An Alien Mission, Xia Ningzhi's Troubles (Please Vote)

Red Lotus hovered beneath the sky on her Wind-Fire Wheels. She gave a slight nod and quietly watched the girl in the Gothic dress standing in the alley.

The evening wind blew past, and the scarlet glimmer in her lowered eyes flickered like a dying candle flame.

After a long while, her lips moved. "Xiao Li... why is it you?"

Ember stood motionless in the alley.

She quietly watched the smiling face formed from a wisp of lingering smoke. A moment later, she lowered her head and looked at the bouquet of lilies that had fallen to the ground.

The petals scattered in the evening breeze, curling toward the night sky beyond the alley.

Following the drifting flowers, Ember turned her head slightly. At that moment, police cars sped down the street, their alternating red and blue lights faintly shining into the alley and stretching out her shadow.

Piercing sirens rang through the entire street, shattering the silence in the alley.

At that moment, Red Lotus, hovering in midair, finally spoke. Her reminder was unhurried.

"You can't stay here. All the nearby surveillance cameras have been destroyed. When the police arrive and see this, they'll only assume you killed the two criminals. You're already at the center of a media storm. If this gets reported, the consequences for you will spiral out of control."

Hearing the voice from above, the girl in the Gothic dress froze for a moment before looking up at the figure standing on Wind-Fire Wheels in the air.

"You are..." she murmured.

"I helped you on the overpass last time, though you probably don't remember me."

"I really don't."

"This is my advice to you," Red Lotus said calmly. "Leave before you're discovered, so there won't be any unnecessary misunderstandings."

Xiao Li isn't like me. She isn't a vigilante, but a magical girl officially recruited by the authorities. Public opinion affects them greatly. She needs to learn how to protect herself, Red Lotus thought.

"I wasn't planning to show my face in the first place. I don't need your reminder." Ember paused. "You're being a little nosy."

"But it doesn't look like you were planning to leave."

Ember thought for a moment. "I have a question for you."

"Ask."

"Do you know who White Jack is?" The girl in the Gothic dress raised her eyes and looked straight into Red Lotus's.

Red Lotus suddenly fell silent. After a while, she gave a soft laugh, one tinged with irritation and a touch of self-mockery.

Compared to that weirdo, shouldn't you be more concerned with who I am, my dear little sister?

After a moment, she shook her head.

"I don't know who he is, but he's dangerous. You need to stay away from him, or you might end up getting burned."

Before Magical Girl Ember could respond, Red Lotus rode her rapidly spinning Wind-Fire Wheels away.

The girl raced beneath the night sky of Dawn Capital, passing one skyscraper after another, with garbled advertising jingles ringing in her ears. The wheels beneath her feet accelerated continuously, scattering occasional sparks. She went faster and faster, as if fleeing from something.

The city's neon lights could not reach the night sky. The darkness was like a curtain, like a black tide that seemed ready to swallow her whole. With nowhere to run, she drifted beneath the night like a flickering firefly, liable to be extinguished by the wind at any moment.

Not long afterward, she arrived at Old Jingmai Port and landed inside an abandoned, long-deserted lighthouse by the sea.

The Wind-Fire Wheels slowly stopped spinning, then vanished together with the Flame-Tip Spear and Red Sash.

Xia Ningzhi stepped onto the ground, removed her metal mask, and took off her long metal coat.

A moment later, she stood leaning beside the window. She had changed back into her blue-and-white school uniform, her hair still loose behind her. The sound of waves crashing against the shore filled her ears.

She turned her head, gazing at the sea beneath the night from the corner of her eye.

Xia Ningzhi's feelings were complicated.

The radio that had constantly been playing in her heart had finally fallen silent. White Jack's words from the overpass no longer echoed from it.

It was really just as White Jack had said.

Her younger sister was Magical Girl Ember.

Yet as her older sister, after all these years, she had never realized it. She had not even noticed the slightest clue, allowing her sister to venture through dangerous circumstances until things had reached this point.

When Xia Ningzhi thought of how her sister had clearly been trapped in a situation where the entire world condemned her, while only days ago she herself had scrolled through those social media posts and felt it had nothing to do with her, that it was merely some stranger's affair, a dull pain rose in her chest.

If I'd known then, I could have comforted Xiao Li.

Who exactly is White Jack...

Why does he know more about her family than I do? Last night, White Jack even mentioned Dad. Could Dad be hiding some secret too?

Maybe I should take this more seriously. When I have time, I'll follow Dad again and see what he does at the police station.

After a long while, she turned to look out at the pitch-black night beyond the lighthouse, staring at the shattered white foam.

As if she had made up her mind, Xia Ningzhi tied up her hair and took a deep breath.

"I'll go home first."

Meanwhile, in a bedroom on the other side of the world.

Ke Mingqing opened his eyes. Before him was a familiar ceiling, down to every spot of mildew.

At the moment, the back of his head rested against the back of his swivel chair. His neck felt a little sore from being propped up for so long.

"Having to prevent cervical spondylosis at such a young age." He rubbed his stiff neck, rolled it twice, and muttered softly, "Still, why was the reward for killing a superhuman so low? Was it because those two small fries were too low-level?"

Ke Mingqing curled his lip and brought up the relevant description.

[The following is the reward table for killing a superhuman of each rank for the first time:

First kill of an E-rank or D-rank superhuman: 1,000 Superhuman Coins;

C-rank superhuman: 2,000 Superhuman Coins and one D-rank Equipment Chest;

B-rank superhuman: 3,000 Superhuman Coins and one C-rank Equipment Chest;

A-rank superhuman: 5,000 Superhuman Coins and one B-rank Equipment Chest;

S-rank superhuman: 10,000 Superhuman Coins and one A-rank Equipment Chest.

Additionally, the experience obtainable from killing superhumans of different ranks is as follows—E-rank: 100 EXP / D-rank: 200 EXP / C-rank: 500 EXP / B-rank: 2,000 EXP / A-rank: 5,000 EXP / S-rank: 10,000 EXP.]

"There aren't even any SS-rank superhumans in the world?" Ke Mingqing thought. "Then once us players have developed for a few months, won't we be able to steamroll everything?"

Just then, he heard a knock at the door. He got out of bed and opened it, revealing Xia Zili's face.

"What's up?" he asked, puzzled.

Xia Zili was silent for a moment. "My sister said she'll be home soon. Let's go downstairs to meet her. Dad bought a cake too."

"We're taking the college entrance exam in the same year. After we finish, won't we get to eat two cakes?" Ke Mingqing shrugged.

Though six months from now, it'll be either you die or I die. We won't live to see the college entrance exam anyway, he thought.

"Are you afraid you won't eat yourself to death?" Xia Zili asked.

"It's better to buy one cake and share it, otherwise it would be too wasteful," Xia Wenna said from the balcony as she came out carrying a basket of clothes.

Ke Mingqing glanced at Xia Wenna, and a mission panel suddenly popped up before his eyes.

[Main Quest 5 (Phase One): Use your second identity to establish contact with the alien colonizer "Z12235." (Hint: This mission is extremely difficult. Proceed with caution.)]

You dare give me this mission, but I wouldn't dare do it... He clicked his tongue inwardly. What if I end up bringing Mom's alien invasion plan forward?

"Did you hear that?" Xia Zili's words pulled him from his thoughts. "Even Mom said so."

"Look at you, throwing your weight around with borrowed authority." Ke Mingqing rolled his eyes at her.

After a moment of silence, Xia Zili changed the subject.

"By the way, there's something I want to ask you."

"What?"

"What do you think of White Jack?" As she said this, Xia Zili raised her eyes and stared unblinkingly into Ke Mingqing's.

As if she wanted to find something in the depths of his eyes.