Whoever Wants to Save the World Can Do It

"Revive what?"

"The civilians who died in the rift." Su Bai's voice was flat. "That time in the western district, before the giant whale came down, some people must not have escaped."

Kabi shook his head.

"There's no way to do that."

"The will of the world offers no salvation for free. Every life lost in a rift of the abyss has had its very concept absorbed by the demon nest."

"What does it mean for a concept to be absorbed?"

"It means that person has been struck from the world's ledger." Kabi's voice dropped. "Their name, their existence, every trace of them—all of it belongs to deep space."

"Even if you put their body back together and restarted their heart, what woke up would be an empty shell filled with fragments of deep space."

Su Bai stared at the pile of powder on the table without speaking.

"Master."

Kabi floated in front of him and spoke one word at a time.

"Even the ashes of those who die in a rift belong to deep space."

"But you have a scythe. You can keep the people still alive around you from turning to ash."

Su Bai leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling.

The light fixture was still buzzing.

After a long moment, he laughed.

There was no grand idealism in those eyes, only cold clarity.

"So after all that, I still have to risk my life chopping up monsters for money."

"As for saving the world, whoever wants to can do it."

"I just want to look after my own little patch."

"Your little patch?" Kabi raised an eyebrow. "How little?"

"Happiness Lane, apartment 703." Su Bai counted on his fingers. "Me, Xiaoxiao, the mortgage, and boxed lunches."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"You don't want the two million either?"

"Money grows on my patch." Su Bai kept a straight face. "I've got fertile soil."

"..."

Kabi decided not to discuss philosophy with him.

In the next room, a mechanical keyboard clattered without pause.

Su Xiaoxiao's dramatic shouting came through the door.

"What do you mean, Lady Ziwei went to the supermarket to grab half-price boxed lunches?! Do you haters have no shame? She was making an inspection! Checking on people's livelihoods! Get it?"

"And even if Lady Ziwei did eat boxed lunches, she'd do it with divine grace! She could squat by the roadside eating a rice ball, and it would still be a goddess descending among mortals!"

Su Bai's chopsticks froze halfway to his mouth.

Kabi floated beside his shoulder and lowered his voice.

"Master, your sister is telling people in her group that you went to the supermarket to check on people's livelihoods."

"I heard."

"Aren't you touched?"

"Why would I be?" Su Bai stuffed a chicken leg into his mouth. "I really did go for the half-price boxed lunches."

"..."

"She got one thing right, though."

"What?"

"When I eat a rice ball, I really do look graceful."

Just then—

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Three heavy, rhythmic knocks rang out against the apartment's metal security door.

Su Bai put down his chopsticks.

It was nine at night. Building management wouldn't come by now, and he hadn't ordered delivery.

The keyboard in the next room fell silent.

"Bro." Su Xiaoxiao's voice came through the door, wary. "Someone's knocking."

"I heard." Su Bai stood up. "Stay in your room. Don't come out."

He went to the entryway but didn't open the door. First, he looked through the peephole.

Three people stood outside.

Dark uniforms. Monster Hunting Bureau insignias on their shoulders.

The middle-aged man in front had a square face and stood ramrod straight.

His face was turned directly toward the peephole.

He knew someone inside was watching.

"Tianhai City Monster Hunting Bureau, Special Action Group."

The man's voice carried through the door, each word distinct.

"Is Mr. Su Bai home?"

The eye Su Bai had pressed to the peephole slowly widened.

He hadn't left a single opening lately.

No one had seen him transform. He'd sold the loot through an alternate account. Even Xiaoxiao was in the dark.

So why was the Monster Hunting Bureau knocking on his door at nine at night?

One thought flooded his mind.

Oh, no. Have they found out I'm a magical girl?!

The thought had barely surfaced before Su Bai mentally slapped it down.

Impossible.

If they'd identified him, a full squad would have come tonight and kicked the door in.

They wouldn't politely knock and ask if he was home.

This was a sweep. They were casting a wide net.

In three seconds, Su Bai ran through the whole situation and settled his nerves.

"Master, Master!" Kabi floated up from the dining table, his stubby arms clutching his head. "It's the Monster Hunting Bureau!"

"Shut up. Get in here."

Su Bai pulled open the back of his collar. The chubby sprite zipped inside, curled into a ball against his spine, and even tucked away his glow.

"Bro?" Su Xiaoxiao's voice tightened from behind her bedroom door. "Who is it?"

"Building management. Checking the water meter." Su Bai kept his voice low. "Stay there. Don't come out."

He ruffled his hair into a bird's nest, then rubbed his face hard a couple of times until he looked like a worn-out worker who'd been up all night.

The bright-eyed young man in the mirror was gone. In his place was some poor bastard life had wrung dry.

Satisfied, Su Bai nodded and opened the security door.

Three people stood outside.

The man in front was middle-aged and square-faced, standing ramrod straight. The young woman beside him wore the same black Monster Hunting Bureau trench coat, with a badge pinned to her chest—three stars, with "Enforcer" engraved beneath them.

Three-star Enforcer.

Su Bai's stomach dropped.

At that rank, her magic reading had to be at least two thousand. On a battlefield, she could tear down a building single-handedly. And they'd brought her along to knock on doors?

A young man who looked like a trainee stood at the entrance too, craning his neck for a look inside.

The woman moved first. She flashed her credentials with crisp efficiency.

"Special Action Group, Monster Hunting Bureau. Investigator Liang Bing. This is Team Leader Han Dong. Sorry to disturb you so late. It's a routine check."

Su Bai narrowed his eyes and yawned.

"Officers... what are you checking for? No monsters here, just two boxes of leftover food."

"The supernatural disaster in the western district last night, and the attack on Tianhai Savings Bank."

Liang Bing looked past his shoulder, scanning the apartment.

"There may be traces of abnormal magic in the areas affected by those two incidents. This building is within the screening zone. We need to come in for routine questions and a scan."

Her gaze was so sharp it made his skin prickle.

Su Bai sneered inwardly, but his face fell.

"Officer, I was making deliveries until dawn last night, had classes all day today, and I've barely had two bites of dinner. Are you checking for monsters at my dinner table now?"

"Routine procedure," Han Dong said in a rough voice. "Ten minutes."

Su Bai watched them for two seconds, then stepped aside.

"Come in. No need to take off your shoes. The floor's dirty anyway."

The living room was small enough to take in at a glance.

A few half-price boxed lunches sat on the dining table, and a delivery helmet rested on the shoe rack.

Han Dong carried a palm-sized device and slowly made a circuit of the apartment.

The needle stayed perfectly still.

Su Bai leaned against the doorframe without so much as lifting an eyelid.

The first thing he'd done after transforming was compress all his magic deep inside his body, packing it into an airtight core.

Kabi had said this method of concealment was cleaner than the Monster Hunting Bureau's Shielding Chamber.

If that thing made a sound, it would be a miracle.