Did she see it wrong?
How could there be another person in the world who looks exactly like her sister?
Bai Lingluo knew the general appearance of Porcelain Moon.
She had heard others talk about her and had seen some portraits before, but back then, she only thought that Porcelain Moon resembled her sister.
Forget it. But when she saw her in person, she realized that Porcelain Moon was completely like another magical girl form of her sister.
She walked out of the conference room and glanced back at Porcelain Moon, who was surrounded by the girls inside.
A complicated feeling welled up in her heart.
She didn’t know how to face that girl named Porcelain Moon.
The girls were used to maintaining their magical girl forms.
Many of them abandoned their original bodies after becoming magical girls because they liked to present themselves to the world in flawless, beautiful forms.
But Bai Lingluo wanted to know what Porcelain Moon’s original appearance was like. Could it be that she…
Could it be that her sister was still alive…
“Uh, Bai Lingluo-senpai, you’re here too.”
Miao Ke’er’s voice broke through Bai Lingluo’s thoughts.
“Miao Ke’er, why did you come out alone? Aren’t you going to stay with them?”
“Nothing much, just feeling a little unwell. I’m heading home first.”
Miao Ke’er hurriedly left.
Bai Lingluo could sense that Miao Ke’er had something on her mind.
When Bai Lingluo was about to leave as well, she saw Lei Mang and Lan Xi passing by.
“Lei Mang, do you think these people really have the ability to handle such tasks? I don’t have much faith in them.”
“Doesn’t matter. This isn’t the main mission assigned by the higher-ups. How well they train isn’t my concern.”
“Shh, someone’s listening nearby.”
Bai Lingluo wisely stepped away.
“How’s that girl?” Lan Xi asked.
“Among this group, she’s one of the strongest, about on par with your old rival Ying Xian. Have you seen her in action?”
“A few days ago, she single-handedly defeated a Duke-Class Beast. Normal A-class Magical Girls can’t do that.”
“Then she does have some real skill.”
Porcelain Moon finally felt relieved.
She escaped from the conference room; she just couldn’t continue chatting about girl talk.
It was getting late again, and Porcelain Moon didn’t want to transform back.
She planned to go out to eat like this—not that she didn’t want to eat at the Magic Administration Bureau Building’s cafeteria, but the food there was too expensive…
She didn’t want to earn money at the Bureau only to spend it all there.
She walked into Jing’an City’s famous Food Street, heading toward a place recommended earlier by Li Zhiqiang.
The bustling street was filled with people coming and going.
The roadside stalls were packed; beer bottles were casually tossed on the ground without concern for anyone accidentally stepping on them.
Porcelain Moon passed by a snack stall; the owner warmly invited her in.
But she only glanced briefly and walked on.
She just didn’t have much of an appetite.
***
At the end of the street, Porcelain Moon caught a savory aroma coming from a small alley around the corner.
She entered the alley and found a small noodle shop inside, with very few people around.
The fragrance was coming from the noodle shop, but business seemed slow.
Porcelain Moon walked inside. The owner was an elderly man in his fifties or sixties, wearing reading glasses and with a kindly face.
“Little miss, want some braised noodles?”
“Pork and green bean braised noodles,” Porcelain Moon said.
It was a favorite dish of hers; her mother often made it when she was young, and the taste left a deep impression.
“Coming right up.”
Soon, the old man brought her a steaming bowl of braised noodles.
The shop had no other customers; Porcelain Moon ignored her magical girl image entirely and began eating heartily on the spot.
She licked her lips. So this is what they call the “taste of childhood”—she missed it dearly.
Before long, she finished.
“Burp~” she belched.
“Boss, how much?”
“Eight yuan.”
“Can I pay with QR code?”
“Sure, little miss.” Hearing this, the old man went into a back room, searched for a while, and carefully brought out a somewhat wrinkled QR code.
“This is my QR code, scan it.”
Looking at the avatar on the QR code, it was a soldier sitting on a tank.
“Old man, is your grandson in the army?”
“Yes, he’s a tank soldier, has been for four or five years. It’s been peaceful lately, so he often comes home to visit. Very filial.”
He smiled. “Did you scan it? I’ll take it back now.”
“Done.” Porcelain Moon showed him the payment confirmation screen.
“By the way, old man, why don’t you get more customers? Your noodles are really good.”
The old man wiped his glasses fogged by the steam and sat down.
“You’re not from around here, are you? And with that white hair, you must be a magical girl.”
“Yes.”
The old man sighed.
“Recently, for the past two months, there’ve been reports of Extradimensional Beasts in this alley, making people uneasy.”
“No one dares to come here anymore. I’m old and my eyes are weak, so I can’t see any beasts. They sent a few girls to investigate but found nothing, so it was dropped.”
“After that, customers just stopped coming.”
The old man sighed deeply, “Business is tough these days—”
Seeing the old man so dejected, Porcelain Moon said, “Old man, I’m a powerful magical girl. Tell me exactly where the beasts appeared. I’ll find and deal with them.”
Hearing this, he pointed to a narrow lane ahead. “There. Be careful, there are many twists and turns. The beasts could be hiding anywhere.”
Porcelain Moon set off toward the alley the old man indicated.
The overlapping buildings blocked the light from above, and with night approaching, the place felt especially eerie.
Porcelain Moon pulled out her Exceptional Index Meter, which showed numbers close to zero, indicating almost no presence of Extradimensional Beasts nearby.
Those others must have glanced at their meters and left. Only a seasoned magical girl like Porcelain Moon knew that sometimes this thing couldn’t be trusted.
She pressed on into the alley, passing corner after corner, the path growing narrower.
Far from the bustling city, the distant noise had already faded into indistinct murmurs.
“Hm?”
A few unfamiliar sounds caught Porcelain Moon’s attention.
She manifested a short sword and activated her sensory perception to scan the surroundings.
Ssssss……
Sounds like machines running.
As Porcelain Moon neared the source, the noise suddenly stopped.
Suddenly, she detected the origin of the disturbance.
Porcelain Moon swiftly spun and threw her short sword.
The sword paused in midair about ten meters away, then vanished into thin air.
“Interesting… So you can find me.”
Porcelain Moon hurried toward that spot, but nothing was left behind.
“What was that thing…?”
Afterward, Porcelain Moon could no longer sense any abnormality.
She returned to the Magic Administration Bureau Building and passed by the first-floor front desk of the Logistics Department, where she saw Li Zhiqiang inside, seemingly up to something.
“Ugh… I’m exhausted.”
Porcelain Moon paused to observe.
“Damn it, Lin Shen, I’m going to kill you, you bastard!” Li Zhiqiang was crouching somewhere at the back, muttering curses quietly, but because of his large build, Porcelain Moon could clearly see him.
“Lin Shen, don’t think I don’t know you’re having an affair. My info is very good. I advise you to stop offending me. If I want, I can tell your fiancée right now! I’ll make sure you have a miserable life!”
Judging by his tone, he was talking to himself; it seemed Lin Shen had given him some unpleasant task.
Porcelain Moon originally didn’t want to bother with him but then saw Lin Shen walking nearby.
“Lin Shen! Humph humph ah ah ah!!!”
Li Zhiqiang’s quiet curses escalated into shouts…
If Lin Shen caught him like this, it would be trouble.
“Ahem ahem…” Porcelain Moon made a small noise to alert him.
Li Zhiqiang immediately stopped complaining when he heard the girl’s voice.
He turned around and saw a white-haired girl standing in front of the counter.
He definitely knew his rant had been overheard and awkwardly scratched his head.
“Miss Magical Girl, is there something I can help you with?”
“Nothing much, just keep your complaints quiet when you’re talking. Don’t let the higher-ups hear.”
At that moment, Lin Shen arrived.
“Miss Porcelain Moon?” Lin Shen was surprised to recognize her.
Li Zhiqiang’s mouth formed a perfect “O.” “Porcelain Moon!? Isn’t that the first S-Class Magical Girl in our province?”
“That’s me.”
“Miss Porcelain Moon, what brings you to our Logistics Department front desk?” Lin Shen asked.
“Nothing.” Porcelain Moon left immediately without looking back.
“Li Zhiqiang, what are you doing? You embarrassed the Logistics Department when Miss Porcelain Moon saw you!”
“I… maybe she just found me entertaining…”
Porcelain Moon went back to Ma Xinyin.
“What? You say the enemy is plotting something inside Jing’an City?”
“Yes, the other side is also a magical girl skilled in magic. It’s difficult to track their actions with normal detection methods.”
“Damn… I need to request more resources from the higher-ups for investigation.”
Ma Xinyin gestured for Porcelain Moon to come closer.
She whispered, “Listen carefully, I’m assigning you an important mission…”