What's the Fastest Way to Make Money?

Most of the customers had been asked to leave the milk tea shop. The booth in the corner was quiet enough.

Liang Bing set the detector on the table with its screen facing Su Bai. It sat there silently, showing no reaction.

She stared at it for two seconds before speaking. "The night of the West District factory incident, you were delivering food nearby. The day the university was locked down, you were in the teaching building. When a Monster attacked the supermarket, you were there buying a boxed meal. And today, when something happened here, you were here again."

She leaned forward. "Every time, you're nearby. Explain."

Su Bai set his lemonade on the table, pulled out his phone, opened his delivery app, and slid it over.

"Officer Liang, take a look. I took eleven orders between two and four this afternoon, all within these three streets." He pointed at the screen. "The latest one paid two and a half in delivery fees. It was for lemonade from this very shop. I bought two cups for myself while I was here. The second one was half price."

"As for why I'm here." He tipped his chin toward the entrance. "The one bouncing around onstage like mad? Dark Dragon Pitch-Black Flame Envoy is my little sister."

Su Bai sighed. "She organized this event, and I came to haul things for free. I've been moving boxes all afternoon for one cup of milk tea. Officer, does that sound fair to you?"

Liang Bing tapped her fingers twice on the table.

His story held up. Too well. That was what made her uneasy.

Su Xiaoxiao, who had stayed quiet beside them, took a drink of milk tea and promptly flared up.

"Our fan club is a legally registered community organization! We filed the event notice with the neighborhood office! You have no right to detain us!"

Liang Bing rubbed her temples. "No one said we were detaining you. We're just asking routine questions."

"Routine questions?" Su Xiaoxiao's eyes widened. "I heard all about it! Three guys in plain clothes were lurking around our donation box, and someone dealt with them!"

She grew more worked up as she spoke, even raising her cardboard Great Scythe.

"They were obviously trying to steal the money! If Lady Ziwei hadn't shown herself and taken care of those bad guys! She was protecting us! Instead of thanking Lady Ziwei, you're investigating us?"

Liang Bing's temples throbbed.

She had no idea where to begin.

And that talk of protection brought to mind the three heaps of human wreckage beside the dumpster. Hearing the word now felt absurd.

But she had no evidence to refute it. There had been no witnesses, that alley happened to be a surveillance blind spot, and the three men involved were still unconscious.

The only lead was that handful of purple-gold particles of starlight, and not one Magical Girl in the city answered to the Monster Hunting Bureau.

Music from the plaza filtered through the glass. Thousands of people had gathered there. If she ordered the event shut down and forced a search, tomorrow's headline would be Monster Hunting Bureau Cracks Down on Grassroots Fan Club. The director would eat her alive.

"Officer Liang." Su Bai poked his head out from behind his sister. "Are we done with the questions?"

Liang Bing looked at him without a word.

"I understand that cooperating with an investigation is a citizen's duty," Su Bai said with a nod. "But I was supposed to be making deliveries today. These questions have cost me the entire evening rush."

He counted on his fingers. "Two hours of peak demand, fifteen orders minimum. Add the order bonus, and that's at least eighty bucks. You scared my sister so badly she couldn't even keep hosting her event. Compensation for emotional distress is separate."

"You'll reimburse me for lost wages, right?"

Liang Bing stared at him for a full five seconds.

She had met shameless people before, but never anyone this shameless. In all her years at the Monster Hunting Bureau, no one had ever asked her for lost wages during an investigation.

"Su Bai." She softened her voice. "Do you know what happens when you obstruct us in the course of our duties?"

"I'm not obstructing anything." Su Bai looked perfectly at ease. "I've cooperated the whole time and answered every question. But cooperating with an investigation shouldn't mean going hungry for nothing, right?"

"Last time you came to my home to investigate, I cooperated. The time before that, when you locked down the teaching building, I cooperated too. Every single time I cooperate, and every single time I get nothing. How are working people supposed to live?"

Liang Bing was left speechless.

She took out a notepad, scribbled a few lines, tore off the page, and placed it on the table.

"Public security assistance allowance. Five thousand Federal Coins. Take this slip to the branch finance office to collect it."

Su Bai picked up the slip and held it to the light. Only after confirming the official seal was there did he put it in his pocket.

Su Xiaoxiao watched, dumbstruck.

"And you." Liang Bing turned to Su Xiaoxiao. "Community organizations holding large gatherings must register with the Monster Hunting Bureau seven days in advance and undergo a safety assessment."

"We filed a notice with the neighborhood office!"

"The neighborhood office can't handle a large-scale Monster incident!" Liang Bing stood. "If you fail to register next time, the Monster Hunting Bureau will shut your gathering down. Since this is your first offense, I'll let it go today. Don't let it happen again."

Su Xiaoxiao wanted to argue, but Su Bai grabbed the back of her collar and pulled her away.

"Let's go."

The siblings left the milk tea shop, one behind the other.

Music thundered across the plaza, and the Fan Festival was as lively as ever. Su Xiaoxiao held her lemonade and kept muttering.

"Bro, do you think Lady Ziwei's been watching over us in secret all along? Those three bad guys had barely gotten near the donation box when someone dealt with them..."

"Mm."

"She must have accepted me as her Saintess! Why else would she show herself right when we were holding our event?"

"Mm."

"Next time I see her, I'm going to thank her in person!"

Su Bai sipped his lemonade and let it go in one ear and out the other.

No need to thank me. Just don't ask me for money.

Tucked inside the back of his collar, Kabi had held it in the whole way. At last, he let out an envious whine in Su Bai's mind.

"Master! Five thousand bucks! You got it just by talking! That's faster than killing Monsters!"

"So... when are we going to rob the Monster Hunting Bureau?!"