Chapter 181

Outside Fang Ting City's ring road, in the villa district.

When the girls pushed open the main gate and stepped into the entryway, the first to speak was Mu Baihe, who led the procession.

"What's the situation? So huge!"

Though the exclamation was utterly devoid of substance, it truly represented the feelings of the entire group from Bai'an City.

A four-story detached villa; compared to the second floor of the music school where the magical girls of Bai'an City gathered, the space was indeed far too large.

"Why is your secret base so big? Bribery?"

Mu Baihe darted into the entryway, looking around in all directions. After surveying the surroundings, she finally couldn't resist her curiosity and turned back to ask Lin Xiaolu, "Or is this your family's property?"

"How could it possibly be bribery?" Lin Xiaolu replied somewhat helplessly. "This is a venue Senior Cuique negotiated with the Extraordinary Affairs Bureau."

"The Patrol Officer did this? Ah, I see. Now that I think about it, it's not strange."

Mu Baihe nodded in understanding. "But your teacher can pull off such a grand scale and live in such a luxurious base, while we still have to huddle in the music school every day after school like an after-school band of girls. Looking at it this way, our teacher really has no..." "Mmmph?"

Before she could finish, Bai Ji covered her mouth from the side.

—Don't say such stupid things in front of outsiders.

Although she made no sound, Bai Ji's gaze clearly conveyed that meaning.

In fact, saying that Asano Enka was useless in this regard, or that she contributed nothing, was indeed a misjudgment of both her personally and the Extraordinary Affairs Bureau of Bai'an City.

Although the truth was indeed that she had not negotiated this matter, the form of existence of the Extraordinary Affairs Bureau of Bai'an City differed significantly from that of the Extraordinary Affairs Bureau of Fang Ting City. For the Extraordinary Affairs Bureau of Fang Ting City, acquiring a property was merely a matter of lifting a hand; but for the Extraordinary Affairs Bureau of Bai'an City, while it was not impossible, the process would be much more troublesome.

The Extraordinary Affairs Bureau in each city exists in different ways; some, like in Fang Ting City, exist openly as government agencies, while others disguise themselves as other organizational forms. The Extraordinary Affairs Bureau of Bai'an City, however, is an underground organization in the literal sense.

Whether in terms of personnel distribution or geographical location, the Extraordinary Affairs Bureau of Bai'an City is completely located "underground." Although it has been active within Bai'an City, it strives to erase its traces of activity within the city as much as possible.

However, precisely because it was hidden to such an extent, the fact that it was almost completely wiped out by the Black Ember Dawn went unnoticed by anyone; in a sense, it was like lifting a stone only to drop it on one's own foot.

For an Extraordinary Affairs Bureau with such a style of operation, acquiring a large operational base for magical girls within the city and finding ways to conceal all the loose ends was indeed much more difficult.

Precisely for this reason, neither Asano Enka nor Dengzhan ever made such a request.

Thus, the current situation presents a strange state: although in terms of experience in magical girl affairs, the squad from Bai'an City is the more seasoned party, upon seeing the luxurious hardware facilities of the Fang Ting City squad, they instead acted like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden, constantly asking this and that.

The space of the four-story villa was vast; there were still many rooms originally left empty. Accommodating a few more people was no problem at all, so soon, the magical girls of the Bai'an City squad also chose their rooms and moved in with their luggage.

For the next period of time, they would likely stay here.

Bai Jingxuan was responsible for setting up the training space for others in the underground training ground, while Xia Liang dragged Moke to prepare the upcoming dinner. Naturally, the task of showing the Bai'an City squad around the rooms fell to Lin Xiaolu.

However, her expression had been somewhat gloomy all along.

Bai Ji was the last in the squad to choose a room, so after everyone else went off to busy themselves with their own affairs, only she and Lin Xiaolu remained in front of this empty room.

"Then I will choose this room. Thank you very much for your hospitality."

Bai Ji, who had always maintained the demeanor of a leader, remained very polite even at this moment. She thanked Lin Xiaolu, saying, "We may occupy some of your space for the next period of time. If we cause any trouble, I apologize to you in advance."

"Hmm? Ah, it doesn't matter. The place was empty anyway."

Lin Xiaolu replied listlessly. "As for you, is there any problem with everyone arriving in Fang Ting City? What about the Remnant Beasts in your city?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Although we are ashamed, we still have a senior member with a nameplate certification continuing to guard our city."

Bai Ji explained, "Moreover, something happened in our city a while ago. At least for now, during this period, the frequency of Remnant Beasts appearing in the city is very low, so we don't need that many magical girls."

"Black Ember Dawn?" Lin Xiaolu pondered for a moment to digest the information in the other's words, tilted her head, and drew a conclusion that went straight to the heart of the contradiction.

"Ah... yes, that's right. You in Fang Ting City encountered them before too."

Surprised by the other's directness, Bai Ji nodded somewhat belatedly and involuntarily covered her mouth. "I am very sorry. I subconsciously felt this was something not worth spreading externally; it was not intentional concealment."

"Then, did you fight?" Lin Xiaolu asked somewhat abruptly.

"Fight?" Bai Ji was confused.

"Black Ember Dawn. Did you fight them?"

Lin Xiaolu looked at the other somewhat seriously. "To what extent did you fight?"

"... Regarding the fight, unfortunately, we did not directly fight the executives of the Black Ember Dawn."

Bai Ji's gaze lowered slightly. "After the Patrol Officer, my lord, arrived in our city, she alone found the enemy we had been unable to locate before. Then, according to our squad's senior member, she almost instantly killed that Black Ember Dawn Ember Guard. We couldn't help at all; we didn't even play the role of 'bystanders,' merely becoming informed parties after the fact."

"You didn't fight?"

Repeating this answer, Lin Xiaolu's eyes flickered slightly. "... I did go and fight, you know."

"Hmm?" Regarding the words of the person before her, Bai Ji was somewhat confused.

"I fought with 'Moth'... with that stinky old woman."

Lin Xiaolu stared at the other. "Although I was completely no match, although I was really beaten terribly, and even I myself felt that I was just a burden to Senior Cuique on the battlefield, but I did fight her."

"From my very first battle as a magical girl, I have faced death. I know the feeling of fear, and I know the pain of failure. If you talk about resolve, I made it long ago."

"So, what kind of qualities do you possess, and on what basis do you become our 'preliminary assessment'?"

"Why, if we cannot defeat you, can we not participate in next year's qualification certification exam?"

Her words rang out with force.

Because there was no one else around, as Lin Xiaolu's voice fell, a slight echo lingered in the corridor.

The two were positioned on the south side of the fourth-floor corridor. Slanting sunlight cast several shadows on Lin Xiaolu's face. Combined with her serious expression, the atmosphere between them instantly became somewhat tense.

Bai Ji's hand, gripping her suitcase, loosened slightly.

"Are you referring to those words the teacher said to you after the concert?"

Her expression remained normal, as if she was completely unaffected by Lin Xiaolu's questioning. "If you are feeling upset because of those words, I apologize to you, because she is indeed a person who speaks her mind directly, and many times the words she says are not very pleasant."

"Do I sound like I am asking for an apology?" Lin Xiaolu frowned slightly.

"Sorry, I don't quite understand." Bai Ji shook her head. "Perhaps I failed to grasp your meaning."

"What I need is an explanation."

Lin Xiaolu took a step forward, hands on her hips. "That woman... your teacher, why did she say that?"

"Are you referring to the matter of 'if you don't defeat us, you cannot participate in the qualification certification'?"

Bai Ji opened the suitcase and stood at attention: "Or does she think 'Fang Ting City Team cannot defeat Bai'an City Team'?"

Lin Xiaolu let out a soft huff: "Both."

"As for the first matter, explaining it is somewhat complicated, because it's internal information only our teacher can reveal."

After calmly glancing at Lin Xiaolu, Bai Ji stated in a steady voice: "Next year's qualification certification exam may differ from previous ones; if your strength is insufficient, your life truly will be in danger."

"Our Bai'an City Team has not participated in the qualification certification for the first time, and everyone holds a white card—we are firsthand witnesses to the assessment. If you fight us, you can roughly judge your own strength. If you can't win, it's better to step back and wait another year to take the exam."

"... According to your logic, blocking us from taking the exam is actually for our own good?"

Lin Xiaolu asked: "So you mean, because it's dangerous, if your strength can't guarantee your safety, you shouldn't go—is that it?"

"Based on my speculation, yes."

Bai Ji continued: "This is merely a conclusion I inferred from the information my teacher gave me. To get the true answer, you'd better ask her yourself."

"'For our own good' is speculation..."

Lin Xiaolu tilted her head slightly: "Then what about 'Fang Ting City Team cannot defeat Bai'an City Team'?"

"Those were her exact words," Bai Ji replied with a polite smile. "Of course, this excludes our teacher and seniors—it refers only to us newcomers."

"You say... exact words?"

Lin Xiaolu widened her eyes.

"Yes. Although I don't understand your strength, I trust my teacher's judgment," Bai Ji added.

"... Didn't I just tell you? Everyone on our Fang Ting City Team has fought against Black Ash Dawn's officers," Lin Xiaolu said quietly.

"Yes, I imagine it was an extremely arduous and brutal battle. I deeply admire you," Bai Ji responded.

"I said that even though we truly couldn't match them, on that day, when we stood before that person for the sake of this city, I never regretted it because I thought 'I might die next.'"

"I understand."

"If you can understand that, then you—who, even when your own city faced its greatest crisis, failed to find your enemy, failed to fight, failed to protect—what right do you have to look down on us like this?"

Lin Xiaolu stepped forward again: "Where do you get the nerve to belittle us here?"

The corridor fell silent.

Lin Xiaolu stared sternly at Bai Ji; Bai Ji remained calm, though the polite smile on her lips had vanished.

"You've said some very harsh words, Miss Bai Mei," she finally spoke. "Do you know that although what you said is true, it's not appropriate to say it right now?"

"Just call me Lin Xiaolu."

Lin Xiaolu smirked: "Senior Cuique said that magical girl codenames are only used among allies."

"... Then my apologies, Lin Xiaolu. You truly are an interesting person."

Bai Ji did not flinch at her sharp words, only nodded again: "I don't know what I did to offend you, but why do you harbor such strong hostility toward me?"

"I don't know."

Lin Xiaolu admitted: "Even though I don't know why, I just feel it's unpleasant talking to you—I always feel you're cursing me inside."

Bai Ji was momentarily speechless.

After another pause, she slightly curved her lips, returning to her previous calm demeanor: "So that's how it is. I apologize—perhaps my teacher mentioned during her journey here that you're the leader of Fang Ting's new generation, which skewed my impression of you."

"If you truly feel my words carried any condescension toward you, then I apologize again—once more, I am truly sorry."

"To show you my sincere regret, allow me to propose a compensation to mend the relationship between us, how about that?"

This proposal made Lin Xiaolu hesitate.

"... What kind of compensation?"

"You think my teacher's judgment is flawed, and that you won't lose to us. I trust my teacher, but I also want to verify whether this conclusion is true."

Bai Ji placed one hand over her chest; her Heart Gem glowed faintly: "How about we have a small private match right here?"

"A match?" Lin Xiaolu finally showed her first smile since meeting Bai Ji—but the smile held no friendliness: "How do you want to do it?"

"Very simple."

The light from her Heart Gem intensified until it engulfed her entire body; Bai Ji instantly transformed, appearing before Lin Xiaolu in her transformed form, then extended her right hand toward her.

"No spells used. This is a sphere composed solely of my magic."

As she spoke, a small magic sphere appeared in her palm. "It's simple—just gathering magic into this shape, no tricks inside. It's a plain, honest, ordinary magic sphere."

"And then?" Lin Xiaolu also firmly touched her own Heart Gem.

"Then make your own magic sphere. Use your magic sphere to shatter mine."

Bai Ji's expression remained calm, but her words had nothing to do with calmness:

——"Or be shattered by mine."

(End of Chapter)