In Search Of

A deep blue magical trail suddenly streaked across the dark night sky, disappearing into the thick clouds and silently traversing most of the city.

A glance at her phone screen, the large "Not Connected" message making Larkspur even more uneasy, filled her with unease. Her face darkened, she gritted her teeth, and steadily increased her flying speed, heading towards the apartment Hong Siyu, as she remembered it.

She still couldn't stay at home.

Because when she tried to contact Hong Siyu phone, she couldn't get through no matter what she did.

She knew that separating from the newcomers now might play right into the enemy's hands; the mysterious phone call that revealed intelligence might also be a trap set by the enemy. But her intuition told her: what was said on the phone was true.

The fact that the other party called out the name "Cornflower" and also used "Morning Glory," the magical girl codename belonging to Hong Siyu, already increased the credibility of their words. Moreover, this completely matched Larkspur's own speculation.

Retired magical girls can almost never regain their magic; this is an ironclad rule in the Magic Kingdom. And to see Fairy, one must possess magic power far exceeding that of ordinary people.

Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for Hong Siyu, a retired magical girl, to see Moko.

Knowing this, and reconsidering what Hong Siyu said when she left, Larkspur suddenly sensed a very strange meaning.

Does she already know something?

What is the meaning behind the phrase "It's up to you, senior"?

Furthermore, the fact that she suddenly brought all three children to her home tonight—was she trying to protect herself from something?

The emergence of a truth led to the birth of more new questions. Larkspur felt that her mind was filled with questions, and even trying to sort out a clue was extremely difficult.

To find the answers to all these questions, the most important thing she needs to do right now is to find Hong Siyu.

This is why she went to the apartment where the other person lived as soon as possible.

Following the path of memory, it flew to Hong Siyu's apartment balcony, casually used magic threads to pull open the latch, Larkspur almost pounced into the apartment, calling out to the inside:

"Hong Siyu!"

However, there was no response from the empty apartment.

The Larkspur knew that the worst had indeed happened.

It had been almost an hour since Hong Siyu left her home. If nothing unexpected happened, she should have already returned home. If she wasn't home now, she must have gone somewhere else along the way.

Where will she go? Where can she go? And wherever she goes, is the current situation truly of her own choosing?

With these questions in mind, Larkspur turned on the lights in Hong Siyu's house and looked around, trying to find clues in the space.

Hong Siyu's apartment wasn't exactly tidy, but it wasn't particularly messy either—aside from the blankets carelessly tossed on the bed and the overflowing trash can, it was fairly organized.

Larkspur squatted by the bed, opened the bedside table and rummaged through it for a while, but found nothing except some personal clothes and small items.

She turned around and opened the wardrobe, only to find that the clothes inside far exceeded the wardrobe's capacity, spilling out directly through the open opening. If she hadn't reacted quickly, she probably would have been instantly buried under the clothes that rushed out.

The clothes were secured with magic threads, Larkspur searched the wardrobe but still found nothing.

So she walked to the island in the open kitchen, picked up a beer can from the counter, and found that the aluminum cans were all empty, their long-dried interiors indicating that they had been placed there a long time ago.

This seems to indirectly suggest that Hong Siyu has not returned to this apartment for several days.

Is it because she's been going to the Secret Base to train new recruits after work these days? Or is there some other reason?

The problems didn't resolve with the investigation; instead, they continued to escalate. Larkspur tried to find clues about Hong Siyu and her whereabouts in the apartment, but to no avail.

The investigation has reached a stalemate here.

Left with no other option, she took out her phone again, opened her contacts, and felt she should seek help from the unknown number to see if the other party could provide any clues.

She raised her hand and pressed the call button, holding the phone to her ear. Her gaze continued to sweep around the room, but it suddenly stopped when it passed the French windows on the balcony, and she couldn't take her eyes off it.

She saw a moth.

It wasn't an insect in the ordinary sense, but a moth far larger than one could imagine, almost as big as a washbasin.

The moth was quietly perched outside the French windows of the apartment balcony, its wings drooping naturally and its body upright, as if observing the scene inside.

The reason for using the word "observing" is that the Larkspur sensed a strong feeling of being watched.

She felt as if she were being watched by an insect.

The phone call was still not connected, Larkspur remained standing there in that position, staring intently at the moth flying outside on the balcony.

"... Hiss."

Then, during this process, the phone next to my ear suddenly started making that familiar static noise.

The strange moth in front of her was certainly eerie, but finding Hong Siyu was the top priority for Larkspur right now, so she decisively shifted her attention to the phone call and immediately asked:

"Hello? Where is Hong Siyu?"

Each unknown call would end when key information was discussed, and she didn't know how long this one would last, so she didn't beat around the bush and asked the most crucial question.

"Hiss... hiss..."

As if he had heard her question, the voice on the other end of the phone began to fluctuate more violently.

After a long string of indistinct noise, a voice, even fainter than before, finally rang out again. "At... high..."

"Very high?" Larkspur frowned immediately and repeated.

"... I usually go there..." The faint voice kept pausing, conveying fragmented words to the Larkspur's ears.

She tried hard to understand what the other person was saying, attempting to remember it all, but the voice continued to grow fainter and fainter until it became almost inaudible.

"Hello? I can't hear you, are you still there?" Larkspur couldn't help but call out to confirm.

There was only static on the other end of the call.

"Hello?"

The noise remained unchanged.

Are you still there?

--"boom!"

Just as Larkspur was turning up the phone volume to hear the other person's voice, a deafening roar suddenly came from the other end of the call. The strong impact made Larkspur feel a jolt all over her body, and she almost threw the phone away.

Fortunately, she reacted quickly and used her magic threads to grab the phone back from her hand. However, when she looked at the phone screen again, it showed that the call had been disconnected.

Unconvinced, the Larkspur dialed the number again, but after a short wait, all she got was a message that the number was "off," leaving her no room for negotiation.

This call with the unknown number has ended without a conclusion.

Larkspur stared blankly at her phone screen for a moment, then suddenly looked at the French windows of the balcony not far away. She saw the huge moth still clinging to the glass, its wings outstretched. Although it made no sound, its trembling antennae seemed to be mocking her with emotion.

This sight only made her feel terrible, and she had no intention of giving this strange insect any chance of survival, so she raised her hand and unleashed Mana Beam.

The azure magic pierced the security glass of the French windows almost instantly, enveloping the enormous moth within. But when the magic dissipated, she discovered that her Mana Beam hadn't hit anything except the windowpane; the moth clinging to the window had vanished without a trace, like a phantom.

The Larkspur quickly walked forward, squatted down to examine the shattered French window, and after confirming that there were no insect remains inside, he felt even more puzzled.

Am I hallucinating?

To confirm this, the Larkspur looked up into the distance, trying to find the trace of the moth's departure, but the dark night sky was deathly silent, and there was nothing flying around.

Perched on the balcony, Larkspur stood on tiptoe, squinting as she looked around: Fangting City was nearly midnight, with nothing but a few lights on. There were no extra vehicles or pedestrians on the streets, and most of the shops and tall buildings along the street had turned off their useless decorative lights. In this desolate city, there was nothing else worth noting.

However, as Larkspur continued to gaze into the distance, a building with a somewhat familiar outline suddenly caught her eye.

At first, Larkspur didn't realize what the outline was, but when she did, her gaze suddenly stopped in that direction—because she remembered that it was the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau.

Hong Siyu's residence is not far from the Fangting City Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, only a little over a kilometer away. She probably chose this place to make commuting easier.

Perhaps she could go to the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau to inquire about the situation? Larkspur pondered, but at this hour, the actual management of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau had already left work. Even if she went, what information could she possibly obtain?

Moreover, from her current perspective, the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau in the distance was shrouded in boundless darkness, with every window pitch black and not a single ray of light shining through.

There's not a single light to be seen; does such Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau even have anyone working there?

This lead still seemed to be a dead end, so Larkspur sighed, doubting herself, and wanted to turn and leave. But as soon as she turned around, her feet froze on the spot, and then her eyes slowly widened.

How come the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau is empty?

It's important to know that the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, as the last Magic Side management organization in a city besides magical girls, always has someone stationed there at all times.

Even if it's close to midnight and the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau might only have a few offices and duty teams left, it shouldn't be this dark and deserted.

Something's not right.

Larkspur felt her previous experiences in Bai'an City were instantly activated; every detail of her memories, which hadn't been there long ago, was so clear that she hadn't forgotten what she had encountered there.

The incident in Bai'an City ultimately fell to the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau. So, what about Fangting City?

It wasn't that she didn't trust the capabilities of the Fangting City Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, but rather that the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau Fangting City indeed failed to demonstrate the necessary sensitivity during the previous attacks.

Even without any evidence, a thought inexplicably arose in her mind:

--I might have to go to the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau now.