“Hey! Are you messing with me, you bastard!!”
Deep within the third underground level of the Banjao evil base, a place no one could find, Magical Girl Grey Moon flared her tongue like a gangster, feigning ferocity as she furiously pounded the massive glass wall that held her captive.
One moment, she had been a happy little lamb, frolicking about; the next, she was cruelly seized, transformed into a lamb awaiting slaughter.
Such an abrupt and immense reversal of fortune was enough to make even Magical Girl Grey Moon struggle to hold back her tears.
“Guh-woo!”
Yet, the girl’s resistance was ultimately futile.
After all, this very wall had been designed for Black Iris, specifically to withstand the immense energy she unleashed after repeatedly striking a single point during a time-stop.
No matter how formidable Magical Girl Grey Moon might be,
she had no means of shattering it with mere fists.
As for Grey Moon’s abilities, they were completely useless in this situation; her ‘Annihilation’ only affected living organisms.
Seeing her attacks prove ineffective,
Magical Girl Grey Moon began to inspect the items she had brought with her: a Crystal of Magical Girl Love, the Magma Demon’s Core, and an Endless Canteen.
Scattered across the floor lay a chaotic assortment of strange materials, impossible to identify.
‘Aren’t these all completely useless!?’
Grey Moon yearned to stamp her foot, but the thought that every move she made might be observed by some hidden pervert forced her to maintain an air of dignity, glaring fiercely beyond the glass wall.
Having calmed down slightly, she surmised that she had likely been captured by that invisible person, Captain 19.
After all, there was no sign of cameras throughout the entire third underground level, which had been Grey Moon’s confidence in her greed.
Yet, her calculations had gone awry precisely here.
Grey Moon stood up, a frustrated ‘Mmm-mmm’ sound escaping her lips, and through the glass wall, she shouted defiantly at the seemingly empty air.
But no one answered, and no one appeared.
****
Zhou Huanan watched Magical Girl Grey Moon, whom he had captured as if playing a game, feeling no particular urgency.
Should he report the capture of Magical Girl Grey Moon?
Not only had Magical Girl Grey Moon saved his life just yesterday,
but the same principle applied: if Grey Moon were to simply vanish, Zhou Huanan knew he wouldn’t see Liu Li’s smile for a long time, especially now that Magical Girl Grey Moon’s reputation had finally taken a turn for the better.
But should he just release her?
Zhou Huanan gazed at Magical Girl Grey Moon behind the glass, who was still feigning composure. Her slender, white-stockinged calves trembled slightly from an unknown fear, a detail she clearly believed she had concealed well.
‘So tempting, so very tempting.’
Zhou Huanan let out a sigh.
Having thoroughly studied Magical Girl Grey Moon, Zhou Huanan had long known that beneath her seemingly powerful and aloof exterior lay the deeply hidden heart of an ordinary girl.
But the question remained: should he make a move on Grey Moon?
Zhou Huanan found himself torn.
The old him, encountering such a rare opportunity, would have long since devised ways to thoroughly toy with Magical Girl Grey Moon, to break her spirit until her eyes were devoid of light.
Her flat stomach would be made to swell as if three months pregnant, and her cold, beautiful face would utterly degrade into that of a loli-b*tch, a drooling, eye-rolling loli-animal.
Trembling uncontrollably, utterly devoid of the strength to resist, she would be dragged back to his home, there to be meticulously trained into his personal, boast-worthy s*ave.
Yet now,
Zhou Huanan had someone else he cared for more deeply in his heart.
He opened his phone, seeing that the message he had sent to Liu Li remained unanswered, though it was natural, given the lack of signal.
He wanted to ask Liu Li what she would do if she encountered such a situation.
With this thought, Zhou Huanan ignored Grey Moon’s blustering, leaving her isolated there. He turned and exited the room, traversing the long corridor, and took the elevator to the first floor.
Once on the first floor, his phone finally picked up a signal.
Yet, despite Zhou Huanan repeatedly refreshing his chat messages, Liu Li still hadn’t replied. He had playfully asked Liu Li if she would release a magical girl if she caught one.
Normally,
no matter how angry Liu Li might be with him, she would never ignore a topic concerning magical girls.
But Zhou Huanan watched as his sent message remained unanswered, like a stone sinking into the sea.
He murmured a puzzled ‘Strange.’
He figured Liu Li must truly be angry.
Liu Li’s birthday was in two days, and Zhou Huanan pondered a gift that could instantly erase any distance between them.
‘Oh~?’
Then, a brilliant idea suddenly struck Zhou Huanan.
‘What if I could “invite” Liu Li’s favorite Magical Girl Grey Moon to personally wish her “Happy Birthday, Liu Li~” at her party?’
‘Liu Li would surely be starry-eyed and kiss me right away!’
As he considered Magical Girl Grey Moon’s optimal use,
Zhou Huanan’s heart no longer wavered. While the “Magical Girl Grey Moon Holy Grail” sounded tempting,
Zhou Huanan ultimately chose the girl who had been by his side for over a decade.
Indeed, he still wanted to bring a smile to *that* girl’s face.
“Yes, there’s nothing to regret.”
Just as Zhou Huanan turned back, intending to tell Grey Moon that he was the very person she had saved last night, to thank her, and to assure her that good deeds are rewarded and justice always triumphs.
After explaining it to her properly, he would follow up with a lightning-fast apology slide and then humbly beg Magical Girl Grey Moon to attend his girlfriend’s birthday.
Zhou Huanan felt the plan might be a bit challenging.
But it wasn’t impossible to try.
‘At least after a thorough apology,’
‘Magical Girl Grey Moon wouldn’t angrily punch me with an “Ora!” again, right?’
He wasn’t wearing his Captain’s combat suit now, and taking a direct punch might very well be fatal.
However, as the saying goes, “one can die, but one cannot live without a story.”
Just as Zhou Huanan resolved to perform a grand, lightning-fast, invincible, and enhanced “villainous grunt slide” for Magical Girl Grey Moon,
Magical Girl Violet, her eyes vacant, wandered aimlessly down the corridor like a zombie during the period she was forbidden to leave her room.
A sharp intake of breath.
Zhou Huanan, just about to press the elevator button, fell silent at the sight. He could clearly see that Violet was troubled, and more importantly,
if Zhou Huanan wasn’t mistaken,
the conspicuous black collar around Violet’s neck…
‘That seemed to be a special item designed to restrain magical girls, didn’t it?’
Acting on his thought, Zhou Huanan deactivated his invisibility and ambushed Violet from behind, pinning her against the wall by her shoulders.
A soft cry escaped Violet.
Violet let out a delicate whimper.
Only then did Violet regain her senses, realizing she wasn’t allowed out. Staring at the Banjao combatant who had forcefully pinned her against the wall, she imagined the treatment she would receive for violating the evil organization’s rules.
She also recalled all her past efforts that had failed to save her sister and was on the verge of tears.
Yet, she heard the combatant before her speak in an incredibly reassuring tone.
“Do you want to take off the collar around your neck?”
“I can help you.”
“Huh?”
Violet blinked her dewy, large purple eyes, uncertain whether to let the ready tears fall. She wiped away an escaped tear with her finger.
Looking up at Zhou Huanan as if seeing a savior, she asked with a tearful voice:
“You, you can really help Violet? You’re not, not lying?”
“Ah.”
Zhou Huanan nodded earnestly. Though he was currently just a lowly Banjao grunt, he had actually once held his own office and accessed information that many mid-level Banjao personnel couldn’t.
He knew that Magical Girl Violet’s collar could only be unlocked by Dr. Zhuge’s phone.
Even more conveniently, he knew that Dr. Zhuge’s phone often had no password, and he knew exactly where her phone was.
‘Once I get my hands on Violet’s little collar, I can then put it on little Grey Moon, completely solving my “not being able to live” problem.’
‘And perhaps even—’
Zhou Huanan’s breathing quickened. Inside, he cackled maniacally, thinking of truly villainous deeds he could commit.
For instance, at Liu Li’s birthday party, Zhou Huanan could order little Grey Moon to perform shameful poses she would never normally do, right in front of Liu Li.
Then he would say to Liu Li, ‘Hey, hey, you wouldn’t want your favorite magical girl’s embarrassing antics to be leaked, would you?’
‘If you don’t want Magical Girl Grey Moon to strike such shameful poses, then let me satisfy you!’
The kind-hearted Liu Li might very well not refuse his proposition.
The mere thought of such a scenario made Zhou Huanan hum softly.
He and Liu Li would gradually ignite a passionate spark.
And Magical Girl Grey Moon, pure and aloof as a blank sheet of paper, would only be able to watch them, blushing.
‘Was there anyone in the world more suitable to witness such a thing than Magical Girl Grey Moon?’
‘Woohoo!?’
‘No!! Brother, there was not.’
Violet watched the Banjao combatant before her, who was already “high”—no, that wasn’t right.
His ten fingers twitched grotesquely, a somewhat frightening sight, yet she didn’t find it particularly strange. After all, it was quite normal for heroes in stories to have their eccentricities.
Just like the books and comics in her room: “Chronicles of the XX Heroic Duchy,” “XX Manga,” and “Minamina.”
All of them documented such things.
“Then, Violet will wait for you here. You, you must come back, okay?”
‘Of course he would.’
Zhou Huanan desperately needed the collar around her neck; there was no way he wouldn’t return. Having memorized the entire architectural blueprint of the base’s first floor, he knew precisely which ventilation shaft led to which.
He located a wrench and a screwdriver in a nearby equipment room.
Zhou Huanan swiftly pried open the base’s ventilation shaft and began crawling through it, intending to infiltrate Dr. Zhuge’s office.
If luck was on his side, he might find Dr. Zhuge, who rarely slept, actually asleep.
That would be ideal. Dr. Zhuge only closed her eyes when utterly exhausted from days without sleep; at such times, even a gunfight outside wouldn’t wake her.
If luck wasn’t on his side, it didn’t matter.
Zhou Huanan could still rely on his cognitive shielding device to steal something right under her nose.
Boldness and meticulousness were the secrets to success.
Yet, as he crawled through the ventilation shaft, like a shadowy rat, almost squeaking “yes-yes” in triumph,
he finally arrived above Dr. Zhuge’s office and heard activity inside.
The cautious Zhou Huanan decided to listen before proceeding. But as he pressed his ear closer, he heard something he absolutely shouldn’t have.
“My Lord, all monsters in C-City successfully implanted with brainwashing control devices have been transported. A total of one hundred thousand and three thousand units.”
It was Dr. Zhuge’s voice.
Zhou Huanan held his breath. Dr. Zhuge seemed to be reporting to her superior, and after much thought, Zhou Huanan could only conclude that Dr. Zhuge’s superior was Banjao’s supreme leader, Lord Junlin.
‘What kind of scene have I stumbled into!?’
Zhou Huanan lay motionless in the ventilation shaft.
From behind a screen, a mechanically altered voice spoke, yet it was distinctly female. She praised Dr. Zhuge’s work.
“Excellent. These monsters will significantly reduce unnecessary sacrifices among our combatants. On behalf of all Banjao personnel, I express my gratitude to you, Dr. Zhuge.”
“However.”
“I must still inquire about the progress of Secret Weapon Number Three’s development.”
“That is our ultimate weapon against those who dare to defile our planet. From my perspective, the progress is truly unacceptable.”
“Uh… this…”
Dr. Zhuge stammered, unable to form words. The mechanical female voice did not press her further, instead speaking on her behalf.
“I understand your dissatisfaction with certain researcher groups within Banjao. But remember, our true enemy is never humanity. The Magma Demons pose a crisis that could very well lead to human extinction.”
“Last week, as you know, Banjao’s detectors indeed detected tens of thousands of anomalous life forms in subspace. Those are very likely Magma Demons, currently moving towards the Blue Star.”
“Now is the time we need to work together. Time is not on our side; we require the strength of those researchers, regardless of their morality.”
“I am very displeased with your unauthorized disciplinary actions against the researchers at the C-City base.”
“Intelligence indicates that the Three Apocalypse Magma Demons are about to head to C-City to hunt Magical Girl Grey Moon. Devise a plan to ensure Magical Girl Grey Moon’s survival; she is a very promising magical girl. Magical Girl Empress Yellow told me so.”
“That concludes my message. Continue to conquer the world for me, Doctor.”
“Yes! Thank you for my Lord’s favor. Your subordinate will surely conquer the world for you!”
“Then remember to get some good sleep, Doctor~”
“Yes!”
Zhou Huanan’s mouth twitched as he listened to Dr. Zhuge’s fervent tone, hearing things he shouldn’t have. Fortunately, he thought, if the sky were to fall, tall figures like Dr. Zhuge and the magical girls would be there to hold it up.
He felt immensely grateful that there was nothing for a small fry like him to do in this grand scheme.
He only wondered what kind of charm Banjao’s ruler possessed to captivate Dr. Zhuge so deeply, or if she had simply been brainwashed.
However, through the narrow vent, he saw the doctor, having ended her video call, actually begin to recline in her chair and fall asleep.
Zhou Huanan realized this was his chance.
Seizing the opportunity, he removed the vent cover and dropped down.
His landing created a sound, but thanks to the cognitive shielding device he wore, the doctor remained completely oblivious.
He picked up the doctor’s phone from the desk, smoothly unlocked it, and navigated through a series of control options. He deactivated the collar around Violet’s neck, then discreetly added permissions for himself to control the collar.
‘Too many changes might alert the doctor.’
Zhou Huanan didn’t need any advanced permissions he wouldn’t use.
Having completed everything, Zhou Huanan returned the way he came, restoring everything to its original state, before reappearing before Magical Girl Violet.
The latter was holding the collar that had fallen from her neck in both hands, her face utterly bewildered.
When she looked up and saw Zhou Huanan approaching,
Violet unequivocally regarded him as her hero.
But Zhou Huanan completely failed to notice, his mind entirely elsewhere.
For next, came the exciting moment: figuring out how to put the collar on little Grey Moon~