Your Luck Really Isn't Very Good

Deep inside the warehouse.

Two dim crimson lights glowed like two cigarettes lit in the darkness.

Then that thing emerged.

No.

Rather than walking, it was—crawling.

It had four legs.

The joints on every leg bent backward.

Its body looked like someone had cobbled together parts from several animals, then twisted them crooked.

Its surface was covered in a layer of black carapace, like charred tree bark.

Its head was the most disgusting part.

It had no mouth, but there was a crack extending from its neck.

The crack was full of teeth.

The instant Chen De saw its full form, the bowl of instant noodles in his stomach nearly came back up the way it went down.

"Qubi."

"Hm?"

"You were right."

"About what?"

"It really is ugly."

Qubi crouched atop the warehouse entrance, its emerald eyes fixed on the creature.

"Fierce Calamity. Carapace type. Relatively high physical defense."

"You're only telling me that now?"

"Does knowing now make any difference from knowing five minutes ago?"

"Yes! Five minutes ago, I could've chosen not to come in!"

The Fierce Calamity let out a low growl.

It did not come from its mouth—it had no mouth.

The sound seemed to be squeezed out from its entire body.

Chen De's scalp instantly prickled.

"It's about to move," Qubi warned.

No kidding.

Chen De could see that.

The Fierce Calamity's four backward-jointed legs suddenly tensed, and its entire body shot forward like a spring.

It was far faster than a Lesser Calamity.

Chen De twisted aside to evade it.

It grazed past his shoulder.

The pressure of its passage sent his hair flying wildly.

That thing overshot, slamming headfirst into the warehouse wall.

Boom.

A crater was smashed into the entire wall.

Broken bricks clattered down.

"It hit the wall," Chen De said.

"You still have time to watch the show?"

"No, I'm observing it. It doesn't seem very smart."

"Calamities never had much intelligence to begin with. They rely entirely on instinct."

"So it's just a brainless brute in armor?"

"More or less."

"Then this will be easy."

Chen De raised the gun in his right hand and pulled the trigger at the Fierce Calamity.

A white light bullet whistled through the air.

It struck the Fierce Calamity squarely in the back.

The light bullet exploded.

Sparks scattered everywhere.

A white scorch mark appeared on the Fierce Calamity's carapace.

But it failed to break through its defense.

That thing did not even flinch.

"..."

Chen De's expression froze.

"Qubi."

"Yeah."

"It took it."

"I saw."

"Why didn't you tell me beforehand that the gun couldn't hurt it?"

"I told you its physical defense was high."

"You didn't say it was this high!"

The Fierce Calamity tore itself free from the wall and turned around.

Its dim crimson eyes locked onto Chen De.

It charged again.

This time, Chen De was prepared.

He leaped to the left, using the momentum to slide across the ground.

His white thigh-high socks scraped against the floor, and his skirt flared up.

The Fierce Calamity missed, but this time it had learned.

It did not keep charging forward.

Instead, it came to an abrupt stop midway. Its four legs scraped sparks across the ground as it turned and swept toward Chen De.

A thick tail—a tail that had been hidden behind it before—swung horizontally at him.

"It has a tail too?!"

Chen De had no time to dodge. He raised the blade in his left hand before him.

The tail smashed into the blade.

The tremendous force sent his entire body flying.

His back slammed heavily into an iron pillar.

The pillar bent.

Chen De did not.

But it hurt.

It hurt like hell.

"Cough..."

He climbed up from the ground, his back spasming in waves.

"Qubi, you said I wouldn't die."

"You're not dead right now."

"I'm about to be!"

"You won't be. A magical girl's body is far stronger than an ordinary person's."

"That hit just now could only count as a minor injury at most."

"A minor injury? I feel like my spine's about to snap!"

"You stood up, so it clearly didn't snap."

Chen De gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the blade.

The good news was that he really could still move.

The bad news was that the ugly thing was charging at him again.

"The gun can't pierce its carapace. What about the blade?"

"The blade's magic is more concentrated. It has a chance."

"How big a chance?"

"You'll know if you try."

"Can't you give me an exact number?!"

The Fierce Calamity charged again.

This time, Chen De did not dodge.

He stepped forward.

The moment the Fierce Calamity rushed before him, he sidestepped its frontal charge and slashed the blade in his left hand toward its flank.

A white blade light streaked across the carapace.

Screech.

The blade carved a white gash into it.

This time, there was a reaction.

The Fierce Calamity let out a piercing shriek, its body jolting violently.

But the blade had only cut through the surface.

It had not pierced through.

"Qubi! I only broke the skin!"

"Then cut it a few more times!"

"That's about as useful as saying nothing!"

The Fierce Calamity flew into a rage.

All four legs exerted force at once, sending its entire body spinning in place.

Its tail, limbs, and carapace—a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree sweep with no blind spots.

Chen De was forced to leap back.

He retreated three steps and fired his gun three times in succession with his right hand.

All three light bullets struck the Fierce Calamity.

They still failed to break its defense.

But at least they interrupted its spin for a moment.

"Is this thing really a Fierce Calamity? Not a Dire Calamity?"

"It's a Fierce Calamity. Individual differences are simply rather significant."

"So you mean my luck is bad?"

"Your luck really isn't very good."

"Thanks for your honesty."

Chen De quickly swept his gaze around the warehouse.

Abandoned iron racks and rusted equipment were scattered everywhere.

His gaze stopped on a half-collapsed iron rack.

A not particularly reliable idea began taking shape in his mind.

"Qubi, are its leg joints covered in carapace?"

Qubi's ears twitched.

"You're finally starting to use your brain."

"Answer the question."

"The carapace is thinnest at the joints."

"How thin?"

"Your blade can cut through it."

That was enough.

Chen De did not ask any further questions.

He raised his gun and fired five shots in rapid succession at the Fierce Calamity.

Not to break its defense.

To draw its attention.

All five light bullets struck the Fierce Calamity's head.

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

Like firecrackers going off.

The Fierce Calamity's head rocked from the barrage, driving it into a fury.

Its dim crimson eyes nearly seemed to catch fire.

It let out a shriek.

Then all four legs launched at once, and it pounced straight at Chen De.

It was at least thirty percent faster than before.

Chen De did not dodge.

He took two steps back.

His back pressed against the half-collapsed iron frame.

The Fierce Calamity drew closer and closer.

Three meters.

Two meters.

One meter.

At the last moment, Chen De sidestepped.

The Fierce Calamity crashed straight into the iron frame.

But this was no ordinary collision.

The iron frame was already half-collapsed.

At the instant of impact, the Fierce Calamity's four reverse-jointed legs became wedged in the gaps of the frame.

It struggled once.

It could not break free.

Its two front legs were stuck fast.

Its joints were exposed.

"Now!"

Qubi shouted.

There was no need for a reminder.

Chen De had already charged forward.

The blade in his left hand rose high.

The white flash of the blade shone blindingly in the darkness.

He brought it down on the joint of the Fierce Calamity's right front leg.

This time, it was not just a scratch.

The blade cut straight in.

The Fierce Calamity let out a bloodcurdling shriek.

Black liquid sprayed from the wound.

Chen De had no time to feel sick.

A second slash.

The joint of its left front leg.

Severed.

The Fierce Calamity lost the support of both front legs, its entire body pitching forward as it slammed heavily to the ground.

It was still struggling.

Its tail whipped wildly against the floor.

But it could no longer stand.

Chen De circled behind it.

Its dark-red eyes spun madly, trying to catch sight of him.

"Qubi, does it have a shell behind its head?"

"Yes, thinner than the shell on its body."

"That's enough."

Chen De pressed the muzzle against the back of the Fierce Calamity's head.

"At this range, will it penetrate?"

Qubi fell silent for a second.

"It will."

Chen De pulled the trigger.

The light bullet fired in at point-blank range.

A hole exploded through the Fierce Calamity's head.

The dark-red glow vanished from its eyes.

Its entire body twitched twice.

Then, like a Lesser Calamity, it dissolved into black smoke and scattered into the air.

The warehouse fell silent again.

Only Chen De remained standing where he was.

Gasping for breath.

Quite a bit of black fluid stained his pure-white long shirt.

His skirt was dirty too.

Several scratches marked his thigh-high stockings.

He lowered his head and looked himself over.

His whole body was trembling.

Not from fear.

From adrenaline.

"...We won?"

"We won."

Qubi leaped down from atop the warehouse door, landing lightly on the ground.

Its emerald-green eyes looked at him, holding something Chen De could not quite understand.

"Not bad."

"Soloing a Fierce Calamity on your second outing."

"The method was a little rough, but it was effective."

Chen De slowly crouched down, planting his blade in the ground to support himself.

His back hurt badly.

Probably the aftermath of slamming into that iron pillar earlier.

"Qubi."

"Hm?"

"Did the hundred and twenty thousand come through?"

"It did."

Chen De took out that new seven-hundred-yuan phone and glanced at it.

A bank text popped up on the screen.

120,000.00 yuan received.

He stared at that number for a full five seconds.

Then a smile slowly spread across his face.

"Worth it."

"You weren't saying that when you got slapped flying."

"That was then. This is now."

Chen De stood up and put away his weapons.

With a flash of white light, he turned back into a 1.75-meter-tall teenage boy.

His back still hurt, but it was much lighter now.

He rolled his shoulders and bared his teeth.

"Qubi."

"Hm?"

"Could your intel be a little more reliable next time?"

"I'll do my best."

"Whenever you say you'll do your best, I know it'll be the same next time."

Qubi hopped onto his shoulder and flicked its tail.

"Oh, right. I forgot to tell you something else."

"What?"

"When you were fighting the Fierce Calamity just now."

"Another magical girl was nearby, watching you."

Chen De stopped in his tracks.

"What?"

"About two hundred meters east of the warehouse."

"She's already left."

Chen De turned to look east of the warehouse.

The night stretched endlessly, with nothing in sight.

"Who was it?"

"I don't know."

"But her magical fluctuations were steady. She was probably the experienced type."

The night wind swept past, carrying away the last wisp of black smoke from the warehouse.

Chen De suddenly felt that this city's nights seemed far livelier than he had imagined.