Under Li Yanyan’s lead, the group arrived in front of an ordinary-looking, cold black single-story building.
“This is the Security Council’s branch in Rain Curtain City,” Li Yanyan introduced.
“It looks… pretty ordinary?” Su Xiaocheng examined the plain building in front of them.
To be blunt, it was even shabbier than many self-built rural houses. The ground-walking lizard breeding farm they had just passed looked more luxurious than this place.
“Ordinary?” Li Yanyan revealed a mysterious smile.
“I don’t think the bronze statue would even fit through the door,” Su Xiaowei said, looking at the entrance which was shorter than the statue.
Li Yanyan dialed a number. “Open the door, we’re here.”
Then, under everyone’s watchful eyes, the wall of the ordinary-looking building split open completely.
What appeared to be ordinary cement walls were actually made of an unknown alloy inside, gleaming with a metallic luster.
The real Security Council branch was entirely located in the underground area. The small building above ground was nothing more than a highly deceptive entrance.
“I heard someone was badmouthing our Security Council.”
A bespectacled loli rode the elevator platform up to the surface.
She had neat, short chestnut-colored hair with slightly upturned ends. Her fair skin had a faint rosy tint. Beneath her slender eyebrows, a pair of lively eyes hid behind round-framed glasses. She wore a white lab coat with a neat collar, hands tucked into her pockets, and on her wrist was a mechanical watch that clashed with the rest of her appearance.
“Uh, sorry about that.” Su Xiaocheng stuck out her tongue cutely.
After a casual glance at the group, the loli’s attention was immediately captured by the towering bronze statue.
“So this is the statue that can fight autonomously and possesses magic-nullifying abilities?” The loli’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
“That’s right. May I ask who you are?” Li Yanyan felt the need to confirm the other party’s identity.
“An Li, Chief Researcher of the Security Council.” An Li answered Li Yanyan’s question absentmindedly.
“What are you all standing around for? Hurry up and bring it inside.” An Li rubbed her small hands together, unable to wait any longer.
“Uh, let’s move it in,” Li Yanyan instructed.
The mercenaries followed the directions and moved the bronze statue onto the elevator platform.
“Why are you still standing here? Do I need to treat you all to a meal?” An Li looked at the group still standing in place, confused.
“Sorry about that, everyone. This way please.” A young man in his early twenties ran up from the emergency stairs, panting.
“I’m Lu Chenyi, the person in charge of the Rain Curtain City branch. We’ve already prepared accommodations for everyone.”
Under Lu Chenyi’s guidance, the group took the elevator platform down into the underground facility.
Unlike the plain-looking building on the surface, the underground area was filled with a strong sense of advanced technology.
“We are currently twenty meters underground. Above us is a high-strength alloy protective ceiling. The entire base is divided into living quarters, experimental zones, and storage areas, all managed by the central control system,” Lu Chenyi explained the basic layout of the base to everyone.
“The base has sufficient security forces, including a full company of security personnel, which can easily withstand A-rank witch disasters…”
“What about if we encounter an S-rank witch disaster?”
As a newcomer who had faced several A-rank witches, Su Xiaocheng thought that resisting A-rank witch disasters sounded rather ordinary.
“Well… our base also has an emergency evacuation system. It should be able to ensure the survival of key personnel…” Lu Chenyi’s tone faltered, losing some of his earlier confidence.
“However, S-rank witches are not that common. The last time an S-rank witch disaster occurred in Rain Curtain City was five years ago. There’s no need to worry too much.”
His words weren’t wrong. Just as magical girls required a [Miracle] to advance to S-rank, witches also needed a [Calamity Object] to reach S-rank.
Like [Miracles], the birth of a [Calamity Object] required extremely harsh conditions—often the concentrated death of a large number of living beings or the accumulation of negative emotions over many years.
Even though Rain Curtain City was located in the harsh environment of the northwest desert, the probability of encountering an S-rank witch remained quite low.
After touring the Security Council base, the group sampled the special lunch prepared by the Security Council.
“Big Sister, can you cook for me tonight?” Su Xiaowei hugged Su Xiaocheng’s arm and began acting spoiled.
The Security Council’s food couldn’t exactly be called bad, but it was far from delicious.
It had a strong “technological” taste. Even though the group were guests and Lu Chenyi had specially prepared pre-made meal kits for them, it was still quite unappetizing.
The regular Security Council staff, including An Li and Lu Chenyi, usually just gnawed on convenient energy bars.
“It really is pretty bad. Let’s go out and buy some ingredients later,” Su Xiaocheng said, already thinking about cooking for herself.
They didn’t know how long they would be staying here. Eating pre-made meals every day wouldn’t work, and Lu Chenyi had mentioned that the base’s stock of pre-made meals was quite limited. They might end up having to eat energy bars soon.
“Good afternoon, everyone.” An Li walked over with a smile.
“Is something the matter?” Li Yanyan stepped forward to speak with her.
“I don’t have any immediate leads on the bronze statue you brought, but I’ve had some ideas about the armor she’s wearing. I’ll need your cooperation now,” An Li stated her purpose.
“Us cooperate?” Li Yanyan was a bit puzzled. In terms of research, they were complete amateurs. What could they even help with?
“Yes. The inscriptions on the armor have a magic-nullifying effect, but there’s no one in the base who can use magic.”
An Li also felt rather helpless. While the Security Council’s technological development was indeed very strong, when it came to magic, they were basically primitives.
“I see. Then we’ll leave the task of cooperating with the research to you!” Li Yanyan happily dumped the responsibility onto them and went off to rest.
……
That evening, after forcing down the unappetizing pre-made meal, Su Xiaocheng and Su Xiaowei returned to their room exhausted.
Because Lu Yinxi and Lu Shiyuan found it difficult to recover their magic power here, the task of cooperating with the research had fallen entirely on Su Xiaocheng and Su Xiaowei.
The magic power consumption for the research cooperation wasn’t high, but it was extremely mentally draining.
For the entire afternoon, the two of them had basically been casting all kinds of magic according to An Li’s requirements. The research demanded a wide variety of spells, high precision, and extremely high stability.
Continuously casting spells outside of one’s specialty would exhaust any magical girl.
“When will days like this finally end?” After just one afternoon, the sparkle had already disappeared from Su Xiaowei’s eyes.
Su Xiaocheng felt like even her fingers had gone soft. She had no energy to even pick up her Star Jade to replenish her magic power.
Routine work like this made it impossible to fulfill the Contract Price. No wonder almost no magical girls stayed with the Security Council.
Although contractors existed within Security Council territory and magical girls could still complete their contracts normally, very few could remain there for long.
Before long, any magical girl born within the Security Council would actively seek to join the Magical Girl Alliance instead.
This kind of life was unbearable for any magical girl.
Spending every day cooperating with research would turn even the purest and most cheerful magical girl into a lifeless, dead-eyed fish.