Unexpected Twists

As Lin Xiaolu dragged the reluctant Bai Jingxuan and Xia Liang out of the Secret Base, Hong Siyu had already gotten into her car and driven out of the parking lot.

Without time to say anything more, Lin Xiaolu rushed out of the residential area, flagged down a taxi on the roadside, and told the driver, "Follow the car in front."

Upon receiving such a strange request, the driver was naturally suspicious, but he didn't refuse—the little girls didn't seem like they had any ulterior motives. He started the gas and followed the car in front, subtly asking a few questions, trying to find out why the young passengers were following someone, to satisfy his own excessive curiosity. However, Lin Xiaolu clearly had no intention of revealing anything, so he wisely stopped asking.

On a weekday afternoon, traffic on the streets was relatively light. While this made traffic flow smoothly, it also indirectly increased the possibility of Lin Xiaolu and the others being exposed. To avoid being noticed by Hong Siyu for following too closely, the girls, just like last time, chose to stay far behind.

While this approach makes the tracking more discreet, it also risks losing track of the target if one isn't careful. Therefore, Lin Xiaolu had to sit in the passenger seat, intently watching Hong Siyu's route.

This gave Bai Jingxuan, who was sitting in the back seat, a little idea.

The older sister was focused on tracking the activity, so it seemed like she could take the opportunity to do something underhanded.

However, she had no idea what Xia Liang was thinking. In her opinion, it wasn't difficult to send a message in such a small space while avoiding Lin Xiaolu's gaze; the real challenge was to keep it from Xia Liang, who was sitting next to her.

Bai Jingxuan secretly reached into her coat pocket and touched her phone—a phone that Larkspur had given her after she joined the Magical Girl Squad. Feeling a little guilty, she glanced in Xia Liang's direction.

This action was actually very subtle, its purpose being merely to confirm the other party's movements, without any other intentions. But to Bai Jingxuan's surprise, when she looked at Xia Liang, she found that Xia Liang was also looking at her.

Not only that, but as their eyes met, Xia Liang winked at her.

I'll cover for you.

She opened and closed her lips, speaking silently to Bai Jingxuan.

After saying this, worried that Bai Jingxuan might not understand what she meant, she thoughtfully pointed to her pocket, glanced at Lin Xiaolu through the rearview mirror, and made a gesture as if she were making a phone call.

After all this, whether Bai Jingxuan was slow to understand or not, she understood Xia Liang's meaning: Xia Liang seemed to be on her side.

Having confirmed this, she breathed a sigh of relief, her tense body relaxing slightly. She deftly pulled her phone from her coat pocket, and like a schoolchild trying to avoid the teacher, she carefully placed it against the back of the driver's seat and cautiously turned on the screen.

As she did this, Xia Liang casually leaned forward into the passenger seat, poked her head out from beside Lin Xiaolu, and deliberately shouted, "So? Did you figure out where she's going?"

Where to?

Lin Xiaolu glanced at her with some confusion. "How could I possibly tell? I can't predict the future."

"Didn't you notice she was driving towards the suburban elevated highway?"

Xia Liang then stretched out her left hand and pointed forward, creating an obstacle between Lin Xiaolu's view and the rearview mirror. "At this time of day, heading towards the suburbs, isn't it obvious? She's going to work."

Because there was a taxi driver nearby who was unaware of the situation, she couldn't say "Hong Siyu going to the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau" directly, and could only use "going to work" to refer to it. However, this was enough for Lin Xiaolu to understand her meaning.

However, understanding something doesn't mean Lin Xiaolu agrees with Xia Liang's views.

You're oversimplifying things.

Clutching the seatbelt, Lin Xiaolu stared intently out the windshield. "If she really is going to work, why would she leave looking like this?"

The "appearance" she referred to was Hong Siyu's form as a magical girl.

For some unknown reason, since Hong Siyu returned to Fangting City as a magical girl, she has almost never revealed her true form, spending most of her time in the magical girl's appearance.

This wouldn't normally be a big deal; in a simpler sense, it could be dismissed as a matter of personal preference. But in Lin Xiaolu's eyes, it's a glaring point of suspicion.

"I've already told you, you're overthinking it..."

Xia Liang chatted idly with Lin Xiaolu, while Bai Jingxuan seized the opportunity to discreetly edit a message on her phone.

Because of her limited experience using mobile phones, Bai Jingxuan's typing skills were very poor, requiring her to stare intently at the keyboard to type. Her awkward posture, coupled with the taxi's frequent bumps, made her progress even slower.

Fortunately, Xia Liang for time, using various irrelevant topics to distract Lin Xiaolu and keep her eyes off the back seat. This gave Bai Jingxuan ample time to slowly edit the information.

Time passed by, and when she had finished typing most of what she wanted to type, a thin layer of sweat had appeared on Bai Jingxuan's forehead. She clenched her toes, bit her lower lip slightly, and kept glancing at the passenger seat, afraid that Lin Xiaolu might suddenly turn around and look at her.

As it turned out, she was lucky, because Lin Xiaolu didn't notice the subtle movements behind her until she finished typing the information.

However, she was also unlucky. Just as she was about to send the message with only a few characters left, a bicycle ran a red light at the intersection in front of the taxi and sped past her at an extremely high speed.

Squeak--

The driver reacted quickly, using both hands and feet to slam on the brakes while simultaneously pulling the handbrake in time. This narrowly prevented a collision.

After completing the maneuver, the driver, feeling both relieved and furious, rolled down his window and yelled at the cyclist, "How do you ride a bike? Are you out of your mind?!"

However, the cyclist who was nearly hit seemed completely unaware that he had just brushed past death. He merely swerved slightly, glanced back at the driver, and then rode off without looking back, without even a word of apology.

Seeing that the other party showed no sign of stopping, even the driver was somewhat stunned, watching their departing figure and muttering, "Who was that?"

If the driver was simply momentarily stunned, then the passengers on the bus were completely out of their minds.

Just as the car braked, a cell phone suddenly flew out of the back seat and landed right at Lin Xiaolu's feet.

It's Bai Jingxuan's phone.

She didn't have time to put it away, nor did she have time to regain her balance, and she crashed violently into the back of the chair in front of her. The phone, which she was already holding awkwardly, slipped from her hand, resulting in the scene before her.

The phone screen was even in the input interface, but because the keyboard took up most of the screen, the input content was not fully displayed.

The girls were speechless as they stared at the phone lying on the ground.

Bai Jingxuan's mind went blank, and she was completely at a loss for what to do; Lin Xiaolu stared blankly, probably still thinking about what had happened; Xia Liang's smile froze on her face, and the casual conversation she was about to say also stopped.

Even though a car accident almost happened, their attention was completely focused on the cell phone on the ground, not on the danger that had just occurred.

"Ah... Xiao Xuan, you're so careless!"

Of the three, Xia Liang was the first to react, quickly changing her strategy based on the situation. She reached for her phone, saying, "Don't play on your phone while sitting in the car. What if you hit something when we braked?"

She feigned concern for Bai Jingxuan's safety, attempting to retrieve the phone amidst the chaos. However, just as her outstretched hand touched the phone, another hand pressed down on the back of Bai Jingxuan's hand.

She turned her head somewhat stiffly, and her gaze met Lin Xiaolu's.

"What's written on the phone?" Lin Xiaolu asked, blinking as she vaguely realized something.

"Mmm... uh..."

Bai Jingxuan, who was in the back seat, had already reached out to take the phone from Xia Liang, but when she heard Lin Xiaolu's question, her outstretched hand trembled involuntarily. "N-nothing was written."

"If you didn't write anything, then why write such a long paragraph?"

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Lin Xiaolu's mind raced. "Or rather, what's so urgent that you need to type so much in the car? Can't you just make a phone call?"

Bai Jingxuan felt sweat beading on the back of her hands.

"That's... that's..."

She was never good at lying, so she tried hard to find a reason and once again turned to Xia Liang for help. However, this time, the person she was asking for help was also in dire straits.

At this moment, Xia Liang could only grip the phone screen on the ground tightly, preventing Lin Xiaolu from seeing what was written on it. Because they had used up too many topics in their earlier chat, she couldn't find a good reason to change the subject.

The atmosphere inside the car froze for a moment. The driver, who had just stuck his head out to yell at someone, looked back at the scene inside the car, completely bewildered.

He scratched his chin, somewhat troubled, wondering if he should ask what had happened. However, before he could make a decision, something even stranger caught his eye out of the corner of his eye.

He turned his head and looked in the direction he had noticed out of the corner of his eye, and his mouth suddenly gaped open.

At the same time, the girls, who had been in a standoff, also noticed the sudden appearance of the image. They looked out the car window, their eyes widening as well.

--There is an Aberrant Beast there.

It was only at this moment that they understood what the cyclist who ran the red light had been doing: he wasn't looking for trouble, but rather he was fleeing from an Aberrant Beast.

Seeing the Aberrant Beast that had suddenly appeared at the intersection, Lin Xiaolu couldn't help but look across the intersection to see if Hong Siyu's car was still there, but unfortunately, there was only emptiness in her field of vision.

She realized that if she didn't catch up now, she might really fall behind Hong Siyu.

If she were to speak of her inner feelings, she really wanted to tell the driver to keep chasing, but reason told her that as a magical girl, no matter the circumstances, defeating the Aberrant Beast was always her top priority.

With little time to decide, she gazed at the open road ahead, her emotions ultimately turning into a sigh.

"--Why are there Aberrant Beast at this time?!"

Muttering a complaint, she released her hand from Xia Liang's. She unbuckled her seatbelt, opened the car door, and shouted to the two girls behind her:

"What are you still looking at? Get off the bus!"

"Wait a minute, are you getting off here?"

The driver's voice trembled slightly. "Didn't you see what's outside the car? Hurry up and sit tight, we have to get out of here!"

Unfortunately, his opinion didn't reach the girls at all, because before he could finish speaking, the three girls filed out of the car. Only two ten-yuan bills were left on the seats, presumably to pay for the fare.

He tried to find the children, but couldn't spot a single one. Seeing that the Aberrant Beast had noticed him and was charging towards the road, waving its claws, he had no choice but to grit his teeth, abandon his plan to rescue them, and accelerate away.

After that, the magical girls, now fully transformed, swarmed forward and engaged the Aberrant Beast in fierce combat.

This battle was destined to be unfair.

This suddenly appearing Aberrant Beast was merely an ordinary Looper Tier, an incredibly dangerous monster to ordinary citizens, but to the Fangting City Squad, it was just a punching bag.

Furthermore, because of its appearance, several girls were more or less embarrassed, and in a particularly bad mood, they hit it with extra force. Within minutes, the unfortunate, crippled Aberrant Beast collapsed to the ground with a wail, turning into Echo in Lin Xiaolu's hand.

Having dealt with the Aberrant Beast with a disgruntled expression, Lin Xiaolu hadn't forgotten her purpose for coming. She quickly stood on the wreckage and looked into the distance, but unfortunately, Hong Siyu and the vehicle had completely disappeared from view.

Now she had to admit the truth—her stalking had failed.

It wasn't because of a mistake in the operation, nor because of a traitor's betrayal, but because of an Aberrant Beast that appeared out of nowhere.

"Oh well, if we lost her, we lost her. I already said, just look in that direction, Sister Hong is definitely just going to work."

Xia Liang patted her shoulder comfortingly, but the smile on her face didn't reveal her true intentions, "We rarely get a half-day off, why don't we find somewhere to have some fun?"

"Mmm, mmm!" Bai Jingxuan quickly deleted the message she had edited after getting her phone back, and then responded like a good girl.

"You two! You two!"

Although it was her own decision, Lin Xiaolu was still so angry that she stomped her feet. "Why are you so happy when the operation failed! Where is your backbone? Where is your ambition? Where is your spirit of unity?"

"It was not a fault of war, it was not a fault of war."

Xia Liang continued to smooth things over, saying, "We've already done our best, it's just unfortunate, there's nothing we can do about it, don't worry about it."

"Sister Xia Liang is right!" Bai Jingxuan nodded vigorously.

"What do you mean by bad luck? We were almost successful!"

Lin Xiaolu was furious, then pointed at Bai Jingxuan: "And you, what do you mean 'right'? You little traitor, were you trying to tip someone off just now?"

Bai Jingxuan's nodding motion suddenly stopped, turning into a violent shaking of her head.

"You're overthinking it. How could a well-behaved girl like Xiao Xuan do something like that?"

Xia Liang nudged Lin Xiaolu's shoulder, her smile growing even brighter, "There's really no other way, we've already failed. Let's just find somewhere nearby to have some fun. I've already decided on a place!"

"You!"

Lin Xiaolu turned and glared at Xia Liang, but after a moment, her attitude softened slightly. Perhaps realizing the situation was truly beyond repair, she lowered her head dejectedly. "Fine, tell me, where should we go?"

After all, it was a rare vacation, and she didn't want to waste the rest of her time on negative emotions.

"Let me see... The name is Fangting World Trade Mall, which is near the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau."

With Lin Xiaolu's approval, Xia Liang opened her phone and went to her notes. "It's a government-invested shopping plaza that just opened not long ago. I've heard there are quite a few interesting shops, but I haven't been there yet."

"Near the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau?"

"Yes, it only takes about twenty minutes to walk to the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau."

Xia Liang showed her phone screen and said, "If you'd like, we can play until after work, then go to the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau to check if Sister Hong is actually at work. If she really did come out of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, that will confirm what I said, right?"

"What if she didn't come from the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau?"

"Then I'll go with you next time, okay?" Xia Liang said, hands on her hips, feeling pleased with herself for achieving her goal.

As for Lin Xiaolu, whose plan had failed, she was sullen and felt uninterested in anything. However, with a near-loss-cutting attitude, she reluctantly nodded. "... I hope you keep your word."

The girls, who were unable to continue their pursuit due to various coincidences, were unaware that Hong Siyu's car was indeed heading towards the suburbs, towards the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau. However, just before reaching its destination, a slight change occurred.

The car turned to the side.