Confiscating the Tools of the Crime

Ziwei took a step back, carrying the dark gold Great Scythe, to avoid the corrosive, dirty water.

She glanced down at the hem of her skirt.

The once-clean lace was now stained with a few grayish-black mud spots.

"Tsk, the dry cleaners are definitely going to charge extra for special stain treatments again."

Ziwei inserted the Great Scythe into the cement seam of the nearby load-bearing column.

The broken water pipe was still spraying mud out.

The air was filled with the stench of engine oil, sulfur, and rotting seaweed.

In the corner, Mint stood up, leaning against the wall, clutching her chest and panting.

"Senior, is that guy completely dead?"

"With its head ripped off, how could it possibly come back to life?"

Without turning her head, Ziwei reached for the tactical buckle at her waist.

Clear Bell sat on the wet cement floor, staring blankly at the five-meter-tall corpse.

"You're amazing, senior! You defeated it without even casting a spell..."

"Watch less, learn more, and regulate your breathing."

Ziwei drew a high-frequency vibrating dagger and walked to the carcass of the beast.

There's absolutely no need for any fancy spellcasting animations.

Su Bai had only one thing on his mind right now: to quickly retrieve tonight's spoils.

If purification magic is used, this core, corrupted by the abyss, will lose half its value.

Moreover, the pure essence must be saved for later to refine the Deep Space Marrow Core at home; it cannot be wasted here.

Physical methods are the most cost-effective approach.

Ziwei pressed the switch on the dagger, and the blade emitted a faint humming sound.

She crouched down, aimed the tip of her knife at the thick black armor on the beast's chest, and sliced it off.

Click.

The hard stratum corneum was easily cut open by the high-frequency blade.

Su Bai's technique was as skilled as that of an old butcher deboning bones at the market.

Cut open the outer shell, sever the fascia, and avoid the still twitching acid sac.

The knife tip plunged directly into that disgusting mass of soft tissue and flicked upwards.

"Vomit..."

Mint glanced back, then immediately turned around and gagged.

"Senior, your method is too cruel! Is this how Magical Girl have their cores extracted?"

"What else? Sing a lullaby to the corpse and wait for it to spit out the core itself?"

Ziwei pinched the object that had been picked out with the tip of the knife between two fingers.

It was a crystal the size of a fist, its surface shimmering with a sickly purple light.

"Clear Bell, bring me a piece of the waterproof cloth on the table."

"Ah? Okay, okay, senior!"

Clear Bell stood up, leaning on the table, and limped over to hand her a piece of gray cloth.

Ziwei took the cloth, wiped the blood off the high-frequency dagger, and tucked it back into her waistband.

Then, she pulled open the hidden zipper on the inside of the purple-gold Magical Armor.

Those were specially made lead-sealed bags from Black Crow, specifically for storing these hot potatoes.

She shoved the C-Rank Mutated Abyssal Core into a sealed bag, zipped it up, and patted her chest.

Secure your profits.

"Mint, you two go to the porch, the smell is too strong here."

"And you? The Monster Hunting Bureau's people will be here soon."

"Let me check if any mice have escaped."

Just as Ziwei finished speaking, a very soft gasp suddenly came from above her head.

That was the labored breathing of the lungs, like a bellows, after the Magic Power had been exhausted to its limit.

The sound was coming from outside the shattered skylight above the basement.

Who's up there?

Mint gripped the broken stump of her staff and looked up at the window.

Ziwei remained silent, her dark golden eyes turning cold.

The thing part-time workers hate most is being spied on while they're collecting coins.

If someone had filmed the scene of her digging up the corpse with her bare hands and posted it online, Ziwei's commercial image would have been completely ruined.

If her image is ruined, how will the wealthy women in her Fan Support Club continue to give her money?

Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents.

Ziwei reached out and grasped the Great Scythe stuck in the pillar, pulling it out with force.

The boots crunched and rattled as they stepped on the shards of glass scattered on the ground.

"You guys stay put, I'll go deal with that spying rat."

"Be careful, senior! It might be a backup team left outside by the Golden Scale Society!"

Mint nervously offered a reminder.

Ziwei, carrying Great Scythe taller than herself, walked step by step toward the pile of bricks below the ventilation skylight.

The coldness emanating from her made the surrounding murky air seem to drop several degrees.

Reaching the base of the wall, Ziwei raised her arm.

The barbs of the dark gold Great Scythe protruded from the window opening, hooked onto the twisted and deformed iron bars outside, and shoved them aside.

Clang.

The iron bars were torn apart, and the moonlight shone into the shadows in the corner of the wall.

Half of her muddy twin tails peeked out from beside the muddy puddle.

In the green belt behind the Welfare Home, the waist-high weeds were all softened by the rain.

A night breeze blew by, carrying a sour, pungent smell of dirt and garbage.

A few hissing sounds of stray cats in heat could be heard from the alleyway in the distance.

Ziwei stood in front of the broken window, the Great Scythe in her hand suspended in mid-air.

By the faint moonlight, the faded, oversized old jacket and the chipped Star-Shaped Hair Clip on his head were clearly visible.

Behind the mask, Su Bai's heart skipped a beat.

A fine layer of cold sweat instantly seeped out from my back, soaking my shirt.

The murderous intent that had been there, as if he wanted to silence them, had completely dissipated.

What followed was a surge of anger that made me want to hang this girl up and spank her.

"Master! It's Xiaoxiao! What's she doing here!"

Kabi popped out from Ziwei's hair, covering his mouth and exclaiming in surprise.

"How should I know! Didn't I text her to check the accounts at home?!"

Su Bai responded through gritted teeth in his mind.

He glanced back into the basement.

"Mint, the rats outside have run far away. You all go out through the front gate, I'll go after them from the back."

"Understood! Please be careful, senior!"

After dealing with the two people inside, Ziwei braced herself against the windowsill with one hand, flipped over, and jumped out of the basement.

The boots landed on the muddy lawn, splashing up a ring of mud.

She rushed to the base of the wall, threw the Great Scythe aside, and squatted down.

Su Xiaoxiao lay sprawled in the mud, her eyes closed, her face as white as paper.

She was still holding a half-used gold lace umbrella in her arms; the umbrella surface had long since scattered into specks of light and disappeared, leaving only a bare handle.

"Kabi, scan her quickly! What happened to her? Was she injured by the shockwave?"

Su Bai reached out to check his sister's breath; his fingers were trembling.

His breathing was faint, but relatively steady.

Kabi flew to above Su Xiaoxiao's chest, a stream of data flashing in its pink eyes.

"No external injuries, Master, don't panic."

"She forcibly used her own One-Star Germination Magic Power to activate that Military Star Ring Shard to break through the blockade."

"Two energies from different sources collided in her meridians, triggering Magic Power backlash, and she is now completely exhausted and unconscious."

Su Bai breathed a sigh of relief, almost collapsing into the muddy water.

That stupid, reckless girl.