“Mr. Luo, thank you for your help. The doctor said my father’s condition has improved. I’m truly grateful!”
She attached a cute emoji at the end.
Ciyue typed back: “Don’t be a magical girl anymore. Going to school is fine; the school will accept you. Your safety is the most important thing. I’ll take care of your living expenses.”
Soon after, Yuying replied.
“I don’t need your money anymore. I’ll find a way. I can take care of myself.”
“That’s good.”
Bai Lingluo leaned over.
“Ciyue, who are you chatting with?”
Ciyue hurriedly put her phone away.
“Nothing.”
The situation was very urgent, but chatting with Yuying was a rare moment of calm for Ciyue.
As Ciyue reported the information, the authorities were caught in a dilemma: either declare a full city evacuation, but they didn’t know the exact location of the beast, and with five million people including the suburbs.
Such an evacuation was unrealistic; or keep the news under wraps and quickly deal with the slumbering aberrant beast.
All reconnaissance equipment had been redeployed for a carpet search, so it was likely they’d locate the beast soon.
In five minutes, a city-wide lockdown would be declared, followed by evacuating the city center. Senior officials of the Magic Control Bureau had already taken off by helicopter to safe locations.
Nearly half of the province’s magical girls had been mobilized, stationed atop various skyscrapers, ready for action.
***
“Ciyue!”
Luo Xi flew over from a distance.
“I heard from the internal briefing that an aberrant beast is about to appear near the city center. Honestly, it’s so reckless. Ciyue, will you be fighting it with me?”
“Luo Xi, we have other tasks,” Ciyue said.
“What tasks?”
“Sorry, it’s confidential.”
“Alright, I won’t pry. But after the mission, can we… go on a date again?”
Bai Lingluo was shocked.
“What!? A date? So you two have that kind of relationship?”
Ciyue quickly explained, “No, Bai Lingluo, you’re misunderstanding—”
But Luo Xi wasn’t satisfied with Ciyue’s denial. She grinned and said, “Yeah, a date is a date. Ciyue is my ‘partner’!”
Bai Lingluo was speechless. She just gave Ciyue a resentful glare, as if saying, “So you’re having an affair, huh?”
“Enough, I have my own tasks. I’m going on patrol now,” Luo Xi said, making a heart gesture toward Ciyue before flying away. “See you later.”
Ciyue waved goodbye, but then Bai Lingluo grabbed her hand.
“Ciyue, what exactly is your relationship with Luo Xi?”
“Nothing… That’s just her side of the story. Don’t believe her.”
Bai Lingluo grabbed Ciyue’s other hand and pushed her toward the wall.
“Ciyue, are you hiding something from me?”
Looking into Bai Lingluo’s sharp gaze, Ciyue felt like her entire soul was being examined.
“I don’t think I’m hiding anything unforgivable…”
Ciyue quickly stepped back.
“Yeah, right!” Bai Lingluo pinned Ciyue’s hand against the wall.
Is this what they call a “wall slam”? But being wall slammed by a girl is just embarrassing…
“Tell me, about Mr. Luo Zhizhou—you know him, right? What’s your relationship with him?”
“Well…” Ciyue swallowed hard, but the small gesture couldn’t hide her nervousness from Bai Lingluo’s eyes.
“We’re just friends. We’ve known each other for a long time. Nothing special beyond that.”
“Really?”
Bai Lingluo’s movements became more aggressive as she pressed closer, her bright blue eyes fixed intently on Ciyue’s uneasy face.
“Luo Xi happens to be Mr. Luo Zhizhou’s sister, and you have a thing with Luo Xi, and you know Mr. Luo Zhizhou too. What’s the relationship among the three of you?”
This question really stumped Ciyue.
“That’s a bit complicated to explain…”
“I’m patient.”
However, the situation didn’t allow the two of them to continue their close exchange.
“What are you two… doing?”
Chen Lisi’s voice interrupted.
Lin Xing whispered behind, “Did we come at a bad time…?”
“Is there something you want to say?” Bai Lingluo quickly asked before Ciyue could respond.
“The mission is about to start. We’ve been told to get ready,” Chen Lisi said.
“Okay, understood.”
Bai Lingluo released her grip.
Taking advantage of the moment, Ciyue hurriedly escaped Bai Lingluo’s pressure.
“Alright, alright, we’ll talk about this later, Bai Lingluo. Right now, we need to prepare for the operation,” Ciyue said with relief.
“Hmph, fine!”
Bai Lingluo was dissatisfied, still full of questions.
But she had one big question she’d save for last.
“We’ve located its position. The temporary code name given by headquarters is ‘Di Huo’—‘Earthfire’—not very auspicious…”
“As shown here, it looks like a landmine, nestled a bit east of Jing’an City’s center. That spot happens to be the hub of the city’s underground drainage system.”
“After thorough checks, the aberrant beast’s core is about 200 meters underground, reachable through some particularly deep tunnels.”
It was more of a hybrid between the drainage system and underground air-raid shelters.
For twenty years, Jing’an City had been built as a fortress city—the only barrier preventing northern aberrant beasts from advancing further south after the capital fell.
Its underground tunnels were complex, with the deepest drainage system reaching over 500 meters. You could say Jing’an’s underworld was a labyrinth.
“So our next mission is to enter the drainage system?” Ciyue asked.
“Yes. You have twelve A-class and one S-class magical girl. That firepower should be enough to instantly eliminate a sleeping Kingdom-Class aberrant beast.”
“At worst, you can significantly weaken it and lure it to the surface for concentrated attack. However, that could cause unacceptable property damage.”
“Headquarters insists we minimize such losses… otherwise, there’s no reason to send you underground. But you must prioritize your safety. Lin Xing can lead a swift evacuation. Safety first—do you hear me?”
Ma Xinyin communicated from the helicopter, the background filled with rotor noise.
“We understand.” Ciyue responded on behalf of the team.
At the command, the military moved in immediately. Jing’an City center was quickly evacuated and locked down.
The roads were cleared except for armored vehicles and personnel. Dozens of attack helicopters hovered overhead, ready.
The roar of tanks soon followed. Several 99B Main Battle Tanks covered with heat-reactive armor rolled onto the streets. From above, they looked like slow-moving black turtles migrating.
Citizens watched fearfully as these massive machines entered familiar streets.
Thick modular reactive armor covered them, with turrets wrapped in additional shells made of graphene, titanium alloy, and other materials. Under their black paint, the tanks resembled giant armored mud turtles—eerily intimidating.
This was the result of long experience fighting aberrant beasts. Under magical energy cannon fire, even heavily armored tanks and other vehicles were vulnerable.
To defend against aberrant magical firepower, tanks had to increase armor thickness, improve armor materials, and increase firepower.
As a result, China’s armored tactics now resembled NATO’s—focusing on the quality of individual armored vehicles, with an overall strategy biased toward defensive counterattacks.
The tanks and other armored vehicles halted at the defensive line. Inside that line awaited the upcoming battlefield.
***
Ciyue’s phone rang again.
Yuying sent another message.
“Mr. Luo, I’m so scared! The news says another aberrant beast is about to descend near Jing’an City center. The bureau said I’m just an apprentice magical girl and shouldn’t come. I’m at home now and don’t know what to do. Will there be a really powerful beast? Mr. Luo, please be safe!”
Ciyue typed back: “Just stay home. It’s okay. Didn’t a beast appear downtown a few days ago too? It was dealt with quickly. This time will be the same. No need to worry.”
Though she typed those words, inside Ciyue was actually very afraid…
As for what exactly she feared, she didn’t want to think about it.