The Magical Girl's Self-Proclaimed Saintess

"Three."

Kabi floated into the air and held up three fingers on her stubby paw.

"I can pick up three faint resonances right now. They're all in the city, and none of them has awakened."

She turned her paw over, revealing a palm-sized silver disc. Star paths were etched across its surface, and three dim markers flickered at its center.

It was called the Star Compass. Kabi often used it to find girls on the verge of awakening as Magical Girls.

"Unfortunately, the Star Compass can only give us a rough area. Its margin of error starts at two kilometers. But the moment they awaken, I'll definitely pinpoint their locations this time."

"Last time, the one you told me about was in the water. By the time I got there, that girl had nearly drowned."

"Master! That wasn't my fault. Who sleeps in the water...?"

Su Bai pinched the bridge of his nose and let it go.

Three unaffiliated Magical Girls were somewhere in the city, and he didn't even know their names.

"Fine. We'll deal with them when the time comes." He stood. "First, sleep."

The next morning, Su Xiaoxiao went out.

Her fan club was meeting in person to plan a birthday celebration for Lady Ziwei. Nobody knew when her birthday was, so they had voted on a date.

Su Bai had a rare stretch of free time and sprawled on his bed, scrolling through short videos.

As he scrolled, a sponsored video caught his eye.

A veiled woman sat on a cushion before a cheap purple-and-gold backdrop. A row of glass bottles stood on the table in front of her, their contents glowing an eerie violet.

"Friends, I am the Saintess personally chosen by Lady Ziwei herself."

"Last night, she appeared in my dream and commanded me to descend among mortals and save them."

"This bottle of Starlight Holy Water was formed from magic she shed in battle. Even an ordinary person can awaken magical talent by drinking it."

"Normally eight million. Today's special price: eight hundred thousand a bottle. Only ten available."

Su Bai stared at the screen for a full ten seconds.

"Kabi."

"I saw it too!" Kabi's voice went shrill. "Master, she's restocked those 'only ten available' bottles eight times in half an hour!"

The comments numbered in the thousands.

"Bought two bottles. I felt warmth flowing through me after drinking them! The Saintess says I'm close to awakening!"

"My dad owns a mine. Ordered three bottles so the whole family can drink them!"

"It hurts my wallet, but it's worth it to become a Magical Girl!"

Payment screenshots came one after another. Eight hundred thousand. One million six hundred thousand. Two million four hundred thousand.

"More than a dozen buyers already." Kabi clung to the screen as she counted. "Rich business owners, office workers—they're all adults, and every one of them is throwing money at this."

Su Bai did a quick calculation. They had taken in over twenty million.

"Good. Very good."

He tossed his phone onto the bed.

"I stay up half the night risking my life against Lord-Class Monsters. I earned that name one cut at a time."

"These people draw a magic circle, hang up a rag, and scam more in one night than I make hunting Monsters in a month."

"Master, calm down! Your heart's racing!"

"I'm perfectly calm."

Su Bai sat up and flexed his wrists.

"Find their hideout. They dare cash in on my name? I'll take that money back in the name of justice."

Soon, he sent a series of orders to the Xinghai Squad group on the Star App.

Mint came through. The Magical Girl quickly gained access to the Xinghai City Magic Communications Network.

The data showed that their target knew what she was doing. She had routed the payments through seven or eight accounts to hide her tracks.

But the fake holy water contained Spirit-Breath Stone powder. Whenever a buyer paid, the seller's account sent back a faint magical pulse.

Ordinary people couldn't catch that pulse.

Mint wasn't an ordinary person.

"Got them!"

Half a minute later, Mint sent a voice message. "Big Sister! South of the city, the Third Cotton Mill Warehouse!"

"Seven people at the source. They're all moving around—it looks like they're packing!"

"Packing?" Su Bai narrowed his eyes. "They're planning to run after this haul."

"Big Sister, shall we head out now?"

"No. Stand by."

Su Bai lay back down, picked up his phone, and reported the video.

"Let them count their money for another day. The happier they are now, the louder they'll cry tonight."

Eleven that night.

The abandoned Third Cotton Mill Warehouse, south of the city.

In a makeshift workshop, seven heavily armed women stood around three long tables. Bundled cash was stacked into walls, crates of fake Origin Stones had been sealed, and two Abyssal-Energy Rifles lay on a table.

The leader had a buzz cut and a black snake tattoo behind her ear. Her Magic Power Scale stood at 1,800, and she had a Two-Star Star Mark. Of the other six, four were High-Tier Buds, while two had only just reached the threshold of a Star Mark.

That was an impressive lineup for unaffiliated monster hunters. In the Monster Hunting Bureau, they could have made up a special operations squad.

"Boss, are we really quitting after this job?" a woman with a ponytail asked, patting a cash box.

"We're quitting." Black Snake sealed the last crate. "Twenty-six million is enough for us to move to another city and live it up for three hundred years."

"Told you riding Ziwei's fame would work! Last time we called it the 'Star Saintess,' nobody bought a bottle at eighty thousand. This time we used Ziwei's name, and they sold out in seconds at eight hundred thousand each!"

"Of course. Have you seen how popular she is? Every woman in the city dreams of becoming her."

"But what if... she really comes after us?"

Black Snake scoffed.

"Comes after us? She can stick her nose into anything she likes, but is she going to bother with us selling sugar water?"

"This place is twenty meters underground. The alloy ceiling can withstand an Enforcer-level strike, and there are three hidden doors at the entrance."

"Even if she turns Xinghai City upside down—"

Boom.

A muffled impact sounded overhead.

The alloy ceiling, supposedly able to withstand an Enforcer-level strike, caved in at its center. Metal tore, rivets flew, and a three-meter-wide hole opened above them.

Purple-gold light poured through the opening, illuminating the entire vault.

All seven women looked up at once.

A tall figure stood at the edge of the hole, bathed in light. Long purple-gold hair fell down her back, and a massive dark-gold scythe rested on her shoulder.

"Zi... Ziwei?!"

"Impossible! How could she—"

Ziwei said nothing.

She floated down through the opening and touched a boot to a safe. Its half-inch steel plating buckled beneath her.

She gave her Dark-Gold Scythe a casual swing.

There was no flash of light, no incantation. Only a brutal wave of pressure swept across the floor.

All seven women were hurled aside with their equipment, slamming into walls, cash boxes, and table corners. Bones cracked one after another, and screams filled the workshop.

Black Snake struggled to reach for a rifle. The instant her wrist moved, the scythe's tip stopped three inches from her throat.

"Who said you could move?"

The voice was cool, betraying no emotion.

Black Snake froze. Cold sweat ran down the snake tattoo behind her ear.

"Your accounts, passwords, and hideouts." The scythe tip edged half an inch closer. "Then each of you will record a confession. Tell me exactly how many people you scammed."

"In your dreams! The people backing us—"

The blade pressed down beside her ear and sank into the floor.

A half-meter-deep crack split the ground.

"My patience is limited."

Ten minutes later, all seven confessions had been recorded and the account files copied onto a drive.

Ziwei looked around. Walls of cash, sealed cash boxes, and more than a dozen unsold bottles of fake Starlight Holy Water.

She raised a hand. Her Storage Magic Device opened, and the cash, bonds, and even the crates of fake Origin Stones tumbled into it.

"Master, we're rich!" Kabi bounced on her shoulder. "There must be ten million here! Those fake Origin Stones have Spirit-Breath Stone powder mixed in. We could melt them down and sell them for tens of thousands!"

"Mm."

After putting away the last box, Ziwei's gaze fell on a corner of the room.

The security camera's red light was still on.

She walked over and leaned toward the lens.

"Listen carefully."

"You think you can use my name to make money?"

She tapped the lens lightly with the scythe tip, and cracks spread across its alloy casing.

"This is what happens."

Two in the morning, at Monster Hunting Bureau headquarters.

A call from an officer on duty dragged Liang Bing out of her dormitory.

When she reached the entrance, she found seven women bound in magic bands and lined up neatly below the steps. A printed sheet was stuck to each woman's forehead, listing her wanted number, name, and crimes.

A data drive sat squarely on the chest of the woman in the middle.

The Technical Department read it on the spot. It contained all the gang's accounts from the past three months, transfer records, hideout locations, and a video of all seven confessing in turn. They had even given up the recipe for the fake holy water.

"Enforcer Liang, all seven are on the Monster Hunter Wanted List." The officer swallowed. "Their combined bounties are over eight hundred thousand."

"Who brought them here?"

"The cameras are all broken. They... they only caught a blur of purple light."

Liang Bing stood on the steps, staring at the seven women without speaking for a long time.

The night wind rustled the papers on their foreheads.

She rubbed her aching temples and forced out two words through gritted teeth:

"Magical Girl..."

"No matter how high you fly, one day I'll drag you down myself!"

The underground vault at Manor One, on the hill behind the city.

Su Bai stacked the last cash box in a corner and set his Storage Magic Device on the table.

All he wanted now was a hot shower and a long sleep.

"Kabi, don't wake me tomorrow morning. If my sister asks where I am, text her back for me and say I'm out delivering food."

"Got it—"

Kabi broke off.

The Star Compass in her arms lit up without warning. Its surface trembled, emitting a high-pitched hum.

"Master!"

"What now?"

"A resonance! The second one's moving!"

Su Bai leaned closer.

Of the three dim markers at the center of the Star Compass, the second was flashing furiously, growing brighter with every pulse.

The needle quivered a few times, then pointed steadily north.

Tianqiong University.

Toward the women's dormitories.

"That rhythm..." Kabi flew a circle around the Star Compass. "Master, she's about to awaken!"

"In the next day or two!"

Su Bai stared at the marker for three seconds.

"Tianqiong University. The women's dormitories."

His hand stopped halfway through loosening his tie.