As evening approached, the sky gradually darkened.
Kong Ling gazed at the yellow sun veiled by the dust storm—an enormous sandstorm was coming.
“If you don’t want to have a mouthful of sand, get indoors quickly!” she told the remaining members of A Team.
Ying Xian glanced at her watch and said, “There’s still an hour left before the exercise ends. We need to finish this fight as soon as possible.”
“If we’re indoors, my abilities won’t be of any use…” Xiao Si said disappointedly as she put away her long sniper rifle and took out a smaller model.
At that moment, Lin Xing’s stomach began to rumble.
“Let’s rest for a bit… I’m hungry.”
“I have something to eat, Lin Xing little sister, do you want some?” Kong Ling pulled a compressed biscuit from her bag. “This is military rations I brought from home. It doesn’t taste like much, but it’ll fill you up.”
“As long as it’s edible…” Lin Xing took the compressed biscuit and started nibbling.
Inside, Kong Ling conjured a small fire with magic, illuminating the surroundings.
Outside, the world was a dull gray, accompanied by the constant sound of sand hitting the glass, like rain.
Kong Ling projected a map of the terrain around them.
“The underground of this building actually connects directly to the subway. We can use the subway to move to other parts of the city. The exercise is almost over; we must take the initiative to strike,” she said.
“Fighting again…” Lin Xing sighed but then perked up. “That damned Chen Lisi, I will definitely defeat you!”
“Subway, huh… I might just be dead weight…” Xiao Si said gloomily. In the darkness of the subway, she couldn’t perform her sniper duties at all.
But for Ying Xian, it was different.
“The darkness in the subway is exactly my advantage.”
Kong Ling’s eyes lit up. “I’ve got an idea. Let’s split up.”
***
At the camp, several eliminated team members, along with Porcelain Moon, gathered.
Fortunately, the tent was secured tightly enough, or it would have been blown away by the sandstorm.
“Drones can’t operate in a sandstorm. We can’t monitor their situation; it’s really worrying,” Porcelain Moon paced back and forth.
“I’ll go out to observe personally,” Lan Xi said, putting on a black trench coat and a mask.
“Saint Li Group’s uniform positioning shows they’re all inside the city’s subway. Looks like a close-quarters battle is about to break out.”
“And I want to watch their fight firsthand.”
After saying this, Lan Xi stepped out of the tent and vanished into the storm.
“Lei Mang, is Lan Xi your partner? She seems to have hidden a lot of power. As an A-Class Magical Girl, she’s obviously stronger than most A-Class—just like you,” Porcelain Moon said, watching her leave.
“Porcelain Moon, you have a keen eye. I used to underestimate you. Lan Xi’s close-combat skills are exceptional, ranking third among the same batch of Magical Girls trained by Saint Li Group.”
“Is that so? Who are the top two?”
“Me… and an S-Class Magical Girl. She belongs to the Tianfu Province Magic Control Bureau. I can’t disclose much about her.”
“Saint Li Group has already produced an S-Class? That’s big news.”
“That’s a secret—”
Several eliminated girls were also there. Among them, Ye Liu lay on a stretcher, while Lin Shuqing sat beside her.
“Are all girls from Jiangnan Province this ruthless…” Ye Liu had multiple casts on her body, clearly suffering fractures from such a high fall.
“Don’t say that about Jiangnan girls. Except for me, everyone else is quite gentle and virtuous, right, Ziyuan?”
Ziyuan shrugged helplessly.
“Say something, Ziyuan. The reputation of Jiangnan girls depends on you.”
“What else can I say? Virtuous doesn’t exactly describe me.”
“Ugh… I hope the footage of me fighting—kicking someone flying and all—doesn’t get recorded. So embarrassing…” Lin Shuqing complained.
“I think I’m the embarrassing one getting kicked,” Ye Liu retorted.
“Got you! Take this shot!”
Xiao Si aimed at the white-haired girl and fired.
“What!?” the girl exclaimed in surprise.
She dodged the magic bullet just before it hit.
Good opportunity! Kong Ling saw Bai Lingluo dodge and lose her balance. Before she could recover, Kong Ling launched an attack.
Unbelievably, Bai Lingluo reacted just in time, raising her halberd to block Kong Ling’s strike.
“You really are a monster!”
Bai Lingluo forced Kong Ling back.
“Kong Ling little sister, that hurts my feelings,” Bai Lingluo said, then jumped away.
Boom! The floor shattered underfoot.
She dodged another spell from Xiao Si.
“Taking on two alone and still not losing ground, is this the strength of Senior Bai Lingluo…” Kong Ling panted.
“You should call more people to deal with me.”
“Imagine there’s a Duke-Class Creature in front of me…” Kong Ling muttered to herself, “What can I do to deal with it?”
“No matter how strong an Extradimensional Beast is, it’s never without a weakness. Kong Ling, Magical Girls are the same.” Bai Lingluo reminded her.
“Try to defeat me.”
Kong Ling tightened her grip on her Bai Sword and cautiously approached Bai Lingluo, observing her movements.
“Xiao Si, I’m counting on you. I’m engaging her up close; use your full power to attack her.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Kong Ling launched her attack.
She knew Bai Lingluo’s halberd was difficult for close-range foes to deal with, so she had to close the distance to stand a chance. After every attack and dodge, she stepped forward.
Bai Lingluo gathered magic and swung her halberd. Kong Ling saw she was about to unleash a Magical Slash and immediately leapt up to evade.
The shockwave tore through the entire subway station, shattering several columns.
“Trying to get close to me? No way.”
“Damn…” Kong Ling’s head spun and she staggered.
Taking advantage of Kong Ling’s disorientation from the shockwave, Bai Lingluo prepared to deliver a fatal strike.
“Kong Ling, dodge! I’ve got your back!”
Xiao Si fired three consecutive shots, blocking Bai Lingluo’s advance.
“Heh… You’re still miscalculating.”
Bai Lingluo smiled—a sight Kong Ling had never seen before. It looked like some scheme had succeeded.
Kong Ling heard the sound of rolling rubble and turned just in time to see the ceiling collapse, snuffing out the fire she had conjured for light.
Xiao Si was right where the debris fell.
“Xiao Si!!!”
“She’s fine. The Nanometer Uniform protects her, and this subway isn’t deep, so the uniform can withstand the pressure. Now, it’s just the two of us left.”
Kong Ling was sweating. It was the first time she felt such fear facing Senior Bai Lingluo.
Surrounded by darkness, Kong Ling lit a new fire, but it revealed her position.
She hurried to find a place to retreat.
“You used to call me Sister Bai with such fondness, so why are you so scared now?”
Bai Lingluo pressed the attack.
“I can’t win against her alone. I have to find my teammates, but since splitting up, I’ve lost contact with them. What should I do…”
Kong Ling looked back; Bai Lingluo was relentless in pursuit.
She glanced ahead—the subway exit.
Only by fighting in open space could she have room to maneuver.
But Kong Ling stopped at the subway entrance. The wind howled fiercely outside, and stepping out would be like being swept away by the sandstorm.
“You have nowhere left to retreat.”