Departure

“Xingchuan City Special Report: The Anomaly that appeared at No. 1 Middle School today has been confirmed to have been eliminated. This Anomaly is highly suspected to be Anomaly No. 214, which was eliminated last night. It may, like Anomaly No. 135 from April of this year, possess the ability to resurrect…”

“According to videos uploaded by eyewitnesses, the two active magical girls this time were the new magical girls Ye Huasheng and Lilia. We look forward to seeing their future performances.”

On the swaying school bus, the students of No. 1 Middle School were all holding different phones or tablets, but they were all watching the same video: the news flash from the Magic Site.

The Magic Site, short for the Magical Girl Website, was a fan-run magical girl support website.

After Anomalies and magical girls appeared in this country and caused a series of sensational events, websites and platforms about magical girls sprang up like mushrooms.

However, most of them announced their closure within three months of operation.

Only the Magic Site managed to stand to the end and even gain the support of a large number of loyal fans.

At the beginning, the Magic Site only published public information and battle records of the magical girls who had already appeared, spread reasonable evacuation methods for dealing with Anomalies, reasonable communication skills for interacting with magical girls, and fan creations.

Later, because the information was sufficiently true and credible, and more and more magical girl enthusiasts joined and posted related videos, it attracted a large number of fans, and the Magic Site instantly became popular.

Later, as the website’s popularity grew, all sectors of society began to pay attention to the Magic Site.

Even some government agencies and research departments stationed themselves on the site, publishing interpretations of relevant policies and research.

Thus, the Magic Site naturally became the most authoritative website for ordinary people to learn about magical girls and Anomalies.

There were even rumors that real magical girls would anonymously post requests for help on the website.

To this day, the Magic Site has become an indispensable online social platform for contemporary youth.

However, later on, some people criticized the Magic Site for becoming increasingly commercialized since its rise to fame, changing from a simple magical girl information sharing site to a platform for various support activities, rankings, and even a popularity list.

The rankings were based on fan interaction, and the fans of different magical girls would even compete and attack each other, essentially operating the magical girls like idols.

However, it was clear that young people did not reject this mode of operation.

After all, the gorgeous and dazzling magical girls were born to be superstars.

Or perhaps, even the magical girls themselves did not reject this behavior.

“Look, Nannan, my ranking has gone up again.”

“Shh, we’re on the bus. Don’t say things that could arouse suspicion!”

Xia Cheng and Pan Nannan were sitting in the last row of the school bus.

When she saw that her popularity ranking and fan interaction had risen several levels, she immediately shouted in excitement.

If it weren’t for Pan Nannan holding her down, she would have probably attracted the attention of the entire bus.

Pan Nannan was not interested in the Magic Site’s popularity list, but Xia Cheng loved the feeling of being in the spotlight.

Every day, whenever she had free time, she would open the Magic Site to check her ranking and every fan interaction.

Although she couldn’t reply, just looking was enough to make her happy for half a day.

Previously, she was only responsible for support and cleaning up stragglers.

Although she was included in the Magic Site’s list, she was basically at the bottom of the rankings.

But her activity today had raised her ranking by several levels, which made her overjoyed.

Of course, that wasn’t the only thing to be happy about today.

Because the school had been attacked by an Anomaly today, and the entire school was almost demolished again, No. 1 Middle School announced that after a routine safety inspection, the entire school would be on vacation for the next week.

Online classes would be held on Monday until the school was repaired.

This was a very common situation in this day and age.

Anomalies were everywhere, and there were casualties and property damage at any time.

From time to time, a place would become a restricted zone or be destroyed.

Thus, remote teaching and remote work gradually became popular. After all, life had to go on.

However, for Xia Cheng, the biggest meaning of online classes was that she could slack off…

After scrolling through a few more related news, Xia Cheng found that Lilia had also been successfully included in the popularity rankings this time.

Her fighting figure could be seen in a few blurry mobile phone videos.

But when she was about to share her experience of improving her ranking with Pan Nannan, she found that she had already gotten off the bus and gone home.

Not long after, Xia Cheng also arrived at her own doorstep.

Jiang Yue was waiting for her at the door.

Ever since she heard that No. 1 Middle School had been attacked, she had rushed back home.

Only after seeing that Xia Cheng was unharmed did Jiang Yue feel relieved.

She could not have imagined that her daughter was actually the magical girl fighting against the Anomaly.

And at this time, Bai Hai had also prepared lunch.

Not long ago, after he regained his strength, he had parted ways with Reina, went to the market to buy some ingredients, and went home to cook a large table full of food.

Jiang Yue also could not have imagined that her son, who was cooking at home, was also a magical girl.

It was the first time Xia Cheng had seen such a rich lunch at home.

Although she was a little dissatisfied because the chef was Bai Hai, under the temptation of a pile of delicious food, her bottom line was clearly not so firm, and she began to eat and drink gluttonously.

However, after the meal, Xia Cheng’s good mood came to an end.

“You’re going on a business trip again?” Xia Cheng, who was drinking fish soup, looked at her mother, her expression quite stable.

“This time I’m going to Europe. It will probably take about three months. I should be back around New Year’s Day.” Jiang Yue wiped her mouth with a napkin and continued, “I’m leaving in a bit. It was supposed to be a few more days, but there are some technical problems over there that need to be solved immediately, so I’m going ahead of schedule.”

“It doesn’t matter if you go early or late. You’re leaving anyway.” Xia Cheng took a deep look at Jiang Yue while drinking her soup, her eyes unreadable.

However, there was not much change in her tone, so Jiang Yue didn’t notice.

Both her parents were well-known scholars.

Whether in terms of living conditions or cultural atmosphere, Xia Cheng’s family was the envy of countless people.

But only she herself knew the suffering involved.

Out of 365 days a year, the number of days they could meet was often less than 100.

The days when both parents were at home were even rarer.

Xia Cheng had been used to her parents not being around since elementary school.

Of course, whether she was truly used to it, only she herself knew.

Perhaps it was because she was a mother that she became so naggy.

No one could have imagined that Jiang Yue, who was always so decisive in the laboratory, would nag Xia Cheng for half a day about all sorts of things, including but not limited to paying attention to safety when going out, coming home on time, not eating junk food, and even listening carefully during online classes, blah blah blah, until Xia Cheng showed a look of annoyance and interrupted, “Alright, alright, I know… who’s coming this time? Auntie Wang or Auntie Li? I actually think Auntie Li…”

“Your brother will be with you this time.”

Jiang Yue’s words immediately stunned Xia Cheng.

Based on past experience, her mother would always hire a nanny to take care of her daily life and supervise her studies. This had never changed.

But now…

“Him?” Xia Cheng pointed at Bai Hai, who was drinking tea on the side, her eyes almost popping out. “Isn’t he leaving in a few days?”

“Why would he leave? This is his home too.” Jiang Yue seemed casual, but her tone was firm.

“No, I don’t agree!” Xia Cheng slammed the table. “What right does he have to live here? He… he…”

Xia Cheng was very angry and wanted to say something, but in the end, she couldn’t say anything.

In fact, besides their disagreement on the topic of magical girls, she and Bai Hai had almost no conflict.

She had even started to accept the fact that she had an older brother… but living together was a different concept.

Xia Cheng now looked at Bai Hai as if he were a distant relative.

Although she disliked him a little, a distant relative would sooner or later leave.

But now, to be told that Bai Hai would not only not leave but also live with her, a sense of dissatisfaction and anger from the bottom of her heart emerged, although she herself didn’t know where this dissatisfaction and anger came from.

But it was there.

It felt as if her own things were being forced to be shared with someone else.

“It’s not up to you. If you have any complaints, you can talk to your father when he comes back. But for now, you must listen to your brother. Otherwise, you won’t get any allowance in the future.” Jiang Yue had no intention of listening to Xia Cheng.

She looked at her watch, picked up the suitcase by the table, and said to Bai Hai, “It’s about time. Xiao Hai, please take me to the airport.”

“Okay.” Bai Hai nodded and secretly glanced at the almost-exploding Xia Cheng, sighing in his heart.

‘No wonder the mother-daughter relationship is so tense…’

We won’t go into how Xia Cheng vented her dissatisfaction at home.

Bai Hai drove Jiang Yue’s car towards the airport.

The two of them remained silent during the journey.

It was not until they were almost at the airport that Jiang Yue said softly, “Xiao Hai, I…”

“I know, I will take good care of her. After all, it’s too sudden. It’s normal for Xia Cheng to be a little unaccustomed.” Bai Hai smiled lightly, comforting Jiang Yue’s nervousness. “But maybe next time you can listen to her more. Being too harsh is not good for family relationships.”

“Mmm…” Jiang Yue replied in a low voice, staring out the window in a daze. “Her father and I are busy every day, and we don’t have time to spend with her… But after this research is over, we can all relax and spend time with her… and you, of course.”

Bai Hai didn’t answer, just nodded lightly in response.

But at this moment, a question arose in his mind: What was Jiang Yue’s research about? Was it related to the Great Civilization Blockade again?

He always felt that her expression was a little off when she talked about this issue.

Xingchuan City was very quiet during the lunch break.

This city had a habit of taking a lunch break.

From 12:30 to 2:30 was the city’s unique rest time.

Besides the vending machines, you could hardly see anyone active outdoors on the streets and alleys.

Including the highway.

After dropping off Jiang Yue, Bai Hai drove alone on the empty expressway, looking at the quiet and peaceful city flashing by.

It was unimaginable that such a city was constantly being invaded and threatened by Anomalies.

When will these days ever end…

As Bai Hai was lamenting, a series of urgent alarms suddenly sounded.

He looked at the dashboard, and well, the fuel gauge had reached its end first.

‘Seriously, doesn’t Mom check the fuel level before driving?’

‘As expected of a mother and daughter, both so careless.’

Bai Hai helplessly re-planned his route and managed to reach a gas station with the remaining fuel.

This was a small, probably privately run gas station.

However, at this moment, there was not a single person in the entire gas station.

Bai Hai honked several times without any response, which made him mutter to himself, “The people of Xingchuan City wouldn’t take sleeping pills just to take a nap, would they? How come there’s no reaction at all.”

Bai Hai had no choice but to get out of the car and knock on the door himself.

However, when he got out of the car, a breeze blew by, and then he smelled it.

The smell of blood!

‘Something’s wrong!’

Bai Hai’s expression immediately became serious.

Because this was not an ordinary smell of blood, but the smell of human blood.

His body’s senses were immediately on full alert.

Even though he was not in his transformed state, his senses were superhuman.

But here, all he could feel was peace.

Except for the strange sound inside the gas station, like the sound of a rope rubbing.

Bai Hai did not hesitate.

He immediately walked forward, grabbed the doorknob, and pushed the door open with caution—

And saw three corpses hanging from the ceiling, dripping with blood, swaying in the wind.

“What the fu…”