Letter of Challenge

"Oh my, where did this cute little girl come from?"

Yuan seemed somewhat surprised by Lin Xiaolu's intrusion, but still showed no displeasure. She casually removed her hand from behind Lin Yun's back, took two steps to the side as if nothing had happened, and her slightly curious gaze shifted back and forth between Lin Yun and Lin Xiaolu at the door. "What's the relationship between you two?"

"I am his daughter," Lin Xiaolu replied as she walked to the desk.

"... This is my daughter."

Although not entirely willing, Lin Yun had no other choice but to answer.

From a rational perspective, he didn't want to reveal his family members to an enemy from Claw Mark, but the current situation was special. If he dared to say, "This isn't my daughter," who knows what kind of trouble Lin Xiaolu would cause.

After all, if someone unaware of the truth saw what happened in the director's office, it would indeed be easy for them to make some uneasy connections. He really shouldn't have added fuel to the fire at this critical juncture.

"So it's true what you said about being married?"

Yuan blinked, slightly surprised, and said, "I thought you were just making up an excuse to brush me off."

"I think anyone with a little common sense knows that lying about this kind of thing is pointless to me."

Lin Yun glanced at her sideways. "So what exactly were you planning to say? You can leave after you've said it."

Is this an invitation to leave?

Yuan squinted and smiled, "We were just drinking and having a great time a moment ago, and now you're ignoring me like this?"

"I hope you can base your statements on reality and not fabricate things that never happened."

Lin Yun said expressionlessly, "There's no such thing as drinking and chatting; it's just that you unilaterally want to drag someone into a drinking session."

"Hmm... whether what I say is true or not probably doesn't matter."

Yuan pointed to Lin Xiaolu, who was already standing in front of the desk. "Look, she doesn't seem to think that way."

Without her saying a word, Lin Yun knew exactly what her daughter was thinking.

Rather, judging from Lin Xiaolu's current half-closed eyes and scrutinizing expression, everyone knows what she's thinking.

"I need an explanation." Seeing that the two had finally stopped talking, she said, "You texted me to get away so you could meet this woman in the office? Who is she?"

"No problem, I can explain."

Lin Yun immediately replied, raising her hand to signal Lin Xiaolu to calm down. "I did send the text message because I wanted to talk to her, but we only discussed serious matters, not what you're thinking."

"Um?"

Lin Xiaolu placed her hands on the table, her gaze sweeping back and forth between Yuan and Lin Yun's faces. "A serious conversation? Do you need to lean over someone's back and whisper in their ear to have a serious conversation?"

Lin Yun was speechless.

No matter how he explained the situation just now, it seemed like he was just trying to cover it up. His best course of action right now was to distance himself from the situation and avoid making things worse by trying to explain.

"You can understand this as..."

After saying only a few words, Lin Yun had to pause, glance at Yuan behind him, and then continue, "This auntie, she's not very approachable in anything she does; it's just her personal style."

"Personal style?" Lin Xiaolu raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, it's a personal style. You can take that as a joke. There's no emotional connection between us."

Feeling he had found a suitable angle, Lin Yun immediately added, "Think about it rationally. You know our family situation. If I really just wanted to find another wife, would I really need to hide it from you?"

"Hmm..."

Lin Xiaolu couldn't help but ponder, "That's not entirely unreasonable?"

"Also, we were really just discussing some work-related topics, and because the topics were quite confidential, that's why I asked you to leave. It wasn't that I had any ulterior motives."

Holding up a finger, Lin Yun continued, "Think back, you wanted to go out because of your own reasons, didn't you? Let's look at it from the opposite perspective. If I really wanted to... go on a date? Even if I called someone when you left, it would take them some time to get to the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau. So even if I deliberately sent you away, there wouldn't be much time to spend together. That wouldn't be worthwhile for me, would it?"

"So?" Lin Xiaolu put on an expression as if she had been convinced.

"So I had no motive or logic for doing so. I didn't have any special relationship with her; we just knew each other through work."

Lin Yun concluded the matter. "The truth is, you had just left when a guest arrived, and she happened to make a joke that could easily be misunderstood when you returned... It was just a coincidence."

"I see. This is a coincidence, and that is a coincidence too. It really does sound like a coincidence."

Lin Xiaolu nodded without changing her expression, her tone calm. However, just when Lin Yun thought she had successfully persuaded her daughter, she spoke again, "So, in that case, what work-related topics were you discussing just now?"

Lin Yun fell silent once again.

This time it wasn't because of embarrassment, but because it was a scene he had never wanted to see.

Lin Xiaolu, standing before him, though still immature, was nonetheless a representative of Fangting City's magical girls; Yuan, standing to his side behind him, was a runaway magical girl from Claw Mark.

Their identities, if not mortal enemies, are certainly irreconcilable.

If their origins are not revealed, the conversation might end normally. However, if Lin Xiaolu and Yuan find out that they are magical girls, things will definitely not end well.

Therefore, he was destined to be unable to tell Lin Xiaolu the truth that had just happened.

What could he say? "I'm questioning a magical girl with Claw Mark about why she chose to betray me"?

"You want to know?"

Just then, Yuan spoke up. She looked at Lin Xiaolu with a smile and said in a tone as if she were coaxing a child, "Little girl, do you know what your father does for a living?"

"Of course." Lin Xiaolu nodded. "He is the director of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau."

"Do you know what the Director of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau does?" Yuan continued to ask.

"What's there to not know? They're in charge of Mage and also responsible for cleaning up after magical girls."

"Yes, that makes sense, that explains it."

Yuan nodded and said with a smile, "I'm here to see him and issue a challenge to the magical girl from Fangting City on my behalf."

"... ha?"

This question came not only from Lin Xiaolu, but also from Lin Yun.

Upon hearing Yuan's reply, he and his daughter both looked in Yuan's direction.

"Why are you all staring at me like that? Wasn't it the little girl who asked me? I just answered her."

Yuan shrugged and said casually, "I'm going to fight the magical girls from your Fangting City tonight. You're the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, so you can just go and inform them. That's my real reason for coming tonight."

"Why?"

"Why should I? Who are you?"

Lin Yun and Lin Xiaolu each raised different questions.

"Why? If I really want an answer, it's probably because I have my own boss too."

Tobi chuckled silently, "As for who I am... I'm a bad magical girl, a villain who specifically opposes righteous magical girls."

"... A bad magical girl? What? Are you kidding me?"

Lin Xiaolu's first reaction to what the other party said was disbelief. After all, her father had just said that the woman in front of her liked to joke, and the current atmosphere was too relaxed, giving her no sense of "the enemy is right in front of you".

But soon, she could no longer maintain such a relaxed attitude.

Right before her eyes, the kite stretched out its hand, and jet-black liquid metal gathered in its palm, transforming into a magic wand.

Not only that, but Yuan's eyes had also changed at some point; her dark eyes had now become a pair of yin-yang-like double pupils.

"That's pretty much it, right? The villainous magical girl."

Making no attempt to conceal her identity, Iris unabashedly revealed her fighting stance to the two. "How about it? Isn't she quite different from the magical girls you're used to?"

To be honest, Lin Yun had seen this kind of behavior from her many times before, posing as Larkspur, so it wasn't new to him. However, whether it was new or not wasn't important at this juncture. When Yuan took the initiative to display this behavior, Lin Yun knew that some things might be difficult to resolve.

He almost instinctively stood up, wanting to tell Lin Xiaolu to "calm down," but the words were already on the tip of his tongue, yet he was still a step too late.

Lin Xiaolu has already taken out her Heart Gem.

"Magic, oh magic, please pause for a moment, take me to that different world, away from my weakness."

She brought the Heart Seed close to her lips and seemed to murmur her transformation incantation. The Heart Seed responded to her call with a magical glow.

After a flash of light, the magical girl who should have been called "White Rose" reappeared before Lin Yun.

"I am the magical girl you've been looking for."

With her hands clasped together, a light blue staff materialized. Lin Xiaolu looked at Yuan with a serious expression. "What exactly is your purpose in sending this so-called challenge?"

Without any hesitation, Lin Xiaolu revealed her identity as a magical girl to Yuan.

This was the second time Lin Xiaolu had shown him her magical girl persona. But compared to the first time, he wished it had never happened in the first place.

Lin Yun could only sigh inwardly at this.

If possible, he really wanted to stop Lin Xiaolu before she revealed her identity. Yuan had clearly not considered that Lin Xiaolu might be a magical girl before, and her attitude was completely like teasing a child. But when she learned that the "little girl" in front of her was a magical girl, the nature of the matter changed completely.

No matter how you look at it, Lin Xiaolu has no chance of defeating Yuan right now. Revealing her identity as a magical girl would only increase the danger, but it's too late to say anything now.

He began to think about what he needed to do next to get through the current difficulties.

Should he immediately declare that he will relay a message to Cornflower to divert Tobi's attention? Or should he, as the head of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, protest their confrontation and see if Tobi would show him any leniency because he had given her money?

Of course, he also had to consider the possibility that the two of them would actually start fighting. If he couldn't stop them, he might have to quickly find a place to transform...

"This really surprised me. I didn't expect to gain anything extra from coming to the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau."

While Lin Yun was still pondering her next move, Yuan had already spoken up for Lin Xiaolu: "I'm pretty sure that my coming to the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau was just a spur-of-the-moment thing, but then I ran into a local magical girl here. Could this really be a coincidence?"

"Yes, I also think it's such a coincidence."

Lin Xiaolu gripped her wand tightly, her tense expression revealing a hint of nervousness, but she still tried her best not to let the other party overwhelm her. "I didn't expect to encounter the legendary 'Claw Mark' at the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau. Are you the culprits behind the recent attacks in Fangting City?"

She actually knew that there was a "Claw Mark" in Fangting City. The strange Fairy who called himself a "Fairy Immortal" had told her this before. However, it seemed that Larkspur was deliberately avoiding letting her meet the Claw Mark, so she had only heard of its name but never seen it.

Now, upon hearing the other party call themselves "evil magical girl," she almost immediately associated them with this organization, which she already considered infamous.

"The last few times? The culprit? Sorry, I really can't remember that."

In response to Lin Xiaolu's questioning, Yuan simply laughed and said, "But it doesn't matter. What happened before isn't important. What's important is what's coming next, and it was entirely planned by me."

What exactly are you planning to do?

Yuan's words gave Lin Yun a bad feeling. Combined with her rather strange behavior that evening, he realized that what she said might really be true.

"I've already said, I'm here to issue a challenge—a duel with all the magical girls in Fangting City."

With her smile fading, Yuri replied, "Whether you're a veteran magical girl like Cornflower, a newcomer like yourself, or even new friends from outside Fangting City, although I don't know everyone, feel free to come if you want. The location is Silver Screen Mountain on the outskirts of the city."

"Silver Screen Mountain?" Lin Yun was familiar with this place name, but even so, it did not dispel the doubts in his heart.

"You think you can take on all of us by yourself?"

Lin Xiaolu, however, was focused on something entirely different. "Wait, how did you know there are magical girls from other cities around here?"

"I was watching every time you were fighting the Aberrant Beast."

Yuan pointed at Lin Xiaolu: "For example, little girl, your recent battles have all been in the Sunset District, and the last time you dealt with Aberrant Beast was a Looper Tier, right?"

Lin Xiaolu did not reply, but her suddenly heavier breathing was enough to reflect her mood.

Because what Yuan said was correct, but she had no memory of sensing the presence of any other magical girls at the scene.

This means that the other party has the ability to completely conceal their presence from you. Under such circumstances, if the other party has any intention to attack you, you would probably be finished long ago.

Even if she were slow to react, Lin Xiaolu should have realized by now, or at least recognized one fact—that the person in front of her who called herself the "evil magical girl" was very strong, perhaps even a formidable enemy that she couldn't possibly defeat in her current state.

"If no one has any objections, then I'll announce the Rule."

Seeing that Lin Yun and Lin Xiaolu had nothing more to say, Yuan continued on her own, "The reserved location is the top of Silver Screen Mountain. You can decide the time, as long as it's tonight, you can come anytime. However, I can only wait until midnight."

"I've set up a ritual on the summit of Silver Screen Mountain. Now, unless someone stops it, it will trigger a massive Explosion at midnight, destroying the entire mountain and everything around it."

Yuan spread her arms out, making an "Explosion" gesture. "If you want to stop it, your only way is to defeat me and then shut it down yourself."

"Blow up the entire mountain?"

Lin Yun was slightly puzzled, because in his memory, Silver Screen Mountain was an extremely remote place in the suburbs of Fangting City, one of the most remote places from the city center. If Silver Screen Mountain was just blown up, it would not cause any serious casualties except for the possibility of some geological disasters.

But soon, he realized what Yuan really wanted to do.

Silver Screen Mountain, as one of the most remote locations on the outskirts of the city, is not only sparsely populated, but also has another characteristic: it is the outermost edge of the entire Fangting City.

On the outermost edge of Fangting City, there is something that absolutely cannot be damaged— the City Barrier Network.

The protective net isolates human cities from the vast Wasteland, ensuring that dangers and Aberrant Beast in the Wasteland will not harm the city. However, once the protective net has a loophole, a large number of high-level Aberrant Beast, mutated creatures from the Wasteland, and even more terrifying things will enter the city. At that time, the safety of Fangting City will be severely tested.

"Looks like you've figured it out."

Yuan noticed the change in Lin Yun's expression and continued with a smile, "This is my challenge. If you don't want the entire Fangting City to fall into crisis, then notify Cornflower."

"... Why do you do this?"

Lin Yun raised the question again.

He couldn't understand the motivation behind Yuan's decision to do this at this particular juncture.

The other party has been in Fangting City for two months. During this time, they even had the opportunity to capture him and the Beast Source in one fell swoop, but they gave up on it all for the sake of "fairness".

If she wanted to do something that threatened the entire city as leverage in negotiations with the magical girl, she should have done it before the arrival of reinforcements from Bai'an City; there was absolutely no need to wait until now.

Previously, he didn't understand why Yuan, as a "bad person," was so indifferent to "doing bad things." Now, he simply doesn't understand why such a person, after giving up countless great opportunities, would choose such an obviously bad time to do this.

"Bad people never need a reason to do bad things. You can think of it as me missing home because it's Chinese New Year, so I'm trying to finish the tasks at hand quickly."

Yuan answered casually, then walked to the window of the director's office, abruptly pulling it open. "Well then, the wine has been drunk, and the challenge has been delivered, I'll return to await your arrival..."

She placed one hand on the windowsill, waving behind her as if about to leave, but her next move was stopped by a Mana Beam shooting out.

The Mana Beam grazed her face, almost striking her just millimeters away.

Lin Xiaolu chose to make her move here.

"Do you want to run away?"

She pointed her wand at the kite, her gaze resolute. "If you intend to do something so dangerous, then I will absolutely not let you leave!"

"... Are you trying to stop me?"

Without showing any anger at Lin Xiaolu's attack, Yuan simply glanced at the spot where Lin Xiaolu had just attacked, then gently shook her head. "Although your fighting spirit is admirable, I'm sorry, I have no interest in bullying children."

"What did you say?" Lin Xiaolu's eyes widened immediately.

"What I mean is, I don't want to fight with little kids."

Yuan spread her hands, saying helplessly, "Simply bullying the weak is meaningless, and it doesn't align with my principles."

"Does blowing up a mountain make you morally right?" Lin Xiaolu questioned loudly.

"That makes sense, after all, I'm a bad guy, so I have to do what bad guys do."

Yuan's expression remained unchanged. Instead, she raised her hand and waved politely to the other two people in the director's office. "Well then, I'll take my leave first."

After saying this, she leaned out the window again, her body surging with magic, as if she were about to fly away.

"I told you, I wouldn't let you go!"

Almost simultaneously, Lin Xiaolu made a sudden move, and this time she used all her strength from the very beginning. The fruits of her recent efforts—blazing white magic—enveloped her wand in an instant.

The magic that erupted behind her propelled Lin Xiaolu forward. Holding her wand, her body surrounded by white flames, she launched an attack on Yuan at incredible speed.

From the first encounter with Black Ash Dawn to the present, and even after meeting the Moth, the power of White Magic Power has always been invincible. Even when the opponent's ability level is far higher than one's own, this magic attack can still be effective.

This time, Lin Xiaolu had no doubt about it either.

--puff.

However, after she was thrown out, she could not remember what happened.

She couldn't even see what the other person had done; after a soft thud, she lost consciousness.

The last things that remained in her mind were the sonic boom of the kite disappearing into the air and her father's worried calls.