly.
The three factions were now in a delicate standoff. Huan Hong watched both the demonic creature and the Defeated Team. Though she hadn’t done it entirely alone—she had relied on the Magical Girl—the Defeated Team could attack at any moment. Huan Hong hadn’t yet exited her Resonance Burst state, so she could strike at the Defeated Team anytime, or take down the demonic creature along with them.
The Defeated Team was also waiting for the final order to attack, hoping to capture the Magical Girl at the same time.
But that order never came. The Countermeasure Center sent a very serious command: take the intermediate demonic creature and return immediately.
They could have disregarded this order. There were plenty of ways to disobey commands.
However, this time, the Countermeasure Center used the political means that Yin Lin hated the most—they restrained the Defeated Team through interest exchange.
Though the Human Alliance nominally demanded that everyone pursue the Magical Girls, the subsidiary alliances in each region didn’t actually do so.
They just played along, pretending to be hostile. Who the hell would actually try to capture a Magical Girl?
Only the Defeated Team seemed genuinely intent on doing so.
Seeing that they appeared ready to attack the weakest Magical Girl, Huan Hong, the Eastern Alliance had to step in.
They hadn’t stopped the Special Task Force because the Task Force couldn’t take down a Magical Girl.
They stopped the Defeated Team because they really could deal with Huan Hong.
It wasn’t that they looked down on Huan Hong; they just knew her strength too well. They had even calculated her combat power while she was in Resonance, and reached a conclusion—she was no match for the Defeated Team.
So the Eastern Alliance’s Countermeasure Center immediately made an interest exchange with the Defeated Team to protect Huan Hong.
Seeing the Defeated Team reluctantly retreat and abandon the attack, Huan Hong finally breathed a sigh of relief. She slowly backed away, putting distance between them.
Once she confirmed it was safe, Huan Hong immediately took off and flew away.
The battle in the south was over. Huan Hong had taken 45% off the demonic creature’s HP bar, the Defeated Team had knocked off 35%, and the creature was left with 20% health, severely wounded.
Soon, the news began to spread. Externally, the official story was that the Defeated Team had resolved the Abyssal Demon Incident and captured the demon, taking credit for 99% of the achievement.
As for the battle in the north, it went without saying. With Yin Lin stationed there and starting her Charged Attack, it was just a five-minute countdown to the end of the battle. Once time was up, the fight could be declared over.
The Special Task Force captain had hidden in the basement. The demonic creature searched for a long time but couldn’t find him. Sensing Yin Lin’s massive Mana, the creature began to flee.
Yin Lin pursued. Without a Feng Wall, her flying speed barely matched the creature’s running speed.
There was one slightly dangerous moment. After completing her Charged Attack, considering the creature’s running speed was too fast and it might escape the blast radius, Yin Lin closed the distance before firing.
The intermediate demonic creature was cornered. Perhaps realizing it couldn’t escape, it launched a final counterattack when Yin Lin was only about a hundred meters away. It crushed a stone and threw it at her.
This time, Yin Lin let it throw. The rubble hit her Magic Shield like a light tickle, only causing faint ripples with no effect. It couldn’t even break her invincible Turtle Shell.
What did the demonic creature feel in its final moments?
Probably despair.
“Star-Piercing!”
Yin Lin didn’t hold back. She fired the cannon. Remembering her lines, she shouted them out.
The demonic creature on the ground roared like a dying beast’s howl.
This chuunibyou feeling was pretty nice. It reminded her of her youth. Shouting like that made her feel twenty years younger.
Once the Magic Power Cannon was launched, the creature even forgot to run. It raised both arms to shield its head, like a frightened child.
Of course, that did nothing.
Though the cannon’s aim was off by a few meters, it didn’t matter. This wasn’t a precise attack; it was an area-of-effect blast.
The intermediate demonic creature was enveloped by a milky-white explosion aura and instantly turned to ashes.
It felt like there were two suns in the daytime sky, illuminating everything nearby. Staring directly at it made one’s eyes sting.
A violent air blast pushed Yin Lin far away in the sky. The surrounding trees and grass were snapped by the shockwave. Trees half a meter thick were uprooted.
No matter how many times she saw it, the explosion scene was always breathtaking.
Like fireworks, watching them from childhood never gets old—it always brings new awe.
The Special Task Force members, witnessing this nuclear-explosion-like spectacle from close range, felt a fresh wave of fear.
Should they really be enemies with such a Magical Girl?
Could they really defeat a Magical Girl like this?
What if she got angry?
These thoughts surfaced in the Special Task Force members’ minds countless times.
After feeling the familiar earthquake, the captain poked his head out of the basement and saw the astonishing Magic Power Cannon.
The same thoughts appeared in his mind again.
Was it really a wise choice to offend such a Magical Girl?
Nine different thoughts clashed in the Special Task Force members’ minds. They had to thank the Magical Girl, yet oppose her, but couldn’t actually kill her. These strange thoughts were driving them crazy.
Watching Yin Lin fly farther and farther away, leaving the scene, the captain could only clench his fists and cough repeatedly. His complexion was bad, and his skin had blistered.
On her way back, Yin Lin scrolled through her phone.
Jin Luan had spoken in the group, asking about the current situation. She wasn’t aware of the battle progress.
Huan Hong replied a few times, telling them the southern battle was over.
She was furiously typing, boasting about her great feat of dealing with the intermediate demonic creature, vividly describing her majestic posture.
Yin Lin didn’t interrupt her. She flew slowly in the air, enjoying the cool breeze, relaxing while looking at her phone.
She got a general understanding of Huan Hong’s situation. As Yin Lin and the Contract Goddess had said, her Resonance state gave her new boosts to her abilities.
The Contract Goddess hadn’t lied this time.
Jin Luan then asked Huan Hong for specific battle details, focusing on the demonic creature’s behavior.
Yin Lin stopped lurking and posted a few messages, informing them that the northern battle was also over and describing the creature’s condition in detail.
All three Magical Girls felt something was off about the demonic creatures, but none of them had a conclusion.
Jin Luan also asked about Yin Lin’s physical condition.
Yin Lin, of course, proudly boasted that she wasn’t injured—not even a single hair was missing.
Huan Hong felt a bit uncomfortable and started complaining in the group.
She had been injured, and no one had shown her any concern.
Jin Luan then pretended to be enthusiastic, inviting her to go to the hospital for a checkup.
Yin Lin went back to work; she still had to clock in.
Both of them deliberately ignored Huang Yi. They didn’t actively talk to him about today’s events, subtly distancing themselves from that person, keeping the Magical Girls at arm’s length from the authorities.
The Eastern Alliance also felt something suspicious about these two demonic creatures.
Huang Yi didn’t think much about it. He was still busy, arranging personnel to patrol Yiri City.
If it wasn’t a diversionary tactic, could it be a strategy to secretly move through Chencang?
Had some demonic creature been ambushing inside the city?