Lan Tianzhu Returns in All His Glory!

"..."

"Well..."

Lantian Zhu sighed, his expression gradually returning to its usual calm. "You saved my life, and you saved my destiny."

I thought I'd been taken advantage of by the Snake Man, but it turns out I was recruited instead.

Sigh... never mind.

That's it...

"Senior, you seem to be doing quite well in the Monster Group."

As he said this, Lantian Zhu stretched and looked at Hong: "However, if you do evil... then we will be enemies."

This is Lantian Zhu's persistence, and also proof that her values are correct.

However, red itself is not

Doing evil...

Even in the eyes of ordinary people, the 22nd Group is not "evil," and is even less evil than the citizens who randomly smash things and suddenly turn into monsters.

He runs casinos, lends money, operates underground boxing rings, builds bars, collaborates with Four Great Families, works as a bodyguard, accepts assassination commissions, works as a criminal consultant, and treats patients...

This is the main source of revenue for the 22 Group.

It sounds like a perfectly legitimate industry... well, although quite a few of them do operate on the fringes of the law.

"Thank you for sparing my life. If I have the chance in the future, I will spare your life in return... Farewell, Senior Fei."

Seeing Lantian Zhu preparing to leave after saying this, Hong couldn't help but speak up to stop her, "Wait, let's talk."

Hearing Hong's voice, Lantian Zhu stopped in his tracks.

Then, Hong began to tell her story...

--

Hong was born in Central City... without parents.

Or perhaps they resemble parents.

There are quite a few children like this in Central City.

The Hongxiayu couple died in an attack by a strange man, and Kurenai was also affected by the strange man's magic when she was still a baby.

Because she's not a teenage girl, she can't become a magical girl.

However, someone noticed the potential of such children... and gathered a group of people together.

They gathered a group of children with magical adaptability who, if stimulated during their teenage years, would likely awaken as magical girls.

Raising them to adulthood, instilling knowledge in them in advance, training them to be tools of slaughter... this was the First-generation Purge Squad.

Or rather, the precursor to the Purge Squad.

Of course, the so-called "killing tools" are not for killing monsters... As for what to kill, there's no need to be too specific.

It's definitely not for killing insects or rats.

Then, out of the more than one hundred children who gathered, only a dozen or so eventually became magical girls... These were the first and second teams of the Purge Squad.

The other children who failed to awaken their powers became the primary targets of the magical girl squad... for testing purposes.

During the process, some magical girls developed feelings and refused the mission to kill their comrades, thus... becoming the new targets.

Thus, the assassination squad belonging to the Central City was formed.

He makes money by accepting commissions to kill people, including magical girls.

Although they later started recruiting peripheral members, which can be considered a transformation... this is not something to worry about.

Red is the team's ace.

Bloodless and tearless, precise and efficient.

Even the other members of the Purge Squad have their own hobbies, more or less... listening to music or something else.

But Red didn't.

He even seemed devoid of emotion... No, perhaps he did, but it was a murderous intent toward "evil."

So what is "evil"?

They were street thugs, drunken gamblers—these were all her targets... As for whether her targets were actually bad people.

At that time, she was too preoccupied to distinguish.

How long will this kind of life last?

At that time, Hong didn't care about this issue; she wouldn't think about it... She was busy with missions, eating, and sleeping.

That was her entire life.

All of this change stemmed from the "Snake Disaster" incident... Events in Central City, unless they are major events, would not have a specific name.

At most, it can be represented by a date.

Therefore, this is a truly significant matter.

On that day, Hong Xiawu Hong was swallowed by Giant Serpent... However, what awaited her was not death.

When Hong Xiawu Hong opened her eyes, she saw a tidy room.

"You're awake?"

"That's what the King of Wind City asked."

"That's it, I was saved... so I won't leave the group. Just as you care about your savior, I care about mine too."

As Hong said this, she looked at Lantian Zhu.

"..." Lantian Zhu paused for a moment, then nodded, understanding Hong's meaning. "I see, Cong Yu is indeed very kind."

In response to Lantian Zhu's words, Kurenai corrected her, saying, "It has nothing to do with Cong Yu, it's Snake Man... who is now the King of Wind City."

"..."

"..." Damn it, is Cong Yu really the King of Wind City?!

Could it really not be true?

Lantian Zhu began to question his own guesses.

Chapter 257 Lantian Zhu! A Dignified Resurrection!

"Ding-dong--"

"I'm back."

As Lantian Zhu said this and rang the doorbell, her mind was in turmoil... What was she thinking? She wasn't thinking about anything.

Upon hearing Yaochuan Guang's voice saying "Welcome back," Lantian Zhu suddenly felt his mind go blank.

Then...

He collapsed with a "thud" at the doorway.

On the eve of losing consciousness, what she heard was...

"Little Lan! What's wrong, Little Lan?"

"Sister Little Lan, it looks like (sad)!"

"She died of old age; this is a victory for magical girls."

"..."

"???" Lantian Zhu fainted in confusion...

"Thump--"

His head slammed against the floor of the entryway, making a crisp sound.

The sound... it seems he was exhausted, almost to the point of death.

He fought through torture and pain, then got brutally beaten, his magic was squeezed to its absolute limit... and there were also physical injuries.

He was even shot through the abdomen midway through...

It's different for a magical girl to actively repair her body than to rest and wait for her body to recover automatically.

The latter is slower, but that's just a natural progression.

The former requires a large amount of magic power and puts a considerable burden on both the body and mind... In this respect, magical girls and monsters are the same.

Before that, her flesh and blood vessels had been burned and electrocuted by her own hidden attacks, almost turning them into charcoal.

Exhaustion and overexertion were enough to get her home.

The obsession that sustained her through half her life has melted away, and the mystery of revenge that tormented her has also been solved.

Upon hearing Yaochuan Guang's voice, Lantian Zhu, whose mind instantly relaxed, felt the taut string in his heart snap.

She became a Buddha (for real).

Subsequently, Lantian Zhu was buried under the elm tree at the entrance.

(Lantian Zhu: Hey! Where did that elm tree come from at the entrance?)

The following year, the elm flowers also bloomed quite brightly.

(Lantian Zhu: My sister's dead! I'm not dead yet!!!)

"..." Okay, actually Cong Yu picked her up in a princess carry and put her back in her own room... Cong Yu even thoughtfully covered her with a blanket.

However, there's no need to worry about it too much.

After all, Lantian Zhu is a magical girl...

"Is Little Lan alright?"

As Yaochuan Guang untied his apron, he said this, sitting down next to the soundly sleeping Lantian Zhu.

"I'm physically fine, but my mind is completely exhausted."

Cong Yu offered a simple assessment, looking at the still-sleeping Lantian Zhu: "A magical girl's body doesn't get tired, and she even has the ability to go for long periods without sleeping."

"But after experiencing too much... you still feel a kind of 'false tiredness,' which is mental exhaustion."

Yaochuan Guang pondered Cong Yu's words for a moment, then crossed his arms and tried to recall them, racking his brains for a while...

I can't imagine if she herself has ever felt "mentally exhausted".

She couldn't remember anything until Cong Yu patted her on the head.

"Alright, alright, I know you're never heartbroken."

As she said this, Cong Yu felt a little emotional... Yaochuan Guang, a guy who never had too many worries on his mind, probably never had a mental breakdown.

The only time I felt a little emo was on the day Cong Yu officially announced his coronation as king on the international stage... but it was only for a moment.

I really don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

--

"Lantian Zhu!"

When Lantian Zhu opened her eyes, she was greeted by blinding lights and the constant cheers of the audience.

Everyone was chanting the name of Lantian Zhu.

It's like Lantian Zhu has become some kind of idol... Is she going to hold a concert at the Central City Dome?!

Lantian Zhu couldn't help but look around... and then froze.

Strange, where am I?

Confused, Lantian Zhu realizes that she is now in a fighting ring, and she is one of the fighters.