Chapter 120: Girl’s Heart

A symbol marked with an angry emoticon flashed right in front of her!

Right after, a pink repulsion field exploded violently from her body as the center.

Pshhh—!!!

All the tentacles still wrapped around her were shattered into pieces in an instant!

The massive body of the Filthy Bride was struck as if by an invisible hammer straight to the face.

“Uuuu—”

Its gigantic form collapsed heavily, falling into the sea of flames with a painful wail.

“What the—…”

Inside the vehicle, Wan Xiaohu stared at the animation-level scene outside the window, his mouth opening wide enough to swallow an egg.

“Th-That just now… what was that? A map-wide attack?!”

He exclaimed incoherently,

“No, wait… I didn’t see any beam! Was that telekinesis?! Or some kind of barrier? That was so freaking cool—!!!”

“Shut up!”

Zhang Zheng slapped the back of his head, cutting off his live commentary.

The old captain had cut his forehead during the earlier impact; blood flowed down along his brow ridge, making his weathered face look even more rugged.

“It’s not dead yet! Everyone, suppress it! Buy that— that whatever magical girl— buy her an opening!”

His roar was transmitted through the radio to the ears of every surviving officer.

“Ratatatatatata—!”

After a short silence, even fiercer firepower began pouring out from every corner of the ruins, locking tightly onto the sea of flames.

Meanwhile, at the center of the battlefield, Lin Yu’s knees buckled, and she collapsed weakly onto the ground.

That attack just now had emptied out all her psionic energy.

She gasped heavily, sweat sliding down her pale cheeks.

Am I saved?

Lin Yu lifted her head, staring toward the fire and ruins ahead.

In the area repeatedly plowed through by modern firepower, the Filthy Bride’s enormous body was still struggling and writhing.

Orange flames licked its corpse-flesh body, sizzling loudly, filling the air with nauseating burnt stench.

It was hurt, but… it wasn’t dead.

Indeed— conventional physical damage could impede it temporarily but not destroy it.

As a Nurgle-type pollutant, its terrifying regeneration was wrestling against the flames and shrapnel.

Fresh meat buds and pus-filled lumps stubbornly sprouted from the charred wounds, trying to mend the ruined body.

What do I do?

Her psionic energy was bottomed out, the pain from her left hand so intense her consciousness was blurring.

How… how do I kill this unkillable thing?

“Riiiiing riiiiing—”

Just as she was drowning in despair, the pocket of her tattered maid uniform suddenly vibrated loudly.

At a time like this, who would call?

Insurance sales?

With her still-trembling right hand, Lin Yu fumbled out her phone and swiped to answer.

“…Hello?”

Her voice was hoarse from pain and exhaustion.

“~Senpai! Finally got through!”

From the other end came Li Qing’s energetic voice.

“I just remembered you asked the company for a second emergency number! Your usual phone wasn’t connecting no matter what!”

“…Wristband. Broke.”

Lin Yu kept it concise. Saying even one extra word felt exhausting.

“Ah… those cheap devices the company issues really are unreliable, huh.”

Li Qing let out a very expected complaint, then her tone sharpened, becoming anxious.

“Okay okay, no chit-chat! Senpai, how’s your situation? I— I’ve already reached the designated location!”

“You’re here?”

Lin Yu’s spirit jolted.

“Then why aren’t you—”

“Shhh—”

Li Qing lowered her voice, filled with a cat-like excitement and mischief.

“Because this mission isn’t simple, okay? Manager Qian mentioned it before— this pollutant outbreak ‘suddenly’ appeared…”

“What do you mean?”

“It means someone is manipulating things from behind the scenes, senpai!”

“What? Manipulating?”

“Yup! Just like in anime— there’s a group of villains intentionally directing the pollutant to attack this place…”

Li Qing’s tone turned serious.

“And my Red Fox Fang has already caught the scent of the rat hiding in the dark… so I can’t fire yet. If I do, that cunning prey will escape.”

“Then… then what about me?!”

Lin Yu felt her blood pressure shooting up again.

“So your so-called support is here to spectate?!”

“Senpai, you can do it! I can see it clearly— that big lump is already dying after your combo with the police uncles! As long as you fire one more Justice☆Heart Bomb, you’ll definitely purify it completely! ❤”

“But… I have no psionic energy left…”

Lin Yu’s voice was filled with deep helplessness.

“Eh? Not even a drop?”

“Not even a drop…”

“Ah, well…”

Li Qing seemed momentarily stunned— wondering how senpai could run out at such a critical moment.

“Hmm, that’s tricky. Nurgle-types regenerate super fast. Lemme think… lemme think…”

A short silence followed.

“Oh! Got it!”

“What is it?!”

Lin Yu clutched the phone like a lifeline.

“Magic. Girl. Senpai!”

Li Qing’s voice turned mysteriously dramatic, as though revealing forbidden arcana.

“I told you before, didn’t I? A magical girl’s strongest source of power is… what was it again?”

Lin Yu frowned, expression odd.

“Love and courage? Or some dumb girly nonsense?”

“That! Exactly that!”

Li Qing’s voice beamed with the tone of “correct answer!”

“Senpai, what you need to do now is make your heart go ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump! As long as you refill even a little heart-throbbing energy, you can squeeze out your body’s potential and cast one more skill!”

Lin Yu fell silent.

She was certain Li Qing was joking with her life— and she had proof.

But the tone on the other end was irritatingly serious, like she was passing down a family secret art.

A girly heart? Where am I supposed to get that? I’m…

Lin Yu subconsciously lowered her voice, gritting her teeth, speaking through clenched breaths:

“I’m a twenty-six-year-old shut-in guy! My birthday is next month! I’ll be twenty-seven— practically thirty! Where is a nearing-thirty MAN supposed to find that?!”

“Aiyaaa, who cares if your original body is an eight-hundred-year-old fossil or a newly-dug terra-cotta warrior!”

Li Qing’s roasting remained razor-sharp.

“Your identity now is Dawn Corporation, District C, Team One’s magical girl Gray Crystal! Have some professional pride!”

“And you don’t need to overthink it!”

Her voice suddenly turned coaxing— like a snake tempting a child with forbidden fruit.

“Just relax and do as I say. No matter how much your mind resists, this magical girl body— it’s very honest, okay?”

“Ah!”

Lin Yu felt her headache intensify.

Seriously?

“Honest,” my ass…

Why did this sound like some unspeakable R18 game mechanic?!

But…

She glanced at the Filthy Bride still writhing in flames, then touched her empty left wrist. The sharp pain hammering through her body reminded her— this was not the time to argue about lore logic.

Fine. Desperate times.

“Then… what exactly do you want me to do?”

She asked, half-resigned.

“You ever read shoujo manga, senpai?”

“No. I only read forbidden stuff.”

Lin Yu answered firmly— the last remaining dignity of a shut-in old otaku.

“Haa— Senpai, you really are a hopeless dead-end otaku…”

Li Qing couldn’t hold back her laughter, though she soon reined it in.

“Well then, I’ll give you a little hint… In shoujo manga, the classic scenes that make the heroine’s heart race, deer-in-headlights, even outright crash— the techniques are…”

Her voice dropped low, like whispering bedroom secrets.

Lin Yu listened closely— but after only a few seconds, heat surged up her ears like an explosion.

“Th-That— That’s not—?! What nonsense are you even talking about?!”

She shrieked, voice turning high and thin from shame and shock.

“Th-There’s no way I can do that!! Absolutely impossible!!!”

“Aiya~ senpai, I can see your ears turning red~”

Li Qing’s tone was full of satisfied mischief.

“See? I told you. No matter how much your mind rejects it— your body is a magical girl. And a girl absolutely cannot resist those pink, heart-fluttering scenes~”

“N-Not true! I— I’m just— just mad at how ridiculous your idea is!”

Lin Yu stammered desperately, but her burning red ears betrayed every ounce of panic.

“No time to hesitate, senpai.”

Li Qing’s voice became serious again.

“If you keep stalling, I’ll have to open fire early to protect you. But if I do that… the rat hiding in the dark will escape.”

“……”

Lin Yu gripped her phone tight.

“Even if the mission doesn’t count as a failure, it won’t be considered a perfect success for the company.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Heheh… a C-rank magical girl, facing a C-rank pollutant, with backup, but letting the secondary target escape… Do you think Ying-chan would be satisfied with that performance?”

“…Eh?”

“Senpai, you really want to earn Ying-chan’s approval, don’t you?”

Li Qing said sharply, like piercing straight through her thoughts.

“From the day you joined the company, the day you first partnered with her— I already noticed.”

“……”

“I…”

“Knew it. Hehe, senpai, you’re way too easy to read.”

“……”

“Hehe, I still remember— back in the hospital, you told us—”

“D-Don’t— don’t say it!!!”

Lin Yu felt her face burning hot enough to fry eggs. She shut her eyes, replying in sheer panic:

“F-Fine! I’ll do it! I’ll do it, okay?! Isn’t that enough?!”

“That’s more like it~ Ying-chan will definitely appreciate your sacrifice~”

“Don’t—!”

Right before slamming the call shut, Lin Yu summoned every fiber of strength left in her body and snarled:

“This— This thing— you absolutely! ABSOLUTELY cannot tell anyone about it! Especially her! Do you hear me!!!”