Chapter 350: Observation

Senior Cuique did not make the decision alone.

It was not because she could not decide on this matter, but because she felt it would be more appropriate to discuss such matters together with the "allies" from the Demon Affairs Bureau and the Research Institute, to avoid friction in their cooperative relationship.

The information provided by Mint was undoubtedly valuable, and her request for the Research Institute not to immediately spring the trap was entirely acceptable.

In fact, even if she had not made this request, the people of the Research Institute and the Demon Affairs Bureau had no intention of acting immediately anyway.

After all, if the hidden agents of the Black Ember Dawn were pulled out right now, who would cause trouble next? Relying solely on those few Claw Marks whose whereabouts are still unknown? If no one causes trouble, where is the Research Institute's merit? How can the Demon Affairs Bureau retrieve their Gem Scepter?

Previously, the situation was "enemy hidden, us exposed," so the Research Institute naturally had to do everything possible to root out any potential hidden agents. But with Mint's defection, the positions reversed to "enemy exposed, us hidden," allowing them to take the initiative and control the pace.

A list identifying the Beast Agents of the Black Ember Dawn would significantly increase the stability of the upcoming security plan, and the Research Institute would also gain a starting point to trace the personnel of the Black Ember Dawn in reverse.

As long as the authenticity of this list and the reliability of Mint's defection could be verified, keeping the people on the list would be far more valuable than arresting them immediately.

As for the disposition of Mint herself, it would depend on the results of the investigation.

If the subsequent investigation reveals that she committed atrocities or harmed innocents while collaborating with the Black Ember Dawn, the Demon Affairs Bureau would likely show no mercy and send her directly to the Investigation Bureau. At most, considering her voluntary surrender and offering to atone for her crimes, they might give her a relatively lenient punishment.

But if what she said was true and she indeed had not done anything wrong, Senior Cuique and Emerald would naturally not trouble a child. Providing guarantees so she could continue her activities as a Magical Girl; providing safety protection for her family in the Material World; or even granting certain rewards, were all promises that could be fulfilled.

Of course, these would definitely be considered after the assessment ended; for now, the Research Institute would not take any action against Mint.

She could, and needed to, continue participating in the qualification certification; even if the matter succeeded, her exam results could be retained. The only thing she needed to do was pretend nothing had happened, take the exam normally, and not startle the snake.

It could be said that after Mint contacted Senior Cuique, although many things changed behind the scenes, on the surface, Mint had simply gone out for a meal with her teammates, and nothing had happened.

Except that she asked Senior Cuique for the contact method of the Magic Mirror and obtained a signature.

Senior Cuique did not pursue her bizarre screaming behavior during the phone call; although she muttered to herself that she couldn't understand young people nowadays, she outwardly maintained the magnanimity of a senior and an elder. Not only did she not criticize her, but she chose to praise her first, commending her spirit of "abandoning darkness and turning to light."

So much so that when Mint asked her for a signature, she thought about it for a moment and then gave it.

However, out of safety considerations, even for a signature, when she transmitted mana through the Magic Mirror, she actively eliminated her residual mana fluctuations. At the same time, the name she signed was "Cuique," not "Cornflower."

The former was to prevent special spells that could locate targets relying solely on names and mana fluctuations; the latter was to prevent the name "Cornflower" from being misused.

As for how to verify the authenticity of the list next, and what adjustments should be made to the plan with Emerald, these were matters unnecessary to discuss with the children.

……

……

After a brief one-day rest, the second item of the practical assessment began as usual.

The Magical Armor Test did not require teaming up; candidates needed to enter the venue in batches according to the order of their exam numbers. Precisely because of this, Senior Cuique, whose exam number was ranked later, could actually arrive at the exam venue a bit later without any problems.

But Senior Cuique arrived very early.

After arriving at the exam venue, Senior Cuique did not immediately meet up with Senior Gouweicao, Senior Tu Dinggui, and others; instead, she pretended to be strolling idly in the Silver Corridor, mingling among the crowd, secretly observing a few specific Magical Girls.

Arrowroot, Buddleia, Rhododendron, and Liatris.

These were the codenames of the other four Beast Agents participating in the assessment besides Mint. Interestingly, including Mint, all five of these Beast Agents were ranked on the so-called "Thigh List."

In a certain sense, when Mint compiled this list, she indeed showed no hesitation regarding conflicts of interest.

Additionally, according to Mint, there might be some Sacrificial Children among the Magical Girls present, but the Sacrificial Children of the Black Ember Dawn change rapidly; after entering the Black Ember Dawn, they have only a short cultivation period of one or two years, after which they either survive the Food Sacrifice to become Beast Agents, or perish for various reasons, so she could not recognize them all.

However, Senior Cuique did not need to search for those so-called Sacrificial Children.

For high-risk tasks like infiltrating the Kingdom Assessment to cause trouble, the Black Ember Dawn would not entrust them to immature Sacrificial Children. In the end, it should still be these Beast Agents leading the way, with the Sacrificial Children only able to follow the Beast Agents in making small moves. Therefore, simply keeping a close watch on these few Beast Agents would be enough to follow the vine to the melon and approach the full picture of the matter.

And these few Beast Agents, judging solely by their appearance, indeed showed no signs of possessing Remnant Beast Mana.

In this regard, they were the same as Mint, and even Bai Jingxuan; if they did not use the Remnant Beast's mana, they looked completely like ordinary Magical Girls in daily life. Unlike the people of the Claw Marks, whose Remnant Beast mana fluctuations could never be concealed once they activated their mana.

Probably precisely because of this trait, the Black Ember Dawn dared to let them infiltrate the exam venue as hidden agents.

However, although they could conceal their identities through mana fluctuations, the personalities, or rather the conduct, of these Beast Agents were indeed quite different from ordinary Magical Girls. Although they were mixed among many candidates, if one observed for long enough, one could still feel the difference in their temperament.

Not to mention Arrowroot, who looked like a crane standing among chickens, exuding immense confidence as if she were the number one under heaven; nor Buddleia, who was like a wolf entering a flock of sheep, making other candidates keep their distance even when sitting alone; even Rhododendron and Liatris, who appeared less abnormal, had a faint, invisible barrier between them and the candidates beside them.

Specifically, although they stood among the crowd, they seemed to have no intention whatsoever of integrating into the crowd or communicating with them.

To be honest, this inevitably made Senior Cuique recall what Lin Xiaolu had told her yesterday about Mint saying that Lin Xiaolu was also a "Sacrificial Child."

If everyone in the world could treat this statement as a joke, then Senior Cuique was the only one who could not simply laugh it off.

Because she remembered that in the summer of last year, during the incident where the Black Ember Dawn launched an attack on the Fuli Academy in Fang Ting City, an Ember Army soldier who had escaped from the academy had once said something similar.

Although that man was merely talking to himself at the time, Senior Cuique, who was not far from him and constantly approaching, actually heard him say— "two Sacrificial Children."

Senior Cuique had not told this matter to a third person.

At that time, she actually did not know what "Sacrificial Children" meant in the mouths of these madmen, and had always thought the so-called Sacrificial Children were just a term similar to "Divergents." But now, she already knew that the so-called Sacrificial Children specifically referred to people who were "naturally more compatible with Remnant Beast Mana."

Senior Cuique had never thought of this matter in relation to Lin Xiaolu.

In fact, although she always remembered the phrase "two Sacrificial Children," and even considered whether it might be referring to Xiao Tian, her subordinate in the Special Strategy Bureau, she had never thought that the second "Sacrificial Child" might be referring to Lin Xiaolu.

So, as her daughter, was it really possible that Lin Xiaolu was the so-called "Sacrificial Child"?

Although she was reluctant to think deeply about it, Senior Cuique knew deep down that this was actually possible.

Her child, or rather, the child of her and Anya, possessing whatever strange talents on the magical side was nothing surprising.

But she did not tell Lin Xiaolu about this matter; in fact, she chose to play dumb on this issue.