A Faster 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 a detector on the table, its screen facing Su Bai. The device sat silent, showing no reaction.

She watched 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 Monsters attacked the supermarket, you were there buying a boxed meal. And when something happened here today, you were here again."

She leaned forward. "Every time, you were nearby. Explain that."

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

"Officer Liang, look. From two to four this afternoon, I took eleven orders, all within these three streets." He pointed at the screen. "The most recent one paid two and a half Federal Coins to deliver lemonade from this very shop. I was passing by, so I bought two cups for myself too. The second was half price."

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

Su Bai sighed. "She organized this event, and I came to be her free labor. I spent all afternoon hauling boxes for one cup of milk tea. Officer, does that sound fair to you?"

Liang Bing tapped the table twice.

His story held up. It held up too well, and that made her uneasy.

Su Xiaoxiao, who had been silent beside them, took a sip of milk tea and promptly flared up.

"Our fan club is a legally registered community group! We notified the neighborhood office about the event! You have no right to detain people for no reason!"

Liang Bing rubbed her temples. "Nobody said we were detaining you. We're just asking routine questions."

"Routine questions?" Su Xiaoxiao's eyes widened. "I heard all about it! Three plainclothes officers were sneaking around our donation box, and someone dealt with them!"

The more she spoke, the angrier she got. She even raised her giant cardboard scythe.

"They were obviously trying to steal the money! If Lady Ziwei hadn't appeared and dealt with those bad people, they would've gotten away with it! She was protecting us! Instead of thanking Lady Ziwei, you're investigating us?"

Liang Bing's temples throbbed.

For a moment, she had no idea where to begin explaining.

Protecting them. She thought of the three heaps of human wreckage beside the dumpster, and the word struck her as absurd.

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

The only lead was that handful of violet-gold starlight particles. Not one of the Magical Girls in the city answered to the Monster Hunting Bureau.

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

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

Liang Bing looked at him without speaking.

"I understand that cooperating with an investigation is a citizen's duty." Su Bai nodded. "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 evening rush, at least fifteen orders, plus the bonus for hitting my target. That's eighty coins at a minimum. And you scared my sister so badly she couldn't keep hosting her event. Compensation for emotional distress is separate."

"You'll reimburse us for the lost income, 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 working cases for the Monster Hunting Bureau, no one had ever asked her to cover their lost wages.

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

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

"When you came to search my home last time, I cooperated. When you sealed off the teaching building the time before that, I cooperated too. Every time, I cooperate, and every time, I get nothing for it. How are working people like us supposed to survive?"

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 that the official seal was there did he tuck it into his pocket.

Su Xiaoxiao watched from the side, dumbfounded.

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

"We notified 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 Demon Hunting Bureau will shut down your gathering. Since this is your first offense, I'll let it go today. It won't happen again."

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

"Let's go."

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

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

"Bro, do you think Lady Ziwei has been watching over us in secret this whole time? Those three bad guys had barely gotten near the donation box when they were dealt with..."

"Mm."

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

"Mm."

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

Su Bai took a sip of lemonade and let her words go in one ear and out the other.

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

Kabi had been tucked into the back of his collar, holding it in the whole way. At last, he could contain himself no longer and let out an envious whine in Su Bai's mind.

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

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