Chapter 202: The Challenge Letter

"Oh my, where did such a cute little girl come from?"

Yian seemed somewhat surprised by Lin Xiaolu's intrusion, yet showed no displeasure. She naturally removed her hand from behind Lin Yun's back, shifted two steps to the side as if nothing had happened, and let her curious gaze dart back and forth between Lin Yun and Lin Xiaolu at the door: "What is your relationship?"

"I am his daughter." Lin Xiaolu answered while walking over to the desk.

"... This is my daughter."

Though not entirely willing, Lin Yun could only answer this way.

From a rational perspective, he did not want to reveal his family to an enemy from Claw Mark, but the situation was special; if he dared to say "This is not my daughter," who knows how Lin Xiaolu would make a scene.

After all, putting himself in another's shoes, the scene in the Director's office just now would easily lead an uninformed person to make some awkward assumptions; he truly should not add fuel to the fire at such a critical moment.

"So what you said about being married is true?"

Yian blinked, looking slightly surprised: "I thought you were just making up an excuse to brush me off."

"I think anyone using a little brain would know that lying about such matters holds no value for me."

Lin Yun glanced at her sideways: "So what exactly were you planning to say? Once you're done, you can leave."

"Is that a dismissal?"

Yian squinted and smiled: "Just now we were drinking and laughing in a heated atmosphere, and now you're ignoring me like this?"

"I hope your words are based on reality, not fabricating things that never happened."

Lin Yun's expressionless face stated: "There was no drinking and laughing; you were just unilaterally trying to drag someone to drink."

"Hmm... whether what I say is actually true might not matter at all."

Yian pointed at Lin Xiaolu, who was already standing before the desk: "Look, she doesn't seem to think so."

She didn't need to say it; Lin Yun naturally knew what his daughter was thinking.

Rather, with Lin Xiaolu's current expression—half-closed eyes and a look of scrutiny—anyone would know exactly what she was thinking.

"I need an explanation." Seeing the two finally stop talking, she spoke up: "You texted me to get me out of the way just to meet this woman in the office? Who is she?"

"No problem, I can explain."

Lin Yun answered immediately, raising his hand to signal Lin Xiaolu to calm down: "I did text you because I needed to talk to her, but everything we discussed was serious business, not what you think."

"Hmm?"

Lin Xiaolu placed both hands on the desk, her gaze sweeping back and forth between Yian and Lin Yun's faces: "Serious talk? Does serious content require leaning over someone's back and speaking mouth-to-ear?"

Lin Yun was speechless.

Given the situation just now, no matter how he explained it from any angle, it only made him look like he was trying to cover up; the best course of action for him now was simply to clarify the relationship to avoid making things worse.

"You can understand this... "

After speaking only a few words, Lin Yun had to pause, glanced at Yian behind him, and continued: "This auntie, she has no sense of personal space in whatever she does; this is just her personal style."

"Personal style?" Lin Xiaolu raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, personal style. You can understand that what happened just now was just a joke; there is no emotional connection between me and her."

Believing he had found a suitable angle, Lin Yun immediately added: "Think about it rationally again; you know our family situation well enough. If I really just wanted to find another wife, would it be necessary to hide it from you?"

"Hmm..."

Lin Xiaolu couldn't help but ponder: "That's not without reason?"

"Also, we were indeed just discussing some work-related topics, and because the topics were quite confidential, I had you step aside; it wasn't because I had ulterior motives."

Raising one finger, Lin Yun continued smoothly: "Recall, before you went out it was for your own reasons, wasn't it? Let's reason by contradiction: if I really wanted to meet someone... for a date? Even if I called someone while you were leaving, it would take time for them to arrive at the Anomaly Strategy Bureau. So even if I deliberately got you out of the way, there wouldn't be much time to spend together in between, which wouldn't be profitable for me, would it?"

"So?" Lin Xiaolu put on an expression as if she were convinced.

"So I have no motive to do such a thing, nor the logic for it; I have no special relationship with her, we merely know each other through work."

Lin Yun drew a conclusion on the matter: "The truth is, you had just left when a guest arrived, and she happened to make a joke that was easily misunderstood when you returned... it was just a coincidence."

"I see, this is a coincidence, that is also a coincidence; it really sounds very coincidental."

Lin Xiaolu nodded without changing her expression, her tone calm, but just as Lin Yun thought he had successfully convinced his daughter, she spoke again: "Then, since that's the case, what work-related topic were you two discussing just now?"

Lin Yun fell silent once more.

This time it wasn't due to embarrassment, but because this was a scene he had always hoped never to see.

The Lin Xiaolu before him, though still immature, represented the magical girls of Fang Ting City; the Yian behind him to one side was a defected magical girl from Claw Mark.

Their identities, while not necessarily irreconcilable enemies, were certainly mutually exclusive like water and fire.

If neither side's origins were exposed, this conversation might still end normally, but if Lin Xiaolu and Yian learned each other's identities as magical girls, the matter would absolutely not end well.

Therefore, he was destined to be unable to personally tell Lin Xiaolu the truth of what had just happened.

What could he say? "I was questioning a Claw Mark magical girl about why she chose to betray"?

"You want to know?"

Just then, Yian spoke up. She looked at Lin Xiaolu with a smile, using a tone as if coaxing a child: "Little girl, do you know what your father does for work?"

"Of course." Lin Xiaolu nodded: "He is the Director of the Anomaly Strategy Bureau."

"Then do you know what the Director of the Anomaly Strategy Bureau does?" Yian continued asking.

"What's there not to know? He manages the magic users, and is also responsible for cleaning up after the magical girls."

"Hmm, indeed, that makes it easy to explain."

Yian nodded and said with a smile: "I came to find him to deliver a challenge to the magical girls of Fang Ting City on my behalf."

"... Hah?"

This question came not only from Lin Xiaolu, but also from Lin Yun.

Hearing Yian's answer, he and his daughter simultaneously turned their gaze toward Yian.

"Why are you all looking at me like that? Wasn't it the little girl asking me? So I answered."

Yian shrugged and said carelessly: "I'm going to fight your Fang Ting City magical girls tonight. You are the Director of the Anomaly Strategy Bureau, so you go notify them; that is my true purpose for coming tonight."

"Why?"

"On what grounds? Who are you?"

Lin Yun and Lin Xiaolu each voiced a different question.

"Why? If you truly need an answer, it's probably because I have my own boss too."

Yuan chuckled silently: "As for who I am... I'm a bad magical girl, a villain specifically opposing righteous magical girls."

"... A bad magical girl? What is this, a joke?"

Lin Xiaolu's first reaction to the other's words was disbelief; after all, her father had just said the woman before them liked to joke, and the current atmosphere was far too relaxed, giving her no real sense that "the enemy was right here."

Yet very soon, she could no longer hold onto such a relaxed mindset.

Because right before her eyes, Yuan extended a hand, and a black, ink-like fluid metal gathered in her palm, transforming into a wand.

Moreover, Yuan's eyes had changed at some unknown moment; her pitch-black pupils had now become a pair of yin-yang fish-like double pupils.

"Something like that, I suppose? A villain magical girl."

With no intention of hiding her identity, Yuan simply displayed her battle form before the two: "How is it? Isn't it very different from the magical girls in your impression?"

To be honest, Lin Yun had already seen this form many times in his identity as Senior Cuique, so he didn't find it fresh. However, whether it was fresh or not didn't matter at this critical juncture; the moment Yuan voluntarily revealed this form, Lin Yun knew some matters would likely be hard to wrap up.

He almost instinctively stood up, wanting to urge Lin Xiaolu to "calm down," but though the words had already reached his lips, he was still a step too late.

Lin Xiaolu had already drawn out her Heart Gem.

— "Magic, oh magic, please pause for a moment, carry me into that different world, and lead me away from my own weakness."

Pressing her Heart Seed close to her lips, she chanted her transformation incantation as if murmuring, and the Heart Seed responded to her call with the radiance belonging to magic.

After the light flickered, the one who appeared before Lin Yun again was the magical girl who should be called "Bai Mei."

"I am the magical girl you are looking for."

With hands loosely clasped, a light-blue wand manifested; Lin Xiaolu looked at Yuan, her expression grave: "What exactly is your intention in sending this so-called challenge?"

Without any hesitation, Lin Xiaolu exposed her identity as a magical girl before Yuan.

This was also the second time Lin Xiaolu had displayed her own magical girl form before him. Yet compared to the first time, he wished more than anything that all of this had never happened from the start.

For this, Lin Yun could only sigh inwardly.

If possible, he really wanted to stop her before Lin Xiaolu revealed her identity. Yuan had clearly not considered the possibility that Lin Xiaolu might be a magical girl; her tone of speaking was entirely just teasing a child. But once she knew the "little girl" before her was a magical girl, the nature of the matter changed completely.

No matter how one thought about it, the current Lin Xiaolu had no possibility of defeating Yuan; exposing her identity as a magical girl would only add danger, but it was already too late to say anything now.

He began to think about what exactly he must do next to get through the current predicament.

Immediately declare that he would pass a message to Senior Cuique, thereby diverting Yuan's attention? Or, as the Director of the Extraordinary Strategy Bureau, protest the two of them confronting each other here, to see if Yuan would show some face because he had given her money?

Of course, he also had to consider the situation where the two really fought; if he truly couldn't stop them, he might also have to quickly find a place to transform...

"This really surprises me; coming to the Extraordinary Strategy Bureau actually yields an extra gain."

While Lin Yun was still thinking about the next countermeasure, Yuan had already spoken to respond to Lin Xiaolu: "I am quite certain that my coming to the Extraordinary Strategy Bureau was just a whim, yet I still encountered a local magical girl here; could this really be a coincidence?"

"Yes, I also think it is truly too coincidental."

Lin Xiaolu tightly gripped the wand in her hand; tension was visible in her tight expression, yet she still tried hard to ensure her momentum was not suppressed by the other: "I didn't expect to meet the rumored 'Claw Marks' in the Extraordinary Strategy Bureau; are you the culprits behind Fang Ting City's recent attack incidents?"

She actually knew there were "Claw Marks" in Fang Ting City; the strange fairy who had previously called herself "Fairy Immortal" had told her this, but Senior Cuique seemed intentionally to prevent her from meeting the Claw Marks, so she had only heard their name without ever seeing them.

Now, upon hearing the other call herself a "bad magical girl," she almost immediately associated it with this organization, which was already notorious in her understanding.

"Recent incidents? Culprits? Sorry, I really don't remember such things clearly."

In response to Lin Xiaolu's questioning, Yuan just laughed: "But it doesn't matter; what happened before is not important. What is important is this next matter, and it was entirely orchestrated by me."

"What exactly are you preparing to do?"

Yuan's words caused a few ominous premonitions to arise in Lin Yun's heart; combining this with the other's rather strange behavior tonight, he realized the other might truly be speaking the truth.

"I said, I am here to issue a challenge, challenging all the magical girls of your Fang Ting City."

Retracting the smile on her face, Yuan answered thus: "Whether it is an elder magical girl like Senior Cuique, or a newcomer like you, little girl, or even those new friends from outside Fang Ting City; although I do not know everyone among them, as long as you wish to come, just come. The location is Yinping Mountain in the city suburbs."

"Yinping Mountain?" Lin Yun was not unfamiliar with this place name, but even so, it could not dispel the doubt in his heart.

"You, planning to challenge all of us alone?"

What Lin Xiaolu focused on was entirely another dimension: "No, how do you know we have magical girls from other cities on our side?"

"I was watching from the sidelines every time you defeated a Remnant Beast."

Yuan pointed at Lin Xiaolu: "For example, you, little girl; your recent battles have all been in the Sunset District, and the Remnant Beast you solved most recently was a Caterpillar-class, correct?"

Lin Xiaolu did not reply, but her suddenly heavy breathing was enough to reflect her mood.

Because what Yuan said was correct, yet in her memory she had never sensed the existence of other magical girls at the scene.

This meant the other had the ability to make herself completely undetectable; under such circumstances, if the other had any intention to attack her, she would probably have been finished long ago.

No matter how dull she was, Lin Xiaolu should now have reacted, at least recognizing a fact—that the person before her who called herself a "bad magical girl" was very strong, perhaps even an enemy too strong for her current self to defeat completely.

"If there are no objections, I will announce the rules."

Seeing that neither Lin Yun nor Lin Xiaolu had anything more to say, Yuan simply continued on her own: "The predetermined location is the summit of Yinping Mountain; the time is up to you. As long as it is tonight, you can come at any time, but I can only wait until midnight."

"I have set up a ritual at the summit of Yinping Mountain. Starting now, if no one goes to stop it, then at midnight it will trigger a huge explosion, directly destroying the entire mountain and everything around it."

Yuan spread her hands outward, making a gesture of "explosion": "If you want to stop it, your only way is to defeat me, and then personally shut it down."

"Blow up the entire mountain?"

Lin Yun was slightly puzzled, because in his memory, Yinping Mountain was also exceptionally remote among the city suburbs of Fang Ting City, ranking as one of the locations farthest from the urban area; if only Yinping Mountain were blown up, aside from possibly triggering some geological disasters, it would not cause any serious casualties.

But very soon, he realized what Yuan truly wanted to do.

As one of the most remote locations in the city suburbs, besides having few inhabitants, Yinping Mountain actually had another characteristic: it was the outermost perimeter of the entire Fang Ting City.

And at the outermost perimeter of Fang Ting City, there was something that absolutely could not be damaged—the City Defense Grid.

The Defense Grid separated human cities from the vast wasteland, ensuring that the dangers and Remnant Beasts within the wasteland would not harm the city; once the Defense Grid developed a breach, a large number of high-level Remnant Beasts, mutated creatures from the wasteland, and even more terrifying things would enter the city. At that time, the safety of Fang Ting City would face a severe test.

"Looks like you've figured it out."

Noticing the change in expression on Lin Yun's face, Yuan continued to smile: "This is my challenge. If you do not want the entire Fang Ting City to fall into crisis, then notify Senior Cuique."

"……Why do this?"

Lin Yun asked this question once more.

He could not understand Yian's motive for choosing this specific node to act.

The opponent had arrived in Fang Ting City two months ago; during that time, there was even a moment when she could have swept up both him and the Beast Source in one net, yet she abandoned every such opportunity, citing "fairness" as her reason.

If she intended to do something threatening the entire city, using it as leverage to negotiate with the Magical Girls, she should have done it before the reinforcements from Bo'an City arrived; there was absolutely no need to drag it out until now.

Previously, he did not understand why Yian, as a "villain," was so indifferent to "doing evil"; now, he did not understand: why would such a person, after abandoning countless golden opportunities, choose a clearly terrible timing to do this?

"Villains doing evil never need a reason, do they? You can understand it as: it's New Year, I'm homesick, so I plan to finish the task at hand quickly."

Yian answered carelessly, then walked to the window of the Director's Office and suddenly threw it open: "Well, the wine has been drunk, the challenge delivered, so I shall return to await everyone's grand arrival…"

She placed one hand on the windowsill and waved to those behind her, appearing ready to leave right then, but her next move was stopped by a bolt of magic energy shooting out.

That bolt of magic energy grazed her face, missing her by a margin of only a few millimeters.

Lin Xiaolu chose to strike here.

"Do you intend to escape?"

She pointed her wand at Yian, her gaze firm: "If you plan to do something this dangerous, I will absolutely not let you leave!"

"…Are you trying to stop me?"

Showing no anger at Lin Xiaolu's attack, Yian merely looked at the spot Lin Xiaolu had just struck, then gently shook her head: "Although your fighting spirit moves me, I'm sorry, but I have no interest in bullying children."

"What did you say?" Lin Xiaolu's eyes immediately widened.

"What I mean is, I don't want to fight with children."

Yian spread her hands and said helplessly: "Simply bullying the weak has no meaning; this also does not align with my code."

"Does blowing up a mountain align with your code?" Lin Xiaolu shouted in accusation.

"It does, after all, I am a villain, so I must do what villains do."

Yian's expression did not change; instead, she raised her hand and waved politely at the other two in the Director's Office: "Well then, I shall take my leave first."

Having said this, she once again reached out beyond the window, her surrounding magic surging, as if preparing to fly away.

"I told you, I won't let you go!"

Almost at the same instant, Lin Xiaolu struck fiercely, and this time, she went all out from the very start; the results of her recent efforts—blazing white magic enveloped her wand in an instant.

Magic energy exploding from behind propelled Lin Xiaolu forward; holding her wand aloft, with her own white Jin Guangyan swirling around her, she launched an attack on Yian at extreme speed.

From the first encounter with the Black Ember Dawn until now, and even when meeting Mo afterward, the power of white magic had always been unstoppable; even when opponents possessed abilities far superior to her own, attacks with this magic still proved effective.

This time, Lin Xiaolu did not doubt this fact either.

—Pfft.

However, mere moments after leaping out, she could no longer recall what happened.

She couldn't even see clearly what the opponent had done; after a single, soft thud, she lost consciousness.

The last things remaining in her mind were the sonic boom of Yian departing through the air, and her father's worried call.