Mo Zhen, Thunder Demon, and Joker Man (three-in-one)

On Taiping Prefecture's social media, a notice with a blue background and white text suddenly topped the trending searches.

The Taiping Prefecture Taxation Department announced that an investigation team will launch an indefinite investigation into corruption, dereliction of duty, and other issues within the Ministry of Magic. The Deputy Minister stated that this operation could potentially extend back up to twenty years.

This news was like a bombshell in the magical world, igniting everyone's curiosity.

After all, although the United Government of Taiping Prefecture delegated local autonomy and encouraged free market competition, it always kept a tight grip on taxation.

Therefore, the National Tax Bureau's audit was practically tantamount to the United Government announcing that they were going to take action against the Ministry of Magic.

As for how severe this cut is, that depends on whether the Ministry of Magic can withstand an investigation.

Meanwhile, inside the Ministry of Magic.

As soon as Hu Xueting arrived at the office, she saw the minister with his back to her, the atmosphere around him gloomy and oppressive.

"Minister... Minister."

Hu Xueting suddenly became a little nervous and swallowed hard.

Upon hearing this, the woman slowly turned around, revealing a delicate and beautiful face, which, combined with her suit, made her appear indifferent and serious.

Even after a magical girl retires, her rate of decline slows down very, very slowly due to the effects of magic.

Even though the Minister of Ministry of Magic and Hu Xueting were already in their thirties, they looked to be only in their early twenties at most.

At this moment, the minister's dark red eyes were devoid of any emotion; he simply stared coldly at Hu Xueting.

The Minister of Ministry of Magic: Her real name is unknown; she was one of the earliest members of the magical girl squad in Taiping Prefecture.

As one of the earliest magical girls, she reached a danger level of A+ at the age of seventeen, making her a true genius with numerous battle achievements.

This is also why she was able to maintain her position as Minister of Taiping Prefecture Ministry of Magic after retiring at the age of eighteen.

Hu Xueting was her teammate back then, codenamed "Frost and Snow." Before retiring, his danger level was A, which wasn't weak.

"Xueting, how long have you been with me?"

The minister spoke softly, causing Hu Xueting's face to turn pale. Having been involved in political work for many years, she knew what the minister's words meant.

Outsiders had no idea what was happening in the minister's office.

Soon after, Hu Xueting walked out of the office, his face pale, and slumped into a chair under the concerned gaze of his secretary.

"Boss, are you... alright?"

Secretary Guan said.

Hu Xueting didn't speak, but the atmosphere was terribly oppressive. Only then did she realize that her talisman, which had once been called "magical girl," was no longer effective.

The Ministry of Magic must not be investigated.

Her gaze slowly swept across the office, filled with reluctance to leave, her heart filled with extreme unwillingness, yet utterly helpless.

Finally, she dismissed her secretary and slowly took out a Soul Gem from the safe—a gem that was once azure but was now almost black.

This is me when I was Frost and Snow.

Taking a deep breath, she gripped the gemstone tightly and whispered wistfully, "This is the last time..."

"Transform...!"

A flash of azure light streaked across the sky.

Almost instantly upon transformation, a mud-like magical force engulfed Frost and Snow's entire body, causing her immense pain.

In a small tavern located by the sea.

A gentle sea breeze blows, and white doves flutter about.

A witch named "Bubble" slowly emerged from the shadow of the large tree.

She slightly raised her head, looked at the distant Sky Manipulation, and a mysterious smile appeared on her lips.

"A new witch has been born..."

Turn your gaze away.

Bubble turned and walked to the tavern entrance. Just as she got close, she heard the ghostly howls of the "Gun Witch" coming from inside.

"Waaaah! You have no idea how dangerous it was back then. I almost, just a tiny bit more, was nailed to death by the Golden Feather."

"Fortunately, at the crucial moment, a witch with a beautiful voice saved me, but I still don't know her name."

Ding-a-ling~

Bubble pushed open the door and entered.

Inside the warmly lit tavern sat witches dressed in different outfits.

This place is one of the Witches' Association's global strongholds, called "Witches' Tavern".

"It's Bubble!"

As soon as they entered the tavern, the witches greeted Bubble, as he was often elusive and they rarely got to see him.

Upon seeing Bubble, the Gun Witch immediately pounced on her, grabbing her cloak and wailing, "Waaah! Bubble, listen to me...!"

"Ahem, no need to say anymore, I already know what happened." Bubble forced a smile and pushed the other person away.

Do you remember the characteristics of the witch who saved you?

She asked.

Upon hearing this, the Gun Witch wiped away her tears and began to recall:

"I... I remember her voice had a very rich, noble air about her, and her legs were incredibly beautiful. She was wearing black pantyhose, and they looked like they felt amazing to the touch. I almost couldn't resist touching them."

Can you say something useful?

The witches couldn't help but interrupt.

The Gun Witch simply shook her head. "Hmm... Besides that, I really don't remember anything else."

The witches nearly gave her a sharp rap on the head.

However, the witch sitting behind the bar soon spoke up, "No matter what, the Ministry of Magic has offended us this time, so we must retaliate."

"I have no objection!"

The witches all raised their hands; they were the most enthusiastic about retaliating against the Ministry of Magic.

At this moment, a witch whose entire body was blurred spoke up, "Hey! I have a plan, would you like to hear it?"

Tell me about it.

The witches all turned to look at her.

The witch smiled, snapped her fingers, and brought up the experimental press conference of the Reynolds Group, released by Moon Studio.

The witches were quite familiar with this video; almost everyone had watched it more than ten times. After all, everyone present had bought a large number of stocks to support Hell.

Soon, the entire film finished playing.

The blurry witch asked, "Did you understand?"

The witches lowered their heads and began to whisper amongst themselves:

"I didn't understand it at all!"

"I didn't understand, but Miss Hell is so cute! By the way, when will Miss Hell turn into a witch? When she does, we definitely have to throw her the best witch banquet ever!"

"This plan is great, I agree!"

"I'm really looking forward to the day when Miss Hell turns into a witch. If I could, I'd lock her in my basement and sleep with her every night... just thinking about it makes me feel like I'm ascending to heaven!"

"Hey, you're a bit too twisted. Even I, a witch, find you perverted."

"Hmm... As for me, I plan to give her a dress that I made myself! A witch's wardrobe should have at least ten dresses, right?"

"You're giving me a dress? Then I'll have to think about what to give you..."

In the crowd, the Gun Witch scratched her head, suddenly raised her hand, and shouted:

"I understand, you want us to kidnap the magical girl 'Hell'?"

You don't know anything!

The blurry witch delivered a sharp rap on the head, slamming it hard into the head of the Gun Witch.

"Ooh!"

The Gun Witch crouched down, clutching her head, looking pitiful. "Ouch... it hurts so much."

The blurry witch snorted coldly, "Listen up, all of you."

She rewound the video to the moment the controlled nuclear fusion device exploded, took out a lectern, and pointed to the explosion in the very center.

"My point is simple: Reynolds Group's controlled nuclear fusion explosion, through nuclear reaction equations, broke down the barrier Subspace and reality in a short period of time."

"If we can replicate this technology using the power of witches, then we can..."

As she spoke, the blurry witch projected a blackboard and began drawing on it.

"This is the headquarters of the Ministry of Magic in Taiping Prefecture. Normally, it is hidden in a separate Subspace, a space created two hundred years ago by a legendary wizard."

"Only those who possess the Ministry of Magic's key can enter or leave the Ministry of Magic through special means."

"As witches, let alone entering it, even getting close to the Ministry of Magic is difficult for us."

"But if we could acquire the technology from the Reynolds Group and replicate that explosion, we could blast a hole directly in the Ministry of Ministry of Magic's Subspace barrier. Then... hehe."

Upon hearing this, the witches' eyes lit up instantly:

I understand what you mean!

"Big Brother, lead us on one more charge!"

"This time, we must send the Ministry of Magic flying!"

"Go go go! Blow up the Ministry of Magic!"

Soon, the witches enthusiastically drew up a plan.

After all, opportunities to cause trouble for the higher-ups in the Ministry of Magic are few and far between.

At this moment, Bubble tilted its head and said, "I won't participate. I'll just help you with logistics at most. Hope you have fun!"

"Bubble, you're such a spoilsport!"

"If you keep doing this, we're going to isolate you, Bubble."

"You naughty Bubble, we won't prepare any delicious snacks for you at the next tea party! You'll just have to watch us eat! Humph!"

The witches began to complain about each other, but said nothing more.

After all, Bubble has always been like this, always going it alone.

Meanwhile, at the Saionji Family.

After lunch, Hell idly swung on the swing in the back garden, since he had taken the day off anyway.

Hmm... she feels like she's about to become a poor student, even though her grades were only so-so to begin with.

However, compared to the other magical girls, Hell felt that she was still a high-achieving student at the level of Dr. Hajime Kashimo.

Basking in the warm sunshine after the typhoon, Hell felt sleepy again, just as she was about to take a nap.

Suddenly I received a text message.

From Green Leinuo.

Little Reynolds: "Um, Mo Zhen, are you free this afternoon? I'd like to invite you for a coffee, and I'd like to tell you about some recent troubles I've been having."

Hell pondered for a moment, then tapped the screen.

Mo Zhen: "Okay, send me your location."

Little Reynolds: "Great! I've also invited Adam. Let's meet at this coffee shop around 4:30 this afternoon, since Adam finishes class early."

The date was set.

"Senior Hell ~!"

Bai Xiaoxiao suddenly ran over with a ninth-grade test paper in hand, her face full of distress. "How do I answer this question?"

"Let me see."

Hell took the test paper. Fortunately, she wasn't illiterate; a junior high exam was a piece of cake for her.

So, she spent the rest of the time guiding the three little ones to finish their homework.

Among them, Bai Xiaoxiao had the worst grades, followed by Tang Xiaoyu, and Wuhua had the best grades.

The main reason Bai Xiaoxiao couldn't keep up with the learning pace in the third year of junior high school was because she had taken an extra year of schooling compared to the others.

Hell only prepared to leave after they finished their homework.

Although reluctant to part, the three little ones obediently said goodbye to her and looked forward to the next meeting or gathering.

4:30 PM.

In Jinniu District, Mo Zhen arrived at a familiar-looking coffee shop and suddenly realized that this was the location Tang Wenjie had given him last time.

It seems to be called... Mars Café?

Welcome!

The coffee shop manager, a tall, thin, and handsome man who was nearly 1.9 meters tall, greeted Mo Zhen with a smile.

"Over here, Mo Zhen!"

Upon hearing this, Green turned around and waved to him with delight.

Adam looked up from his computer and nodded to Mo Zhen.

Because the weather was getting colder after the typhoon, Mo Zhen changed into a casual black turtleneck sweater and straight-leg jeans after returning home before going to the appointment.

The boy wore familiar black-rimmed glasses, his black hair fell loose around his ears, and his delicate features and azure, cold eyes made him stand out.

It's easy to make a mistake if you're not careful.

Fortunately, his cold and taciturn expression, his flat chest, and his incredibly long legs, comparable to a model's, all proved that he was a boy.

She's just a bit better looking, that's all.

Mo Zhen ordered a matcha latte from the manager and sat down at a window seat.

What a small world! The spot he's sitting in now is exactly the same spot he sat in last time, the angle hasn't changed at all...!

Soon, the waiter brought over the latte.

Little Reynolds looked dejected. He looked at Mo Zhen and said, "I'm glad you could come. Mo Zhen, lately, I've had just too many troubles."

As he spoke, the French young man rubbed his messy hair, completely lacking his usual confidence and composure.

Adam felt a little guilty standing to the side, because part of Little Reynolds's current troubles stemmed from his boss, Red Owl.

The acquisition of Reynolds Group by the Owl Group has been progressing steadily.

In the stock market, the Owl and the Colossus are locked in a fierce battle, with both sides investing enormous sums of money.

In just two days, they swept up all the shares in the third-party market and then turned their attention to the major shareholders.

And Little Reynolds's troubles stem from them.

Reynolds Group is a publicly listed company. The founder, Old Reynolds, only held 5% of the shares and controlled the board of directors by relying on his subordinates and confidants to hold shares.

But now that Old Reynolds is in a coma, the other directors and shareholders are eager to take advantage of Old Reynolds absence and sell the company.

After all, for shareholders, this may be their last chance to cash out.

After Reynolds Group was acquired, its stock price will never regain its former glory.

Little Reynolds. owns only 1% of the company's shares, but his voting rights are the same as those of other directors.

He alone could no longer defeat his father's old subordinates.

After listening to his story, Mo Zhen added a sugar cube to her latte, stirred it gently, and felt somewhat troubled herself.

After all, he couldn't afford to stop the acquisition; he couldn't very well just kill all of Reynolds Group's shareholders.

Scarlet Spider was willing to help his good brother, but his boss had already given him instructions, so for the time being...

This is a dilemma.

Little Reynolds then took a big gulp of his Americano: "Actually, I just wanted to confide in you guys about my troubles. I know you can't do anything about it either, I'm sorry, but you're my very good friends."

Mo Zhen nodded, indicating her understanding. "Thank you for your hard work."

Adam then asked, "How is Mr. Old Reynolds doing?"

Little Reynolds shook his head. "He's been unconscious the whole time, he hasn't woken up."

And so it happened.

Taiping Prefecture Mayo Clinic:

A blond doctor wearing a mask slowly entered Old Reynolds's private ward and swiped his card to open the door.

On the hospital bed, Old Reynolds lay with his eyes closed, unconscious, but his heartbeat and vital signs were still stable.

The blonde doctor closed the door and took out a refrigerated vial from his pocket.

He took out a syringe, drew out the medicine, expelled the air, and smiled slightly at Old Reynolds:

Let me speed things up for you.

With that, the blond doctor administered the medication intravenously to Old Reynolds, then turned and left.

Shortly after he left, Old Reynolds' monitor went off with an alarm!

Little Reynolds, sitting in the café, suddenly received a phone call and his face lit up with joy, "What? My father's awake?!"

Upon hearing this, Mo Zhen and Adam exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised.

Little Reynolds hung up the phone and excitedly invited, "It's still early, would you like to come with me to see my father?"

Mo Zhen nodded. "Okay."

He still remembers that Scarlet Spider's personal storyline isn't finished.

After saying that, Mo Zhen tilted her head back and gulped down her matcha latte. Before leaving with Little Reynolds, she said to the manager:

"Your coffee is fantastic, manager."

The shop manager smiled politely and said, "It's an honor. Please come again!"

After leaving the coffee shop, the group got into Little Reynolds.'s car and drove to the Mayo Clinic.

Soon, they arrived at Old Reynolds's hospital room.

The doctor shook hands with Little Reynolds, offered some congratulatory words, and remarked that it was Miracles in medical history.

The group then entered the ward.

Old Reynolds, on the other hand, seemed to be in better spirits than before, and was eating a sandwich to tide him over.

Upon seeing Little Reynolds and the other two, he quickly took a sip of coffee and swallowed the bread in his mouth. "Long time no see, Green, and Mo Zhen, Adam."

"Father!" Little Reynolds rushed forward excitedly, grasping his father's hand tightly. "Thank goodness you're alright!"

"Of course, I'm fine." Old Reynolds patted his hand, then looked at Mo Zhen and Adam, and said gently, "Thank you for taking care of my son while I was unconscious."

Mo Zhen quickly shook her head. "No, no, no, we didn't do anything. Green shouldered the pressure all by himself."

Old Reynolds smiled slightly, "I know, but friends are indispensable. Without friends, Green wouldn't be so strong."

These words made Green Leinuo blush slightly, and he quickly coughed twice, saying, "Let's not talk about this, Father."

"Okay, okay."

Seeing this, Adam raised his camera. "Shall I take a picture of you all together? To celebrate Mr. Old Reynolds' recovery."

"That's wonderful." Old Reynolds nodded happily; he needed this opportunity to announce his awakening to the world.

Adam then raised his camera and took a picture.

Mo Zhen, who was standing nearby, took the opportunity to carefully observe Old Reynolds, but he couldn't find any flaws in him.

The personality known as "Thunder Demon" has not yet awakened?

And so, the Old Reynolds made a high-profile announcement of his recovery, and immediately convened a shareholders' meeting.

Mo Zhen, who left the hospital, learned the results of the shareholders' meeting through Tang Wenjie.

The shareholders were pleased with the resurgence of Old Reynolds.

But they still decided to sell their shares, and even the subordinates whom Old Reynolds had promoted betrayed him.

Mo Zhen couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion.

The reason, in the end, boils down to one word: money.

Reynolds Group's stock price has skyrocketed, and the failure of controlled nuclear fusion has rendered ten years of hard work by the Old Reynolds futile.

He has been preparing for this controlled nuclear fusion project for ten years.

Prior to this, the Reynolds Group had invested nearly $100 billion in this project, and now it has lost everything.

If these losses cannot be covered in time, the entire group may face bankruptcy and liquidation, and in that case, it will still be acquired by someone else.

They might not even fetch a good price.

Therefore, the shareholders ultimately decided to oust the Old Reynolds from the decision-making level and then sell the company to either Colossus or Owl.

This outcome was naturally unacceptable to the Old Reynolds.

At his estate.

"A bunch of bastards!"

"You have no right to kick me out; I am the soul of Leinuo!"

Old Reynolds threw the group's business plan on the ground, furiously cursing those bastards and traitors.

Suddenly, the butler came over.

"Sir, someone has come to visit you."

Old Reynolds was still furious. "Who?"

"He claimed to be a detective who had uncovered the Blackhand behind the attack on the Reynolds Group."

Old Reynolds was taken aback and quickly said, "Let him come to the study!"

"Yes."

Soon, Old Reynolds met the young man in his study, a blond man wearing a suit and clown makeup.

His butler, meanwhile, collapsed nearby.

"Joker Man?!"

Old Reynolds recognized the man almost instantly, then grabbed a shotgun from the wall and aimed it at him:

What do you want to do? Try to assassinate me?

"Hey, don't think so badly of me, okay? It's really hurtful."

The Joker Man stood up with a smile, raised his hands to indicate that he had no weapons, and then elegantly gestured to the chair next to him.

"Let's talk, Mr. Leinuo, or... the Thunder Demon?"

Upon hearing the name, Old Reynolds froze for a second, then raised his gun again, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

"How do you know this demon's name?!"

He thought that as long as he could control the demonic personality within him, he could deceive everyone else perfectly.

But at that moment, the Joker Man directly exposed his disguise.

"Ooh ooh~!"

With a gun pointed at him, the Joker Man screamed in terror, "Please don't do this! Let's sit down and talk this out!"

"Yes, put down your gun, and I'll tell you everything you want to know, such as who hired me to attack the Reynolds Group...?"

Guided by the Joker Man, Old Reynolds finally lowered his gun.

The Joker Man smiled contentedly, tossed the shotgun aside, and swaggered back into the chair, taking a sip of his red tea.

Then, clicking his tongue in disdain, he said, "You rich people drink this? It's not even as good as Oriental Leaf tea!"

"Tell me, who hired you!" Old Reynolds demanded, barely suppressing Joker Man anger.

The Joker Man chuckled, no longer keeping them in suspense. "I just found out that the people who hired us are from the Colossus Company."

"Colossus?!"

Old Reynolds's pupils dilated when he heard the name.

Yes, he should have thought of that sooner!

It's just that his subconscious wouldn't accept this fact; he needed an outsider to point it out, because he and Moro had been friends for many years...

Prior to Saturday's announcement of controlled nuclear fusion, Moro von Hermann had held business negotiations with Old Reynolds.

The negotiations involved Colossus Group's desire to acquire Reynolds Group, including all of their controlled nuclear fusion technology, for $150 billion.

Old Reynolds rejected them at the time.

He had ideals in his heart and was unwilling to compromise on them, which ultimately led to his unpleasant parting with Moro.

"I should have guessed it was him."

"That damned old fox...!"

"Fuck!!!"

Old Reynolds suddenly became emotional. If it weren't for Moro, if it weren't for the Colossus Company, he wouldn't have ended up in this state.

The controlled nuclear fusion experiment failed, the company ousted him from management, and the Reynolds Group was completely finished!

"Bang!!" Old Reynolds smashed the expensive porcelain teacup in front of him, then grabbed the Joker Man by the collar and punched him in the face.

"Shit!"

"Are you crazy, you old geezer? Why did you hit me?!"

The Joker Man was punched and felt very wronged.

Old Reynolds grabbed his collar and growled in a low voice, "Tell me, why is the Thunder Demon possessing my body?!"

"Why?!"

Upon hearing this, the Joker Man chuckled.

"Yes, why?"

"I wanted to know too, so I came to find you."

"How about I help you find the answer?"

As the Joker Man spoke, it seemed as if countless dark arms reached out from the shadows of the study and grabbed Old Reynolds's body.

Under Old Reynolds's horrified gaze, the Joker Man raised his index finger and gently shushed him, "Don't worry, I'm helping you."

"You know what? Before I went crazy, I was a therapist charging $500 an hour."

"So, I'm really trying to help you..."

As soon as he finished speaking, everything went black before Old Reynolds's eyes, as if he had fallen into an endless Subspace.

Wednesday, 11 p. m.

Mo Zhen was eating a three-color cup of ice cream at home when she suddenly saw a news report on TV.

"Breaking news from this station: Thirteen board members of the Reynolds Group, including the vice-chairman, were attacked by terrorists during a nighttime meeting; all perished."

"Currently, the police have launched an investigation and initially suspect it is a retaliatory attack by the Joker Man's team."