Distinguishing Between Friend And Foe Is Of Vital Importance

On the other side, Meng Shan was fighting with everything he had to keep the vehicle on the road.

It was exactly as Ran Jiuyi had suspected. Even though he had adjusted the direction of the blast, and despite his tactical helmet and body armor absorbing the brunt of the shockwave and shrapnel, the residual force had still nearly claimed his life.

Based on past experience, Meng Shan knew he should have blacked out long ago. He was honestly curious how he was still conscious. Perhaps it was true what they said: humans never truly know their limits until they are backed into a dead-end.

Meng Shan suddenly coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood. He could feel it—his life force was slowly ebbing away. If he performed emergency first aid on himself now, there might still be a chance.

Yet, clinging to his final shred of clarity, he steered the vehicle toward the city outskirts, far away from the three Magical Girls.

He didn’t know when Ran Jiuyi would catch up, nor did he know how much longer he could hold on. He could only do his utmost to drive as far as possible. The further he ran, the safer they would be.

But as time ticked by, blood loss caused his body to tremble uncontrollably. He grew weaker, his limbs turning numb.

Finally, Meng Shan reached his limit. Near a farmstead, the massive blood loss became too much to bear. He could no longer hold on and his hands slipped from the steering wheel.

In the final moment before he lost consciousness, he saw the out-of-control car veering toward a pedestrian.

……

When he opened his eyes again, all Meng Shan saw was a familiar ceiling and Ran Jiuyi sitting nearby, casually playing on her phone.

“Oh, you’re awake.” Noticing he was conscious, Ran Jiuyi turned off her phone and leaned in.

“You’ve been out for a long time—three days, actually. But considering you were at death’s door, waking up in three days isn’t bad at all.”

“Normally, it wouldn’t be strange if it took you a week to wake up… or if you never woke up at all.”

Meng Shan struggled to sit up, but the pain radiating from his body made it impossible to move. He felt as if his entire being had been shoved through a meat grinder—heavy and wracked with agony.

“You’d better stay still for now. You’ve just taken a stroll through the Gates of Hell; it’s best to keep quiet. You were covered in wounds before. You’re better now, but you still need rest.”

The woman in front of him looked familiar, but Meng Shan couldn’t quite place her. He asked tentatively, “Who are you? What happened to me?”

“Ah, I see. You don’t remember me. I understand, I understand.”

Ran Jiuyi replied, “According to the doctor, the shockwave from the explosion might have damaged your brain a bit. A concussion, most likely. It’s normal for things to be a bit fuzzy.”

As she spoke, she leaned her face closer to his. “Then let me introduce myself again. My name is Ran Jiuyi. We met once before at that fast-food place.”

After staring at her for a long while, it finally clicked. She was the beautiful woman he had encountered at the restaurant.

“Why are you here? Where are the others?”

“I thought your first words would be ‘water,’ since that’s how it always goes in the movies.” Ran Jiuyi spoke while pressing a few buttons on a small, box-like device. A milky-white liquid began flowing through the IV tube and into Meng Shan’s body.

“This is for the pain. The doctor said if it hurts too much when you wake up, I should give you a few clicks of this.”

“As for me, I’m here to take care of you. You don’t need to worry about the others.”

“The three Magical Girls are at school. They’re probably in their second period by now. And honestly, those three are really attached to you. They clearly have feelings for you. If you decided to take all three of them, they’d probably agree to it.”

“Uh…” Meng Shan fell silent for a moment. “That’s an exaggeration… I think they just see me as an older brother.”

“And you treat them like younger sisters, right? Maybe so, but you should pay more attention to these things. Adolescent girls have very sensitive hearts.”

Over the past three days, those three Magical Girls had spent nearly every spare second by Meng Shan’s side.

From morning till night, whenever they had a moment, they would rush here to help Ran Jiuyi look after him.

Though they mostly ended up getting in Ran Jiuyi’s way due to their lack of professional knowledge or life experience, their devotion was undeniable.

With behavior like that, Ran Jiuyi refused to believe the “Little Three” didn’t have feelings for him.

The medication began to take effect. Meng Shan felt the pain subside, giving him more strength to ask questions. “I’m glad they’re okay. But I mean… how did you end up here? And why am I in my own home?”

Ran Jiuyi had plenty to say about that. “I’m here because of you! Do you remember what your car hit?”

“My car? What did I hit? What are you talking about?”

Meng Shan searched his memories. He finally remembered that when the car spiraled out of control, it seemed to have hit someone. But his vision had been so blurred that he hadn’t known who it was.

“Wait… I didn’t hit you, did I?”

“Bingo.” Ran Jiuyi nodded. “Three days ago, I was out in the countryside enjoying a peaceful rural getaway. The farmhouse stay was cheap and the service was great. It was lovely.”

“But while I was out for a stroll, a car came swerving wildly down the road at high speed and slammed right into me. It was a very solid hit. Fortunately, my body is quite sturdy, so it wasn’t a big deal.”

“After that, I found you lying in the car, half-dead. You looked like you were about to kick the bucket, so I gave you some emergency treatment. Just as I was about to call the police, your three Magical Girls arrived. And that’s how I ended up here.”

Having heard the story, Meng Shan asked, “So… you were really okay?”

“Of course not! My radius and ulna in my left arm were snapped, and I had several broken ribs. Luckily, that girl ‘Marshmallow’ is pretty talented. Her healing gel fixed me up in just one day.”

As she spoke, Ran Jiuyi showed off her left arm, shaking it for him. “See? Good as new.”

“Then the way I am now…”

“Is because your injuries were too heavy,” Ran Jiuyi answered instantly. “You have no idea—you were practically dead. If I hadn’t given you first aid, you would have been cold three days ago.”

Ran Jiuyi recalled the scene. She had actually funneled the life force of two grown men into him just to stabilize his condition.

“Err, thank you.” Meng Shan thanked her awkwardly. He was never good with words and didn’t know what else to say.

Ran Jiuyi waved it off. “No need for that. I told you before, didn’t I? If we met again, we’d be friends. Since we’re friends now, helping each other is only natural.”

Meng Shan managed a small smile. It seemed the casual remark he’d made that night had saved his life.

“And honestly, the ones you should thank most are those three girls. Without their help, who knows how long it would have taken for you to wake up.”

“You said they’ve been coming here to help for three days… so, you already know their identities?”

“Of course.” Regarding this sensitive topic, Ran Jiuyi was blunt. “In fact, I found out while I was saving you. In short… forget it, I’ll tell you from the beginning.”

“I had just spent a massive amount of energy dragging you out of that mangled car. I was trying to stop the bleeding when those three Magical Girls showed up.”

……

Ran Jiuyi had looked at the three approaching Magical Girls and breathed a sigh of relief. This would make things easier—she could hand Meng Shan over to them and find a moment to slip away.

Unexpectedly, a second later, a pink beam of light accompanied by a barrage of artillery fire rained down toward her.

This sudden attack was completely outside her calculations. Logically, they shouldn’t have known what she looked like before she transformed. Why were they attacking?

With no time to think, Ran Jiuyi had no choice but to throw herself over Meng Shan’s body.

She knew the girls wouldn’t target Meng Shan. He was a normal human with no defensive capabilities—she had confirmed that during the chase.

Furthermore, if Meng Shan was within the blast radius, she was in the best position to shield him. At that moment, even a single stray bullet would have killed him.

Just as she thought, the three girls didn’t target Meng Shan. All their attacks deliberately avoided him. Ran Jiuyi, pinned to his body, remained unharmed.

Seeing Ran Jiuyi’s “bold” behavior, Jiang Yunshu was furious. She charged forward, hoisted Ran Jiuyi up by her collar, and screamed, “Get away from Brother Dashan!”

But when Jiang Yunshu got a close look at Ran Jiuyi’s face, she realized something very awkward. This face… it didn’t look like Bian at all.

Sensing that Jiang Yunshu wasn’t following up with another move, Ran Jiuyi confirmed it: these three really didn’t know what she looked like in her human form.

Which meant that, in the eyes of the Magical Girls, the previous attack was a mistake. Now, all she had to do was…

“Waaaaah… hic… waaaaah!”

Ran Jiuyi burst into tears, her eyes shimmering with mock terror. “Please… spare my life… I didn’t do anything…”

……

Hearing this, Meng Shan rubbed his forehead in exasperation. “So they attacked you without even confirming your identity?”

He knew the “Little Three” could be a handful, but he hadn’t expected that after six months of being Magical Girls, they would forget something as basic as identifying a target.

“I’ve warned them many times to always confirm the target before attacking. I can’t believe they messed up like this.”

Ran Jiuyi acted like it was no big deal. “It’s normal. I’ve heard that people under high stress often overlook routine details. Besides, I’m fine, so don’t blame them.”

Meng Shan apologized repeatedly. “I am so sorry. I’ve clearly been too lax with their training these past six months. And truly, thank you. You shielded me even then. I will definitely find a way to repay you later.”

Ran Jiuyi waved her hand. “Forget about that. I didn’t do it for a reward. Besides… do you think that was the only stupid thing they did?”