Ling Ling and Lin Jiu attended Luter Academy, a comprehensive school for ability users located in the Seventh Ring District of Akasha City. It was also one of the six major ability user academies in the city.
When the afternoon classes ended, Ling Ling was packing her bag to leave the academy. Just as she reached the classroom door, a familiar voice called out to her.
“Lin Lingling.”
She knew who it was without turning around.
Ye Fengxue.
The heiress of the Maple Leaf Group, an A-rank ability user, and the academy’s公认 “Ice Crystal Queen.” Today she wore a well-tailored dark blue coat, her black hair tied in a high ponytail, and her emerald eyes carried that familiar expression of “I have something to say.”
“Something?”
“Follow me.”
Ye Fengxue turned and walked away, leaving no room for Ling Ling to refuse.
Ling Ling followed expressionlessly.
Come to think of it, the way she had gotten to know Ye Fengxue was rather strange.
That was three months ago.
Ling Ling had been tracking down a lead on the remnants of the “Cradle.” The trail led to an upscale club in the Third District. She changed into clothes that were easier to move in and planned to sneak in through the back alley.
Then, in that back alley, she ran into Ye Fengxue.
More precisely, she ran into Ye Fengxue being surrounded by three men.
Those men were clearly after her. They were all wearing ability amplifiers—contraband circulating on the black market that could temporarily boost an ability user’s rank by one level. Even an A-rank ability user would be in considerable danger surrounded by those.
Ye Fengxue leaned against the wall, a few ice crystals already凝聚 in her palm. The surrounding temperature began to drop slowly, but she didn’t act immediately—probably calculating something.
Then Ling Ling jumped down from the wall.
The three men turned to look at her.
All they saw was a small white figure in the moonlight.
“Who’s there!”
Before the man could finish, Ling Ling had already moved.
She didn’t use her ability—just pure physical techniques. In a few seconds, she had taken down all three men.
Ye Fengxue’s emerald eyes widened.
“You…”
Ling Ling glanced at her, then pulled a small notebook from her pocket. She flipped to a certain page, wrote something down with a pen, and then read it aloud.
“Miss Ye, you owe me one.”
Ye Fengxue was stunned for three seconds.
Then she laughed.
Not the restrained laugh of a noble lady, but the kind of laugh that came from genuine amusement.
“You’re so weird.”
“…I get that a lot.”
“Fine, I’ll consider it a debt.” Ye Fengxue extended her hand. “Ye Fengxue. And you?”
Ling Ling looked at her hand but didn’t shake it.
“Lin Lingling.”
“Not shaking?”
“My hands are dirty.”
She had gotten blood on them while dismantling the ability amplifiers.
Ye Fengxue laughed again.
Faced with this mysterious girl who spoke strange words with an unknown identity, Ye Fengxue suddenly felt playful.
“Hey, how about becoming my subordinate?”
“No.”
“That was a fast rejection!?”
That was how they met.
After that, Ye Fengxue inexplicably latched onto her, claiming she had to “repay the debt.” But in reality, Ye Fengxue did far more favors for Ling Ling than the debt warranted. Sometimes Ling Ling thought that this person probably just saw her as some amusing toy.
After all, she really couldn’t understand the heiress’s thought process.
The wind was strong on the academy rooftop. Ye Fengxue leaned against the railing, her emerald eyes gazing at the cityscape in the distance.
“The Seventh District has been unstable lately,” she said, getting straight to the point. “Did you know?”
“No.”
“Liar.” Ye Fengxue shot her a glance. “I’ve seen the internal reports from the Countermeasures Section. Case C-073, codename ‘White Night.’”
She paused.
“You know who I’m talking about, don’t you, Miss White Night?”
Ling Ling didn’t answer.
“No need to hide it. It’s not like I’m going to report you.” Ye Fengxue turned around, leaning her back against the railing and looking up at the sky. “I just wanted to warn you—the Countermeasures Section has raised the priority of their investigation into you. They might dispatch special-type or reconnaissance-type ability users.”
“…Is your information accurate?”
“The Maple Leaf Group has an equipment supply contract with the Countermeasures Section. I can still get that much.”
Ling Ling was silent for a few seconds.
“Oh, and you’ve probably heard this recently, but the academy is going to conduct an ability test soon. I heard people from the Countermeasures Section will also come to monitor.”
“Yeah, I heard.”
“Senior Chiyo mentioned it to me a while ago. I’ve already figured out how to deal with this ability test.”
After saying that, Ling Ling pulled out the small notebook she usually used for jotting things down and started writing.
“Are you writing a diary?” Ye Fengxue leaned in, trying to see the notebook’s contents.
But Ling Ling snapped it shut with a click.
“That’s classified.”
“What kind of classified…” Ye Fengxue stared at her for several seconds.
“…You serious?”
“Serious.”
Ling Ling raised her red eyes; there was no trace of a joke on her face.
Ye Fengxue suddenly laughed—not mocking, but because she found the girl before her genuinely amusing.
“You know what, Lin Lingling? The first time I met you, I thought you were really weird.”
“Mm.”
“Such a strong ability user, yet always hiding. You can take down an entire underground organization, but you agonize over what to eat for dinner every day. You have such a cute face, but you’re always wearing that ‘what a pain’ expression.”
“The last part was unnecessary.”
“No, it’s the point.”
Ling Ling stared at her expressionlessly.
Ye Fengxue laughed enough, then her expression gradually turned serious.
“Seriously though, what are you going to do about the Countermeasures Section?”
“…Lay low for a while. Don’t let them find anything new.”
“And then?”
“Then,” Ling Ling looked into the distance, “wait for them to drop the case.”
“What if they don’t?”
Her red eyes narrowed slightly.
“Then I’ll make them investigate something else.”
Ye Fengxue raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
Ling Ling didn’t answer.
She pulled out another notebook from her pocket and flipped to a page near the back. It was densely filled with names of people and organizations. Some had been crossed out in red ink, others had question marks next to them.
Ye Fengxue glanced at it and inhaled sharply.
“Where did you get this?”
“Information I’ve gathered from various places.” Ling Ling closed the notebook and stuffed it back into her pocket. “I need to protect my daily life. So anything that might threaten it… I’ll take care of it in advance.”
She said this in a very flat tone, without any emotional fluctuation.
But Ye Fengxue looked into her eyes—those red eyes held not a hint of hesitation.
This person was serious.
With that “what a pain” expression, she was doing the least painless things.
“…You’re really a weirdo.”
“That’s the fourth time you’ve said that.”
“Saying the same thing four times means you’re really weird.”
“…I can’t argue with that.”
Ling Ling turned and walked toward the rooftop door.