Tram Incident

"Mr. Lin Yun, although employees of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau are already considered exceptional compared to ordinary civilians, and many have even mastered magical power with mortal bodies, strength at this level is no different from an ant trying to topple a tree when facing the Kingdom."

"The Egg Rank Aberrant Beasts that require several, sometimes even over a dozen of us working with equipment to barely handle are merely the most ordinary prey for Magical Girls."

"After giving so much, we ultimately become nothing more than tools between the Kingdom and the Material Realm. We remove the trivial obstacles that Magical Girls might encounter in their operations, sway between multiple factions, and work to soothe the public's emotions. That is the Bureau's true situation—our real purpose."

"We are merely the Kingdom's gloves, and the protection gloves provide is so fragile."

"So I cannot promise you that we have the ability to protect your daughter. I only hope you can believe that I will do everything I can to help her and her companions avoid the dangers they may encounter."

"I understand how you feel."

Lin Yun took Moss's words to heart.

Even though their conversation afterward had consisted only of questions and answers about minor details, he still found himself thinking about it from time to time in the days that followed.

A simple conversation was not enough for him to judge Moss's position or thoughts, but the information she had provided was something he had no choice but to take seriously. Not only because it concerned the Kingdom and Claw Mark, but also because of what she had said about herself.

"My daughter was also a Magical Girl when she was alive."

That sentence made him think of many things—things concerning the present, and things concerning the future.

Moss had said that she would look for an appropriate opportunity later to pass on the information she possessed about Claw Mark to Lin Xiaolu.

She only hoped that she and Lin Yun could keep each other's secrets. Lin Yun was not to spread her opinions about Claw Mark and the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, and she would not reveal her conversation with Lin Yun to Lin Xiaolu.

"It seems Miss White Rose still does not know about her mother. Out of the principle of mutual confidentiality, we have not told her either. You may have your own plans for this, but in my opinion, you should personally tell her the truth as soon as possible."

These had been Moss's exact words at the time:

"Children always have to grow up, and a child who has become a Magical Girl may grow up even faster than you imagine."

Several days later, on the tram, Lin Yun looked at his phone.

It was a message from Lin Xiaolu, and it was very brief, containing only three words:

[Remember to come.]

Leaning against the back of his seat and enjoying the rare chance to sit down on the tram, he replied in a somewhat cheerful mood with two words: [Definitely.]

Time passed quickly. Ever since the day he had driven his daughter to school and promised her he would tell her the truth, he could feel Lin Xiaolu's attitude soften a little more.

It was only a little, changing from her refusal to communicate, her mostly negative and resistant replies, and the barbs in her words, to the point where they could occasionally have calm, ordinary conversations. But the very fact that his relationship with his daughter had begun to change was already an extraordinarily precious experience.

So today, faced with the parent-teacher conference he had mentioned before, he had made every possible preparation.

The company had arranged overtime, so he traded shifts with someone else. He turned down a dinner invitation from his colleagues, promising to treat them another day. He had arranged for specialists to deal with every request from his clients well in advance. All work-related matters had been pushed aside; nothing would stand in the way of him attending the parent-teacher conference.

Now, he had even boarded the tram to Lin Xiaolu's school early in the afternoon.

A light rain had begun falling outside the window at some point. Continuous strands of rain slid across the glass, leaving streak after streak behind. Lin Yun sat there with a rare sense of excitement in his chest, quietly waiting for the moment he reached his destination.

To ensure he finished his work and had no extra burdens today, he had spent many days working late and was somewhat exhausted. After sitting for so long, drowsiness surged over him, and his eyelids began to droop. He had no choice but to force himself to stay awake so he would not fall asleep and miss his stop.

Just as he was struggling against himself, he vaguely heard a scream.

—"Ah!"

Something like that jolted him awake.

Then the carriage began to shake violently.

Lin Yun, seated in his chair, grabbed the railing beside him in time and avoided being thrown away. Yet in his field of vision, several passengers tumbled from the front of the carriage toward the rear.

Amid the chaos, piercing screams rose one after another. The carriage lights flickered on and off, forcing him to squint.

The tram was still moving. He first glanced outside through the window behind him, but after seeing nothing, he struggled out of his seat. Grabbing the railing across the aisle, he staggered over to the window and looked again in the direction the impact had come from—

A massive beast-shaped Aberrant Beast was clinging to the tram. One of its claws had pierced a passenger's body, and blood poured from the wound in the passenger's abdomen. Their head hung limply, unmoving. They were most likely already dead.

"Damn it, of all times?"

Lin Yun could not help muttering a curse, but the ringing phone at his waist quickly brought him back to his senses.

He pulled the phone from his pocket and found that it was indeed Larkspur's phone. The caller displayed on the screen was White Rose.

Looking around, he saw many passengers still sprawled on the floor, groaning in pain. But a few had not been greatly affected and were merely huddled in their seats with terrified expressions. His heart tightened as he realized he could not transform here.

So he ignored the incoming call, left his seat again, and stumbled toward the front through the violently shaking carriage. There, he felt around the side wall and found an emergency hammer.

Gripping the hammer, he clenched his back teeth, steadied himself, and smashed it hard against the window.

At first, the people in the carriage did not realize what he was doing. Once they did, they began trying to stop him.

"Don't do this!" "Stop!" "Are you trying to kill yourself?" Cries like those rang out one after another, but Lin Yun did not stop. He swung again and again, hammering the window with all his strength until fine cracks spread from the four corners, until he had smashed all four corners apart, and then the entire window shattered.

Glass fragments burst outward and scattered through the shaking carriage. Several shards sliced across Lin Yun's face, even leaving thin streaks of blood. He changed his posture, rising from kneeling on the seat to standing on it.

He watched the scenery rushing past outside the window, tightly gripping the vibrating phone in his hand. After a brief pause, his expression became resolute.

Then, amid cries of alarm from all around him, he jumped out through the window.

The elevated rail track stood some distance above the ground. The height was limited, but it did not leave Lin Yun much time. The moment he jumped out, powerful inertia hurled him into the air, sending him tumbling endlessly.

He gripped his Flower of the Heart, and light began to flow.

Azure magical power burst forth. Larkspur emerged from its radiance, and from the instant she appeared, the magic erupting behind her propelled her into flight after the train.

She took out the phone, which had stopped vibrating, pressed the callback button, and a moment later, the call connected.

—"Larkspur, Moko said there's been an Aberrant Beast attack near Luoming Line 4!"

Lin Xiaolu's hurried voice immediately came through the phone. "I'm still at school, and it'll take me some time to get there, but I'll hurry. I'll send you the exact location right away. Xia Liang too, we should be there soon, and then—"

"No need."

Larkspur interrupted her. "I'll get there soon. Don't come."

"Why?" Lin Xiaolu asked.

"I remember you mentioned before that there's a parent-teacher conference at school today, right?"

"But..." Lin Xiaolu still wanted to argue.

"This Aberrant Beast is a Looper. Don't come over."

Larkspur also quickened her speech, replying calmly amid the howling wind. "I happen to be nearby and am already close to the scene. I can see what the Aberrant Beast looks like. There's no doubt that it would be dangerous if you came. Leave this one to me."

"So do what you need to do and don't get distracted. If your parent arrives at school and finds you missing, it'll be hard to explain, won't it?"

"Mm..." Lin Xiaolu's response was clearly hesitant.

"Then leave it to me. Don't worry, I'm strong."

Larkspur said this, then pressed the hang-up button and ended the call.

Azure magical power flew after the tram. After several brief bursts of acceleration, it suddenly surged forward, and within barely a dozen seconds, Larkspur had caught up to the carriage where the Aberrant Beast was.

The Aberrant Beast was frantically tearing apart the carriage. The section beneath its claws had already been ripped wide open, and passengers screamed continuously as it pulled them out and fed them into its maw lined with sharp teeth.

Just as a young man wailed and struggled to break free from its claw, the Aberrant Beast's movement stopped. As though it had been struck by some legendary immobilization spell and bound by something, its forearm trembled continuously as if still exerting force, yet it could not lift even the slightest bit.

The brief calm gave the man room to breathe. He opened his eyes in terror, as though realizing something, and looked into the distance.

Where his gaze fell, a girl in a navy-blue dress stood atop the carriage, her face dark and grim. The fierce wind blew the blue hair beneath her hat relentlessly backward, while even the curtain of rain could not hide the expression on her face, as if she were about to commit murder:

"Couldn't you pick another time to die? Don't get in my way when I'm going to a parent-teacher conference, you animal."