The next day, in Beijiang City.
The weather had been off since early morning.
Gray clouds hung oppressively low, like a giant, damp cloth draped over the city, heavy and gloomy.
By noon, the rain finally began to fall, hammering against the windows with a “pitter-patter” that sounded like someone beating a drum.
“Hey! Lilith, go get the laundry! It’s going to get soaked!”
Lin Lu was curled up on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket, holding a cup of hot tea while scrolling through her phone.
The TV was also on, broadcasting the news: [According to recent meteorological bureau predictions, a rare total lunar eclipse will occur today, which may result in a Blood Moon phenomenon…]
Lilith was draped over the arm of the sofa beside her.
Upon hearing Lin Lu’s order, she reluctantly used her magic to gather all the laundry in one go and dumped it in a pile on the sofa.
“Mhm.” Lin Lu took a sip of tea, “It’s really coming down.”
“It was sunny yesterday, and today it’s a downpour. The weather’s just messing with us,” Lilith said.
“Winter is always changeable.” Lilith yawned, “By the way, the other day at home, I saw that blue-haired friend of yours… Minazuki, right? Honestly, it gave me a scare. If you guys hadn’t stopped her, she probably would have gone for the kill.”
“It’s fine. Maybe she was just in a bad mood.”
“Really? I always get the feeling she’s hiding something.”
Lin Lu fell silent for a moment.
“Everyone has their own secrets. There’s nothing to say about that.”
“Is that so? You humans really are strange.”
Lilith snorted and didn’t speak further.
The rain grew heavier.
The streets outside the window were already covered in a layer of water, and cars passing by sent up sprays of white mist.
In the distant sky, lightning flashed from time to time, followed by rolling thunder that made the windows rattle.
“Lilith,” she suddenly spoke up.
“Hm?”
“Don’t you think… things have felt off lately?”
Lilith tilted her head to look at her.
“Off how?”
“Hard to say.” Lin Lu looked out the window and said, “Just a feeling… that something’s not right. Ever since the debut event, there have been all these strange attacks, and then that cultist on the day of the tournament…”
Lilith, however, flapped her wings dismissively and replied, “Ah, you’re just being too sensitive lately. Take advantage of the break to relax properly. What kind of big event could possibly tear the sky over Beijiang City? Not to mention that Hong Huang from the Seven Blades is here. Even if there is a crisis, the Magical Girl Headquarters’ protective barrier isn’t so easy to break. If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. Just relax~”
“That… seems reasonable.” Lin Lu nodded, taking a sip of milk tea.
“Anyway, it’s not like a rookie like me needs to rush in to see the commotion.”
“Hong Huang said she’s investigating. It should be fine. Even if there is a problem, it’s not like a rookie like me needs to rush in to see the commotion.”
***
At 3 in the afternoon, Hong Huang stood in the command center of the Beijiang City Magical Girl Headquarters, facing an entire wall of surveillance screens.
The screens displayed live feeds from all over Beijiang City—streets, shopping malls, schools, residential areas.
Everything was normal.
She had been standing in the command center for two hours.
Nothing had happened.
“Lady Hong Huang,” a staff member approached and asked, “Would you like to take a break? You’ve been standing for a long time.”
“No need,” Hong Huang said, “Just a little longer.”
Despite investigating all this time, she couldn’t find more clues.
Hong Huang could only focus on tracking the movements of the Guixu Zhiying, hoping to get more information from them.
She pulled out her phone and glanced at a message from Eri.
Moreover, since morning, she had felt an indescribable unease.
[Eri: Everything’s normal here in the capital. Anything unusual in Beijiang?]
[Hong Huang: No.]
[Eri: …Then don’t be too tense. Rest when you should. Staring dead-eyed won’t help.]
[Hong Huang: Mhm, I know.]
Hong Huang put her phone away and continued staring at the screens.
“Hah… Are they really hiding this well?”
Hong Huang couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.
3:15 PM.
The surveillance feed from Nantang Road suddenly flickered.
Hong Huang’s pupils contracted sharply.
“Rewind! The footage from Nantang Road just now, go back ten seconds.”
The staff member operated the computer, and the footage rewound.
In the sky above Nantang Road, a thin, black crack had appeared.
It was brief, lasting only a few seconds, then vanished.
“What is this…” Hong Huang frowned, then instructed the staff to investigate along the route of the triangular area.
Soon, similar strange phenomena were discovered along the route.
She immediately dialed Eri’s number.
“Eri, a large number of spatial portals have appeared along the triangular route! However, their appearance is very brief, lasting only a few seconds before disappearing.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line.
“You mean… they appear and disappear on their own?”
“Yes, I’m about to—”
Before she could finish, exclamations erupted from the staff in the command center.
Hong Huang stopped and looked back at the surveillance screens.
A massive number of spatial portals had appeared simultaneously across the city.
Countless cracks, some as small as a finger, others several meters wide.
They spread across the sky along the triangular lines, dense and horrifying to behold.
Hong Huang’s hand holding the phone trembled.
“Dammit… Eri.”
“I can already see the situation there.” Eri’s voice was calm, “The data is coming in. The spatial fluctuation index along the route is rising sharply. But strangely, no Shadow Beasts are emerging from the portals. It seems… they’re waiting for something.”
“Regardless, we must organize civilian evacuation first. If Shadow Beasts pour out in these numbers, the entire population of Beijiang could be slaughtered.”
“Mhm… That’s all we can do for now.”
Hong Huang hung up and shouted to the staff, “Immediately contact all personnel to enter a state of emergency! All Magical Girls are to prioritize evacuating civilians into the protective range of our Headquarters’ barrier!”
The staff immediately activated the alarm and went to notify all departments.
“Yes… Yes, ma’am!”
Hong Huang rushed downstairs.
The rain continued to fall, and lightning split the sky, as if heralding the arrival of a great calamity…
She ran to her car, pulled open the door, got in, and started the engine.
The tires slipped slightly on the waterlogged road before speeding off…
At the same time, Lin Lu was at home watching TV.
The rain was too heavy to do anything, so she could only lounge comfortably on the sofa, scrolling through her phone.
Lilith lay beside her, already asleep.
Suddenly, her phone vibrated.
It was a message from Hoshino Hikari.
[Hoshino Hikari: @everyone, emergency situation. A large number of spatial portals have appeared within Beijiang City. Headquarters orders us to prioritize evacuating civilians to the Headquarters’ protective range in our assigned squads! Check the news for specifics, but assemble quickly!]
[Hoshino Hikari: (News Link)]
[Lin Qingqing, Minazuki: Received.]
Lin Lu paused for a moment, then clicked the news link in the group.
The live broadcast showed countless black spatial portals appearing in the city’s sky, black mist seeping from them.
But what struck her as odd was that no Shadow Beasts were emerging from the portals.
A reporter was giving a tense live update in front of the camera.
Lin Lu sat up straight, her fingers tightening around the phone.
“This is big trouble.”
Lilith was startled awake by her movement, flapping her wings as she flew up.
“…What’s wrong?!”
Lin Lu pulled back the curtain.
The rain was still falling.
Through the curtain of rain, she could see black cracks still spreading in straight lines across the distant sky.
“Lilith,” Lin Lu said, “I’m going out.”
“I’m not letting you go alone in this mess.” Lilith quickly dove into the bracelet, saying, “Wait for me, let’s go together!”
Lin Lu smiled slightly.
“Alright, together.”
She then pulled open the door and rushed out into the rain.
The rain grew even heavier.
Thunder exploded overhead, and lightning illuminated the entire city.
Lin Lu ran through the rain, her white combat uniform covering her body entirely.
The torrential rain fell but didn’t touch her, as if an invisible shield was keeping the raindrops at bay.
‘Talk about fearing something and having it happen… I never thought that just after worrying something might go wrong, it actually does, and it’s no small matter…’
I see you’re tackling the crisis moment in weddings. What do you think is the biggest source of stress for couples?