Magical Girls' Enemy: Stairs

Seventh floor.

Chen De climbed in through the window.

He landed without a sound.

The air was thick with the damp stench of rot.

It was like someone had dumped an entire fridge's worth of leftover food into the hallway, then sealed it up for a month.

Black mist churned at the end of the corridor.

It was a size smaller than the last one.

Nor had it grown any bizarre horns, claws, or anything like that.

It was just a pitch-black mass of fog, without even a proper shape.

It really hadn't developed properly.

"Qubi, what's the deal with this one?"

Qubi crouched on the windowsill, its emerald eyes sweeping over it.

"The core is unstable. It hasn't evolved any protective measures yet, and it doesn't have any special effects. It's just stronger than an ordinary Lesser Calamity."

"So it's a free kill."

Chen De raised his hand.

The muzzle aimed at the end of the hallway.

He pulled the trigger.

A silvery-white light bullet shot through the corridor.

It struck the core dead-on.

The core cracked apart immediately.

There was no struggle.

No resistance.

It did not even have time to scream.

The black mist collapsed inward.

Then vanished.

Chen De had not even taken a single step forward.

"One point three seconds," Qubi announced.

"One hundred and twenty thousand in the bag," Chen De said.

The coordination between those two lines was remarkably like a market vendor announcing the weight on a scale.

Chen De put away his gun and headed upstairs.

The concrete steps in the stairwell were covered in dust.

Every step kicked up a small cloud.

His soles crunched over scattered bits of gravel.

Eleventh floor.

The second one.

It was even smaller than the first.

So small that Chen De briefly wondered if he had gone to the wrong floor.

The core's glow flickered like a flashlight with dying batteries—on, off, on, off.

Barely clinging to life.

Dragging out its last breaths.

Chen De could not even be bothered to fire.

He summoned a short blade.

Then charged straight at it.

One slash.

The black mist dispersed.

Clean and efficient.

"Zero point nine seconds."

"Another one hundred and twenty thousand."

Chen De put away his weapon.

He stood by the eleventh-floor window and looked down.

Lin Xi was still downstairs.

She held a cup of milk tea in each hand.

Her head was tilted up.

Waiting.

The streetlights did not reach this far. The faint glow of her pale-blue dress swayed in the darkness.

She looked like a fan holding glow sticks beneath the stage, waiting for an idol to return for an encore.

Chen De climbed out through the window.

He slowed himself down floor by floor.

Tenth floor. Eighth floor. Fifth floor. Third floor.

He landed.

Without a sound.

"Done."

Lin Xi's eyes widened.

"Done?!"

"Yeah."

"You finished both of them?!"

"Yeah."

"But you were up there for less than two minutes!"

"Climbing stairs took more time."

Chen De's tone was flat.

And that was indeed the truth.

The actual time spent fighting Calamities had added up to just over two seconds.

He had spent the remaining minute or so climbing stairs.

Calamities were not the problem.

Stairs were the real enemy.

Lin Xi stood there with her mouth open, wearing the exact same expression as last time.

Like a failing student watching a top student hand in their exam.

"Th-That's it?"

"That's it."

Chen De took his milk tea back from her hand.

He took a sip.

It was still cold.

Excellent.

"Big Sis Su..."

"Yeah."

"Are you really amazing?"

"Not really."

"Ordinary people don't kill two Fierce Calamities in two minutes!"

"The actual fighting took a little over two seconds. The rest of the time was spent climbing stairs."

Lin Xi fell completely silent.

The wind blew past, making her twin ponytails sway twice.

The shock on her face shifted into something close to worship.

Chen De immediately sensed danger.

"Don't look at me like that."

"What kind of look?"

"The kind that says, 'I want to become your disciple.'"

"But I really want to—"

"I'm not taking disciples."

"I haven't even finished talking!"

"You don't need to. The answer is no."

Chen De sipped his milk tea and started walking back.

Qubi jumped onto his shoulder.

"Chen De."

"Yeah."

"Two hundred and forty thousand in the bag, after deducting the platform fee—"

Chen De turned his head and glanced at Qubi.

He wore a smile.

The kind of smile that was gentle, calm, and full of goodwill.

But his eyes clearly said, Try deducting even one cent.

Qubi's tail stiffened.

"Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue. I mean, after the platform fee was deducted, two hundred and forty thousand remained."

"Now that sounds better."

Footsteps came from behind as Lin Xi jogged after him.

Pitter-patter.

"Big Sis Su!"

"Yeah."

"Can I come up and watch next time?"

"Watch what?"

"Watch how you fight! I want to learn!"

Chen De drank his milk tea and thought about it.

"Sure."

"Really?!"

Her voice instantly jumped several octaves.

It nearly blew out Chen De's eardrums.

"But you have to stay far away."

"How far?"

"At least three floors away."

"Three floors?!"

Lin Xi counted on her fingers.

"Then I won't be able to see anything!"

"That's the point."

"Big Sis Su, do you actually want me to watch or not?!"

Chen De did not answer that question.

Because the answer really was a little contradictory.

If he let her watch, he was afraid she would pick up a few half-baked tricks and rush in to get herself killed.

If he did not let her watch, she would have to face them herself sooner or later.

There was no solution to that contradiction for now.

So he would set it aside.

Anyway, tonight's work was already done.

The night wind blew past.

Chen De lowered his head and took a sip of mango pomelo sago.

It really did taste better than the last cup.

The mango was real mango, and the coconut milk was real coconut milk.

Twenty-two yuan. Worth it.

Chen De kept walking.

Behind him, Lin Xi was still chattering away.

"Big Sis Su, what flavor do you like? I'll get a different kind next time!"

"Anything is fine."

"What about pearl milk tea?"

"Fine."

"What about coconut latte?"

"Sure."

"What about taro milk tea with tapioca?"

"Sure."

"Then, Sister Su, your favorite—"

"Lin Xi."

"Hm?"

"Don't you think you talk a little too much?"

Lin Xi shrank back a little.

"Hehe."

Then she fell quiet for about three seconds.

"Sister Su."

"What now?"

"Don't you think the moon looks especially round tonight?"

Chen De looked up.

It was overcast.

The clouds were so thick that not even a sliver of moon could be seen.

"Your eyes might be even less reliable than your combat ability."

"Hey! That's way too harsh!"

Chen De felt his mood improve a little.

Not because of the moon.

But because he had made a net profit of two hundred and forty thousand tonight.

Plus two cups of milk tea.

He silently did the math in his head.

This return on investment was far better than his dad's stock trading back then.

Of course, that was assuming he ignored all the side effects of this job.

Like getting shorter.

Getting prettier.

Turning into a girl.

And being called a little girl every day.

Qubi yawned on his shoulder.

"Chen De."

"Yeah."

"Tonight's Calamity was weak, but your efficiency in dealing with it has indeed improved."

"Was that a compliment?"

"An objective assessment."

"Since when did you become so good at talking?"

"I've always been good at talking."

"You've always been good at screwing me over."

Qubi did not respond to that.

After a few seconds of silence, it changed the subject.

"Oh, right."

"Yeah."

"You have eight silver bars left. I suggest using another two to strengthen yourself before the next battle."

"Another ten thousand."

"Invest early."

"You make it sound like you're the one paying."

The streetlights stretched out the shadows of two people and a cat.

A tall figure with twin ponytails skipped and hopped along behind.

A shorter figure in white walked ahead.

A white cat perched on her shoulder.

They looked like some strange group out for a late-night stroll.

When they reached the entrance to the residential complex, Lin Xi finally had to head in another direction.

"Sister Su! I'm heading home first!"

"Mm."

"Remember to call me next time there's a Calamity!"

"Got it."

"I'll still bring you milk tea!"

"Whatever."

"Good night, Sister Su!"

"Good night."

Lin Xi skipped away into the distance.

Chen De stood at the intersection and watched for a while.

Until that pale blue figure disappeared around the corner.

"Qubi."

"Yeah."

"Will she be okay going back alone?"

"Her home is only two intersections ahead, and there are no Calamities left in this area now."

"Mm."

Chen De turned and headed toward his own home.

He reached the bottom of his building.

He deactivated his transformation.

The white light faded.

A boy in oversized loungewear stood at the entrance to the building.

He took out his keys.

Went inside.

Changed his shoes.

Tossed Qubi out.

Then plunged headfirst onto the sofa.

His phone vibrated.

He lazily picked it up and glanced at it.

It was from Lin Xi.

Lin Xi: Sister Su, I'm home! You worked hard today! See you tomorrow!

Three hearts followed after it.

Perfect timing.

Chen De's lips twitched.

He replied with a single word.

"Mm."

Then he tossed his phone onto the coffee table.

Turned over.

And stared at the ceiling.