8:00 PM, Nantang Road, Old City Area.
The setting sun dyed the old street a vibrant orange-red, and the ivy on the walls swayed gently in the wind.
On both sides of the road stood aged buildings with mottled, peeling walls.
Power lines crisscrossed overhead like a massive spiderweb.
“This place… uh, is a bit creepy…”
Lin Qingqing shivered, unsure if it was just her imagination.
“The people were evacuated in advance. Of course it feels creepy when no one is around,” Hoshino Hikari said.
Lin Lu stood at the intersection, looking at the location on her phone.
“It’s that building ahead,” Minazuki said, “The fourth floor.”
The four of them climbed to the fourth floor.
Minazuki stopped; a nauseating aura of darkness was already seeping out from the gaps in the door.
“It’s here,” she whispered, “The scent of a Shadow Beast is very strong.”
Lin Lu looked at the security door.
A faded plush rabbit toy hung from the doorknob.
A warm yellow light shone through the cracks, accompanied by the sound of a television.
Hoshino Hikari stepped forward and knocked on the door.
No one answered.
She knocked a few more times.
“Who is it? It’s so late.”
Footsteps approached from inside, and the door opened.
Zhao Jianguo stood at the entrance wearing a wash-faded jacket.
His hair was a mess.
He squinted at them, his gaze somewhat vacant.
“You are…”
“Hello, we are from the Beijiang City Magical Girl Headquarters.” Hoshino Hikari flashed her ID, “We’d like to ask you a few questions.”
Zhao Jianguo’s expression shifted as if he wanted to close the door.
“I… I haven’t done anything wrong…”
“Don’t be nervous.” Lin Lu propped her hand against the door and asked, “We just want to know if you’ve encountered anything strange lately.”
While Lin Lu questioned him, her eyes were busy searching the room.
Zhao Jianguo looked at her, his eyes flickering.
He was just about to answer when…
“Daddy, who is it?”
A childish, innocent voice drifted out from the house.
Everyone’s gaze sharpened.
Zhao Jianguo glanced back into the room, a tender smile appearing on his face.
“It’s nothing. Daddy is just saying a few words to these sisters.”
He turned back to look at them and said, “You… come in and sit down.”
At this point, even if he wanted to drive Lin Lu and the others away, it was impossible.
Zhao Jianguo knew very well that as an ordinary person, he couldn’t resist Magical Girls.
The living room wasn’t large, but it was kept very clean.
Cartoons were playing on the TV.
A small, pink backpack with a rabbit pattern sat on the sofa.
However, Lin Lu knew that Zhao Jianguo lived alone.
Now, there were traces of a second person living there.
“Xiao Duo, say hello to the sisters.”
Zhao Jianguo spoke to the empty air beside him.
“Hello, sisters~”
The childish voice rang out again.
Minazuki pushed up her glasses.
Her face remained expressionless, but Lin Lu noticed her knuckles turning white as she gripped her detector.
In the spot where the child’s voice originated, Lin Lu and the others saw nothing resembling a child.
In their eyes, that space held a cluster of pitch-black mist—an energy aggregate.
It had no face except for gleaming white teeth and glowing eyes, all fixed in an unsettling smile.
“You…” Chen Xingye had already silently summoned her Magic Wand.
She took a step forward to guard against this unknown Shadow Beast.
“Mr. Zhao, that isn’t your daughter. The daughter you see is fake…”
“Who says she isn’t real!” Zhao Jianguo suddenly became agitated.
He hurriedly ran in front of the unknown Shadow Beast, stretching out his arms to block Chen Xingye and the others.
“Xiao Duo is right here! She’s back! She stays with me every night! How could she be fake!”
“That isn’t your daughter,” Hoshino Hikari’s voice trembled, “That’s a Shadow Beast in disguise. It’s lying to you.”
“You’re lying!” Zhao Jianguo grew even more hysterical.
“You… don’t you dare think about hurting my daughter!”
The temperature in the room dropped several degrees.
“Minazuki, this unknown Shadow Beast’s power level isn’t weak. I’m afraid…”
Lin Qingqing frowned and leaned in to whisper to Minazuki.
“Yes. A conservative estimate would place this Shadow Beast at least at the late A-rank, or even more likely… S-rank…” Minazuki looked as if she were facing a formidable enemy, staring at the Grimoire floating above her hand.
“For this unknown Shadow Beast, let’s call it ‘Smiling Mask’ for now.”
“Daddy…” Smiling Mask maintained its hair-raising expression.
To Lin Lu and the others, its voice now sounded exceptionally eerie, “Who are they? They’re so mean…”
Zhao Jianguo immediately turned to comfort it.
“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Daddy’s here.”
Perhaps in Zhao Jianguo’s eyes, the thing in front of him really was just his daughter.
Hoshino Hikari finally couldn’t take it anymore.
“Enough!” She rushed a step forward and asked, “What exactly do you want?! Why are you toying with him like this?! He already lost his daughter and his wife! He’s suffered enough! Do you have to trap him in a fake dream just to deceive him?!”
Smiling Mask tilted its head.
It used its power to knock Zhao Jianguo unconscious, then looked at Hoshino Hikari.
“Toying with him?” It seemed slightly confused, “I am not toying with him. I only gave him what he wanted most.”
“A fake family?!”
“Heehee… but to him, it’s real.” Smiling Mask laughed softly, sounding indifferent.
“Wasn’t his wish to see his daughter again?”
It looked at Zhao Jianguo, who was unconscious on the sofa.
“Isn’t this what he wanted?”
“I didn’t just let him see his daughter,” Smiling Mask said, “I gave him a daughter who calls him Daddy, who wants him to hold her, and who will stay by his side as he grows old. Isn’t that good? Look, even in his dream, he is very happy.”
“That’s twisted logic!” Lin Qingqing countered, “Something fake is fake; it can never become real! A facade like a bubble will pop at a single touch! The moment he wakes from the dream, he will only suffer more! You’re nothing but a liar!”
“Deceit? But he knows everything.” Smiling Mask interrupted her, “As for the dream… if he never wakes up, he won’t suffer, right? Heehee… simply put, he would be in agonizing pain without me. You… you are the ones who will truly make him suffer… what’s wrong with a dream world? I am the true savior!”
“You—”
“Dammit, why are you even wasting your breath on it.” Chen Xingye wanted to say more, but Lin Lu stepped forward and said, “A Shadow Beast is a Shadow Beast. I can’t be bothered reasoning with you. You don’t deserve to hear it!!”
[ICE FEATHER STREAMLIGHT!]
A massive amount of cold mist poured from Lin Lu’s palm, stretching, condensing, and taking shape in her hand.
Hoshino Hikari froze.
“That’s…”
The blade was slender and silver-white, radiating a chilling frost.
Faint blue light patterns flowed over the edge of the sword, while fine frost crystals clung to its sides.
As Lin Lu gripped the hilt, a biting chill traveled up from her fingertips.
At the same time, the sword techniques and skills associated with Lin Lu’s fated weapon—the longsword Ice Feather Streamlight—instantly flooded her mind.
While Chen Xingye and the others were still arguing with Smiling Mask, Lin Lu had already been asking Lilith if there was a weapon she could use.
She was ready to take action.
Against a suspected S-rank Shadow Beast, fighting barehanded wasn’t a good idea.
“I won’t let you go even if you beg. Get ready to die!”
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