Why Is This Skirt So Easily Blown Up by the Wind

"So, are all magical girls like this?"

"Not all of them."

"Fine."

Chen De decided not to pursue the subject any further.

The deeper he dug into certain things, the more despairing they became. He might as well just lie down and give up.

His phone vibrated twice again.

Chen De picked it up and glanced at it.

It was from Lin Xi.

Lin Xi: Sister Su! Xiao Luo said there are two Fierce Calamities at the unfinished buildings in West City tonight!

Chen De stared at the screen for a while.

Then he turned to look at Qubi.

"Qubi."

"Hmm?"

"Other people's Contract Familiars are getting intel, so why haven't you reacted at all?"

Qubi was sprawled on the coffee table, licking its paw.

"Hmm?"

Qubi tilted its head.

"That just means it's a half-baked Contract Familiar."

"Aren't you using the same system?"

"We're different terminals on the same system."

"What's the difference?"

"The difference is huge."

Qubi rose to its feet, its tail swaying leisurely once.

"You know Android and iOS, right?"

"Yeah."

"With the same app, the Android version might push notifications while the iOS version might not."

"It's not because the systems are different. It's because the permissions are different."

Chen De's temple twitched.

"So you mean that Contract Familiar called Xiao Luo has lower permissions than you?"

"Not lower than mine."

Qubi narrowed its emerald-green eyes.

"It pushes everything. Lesser Calamities, Fierce Calamities—even if two stray cats fight at the mouth of an alley, it'll push that too."

"What about you?"

"I only push things worth pushing."

"Two Fierce Calamities aren't worth pushing?"

"They are."

"Then why didn't you push them?"

Chen De was a little bewildered.

"Why would I push two underdeveloped Fierce Calamities?"

"If you fight too many Fierce Calamities, a Dire Calamity might pop out."

"You can't beat a Dire Calamity."

Qubi's tail swayed.

"But you can go take a look."

"Consider it mentoring a junior."

Chen De stared at Lin Xi's message on the screen.

His first reaction wasn't Dangerous, but Two Fierce Calamities. One hundred and twenty thousand each. Two makes two hundred and forty thousand.

Only then did his second reaction come—

Her? Lin Xi? The rookie magical girl Xing Lan?

Had she already completely forgotten getting swatted away by a Fierce Calamity last time?

He immediately replied.

"Don't go."

Lin Xi replied instantly.

"Why, Sister Su!"

"A Fierce Calamity isn't something you can fight."

"But Xiao Luo said these two don't seem very strong!"

"Even if they aren't very strong, they're still Fierce Calamities."

"Did you forget getting swatted away last time?"

The chat window fell silent for three seconds.

Then Lin Xi sent a pitiful-looking sticker.

Chen De stared at it, and his temple throbbed twice.

"Qubi."

"Hmm."

"You said those two Fierce Calamities weren't fully developed?"

"Right. They just evolved from Lesser Calamities, and their cores are still unstable."

"Then roughly how strong are they?"

"Then roughly how strong are they?"

"Only around thirty percent as strong as the one you fought last time."

"Thirty percent..."

Chen De did the math in his head.

He had taken three-point-seven seconds to kill the last one.

At thirty percent, he could probably deal with one in about a second.

Three seconds for both.

Two hundred and forty thousand.

Two hundred and forty thousand in three seconds.

An hourly wage of two hundred and eighty-eight million.

He felt his pupils dilating.

"Qubi."

"Hmm."

"I suddenly feel that mentoring juniors is a very meaningful thing."

"Your enlightenment came very suddenly."

"Enlightenment is directly proportional to the amount of money involved."

Chen De picked up his phone and replied to Lin Xi.

"What time?"

Lin Xi replied instantly again.

"Nine! Sister Su, are you coming!!"

"I'm coming."

"That's great!!! I'll wait for you at the entrance!!"

Twelve hearts followed the message.

Expressionlessly, Chen De typed a reply.

"Can you keep your hearts to three or fewer?"

"Okay, Sister Su!"

She sent three.

Precisely at the limit.

Chen De tossed his phone onto the sofa, got to his feet, and rolled his neck.

"Qubi, seriously."

"Go ahead."

"If I bring Lin Xi along, can she fight?"

"She can. They're only Fierce Calamities. She could drown them in raw magic power alone. At most, she'll look a little clumsy from lack of experience."

"Then why am I bringing her?"

"Didn't you say you were going to mentor a junior?"

"Mentoring a junior means having her stand there and watch me fight so she can learn."

"And then the reward goes to you."

"That's called tuition."

Qubi blinked its emerald-green eyes.

"You're really good at finding justification for your behavior."

"Thanks. It's a survival skill."

8:45 p.m.

He headed out.

Transformed.

As the white light faded, a girl in pure white landed beneath a streetlamp outside the residential complex.

The night wind blew, making her skirt flutter.

Expressionlessly, Chen De held down the skirt.

"Qubi, I have a technical question."

"Go ahead."

"Why is this skirt so easily blown up by the wind?"

"I can't answer that question."

"..."

The unfinished buildings in West City.

He could see the incomplete building from far away.

Its skeletal frame rose more than ten stories high. Only half the exterior walls had been plastered, leaving its gray cement bones exposed.

The crane atop the building leaned to one side like an iron bird with broken wings.

There were not even any streetlights nearby.

It was black as spilled ink.

Lin Xi was already waiting at the entrance.

She was transformed.

A pale blue dress.

Twin ponytails.

And in her hand—

"You bought milk tea again?"

"Yep! This time it's mango pomelo sago!"

Lin Xi handed over the milk tea, smiling like a sunflower.

Chen De took it and glanced at the price tag.

"Twenty-two yuan."

"The mango pomelo sago from this place is especially good!"

"It's four yuan more expensive than last time."

"Because this place uses real mangoes!"

Chen De stuck in the straw and took a sip.

It really was good.

But the calculations in his head had already begun automatically.

Two Fierce Calamities, two hundred and forty thousand.

Minus zero.

Because he had no intention of splitting it with Lin Xi.

A net profit of two hundred and forty thousand.

Plus a free cup of milk tea.

He was making a killing tonight.

"Sister Su, Xiao Luo said there's one Calamity on the seventh floor and one on the eleventh."

"They're separated?"

"Mm! Xiao Luo said they seem to be fighting over territory."

Chen De raised an eyebrow.

"Fierce Calamities fight over territory too?"

He turned to look at Qubi.

Qubi squatted on a concrete bollard nearby.

"Fierce Calamities have a strong sense of territory. They repel each other."

"So they won't merge?"

"No."

"Then this will be easy."

Chen De took a sip of milk tea.

"Xing Lan."

"Here!"

"Here's the plan for tonight."

"I'll go up and fight."

"You wait downstairs."

Lin Xi's expression shifted from anticipation to confusion.

"Huh? Then what am I here for?"

"You're here for a very important task."

"What task?"

Chen De handed her his half-finished milk tea.

"Hold my milk tea for me."

Lin Xi froze.

"Th-That's it?"

"That's it."

"But Sister Su, you said last time that I needed more real combat experience!"

"Fierce Calamities aren't suitable for you. This doesn't count as real combat."

"But Xiao Luo said these two were really weak—"

"A weak Fierce Calamity is still a Fierce Calamity."

Chen De looked at her.

"How many days did your ribs hurt after you got slapped away last time?"

Lin Xi opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"How many days?"

"...Three days."

Chen De turned to face the unfinished building.

"Wait here. I'll be quick."

"Sister Su—"

"Hmm?"

"Are you really okay fighting two Fierce Calamities by yourself?"

Chen De glanced back at her.

"How long did it take me to kill that Fierce Calamity last time?"

Lin Xi thought about it.

"Seemed... pretty fast?"

"Three point seven seconds."

"These two are even weaker than that one."

Chen De summoned his gun and blade.

A silvery-white glow flowed through the night.

Enhanced weapons really did look good.

"Watch my milk tea."

With a leap, Chen De landed on the second-floor window frame.

Then the third floor. The fourth. The fifth.

He shot upward as if stepping on stairs.

Lin Xi stood downstairs, holding her own milk tea in one hand and Chen De's in the other.

She tilted her head up, watching that white figure climb higher and higher through the darkness.

"So cool..."

She muttered softly.