Chapter 115: Sudden

The sealed car window shut out the noise outside, leaving only the monotonous, rhythmic scraping of the wipers on the windshield.

When Lin Yu first got in, she still held some curiosity, secretly glancing at all the hardcore equipment inside—
bulletproof partitions, wire mesh, that sort of thing.

But she soon noticed someone staring at her.

The middle-aged officer.

Since the moment she entered, that guy hadn’t said a single word.
Most of the time, he simply observed her quietly through the small rearview mirror.

Those eyes—muddy, sharp—like a veteran who had spent half his life crawling through filth.
It was… a lot of pressure…

She avoided his gaze, placed both hands neatly on her knees, and tried her best to look like a well-behaved girl.

She didn’t know how long had passed.
The car passed an intersection and the harsh red light dyed the interior in a brief wash of blood-red.

At that moment, the young officer in the front finally spoke.

“Brother Luo, you… haven’t been to the bureau for a whole month, right?”

He seemed to be trying to lighten the atmosphere.

“Mm… about that.”

Luo Shaotian leaned back in the rear seat and replied calmly.
“How’s the bureau now?”

“How else? Same as always. Just a bunch of petty crap—someone’s electric scooter got stolen, someone’s food delivery disappeared downstairs, some unlucky idiot racked up gambling debts online and got cornered at home… we’re basically just wiping asses for these stupid little things.”

“Mm.”

“Oh right, something pretty big happened recently,”
the young officer said, suddenly remembering something, sounding excited.

“That seafood wholesale market in Shen Gang—heard there was a gunfight at midnight. A lot of people died. The scene was super bloody… but—”

“—!”

Lin Yu’s heart skipped a beat.

After all, she was the main culprit behind that whole mess.

Please don’t let them trace it back to me…

“Wan Xiaohu.”

Captain Zhang, sitting in the front seat, suddenly intervened.

“That’s enough.”

Driving, Wan Xiaohu shrank his neck and forced a smile.
“Ahahaha, right, right—my bad, Captain Zhang… I’ll shut up. Anyway, Brother Luo, the decision regarding your issue came down today. Captain Zhang and I are taking you to hear the results.”

Luo Shaotian didn’t speak, just nodded slightly.

Wan Xiaohu glanced at him through the rearview mirror and couldn’t help shaking his head.

“Brother Luo, you’re way too calm. Honestly, the mess you caused last time was pretty serious… you might really lose that uniform.”

“…A person has to take responsibility for what they’ve done.”

“Oho—”

The always-silent Zhang Zheng suddenly let out a mocking laugh.

“Well, look at that. The sun must’ve risen from the west today. Hearing that come out of your mouth is rare. A few days ago, you weren’t talking like this at all.”

Luo Shaotian didn’t answer, only let out a quiet sigh.

Zhang Zheng said nothing more.

Sitting in the back seat, Lin Yu felt the pressure in the air drop to terrifying levels.

Damn…
What kind of hellish workplace is this?

One grumpy old leader who never stops nagging.
One coworker who cares but is too afraid to speak.
With Luo Shaotian dealing with this kind of pressure every day, how was he supposed to recover from pollution?

Maybe he should just quit…

Uh, no—then how would he make money?
I can’t be the one supporting him, right?

“By the way, Brother Luo,”
just as Lin Yu’s thoughts spiraled, the driving officer, Wan Xiaohu, suddenly noticed her.

“Haven’t introduced her yet—this little girl next to you is…?”

Luo Shaotian clearly didn’t expect the topic to suddenly shift to Lin Yu.
He froze for a moment before answering:

“…A friend’s kid.”

“A friend’s, huh? Looks young. Sixteen? Seventeen?”
Wan Xiaohu grinned.
“Pretty cute too. Looks like a little celebrity.”

“Haha…”

Lin Yu had no idea how to respond and could only give an awkward laugh.

She couldn’t exactly say:
Kid, your eyes are broken.
I’m actually older than you, a near-thirty-year-old galgame veteran.
If you want to be cute like me, join the magical-girl family!

Hmm…

Speaking of home—her parents hadn’t called her recently.
Weird. They used to call pretty often…

“We’re here.”

At some point, the police car had stopped in front of a Public Security Bureau building.

Captain Zhang opened the door and got out first.
Luo Shaotian quietly followed.

Lin Yu wanted to go in with them but was stopped.

Fine—after all, a police bureau wasn’t somewhere an ordinary civilian like her could casually enter.

Being left alone in the car made time crawl unbearably slowly.

Lin Yu leaned against the back seat, bored out of her mind, and opened Douyin.

As a near-thirty shut-in, she’d long given up on games requiring actual skill.
These little 10-second bursts of electronic junk food were the easiest pleasures.

“Signs a girl doesn’t like you…”
“Waiting for a soft-hearted god…”
“Xuewang isn’t open! Ruimen? Closed! Curry Raise-light… hahaha! I’m opening this one! Who wouldn’t want a cup of Curry Raise-light!”

“Ah…”

Scrolling through low-quality videos, Lin Yu felt more and more drained.

What were these things?
Had the entire internet’s aesthetic bottomed out to this level?

“Forget it. I’ll just watch my borderline-content creators…”

She sighed and was about to switch tabs—
when she faintly heard something.

“Huh?”

Lin Yu frowned and looked around.
No one else was nearby.

Was this… an aftereffect from the Shen Gang pier incident?

She shook her head, trying to chase away the strange noise.

But then—

“Screeeeeech!!”

A sharp tire-scraping sound shattered the silence!

Lin Yu jerked her head up—

A white unmanned cargo truck was barreling through the parking-lot entrance at a speed completely violating traffic laws, violently smashing through the security barrier!

Smoke poured from beneath its front hood.
The battery compartment sizzled ominously, reeking of burnt chemicals.

“What the—!”

Lin Yu barely had time to comment before the out-of-control vehicle rammed straight into the parked cars like a suicide missile—

“—BOOM—!”

A thunderous explosion erupted!

A wave of orange-red flames surged out like an awakened beast, devouring the truck and everything around it.

The scorching blast hurled metal fragments at the police car where Lin Yu sat, pounding the windows with heavy thuds.

The high-grade bulletproof glass didn’t shatter, but spiderweb cracks spread across the surface.

The fire didn’t stop there.

The explosion triggered a chain reaction—the fuel tanks of the impacted police cars ignited one after another.
Booms echoed through the courtyard.

Thick black smoke and blazing flames intertwined, forming a wall of fire that completely sealed off the bureau’s exit.

“Fire! Get the extinguishers!”

Some officers tried to rush out of the building but were forced back by the heat.

And amidst the twisted flames—
Lin Yu noticed an enormous, impossible silhouette slowly rising within the burning inferno.

That thing…

“Uh… don’t tell me that thing is—”

A very bad feeling crawled up Lin Yu’s spine.

“Bzzzz—”

Her wristband—disguised as a fitness tracker—suddenly buzzed violently.

She raised her wrist.
A holographic message popped up:

【Emergency Mission Directive】

【WARNING: Detected severe abnormal psychic energy fluctuation
located at New Sea City Public Security Bureau Headquarters coordinates ( , ).
Pollution incident confirmed.】

【Nearby on-standby magical girls must proceed to the scene immediately
to assess the situation and perform initial containment! Ensure your own safety!】