Turbulence at the Flip Park (2)

At first, just a slight tremor.

You Xi and the other audience members watching the stage show assumed it was natural—nothing to worry about.

But seconds later, every speaker across the park blared an ear-splitting alarm.

“Aberration forces have invaded FanDou Paradise! All visitors, please proceed immediately to the nearest shelter!”
“Repeat: due to invasion by aberration forces, all visitors must evacuate to the nearest shelter immediately!”

In stunned silence, someone screamed.

Then another.

Fear spread like wildfire. Panic erupted.

For the first time as an ordinary civilian facing an aberration attack, You Xi felt like a leaf in a storm. She hadn’t even moved yet—but the stampeding crowd swept her along, her feet nearly lifting off the ground.

—!

In the chaos, someone spilled an entire cup of soda down her back. The icy shock made her shiver violently.

Instinctively, she turned to glare at the culprit—only for an elbow to shove into her face, blocking her view and knocking her new red hairpin loose.

It clattered to the ground. In seconds, fleeing feet trampled it into a muddy, broken scrap.

Gritting her teeth against the indignities, You Xi forced herself to move with the flow—evacuating.

Then, out of the corner of her eye—she saw it.

On the stage, the little girl playing “Raging Flame” stood frozen, staring blankly at the fleeing crowd, clearly searching for her parents.

What is she doing?! Why isn’t she running?!
Don’t they teach disaster drills in elementary school anymore?

No time to think.

She reversed direction—running against the tide toward the stage.

“Move! There’s still a kid up there!”

She shouted, hoping people would make way.

They didn’t.

Only shoves and curses answered her. Twenty meters stretched like miles.

But finally—she broke free from the crush, reaching the stage area.

By then, everyone else had fled. The zone was eerily empty.

The silence lasted less than a second.

A horrific metallic screech tore through the air.

You Xi turned—just in time to see the drop tower, anchored to nearby buildings, tilt violently under unseen force.

With a groaning creak, the 40-meter steel column collapsed.

You Xi covered her ears—but the impact still vibrated through the ground, rattling her bones.

How?! What kind of aberration can do this? A tank? A bulldozer?!

Her face went pale with terror.

“Let’s go!”

No time for words. She grabbed the girl’s arm and yanked her off the stage.

At first, the child resisted—confused, scared.

But quickly, she understood: this older sister was helping.

She started running beside You Xi, matching her pace.

“Thank you, Onee-san…”

You Xi didn’t answer. Not now.

She didn’t know the park layout well—had no idea where shelters were.

Best to follow the crowd. Safety in numbers.

So she led the girl back the way she came—toward where the evacuees had disappeared.

But they hadn’t taken more than a few steps when—

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Footsteps echoed from ahead.

One figure. Two. Then more.

The crowd was coming back.

And at the very end—

Giant Arm.

The aberration strolled behind them like a shepherd herding sheep.

When someone lagged behind—a man—it casually swung its massive limb.

He flew like crumpled paper, crashing hard onto the pavement far away.

Seeing the monster that once cornered her into despair—

You Xi’s PTSD flared. Her legs weakened. She nearly collapsed.

Mind blank. Body frozen.

Then—she felt a tiny tug on her sleeve.

She looked down.

The little girl stared up at her, eyes wide with fear—so small, so vulnerable.

“…Big sister… are you tired?”
“I’m scared… let’s run, okay?”

Right.

Why am I standing here?

Snapping back to reality, You Xi shook her head sharply—and tightened her grip on the child’s hand.

Don’t you dare get hurt, idiot…

Meanwhile, high above the city, Huang Xing raced toward FanDou Paradise at maximum speed.

She’d already overtaken five helicopters.

Yet ahead, more choppers flew steadily forward, rotors humming.

Below, roads had been shut down. Civilian vehicles blocked. In their place, armored trucks and light tanks emblazoned with the Special Operations Bureau logo roared down the highway in formation.

Is it really this serious?

In over a decade of being a magical girl, Huang Xing had never seen the SOB deploy like this.

Had the situation at FanDou Paradise escalated beyond control?
Multiple aberrations—was this random… or part of a plan?

“Is Senior Tidal there?”

She kept flying, one hand gripping her phone.

No signal. No reply. Her messages remained unread.

Her heart pounded.

Even if she couldn’t defeat all the aberrations, rescuing You Xi should be possible.

But FanDou Paradise was huge. Where could she even start?

She dialed You Xi’s number.

The call connected—

—for less than a second.

Then, abruptly, cut off.

As if whoever answered had dropped the phone in panic.

“Beep… beep… beep… The number you dialed is currently unreachable. Please try again later.”

The robotic voice grated on her nerves.

“—Ugh, seriously!”

Frustrated, Huang Xing shoved the phone back into her dress pocket.

Ignoring my call? Or too scared to answer?

Either way, her anxiety deepened.

Still burdened by dread, she pressed forward.

Gradually, FanDou’s iconic skyline emerged—its Ferris wheel, roller coaster tracks growing clearer with every second.

She took a deep breath—trying to steady herself.

Then slowly reached for the soul gem at her chest.

A spark of electric-blue light flashed.

Her Soulweapon materialized in her left hand.
Three magic arrows formed in her right.

“…Alright. Let’s do what we can.”