Yi Shiyue spoke, her head lowered as she avoided looking at that familiar face. Her voice began to choke up, and her shoulders trembled slightly as she tried her best to suppress her sobs.
“Sigh…”
Ye Xingyao let out a long sigh.
He could toy with his enemies and be cruel, but when it came to Yi Shiyue, he found it difficult to harden his heart.
Fortunately, Yi Shiyue was by no means a fool; experience was the best teacher. Besides…
“Isn’t there still me?”
Yi Shiyue felt a warm, firm embrace.
“Xingyao…”
Feeling the other person’s body heat, a sudden wave of inexplicable grievance washed over the girl. Her nose stung, and she leaned against the boy, weeping softly.
“I won’t deny your recklessness tonight. You might think I’m being too cold, but this is the way to survive when caught between monsters and the majority of people who hate spirits.”
Ye Xingyao’s voice gradually softened as he comforted his sobbing childhood friend.
“Too much has happened tonight. In my eyes, our relationship is far more important than being a spirit or a human. It’s not just about the Star Spirits; there are the pasts we don’t know about each other, the Human Union, and the Magic Girl Society that vanished this time. There are too many things we need time to verify and adapt to.”
Ye Xingyao could naturally guess some of the reasons why Yi Shiyue hid her identity. It was nothing more than the fact that, in the eyes of most humans, it was the spirits who brought monsters and disasters. At the same time, spirits possessed unique magical abilities, a distinct language to communicate with mana, long lifespans, and extraordinary beauty.
All of this seemed wonderful, but for the humans who made up the “majority” of the world, it was almost a guarantee that it would attract hatred.
“Mm.”
“You’re already exhausted, both in body and mind. Shiyue, let go of everything that happened tonight and get some rest. I’ll be by your side.”
“Thank you, Xingyao… *hic*… thank you…”
“Sigh… there’s nothing else to say for now. Finally, when all of this is over, let’s have a proper talk, you idiot.”
The boy gently tapped the back of Yi Shiyue’s head.
“Xingyao, can I hold you for a little longer?”
The spirit girl was unwilling to let go, clinging to him tightly as if she were drawing strength from him.
Ye Xingyao smiled dotingly, stroking the spirit girl’s hair to smooth it out.
***
Human Union Headquarters, Satellite City.
“Reporting to the Director, the combat members who were knocked out have regained consciousness. The smoke used by the opponent has shown no detected harm to their health, and those who were injured are not in life-threatening condition.”
In the crowded operation command center, a deputy lowered his voice to report to the Director, who was currently frowning deeply.
“Phew, this was my oversight. I thought there were no more dormant spirits in Satellite City. I didn’t expect the opponent to be a Moon Spirit.”
The smartly dressed Director let out a long breath, forcing down the anger in his heart.
“I’ll go explain things to the Research Department. For now, let our combat members rest. Have the Network and Investigation Departments see if they can uncover the identities of that Moon Spirit and the mysterious person.”
“Director, could it have been those magical girls?”
Seeing the Director’s anger subside slightly, the deputy asked quickly.
“Unlikely. At least it wasn’t the ones permanently stationed in Satellite City. In fact, in my opinion, those magical girls don’t have the brains to pull something like this off.”
The Director analyzed the situation.
He knew magical girls all too well. The Magic Girl Society was full of idiots who were naive yet possessed magical power. In the face of monsters and disasters, they didn’t even care about their own lives. For a group of hot-headed fools like them, if they were going to act against humans, they would definitely try to negotiate first.
Thinking of this, he sneered inwardly. The negotiation skills of magical girls—typical.
“Then who would dare to help a Moon Spirit under these circumstances?”
“A Hunter. And a Hunter who is nearly Midnight Grade. He has some knowledge of magic, though his superpower hasn’t been identified yet. However, the opponent is meticulous, decisive, experienced, and possesses many tools.”
The Director stared intently at a screen showing a captured frame of the hooded figure, trying to find any clues in the dark, blurred face.
“A Hunter… would they risk their lives for a commission? Opposing the Human Union…”
“Do you know what the most terrifying thing is?”
“The speed at which he easily took down those at the Early Night Grade? But looking at his magic and physical strength data, he shouldn’t have reached the Midnight Grade yet.”
The Director gave his deputy a deep look.
“That’s not it. It’s the fact that before this, our detection equipment did not pick up a single mana fluctuation.”
The implication was clear. This mysterious person had the means to shield themselves from detection equipment, which was indeed a terrifying prospect.
“Everyone, return to your posts and carry out the arrangements I just made. I’m going to contact the Hunter’s Union.”
“Yes, sir!”
As the experts in the command center filed out, the Director took out his phone and dialed a number.
“Hello? Qiansui, help me find someone.”
“Hey, hey, old classmate, that’s against the rules.”
A lazy, casual voice came from the other end of the phone.
“This person might be one of your Hunter’s Union members.”
“Then you should know even better that the rule set by the Big Boss is that the Hunter’s Union only guarantees the commission. Unless there are special requirements, the identities of both the client and the performer are kept confidential.”
The casual voice turned serious.
“As the most prestigious Hunter in Satellite City…”
“Not anymore, Li Xiang.”
Not anymore… how could that be? Qiansui was already the President of the Hunter’s Union branch…
“That woman is back?!”
Li Xiang, the Director, cried out in surprise.
“Yes. She’s the Boss now. I wouldn’t dare do something like this right under her nose. Sorry, old classmate.”
“Mm… it’s fine. But keep an eye out for Hunters between the Dream Entry Grade and Midnight Grade who specialize in magic, are meticulous, experienced, and possess means to shield themselves from conventional detection. Add one more thing: they might be friendly toward spirits. Gender is uncertain. If you have any suspects, be sure to tell me.”
“Yeah, definitely.”
The Director hung up the phone. His gaze shifted back to the beautiful white-haired spirit in the moonlight—pure, sacred, and inviolable.
“A Moon Spirit… how could there be a Moon Spirit in Satellite City…”
***
“Boss, you heard him…”
Qiansui put down his phone and looked at the woman sitting on the sofa not far away, her legs crossed.
“Mm, you did well. This is the Human Union, after all; that’s the best way to handle it. You can go now. Don’t worry about that person’s business. You can tell your old classmate that I’ve already narrowed down the search range.”
“Yes, Boss.”
As Qiansui pushed the door open and left, the woman boredly took out her phone and found the chat window for someone labeled ‘Ye Xin’.
‘I’ve settled the investigation trailing you. You should probably tell me your goal, right? Tomorrow, 7:00 PM, let’s meet at the Finale Hotel. I’ll send you the private room number then.’
She supposed she shouldn’t expect any less from that counter-intuitive little guy. It wasn’t Li Xiang’s fault for not figuring it out; no one would ever think of it immediately. This “mysterious person” never actually had any means to shield himself from detection.
It was simply because the opponent was an ordinary person.
Nothing more.