“Huh?”

Lin Han was a bit puzzled.

“This way it’ll be convenient to keep in touch later,”

Su Lingyin said with a smile.

“If, by any chance, Xiao Feng has any situation later, I can let you know in time, right?”

Lin Han didn’t really mind.

So Su Lingyin contentedly scanned Lin Han’s friend code, softly humming a song in her heart.

Great.

Although she was beaten terribly by the Mutant today and was a bit socially humiliated, it wasn’t completely without gains.

She finally met the legendary “Brother”.

That girl Jiang Wanfeng usually seemed like a sunny and lively person, but in reality, she maintained a perfectly measured psychological distance from most people. Even her fellow Magical Girl companions could hardly say they had truly reached her heart.

But uniquely, whenever Lin Han was mentioned, her whole demeanor would change.

Su Lingyin had been curious for a long time.

Now, not only had she met Lin Han in person, but she had also conveniently gotten his contact info. She might even be able to use it to tease Jiang Wanfeng in the future.

If she could just super casually drop a line in front of her later on—

“Oh my, Xiao Feng, your Brother seems to want to ask me out to play, what should I do…”

Just imagining Jiang Wanfeng’s instantly frozen face made Su Lingyin feel like she could down three large bowls of rice.

Today’s social death wasn’t for nothing.

It was worth it!

Lin Han looked at Su Lingyin’s suddenly cheerful expression and felt that something was off, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Anyway, thank you for telling me that Wanfeng is okay.”

“You’re welcome. After all, you kept my secret for me.”

Su Lingyin put her phone away.

“I’ll be going now, then.”

Su Lingyin walked to the door, then turned back to glance at Lin Han.

“By the way, it’s probably not completely safe outside yet. You’d better wait until the people from SAVE finish cleaning up before you go out.”

Lin Han nodded. Then, unable to hold back, he hesitated for a moment before reminding her:

“Next time you change your clothes, it’s best to check your surroundings first.”

The air fell silent for a second.

Su Lingyin’s face instantly turned bright red.

Her hard-won calm popped like a balloon.

“Y-You don’t need to remind me of that!”

She shouted in embarrassed annoyance, turned around, and pushed the door open to leave. Then, with a flushed face, she feigned a fierce glare and added:

“And, forget about it!”

Outside Qingchuan Public High School.

Zhou Ran looked at the inside of the campus from afar.

The barrier that had originally covered the outside of the school was peeling off bit by bit. Under the sunlight, Qingchuan Public finally revealed its true appearance.

Cries, shouts, and police sirens mixed together, turning the originally quiet school gate into a scene of chaos.

Zhou Ran held onto his magically modified bicycle, his brows relaxing.

“It looks like… the matter is resolved? Such high efficiency, as expected of the Special Operations Division.”

He muttered to himself.

The Team Leader should be fine too, right?

I hope he found his sister…

Zhou Ran thought, and just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, his heart suddenly felt as if it were gripped by an icy hand, and a cold, gloomy presence approached from behind.

Zhou Ran’s smile froze on his face.

“No need to turn around.”

A hoarse and gloomy voice sounded from behind him.

Zhou Ran froze in place, a drop of cold sweat sliding down his forehead. He knew who had come.

“The plan failed.”

That Mutant who had successfully escaped during the clash with SAVE—Rust Jaw—had appeared behind Zhou Ran at some unknown point.

His voice was very low.

“The plan should have been foolproof. The Barrier could have shielded us for at least an hour; SAVE’s main force wasn’t in W City, there were only a few Magical Girls in the school who hadn’t blossomed yet, and the Ability Class was within the suppression device’s range.”

Rust Jaw paused, his tone laced with uncontrollable resentment.

“But SAVE arrived much faster than expected.”

Zhou Ran’s breath hitched.

Rust Jaw’s voice grew even colder.

“Did you leak it?”

“No.”

Zhou Ran finally spoke. His voice had lost its usual brightness, replaced by a deathly calm.

“You know I couldn’t have leaked it.”

“Then why did they arrive so quickly?”

“SAVE found out on their own. The Intelligence Processing Division extracted Qingchuan Public as the target. Our Team Leader reacted quickly, and the Division Chief immediately contacted the Special Operations Division.”

“So you did nothing?”

Rust Jaw scoffed coldly.

The next second, Zhou Ran’s body shuddered violently.

Agonizing pain exploded from deep within his chest, as if something were forcefully shredding his internal organs.

Zhou Ran let out a muffled groan, the veins on his forehead bulging, but he clenched his teeth and forced himself not to cry out.

The pain lasted for a long time.

Rust Jaw’s voice came from behind him.

“That just means you failed at your job. I arranged for you to infiltrate SAVE so you could keep track of their movements and hinder them when necessary.”

“And the result?”

“You piece of trash.”

Zhou Ran panted heavily.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Don’t say you’re sorry to me.”

There was not a shred of pity in Rust Jaw’s tone.

“Also, why are you here? You weren’t part of today’s plan.”

Zhou Ran slowly raised his head and looked toward the chaotic school gates ahead, where many students were walking out accompanied by teachers.

Although they were more or less injured, the joy of surviving a disaster still hung on many of their faces.

“The Team Leader wanted to come here.”

Zhou Ran said in a low voice,

“He said his little sister is inside the school. The Team Leader is just an ordinary person; he can’t affect the plan.”

“So?”

“I just… kind of understand the Team Leader.”

Zhou Ran’s voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself.

“You know, I also have a younger brother. I think the feelings of an older brother are all quite similar.”

The air suddenly fell silent.

Then, the severe pain struck for a second time.

This wave of pain was even fiercer than before. Zhou Ran sharply arched his body, his breath almost cut off.

This time, he finally couldn’t hold back, squeezing a suppressed groan of pain from his throat.

Rust Jaw’s hoarse voice grated like a piece of iron scraping across a blackboard.

“Don’t use your brother as an excuse.”

“And don’t do anything unnecessary.”

“The next time I catch you acting on your own, you can forget about ever seeing him again.”

Zhou Ran’s pupils shrank slightly as sweat dripped from his chin.

Compared to the physical agony, the terror those words brought to Zhou Ran ran much deeper.

After a long while, the pain finally receded, and Rust Jaw continued:

“Veil Weaver was captured by SAVE. Before she was taken, she tried to send me a message.”

“A woman suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She’s very strong. She’s not from SAVE, nor is she like a Magical Girl from The Kingdom. Do you know who she is?”

“I don’t know. I was outside the whole time.”

Zhou Ran’s voice was slightly hoarse.

“I only saw the Barrier collapse. I didn’t see what happened inside.”

Rust Jaw remained silent for a few seconds.

In those few seconds, Zhou Ran could feel the other’s cold gaze falling upon him, scrutinizing him up and down, as if judging whether he was telling the truth or not.

Finally, Rust Jaw coldly snorted.

His presence began to retreat.

That hoarse voice sounded for the last time—

“Do what you’re supposed to do. Before every operation from now on, think of your brother.”

The gloomy, oppressive feeling vanished.

Zhou Ran continued to stand in place.

It was noisy all around.

But he felt as if he were isolated behind a layer of transparent glass, sensing only that the world was very far away from him.

After a long time, he looked down at his hand.

It was still trembling.

So he clenched his fist tightly.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Only when his nails dug into his palm and blood seeped out did the trembling finally stop.

Not far away, in the direction of the school gate, a dust-covered figure walked out—

It was Lin Han.

Zhou Ran took a deep breath, gradually suppressing all the pain and exhaustion on his face.

Then, he once again revealed that sunny, cheerful smile, just as if nothing had ever happened.

Zhou Ran immediately waved his hand carelessly.

“Team Leader!”

He smiled radiantly, his voice as full of energy as ever.

“You finally made it out!”