No Visitors

The next morning, Old Wei's voice came over the Association's loudspeaker.

Instead of calling a meeting, an announcement was made to the entire Branch via broadcast, one-way.

"Urgent Notice... The Association has received an important mission. All Magical Girl in the Association will be involved in this mission. From today onwards, all Association members are temporarily prohibited from contacting the Magical Girl."

"Repeat it..."

Although everyone in the Association was a little confused about Old Wei's orders, they still silently accepted them.

After all, something did happen in the Association recently.

If these measures are for the safety of the girls, the staff are happy to accept them.

In the office, Old Wei turned off the radio and dragged the last box of instant noodles and a whole box of instant coffee through the door.

He wasn't afraid.

He had figured something out.

He currently holds the highest authority in the entire Branch.

The Branch Director is primarily responsible for managing economic matters.

The list of informants, mission schedules, and records of accessing classified files are all compiled in his possession.

The person the enemy most wants to impersonate, and who is also the most valuable to impersonate, is him.

As long as he is still out there, any order issued by "Old Wei" could come from the enemy—at that point, the entire Branch wouldn't even know who to listen to.

But after he locked himself up, the logic reversed.

If he doesn't come out, then if "Old Wei" appears outside, it will be the enemy exposing themselves.

The real voice of Old Wei will only come from one place—

Old Wei looked down at the six black communicators arranged side by side on the table.

"So ugly."

The Ranger gripped the black communicator, turning it over and over in his hand.

It's square and plain, without any decoration, with only a call button and a channel switch button, as simple as a product of the last century.

"This is a specially approved encrypted channel device, physically isolated, and it doesn't use any public networks." Old Wei's voice came from the conference room speakers—this was the only way he could communicate with everyone now. "From now on, it will be the only credential of trust between us."

"The rule is very simple, there's only one."

"After you separate, no matter how long you've been apart or how close you are—you must contact each other once before you meet again."

Even if it's just a door away.

From the speakers, Old Wei's voice was deliberate and clear, uttering each word distinctly.

"Even if you just went to the restroom, before you come back and knock on the door, you must press the communicator first. Just say 'It's me,' that's all."

"If the person outside hasn't contacted us beforehand--"

"Don't open the door. Don't respond. Report to the channel immediately."

The Ranger raised his hand, then remembered that Old Wei couldn't see, and awkwardly lowered it. "Um... isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? It's just a door away, and they still want to..."

"Just one door away, that was her favorite distance."

What speaks is love.

"She can become anyone. What she needs most is a brief moment when you were apart—even if it's only thirty seconds."

Therefore, we shouldn't give her that window of opportunity.

"I'm here to solemnly remind you... perhaps your response to this situation will be to remain silent, but I... will grind you to dust!"

After all, as a member of the Dawn Rank, Ai was confident that she had surpassed the vast majority of her enemies.

The Ranger shrank back and carefully clipped the communicator to his waist.

Thousand Blades picked up her and Ai's communicators, examining them thoroughly, then suddenly asked, "Where are the communicators themselves? What if she stole one, or made a fake one?"

"Good question." Old Wei's voice held a hint of relief. "Don't worry, the communicator isn't just protected by physical security; it also has Magic Power security. If someone gets their hands on it, they won't be able to use it at all, and it's impossible for a counterfeiter to connect to the communication network."

The group exchanged glances and did not ask any further questions.

The fact that Old Wei is this cautious speaks volumes about the severity of the situation.

We definitely need to be on high alert.

"Two other things."

Old Wei continued.

"First, from this moment forward, all members of the Association shall suspend all direct contact with Magical Girl."

"You heard that too."

"Intelligence, missions, and logistics are all transmitted unidirectionally through my channel. I have already synchronized this order to the entire Branch —anyone who violates it, regardless of the reason, will be dealt with as a violation."

"Secondly, the families of Knight and Thousand Blades have all been accommodated by the Association this morning."

"The people in charge of security are the people I trust most, and I've implemented the same screening measures for them as I have for you."

"... Thanks."

The Knight's expression was complicated as he thought of his mother also being in danger.

The same applies to Thousand Blades.

After arranging everything, Old Wei leaned back in his chair, let out a long breath, and rubbed his throbbing temples.

Lockdown, communication devices, family relocation.

These are all "shields".

But a shield alone is not enough.

The enemy is hiding in the Branch; as long as she isn't dragged out, this thorn will remain stuck in our hearts.

Therefore, he needs to cast a wider net.

Old Wei turned around and looked at the several documents that had been prepared and laid out in front of him.

The content is largely the same—it's all about recent patrol adjustments and deployment arrangements.

But within each one lies a different, inconspicuous "mistake".

The document sent to the Logistics Department stated, "Energy Crystal will be transferred from warehouse number three in the early hours of Wednesday."

The document sent to the Monitoring Department stated, "Energy Crystal were transferred from warehouse No. 2 in the early hours of Thursday."

The document sent to the Action Team had different times, locations, and contents.

Energy Crystal are naturally Crystal from the convergence of positive emotions. They are also the energy source for the Association's Branch and an important strategic resource for the Association.

If there were informants around, they would have passed this message on.

At that point, we'll be able to narrow down the area.

This is the oldest method.

It's also the simplest and safest method.

Old Wei sealed the documents separately and sent them out through their respective internal channels.

After doing all this, he stared at the ceiling for a while.

"Bring it on."

He said softly.

"Let's see which hook you bite first."

Night falls.

The Association's dormitory building fell silent.

After washing up, with his hair still wet, the Ranger was about to go find Celestial Star to get a hairdryer—but then he remembered the new rules and carefully pressed the communicator button.

"It's me, I need a hairdryer."

I'll get into your bed.

"But there's still a bed board separating us."

She stuck out her tongue and took the hair dryer from Celestial Star's table.

After drying his hair, the wandering Ranger flopped onto the bed, ready to enjoy the last moments of pleasure of the day.

Knock, knock, knock.

A knock on the door.

Who is it?

She sat up groggily.

A Masked Heroine voice came from outside the door, slightly nasal, as if the person had just finished showering. "It's me."

"Oh, here it comes--"

The moment the Ranger jumped off the bed and touched the doorknob, Celestial Star stopped him.

"How..."

She stopped moving.

Then, she quickly realized what was happening.

Communicator.

I lay quietly on the bedside table, the screen black.

It didn't ring.

Almost instantly, Celestial Star had entered battle mode, because the dazed Ranger had already responded.

"Senior Masked Heroine Guy, it's late. Let's talk about it tomorrow."

As she said this, she opened her communication app.

"Masked Heroine? What happened to Masked Heroine?"

The Knight's voice came through the channel, then there was a moment of silence.

"I'm coming right away... Masked Heroine, you stay in your room and don't move. I'll assume you're an enemy whenever I see you."

"Receive..."

Silence fell outside, and after a long while, the Knight's voice finally came through the channel.

"Open the door"

"Ugh! You look like a ghost! Knight, please don't leave tonight!"

Upon opening the door, the Ranger immediately huddled tremblingly into the Knight's arms.

The Knight was utterly helpless upon hearing this.

I never expected the enemy to act so quickly.

Since they didn't get anything good from the strongest love, they came looking for the Ranger and the Celestial Star...