Volume 1 Chapter 14: Make All Magical Girls Become Your Captives
“Wutong District... Isn’t that where we are!?”
The moment Bai Muxue thought that, she felt the ground begin to shake. The Disaster Management Bureau building trembled violently. Dust filled the air, and screams rose one after another from the crowd. Flower pots placed on the garden stands fell one after another and shattered into pieces. Several smaller buildings in the distance cracked open with huge splits, while broken glass flew everywhere.
From even farther away came a world-shaking roar. It was so loud that it seemed to stab directly into the deepest fear of the human soul.
So this is... a monster disaster?
Even though Bai Muxue had worked at the Disaster Management Bureau for more than ten years, she had always only handled damage assessment after disasters. This was the first time she had suddenly been dragged into the center of one.
According to the bureau’s rating system, a C+ level disaster meant that several streets could very likely be destroyed.
Shen Jingyi... has she always been fighting things like this?
This kind of matter really needed a professional like her!
There was no time for Bai Muxue to think more. She shook her head and quickly took out her phone to call Shen Jingyi.
“The number you dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later...”
She’s not answering...
Maybe Miss Shen has already gone there?
Just as Bai Muxue tried to comfort herself with the most hopeful thought possible, she saw that Tang Xingwan had somehow already left her side and was running toward the direction of the roar.
“What are you doing!?”
Bai Muxue quickly rushed forward, grabbed her, and pulled her tightly back.
“There is a special shelter area here at the bureau. We need to get there right now—”
But unexpectedly, Tang Xingwan suddenly pulled free from her hand. Facing such a dangerous scene, her eyes were shining with a determination Bai Muxue could not understand.
“It’s okay. You go to the shelter first.”
“Then what about you!?”
“I...”
Tang Xingwan looked once at the screaming crowd running in the distance, then at the worried girl standing before her. She bit her lip, then showed a sly smile.
“Ah, a hero can’t run away in battle!”
After saying that, before Bai Muxue could react, Tang Xingwan blinked at her, then hurriedly ran off without hesitation.
Eh? Wait, what did she just say? Hero...?
Bai Muxue stood frozen for a moment, then suddenly realized…
This little girl hasn’t watched too many hero movies and decided to go save people, right!?
“Tch, seriously...”
Ignoring the calls from her driver and the rest of the Bai family, Bai Muxue gritted her teeth and was about to chase after Tang Xingwan.
But suddenly, her heart jumped slightly. It felt as if she sensed something, and she instinctively turned to look behind her.
At the moment she turned around, time itself seemed to stop.
The air became still. The monster’s roar, the screams of the crowd, the sharp alarm. All vanished.
Bai Muxue could not even hear her own heartbeat.
The once chaotic street had become completely silent. All noise disappeared in an instant, as if the whole world had paused at this single moment.
And within a piece of broken glass in her sight, a silver-haired girl wearing a Gothic dress suddenly appeared.
“It’s that girl... the one who made me sign the contract!”
Although Bai Muxue had not clearly seen her face back then, now she was completely certain.
This was the black-dressed girl who had appeared before her.
“Good day, young miss.”
The girl showed an elegant smile, lightly lifted her skirt, and bowed to Bai Muxue from inside the reflection.
“Go do what you should do. Make more magical girls become your captives...”
Her voice was soft, like feathers or flower petals slowly falling.
“Only then... perhaps you may still receive a little salvation.”
What does that mean?
Why is everyone speaking in riddles...?
Bai Muxue frowned and was about to speak, but the girl in front of her raised one finger to her lips and gave her a mysterious smile.
Bai Muxue froze for a moment. Then a sharp pain struck between her brows. Countless strange pieces of knowledge flooded into her mind like a tide. Under the intense pain, even the world around her seemed to grow dark.
With a loud crash, a brick fell from the roof and smashed that piece of glass into pieces. Shards flew everywhere, and the girl in the black dress disappeared without a trace.
It was as if a paused video had started playing again. Noise returned to Bai Muxue’s ears.
The frozen world returned to normal in that instant.
But the once-anxious Bai Muxue still stood there.
After remaining silent for a long time, a clear blue light flashed through her dark eyes.
………………………
“As expected, it’s a disaster beast... I didn’t think one would appear twice in a single day...”
Meanwhile, Shen Jingyi had just helped a little girl who had fallen to the ground. Looking at the huge roaring figure in the distance, she could not help frowning.
The disaster beast’s massive body stood like a mountain.
Its terrifying mouth opened wide, showing rows of triangle-shaped fangs.
Its overall shape looked like a shark, but instead of fins at its sides, it had wings covered with bird feathers stretching outward.
Thick roadside trees had been pulled out by the roots. Cars left on the road had been blown over in every direction. Tires and broken pieces of metal were scattered everywhere.
“Why does it feel like... this thing is different from the disaster beasts before?”
Shen Jingyi focused magic power into her eyes. Her black pupils turned purple as she carefully observed the giant creature causing destruction.
The disaster beasts she had fought before were strange in many ways, but most still followed basic biological rules.
But this one looked as if a shark and a bird had been forcibly joined together. Its whole body gave off a strange sense of imbalance.
Suddenly, her eyes narrowed.
Above the giant beast, she could vaguely see a slim figure...
It looked like a woman.
Is that... a human?
Or the monster mentioned in the emergency warning?
A normal human would not be able to float in the air...
Is that person also a magical girl?
Doesn’t seem like it.
Or maybe... the controller of this disaster beast?
No matter who that person was, she had to be connected to the beast before her.
That was still better than rushing straight in and fighting the beast head-on.
Shen Jingyi silently nodded and quickly formed a battle plan in her mind.
I just wonder whether that girl already went to the shelter...
A certain lovely figure suddenly appeared in her thoughts. Shen Jingyi’s heart skipped slightly, then she quickly shook her head and threw away the messy thoughts.
That girl is a rich young miss.
She must be a top protection target for the Disaster Management Bureau and the Special Investigation Department.
She is probably already hiding safely in a shelter.
Shen Jingyi looked around.
The street was already empty because of the evacuation warning...
A perfect chance to transform.
But just as she took the small box from her arms, she heard a clear voice beside her, sounding excited and nervous.
“Okay... when something happens, I can’t just stand and do nothing... eh?”
Shen Jingyi quickly turned around.
Standing beside her was Tang Xingwan, who had disappeared from the memorial service earlier, staring at her with a confused face.
“Eh?”
“Eh?”
The two looked at each other, both stunned into strange silence, as if each was asking in her heart where the other had come from.
It felt as though invisible crows flew overhead, carrying awkward cries in the air.
Shen Jingyi was the first to react. Startled, she quickly hid the small box back into her pocket and stared seriously at Tang Xingwan.
“Well... it’s dangerous here. You should hurry and go to the shelter.”
Tang Xingwan also seemed to put something into her pocket. She awkwardly scratched her head.
“Ah? Oh, you’re right. You should go to the shelter too. Ahaha...”
The two turned at the same time and ran in different directions without saying another word.
“Good... there should be no one else now.”
After carefully checking several times that no one else was nearby, Shen Jingyi opened the purple box and placed a small charm into the slot inside it.
“Transform!”