The Bounty Is Mine, No Objections, Right?

Two minutes later.

East City Industrial District.

The industrial district before dawn was even more desolate than a park.

Half-built factory buildings and rusted sheet-metal fences stood everywhere.

Half the streetlights were broken, and the few that still worked flickered spasmodically.

Chen De landed lightly on the roof of an abandoned factory building and glanced down.

"Qubi."

"I'm here."

"Would what we're doing count as stealing someone else's kill?"

"No. First come, first served."

"But we came later."

Qubi paused.

"Then whoever has the bigger fists is right."

A blue magical girl stood below.

She was the one whose performance Chen De had stolen at the park last night.

She held her staff up with both hands, confronting the Fierce Calamity ahead of her.

A Fierce Calamity was on an entirely different level from a Lesser Calamity.

At most, a Lesser Calamity was a cloud of black mist the size of a suitcase.

A Fierce Calamity—

Was roughly the size of a van.

Its black mist was thicker and denser, with some sort of irregular skeletal structure faintly writhing within.

And it had "eyes."

Or rather, it had a glowing red core embedded in the center of the black mist, like a bloodshot eyeball.

It was staring at the blue magical girl.

Seeing her trembling figure, Chen De made a simple assessment.

"She can't beat it."

"Right, she can't."

"A Fierce Calamity isn't something a rookie can solo."

"So, are you going down there to play the hero and save the beauty?"

Qubi's voice came from beside her.

"Shut up."

Chen De stared at the situation below.

The blue magical girl fired a light bullet that struck the Fierce Calamity, blasting a small opening in the black mist.

Three seconds later, the opening had healed.

It was as good as not hitting it at all.

"Qubi, let me ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"If I go down and help her fight, how is the bounty for this Fierce Calamity calculated?"

Qubi's ears twitched.

"Your priorities really never changed."

"Answer me."

"Whoever lands the final blow gets the bounty."

Chen De's eyes lit up.

"So I can let her wear it down first, then go in for the kill at the end?"

"In theory, yes."

"But wouldn't that be a little too immoral?"

"Why do you think my name is Chen De?"

"Being named Chen De doesn't mean you have any morals."

"I'm not taking that lousy joke."

The situation below began to worsen.

The Fierce Calamity's black mist suddenly expanded, and several tentacle-like things lashed out from within.

The blue magical girl raised her staff to block, but the difference in speed was far too great.

One tentacle struck her directly, sending her flying into the sheet-metal wall of an abandoned factory.

The sound was loud.

Chen De frowned instinctively.

"That sounded painful."

"It certainly was. Preliminary estimates suggest at least three ribs suffered excessive impact."

"You can diagnose people remotely?"

"When necessary, I can be a doctor too."

"How many identities do you even have?"

The blue magical girl slid down the sheet metal and collapsed onto the ground.

She still clutched her staff, but her arm was trembling.

The Fierce Calamity was approaching her.

Slowly, unhurriedly.

Like a cloud of black mist with intelligence.

Even though they had agreed that Fierce Calamities had no intelligence.

But Chen De felt that the way it was closing in now was just like the look a cafeteria auntie gave the meat in your bowl when serving food.

Filled with a certain kind of scrutiny.

"Qubi."

"Mm."

"If she dies, is the bounty still valid?"

Qubi turned to look at her.

A complicated emotion appeared in his emerald-green eyes.

"Chen De, you may be greedy for money, but you're not the kind of person who'd stand by and watch someone die."

Chen De fell silent for a second.

"Who said I was going to watch her die?"

"I was just asking about the bounty rules."

"Understanding the rules and standing by while someone dies are two different things."

She stood up.

Light gathered in her clenched right fist.

A pure white compact pistol.

A white short blade formed in her left hand at the same time.

"But let's get one thing straight first."

"I save her, and the bounty for this Fierce Calamity is mine."

"Reasonable."

Chen De jumped from the rooftop.

The wind filled her ears as she fell.

Her pure white uniform stood out sharply in the night.

The blue magical girl looked up and saw a white figure falling from the sky.

Chen De raised her right hand and pulled the trigger.

The light bullet hit the Fierce Calamity's red core with precision.

That bloodshot eyeball shuddered violently.

The Fierce Calamity let out a shriek, and the black mist recoiled half a step.

Chen De landed.

Soundlessly.

Her knees bent slightly.

Her skirt settled.

"Hello."

The blue magical girl looked at her, her mouth slightly open, her expression somewhere between surprise and confusion.

"You... you are—"

"Just passing through."

Chen De did not look back.

The Fierce Calamity had already recovered.

Its red core lit up again. The black mist churned, more violent than before.

Four tentacles lashed out at once.

Chen De twisted aside to evade the first.

She ducked beneath the second.

The third grazed her shoulder, carrying a rotten stench with it.

The fourth—

Headed straight for the blue magical girl.

Chen De cursed.

Her body moved faster than her mind.

She accelerated and rushed in front of the girl. The blade in her left hand swept across before her, glowing white.

The tentacle slammed into the blade.

White light exploded.

The tentacle was severed.

Black fragments scattered like fireworks.

"Can you stand?"

Chen De did not look back, her voice calm.

"Yes, yes..." The blue magical girl slowly got to her feet with the help of the wall.

"Then stand farther away. Don't get in my way."

"Huh?"

"I don't mean get lost."

Chen De raised her gun at the Fierce Calamity.

"It's just that if you stand here, I'm afraid I'll hurt you."

The blue magical girl froze for a moment, then obediently backed away several steps.

Qubi lay on a rusted iron pipe in the distance, watching the entire scene.

His tail swayed lazily.

The Fierce Calamity seemed to have been enraged.

The black mist expanded sharply, nearly doubling in size.

Eight tentacles grew out at once.

Well, the van had turned into a bus.

"Qubi, what's going on now?"

"Obviously, it has gone berserk."

"Why didn't the last one do that?"

"Individual differences."

"..."

All eight tentacles swung toward her at once.

Chen De gritted her teeth.

She couldn't take them head-on.

She pushed off with her toes and launched herself backward.

The eight tentacles smashed into the spot where she had just stood, shattering the concrete.

"Damn, that packs quite a punch."

"A Fierce Calamity's berserk state increases its power by roughly fifty percent and lasts around thirty seconds."

"Thirty seconds?"

"Yes."

"So I just need to dodge for thirty seconds?"

"In theory. But after the berserk state ends, it will enter a brief weakened period of around five seconds."

"Five seconds? That's enough."

Chen De started running.

She darted between the abandoned factory buildings like a white bolt of lightning.

Eight tentacles chased madly behind her, smashing through two sheet-metal walls and an abandoned power distribution box.

"You know, Qubi."

"Hmm?"

"The scene right now looks exactly like the heroine in a horror movie being chased by a monster."

"Except you're faster than the monster."

"That's not the point."

"Then what is?"

"The point is, I'm really running in a skirt."

Twenty-eight seconds.

Twenty-nine seconds.

Thirty seconds.

Fierce Calamity's tentacles suddenly went completely rigid.

The black mist contracted violently.

The red core dimmed for a moment.

"Now."

Qubi's voice landed precisely at that instant.

Chen De halted, instantly reversing direction.

She charged toward Fierce Calamity.

Her right hand pulled the trigger, firing three light bullets in rapid succession, all of them striking the red core.

Cracks appeared across the core's surface.

The black mist began to churn chaotically.

Chen De rushed into close range and raised the blade in her left hand high.

The white gleam of the blade reached its brightest.

One slash.

She brought it straight down through the cracks in the red core.

The core exploded.

Fierce Calamity let out a long shriek.

The black mist instantly collapsed as though its skeleton had been ripped away.

Then it dispersed.

It dispersed completely.

The air became clean again.

Chen De stood where she was, her left hand still held in the finishing position as her chest rose and fell a few times.

"...Didn't even use up five seconds."

"You only used 3.7 seconds." There was a trace of satisfaction in Qubi's voice.

Chen De put away her weapons.

Then she turned around.

The blue magical girl stood over ten meters away, having even forgotten to put away her staff, frozen in place.

Her expression could probably be described like this—

The look of a failing student who had spent three days on a test, only to watch a top student finish it in three minutes.

Chen De met her eyes for a second.

Then she immediately turned to leave.

"Wait!"

The blue magical girl chased after her.

"Y-you, what's your name?"

Chen De did not stop.

"Just passing through."

"That's not a name!"

"Then call me Passerby A."

"You saved me just now! At least let me know what to call you!"

Chen De's steps paused.

She turned back and glanced at the girl.

A pale blue uniform, a staff, a bow, thigh-high socks.

A standard magical girl.

A stark contrast to her own standard mercenary outfit.

"Were you the one at the park last night?"

The blue magical girl blinked.

"How did you know?"

"Lucky guess."

Chen De turned back and kept walking.

"Newbies shouldn't solo Fierce Calamities."

"I-I didn't know it was a Fierce Calamity! I thought it was a Lesser Calamity—"

"Lesser Calamities aren't that big."

The blue magical girl fell silent.

"From now on, if it's big, has a core, and looks ugly, run first."

Chen De leaped onto the roof of the nearest building.

The girl's voice came from behind her.

"Thank you!"

"Thank you so much!"

"Next time, I'll definitely treat you to a meal!"

Chen De stood on the roof for a second.

Qubi lightly hopped onto her shoulder.

"She said she'd treat you to a meal."

"I heard."

"Are you going to agree?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because when I change back, I'm a 173-centimeter guy."

"She doesn't need you to change back to treat you to a meal."

"Two magical girls eating together—don't you think that'd look weird?"

"It'd be fine. Pretty normal, actually."

"Normal my ass."

Chen De broke into a run.

The night wind rushed around her.

"Qubi."

"Hmm."

"The 120,000 is in hand, right?"

"After platform fees, you'll receive 96,000—"

"You said 120,000 before."

"120,000 was after deducting twenty percent. Twenty percent of 150,000 is 30,000, so you receive 120,000. I misspoke just now."

"...You sure that was a slip of the tongue?"

"Sure."

Chen De took a deep breath.

"Qubi."

"Hmm."

"One day, math is going to kill you."

Three minutes later.

She climbed back home through the window.

Canceled her transformation.

Slipped into bed.

Her phone screen was lit up.

2:51 a.m.

Four hours remained before her alarm went off.

Chen De closed her eyes.

"Qubi."

"Hmm."

"That newbie... what if she runs into a Fierce Calamity again next time?"

"Why do you suddenly care about someone else?"

"What I care about is whether she'll lure away my prey."

Qubi's tail swayed.

"What you say doesn't match what's written on your face."

"There's nothing written on my face."

"Your face says—"

"Say one more word and I'll throw you out the window."

Qubi wisely shut up.

Five seconds of silence.

"Good night, Chen De."

"Good night."

Another three seconds of silence.

"Qubi."

"Hmm?"

"What's her name?"

"Whose?"

"The one in blue."

Qubi's emerald-green eyes flashed in the darkness.

"I thought you didn't care?"

"I'm conducting competitor analysis."

"Oh, then I'll look into it for you tomorrow."

"Mm."

Chen De turned over and closed her eyes.

This time, her consciousness sank quickly.

It sank deep.

So deep that she did not even dream.