Chapter 581: Touched?

The gray‑haired girl tilted her head slightly, and a faint glimmer seemed to flash in the shadow beneath her hat's brim.

"I've seen her."

"Where is she?!" Ilya shouted, "She took Robin Jiejie! I'm going to rescue her!"

The gray‑haired girl did not answer immediately.

She simply sat quietly on the horse, watching the agitated little girl before her, as if pondering something.

A few seconds later, she spoke:

"You've seen her."

That was not a question, but a statement.

Ilya nodded vigorously.

"She's in that hotel! I just escaped from there!"

The gray‑haired girl gave a slight nod, seeming pleased with the information.

She lifted her hand and gently pressed the Top Hat on her head.

The gesture was casual and natural, yet oddly carried an air of elegance—like the mob bosses in old films who, after deciding something important, habitually straighten their attire.

"Um..."

Ilya looked at her, suddenly recalling something, "Your horse is strange—why are you riding a Pink Horse?"

The gray‑haired girl lowered her gaze to the massive horse beneath her and was silent for a second.

"Just because."

Ilya: "..."

That answer left no way to respond.

The gray‑haired girl was about to leave when her gaze suddenly fell on Ilya's hand.

"That."

She lifted her chin and pointed at Ilya's hand.

Ilya looked down puzzled—

The hand that Ailixiya had once grasped now emitted a faint greenish glow.

The light was very weak, almost invisible under the streetlamp, yet it was there.

It seemed alive, flowing slowly beneath Ilya's skin, each pulse giving her a slight tingling sensation.

Ilya's pupils dilated instantly!

"What—what is this?!"

She flailed her hand desperately, but the green light clung to her hand as if it were part of it, impossible to shake off.

The gray‑haired girl watched her, still expressionless.

"Touched?"

Ilya froze for a moment, then realized what she was asking.

"That woman... she held my hand..."

The gray‑haired girl nodded.

"That's normal."

Ilya: "...???"

Normal? This is called normal? A green glow on the hand is normal?!

She was about to press further when a deafening explosion suddenly echoed from afar!

"Boom—!!!"

The sound was so massive it made the whole street tremble!

The ground beneath Ilya's feet shook, and she staggered, nearly falling!

She whirled sharply to look toward the source of the explosion—

In the distance, a building was collapsing!

Huge shards of the structure cascaded down like a waterfall, the rising dust blotting out the sky!

Golden and black lights flickered wildly in the dust, and eerie green glints flashed intermittently!

Faint silhouettes could be seen tangled in the chaos, each collision spawning another explosion!

Ilya's eyes widened as she stared at the apocalyptic scene, utterly speechless.

The gray‑haired girl also watched that direction, her eyes under the brim narrowing slightly.

"Lively."

She said lightly, then withdrew her gaze and looked back at Ilya.

"That woman, over there?"

Ilya snapped back to herself and nodded forcefully.

"She's in that hotel! Though I don't know why it exploded..."

The gray‑haired girl nodded, pulled the Rein, and the Pink Horse turned around, preparing to leave.

Ilya watched her silhouette and suddenly spoke:

"Wait!"

The gray‑haired girl halted, turned her head toward her.

Ilya took a deep breath, mustered courage, and said:

"I... I also want to go! I want to rescue Robin Jiejie!"

The gray‑haired girl stared at her silently.

A few seconds later, she spoke:

"You're too weak."

Ilya's face flushed instantly.

"I—I'm not weak! I'm a Magical Girl!"

The gray‑haired girl gave no response.

She just stared at her, as if saying, "Can a Magical Girl be eaten?"

Ilya felt increasingly guilty under that gaze, but she clenched her teeth and did not back down.

"Please," she said, "I have to save her."

The gray‑haired girl looked at her for a long, long time.

Finally, she gave a slight nod.

"Follow me."

Ilya's eyes lit up instantly!

The gray‑haired girl pulled the Rein, and the Pink Horse set off toward the explosion.

Ilya hurried to keep up, jogging just enough to match the horse's speed.

"By the way," she asked while running, "what's your name?"

The gray‑haired girl was silent for a second.

"A Xing."

Ilya blinked.

"A Xing? What a strange name..."

The gray‑haired girl gave no response.

"Boom—!!!"

When the explosion sounded, San Yue Qi was rummaging through a drawer.

The whole room shook violently, the files on the bookshelf tumbled down with a rustle, and the plate of bananas on the coffee table rolled across the floor.

San Yue Qi lost balance, slammed into the wall, and a red mark appeared on her forehead.

"What the heck?!"

Lin steadied herself against the wall, her face ashen as she looked out the window.

In the distance, that familiar skyscraper was collapsing.

Golden light and black light intertwined wildly in the smoke, each collision sparking a new explosion.

She had seen those lights before—golden was Jing Yuan, black was…

San Yue Qi hurried to the window, watching the chaos with a furrowed brow.

She didn't know what was happening over there, but she knew one thing—time was running out.

Whether that Jiaoshou was truly dead or not, and whatever tricks those Monkeys still have, they must find a solution quickly.

If the Fusion Project continues, it's not just Dongmu City; the whole planet will suffer.

"Lin."

She turned around, her tone unusually serious, "We have to speed up."

Lin nodded, took a deep breath, and tried to calm herself.

"But we've searched for ages and still haven't found any Jiaoshou..."

San Yue Qi looked around, her gaze landing on the scattered documents.

"No, we did find something."

She walked to Lin's side, picked up the notebook, "At least we know what that Jiaoshou intends. What we need to do next is figure out how to stop it."

Lin gave a wry smile.

"Easy to say, Jiaoshou..."

San Yue Qi ignored her and kept searching.

At that moment, she suddenly remembered something and fished the tiny Clockboy out of her pocket.

"Clockboy, do me a favor."

"Tick?" a faint glow flickered, "What is it, Fen Mao?"

"Can you sense anything special nearby? Like that kind of..."

San Yue Qi thought for a moment, "Something especially important? That Jiaoshou must be hiding some core or something."

Clockboy was silent for a few seconds, then said:

"Tick... downstairs, about three floors down, there's a very strong energy source, tick. That energy smells like the aura on those Monkeys outside, but much stronger, tick."

San Yue Qi's eyes lit up.

"Lin, let's go downstairs!"