Chapter 35: The Train Incident

"Mr. Lin Yun, while employees of the Bureau of Extraordinary Strategy are indeed talented individuals compared to ordinary citizens, and many even possess magical powers despite being mere mortals, this level of strength is nothing more than a mayfly trying to topple a tree when faced with the State."

"The Egg-rank Remnant Beasts that require several, or even a dozen of us to coordinate with equipment to barely resolve, are nothing more than the most common prey for magical girls."

"After paying so much, one ends up as nothing more than a tool between the State and the material world. Avoiding the tedious obstacles that magical girls might encounter in their operations, swaying between various factions, and striving to appease the public's emotions—this is the true situation of the Bureau of Extraordinary Strategy, and its true purpose."

"We are merely the State's gloves, and the protection those gloves can provide is so fragile."

"So I cannot promise you that we have the ability to protect your daughter. I only hope you can believe that I will do my utmost to help her and her companions avoid the dangers they may encounter."

"I feel the same way you do."

Lin Yun kept Mosi's words in his heart.

Even though only some detailed questions and answers followed after that, he still found himself thinking about the content of this conversation from time to time, even days later.

A simple conversation was not enough for him to judge Mosi's stance and thoughts, but he had to pay attention to the information she provided. Not only regarding the State and the "Claw Marks," but also because of what she said about herself.

"My daughter was also a magical girl before she passed away."

This sentence made him think of many things, both about the present and the future.

Mosi said she would look for a suitable opportunity later to pass on the information she possessed regarding the Claw Marks to Lin Xiaolu.

She only hoped that Lin Yun would keep it confidential with her; Lin Yun should not spread her views on the Claw Marks and the Bureau of Extraordinary Strategy, and she would not leak the fact that she had spoken with Lin Yun to Lin Xiaolu.

"Miss Bai Mei seems to be unaware of her mother's affairs. Out of a principle of mutual confidentiality, we have not disclosed this to her either. You may have your own arrangements regarding this, but in my view, you should tell her the truth yourself as soon as possible."

These were Mosi's exact words at the time:

"Children always have to grow up, and a child who has become a magical girl may grow up even faster than you imagine."

Several days later, on the train, Lin Yun looked at his mobile phone.

On it was a text message sent by Lin Xiaolu, the content very brief, only three characters:

[Remember to come].

He leaned against the seat back, enjoying the rare moment of being able to sit down on the train, and replied with the two characters [Definitely] in a somewhat lighthearted mood.

Time passed quickly; ever since he sent his daughter to school that day and gave his promise regarding the truth while in the car, he could feel that Lin Xiaolu's attitude had softened just a little.

Although it was only a little—changing from being unwilling to communicate, or being mostly negative, resistant, and sharp-tongued when she did, to the extent of occasionally having calm, daily conversations—the fact that his relationship with his daughter had changed was already the most precious experience.

So today, facing the parent-teacher meeting he had mentioned before, he could be said to have made twelve-fold preparations.

The company had arranged overtime, so he swapped shifts with someone else; he declined a dinner invitation from colleagues by saying he would treat them another time; he had long since arranged for others to handle all the requests made by clients. All work matters were pushed aside, and no obstacle could stop his steps toward the parent-teacher meeting.

Now, he had even boarded the train to Lin Xiaolu's school early in the afternoon.

A light rain had begun to fall outside the train window at some point, the continuous drizzle streaking across the glass and leaving trails behind. Lin Yun leaned back in the train, harboring a rare, somewhat excited mood, quietly waiting for the moment to reach his destination.

To ensure his work was completed and to have no extra burdens today, the many days of exhausting overtime left him somewhat drowsy, and after sitting for a long time, sleepiness welled up, making his eyelids heavy. He had to force himself to stay alert, trying not to fall asleep lest he miss his stop.

Just as he was struggling with himself, he heard a scream in his daze.

—"Ah!"

It was likely a sound like that which made him jump, jolting him into alertness.

Immediately after, the carriage began to shake violently.

Lin Yun, sitting in his seat, grabbed the railing next to him in time to avoid being thrown off, but within his field of vision, several passengers were tumbling from the front of the carriage toward the back.

Amidst the chaos, shrill screams erupted one after another, and the lights in the carriage flickered on and off, making him squint his eyes.

The train was still moving. He first looked out through the window behind him, and after discovering nothing, he struggled to jump down from his seat. He grabbed the railing across the aisle, wobbled over to the window, and looked again in the direction from which the impact had come—

A giant, beast-shaped Remnant Beast was clinging to the train, its claw piercing the body of a passenger. The blood from the wound on the passenger's abdomen was overflowing, and their head hung down motionless; in all likelihood, they had already perished.

"Damn it, why at a time like this?"

Lin Yun couldn't help but curse under his breath, but the vibration of the phone at his waist brought him back to his senses quickly.

He took the phone out of his pocket and found that it was indeed Cuique's phone; the incoming call on the screen displayed "Bai Mei."

Looking around, he saw that many passengers nearby were lying on the ground wailing, but a few others were not too affected and were just huddled in their seats in terror. His heart tightened, realizing he could not transform here.

Thus, he ignored the call on the phone and instead left his seat again, stumbling through the violently shaking carriage until he reached the front, where he fumbled along the side wall and found a safety hammer.

Gripping the safety hammer, he gritted his teeth, steadied his stance, and smashed it heavily against the window.

The people inside the carriage didn't realize what he was doing at first, but once they did, they began to dissuade him one after another.

Shouts like "Don't do that," "Stop quickly," and "Are you trying to commit suicide?" rang out, but Lin Yun's hand did not stop. He continued to hammer the window with force, blow after blow, until cracks appeared at the four corners of the glass, until he had smashed all four corners, and then, the entire window shattered.

The exploding glass shards flew in all directions amidst the shaking, and several pieces grazed Lin Yun's face, even drawing a trace of blood. Lin Yun changed his posture, moving from a kneeling position to standing on the seat.

He looked at the scenery flying past outside the window, gripped the vibrating phone in his hand, paused, and his expression became determined.

Then, amidst the gasps of those around him, he jumped out of the window.

The light rail tracks were set at a height above the ground, but the height was limited, and there was not much time left for Lin Yun. After jumping out of the window, he was thrown into the air by the strong inertia, tumbling continuously.

He grasped his Heart Flower, and the light flowed.

Azure magic power radiated in all directions, and Cuique immediately appeared from the radiance of the magic power. From the moment she appeared, the magic power gushing behind her caused her to fly in pursuit of the train.

She took out the phone that had stopped vibrating and pressed the callback button; a moment later, the call was connected.

—"Cuique, Moke says there's a Remnant Beast attack in the direction of the Luoming Line 4!"

Lin Xiaolu's voice came through the phone immediately, her words hurried: "I'm still at school, it will take a while to get there, but I'll be as fast as I can. I'll send you the specific location right away, and Xia Liang, we should be there very soon..."

"No need."

Cuique interrupted her: "I will arrive soon, no need to come."

"Why?" Lin Xiaolu asked.

"I remember you mentioned before that there's a parent-teacher meeting at school today, right?"

"But..." Lin Xiaolu still wanted to retort.

"The Remnant Beast this time is a 'Huo', don't come over."

Cuique also quickened her pace, replying calmly amidst the whistling wind: "I happen to be nearby, and I'm not far from the scene now; I can see what the Remnant Beast looks like. Without a doubt, it will be dangerous if you come. Leave this one to me alone."

"So do your own thing, don't get distracted. If your parent arrives at school and finds you're not there, it should be quite hard to explain, right?"

"Hmm..." Lin Xiaolu's response was clearly tinged with hesitation.

"Then leave it to me. Don't worry, I'm very strong."

Cuique said this, then pressed the hang-up button, ending the call.

The azure magic power flew along with the train, and after a few brief accelerations, it surged forward a distance. In just over ten seconds, Cuique caught up to the carriage where the Remnant Beast was.

At this moment, the Remnant Beast was frantically tearing at the carriage. The carriage under its claws had already been completely ripped open, and passengers were constantly being pulled out while screaming and sent toward its mouth, which was filled with sharp teeth.

And just as a young man was wailing and struggling to break free from its claws, the movement of the Remnant Beast's claws stopped. It was as if it had been struck by a legendary immobilization spell, bound by something; even though its forearm kept trembling and it seemed to be exerting force, it could not lift it even a fraction of an inch.

The brief calm gave the man a moment to catch his breath. He opened his eyes in fear, as if realizing something, and looked not far away.

Where his gaze landed, he saw a girl wearing a navy blue dress standing on top of the carriage, her face gloomy. The strong wind caused the blue hair under her hat to flutter backward, and the curtain of rain could not hide her expression, which looked as if she were about to commit murder:

"If you're looking to die, can you pick another time? Don't stand in the way of me going to a parent-teacher meeting, you beast."