An Early Morning Transformation and a Peculiar Ally

The next day.

Li Longkang awoke.

His hand instinctively went to his groin, rubbing his ‘little brother’ as if tears welled in the corners of his eyes.

“Bro, you’ve suffered enough.”

This marked the fourth day since Mo Linyu had sought his help.

Calculating based on the full three months, Mo Linyu’s lifespan was dwindling, with roughly eighty-odd days remaining. With eight otherworldly souls yet to be found, there was indeed no room for leisurely pursuits.

While washing his face, Li Longkang found himself muttering aloud.

“Still, the police haven’t returned, have they?”

After the live stream concluded yesterday, Mo Linyu had departed for her own home.

Since then, neither of the two traffic officers had shown up again. While not a major incident, it had at least spared Li Longkang the ordeal of taking Li Yue to the police station.

Paying a fine or even facing administrative detention would have been minor concerns; the true conundrum lay in how to make both of them appear simultaneously.

The former two, no matter how daunting, could be resolved, but the latter was undeniably insurmountable. How could he possibly appear alongside himself? He couldn’t even independently decide his own gender.

Having completed his morning ablutions, Li Longkang began his jog on the treadmill. Although running outdoors offered greater comfort, the risks associated with casually stepping out were simply too immense.

Before Mo Linyu’s arrival, he intended to seize this fleeting moment of privacy.

Yet, barely ten minutes into his run, the familiar sensation of dizziness descended upon him once more.

“Damn it!”

He attempted to halt the treadmill, but a golden baseball bat slipped from his crotch, landing squarely between his striding feet. Tripping suddenly, he inevitably stumbled and fell onto the moving belt.

A resounding crash echoed through the room, the treadmill itself jolting violently from the impact.

Her nose felt wet, and as her slender arms pushed her upright, she could see drops of blood pattering down.

“Hiss—”

As she clutched her profusely bleeding nose and rose from the treadmill, her body had subtly transformed: her height had shrunk, her muscle lines had softened, and her hair, growing wildly, had turned a natural golden hue.

Li Yue swept her golden hair back to keep it from getting bloody, then sighed in vexation.

“Bro, you just had to trip me, didn’t you?”

She grabbed a tissue, stuffing it into her nose to staunch the bleeding, then hefted the baseball bat, testing its weight. With her outdoor women’s clothes in hand, she headed into the bathroom, intending to quickly rinse off the sweat from her morning workout before Mo Linyu arrived.

When Mo Linyu arrived at Li Yue’s doorstep, Li Yue had just finished her shower and emerged.

“…You’re certainly an early bird.”

Li Yue opened the door, simultaneously towel-drying her hair.

“Or rather, you’re quite an early riser yourself. I’d planned to transform you before you even woke up.”

Mo Linyu stepped inside, letting the door swing shut behind her, a teasing smile playing on her lips.

Li Yue rolled her eyes, stepping aside to allow Mo Linyu entry. “I wanted to get some morning exercise in before you arrived,” she explained, “but then I suddenly transformed and took a tumble on the treadmill.”

Mo Linyu, eschewing formalities, settled directly onto the sofa.

“I’ve already contacted Xiaoyu,” Mo Linyu stated. “She said we could meet at Runze Plaza around noon.”

“Is that short student council president reliable?” Li Yue inquired.

Before her transmigration to another world as the Hero, she hadn’t attended school much, so she had no idea who the student council president of Tianyi High was. She recalled a male senior holding the position previously, who had likely graduated, leading to a new election.

“Don’t let her small stature fool you; her capabilities are anything but minor. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be the student council president, would she?”

Mo Linyu, for her part, spoke highly of the petite student council president.

“I chose her as our collaborator precisely because of her initiative. Any other person might have rejected such a sudden and peculiar invitation.”

Li Yue retrieved two bottles of drinks from the refrigerator and returned to the sofa. Without warning, she pressed one bottle against Mo Linyu’s face, making the latter jump with a startled gasp at the unexpected, ‘dishonorable’ ambush.

“Whoa?!”

Mo Linyu, uncharacteristically flustered, shot her a look of displeasure and reproach.

Li Yue not only remained unfazed but even felt a flicker of secret amusement.

She then asked, “Did you tell her what we’re planning to do?”

“I merely told her we needed her help to catch a thief and that calling the police wasn’t convenient. She reluctantly agreed.”

“Reluctantly, yet still agreed?”

“Indeed.”

Li Yue pressed further, “She didn’t ask why we weren’t calling the police?”

“I explained that the thief might be a student from our school, making a police report inappropriate.”

Mo Linyu’s response, however, sparked a realization in Li Yue.

While the probability was low, could that thief and the otherworldly soul Mo Linyu had initially sensed actually be one and the same person?

After all, their ages didn’t seem too far apart.

Mo Linyu shrugged, continuing, “Don’t worry. Xiaoyu, despite being timid like a small animal, is quite dependable when it counts. Even if we just tell her we’re catching a thief, she’ll brace herself and go along with it.”

‘A student council president with a sense of justice, yet being exploited by the Demon Lord in such a way—isn’t that a bit too pathetic?’

Thinking this, Li Yue then said, “You seem to know her quite well?”

“I suppose so? Though she actually finds me quite annoying.”

“Oh?”

“After all, I never actually do any work in the student council.”

****

At the other entrance of Runze Plaza, Mo Linyu and Li Yue stepped into a conspicuously empty tea house. It was so unpopular that they hadn’t even bothered to set the air conditioning to a comfortable coolness.

“It seems Han Xiaoyu hasn’t arrived yet?”

“No, she wouldn’t be late,” Mo Linyu replied, glancing towards the staircase leading to the tea house’s second floor. “In fact, she’d definitely arrive early. Let’s go check upstairs.”

Armed with her understanding of Han Xiaoyu, Mo Linyu ascended directly to the second floor.

Sure enough, nestled in a corner on the second floor, they spotted a peculiar figure.

“Ha, what is that?” Li Yue asked, pointing at the figure.

“…Hm, that appears to be Xiaoyu.”

“Are you joking? Is ‘that thing’ really a person?”

As Li Yue spoke, the figure, completely encased from head to toe, actually stirred.

With a series of clanking sounds, the figure turned. They wore an American football helmet, a tactical vest with armor plates over their chest, thick-soled hiking boots, and had a sponge dart gun tucked into their waistband. In their hand, they clutched a police baton…

However, the baton looked more like a toy purchased from a children’s store.

“Xiaoyu, what on earth are you wearing?”

“Lin-Linyu, you’re here?”

Han Xiaoyu pushed up the brim of her helmet, revealing a cute, doll-like face, and the fine beads of sweat that had gathered on her forehead from the stifling heat.

“Didn’t you say we were catching a thief? I just wanted to bring more gear!”

“Are you going to catch a thief or to war? If you actually encountered one, would you even be able to run with all that weight?”

As Mo Linyu spoke, she stepped forward and began to lighten Han Xiaoyu’s load.

“Take it off! All of it! We have a plan for catching the thief!”

Han Xiaoyu was practically steaming from the heat; dressed like that, she’d probably collapse after standing outside for five minutes.

“Take my phone. Soon, you’ll walk around the street, browsing, taking out the phone to look at it occasionally, then putting it back in your bag.”

Mo Linyu placed a tri-fold phone on the table, and Han Xiaoyu’s eyes widened in awe.

“…Isn’t that the newest model? You actually bought such an expensive phone just like that?!”

“Hmph, if you do well this time, I might even get you one! Listen, if the thief notices your phone, she’ll definitely approach. Look out for a short person wearing a hoodie… though she’s taller than you, so it might be hard for her to target you.”

Han Xiaoyu squinted, irked by the sudden mention of height.

“So you’ve seen her then?”

“We almost caught her yesterday, but she also memorized our faces, which is why we need your assistance.”

As Mo Linyu answered, she unfastened Han Xiaoyu’s tactical vest. Beneath it, only a short-sleeved T-shirt remained. The camouflage pants below were also thick, but clearly, they couldn’t be removed further.

“The moment she appears, Li Yue and I will sandwich her from both sides. This time, we absolutely cannot let her escape.”

Only then did Han Xiaoyu look at Li Yue, who stood behind Mo Linyu.

“I recall, you’re Li Longkang’s sister, aren’t you?”

“…Uh, yes.”

Han Xiaoyu then asked, “When did your relationship with Miss Mo become so good?”

“Because we had a fight.”

Li Yue replied, “After a good brawl, you become friends.”