Hearing Hongye Qiu’s words, Mite leaned his head back against the passenger seat to rest, seemingly indifferent. He had been crushed by his opponent on every level, both physically and mentally; what was there left to say?
He wouldn’t react no matter how Hongye Qiu decided to handle him. This, too, was a quality of a Hunter—to say no more and get the job over with.
Recalling his past days as a Hunter, Mite suddenly felt a bit dazed. Although he was supposed to be a Forest Elf, he had been reshaped by human culture for so long that he had subconsciously accepted those things, hadn’t he? ‘Hah, how ironic.’
Hongye Qiu disabled the auto-start autopilot and switched to the manual driving interface. She floored the accelerator, and the high-performance car roared, leaving a cloud of dust behind.
For the Star Elf—that is, Miss Ye Xingyao—and her group, the chaotic night was about to welcome the dawn, and the farce was finally coming to an end.
However, the hospital they had left behind did not seem as quiet as their calming hearts.
Beside a shattered glass bottle, a puddle of blood moved eerily toward a severed limb, dragging a long, bloody trail across the floor.
The Monster Virus within the blood acted like a colony of ants submerged by a flood, consuming every last bit of their remaining Magic Power.
Finally, their hard work paid off. They successfully reached the severed limb. Quickly, the “starving” virus devoured the magic within the elven limb, which they found delicious, and occupied the appendage.
The severed arm now crawled eerily across the ground using its fingers. Blood flowed from the wound at the stump as it moved toward the “dead” corpse of the Defective Blood Fiend. Though slow, their efforts had successfully leveled up from a two-dimensional struggle to a three-dimensional one.
Relying on the network formed by the blood on the ground, “they” quickly chose a relatively intact body, replacing the fellow viruses that had died within it due to a lack of Magic Power.
Then, a naked youth slowly pushed himself up from the pool of blood. He stood up, slowly opened his eyes, and stiffly twisted his head.
Unlike most citizens of Satellite City, who were people from Zhongzhou with black hair and black eyes, this “boy” had hair that was still black, but his eyes were so red they bordered on purple—the color of dried, oxidized blood.
“Oh? After absorbing an elf’s Magic Power, a specimen comparable to a complete version actually emerged from a defective one… This is truly interesting. Hey, hey, you, can you understand me?”
Clapping and sounds of astonished praise drifted from the darkness.
A tall man and a young girl stepped out from the shadows.
The girl was not tall and wore a pale yellow tiered cake dress. A flamboyant smile was plastered on her face as she clapped her hands together industriously, looking exactly like a little girl who had found a favorite toy.
Compared to her, the man was probably… twice her height? His black robes did nothing to hide his burly physique. The man stood with his arms crossed, his back straight as a spear, naturally radiating a powerful aura and pressure.
The “boy” turned his head, his hollow eyes staring straight at the little girl who had made the noise.
The tall man frowned and took a step forward, blocking the youth’s line of sight.
“Oh my, you can’t talk? That’s such a shame. In principle, I shouldn’t be helping you… A fellow like you isn’t one of our kind, is it?”
The girl poked her head out from behind the man and playfully made a face at the youth.
The “boy” watched the two of them as if facing a great enemy. Unable to speak and not even quite knowing how to use his body, he crouched half-low on the ground, arching his back like a beast preparing to pounce.
“But then again, wouldn’t it be too boring if you were just found and killed by the Human Alliance like this?”
The girl tucked her neck in and tapped her lip with her index finger over and over, appearing to be deep in thought.
“Miss, our time is running out,” the tall man said in a deep voice.
“Fine, then we’ll take this guy back. Go and subdue him first.”
The girl’s expression shifted with practiced ease as she dropped the slightly forced act. At her command, the man blurred, appearing in front of the “boy” in an instant. A battle with a massive disparity in strength broke out.
“Ugh, how boring. I’d rather spend my time thinking about when I can finally meet my dear Star Elf sister and give her a proper greeting. I’m really looking forward to it… wouldn’t you agree, half-finished mister?”
The “boy” didn’t last five seconds against the man. He was pinned to the ground, letting out whimpering sounds that resembled coughing.
—
“Hmph, did Brother and Shiyue forget they have a cute younger sister again?”
Ye Xingling curled up on the sofa, pouting as if she were throwing a tantrum.
Even though there was no one else at home, Ye Xingling had turned on every light in the house.
Ever since their old house was destroyed by that terrifying Humanoid Magic Beast and they moved into the Human Alliance’s Relocation House, her brother and Shiyue had been staying out late constantly. This left Ye Xingling, who naturally loved company, feeling quite lonely.
In the past, her brother often didn’t come home because of work, but back then she could run to Shiyue’s room and talk about things she couldn’t tell her brother—the kind of topics discussed between delicate teenage girls.
But now, her brother had taken Shiyue away too!
‘Seriously, it’s a good thing that the two of them are getting closer, but going out and being so passionate every single night… I wonder if Brother’s skinny body can hold out…’
‘Also, it would be fine if they did that kind of thing at home… Wait, actually, never mind. I still want to get a good night’s sleep.’
Ye Xingling’s cheeks flushed slightly, and a sense of restlessness rose in her heart.
Naturally, she was waiting for her brother and sister to come home.
But at the same time, she was also worried about that Senior Jin Ming, who always referred to herself as “This Lady.”
Just then, the notification sound on Ye Xingling’s backup phone suddenly rang. She opened the phone with delight, only to find a new message.
It was under the previous message from “Qiluo: I will have someone keep an eye on that side. Ensure your own safety first.”
Qiluo: “The situation here has come to an end. Miss Jin Ming is safe, so please do not worry too much.”
Qiluo: “Once I finish handling the matters at hand, Yunque will synchronize the information regarding this incident with everyone. Even though these things may seem far removed from your lives, I will still require you to know them.”
Qiluo: “Satellite City is becoming increasingly unstable. You must take care of your family and friends as much as possible. If an emergency occurs, put your own safety first. If you can, just protect as many citizens as your abilities allow.”
Qiluo: “We are Magical Girls. Our enemies are monsters, and the people who destroyed our peaceful lives.”