Level-One Mobilization Order for the Supporters' Club

That last wisp of lingering will wavered in the rain, then vanished.

Ziwei hovered in midair, watching the final flecks of ash fall into the sea. The water closed over them. Nothing remained.

"Master, the drones will arrive in twenty seconds. The Technical Department is racing over here like a pack of lunatics."

"We're done here."

Purple light skimmed the wave crests and disappeared into the rain.

By early the next morning, the rain had cleared, and dawn light filled the sky.

The Xinghai City morning news anchor had dark circles under both eyes and spoke so fast he nearly tripped over his words.

"Citizens, we interrupt this broadcast with an emergency announcement."

"At 11:47 last night, the D-Rank Lord-Class Monster known as the Rift-Splitting Dreadbeast breached the Cross-Sea Defense Line and attacked the Heavy Industry Base."

"At the critical moment, Magical Girl Ziwei appeared once more and killed it with a single strike. Reactor Three remains intact. There were no civilian deaths, and losses were the lowest ever recorded for a disaster of this kind."

"The Monster Hunting Bureau has also released its Rift monitoring records: the monster began battering the World Membrane three days ago. No superhuman was responsible for the disaster. We urge all citizens not to believe or spread rumors."

Xingfuli Apartment, Room 703.

The television was on. Nobody was watching.

Su Xiaoxiao sat cross-legged on the sofa with half a slice of toast in her mouth, hammering away at her tablet with all ten fingers. Her twin ponytails bounced with indignation.

"I'm so mad! I'm so mad!"

On the screen, an account verified as a "Veteran Monster-Hunting Expert" sat at number seven on the trending list. Its post had a long, obnoxious title—

"An objective discussion: Four Lord-Class Disasters in the month and a half since Ziwei appeared. Coincidence, or is she the cause?"

"Xinghai City had a hundred years of peace. She shows up, and Lord-Class Monsters start dropping into the city like dumplings into a pot. Does that seem normal?"

"High-level monsters pursue concentrated sources of magic. That's basic monster-hunting knowledge. With all her magic, she's the most conspicuous target in the city."

"Who's paying for that kilometer-wide crater in the shopping district? Taxpayers foot the bill while she dusts off her skirt and flies away."

"Either she turns over her battle spoils to compensate the city, or she leaves Xinghai City."

Beneath the post, hundreds of throwaway accounts piled on with comments so uniform they hadn't even bothered changing the wording.

"A target? Compensation?"

Su Xiaoxiao stuffed the rest of her toast into her mouth. Cheeks bulging, she sent her fingers flying across the screen.

"@everyone Level-one mobilization order! Level-one mobilization order!"

"Roger! President, what happened?"

"Someone's being paid to smear Lady Ziwei! Three expert accounts, all backed by the same bots. They posted in the same minute!"

"I had someone get me fragments of the base surveillance footage. The Rift was expanding three days ago. The Monster came first; Lady Ziwei arrived afterward!"

"The official report debunking the rumors is up too. We've got all the evidence!"

"Split into three groups. Group one, post the report in full. Group two, post the long surveillance images. Group three, come hit the comments with me!"

"Group three in position! Keyboards charged!"

"Reporting, President! I borrowed my mom's account too!"

"That's the spirit! Remember the slogan—"

More than thirty thousand accounts surged into action.

Under every smear post, replies stacked up in perfect formation, a thousand deep at minimum.

"Smear Lady Ziwei again, and I'll crawl through the internet and send you straight to heaven!"

"Smear Lady Ziwei again, and I'll crawl through the internet and send you straight to heaven!"

"Smear Lady Ziwei again, and I'll crawl through the internet and send you straight to heaven!"

The post at number seven on the trending list lasted half an hour before its owner deleted it and disabled comments.

The other two expert accounts held out for forty minutes, then deactivated and fled.

In the north of the city, inside a rental house slated for demolition, smoke hung thick in the air.

Old Cat and Rat grinned from ear to ear over a table covered in transfer records.

"The Golden Scale Society was generous with this job. Five hundred thousand for just three hundred posts."

"No kidding. Ziwei's taken down four lords in a month and a half. The market price of high-grade Abyssal Cores has dropped thirty percent. The Golden Scale Society's been stockpiling them for two years, and now they're stuck with the lot."

"Those big combat teams chipped in too. That woman took every lord bounty for herself. They can't even get a taste."

"Keep smearing her. I've already got the next line: At this rate, she'll bring down property prices across Xinghai City."

"Once she's too scared to show her face, we pressure the authorities into taking her under their control. Then the job's done."

Rat was about to nod when his ears pricked up.

"What's that noise?"

Footsteps, rapid and numerous, were pounding down the corridor toward their floor.

The two exchanged a glance, lunged for the back window, and slid down a drainpipe into the alley.

Seven or eight burly men in training clothes stood shoulder to shoulder at the alley entrance, blocking their way.

The buzz-cut man in front rolled his wrists, his knuckles cracking. A burlap sack dangled from one hand.

"Where are you going?"

"W-who are you?!"

"Southern District Wild Monster Hunters' Fighting Group." The buzz-cut man shook open the sack. "One of the five who survived in the Heavy Industry Base Defense Corps Third Squad is my little brother."

"He told me that without that purple light, there wouldn't have been enough left of him to cremate."

"You took money to post your trash. How the authorities deal with that is their business."

"But as for tracking you down through the internet, we figured we'd do the commenters a favor."

A few minutes later, two burlap sacks appeared outside the Patrol Police Duty Room.

Printouts were pinned neatly to them: transfer records, chat screenshots, and the paid-posting contract.

Across one sheet, thick marker letters read: FOR SMEARING THE PERSON WHO SAVED YOUR LIVES. PLEASE TAKE DELIVERY.

The patrol officers circled the sacks twice. For a long while, none of them managed a word.

The bedroom door opened in Room 703.

Su Bai came out yawning, his hair a bird's nest. He held a cheap 9.9-yuan razor, its blade rasping across his chin.

"Bro! You're up!"

Su Xiaoxiao raised her tablet high without looking back.

"Battle report! Total victory! Three smear accounts: two deactivated, one fled! Some public-spirited citizens bagged up the bot ringleaders and delivered them to the Police Station!"

"Oh," Su Bai mumbled. "Very public-spirited of them."

"Right? Our supporters' club is full of talent!"

She turned, eyes wide.

"Bro, do you think Lady Ziwei will see all our comments? Will she know thirty thousand people across the city are fighting for her?"

The razor paused.

"She will." Su Bai scraped the last bit of foam away in the mirror. "She definitely saw them."

"Hehe." Su Xiaoxiao hugged her tablet and grinned foolishly, then abruptly grew serious. "Oh, right. How late were you out making deliveries last night? You look pretty tired."

"The rain was heavy. Lots of orders."

"Oh... Then stay home today. I'll make you noodles!"

"Did the sun rise in the west?"

"I'm in a good mood!"

She suddenly leaned in and held out her hand.

"Bro, can I have a five-hundred-yuan advance on my allowance? Don't ask what it's for."

"Fan-club expenses?"

"Justice expenses!"

Su Bai wiped his hands, picked up his phone, and transferred her a thousand.

"Use the extra five hundred to buy a proper breakfast. Stop living on toast."

"Long live Hajige!"

Su Xiaoxiao bounced back to the sofa, tapping furiously at the screen, busy with who knew what grand undertaking.

Su Bai took his soy milk to the dining table. Watching those twin ponytails bob up and down, he nearly failed to hold back a smile.

Being protected felt pretty good.

Being protected by someone who didn't know she was protecting him felt even bet—no, it felt even better.

He tapped a thought into his mind.

"Kabi."

"Here, here!" Kabi's voice popped up, giddy as though she'd counted money until her hands went numb.

"Master, great news! In just half a day, the Public Fund Pool has grown by another 4.3 million!"

"How?"

"The fans said Lady Ziwei had been wronged, so they were putting money in to cheer her up!"

"Your sister led the charge with eight hundred. She donated more than anyone else."

Su Bai froze with his soy milk halfway to his mouth and glanced at the transfer record on his phone.

One thousand yuan. He'd sent it five minutes ago.

Well, the money had made a round trip and come home.

"Master, there's something else important." Kabi lowered her voice.

"When you went all out last night, the resonance from your purple-gold light spread across the entire city."

"At Xinghai City Girls' High School, Tianqiong University, and Linjiang Normal University, at least three girls with exceptionally powerful obsessions sensed the Magical Waveform."

"What does 'sensed' mean?"

"It means the seeds have fallen into the soil. In as little as three days, or half a month at most, new Magical Girls will emerge."

"And Master, all three are within the areas you and your sister visit in your daily lives."

Su Bai said nothing.

He had recruited Mint and Cherry himself. They listened, were easy to manage, and if anything went wrong, he could handle it.

Wild ones were different.

A Magical Girl awakening in a busy part of town with no one to guide her—what kind of commotion would she cause? How many eyes would she draw? He didn't dare imagine it.

He lowered his gaze and swallowed the last of his soy milk. Its warm sweetness slid down his throat and settled in his stomach.

Then he asked the question that had been on his mind for so long.

"Back to the point."

"How many wild Magical Girls are still in Xinghai City who haven't joined me?"