In the afternoon, Zhou Huanan left the hotel. Magical Girl Grey Moon, having meticulously disguised herself, stealthily followed him. While waiting for the bus, Zhou Huanan opened his phone, intending to ask Genbu if there was any news of Liu Li. However, after searching his contacts, he realized he didn’t have Genbu’s number. Pondering this, Zhou Huanan remembered that Genbu didn’t use a mobile phone. He then contacted Victoria, the English Committee member who was close with Genbu. From her, he learned that the school teachers were quite upset about Liu Li’s absence, yet there was still no news of her. He hadn’t held much hope, so the lack of information was expected. After thanking Victoria for her polite offer to help find Liu Li, he sent another message, asking the teachers to wait a little longer.
‘Alright then…’
After all, Zhou Huanan’s most pressing concern right now was accumulating merit. He needed to climb the ranks again, at least returning to the Captain level. Only then would he gain access to more information, and perhaps, uncover Liu Li’s whereabouts.
Magical Girl Grey Moon, trailing behind Zhou Huanan, watched him board the bus. She wore a yellow trench coat, a detective hat, an outer jacket, and a mask. Finally, she donned a pair of black sunglasses.
No matter how one looked at her, she appeared utterly suspicious. Had a normal-sized man been dressed like this, passersby might have immediately called the police. Fortunately, Grey Moon’s short stature made many assume she was merely a little girl playing detective.
This inadvertently made Grey Moon’s disguise a resounding success on another level. She continued to shadow Zhou Huanan stealthily until he reached his workplace.
It was Magical Girl Grey Moon’s first time witnessing Banjao’s combatants meticulously planning their operations. Their chosen location was beneath an overpass, a place perpetually shrouded in shadow, looking perfectly suited for a nefarious organization.
Initially, before Zhou Huanan’s arrival, Banjao’s combatants had been in a standoff with the overpass’s original inhabitants: the homeless people. However, once Zhou Huanan appeared, the situation was swiftly and smoothly resolved.
Magical Girl Grey Moon, hidden in the shadows, listened as the Banjao grunt-level combatants shamelessly flattered Zhou Huanan. Squatting behind an oil drum, she couldn’t help but let out a muffled chuckle.
The departing homeless people, hearing the sound, glanced in her direction. Magical Girl Grey Moon’s reaction speed was seven times that of an ordinary human, even with her powers restricted. Only a single stray hair remained peeking out from behind the oil drum.
A gentle breeze stirred.
The homeless people squinted, finding the self-deceiving little girl adorable. They didn’t expose her, instead exchanging silent, knowing glances, pretending not to see her as they walked away, intending to have a good laugh once they were out of earshot.
‘Excellent…’
Magical Girl Grey Moon chuckled triumphantly to herself, watching the backs of those who had passed by her without a second glance from behind the oil drum.
Hehehehehe~ (Utterly delighted)
Clearly, she possessed a natural talent for disguise; all those stealth games hadn’t been for nothing!
Grey Moon peeked out, observing Zhou Huanan. She watched him earnestly direct his rather dim-witted subordinates, occasionally exasperatedly grabbing combatants who attempted to slack off or sneak away.
Just as he finally managed to assign tasks and get the slackers working, the monster, adept at avoiding labor, demanded food.
‘Ah, damn it!’
Zhou Huanan cried out in despair, looking up at the sky. He had finally appeased the monster lord, and now it could finally begin working, moving the steel bars back and forth. It was evident that the site for the evil ritual had been painstakingly set up.
Zhou Huanan exclaimed with a sigh of relief.
‘Finally—’
‘Finally, he could offer silver as a sacrifice to the Outer Gods from beyond the heavens, seeking the blessing of the God of Myriad Machines. This would animate the piles of rebar and concrete before him, giving birth to powerful monsters, allowing him to complete his mission and earn substantial merit.’
Just then, however, a Magical Girl descended from the sky!
Zhou Huanan was on the verge of a breakdown. Banjao’s combatants, secretly causing trouble under an overpass, were bound to be reported to the television station by timid yet righteous good citizens. But if only these idiots had been a little faster, his mission would have been completed!
‘Are you serious?’
Zhou Huanan watched Magical Girl Glimmering Yellow fly towards them from the sky. If it had been Magical Girl Azure Bloom, he might have at least tried to put up a fight.
‘Glimmering Yellow?’
Zhou Huanan immediately adopted the ‘Praise the Sun’ gesture, surrendering without resistance.
Watching this from the shadows, little Grey Moon felt a strange pang of sympathy for the beleaguered Zhou Huanan. However, the thought of the destruction the summoned monster would wreak upon the city quickly dispelled her pity.
Grey Moon watched as Glimmering Yellow sent Zhou Huanan and his group flying into the sky, and the lazy monster was obliterated. Mimicking Glimmering Yellow’s catchphrase, Grey Moon murmured, ‘Serves them right, meow.’
She then emerged from her hiding spot and flew in the direction Zhou Huanan had been launched, heading towards the top of the overpass.
Magical Girl Glimmering Yellow raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sun. She watched the combatants, now like shooting stars, soar across the sky with the setting sun. Pouting her cat-like lips, she let out a charming giggle.
Dealing with these troublesome villains was merely a warm-up stroll for her. Just as she was about to continue her search for Liu Li, or rather, for Magical Girl Grey Moon, who was likely nearby—she suddenly sensed a familiar magical aura in the air.
‘Hm?’
She noticed something amiss. A pleased expression crossed Glimmering Yellow’s face as she looked behind her. Despite Magical Girl Grey Moon’s clumsy disguise, her silvery-white magical aura could not lie.
‘Found you, Magical Girl Grey Moon~’
‘Little Liu Li, come tell your big sister why you’ve been skipping class and not going to school, making Zhou Huanan search so hard for you. What’s all this for?’
Glimmering Yellow had originally intended to simply appear before Grey Moon, catch her red-handed, and demand an explanation. However, seeing Grey Moon’s amusing disguise, she reconsidered.
Magical Girl Glimmering Yellow wanted to see what stunt Grey Moon was pulling. Concealing her aura, Glimmering Yellow, as a scout, found it incredibly easy to track someone without being noticed. Especially when her target was Magical Girl Grey Moon, who was completely unsuspecting.
On several occasions, Glimmering Yellow had hovered dozens of meters directly above Grey Moon, arms crossed, brazenly performing a cat-like Cossack dance. Yet, Magical Girl Grey Moon remained oblivious.
This continued for several kilometers. Glimmering Yellow watched Grey Moon enter a suburban park, where she sought out a combatant. Glimmering Yellow recognized him as the very Captain she had just sent flying earlier.
Just as Glimmering Yellow began to pity this grunt-level Captain, who was about to be sent flying by a Magical Girl twice in one day—she saw Magical Girl Grey Moon standing before the grunt combatant in a seemingly submissive posture, head bowed, meekly accepting his scolding?
No.
Magical Girl Glimmering Yellow sharply noticed the obedience collar around Grey Moon’s neck. She immediately drew her gun and aimed it at the back of Grey Moon’s neck.
‘I was careless.’
‘Hmph,’ Glimmering Yellow grumbled, regretting not noticing it sooner. After all, Grey Moon was incredibly powerful; she truly hadn’t expected even Grey Moon to fall victim to something like this.
Glimmering Yellow aimed, sweat beading on her forehead, feeling immense pressure. If her shot failed to break Grey Moon’s collar before Grey Moon reacted, the combatant would likely order Grey Moon to fight her.
Glimmering Yellow assessed Grey Moon’s combat capabilities… If the controlled Magical Girl had been someone of Scarlet Magical Girl or Magical Girl Azure Bloom’s caliber, she wouldn’t have minded, as she could avoid taking a life.
‘No other choice then.’
Glimmering Yellow’s submachine gun sight shifted from Grey Moon’s neck to Zhou Huanan’s forehead.
Magical Girls were beings of justice, love, and peace, empowered by the miracles within their hearts. This power was not to be used for killing. For with each life taken, a Magical Girl’s heart would slip one step further into the abyss of darkness.
When a Magical Girl’s spiritual power was corrupted, her personality would change. Once the option of killing was open, Magical Girls would choose it, eventually succumbing to darkness entirely, becoming witches who reveled in slaughter, beyond any hope of salvation. Magical Girls who had committed the ultimate taboo.
Glimmering Yellow—no, Golden Tulip had already personally eliminated many such witches. But to save Grey Moon… Glimmering Yellow’s finger hovered over the trigger for a long time, hesitating, yet ultimately convinced it was worth it.
Just as she was about to pull the trigger—Zhou Huanan suddenly removed his hood. Glimmering Yellow’s pupils constricted.
‘It’s you!’
Watching the interaction between Magical Girl Grey Moon and Zhou Huanan, followed by some indescribable activities in the bushes… Glimmering Yellow mused on how young people today loved excitement, playing such elaborate games. S&M? Interesting. At the same time, she decided it was good that Zhou Huanan had found Liu Li.
Though the method of reunion was a bit unconventional. Nonetheless, as long as he found Liu Li, that was all that mattered.
Relieved from the immense pressure of potentially fighting Grey Moon, Glimmering Yellow, still soaring in the sky, felt like finding a bar to unwind. Glimmering Yellow instinctively believed that if she could recognize Grey Moon as Liu Li at a glance, then Zhou Huanan, standing right behind her, surely must have also recognized her true identity.
This was her blind spot. It made Glimmering Yellow feel that everything was perfectly alright. She decided to use the weekend to visit her old friends from Azuma and recount how she had nearly been scared to death by a new generation Magical Girl.
As for now————
Glimmering Yellow watched the two figures hidden behind the greenery, and as a girl herself, she envied Zhou Huanan for finding such a well-behaved girl like Liu Li, a beautiful Magical Girl no less. To be so… so exposed, so vulnerable—
Oh dear.
Glimmering Yellow subconsciously clutched her skirt, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks.
‘Well then, I won’t disturb you.’
‘You two lovebirds enjoy yourselves, take your time.’
‘I’ll be going now!’