Beware The Magical Girl Walking Alone At Night.

Little did Meng Shan know the weight of his own words. Ran Jiuyi remained silent for a moment before speaking. “You make a lot of sense. It’s the first time I’ve met someone who thinks that way. Meng Shan, was it? That’s a good name. I’ll remember it—and I hope you’ll remember mine, too.”

“Time’s running out. I need to get back and rest; I’ve got plenty of sights to see tomorrow, so I’ll be taking my leave. If fate brings us together again, let’s be friends. Remember, I’m Ran Jiuyi.”

With that, Jiuyi paid for her dinner and departed, leaving Meng Shan staring blankly at her empty plate.

Having served in the military, Meng Shan prided himself on being a fast eater, but this woman had finished at a speed far beyond his own. What’s more, he hadn’t even noticed when she had finished. It was a sensation of displacement he had never experienced before.

He shook his head, dismissed the thought. He was likely overthinking it; she was probably just naturally quick, and his own senses were dull from exhaustion.

An hour later, in the alleyways of Southeast City D, Ran Jiuyi was wandering with a map in hand, searching for something.

Unlike her appearance in the fast-food shop, her long black hair had shifted to a deep violet-black. Her features looked more mature, her stature taller and more curvaceous. At a glance, she shared a resemblance to her previous self, but the longer one looked, the more they felt like two completely different people.

“The location I marked was definitely here,” Jiuyi muttered to herself. “That cheap hostel should be over there… Why can’t I find it?”

Just then, a young man looking like a street thug blocked her path. His eyes roamed shamelessly over her body, looking as if he were ready to pounce. “Hey there, gorgeous. It’s pretty late. Where are you headed?”

Sensing his ill intent, Jiuyi looked panicked. She stumbled back, stammering, “Who… who are you? I’m warning you, don’t come any closer!”

Her reaction only delighted the thug; it looked like he was going to have some real fun tonight. “What was that, sweetheart? If I don’t come closer, how are you gonna get a look at my handsome face?”

Jiuyi turned to flee, only to find two more men blocking the way behind her.

“Don’t run, little girl! Looks like you’re lost. It’s fine—just play nice with us tonight, and we’ll make sure you find your way out tomorrow.”

“Ahahaha…!”

As the three thugs burst into idiotic laughter, the feigned panic on Jiuyi’s face vanished, replaced by cold indifference. These fools really thought she was a gift from heaven. Unfortunately for them, she was a meal far too big for them to swallow.

“Only three? I’m not attracting very many. Is this just the outskirts?” she mused.

Under the cover of night, the thugs failed to notice her change in demeanor. They lunged at her simultaneously. “Be a good girl and play with us!”

Jiuyi’s response was simple and brutal.

She lunged first toward the lone thug behind her, dropping her center of gravity to slip past his grasping hands. Then, driving her legs into the earth, she funneled all her explosive power into a vicious uppercut that slammed into his jaw.

With a sickening thud, the man was floored in a single strike, left unconscious on the pavement.

With the first man down, the remaining two closed in from behind. However, seeing their comrade leveled by a seemingly fragile beauty was a sharp departure from their expectations, freezing them in a moment of sheer bewilderment.

Jiuyi did not waste the opening. She pivoted into a spinning hook kick that connected squarely with one thug’s temple. The tactile feedback through her leg told her everything she needed to know: he wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon.

In a matter of seconds, only one man remained. Jiuyi didn’t intend to finish him—instead, she spoke with flat, calm authority. “Take me to your boss. I have business with him. Urgent business.”

The sudden violence, and the sight of his broken friends, shattered the man’s courage. His legs gave out and he collapsed to his knees, begging for mercy. “Spare me! Please spare me! I’ll take you there right now!”

This was exactly the result Jiuyi wanted: a compliant local guide to lead her to her target.

Smoothly, under the thug’s lead, Jiuyi arrived at a spacious courtyard. There she found her objective, flanked by two three-meter-tall hulks who were clearly not human, and surrounded by dozens of armed goons.

Predictably, the thug had secretly contacted his boss on the way, leading Jiuyi straight into a prepared trap.

To Jiuyi, however, this was a favor; it saved her a massive amount of time. And looking at those two giants whose frames defied human biology, she surmised they were the serum users.

Seeing his boss arrive with such overwhelming backup, the previously whimpering thug suddenly regained his arrogance.

“How about now, you little b*tch? Scared yet? I don’t care how well you fight—you aren’t taking on this many people.”

Before the thug could even turn to claim credit from his boss, Jiuyi silenced the dimwit with a single punch.

“Messaging your boss the whole way while walking in front of me… Did he really think I wouldn’t notice? Seriously, is this the best muscle you’ve got? They’re all useless.”

Faced with her blatant provocation, the surrounding thugs erupted in curses.

“What did you say, you b*tch?!” “I’ll skin you alive!”

Yet, none of them dared to step forward. Jiuyi’s strike was no joke; a blow that could effortlessly knock out a grown man was not something a “normal” woman could deliver.

The local boss clapped his hands, and the chaotic shouting gradually died down. He looked at Jiuyi, who had charged into his lair alone, with a glimmer of amusement.

“Being able to make it here alone means you’ve got some skill. But I’ve seen plenty of hotheads like you—learn a few moves and you think you’re invincible. I’ll give you one chance: crawl over here and lick my boots. Do that, and I might consider making you my plaything.”

Jiuyi responded flatly. “I can see your IQ isn’t much higher than your men’s. No wonder your subordinates are all morons.”

“I came for one thing. You recently made a deal with someone. You helped him smuggle into the city, and in exchange, he gave you a batch of illegal reinforcement serum.”

Jiuyi pointed at the two giants standing behind the boss. “The kind that turns people into that.”

“I want every vial in your possession, and the whereabouts of the man you traded with. A word of advice: this isn’t something you should be touching. You’ve crossed the line.”

The boss flickered with panic for a moment. Is this woman a monster like that guy? But he couldn’t back down. If he showed weakness now, how could he lead his men?

After a moment’s hesitation, the boss waved his hand violently, barking at the giants behind him, “You two, get her!”

But before the giants could even twitch, two violet-black needles, over ten centimeters long, pierced through their skulls, scrambling their brains instantly.

As the two hulks collapsed, the boss looked at Jiuyi in a panic, only to find she had changed.

Her casual clothes had vanished, replaced by a violet-black, high-cut combat bodysuit equipped with a grey single-shoulder pauldron and clawed gauntlets. A blood-red gem was set into a thorn-like collar around her neck, and needle-shaped hair ornaments—also bearing red gems—added an air of lethal mystery to her silhouette.

Following her transformation, dozens of identical obsidian needles, shimmering with a violet-metallic light, coalesced behind her. “Allow me to introduce these. I call them ‘Corrosive Needles.’ Think of them as my signature weapon.”

Witnessing this scene, the boss finally realized what he had provoked. “You… are you an Executive from some Monster Organization?!”

Wrong. A Magical Girl. She just happened to be mistaken for a villainous leader constantly because of her appearance.

Still, it was more intimidating this way. Jiuyi didn’t bother correcting him; she decided to play the part. “Since you know that much, are you going to do what I said? Or should I…”

The dozens of Corrosive Needles scattered, and in a flash, they pierced the limbs of every single person in the courtyard except the boss.

“…make it easier for us to talk?”

Looking at his subordinates wailing on the ground, the boss knew he had no other choice. “I understand. I’ll give you everything you want. Just… please, spare our lives.”

The boss opened his phone and dialed a number.

Before long, two of the boss’s trusted henchmen arrived carrying a briefcase. Under the boss’s trembling gaze, they respectfully handed it to Jiuyi.

“The three remaining vials inside are all of them. As for that monster I traded with, I only helped him smuggle into the city. I don’t know anything else. He didn’t say, and we didn’t dare ask.”

Jiuyi nodded. That wasn’t surprising. If a monster wanted to keep a secret, a bunch of street thugs would never find anything useful.

Three unused vials, plus the two used by the giants. That left two vials unaccounted for—likely still on Ken the Werewolf.