Chapter 203: Victory

If one absolutely had to use a single word to describe the current state of the [Platinum Hanh Palace], that word would be chaos.

The Nightfield Fairy and her companions did not choose the lone-wolf approach of charging in solo.
Magical girls were the guardians of the city, but that did not mean they had to shoulder every dirty job themselves.

After receiving the signal sent by Lin Yu, the logistics team used discreet channels to knock directly on the doors of the public security system.
The response speed of the Xinhai City Public Security Sub-Bureau was astonishing.
In just over ten minutes, police sirens began wailing all around the Platinum Hanh Palace.

Countless police cars with red and blue lights flashing converged on the scene, sealing off the gilded complex so tightly that not even water could leak through.

Cordon lines were pulled up, and under the harsh glare of police lights, the once-arrogant clubhouse entrance now looked exceptionally bleak and desolate.

And Wan Xiaohu, who had been temporarily requisitioned for the operation, was standing outside the cordon, scratching the back of his head with a blank, stunned expression.

“Damn… this is some lineup…”

He hunched his shoulders, craning his neck with furtive eyes as he peeked through gaps in the crowd toward the tightly shut doors.

“So… are we cracking down on organized crime, or are we going to fight aliens?”
“Is it really necessary to send this many people?”

“What are you staring at?”
“Stretching your neck like a giraffe!”

A sharp reprimand suddenly came from behind, startling Wan Xiaohu so badly that he jumped.
He spun around, and when he saw who it was, he immediately plastered on a flattering grin.

“Ah! Captain Zhang!”
“Hehe… I—I was just helping keep an eye out, you know.”
“Watching to see if any fish slip through the net and try to sneak out.”

“Enough, stop putting on a show.”

Zhang Zheng clasped his hands behind his back and strolled over leisurely.
“This place is sealed tighter than an iron barrel now.”
“Not even a fly can get out.”

“Hehe, right, right…”

Wan Xiaohu leaned in a bit closer, lowered his voice, and asked with a mysterious look.

“But Captain Zhang, don’t you think something feels off?”
“It’s not just our Criminal Investigation Unit.”
“Take a look at the back entrance—holy hell, even the SWAT armored vehicles are here!”
“Live ammunition and everything!”
“If there weren’t terrorists or international drug lords involved, I wouldn’t believe it!”

Zhang Zheng shot him a sidelong glance and snorted coldly through his nose.

“Then what do you think it is?”

“How would I know?”
“If I knew, I’d be the bureau chief already!”

Wan Xiaohu grinned shamelessly as he pulled out an unopened pack of Soft Zhonghua cigarettes and smoothly slipped it into Zhang Zheng’s pocket, giving it a friendly pat.

“Captain Zhang, look at you, calm as a fishing god.”
“You must know some inside details, right?”
“Share a little with your apprentice, yeah?”
“Let me broaden my horizons?”

Zhang Zheng did not refuse the cigarettes.
He glanced around, made sure no one was eavesdropping, and then spoke.

“The Chicheng Gang. You know them?”

“The Chicheng Gang?”

Wan Xiaohu’s eyes went wide. “Those local snakes? We’re finally… closing the net on them?”

“Mm.”

Zhang Zheng nodded, his tone carrying a hint of killing intent.

“Recently, higher-ups received a lot of real-name reports from enthusiastic citizens. The evidence was rock-solid. The inspection team acted fast and ruthless, uprooting several of the Chicheng Gang’s protective umbrellas in one sweep.”

“Once the umbrellas are broken, those monkeys underneath are naturally due for reckoning.”

He pointed toward the magnificent building in front of them.

“This Platinum Hanh Palace is the Chicheng Gang’s biggest money sink.”
“It’s also their core money-laundering den.”
“Take this place down, and it’s like snapping their spine in half.”

“And besides…”

Zhang Zheng paused, his expression turning slightly playful.

“I’ve also heard some rumors.”
“Apparently, the Chicheng Gang has been in complete chaos lately.”
“Several of their hall masters all died overnight.”
“And even that arrogant boss of theirs—alive, no one’s seen him.”
“Dead, there’s no body.”

“This is what they call— When the wall falls, everyone pushes. When the drum breaks, ten thousand beat it.”

“So for this operation, the order from above was absolute. Even if we have to flip the ground upside down, we will cut the grass and pull out the roots!”

“Damn…”

Wan Xiaohu felt his blood boil as he listened.

“Looks like the higher-ups are serious this time! That’s great… The sky over Xinhai City is finally about to brighten!”

Looking at his apprentice’s innocent, excited smile, Zhang Zheng tugged at the corner of his mouth— but he did not smile.

He had not told the whole truth.
Or rather, some truths were simply too heavy to tell young people like them.

Relying on his many years of police intuition, and on the fragmented words Rosa had spoken to him on the rooftop that day,
Zhang Zheng vaguely sensed that tonight’s so-called “net-closing operation” was likely only the tip of the iceberg.

Behind those resplendent golden doors, what was happening… might not be some simple game of cops catching thieves at all.

It was more likely… a kind of war that ordinary people like them could neither intervene in, nor even comprehend.

“Hoo…”

Zhang Zheng let out a sigh, his fingertips rubbing against the cold police badge.
At the end of the day, he was just an ordinary cop.

What could a cop do?
Mediate neighbor disputes over trivial nonsense?
Help an auntie find her lost teddy dog?
Stake out petty thieves stealing electric bike batteries in the dead of night?

Even if he was more capable— solving a few murder cases, catching a few drug dealers…

That would already make him a hero.

But facing monsters called “Contaminants”?
Facing powers that surpassed all conventional understanding?

A handgun, in front of that layer of hardened flesh, was probably not even as useful as a fire poker.

A deep sense of powerlessness surged up like a tide.

But even so, he was still willing to believe.

Where there is shadow, there must be light.

He believed that on the dark side of this city, on battlefields beyond the reach of ordinary people, there would always be a group of righteous souls silently bearing the weight and moving forward for them.

Perhaps that cold police badge was the only faith he could cling to.

There must be such a group of “invisible guardians”, fighting in their stead, fighting in the stead of the countless ordinary families in this city… locked in a desperate struggle against the darkness.

“Captain Zhang? What are you spacing out for?”

Wan Xiaohu’s voice pulled him back to reality.

“It’s nothing.”

Zhang Zheng came back to himself, tucked the cigarettes away, straightened his collar, and said,

“Alright. Even if we’re not the protagonists, we still have to hold our positions.”

“When today’s mission is over, let’s go eat barbecue.”

——!!!

Accompanied by a dull explosive roar, Chen Bing’s figure slammed violently into the surging tide of clay statues.

“Shatter!”

A fist coated in spiritual energy smashed brutally into the face of a wrathful Vajra statue.
Without any suspense—boom— the massive clay head exploded into a sky full of golden dust.

She twisted her waist immediately after.
A powerful spinning back kick crashed into the chest of a statue behind her, blowing a hole straight through it from front to back!

On the other side of the battlefield, pink streams of light were weaving a web of death.

“Bang! Bang! Bang—!”

The [Crimson Fox Fang] in Li Qing’s hands roared rhythmically.
Each pull of the trigger pierced clean through a head trying to approach.

“Headshot per second!”
“Did you see that?!”
“This young lady is hard-carrying!”

Even in such an intense battle, she still maintained her lively, energetic demeanor.
Her efficiency in killing was terrifyingly high.

The ground was already piled with broken limbs and shattered gilded clay chunks.

But… there were simply too many of these clay statues.

They felt no fatigue and no pain.
Even if only a single arm remained, they would still crawl along the ground, trying to grab at their ankles.

“Huff… huff…”

Chen Bing’s breathing began to grow ragged.

“Boom!!!”

And it was at that very instant of vulnerability— a thick clay arm swung down viciously from her blind spot, slamming squarely into her lower back!

“Urgh—!”

Chen Bing let out a muffled groan.
Although her armor blocked most of the damage, the immense impact still sent her internal organs reeling.
Her footing faltered, and she nearly dropped to one knee.

“Sister Bing!”

Li Qing’s heart jolted as she tried to move in for support. But in the instant her focus wavered—

“Whoosh—”

The spiritual bullet that should have been a guaranteed hit grazed past a Luohan’s ear, leaving only a scorched bullet hole in the wall behind it.

“Missed?!”

Li Qing stared at her own hand in disbelief.
Her fingertips were trembling.

Not from fear— but from overexertion.

They had only just recovered from severe injuries.
Their internal spiritual circuits were not yet fully repaired.
This kind of high-intensity output was practically burning their life force.

If they had the time to look down at their wrists right now, they would have seen the once-steady green light bar on their contract bracelets now flashing madly with glaring red light.

[Warning]
[Soul Anchoring Index Rising]
[Current Value: 65%… 68%…]

“Rookie.”
“See anything yet?”

Yano Hotaru was bracing Lin Yu from behind.

“Please spare me, Senior…”

Lin Yu clutched her stomach, cold sweat blurring her vision.

“Stop keeping me in suspense!”
“You’ve definitely figured it out already, haven’t you?”
“Otherwise, how could you stay this calm?!”

“At this point, can you stop holding back?”
“This is about human lives!”
“Just tell me where the core is!”
“I’ll coordinate with the two seniors and directly one-shot that Contaminant!”

“After all…it’s just a mere B-rank Contaminant…”

“‘Mere’ B-rank?”

Yano Hotaru’s voice suddenly turned cold.
Her pale blue eyes snapped toward Lin Yu.

Though she looked like a delicate little girl, the pressure in her gaze struck like a whip.

“Uh…”

Lin Yu instinctively shrank her neck.

“What an impressive tone,”

Yano Hotaru said coldly.

“What? Won a few battles, and now purification has turned into simple grinding mobs in your eyes?”

“Sure, compared to the useless trash who only knew how to cower and defend at the beginning, you’ve improved a bit.”

“But in my eyes, you’re still a rookie.”

“Do you know why?”
“Because you have spiritual potential but no depth. Your analysis of Contaminants, tactical planning— you’re even worse than that idiot Li Qing who only knows how to eat all day!”

“You might be strong now. But what about the future?”

“You’ll eventually face Contaminants that are stronger and stranger than you.”

“When that happens, what will you do? Cry and beg for support? Or tuck your tail and run?”

“If you choose that, I can’t say you’re wrong. After all, survival comes first.”

“But…”

Yano Hotaru’s gaze passed over Lin Yu and landed on the figures still fighting.

“How many innocent people will die because of you?”

Lin Yu fell silent.

The words were harsh, but she could not refute them.
Indeed, during this period, all of her training had focused on controlling power and releasing skills.
As for those tedious Contaminant catalogs and complex behavior analyses, she would glance at them once and then forget them entirely.

She believed that as long as her fists were hard enough, there was no monster she couldn’t kill.

But now…

“A magical girl’s weapon has never been brute force alone..” Yano Hotaru’s tone softened slightly.

“Think more, Lin Yu. Think.”

Lin Yu closed her eyes, enduring the intense pain in her abdomen as she desperately searched her mind for forgotten fragments of knowledge.

Blood Bodhi…
Filth-affinity…
Rottenness is rebirth.
The core is a Bodhi seed…

But there were thousands of Buddha statues here. Which one was it…?

“A… Yu…”

At that moment, a weak voice sounded by her ear.

“Shaotian?!”

She turned back anxiously.

“You’re awake?! Don’t—ugh—don’t move! You’re seriously poisoned! Rest for a bit! I’m figuring out the enemy’s—”

“Could it… be related to Buddhism?”

“Buddhism?”

“Bodhi…Originally has no tree…”

Luo Shaotian gasped as he recited the famous verse.

“The bright mirror… is also not a stand…”

Originally there is nothing— where could dust alight?

“Originally nothing?!”

Lin Yu whipped her head around, staring at the empty black lotus altar.
The place where the Blood Bodhi had first been born and seated.

In that instant, something clicked.

No wonder the Contaminant wasn’t worried about the statues being destroyed.
Its weakness was hidden in—

“Shine—!”

Gritting her teeth, Lin Yu gathered spiritual energy once more into a longbow.
Pink particles of light converged again, but this time they were no longer dazzling.

The arrow of light was dim, flickering faintly, like a loose bulb that could go out at any moment.

“Damn it…”

Cold sweat seeped from Lin Yu’s forehead.
The thing writhing in her stomach was thrashing violently, waves of pain slamming into her nerves and making her hands shake uncontrollably.

Damn it…
At the critical moment, she was choking.

“Steady.”

A pair of cool hands gently covered the back of her trembling hand.

Yano Hotaru had moved in without her noticing.
Standing behind Lin Yu, she wrapped her arms around her waist holding her hands and helping her stabilize her shooting posture.

“Senior…”

Lin Yu instinctively turned her head.

Too close.

That doll-like face was less than five centimeters away.
Long lashes trembled softly.
She could even feel her warm breath, carrying a faint minty milk scent.

Even at this distance, there wasn’t a single flaw to be found.
As expected of a magical girl…

Gulp.

Her body, tense from pain, now trembled for an entirely different reason.

This was bad…
Her shut-in instincts were acting up again.

Even though she always complained that this senior was sharp-tongued, tsundere, and loved acting cool…

She had to admit it.

Aside from being a bit short, aside from being a bit awkward in personality…

This was practically the textbook definition of a “three-good loli”!
Exactly the type she used to want to play as—

Even though her current body didn’t feel that way about the same s*x, being held this closely by such a cute girl (even if she was a senior)…

“…I know you’re in pain right now.”

Yano Hotaru had no idea what kind of nonsense was running through her junior’s head.
Her voice was soft, carrying a strange soothing power.

“The filth toxin is rampaging inside your body. It’s trying to turn you into a pile of rotten flesh too.”

“But listen, Lin Yu.”

She tightened her grip slightly.

“This pain, for who you are now, may not be poison. It may be… tempering.”

“Tempering?”

“That’s right.”

Yano Hotaru’s voice grew distant.

“Your constitution is [Emptiness]. And emptiness… is like a flower.”

“Like the cherry blossoms of my hometown.”

It endures the slaughter of winter, the ravages of wind and snow.

“Pain seeps into its roots, freezes its branches.”

“But…”

“It never withers because of that pain.”

“On the contrary, it is precisely because of that pain, that it blooms even more brilliantly, even more movingly, when spring comes again.”

“So…”

Yano Hotaru leaned close to Lin Yu’s ear and whispered softly.

“Don’t imprison this pain. Don’t resist it. Feel it. Accept it.”

“Then—use it as fuel.”

“Let your will…together with my power…erupt!”

Alright.

In that moment, a miracle happened.

The turbulence in Lin Yu’s heart truly settled down. The pain in her abdomen remained, but it was no longer torment.

It became… burning firewood.

Hummmm—

As their wills aligned, the once-dim arrow of light flared back to life.

And this time, within the pink glow, a strand of icy blue light entwined itself.

That was Yano Hotaru’s power.

Two completely different kinds of spiritual energy fused perfectly in that instant.

This was— Intent Overwrite.

“Now—!”

Whoosh—!

With a shriek that tore through the air, the arrow imbued with dual energies roared forth like a massive pink-and-blue dragon!

Don’t even think—!

Inside the Buddha hall, tens of thousands of voices exploded at once.

The Luohan statues and Bodhisattva figures that had been besieging Chen Bing and Li Qing seemed to receive a call from their progenitor.

They abandoned their opponents without hesitation and swarmed madly toward the arrow’s trajectory.

Layer upon layer, they used their clay bodies to build an impenetrable wall of flesh in front of the black lotus altar!

“Trying to block the way?”
“Did you ask me first?!”

A furious shout came from the flank.

Chen Bing’s spiritual armor erupted with dazzling dark light.
Shield in both hands, she charged like a prehistoric beast into the mass of statues!

—Great Wall, deploy!!!

Boom—!

A towering spiritual barrier several meters tall materialized out of thin air, forcibly cutting off the surging tide of bodies!

Countless statues slammed into the barrier, shattering with bone-grinding cracks, yet unable to advance even a single step further.

And the arrow of light— as if passing through tofu— instantly pierced through the remaining statues, shooting straight toward the empty black lotus altar!

Ten meters!
Five meters!
Three meters!

Just as the true core was about to be obliterated—

Insolent spawn—
Insolent spawn—!

A vast and majestic roar descended from above!

The golden Buddha, who had been seated at the highest point of the altar as if detached from the battle, suddenly opened its pitch-black demonic eyes!

Rumble—
Rumble—

A massive golden palm descended with irresistible pressure, forcefully interposing itself in front of the arrow!

Boom—!

Two ultimate forces collided head-on in midair!

In that instant, the entire underground Buddha hall seemed to be muted.

Then came an ear-splitting explosion!

The pink-blue spiritual storm and golden Buddha light shredded each other violently, even generating a small pocket of spiritual chaos at the impact point!

Crack—

The seemingly indestructible Buddha palm shattered inch by inch.
Golden paint peeled away, revealing the rotting, blackened flesh beneath.

But…

The arrow of light also exhausted all of its energy in that horrific clash. With a soft puff, it dissolved into countless light particles and vanished into the air.

Failed…?

Lin Yu’s pupils shrank violently, her heart sinking. That had been… a sure-kill strike!

Hmph! Mere mortal ants, daring to—

A savage grin spread across the golden Buddha’s face.

However.

Before that smile could fully form, it was abruptly cut off by a crisp, calm gunshot.

Bang—!

A sniper round.

Like a ghost hidden in the shadows, it slipped silently across the chaotic battlefield in the instant everyone’s attention was seized by the explosion.

It passed through the cracks of the shattered Buddha palm.

And finally— hit the now-unprotected black lotus altar!

Crack—!

The hard black altar exploded instantly!

Amid the flying debris, a strange seed the size of a fist, blood-red all over, with a grotesque human face, was exposed to the air!

That was— the Bodhi Seed!

No—!

The golden Buddha let out a despairing scream.

But it was too late.

Bang—!

The second gunshot followed immediately. It was the judgment of death.

Squish—!

The human-faced seed that had just emerged was blown apart in an instant!

Red fluid splattered everywhere, like a tomato crushed underfoot.

In the distance, Li Qing gently blew away the smoke from her gun barrel.

A sly smile appeared on her playful face.

“Kill-stealing, you know…I’m the best at that~ ❤”

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