Chapter 26: You have fallen into a trap!

“Hui Jin… senpai…”

Feizuan called out her name softly.

After seeing the familiar petite figure, the girl seemed to finally let her guard down.

The magic wand slipped from her trembling right hand, dissolving into a burst of brilliant flames.

“Sorry I’m a little late.”

Hui Jin turned her head and gave Feizuan a faint smile, though her mask obscured her expression.

“Go rest now. I’ll handle this.”

Even though she wanted to fight alongside her senior, Feizuan knew she’d only be a burden.

So she nodded.

“Okay!”

Hui Jin said softly.

“Letting a junior get hurt… I’m really not a good senior, am I?”

“Ah… it’s not your fault, Senpai. I’m the one who…”

Feizuan quickly began, but Hui Jin shook her head and cut her off.

“Alright, hurry to a safe place.”

With that, she walked toward Dayun Guairen.

Feizuan wanted to say more, but Hui Jin was already far away.

Under the cover of the security team, she had no choice but to retreat into the hospital.

“Now… it’s just us.”

Hui Jin said flatly.

Her face remained expressionless, but her voice carried a chilling murderous intent.

Crimson patterns climbed up the broken sword in her hand, then burst into dark red flames like burning blood.

“Picking on magical girls weaker than yourself… what kind of skill is that?”

“Cough, cough, cough!”

Dayun Guairen finally managed to pull its head out of the statue.

The old dean had gone from a squat to a sitting position, his legs now flattened like noodles.

“Uwaaaaaah!” Dayun Guairen howled at the sky.

“I’m so mad! I’m gonna explode! Just a little more… why wouldn’t you let me charge out!”

Its roar shook the sky, and the shockwave scattered the falling raindrops.

“I’ll ram you to death!”

Roaring, Dayun swung its arms and started running again, reminding Hui Jin of that viral running man GIF on the internet.

As it transformed, it bellowed:

“Finisher Move, Second Phase: The White Moonlight Returns!”

The truck came roaring in, but this time its headlights had doubled from two to four.

“What’s the difference, anyway…”

Hui Jin couldn’t even be bothered to complain.

She just walked slowly toward the truck.

“Looking for death!”

Just as the truck was about to ram her, she flicked her blade and gently deflected it.

—Clang!

With a crisp clang of impact, deep red mana burst forth.

The hundred-ton truck was once again redirected, hurtling straight toward the old dean!

Boom!

This time, the old dean couldn’t take it anymore.

He was cut in half at the waist—his upper body flew high into the air, while his lower body was flattened into a pancake by Dayun.

Through the floor-to-ceiling window, Xia Che watched Hui Jin handle everything with ease.

A smile crept onto his lips.

Maybe she knew this was a trap.

Even so, she fought to protect others.

Let me correct myself, Miss Hui Jin.

You are a true magical girl.

Thinking that, he looked at his own palm.

Would he… be able to go that far for someone else—for Xiao Chi?

Even if the answer was yes, what could an ordinary person like him actually do?

He wanted to gain the power to protect others.

He wanted to become stronger.

—The desire in the boy’s heart grew stronger.

In the livestream, the moment Hui Jin appeared, the bullet comments exploded:

「Holy shit, that’s dope! Who is that? Three seconds, I need her full info!」

「No idea… never seen this hero before. Maybe she just registered?」

「I know! I saw her in a previous livestream—Feizuan was there too! Her name’s… Hui Jin?」

“Looks like some comments recognize her! According to AI analysis, this is the hero named Hui Jin who appeared in a recent battle recording that got a bit popular,” the commentator read the comments.

“And she might very well be a magical girl!”

「That… a magical girl? A Syrian magical girl?」

「Savage, huh? Battle damage! Heh heh… can see her toes…」

「Nice, I’m in.」

“Ahem! Comments, please keep it civil. Let’s get back to the battle…”

In the plaza, the two had exchanged several rounds, but Dayun hadn’t managed to touch Hui Jin even once.

It was on the verge of hysteria.

“Let me charge! Let me charge!”

Its tires left black scorch marks on the ground.

It turned around, engine spewing thick black smoke mixed with sparks.

Puff… rumble!

With a muffled explosion, the sparks ignited the smoke, and the engine erupted in blazing flames!

The truck had fully transformed into a fire truck—like a meteor, trailing a tail of fire as it made a suicidal charge at Hui Jin!

(Dayun Guairen is going all out against Hui Jin! Let’s see how Hui Jin responds!)

Hui Jin didn’t dodge. She slowly lowered her broken sword.

(Oh? Is she preparing for a direct showdown with the monster?)

She lifted her face, looked toward a certain spot, and said loudly:

“Are you just going to stand there and watch? If there’s economic damage, it’s on your heads, right?”

(Huh? Calling for backup?)

No sooner had she spoken than emerald-green vines began growing wildly from puddles all over the square!

Their growth rate was no slower than Dayun’s charging speed.

The vines at the back wrapped around the truck’s rear wheels, those in the middle caught the front wheels, and the ones right in front formed a barrier of vines.

Thud!

The truck slammed into the barrier, slowed down, and only made the vines rustle.

Whenever the flames on its body scorched the innermost vines, new ones grew to replace them, relentless, binding the truck firmly in place.

“Ughaaaaa!”

Dayun Guairen roared in vain, but even its roar was gradually muffled by the layers of vines.

Soon, the green branches wove into a spherical cage, dotted with little white flowers.

At the same time, the truck finally reached its limit.

In its despairing scream, the fuel tank exploded.

Boom!!!

The cage instantly became a fireball, but that was all.

The flames didn’t spread.

Dayun Guairen’s suicide attack turned into nothing more than a bonfire show in the rainy night.

The vines burned to charcoal and fell away.

Inside the cage, the once-pristine Dayun truck was now a charred wreck.

Its front grille opened and closed slowly, struggling:

“…I just wanted to charge out…”

Then it went silent.

“May it charge out in another world,” the commentator concluded.

Seeing the monster defeated, Hui Jin turned to leave.

But behind her came a somewhat familiar, sly voice:

“We helped you, you know. Not even giving us a chance to introduce ourselves?”

Hui Jin turned around.

Through her mask, she saw two magical girls descending from the sky, surrounding her from front and back.

She recognized one:

The shrine maiden Lolita outfit belonged to Sakura Blizzard.

The other, a green-haired girl in an emerald dress like a flower…

“She’s Magical Girl Kikyo. I’m Sakura Blizzard. Nice to meet you.”

Sakura Blizzard stepped forward and extended her hand.

“…Miss Hui Jin, right?”

Hui Jin didn’t shake her hand.

Her mask hid her expression.

“I don’t plan to join the Special Operations Bureau. If that’s why you’re here, please go back.”

With that, she turned to leave.

Behind her, Sakura Blizzard whined:

“Ehh~ Miss Hui Jin is so cold. And here I am, a beautiful girl, inviting you!”

Hui Jin didn’t answer.

She lightly tapped her toes, about to fly away, when suddenly a vine burst through the ground, coiling around her ankle like a snake.

Caught off guard, Hui Jin stumbled.

With a flick of her hand, her broken sword was born from fire, ready to cut the vine.

But more and more vines erupted from the ground—some wrapped around her thighs, some around her slender waist, and several shot straight for her wrists, binding her hands tightly behind her back.

“Wha—!”

Losing balance, Hui Jin fell to the ground in a mess.

Her mask flew off from the impact.

“Oh my, how cute.”

Sakura Blizzard crouched down and poked her soft cheek with a fingertip.

“Don’t worry, the livestream’s already off. The viewers didn’t get to see your adorable face. What a shame~”

“What’s the meaning of this? Is this how the Special Operations Bureau ‘invites’ people?”

Bound and unable to move, Hui Jin could only stubbornly lift her head and glare fiercely at Sakura Blizzard.

The girl with pink-and-white hair chuckled lightly.

“Whoa, so scary… but don’t be so hostile. We’re not bad people…”

“We just… want to have a talk with you.”