Chapter 81: “Welcome Back”

Qián Dehào went downstairs to buy half a box of beer, carried it back up, and placed it next to Sòng Wúlí.

He found a chair and sat beside him without saying a word, took out a can of beer from the box, and put it down next to Sòng Wúlí.

Only then did Sòng Wúlí stop working and pick up the beer to drink.

After two sips, he choked, spat it out, then continued drinking.

He wasn’t used to beer; normally, he never touched alcohol.

Qián Dehào also opened a can, clinked his cup with Sòng Wúlí’s, and then drank it all in one go—cheers.

Sòng Wúlí rested several times before finishing his can.

“Pretty bad, right?” Qián Dehào smiled and grabbed another can for Sòng Wúlí, opening one for himself as well.

“Definitely tastes awful.” Old Sòng paused for a moment, clinked cups with Qián Dehào again, then drank another can.

Such a terrible drink, yet so many people loved it for some reason.

In fact, not everyone drinks beer for the taste.

Some drink because their friends are drinking.

Some drink simply because beer gets you drunk.

Qián Dehào didn’t ask anything and just drank with him like that, finishing a whole box of canned beer in half an hour.

Sòng Wúlí was already a little dazed but still wanted to work; his typing fingers were hard to control and often made mistakes.

His vision blurred, unable to clearly see the words on the screen.

Qián Dehào eventually helped him lie down on the sofa, and before long, Sòng Wúlí fell into a deep sleep.

After handling that, Huáng Yījùn made a few gestures, signaling Qián Dehào to come chat in the corner.

Old Qián went over.

“So, what’s wrong with Old Sòng?” Huáng Yījùn was genuinely concerned, his tone full of worry.

“No idea, didn’t ask.” Qián Dehào washed his face with cold water to sober up a bit.

“You just drank with him and didn’t ask anything?” Huáng Yījùn was surprised.

“Yeah, felt it wasn’t right to ask, couldn’t bring myself to.” Qián Dehào glanced at the time after washing his face and prepared to leave.

He chatted a bit more with Huáng Yījùn, advising him not to poke around and bring bad luck.

Huáng Yījùn was still worried and asked Old Qián about Sòng Wúlí’s personal situation.

Qián Dehào didn’t know much—only that Sòng Wúlí usually kept to himself and no one had heard much about his family.

But thinking back to how distracted Old Sòng had been before, examining a woman’s shoes,

He had assumed it was about a girlfriend, but later found out it was because he had a crush on Yín Lín.

Yet judging by today’s behavior, it looked like a heartbreak.

Could it be that he really had a girlfriend last week and broke up a few days ago?

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

That night, something else happened—Magical Girl Jīn Luán posted a message online, searching for Yín Lín, offering a generous reward for any information.

Everyone knew about this. Ever since the Lightning Man incident, Jīn Luán and Huàn Hóng had been flying low over the city daily, searching for something.

At first, people thought they were just patrolling.

Only today, after the message was posted, did everyone realize they were looking for Yín Lín.

What happened to Yín Lín? Missing? She hadn’t been seen for many days.

Why was there still internal strife among the Magical Girls after defeating Lightning Man? What was causing the infighting?

The Magical Girl Support Association was full of rumors.

Some said it was a love triangle;

Some said someone was caught cheating;

Some said it was disputes over benefits;

Others said it was just childish quarrels.

It seemed no one in the public knew about Diamond’s matter, but the Human Alliance was well aware.

Every battle the Magical Girls fought was recorded by Alliance members—those records were precious materials.

Naturally, they captured the incident with Diamond.

The Human Alliance knew about the existence of Contract Beasts and had recognized the Magical Girls for many years, so they wouldn’t be unaware of such basic intelligence.

Seeing that Contract Beast appear via teleportation, and Yín Lín suddenly starting to teleport as well, the Alliance’s experts convened a meeting.

They deduced that Diamond was a Contract Beast and figured out its abilities.

After seeing Diamond disperse, the Alliance knew Diamond was likely dead.

The internal factions split into two groups: one relieved because if the Contract Beast had lived, its powers would have been terrifying and hard to deal with;

The other worried because Contract Beasts were key to recruiting Magical Girls, and Diamond’s death could slow their growth, making it harder to fight against异魔 later.

These two sides were about fifty-fifty, no one convincing the other.

The bickering grew frustrating until a middle-aged man stopped their argument.

Compared to debating these inconclusive issues, there was something more urgent—Magical Girl Yín Lín’s emotional instability.

“Kids are the worst.”

“Young and hot-headed, always doing stupid things on impulse.”

“Fragile hearts, a little blow and they make even more foolish mistakes.”

“I propose we deal with Yín Lín’s case properly. If we don’t handle it well, it could become a huge risk.”

The bespectacled young man offered his suggestion at the right moment.

Everyone knew this young man was from the Witch faction.

Some experts opposed, believing Magical Girls should solve their own problems.

This opinion gained nearly half the votes.

Until the middle-aged man asked the glasses wearer about the next plan.

The young man replied they would mobilize the Human Alliance’s resources to search for Yín Lín and provide psychological counseling.

Reasonably and emotionally, Yín Lín was a hero in this battle, helping solve internal Magical Girl issues and protecting humanity.

He analyzed from all angles—it was clear he was prepared.

Finally, the middle-aged man decided to use the Alliance’s resources within the law to find Yín Lín.

This sparked strong opposition from the Human Supremacists—helping Magical Girls was a disgrace to the Alliance.

Ah, humans—always so complicated.

Even if the Earth were to be destroyed, factional disputes wouldn’t disappear.

The middle-aged man had made up his mind—just this once, help the Magical Girls, as a way to repay them for dealing with Lightning Man.

Leaving the conference room, the middle-aged man began writing a report.

He had made many mistakes in this battle and needed to write a self-criticism.

After adjournment, the Witch faction and Neutral Faction proceeded as the BOSS instructed.

The Human Supremacists quietly gathered somewhere, discussing who knew what.

That night, Sòng Wúlí woke up, overwhelmed by nausea.

He hurried to the company restroom and vomited.

His mind was still foggy, and he didn’t feel well.

Checking the time, it was late at night.

About to return to his workstation to rest, he found his desktop computer hidden away, and his laptop was nowhere to be found.

Well, his body was unwell anyway, and he hadn’t showered for days—he smelled terrible.

Better go home.

On the subway, his foul odor kept people from coming near him.

When the train stopped, he got off and returned to the street near his home.

Passing by a familiar vendor, he paused.

The owner asked, “Hey, haven’t seen you for days. Still want three orders of fried dumplings today?”

“Yeah.” Sòng Wúlí answered out of habit, then suddenly wanted to refuse but the owner had already started cooking.

Oh well.

Carrying the fried dumplings home, he stood at the door.

This door would never open automatically again.

He took out his keys and unlocked it.

Inside was pitch black and eerily quiet.

No longer did he hear that phrase: Welcome home.