Chapter 136: A Little Guest

"This is truly amazing! Director! Where did this high-grade armor called 'Magic Armament' come from?"

The second day, ten o'clock in the morning.

Li Yingwei, whose spirits were high, was holding Tian Sheng tightly by the side, lavishly praising the several sets of equipment placed nearby, his flowery compliments pouring out endlessly, to the point where it felt somewhat sickening to hear.

"I just passed the qualification audit and went to the battle room to try it out; it felt like my own mana had undergone an essential change!"

He waved his hands excitedly: "I feel that even if I encounter a Remnant Beast, I can face it head-on and decide the winner!"

The distribution and equipping of Magic Armaments had already begun step by step within the Anomaly Strategy Bureau; due to Lin Yun's unilateral request, every employee who obtained a Magic Armament had to report to the Director's Office for his personal vetting.

And right now, it was the time for the Third Squad of the Special Operations Department to report.

The Third Squad had a total of three employees who obtained the quota for Magic Armaments: the squad leader Li Yingwei, the deputy squad leader Mu Bensheng, and the new star Tian Sheng, who, according to them, had shone brilliantly. These three were now gathered in the Director's Office, waiting for Lin Yun's personal review.

This so-called personal review was, in fact, merely further prevention against internal traitors.

Although Lin Yun had already screened out a considerable portion of the internal agents during yesterday's appointment speech, he could not confirm that those were all of them. And for a resource like Magic Armament, which could significantly increase the combat power of the wearer, even if a single piece fell into the hands of the Black Ember Dawn, the blow to the ordinary employees of the Anomaly Strategy Bureau would be huge.

Thus, in the end, the scene before them had evolved into this state.

Although he did not know how much of Li Yingwei's praise and flattery was sincere, none of this would affect Lin Yun's decision. After all three had gathered before his desk, he had secretly gripped his Heart Gem, beginning to secretly sense the mana fluctuations of these three people, distinguishing from them whether there was any Beast part.

Among them, neither Li Yingwei nor Mu Bensheng had any problems; both were quite pure human magicians.

But Tian Sheng was different.

Lin Yun could sense from him an extremely familiar, that kind of Beast mana that made one's skin crawl. Having hunted down and expelled countless Remnant Beasts in the identity of a Magical Girl, his sense of this mana was certainly not wrong.

This was also the part that made him hesitate—even though he knew the changes on Tian Sheng's body were related to the mana of Remnant Beasts, and the other party had never concealed the relevant experiences, there was no guarantee that there were no secrets behind this.

Should he agree first? Or should he postpone it for now?

Just as Lin Yun fell into deep thought, a burst of noise suddenly came from outside the Director's Office door.

— "Stop, this won't work, little girl! You can't enter here!"

Faintly accompanied by the anxious calls of the receptionist Miss.

The combat team members originally gathered in the Director's Office were immediately attracted by the commotion, stopping their conversation; Lin Yun behind the desk also temporarily halted his thoughts, looking at the office door with some confusion.

Not long after, the wooden swing door of the Director's Office was pushed open.

A girl with heterochromia, wearing a stage gown with a white upper part and a green lower part, burst in from outside. Her appearance looked very cute and beautiful, like a child star who had run away from some performance venue. The girl rushed into the door with great momentum, but after seeing four adult men behind the door, her momentum subtly weakened; she stood in place and bowed:

"Hello, uncles! May I ask if the Director of the Anomaly Strategy Bureau is here?"

The contrast before and after was jaw-dropping.

The receptionist Miss beside her was panting tiredly, explaining somewhat helplessly: "I'm sorry, Director, I have tried to dissuade her, but she said she is a Magical Girl..."

Lin Yun of course knew that the girl who had burst into the Director's Office was a Magical Girl; in fact, the girl was precisely his very familiar junior and younger generation: Bai Jingxuan.

Senior Cuique had planned to talk to this child at the secret base last night; unexpectedly, Bai Jingxuan was not there at the time, and the next day she had actively broken into the Anomaly Strategy Bureau.

So, what did she come here to do?

Holding such doubts, Lin Yun said calmly: "Hello, I am; are you looking for me?"

"Yes, I want to find the Director of the Anomaly Strategy Bureau... Eh, aren't you Sister Lin Xiaolu's..."

Bai Jingxuan answered subconsciously, but after clearly seeing the middle-aged man behind the desk, she suddenly froze, then covered her mouth: "Ah no, I mistook the person!"

Obviously, she recognized Lin Yun and knew the other party was Lin Xiaolu's father. But considering there were other strangers present, she should not actively reveal Lin Xiaolu's identity, so she chose to shut up.

And before she could make any further statement, Tian Sheng beside her, after observing the girl for a moment, had his expression become somewhat trance-like, murmuring as if recalling something: "Xiao Xuan?"

"Yes! May I ask... Eh, Uncle Tian!"

Bai Jingxuan was once again shocked by the identities of those present; after recognizing the other party had once been a caregiver at the Fuli Academy, she fell into a brief confusion again. When she had just rushed in, her belief had seemed quite firm, but this attitude softened as she discovered everyone present was an acquaintance.

Her words stuck in her throat for a long time; finally, Bai Jingxuan bowed to everyone again: "I'm sorry! I've caused you trouble!"

"No, you haven't said anything yet..." Li Yingwei beside her only felt it was bizarre and couldn't help but speak out of turn, but he was immediately elbowed by the deputy squad leader beside him, falling silent at once.

The receptionist Miss at the door saw the atmosphere was a bit awkward; she wanted to open her mouth to explain something again, but in the end, it turned into a silent action; after her lips closed, there was no more speech.

Seeing everyone fall into an awkward silence together, Lin Yun looked around, and finally sighed somewhat helplessly: "Tian Sheng, stay; this Magical Girl, please stay as well; the others, wait outside the door."

Upon receiving his order, everyone present acted in tacit understanding. The receptionist Miss withdrew from the door first; Li Yingwei was also pulled by the deputy squad leader to leave the Director's Office; finally, only Tian Sheng and Bai Jingxuan remained before Lin Yun.

Looking at Bai Jingxuan, Lin Yun pondered for a moment before speaking: "Then, please do not rush; calm down and speak properly. You are a Magical Girl; I have read the file; your codename should be Thin Snow, right?"

"Yes."

Bai Jingxuan nodded obediently: "I am Thin Snow."

"Then, what is your purpose?"

Lin Yun tried to make his expression appear peaceful, avoiding bringing pressure to Bai Jingxuan: "Is there anything you need the Anomaly Strategy Bureau to provide help with?"

"Ah, yes!"

Upon hearing the word "purpose," Bai Jingxuan, who had been somewhat hesitant, immediately perked up; just as if she had found her backbone, her eyes shone, and her expression even carried a hint of subtle longing:

"I want to participate in the slaughter of the Black Ember Dawn!"

No one spoke.

Lin Yun maintained an upright sitting posture, looking at Bai Jingxuan with a blank face; after a brief silence, he spoke again: "I'm sorry, I didn't hear clearly just now; what did you say?"

"I want to participate in the slaughter of the Black Ember Dawn!"

Bai Jingxuan clenched one fist; her feigned serious expression looked somewhat cute: "More precisely, I want to torture and kill them!"

"... Why did you come to find us?" Lin Yun said numbly.

"I saw it while patrolling! Everyone at the Anomaly Strategy Bureau is fighting the Black Ember Dawn!"

Bai Jingxuan said crisply: "I went and asked the uncles there; they said this is the Director's order! The Director ordered them to kill all the Black Ember Dawn in the city!"

"... She said that." Tian Sheng repeated Bai Jingxuan's words and looked at Lin Yun.

"I know; no need for you to repeat it."

Lin Yun only felt a headache for a moment; he subconsciously held his forehead: "Um, Thin Snow, right? You just said you wanted to go and clean up and capture the remaining Black Ember Dawn..."

"Torture and kill!" Bai Jingxuan corrected seriously.

Her expression looked adorable, but her words were terrifying.

"That's not a word you can say casually, especially not when you're a Magical Girl."

Lin Yun sighed unconsciously and struggled to steer the conversation back onto a path he could control: "You look young, so you may not fully understand the meaning of the word 'torture-murder.' Let me explain—this behavior is forbidden by morality and law, contradicts societal mainstream values, and…"

"Is it just beating them until they're bloody pulp before killing them?" Bai Jingxuan tilted her head slightly, puzzled.

"... Yes, but we're not here to define the word. We're saying this practice—and even saying the word—is forbidden."

Lin Yun pressed on: "Especially since you're a Magical Girl, representing this city's light and hope. A Magical Girl's primary duty is to hunt down Feral Beasts. Under normal circumstances, you should never deliberately harm ordinary humans or weaker Magicians. And especially not with the word 'torture-murder'—that's a phrase a Magical Girl must never utter, and an act she must never commit."

"But my teacher did exactly that!"

Bai Jingxuan was young, and it was clear her vocabulary was limited; each sentence required her to search desperately for words.

"My teacher—she elegantly torture-murdered the boss of Black Ash Dawn! Everyone praised her! I admire her methods!"

Lin Yun fell silent again.

He now wanted to grab the thick reference book on the desk and smash it hard against his own forehead.

"Your teacher? She's…" Tian Sheng, beside him, seemed to realize something and opened his mouth hesitantly.

"My teacher is Senior Cuique! The Magical Girl who saved everyone last month!"

Bai Jingxuan spoke without restraint: "She viciously beat that villain until his face was swollen like a pig's head, then sliced him to pieces before killing him!"

"Well done!"

Tian Sheng slapped his thigh in admiration: "I support your teacher! That's exactly how you treat scum like them! You should learn from her!"

"Tian Sheng."

Lin Yun whispered a warning.

"... Ah, sorry, my lord."

Tian Sheng immediately looked crestfallen: "I got carried away…"

"You're an adult. Don't be so easily swayed by a child."

Lin Yun tapped the table calmly: "Whether you're trying to imitate someone or encouraging such a young child to commit 'torture-murder'—it's all inappropriate."

"But she's talking about targeting the scum of Black Ash Dawn, right?"

Tian Sheng muttered in defense: "I think dealing with them is like dealing with Feral Beasts—no need to apply human moral standards."

"... You're right. The scum of Black Ash Dawn deserve to die."

Lin Yun nodded: "But understand this—what is the purpose of adults like us being here? Why was the Special Response Bureau established? 'Magical Girls hunt Feral Beasts; the Special Response Bureau hunts human traitors.' We exist precisely to keep these children away from killing their own kind, to spare them the burden of taking human lives while they're still too young to understand."

"Perhaps when they're still children, killing these evil humans feels meaningless—but no one can guarantee this won't become a lifelong shadow for them later."

"Her teacher is indeed a Magical Girl, but you should know she's been active for twenty years and is now fully grown; her worldview is already formed, and her cruel killings were deliberate choices—not mindless imitation…"

—"I'm not imitating!"

Bai Jingxuan interrupted Lin Yun urgently.

She raised her hand like a primary school student asking a question, but spoke without waiting for permission: "I'm not copying my teacher! I do admire her methods—but I want to torture-murder those bastards myself!"

"Why?"

Lin Yun asked, confused.

"Because I want revenge!"

Bai Jingxuan pressed a hand to her chest and declared loudly: "They let Feral Beasts kill my parents! They killed that Magical Girl… they killed Senior Sakura! I hate them! I want them to die screaming! I want them to regret everything they've done!"

Lin Yun had never seen Bai Jingxuan this agitated.

In his memory, she had always been that quiet, well-behaved child—calm, reserved. She never expressed strong emotions in public, never made others uncomfortable. She gave others so much space that many often didn't even notice her presence.

Perhaps in daily battles against Feral Beasts, her fighting style had been a bit brutal, a bit cruel. But under Senior Cuique's persistent corrections, that dangerous style had diminished greatly. Today's Bai Jingxuan moved like a normal Magical Girl.

Had it not been for today, Lin Yun might never have heard the word "revenge" from Bai Jingxuan's lips.

But given this child's experiences, the word felt heavy—and yet, utterly justified—leaving him unsure what more he could say.

And when she spoke the words "torture-murder" and "revenge," her expression was so innocent, so earnest—its dissonance stirred unease in his heart.

"... I won't allow it. I could never let a child like you do such a thing."

In the end, Lin Yun could only speak with a dry throat. He stopped trying to persuade Bai Jingxuan and turned to Tian Sheng, pointing at the office door:

"Tian Sheng, take her out."

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