Mo Si: I have an idea

"How do you use this thing?"

Jade held the crystal ball high, about to examine it, when it released a beam of green light and opened a hole in front of her.

"Great!"

Seeing the familiar hole appear, Jade waved to Uncle and the young Jackie Chun and said with a smile, "It was nice meeting you. I'm going back now. Uncle Jackie, I'm your niece, Jade. See you in the future."

With that, she eagerly jumped into the hole.

Mo Si picked up the unconscious Finn, Chow, Ratso, and Tohru, tossed them all into the hole, then followed them in.

Then the opening vanished.

"Aiya! It's Magic Power!"

Uncle cried out, suddenly developing an intense interest in True Magic.

The young Jackie Chun found his reaction amusing and couldn't help laughing.

Hearing the young Jackie Chun laugh, Uncle snapped out of his amazement and curiosity about True Magic, rapped him on the head, and said with a smile, "Jackie, you're going to have a lively niece someday."

Inside the time tunnel, everything around them was green, like a vortex.

Time travel made Mo Si think of Doraemon.

The Time Tunnel in Doraemon was already a "road" built by people from the future in the gaps between time, where "vehicles" called Time Machines could travel freely.

By comparison, this time tunnel was still wild, natural, and undeveloped.

"Can you sense anything?" Mo Si asked quietly.

This tunnel involved the power of space and time. If they could sense anything, it might help with future research into traveling between worlds.

"No," Angewomon replied.

Mo Si found that a pity, but didn't dwell on it.

She checked the [World Travel Countdown]. The time displayed hadn't changed just because she was inside a time tunnel. Apparently, the countdown was calculated according to the time she personally experienced.

Hearing her voice, Jade looked back. Besides Finn, Chow, Ratso, and Tohru, she saw that Mo Si had followed her too. "Big sis, why did you come?" she asked in surprise.

Mo Si smiled faintly. "I don't belong to that era either."

Jade was a little confused. That sounded like a lot to take in.

She was just about to ask more when they reached the exit of the time tunnel.

Mo Si, Jade, Finn, Chow, Ratso, and Tohru fell out of the hole.

"Jade!"

An adult dressed much like the young Jackie Chun walked over in surprise. He was the Jackie Chun of this era-the one from the main storyline.

He had just learned that Jade had gone into the past and was about to go bring her back. He hadn't expected her to return on her own.

"Uncle Jackie!" Jade leaped excitedly into Jackie Chun's arms.

Jackie Chun smiled and patted Jade on the shoulder, then glanced at Mo Si and quietly asked Jade, "Who's she?"

"This is Mo Si. I only got back thanks to her. She knows True Magic, and she's really good at kung fu too."

After cheerfully introducing her to Jackie Chun, Jade turned to Mo Si. "This is Jackie Chun, my uncle. He's an archaeologist, and he's also with Section Thir-"

Jackie Chun hurriedly cut Jade off, then said gratefully to Mo Si, "I'm just an archaeologist. Hello, Miss Mo Si. Thank you for saving Jade."

Mo Si smiled. "It was nothing, Mr. Chun. As it happens, there's something I'd like to discuss with you. Let's talk somewhere else. Section 13, for instance."

"?"

Jackie Chun froze.

She even knows about Section 13!

In the blink of an eye, roughly half an hour had passed.

They were now at Section 13.

It was a secret headquarters for agents, located underground somewhere in San Francisco. Its technology far surpassed anything available to civilians, and its security rivaled that of the Land of Light in an Ultraman show. It was practically impregnable!

The unconscious Finn, Chow, Ratso, and Tohru were placed in Section 13's cells under strict guard.

Meanwhile, in a room empty except for a table, four people sat in four chairs around it-Mo Si, Jackie Chun, Jade, and Black.

Black was the Chief of Section 13 and the man in charge.

Mo Si spoke first. "How many talismans have you found so far?"

Jackie Chun didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned to Jade and asked quietly, "Did you tell her about the talismans?"

Jade shook her head repeatedly. "No."

Mo Si said, "I may know a little more about the talismans than you do. The Twelve Talismans correspond to the Chinese Zodiac. The Chicken Talisman grants levitation, the Ox Talisman grants strength, and the Snake Talisman grants invisibility. Correct?"

It was best not to reveal everything, since circumstances could always change, especially when she only knew a little more than Jackie Chun and Jade because she had an outside observer's perspective.

Mentioning just three and leaving the rest unsaid was enough to set their imaginations running and make them realize how much she knew about the talismans.

Saying too much would only reveal the limits of her knowledge. That was why one should never reveal everything.

Hearing Mo Si list the powers of three talismans in a row, Jackie Chun was astonished. He exchanged a look with Jade and asked, "How do you know that?"

The corners of Mo Si's lips lifted into a mysterious smile. "That's a secret."

People who talk in riddles are so annoying.

Oh, I'm the one talking in riddles? People who talk in riddles are the best!

"..."

As the one left puzzling over her riddles, Jackie Chun didn't think it was great at all. He only felt as helpless as if he'd stepped on the gas and driven straight into a wall.

He turned to the bald man in the black trench coat beside him. "What do you think, Chief Black?"

After a moment's thought, Black decided to skip that subject. "Miss Mo Si, Jackie Chun tells me there are some things you'd like to discuss with us."

Mo Si said, "Finding the talismans. Care to work together? I did help capture several of the Black Hand's best men for you. You can get evidence of the Black Hand's crimes out of them."

Black said, "I'm deeply grateful for that. As for working together..."

Seeing his hesitation, Mo Si thought he was going to refuse.

After all, if she were the Chief, responsible for the safety of an entire area, shouldering the burden of two capitals and thirteen... ahem. Faced with an offer of cooperation from someone mysterious and of unknown origins, she would certainly be cautious.

Could showing my angel wings earn his trust?

With Mo Si's abilities, she could simply take what she wanted by force if she abandoned her principles. But she had said, "When among Righteous Energy, I am one of its people." It was also because of those words that she had gained Righteous Energy's recognition.

In a world with magical spells, words were bound to hold power.

She had to abide by what she had said.

Of course, there was a second half to that statement-"When among Dark Energy, I am one of its people." She couldn't use that when dealing with people aligned with Righteous Energy, such as Jackie Chun, Jade, and Black, but she could when facing Shendu.

Shendu, hehehehe...

Everything Mo Si was doing now was preparation for getting close to Shendu. If Black refused to cooperate, she would go straight to Shendu instead, though she would have to adjust her plan a little...

Having finished considering it, Black asked, "How do you intend for us to work together?"

Well, well!

As expected of a Chief who could recruit a former master thief to work for him, he was a pragmatist through and through-bold and flexible.

Mo Si said, "I'll go undercover."

Black raised an eyebrow. "We've already caught four of the Black Hand's best men. By following those leads, we can find evidence of their crimes, then put every member of the Black Hand behind bars. There's no need to go undercover."

Mo Si shook her head and smiled faintly. "That's how you deal with an ordinary gang. The Black Hand has True Magic, and the source of that True Magic is an ancient demon."

Black was immediately at a loss for words. True Magic was unfamiliar territory for him.

Mo Si added, "You have to fight True Magic with True Magic."

As she spoke, she rose to her feet, stretched, and unfurled the eight wings on her back.