Lin Jiu’s smile was still on her face, but the chopsticks in her hand had quietly snapped.
Chiyotsuki’s hand holding the red teacup paused slightly, and a dangerous gleam flashed in her golden eyes.
Ye Fengxue lifted her head from the table, her green eyes wide as she looked from Ling Ling to Hua Jianxi, her brain completely short-circuiting.
Ling Ling stared at Hua Jianxi expressionlessly, her crimson eyes betraying no emotion.
But her ears were bright red, and a flush had begun to creep onto her face.
“Hua Jianxi, are you looking for death?”
“Of course not. I just think Zero’s reaction is really amusing.”
Hua Jianxi pulled the lollipop out of her mouth and licked the candy with the tip of her tongue.
“Even though you’re usually so cold, you get shy to death when this topic comes up. Your gap moe is too unfair.”
Ling Ling took a deep breath and slowly stood up.
“I’m going to the restroom.”
She turned and left. Her steps were fast, but it didn’t feel like fleeing at all—it was more like she was suppressing some urge to kill someone on the spot.
In the restroom, Ling Ling stood in front of the sink, turned on the faucet, and splashed cold water on her burning cheeks.
In the mirror, the white-haired girl’s earlobes were still tinged with a faint pink, and a rare trace of panic flickered in her crimson eyes.
She looked at herself in the mirror, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.
‘Calm down.’
‘That pink-haired jerk is deliberately teasing me; the more embarrassed I get, the more she’ll enjoy it, so I need to stay expressionless and completely indifferent.’
She practiced an expressionless face in the mirror; the effect was passable.
The door was pushed open, and Ye Fengxue walked in.
The two exchanged a glance and simultaneously looked away.
“…Why are you here in the restroom?” Ling Ling asked.
“Washing my hands.”
“Your hands aren’t dirty.”
“Can’t this young lady wash her hands if she wants to!”
Ye Fengxue walked to the sink, stuck her hands under the running water, and didn’t use soap or rub them—she just soaked her hands, as if waiting for something.
The two stood in silence for over ten seconds.
“Lin Lingling.”
“Hm?”
“You… are you really still…” Ye Fengxue’s voice was as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz, “…that?”
Ling Ling turned her head, her crimson eyes calm as she looked at her.
“Which one?”
“You know… the one Hua Jianxi mentioned…”
“A virgin?”
“Can you not be so blunt!!”
Ye Fengxue’s voice echoed in the restroom before being drowned out by the sound of running water.
Ling Ling looked at her flushed face and suddenly felt like laughing.
“Is that what you were imagining just now?”
“No!!”
“Really?”
“Really!! This young lady wasn’t thinking anything!!”
“Then why is your face so red?”
“Because—because the restroom is too hot!”
Ling Ling looked at her for two seconds, then let out a soft “oh” and turned to walk toward the door. Halfway there, she stopped without turning back.
“Lady Ye.”
“What?”
“I am.”
“…Are what?”
“The thing Hua Jianxi said.”
After saying that, Ling Ling pushed open the door and left.
Ye Fengxue stood there, her brain completely frozen.
‘What did she just say? She said—she is? Why would she specifically tell me that? What is she implying?’
Ye Fengxue buried her face in her hands and let out an indistinct whimper.
Meanwhile, Ling Ling, who had left the restroom, had a barely visible smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. Teasing Ye Fengxue really was quite amusing.
***
After the afternoon classes ended, Ling Ling did not go home with Lin Jiu.
She told her younger sister to go back first and prepare dinner, saying that she “had some things to take care of.”
Lin Jiu didn’t ask further; she just said, “Big sister, come back soon,” and walked toward the apartment building alone.
Ling Ling stood at the Academy gate, watching her sister’s figure disappear into the dusk, then turned and walked in the opposite direction.
The night wind of the Seventh District carried the chill of autumn, gently blowing her white hair.
She stopped at the entrance of a secluded alley. After confirming no one was following her, she took out her phone and summoned [Minerva].
On the screen was the information source she had asked [Minerva] to gather earlier.
“Phantom Night Company recently secretly transported a batch of special cargo to the Seventh District, suspected to be related to ‘New-Type Ability Weapon’. Transfer location: Seventh District Old Port Warehouse Area No. 3. Time: Tonight at ten o’clock.”
Ling Ling stared at this message, her crimson eyes narrowing slightly.
Yesterday, from the researcher named Ian, she had heard the term ‘New-Type Ability Weapon’—Phantom Night Company was helping Ye Qinghai prepare something to use against the Ye Family Main House.
If this cargo really was related to that matter, then she had to find out what it was before something happened to Ye Fengxue’s family.
She put away her phone, turned, and disappeared into the shadows of the alley.
As night deepened, the lights in the Seventh District’s Old Port Warehouse Area were sparse and dim.
Ling Ling stood on the top floor of an abandoned building, observing the activity around Warehouse No. 3 through a night-vision telescope.
Three black box trucks were parked at the warehouse entrance, and more than a dozen people in black tactical gear were unloading cargo.
Judging by their movements and equipment, they were at least C-rank Supernatural Ability users, and the leader’s aura was particularly impressive.
Ling Ling’s gaze fell on the cargo boxes—their surfaces were stamped with the Phantom Night Company logo, an owl spreading its wings in the moonlight.
The boxes weren’t large, but each one was carried by two people working together, clearly indicating that the contents were heavy.
“How interesting.”
***
After quietly uttering that signature phrase, she silently dropped from the rooftop to the ground.
Tonight, she was still wearing her [Moriarty] performance outfit. However, she only intended to gather some intelligence tonight and confirm the target. If possible, she planned not to alert the other party for now.
But plans could not keep up with changes.
When she crept up to the ventilation duct entrance of Warehouse No. 3, the phone in her pocket suddenly vibrated.
She took it out and saw it was a text message from an unknown number.
“Zero, the cargo contains ‘Enhanced Ability·Modified’, a banned drug that forcibly raises an ability user by one rank. Phantom Night Company sold it to Ye Qinghai, enough to equip several squads. Also, among the delivery people is Phantom Night’s A-rank ability user, Dark Blade · Nox. Be careful. —PS: No need to thank me; just treat me to a strawberry milk shake.”
Ling Ling stared at this message, her fingers pausing on the screen for a few seconds.
‘Hua Jianxi, that pink-haired jerk.’
‘How does she get this intelligence? No matter how strong her hacking ability, she can’t monitor all information streams in real time.’
Ling Ling suppressed her doubts and refocused her attention on the warehouse in front of her.
Hua Jianxi’s intelligence was likely true. If so, then this batch of ‘Enhanced Ability·Modified’ drugs had to be disposed of.
They could not be allowed to fall into Ye Qinghai’s hands, and even more so, they could not be used in the family’s internal strife.
She took a deep breath, and a hint of helplessness flickered in her crimson night eyes.
‘It seems I’ll have to work overtime again tonight.’