Chapter 123: Go to hell!

Every time that white-haired loli girl appears, you always know where to run off to—isn’t that way too suspicious? And it’s not like I’m blind. Even if your eyes and hair look different now, your features and your build are exactly like the black-haired one. Most importantly… the scent on your body—

“Pervert! You absolute lunatic!”

Lin Yu threw the words at him furiously and spun around to leave.

Even though a thousand stampeding horses were galloping through her heart, all she could do now… was bluff it out to the very end!

Dammit! What the hell is wrong with this Luo Shaotian!? Is he a dog or what!? Does he identify women by scent!?

“Hey! Lulu! I know it’s you! At least—”

“Argh—shut up already!”

Lin Yu had zero patience left to act with this man. She simply clapped her hands over her ears and activated another skill:

【Sparkling ☆ Entrance】

In an instant, a flash like a stun grenade exploded in Luo Shaotian’s vision.

“Uh—!”

When he opened his eyes again, there was no trace of the girl anywhere. As if everything earlier had been nothing but an absurd dream.

But…

That flash…

Fragments of old memories flickered through his mind, as though something long forgotten was trying to resurface.

“Ka-da, ka-da-da—”

Empty chambers clicked helplessly.

“Reporting, Captain Zhang! We… we’re out of ammo! Not a single bullet left!”

“Our magazines are cleaner than my damn face!”

“Same here! My barrel’s worn so smooth it’s about to go bald!”

“Should we… retreat?”

“Tsk—”

Zhang Zheng leaned against the car door, feeling like his blood pressure monitor had exploded. They had practically turned the entire police station upside-down. They even dragged out ancient relics that were meant to be sent to a museum.

And what happened? All of that effort barely gave the monster a harsh scrape. The damn thing just refused to die.

What made the vein on his temple throb even harder was the biggest unknown variable—

“Seriously… where the hell did that magical girl go? How did she vanish in the blink of an eye!? Don’t tell me… she’s like Ultraman, and her color timer started flashing? A three-minute combat limit?”

“Holy—”

Wan Xiaohu stared at him, wide-eyed. “Captain Zhang! You actually know Ultraman!? I thought you—”

“I’m a 90s kid too, alright!? Who didn’t watch cartoons growing up!?” Zhang Zheng glared back at him. “Forget it, this isn’t the time! If things get any worse, we’re retreating immediately! I knew it—letting XinHai City’s Security Bureau sit around like a shy little girl in the corner was complete nonsense!”

“Roooaaaar——!!”

A deafening roar burst from the center of the flames!

Under everyone’s horrified stares, the contaminant known as the ‘Polluted Bride’ wobbled and rose from the fire once more. Its bloated, rotting flesh—covered in bullet holes and charred black patches—was regenerating. Fresh pus-filled boils bubbled up, swelling until they burst with a wet “splurt”, spewing corrosive fluid even more potent than before.

It wasn’t dead. If anything, it looked even more… radiant.

“Goddammit…”

Zhang Zheng slowly raised his hand, about to shout for a full retreat when—

Footsteps, filled with pure resentment, echoed suddenly from the other side of the ruins.

“Tap… tap… tap…”

Every surviving officer turned toward the sound. Through the heavy smoke, a petite silhouette stepped back onto the battlefield. Her tattered maid-style skirt fluttered in the hot wind, revealing long legs wrapped in black stockings.

“It’s the magical girl! She’s back!”

Wan Xiaohu spoke with the joy of someone surviving a near-death experience. He crouched behind cover like a battlefield reporter, giving live commentary—

“Eh? Wait, something’s off… Captain, look at her. Why does she look like someone who lost ten matches in a row in a video game…? She looks like she’s ready to eat someone alive. Even the monster’s rotten flesh looks like something she wants to bite into. She’s like a little hamster who just found all her winter food stolen by a weasel.”

Dammit… She must’ve accumulated eight lifetimes’ worth of bad luck!

Lin Yu felt like her entire life was a third-rate gag manga, and she was the clown protagonist who kept suffering. All she wanted was to slack off and collect her paycheck. But somehow… she ended up with this giant pile of crap!

She actually kissed her best friend…

Even though—technically—she was the one who initiated it to recharge her energy…

Still—it was insane, okay!?

And the worst part—her identity was completely blown!

Dammit! Even if she turned back into black-haired, black-eyed “Lulu” and tried to act again, would that dog-nosed man believe her now!? Not a chance! He’d definitely give her that “I’ve seen through everything” smirk and demand she transform for him again! Just like her little sister used to torment her! Just imagining it made Lin Yu’s skull buzz.

“Damn it all—!”

Her eyes burned with murderous fury, fixated on the massive monstrosity regenerating in front of her.

“It’s all your fault! All of it! Every! Last! Bit! Is your fault————!!”

All her humiliation, frustration, and madness ignited into a storm of psionic power! Giant pink heart-shaped bubbles swelled rapidly before her, their surfaces crackling with unstable arcs of pink electricity!

“This feeling—must be delivered!!”

“Take it—just die already————!!”

With her hysterical scream, the heart-shaped psionic bomb—laden with her overwhelming resentment—shot forward with a sharp “whoosh”, leaving a warped trail through the blazing air.

“BOOM——!!!”

It struck the contaminant’s chest head-on, erupting into a massive explosion!

And just as the pink light swallowed everything—

From the distant shadows, another long-prepared killing intent finally pulled the trigger.

“Bang—”

“Bzzzz—”

The world lost all sound and color. Blinding white light devoured everything, and the already-shaking police headquarters let out a final, tortured groan before collapsing completely.

A long, long time passed.

When the thick clouds of dust finally drifted away, Zhang Zheng and the others crawled out of the rubble coughing.

Looking around, the massive contaminant had been blown into fragments—so thoroughly destroyed that not even a single intact piece remained.

Dead. Completely, absolutely dead.

“Um… where’s the magical girl?” Wan Xiaohu brushed ash off his head, dazed.

“Probably went back to her nebula?” The older officer beside him muttered weakly.

“Screw you, that’s Ultraman—”

Just as Zhang Zheng felt a migraine forming and lifted a hand to smack Wan Xiaohu on the back of the head, Orderly footsteps marched from the far end of the street.

A group of logistics personnel in white hazmat-style suits appeared like ghosts at the scene. Ignoring the stunned police around them, they walked straight up to Zhang Zheng.

The lead person reached into his pocket and took out something that looked like a high-end fountain pen. With a soft “hum”, a silver sphere popped out from the pen tip.

“Alright! Everyone look over here.” He raised the pen, his voice utterly devoid of emotion. “Cheese—”

“Flash—!”