Chapter 40: School Inspection

Inside Coral Middle School, the originally noisy corridors gradually quieted down.

The loudspeakers played the assembly notice on loop, requiring all students to line up on the playground to cooperate with the so-called “virus prevention and control inspection.”

“Something’s off!”

Ningning pinched her chin, looking serious.

She leaned close to Hua Niao and continued in a lowered voice,

“A sudden notice of a school inspection, and all students must gather on the playground. Although they say it’s a virus prevention check, I haven’t heard any news of a virus spreading recently. Not even in the news. It’s too suspicious.”

Xu Zhihe looked around, confirming no one was paying attention to them, and quietly tipped off Ye Ning, her tone uncertain.

“I also think it’s strange. And I heard from my sister that she’ll be coming to school this time too, saying she’s here to cooperate with the inspection.”

“Xu Zhiyuan?”

Hua Niao stood to the side, gently rubbing the cuff with her fingertips, a thoughtful expression on her face, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes.

“It seems this inspection isn’t about virus prevention at all. Maybe it’s related to Disaster Beasts or Witches. Otherwise, they wouldn’t easily dispatch an S-Rank Magical Girl, and certainly wouldn’t have Xu Zhiyuan come in person.”

Ye Ning nodded, took a deep breath, suppressing a bit of panic in her heart.

“At this point, we’ll just have to play along.”

The Concealment Magic Hua Niao cast on her was very powerful.

Even an S-Rank Magical Girl would find it hard to sense the Disaster Aura inside her.

The group followed the crowd and quickly arrived at the playground.

By now the playground was already packed with people.

Students stood in orderly lines according to their classes, each face showing a mix of curiosity and confusion, whispering about the sudden inspection.

The principal stood on the platform, holding a microphone, a gentle smile on his face.

“Students, don’t worry. This is just a simple health inspection, mainly for everyone’s well-being. The doctors will give each of you a quick test. After the inspection, you can return to your classrooms and continue class.”

On the surface, several doctors in white coats were using small instruments to take simple temperature and body readings from the students one by one, their movements gentle, their tones warm.

Everything seemed orderly, no different from a regular health check.

But Ye Ning tensed up slightly, her fingertips clenching secretly.

She could clearly feel a huge, steady energy slowly rising from beneath the ground under her feet.

That energy was gentle yet extremely oppressive, silently spreading across the entire playground, enveloping everyone.

This was the Domain of Xu Zhiyuan as the Magical Girl Blood Butterfly.

Ye Ning instantly understood in her heart.

A Domain is a unique ability that awakens only after a Magical Girl breaks through to S-Rank.

Each S-Rank Magical Girl’s Domain has different abilities and characteristics.

Blood Butterfly’s Domain specializes in perception and confinement.

It appears gentle, but can accurately capture all abnormal auras within range.

Even the faintest Disaster Aura finds it hard to escape.

Xu Zhiyuan’s Domain was releasing strands of faint yet dense energy, like countless invisible threads, slowly probing into each student’s body, carefully checking for any abnormal Disaster Aura or Witch energy.

When that cool strand of energy slowly approached and finally landed on Ye Ning, her heart shrank slightly.

She then forced herself to calm down, pretending to be unaware, still chatting and laughing with her friends as if naturally.

She even deliberately tilted her head, complaining that the inspection was wasting too much class time.

‘But the doubt in her heart grew stronger: Was it an illusion? Why did it feel like Xu Zhiyuan’s probing energy stayed on her for much longer than on others?’

‘Could there be a flaw in the Concealment Magic? Or did Xu Zhiyuan sense something abnormal?’

Ye Ning’s palms secretly broke out in a fine sweat.

Her smile remained on her face, but in her heart she was already terrified, even her breathing became extremely light.

Fortunately, that cool strand of energy finally slowly shifted away, moving toward the next student.

Ye Ning secretly sighed in relief, her shoulders relaxing slightly.

“Sister seems to be over there.”

Xu Zhihe’s gaze swept across a corner of the playground and quickly found that familiar figure.

She gently tugged at Ye Ning’s sleeve, pointing to an inconspicuous spot.

Ye Ning looked in the direction Xu Zhihe pointed.

There, in the northwest corner of the playground, stood a familiar figure with black-and-red gradient hair. It was Xu Zhiyuan in her Magical Girl form.

She wore her iconic combat uniform, surrounded by a faint halo, her expression serious, her sharp gaze sweeping across the entire playground.

“It really is her… Standing so far away… And there’s a little girl next to her… Holy shit!”

Ye Ning froze instantly, instinctively covering her mouth.

Then she quickly lowered her head, dashed behind Hua Niao, and only dared to peek out a little, secretly glancing out.

‘That iconic short light-brown hair, with soft ends slightly curled inward, framing a small and delicate face. And those eyes, seemingly gentle but actually carrying a hint of coldness.’

‘Why is my student here too??’

“Hm?”

On the other side, Wu Wang Wo seemed to sense something.

Her originally calm gaze suddenly paused, then slowly shifted toward the direction where Ye Ning was hiding.

Her brows slightly furrowed.

Her sharp gaze swept through the crowd.

When she saw a few strands of pink-white long hair emerging from behind Hua Niao, along with the familiar curve of the hair ends, Wu Wang Wo’s eyes narrowed slightly, a flash of doubt and curiosity in her eyes.

‘This hair color… why does it look so much like Master’s?’

“What’s wrong?”

Xu Zhiyuan noticed the change in Wu Wang Wo’s expression.

She turned her head, following her gaze, but only saw a dense crowd of students, no abnormality.

She asked in a gentle tone, “Did you notice something off?”

Wu Wang Wo slowly withdrew her gaze, suppressing the doubt in her heart.

She gently shook her head, her tone returning to calm, and said quietly, “Nothing, Lady Blood Butterfly. Maybe I’m being too sensitive. I seemed to sense a faint aura just now, but when I looked closely, there was nothing unusual.”

She didn’t voice her suspicion, but secretly noted the direction and position, making up her mind to go and confirm after the inspection.

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhiyuan nodded slightly, not pressing further. Instead, she asked, “By the way, Wu Wang Wo, can you sense the Disaster Aura within range through my Domain? I’ve already secretly marked all the students with abnormal Disaster Aura in my Domain.”

Wu Wang Wo nodded slightly, her tone firm.

“Yes, Lady Blood Butterfly. Your Domain’s perception range is wide, and the energy is very fine. I’ve already sensed them. The students with Disaster Aura all have your faint markings on them, and the positions are very accurate.”

Xu Zhiyuan showed a gratified smile, gently patting Wu Wang Wo’s shoulder, her tone full of praise.

“Very good. Your perception ability is excellent. Indeed, you’re only one step away from S-Rank.”

She paused, her tone gradually becoming serious, and slowly explained,

“The reason I don’t drag those people out right now is that I’m afraid there might be extreme cases among them. If they get provoked, they could lose control and hurt the innocent students around them. So we’ll wait until after the inspection to conduct a secret operation, step by step, to find out exactly where those students’ Disaster Aura comes from, and whether they have any connection to the Witch.”

Wu Wang Wo listened seriously and nodded slightly.

“I understand, Lady Blood Butterfly. I’ll follow your arrangements.”

Xu Zhiyuan’s gaze swept over the entire playground again, a thoughtful look flashing in her eyes, her tone tinged with doubt and regret.

“However, it’s a bit strange. The Witch we’ve been tracking—her aura doesn’t seem to be in this school. It seems we need to expand the investigation further. We can’t let up.”

Time passed bit by bit.

Finally, all the students’ inspections were completed.

The principal stepped onto the platform again, announced the end of the inspection, and told the students to return to their respective classes in an orderly manner.

Hearing this, Ye Ning felt like she had grabbed a lifeline.

She immediately popped out from behind Hua Niao, grabbed Hua Niao’s hand, and pushed Xu Zhihe beside her, quickly running toward the playground exit, muttering hurriedly, “Let’s go, let’s go! Why is that kid here?! So scary! We have to get out of here!”

“Go? Where do you think you’re going?”

A familiar voice suddenly came from behind them, instantly stopping them in their tracks.

Ningning: ‘…Hah, no way out.’