Ambush

(Bai Ziye)

The No-Man's Land was indeed No-Man's Land. If Yin Wei hadn't called to inform me, I wouldn't have known what had happened.

"They've been keeping quiet for so many days, but then they suddenly start something while I'm away..."

And is this operation targeting Ceruno because of the Association's operations the other day?

" On the Other Side," they seem quite worried about a large-scale counterattack. Could it be that their strength isn't as great as we imagined?

We have to get Past no matter what.

I maintain a running speed of about 20 times the normal speed, and considering the winding roads in the city, it will probably take me... 8-12 minutes.

"D3 District, right? I'll fly you Past."

Halley spread its enormous wings and flapped them twice.

"It's at least faster than you running on the ground, right?"

"That one is hard to say."

Her normal flying speed is probably not as fast as mine.

But if the speed increases, can her seemingly fragile succubus wings withstand the pressure?

Liu suggested, "If you can't fly fast in the air, you can also take the river. Follow the Chonghui River and you'll pass through the D3 District... Achernar is incredibly fast underwater; even my Burst Mode can't shake her off. She can take you underwater and ensure you can breathe underwater."

I glanced at the Shark Princess Witch; she seemed interested in the proposal as well, blinking her azure eyes as she awaited my reply.

They certainly don't seem to be hostile.

I had a vague feeling about it before.

Perhaps because I saved her life, she seemed to have a natural affinity for me and... a kind of obedience?

After a brief hesitation, I asked, "Ignoring other factors, how long would it take to get to D3 District from the river?"

The Shark Princess Witch answered softly, "Ten minutes."

The straight-line distance is approximately 36 kilometers, about 10 minutes...

Is that an underwater rocket vehicle?

She's only slightly slower than me; Halley certainly can't reach that speed, and not only that, I can make her even faster.

"The tributary in the backyard of the villa leads directly to the Chonghui River, so we can set off now... Of course, remember to leave your cell phone and other items behind."

Pushing open the back door of the villa, the Shark Princess Witch said again, "Don't worry, I would never hurt you."

That's what she said.

The manipulated water current propelled me underwater at great speed with minimal resistance. My mouth and nose were always kept slightly saturated with air, and fresh oxygen was constantly being replenished... It just didn't taste very fresh; it had a fishy smell, like something from a seafood market.

It wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was passable. However, the riverbed at night was pitch black, which gave me a real taste of what thalassophobia is all about.

"Can you handle the acceleration?" I asked.

The Shark Princess Witch, who was hugging me from under her arms, replied, "The pressure isn't much... you can even increase your speed."

"Then we'll be in third gear!"

Using magic to triple the speed of our time flow, the sudden pressure caused the Shark Princess Witch to pause noticeably.

But it quickly resumed high speed and sped towards the D3 District... The resistance in the water was so great that even I would find it difficult to maintain three times the speed, so the Shark Princess Witch was really putting in all her effort.

"It's about time to surface."

The Shark Princess Witch began to rise from underwater.

Through the shallow water, I was able to see the situation on the surface of the water, the iconic bridge across the river, and the huge holographic beacon that could be seen throughout the D3 District.

"It's not far now, just find a nearby dock and drop me off."

Near the Chonghui River, there was a quiet, unloading dock where I climbed ashore.

I felt a bit disoriented after climbing out of the water; my head was heavy and my feet were light, and my wet, sticky clothes were uncomfortable.

"Miluno, be careful on the road."

My voice isn't pleasant, so I speak very softly.

The Shark Princess Witch didn't come ashore; she just stood on the water and said this.

"Okay, thank you. You can go back now."

She leaned over and extended her hand, and I thought she was going to shake my hand, but instead she lightly patted my shoulder, drying off my clothes and hair. The instant dryness made me feel much more comfortable.

If she wanted, she could even drain all the water out of my body... but the witch didn't do that.

Without saying anything more, she turned and plunged into the river.

Although a long time seems to Past, due to the Time Acceleration, not much time has actually Past. From the moment I plunged into the river behind the villa until now, it has probably only Past three or four minutes.

Of course, I don't know the exact amount, because I left my phone in the villa and didn't take it.

The dock is only a few hundred meters from the beacon, and the surrounding area has been evacuated; there is not a single pedestrian to be seen on the road.

The city park, nestled between buildings, has a small amusement park in one corner, the largest attraction being a Ferris wheel a dozen meters high...

Found it!

The battle has begun, and the scorch marks scattered across the ground are perhaps the work of Heat Haze.

There are two enemies.

One of them was a loli witch dressed in a golden robe, adorned with magnificent gold ornaments, and wielding a large golden bow.

Even her hair was made of luxurious golden threads, but she was different from the one I had seen on the balcony before...

They look very similar, but their ages are clearly different, so it's uncertain which one is the real Golden Consort.

The other one was an indistinct, fluid-like Monster resembling Black Mud... or perhaps a witch, its gender unknown and thus unclear.

They weren't very tall, but the combination of glittering gold and filthy dirt was still quite peculiar.

Four gleaming golden thorns pierced through the filthy Black Mud and lunged at Ceruno like a puppet on strings. Seruno used her inflated bubbles to deflect the attack and then dodged the black slime spurting out by the Black Mud Monster. In the instant she dodged, Falcon's bullet pierced the Black Mud Monster's body but did not cause any real damage.

Only upon closer inspection can you smell that dizzying, pungent odor...

The Black Mud is likely made of petroleum.

The Simulacrum Factor is an oil Monster, and the magic is a gold-making witch.

This is an incredibly wealthy combination; it's almost a shame to kill them, the economic benefits are just too high!

Unfortunately, these two are clearly not the kind of creatures that can be kept in captivity.

They circled around behind the witch, then suddenly closed in.

"Goo-oo!"

With a kick at thirty times the speed, the golden witch was sent flying, and the four thorns buried inside the Oil Monster were also pulled out, causing it to fall face-first into a flower bed.

Ceruno complained to me, "Miluno! You seem to be a little late this time!"

Some of her complaints were unreasonable, and I wanted to say something more, but then I saw that her arm was badly injured... as if something had ripped a piece of flesh out.

I frowned and simply replied, "I'm not in D3 District today... Who is she?"

"The Golden Witch, Aldebaran, can transform inorganic matter into gold, including the water in the human body. Please be extremely careful!"

Is that really the case?

Wait, who was that person I encountered at home before?

"Ahem... It's one thing to gang up on the few, but to resort to a sneak attack is another! Are all magical girls this despicable?!"

This witch was small in stature, but quite sturdy; she managed to get up even after I kicked her unexpectedly.

"I'm truly sorry, but I don't intend to be fair when dealing with enemies."

"However, as I said before, I'm not here to fight; I'm here to provide after-sales service..."

Four golden thorns twisted behind her. The Golden Witch wiped the mud from her face and grinned maliciously, "... Well, the testing here is basically complete. Now you guys figure out how to deal with this guy!"

"Aww--"

A deafening roar.

The Oil Monster, emitting a pungent odor, what changes have occurred inside it?