It’s impressive to be able to perceive mana from three thousand meters underground.
Neither Huan Hong nor Jin Luan could sense it.
If not for bringing Yin Lin along, they might never have known there was something strange buried beneath them.
The ground was obstructed by concrete and soil.
To go down to that depth of mana?
Yin Lin really didn’t like the idea.
Jin Luan shook her head.
“Remember this spot. We’ll go down after we’re ready.”
Fortunately, she wasn’t reckless.
The narrow underground space heavily restricted the Magical Girls.
Jin Luan and Huan Hong could still force a fight—they were capable of melee combat—but escaping would be inconvenient.
Yin Lin would have it worse: no melee ability at all, and the cramped space made it impossible to use her Magic Power Cannon at full output, let alone keep her distance to dodge attacks.
Jin Luan’s decision to fall back for now was a reasonable judgment.
Back when she was alone, she had no weaknesses.
Now Jin Luan had them, and she was starting to hesitate, no longer decisive.
Just as the two were about to leave, Jin Luan glanced at her phone again and suddenly changed her mind.
“Let’s wander around the sewers a bit more. Throw others off our trail.”
Yin Lin didn’t ask why; she agreed.
They spent another ten-plus minutes navigating the sewers, moving far away from that location.
She couldn’t help but admire Jin Luan’s cleverness—not only did she lead the team into the sewers to find the Star Summoning Society, but she also knew how to mislead both the Star Summoning Society and the Eastern Alliance.
Her mind was actually that sharp?
Following the experts’ instructions, the personnel created a table, charting the paths and dwell times of the nocturnal sewer exploration, and spotted some anomalies.
She had been clever for once, but the Eastern Alliance had plenty of talent too.
Their dwell time data had already been compiled.
“The work log is ready.”
It was projected onto the big screen, and dozens of experts began analyzing it.
Gradually, arguments broke out.
Clearly, there were differences of opinion.
The Acting Person-in-Charge got a headache from the noise, recalled some methods the previous director had used, and had a sudden inspiration.
He adopted a similar approach to resolve the dispute.
“Since there’s disagreement, let’s vote.”
Listening to the debates, the Acting Person-in-Charge typed on the keyboard and listed several multiple-choice questions.
“What do you think the two mana sources from tonight’s sewer exploration were?”
1: Magical Girls Jin Luan and Yin Lin
2: Demonic Creatures
3: Unknown evil elements
4: Newly manifested Magical Girls
5: SCP Foundation anomalous containment
After a few minutes, the results came in.
Option 1 unsurprisingly led with about 64% of the experts choosing it.
The Acting Person-in-Charge looked at Option 5, somewhat puzzled, and asked.
“Who picked Option 5? Who?”
One expert raised a hand.
“I’m a Sociology Expert.”
Acting Person-in-Charge: “What does this fifth option mean?”
The Sociology Expert replied, “I usually need to study certain social phenomena. Since we’re not very familiar with you as the director, I wanted to study your attitude, so I submitted this option.”
The Acting Person-in-Charge was taken aback.
“And what did you find from studying me?”
The Sociology Expert shook his head.
“Not yet. Still studying.”
The Acting Person-in-Charge grew a bit more serious, still unsure about this expert’s stance.
He then called for a second vote.
“First, let’s assume Option 1 was correct. Regarding the two minutes Magical Girls Jin Luan and Silver Lin stayed in an unusual spot, what do you think happened there?”
1: They found something, so they stopped
2: They rested because they were tired
3: They encountered an obstacle, which delayed them
4: They engaged in some NSFW activity since no one was around
5: Sensor malfunction, data error
A few minutes later, the vote concluded.
Option 1 still had the most votes, with about 48% choosing it.
The Acting Person-in-Charge should have closed the case there and not asked further.
But seeing the 9% behind Option 4, his curiosity got the better of him.
He asked loudly, “Who voted for Option 4?”
Two people raised their hands, including that same guy.
Before he could speak, the Sociology Expert stood up on his own.
“I usually study social phenomena. Based on my research—”
The Acting Person-in-Charge cut him off.
“Still studying me?”
“No.”
The Sociology Expert paused before explaining.
“I chose Option 4 because, after analyzing various social factors, I arrived at the most reasonable judgment. Considering Magical Girl Jin Luan’s usual behavior is a bit odd, plus Magical Girl Silver Lin’s universally adored appearance and her fragile inability to protect herself, I thought it wouldn’t be abnormal if something age-inappropriate happened in those two minutes.”
“Are you serious?”
The Acting Person-in-Charge stared at him sternly.
“Just joking.”
“Then why did you still pick Option 4?”
“As a Sociology Expert, I have to consider all kinds of unlikely possibilities. I believe the Alliance hired me not to nod along and say ‘yes, yes, yes’ all day.”
The Acting Person-in-Charge gritted his teeth, not knowing what to say.
He felt the Sociology Expert was just causing trouble, but the guy had a point.
After some discussion, the Eastern Alliance still sent people to check.
The new sensors had proved their worth—they detected the Magical Girls moving through the sewers and inferred from their movements where the issue lay.
In the dead silence of the early morning, a weary Special Task Force was dispatched again to investigate.
The Captain wasn’t with them this time; he was lying in the hospital.
Poisoning, nearly at the point of receiving a critical condition notice.
The investigation was handled by the other uninjured members.
The team drove to a secluded spot, lifted a manhole cover, put on night vision goggles, and descended.
They were still far from the target location, deliberately keeping distance, starting from afar and slowly approaching.
After spending a lot of time to reach the spot, they found nothing—just an ordinary section of sewer.
No matter how they examined it, they couldn’t detect any mana.
After clearing the area, they summoned geological survey experts, geological engineers, and forensic experts to reinvestigate the location.
By then, Jin Luan and Yin Lin had already gone home and were fast asleep.
During the day, Song Wuli went to work as usual, rain or shine.
He was very concerned about today’s news, wanting to see if anything had happened in Yiri City.
But everything remained quiet, as if yesterday’s only incident was the two Demonic Creature attacks, with no follow-up.
Even Liang Tai was bored enough to become an eating streamer, munching on food while awkwardly chatting about yesterday’s events.
Things were harder for Xia Shiyao.
Her parents were also nearby—a rare family gathering.
She wore a dress unsuitable for outdoor activities, styled her hair in a somewhat mature updo, and sat stiffly in the car.
On the road, she stared out the window in boredom, her mind gradually filled with a certain figure.
What neither she nor Song Wuli knew was that the “fruit” in the sewers had been plucked.
The Eastern Alliance had been busy for over ten hours, and the experts had made a discovery.
There was an unusual cavity underground.
It wasn’t a metro line or an underground city.
What exactly was it?
They would have to dig down three thousand meters to find out.