Chapter 37: The Hunt for the Hidden Terminal

An unexpected dialogue flashed before her eyes, and with an almost instinctual reaction, Su Qianyu instantly slapped her hand over the terminal.

‘What in the world was this person saying?’

Thanks to Su Qianyu’s quick reflexes, she successfully managed to block the entire holographic screen.

‘Why send this kind of message now, instead of saying it in person!?’

‘If Illo ever caught sight of this, she would undoubtedly be a dead woman!’

However, even as Su Qianyu reeled in shock, the other party continued to barrage her with messages.

The incessant buzzing vibration made her heart race with panic, and her emotions fluctuated so wildly that even Illo, who was outside, paused her steps.

‘What in the world is that little rascal tinkering with in the room?’

A flicker of doubt arose within her, and Illo began to cautiously approach the inner room.

Su Qianyu’s sensitive fox ears picked up Illo’s approaching footsteps, and her expression instantly crumbled even further.

‘No, stop sending them!’

‘Illo is coming in!’

On the verge of tears, Su Qianyu desperately pressed down on the terminal, trying to force it off.

However, her attempts proved futile.

After several unanswered knocks on the door, Illo grew even more certain that Su Qianyu was up to no good.

“Hey, open the door!”

“Otherwise, once I get in there, you won’t be having such a good time!”

Counting to two silently in her mind, and hearing no further movement, Illo decisively cracked her knuckles and stretched her body, preparing for action.

A sharp *click* was followed by a resounding *bang*!

With a swift, practiced motion, Illo ripped the doorframe of the inner room clean off.

Tossing it aside, her gaze swiftly swept across the now-open room.

“Where is she?”

Seeing the room utterly empty, Illo’s expression gradually shifted from solemn resolve to utter confusion.

No one on the bed.

The blankets were utterly disheveled, clearly indicating someone had just emerged from their confines.

The windows remained tightly shut, confirming no one had fled.

Closing her eyes, she concentrated on sensing the presence’s location; though chaotic, it was still discernibly confined within the room.

Listening closely, she could even distinguish a faint, rustling sound.

Evidently, the source of this furtive sound was none other than Su Qianyu, whose anxiety had her practically radiating heat.

‘Faster, a little faster, please! 😭’

Hiding beneath the bed frame, and watching Illo tear off the doorframe, Su Qianyu was utterly dumbfounded.

At this very moment, Su Qianyu was frantically deleting every single message the other party had sent.

She didn’t even have time to glance at the messages; her sole desire was to obliterate the incriminating evidence as swiftly as possible.

‘Delete, delete, delete, and this one too!’

For a fleeting moment, Su Qianyu felt just like the protagonist of a horror film.

Equally powerless, equally doomed to a swift end if discovered.

‘Oh, wait.’

‘In fact, horror film protagonists usually don’t suffer quite as miserably as she would if discovered.’

“I’ll count to three. If you’re not out by then, the punishment once I find you will be far more severe than you can imagine, won’t it?”

Illo narrowed her eyes, and the magical aura, unique to a Magical Girl, gradually emanated from within her, growing more potent with each passing second.

She detested such repeated and blatant challenges to her authority.

Not to mention, Su Qianyu had only recently communicated with that mysterious, unknown individual.

Multiple factors intertwined, making it clear even to an ordinary person that Illo’s emotions were currently teetering on the edge of instability.

“…..Three!”

“I’m out!”

Just as Illo was about to take direct action, having abandoned any further words, Su Qianyu suddenly slid out from under the bed.

More precisely, she had painstakingly crawled out, covered head-to-toe in dust.

Fortunately, Su Qianyu had anticipated Illo would directly count to three, and immediately, from under the bed and disregarding the throbbing pain from bumping her head, she scrambled out.

“Cough, cough, cough, I, I…!”

“You had better explain why you didn’t open the door just now.”

Without any superfluous words, Su Qianyu only heard a chilling, emotionless voice.

And then, came that all-too-familiar, disorienting sensation of weightlessness.

‘She had been lifted.’

“I… I was catching a mouse?!”

She chuckled awkwardly, her gaze darting around nervously as she searched for an escape.

With this clumsy excuse, Su Qianyu attempted to divert attention.

She hoped such a flimsy, transparent lie would be enough to dissuade Illo from checking beneath the bed.

However, Illo remained silent upon hearing this, simply clenching her right hand into a fist as magic steadily gathered within its core.

“You, do you really think I’m so easily fooled?”

“Or perhaps, I’ve been far too lenient with you?”

‘A mouse? How could there possibly be a mouse here?’

‘While Illo might have her shortcomings in some areas, to try and deceive her with such a clumsy lie was to treat her like an utter fool.’

‘This was no longer mere deception; it was a blatant insult.’

‘Under the bed, is it?’

‘She’d just have to see what “good stuff” was under that bed!’

Binding Su Qianyu with magic and setting her aside, Illo immediately lifted a corner of the bed, exposing what lay hidden beneath.

Seeing events unfold in a manner entirely different from her expectations, Su Qianyu’s face drained of all color.

Noticing the Little Fox Girl’s sudden change in expression, Illo grew even more certain that something was definitely hidden underneath.

It would have been better if she hadn’t lifted it, for once she did, a real mouse was indeed squirming wildly in place.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak… squeak, squeak, squeak!!!”

The mouse, caught in the sudden light, let out a sharp, frantic squeal, and just as it was about to flee, Illo swiftly pinned its tail with her foot.

‘There really was a mouse?’

Her gaze falling upon the little rodent beneath the bed, Illo felt a flicker of genuine surprise.

‘This little rascal hadn’t lied to her?’

Witnessing this scene, Su Qianyu, still bound nearby, subtly relaxed her shoulders in relief.

‘Thank goodness.’

‘It was fortunate her hands were swift, allowing her to use her spatial transfer ability to move the Magical Girl terminal from under the bed directly into the wall behind her.’

However, as Illo stared at the little mouse, she suddenly became eerily, disturbingly still.

‘Hm, what’s going on?’

‘Had this person’s brain overloaded and crashed?’

Just as question marks began to form above Su Qianyu’s head, a strong gust of wind abruptly blew open the window.

It wasn’t until a while later, when the fierce wind had somewhat subsided, that Su Qianyu dared to open her eyes.

But by then, the room was utterly devoid of any mouse.

All that remained were frantic claw marks etched into the floorboards.

‘Oh, my little mouse… I’m utterly doomed.’

‘No… my little mouse! 😭’

However, she didn’t mourn for a single moment over the mouse being unceremoniously flung out by Illo.

Because the very next second, Illo entered a battle state, her entire being once again transforming into a fierce crimson glow.

A deafening roar erupted beside her ear, and only then did Su Qianyu realize that Illo had actually punched a gaping hole in the wall behind her with her bare hand.

And what she held in her hand was none other than the Magical Girl terminal she had previously hidden inside the wall using her spatial transfer ability.

‘Oh, no… I’m utterly finished… !?’

Witnessing this dire scene, Su Qianyu immediately began envisioning where her own grave would be.

But before she could even succumb to unconsciousness and close her eyes, Illo’s voice rang out once more, cutting through her despair.

“If you dare to faint, I’ll shove this right up your… you know where, won’t I?”

If Illo hadn’t uttered those words, it might have been fine, but with them spoken, Su Qianyu instantly jolted wide awake.

She could still differentiate between being interrogated and being interrogated after being tortured.

Su Qianyu trembled, swallowing hard.

“Um, could you perhaps… go easy on me?”

Mist gathered in her eyes, but Illo, unfortunately, did not believe in tears.

Fortunately, she had felt something was amiss and remembered Su Qianyu’s spatial transfer ability.

It was only by relying on the perception between Magical Girls that she had barely managed to pinpoint the terminal within the wall.

‘She almost got away with deceiving me, didn’t she?’

With one finger, Illo tapped open Su Qianyu’s Magical Girl terminal, and seeing messages still coming in, she smiled.

At last, she had a clue.

However, upon opening the chat history, it was entirely empty save for a single message.

Su Qianyu glanced over, and on the blurred screen, the address for their next meeting was clearly written.

“See you at Magical Girl Headquarters.”