Chapter 5: Invitation

Although a small unexpected incident occurred, Xia Kexin still arrived on time at the special investigation bureau headquarters’ underground training ground to begin today’s independent training.

When the timer hit zero, the training was over.

Without hesitation, Kexin smoothly removed the magazine, quickly pulled the pistol slide several times to eject the chambered bullet, then aimed at the target ahead and pulled the trigger. The entire set of movements was seamless and fluid, though aside from the usual click, nothing happened.

After putting the pistol, noise-cancelling headphones, and other equipment back in place, Kexin packed up and started heading back.

Looking up as she walked out of the building, night had long fallen. If you looked carefully, a few planets twinkled in the night sky. Arriving at the bus stop just in time, she caught the last bus passing the special investigation bureau headquarters.

There were only a handful of passengers on the bus, and the interior was unusually quiet, with everyone looking down at their phones. For Kexin, this was actually better.

She transferred near the Xin’anhui shopping mall, then after a few more stops, finally arrived at the bus stop closest to the apartment complex rented by the Crescent Moon Academy for students in need.

After getting off and walking the last stretch to the apartment, the surroundings were even quieter, no need to say. Kexin felt a slight chill, but thinking about the temperature—still around 28°C and not much cooler than daytime—she figured it was just her imagination.

Walking on this desolate road, it wasn’t even 10 p.m. yet, but all the shops along the street had closed their doors. She barely saw one store with its lights still on, only for them to be switched off the next second.

It seemed as if someone inside saw her and hurriedly turned off the lights. The thought flashed through Kexin’s mind before she was thrown into another train of thought.

The dim yellow street lamps cast her shadow on the sidewalk, which grew longer as she walked forward. Not far ahead, there was a stretch with broken street lamps — complete darkness without a hint of light.

Walking here was dangerous; one careless step could cause a trip or collision. No wonder not a single person was around. Even Kexin disliked walking here at night.

But this was the shortest route back to her apartment — less than a kilometer. The unlit stretch was only a few hundred meters; she could always turn on her phone’s flashlight to see her steps.

After taking a few steps, just before entering the dark area, she suddenly noticed a thin black shadow stretching across her feet and blending into the darkness ahead. At first, she didn’t think much of it — who would still be out here at this hour?

Soon, though, she realized something was off. As she walked forward, the shadow’s owner moved forward too. When she quickened her pace, the figure behind did as well. The sound of footsteps clearly changed.

Oh no, could it be a stalker? The thought immediately crossed Kexin’s mind.

To avoid alarming whoever it was, she pretended not to notice and maintained her pace, all while thinking, What if I really have a weirdo tailing me?

Before, she’d never had to worry about such things. Who would bother stalking a high school boy walking home late at night, aside from weirdos?

Though reluctant to admit it, she was now a beautiful girl, and the attention she attracted on the street was considerable.

So being followed wasn’t entirely unexpected… or was it?

Should she stop and throw a right hook? That was the simplest, most direct solution in her mind. As a magical girl, knocking out an ordinary person was easy.

But since she wasn’t sure if this was really a stalker, and hitting someone without cause—even if she could erase their memories and cover their wounds with magic—was not something a magical girl should do.

She decided to hurry home. Once inside the apartment, all this trouble would disappear.

So she focused on walking, keeping an eye on the person behind. Sure enough, they kept a steady distance.

After nearly a minute, Kexin looked ahead and wondered—was this stretch really this long? She wasn’t even 1.6 meters tall, her stride wasn’t large, but she shouldn’t have been walking this slowly.

By estimation, less than 200 meters remained, and the streetlights ahead were brighter.

She decided to run. The shadow behind immediately matched her pace, clearly afraid of losing their target.

Just as the intersection came into view, Kexin’s vision suddenly blurred. Her first reaction was to rub her eyes, but when she opened them again, the intersection that had been right in front of her now seemed farther away.

Could she really be seeing things because she hadn’t eaten? Just a missed dinner—she should’ve eaten in the bureau cafeteria before leaving.

Of course, that was a joke. She knew this was no ordinary situation. The first word that came to mind was “abnormal.”

It seemed a “Strange” was targeting her, and she had unknowingly entered its territory.

If it were an ordinary person, they might wander forward a few more times before realizing they were stuck in a loop, and that would be that.

Since she had fallen into the Strange’s trap, the way out was simple: find the Strange and eliminate it.

So where was this Strange? What was it?

Her first suspect was the sneaky figure behind her. Without warning, she turned, shining her flashlight on the person’s face.

“You’ve been following me this whole way. Aren’t you going to say hello?”

The sudden light made the person raise a hand to block it, then they immediately bowed: “Ah, sorry, I didn’t mean to! I just… can’t find my way home.”

Turning off the flashlight, Kexin used magic to enhance her vision so she could see clearly in the dark.

When the person lowered their arm, Kexin saw their face.

“You are—”

“Xia Kexin! So it’s you!”

The person following her was Zhang Ruolin, her classmate. Seeing Kexin’s surprised expression, she didn’t dare reveal she had been staking out, waiting to follow her back.

After waiting a long time without seeing Kexin return, she decided to go home. But then she realized she couldn’t find her way home at all—until she saw someone on the road. From the back, she knew it was Xia Kexin.

This confused Kexin because this person really was her classmate, and her magic detection found no abnormalities.

So that meant someone else—or some other Strange—was causing the distorted area.

“You said you’re lost?”

“Yes, I followed the navigation, but I just can’t find my way home.”

That was expected. Kexin didn’t know what the Strange’s intentions were, but some Stranges simply enjoyed tormenting people. If the Strange didn’t want to let someone go, escape was impossible.

Kexin thought for a moment but decided she couldn’t just leave Ruolin alone.

“How about this: my apartment is nearby. Why don’t you come with me tonight?”