Abyss Return Attack?

With Qingmei not by his side, he had much more room to act.

Abyssal Echo's boss had clearly warned the executives to minimize, or preferably avoid, causing trouble in crowded places or areas with abundant property.

Such as exhibitions, shopping malls, and busy downtown districts.

Zhao Xueshan was unable to launch any attacks recently because she was upgrading her mecha.

Karina was busy recruiting personnel. Whenever she had free time, she went scavenging for magical girl merchandise, so she would not launch an attack either.

The other two department heads had been sent to other cities to handle secret missions.

And Ye Qing was out shopping with Qingmei.

None of the five executives had any reason to launch an attack.

Did they not know that executives needed weekends off too?

Ye Qing wanted to see which blind fool was causing trouble.

They had better not let him find out who they were, or he would definitely make things difficult for them at the Abyss Return base!

Ye Qing ran toward the mall exit with his head down. Suddenly, a huge rock whizzed past him.

Bang.

He stopped short, staring blankly at the rubble that had smashed a small crater into the ground ahead. His cheek seemed to burn with pain.

Crackling noises rang out by his ear, and even the floor trembled. Ye Qing turned around.

Something that he could not tell was a mecha or an alien race was frantically tearing apart the mall entrance.

Not Abyss Return?

The organization would never allow anyone to cause destruction before the civilians had evacuated!

Someone was causing trouble under Abyss Return's name!

Ye Qing's pupils widened slightly. Fear immediately surged through him, only to be replaced by anxious thoughts in the next moment.

If it isn't Abyss Return... Yuyan is in trouble!

Damn it, damn it, damn it!

If I run away now, will Yuyan suffer something terrible?

Ye Qing thought uneasily. Yesterday's scene flashed through his mind, and his hand slowly came to rest above his chest.

A transparent diamond-shaped gemstone emerged from within his body, cold and hard beneath his fingers.

Should he transform?

After transforming, that genuine nature, that reversed gender—everything about it was so unfamiliar that it frightened him.

He could not stand before everyone in a body different from both his lives and show off his might.

He could not save civilians, save the world, then enjoy the admiration and praise of the masses.

The question circled through Ye Qing's mind.

What if they find out I'm male? What if they find out about my life...

But if he did not do it, the ordinary people in the mall would suffer, and Ye Yuyan might meet with disaster as well.

Perhaps he did not need to think so much.

I'm not going to become a magical girl anyway.

It would only be for a moment. Nothing would go wrong, and his male identity would not be exposed.

Having made up his mind, Ye Qing looked around before plunging into the mall restroom.

Just for a moment. Just for a moment... just for a moment will be enough...

Ye Qing gently stroked the precious Heartglow Stone with his right hand, then let out a long breath. A blinding white light enveloped his entire body.

"Magical girl, transform!"

Two giant beastmen who had completely lost their minds, working alongside a large mecha immune to pain, were wantonly destroying the surrounding buildings.

A figure cloaked entirely in black, its appearance obscured, stood atop a distant skyscraper, watching what was happening outside the mall.

"This cooperation with Abyss Return is actually about capturing magical girls alive." The black-robed figure spoke in a muffled male voice.

"It seems I'll have to make good use of these lowly ordinary humans, so those magical girls will be too wary to act rashly.

There are currently ten active magical girls in Bailan City. According to the intelligence, six more have recently gone to support other cities.

The regional guardian is occupied with too many matters. The remaining three are merely impulsive, reckless, simple-minded, weak newcomers."

Even magical girls would need quite some time to get here.

As long as he deliberately controlled the beastmen's and mecha's destruction and did not make too big a scene, the Magical Girl Association presumably would not dispatch any powerful magical girls.

The new generation of magical girls needed experience too.

"Oh? A magical girl I've never seen before?"

From afar, the black-robed figure spotted a magical girl floating before the beastmen and mecha. Her unfamiliar face had never appeared in the organization's intelligence.

"She appeared in her ordinary form and has no magical girl introduction. Looks like a newcomer." The black-robed figure let out a strange laugh, seeming certain of victory.

"It seems this cooperation with Abyss Return will proceed smoothly. Heh heh heh..."

Boom!

Before the laughter could fade, a sharp blast rang through the sky.

That unfamiliar magical girl had punched the giant mecha supported by Abyss Return cleanly in two, its severed halves crashing into the ruins.

That was right—she was Ye Qing, the magical girl known as Qingyin!

She clenched her fist, feeling the surging power she had never experienced before. Her icy face stared indifferently at the already damaged mecha.

"An outdated mecha Director Zhao phased out four months ago? Was this really Abyss Return's doing?"

"No. She's fully focused on developing new mecha, researching one that can instantly knock down and capture magical girls."

"So Abyss Return has a traitor? Don't they know they aren't allowed to lay hands on property or civilians? Damn traitor."

They had tarnished Abyss Return's name and betrayed Abyss Return's creed. As Qingyin loved and respected Abyss Return and relied on it for confidence and livelihood,

she would never allow anyone to smear the organization's name!

Her logic was simple. If someone did evil under Abyss Return's name, the public would condemn Abyss Return, and one day the magical girls would launch an all-out assault.

Abyss Return would inevitably fall, the base would be destroyed, the organization would collapse, and she would lose her job.

She could clearly feel the anger inside her now. It was ten times—perhaps even nine times—greater than the anger of having her day off interrupted.

Anyone who wanted to make her lose her job had to die!

"Since you dared commit such acts, you must have prepared yourselves to die."

With her intelligent, gentle appearance, Qingyin's expressionless demeanor made her look like a scholar engaged in rational thought.

Yet she cracked her knuckles, displaying a violent manner completely at odds with her appearance.

"Roar!"

The mindless beastman roared and charged at the magical girl. The beastman, as tall as a one-story building, was just about to swing its fist when the magical girl vanished from before its eyes.

Having suddenly lost its target, the beastman showed a humanlike look of confusion and scratched its head blankly.

Qingyin flew overhead, looked down at it, then suddenly dived toward the beastman using the momentum. Her anti-gravity skirt remained firmly fixed around her waist.

Her foot landed solidly on its head, smashing it into the ground with a thunderous crash. The beastman lost consciousness and collapsed, unable to continue.

"One left." Qingyin looked toward the final beastman, which ignored her completely and remained focused on destruction.

Whoosh!

A small syringe filled with an unknown black liquid pierced through the air and stabbed into the remaining beastman's body.

The beastman's eyes turned red. Its fur stood on end, becoming hard and sharp, even turning black.

"Director Qi's Beastman Rage Serum?"

Qingyin covered her forehead. Even in her magical girl form, where she was relatively indifferent to emotions, she could not help feeling troubled.

"An improved version? No, it seems to be that lethal degraded version.

Director Qi went on a business trip to another city, yet I still found traces of her here. How awful."