Chapter 69: The Unsleeping Heart and the Saintess’s Secret

Ink Crystal’s words echoed continuously within Lin Han’s heart.

He realized that today, Ink Crystal was genuinely sleeping soundly.

Yet, he couldn’t sleep.

How could he possibly sleep?

Was she like one of those pre-gifted characters, disliked despite starting with max affection?

Ink Crystal?

What about her could possibly be unlikable?

He reached out, wanting to touch Ink Crystal’s cheek, but he hesitated, fearing he might disturb her sleep. He could only watch her.

A sweet, adorable girl, a little mischievous, yet truly brimming with a sense of justice—this girl always spoke with hidden intentions.

She claimed she wouldn’t inquire about his past, yet wasn’t she now trying every possible way to delve into it?

****

“…Good morning, Teacher Lin!”

The way Ink Crystal behaved in front of Lin Han, no one would ever believe she was a shut-in. However, her demeanor would completely shift when she was around others.

Still, Ink Crystal typically appeared wherever Lin Han was.

It could be said that Miss Ink Crystal always materialized in the same vicinity as Lin Han.

Consequently, everyone saw her cheerful disposition.

At least, the public’s current understanding of Ink Crystal was that of a bright and sunny magical girl.

Of course, if one were to actually review online comments about Magical Girl Ink Crystal, they would find that this newly emerged magical girl was full of mysteries.

She seemed to participate in all recent monster subjugations, yet she never stood out significantly in any of them. It was only during her previous battle with Rat Mask that everyone discovered her “tank” attribute.

She was a magical girl who could endure a lot of punishment.

“Good morning, Ink Crystal.”

Lin Han opened his eyes. When had he fallen asleep?

He saw Ink Crystal, dressed only in an apron, just as she had been yesterday, calling him for breakfast. He almost thought he had traveled through time.

However, this morning’s breakfast was slightly different from yesterday’s.

Yesterday had been fried eggs, hot milk, and steamed buns. Today, it was noodles.

“Teacher Lin, when are you going to see Zhang Xiao today to ask her to help contact that girl named Huo Qingqing?”

According to Zhang Xiao, the girl named Huo Qingqing was very likely the Saintess. She had a faint sense of it because a monstrous demon had once resided within her body. Of course, this sensing ability would weaken over time.

Since Teacher Lin had already had contact with the Saintess, Huo Qingqing’s identity could now be confirmed with certainty.

Teacher Lin’s plan was to approach the Saintess, understand her will, and, if possible, befriend her—to help the Saintess become someone like himself.

Despite possessing the power of a monstrous demon and the essence of a monster, she could still do good deeds and uphold justice with a righteous heart. That was all.

Of course, this was an ideal scenario. Could one truly befriend someone just by wishing it? Ink Crystal primarily wanted to see if she could learn the true identity of Ox Mask from the Saintess.

According to Teacher Lin’s description, Ox Mask would stop at nothing for the Saintess, and the Saintess would willingly reveal herself for Ox Mask.

These two feelings were like those between a father and a daughter.

From this perspective, they weren’t entirely heartless characters; there might indeed be room for reform. However, unlike Teacher Lin, Ox Mask was a genuine criminal.

Ink Crystal wasn’t sure if the Saintess had committed any punishable acts, but Ox Mask had certainly “courted death.”

Even before his experiments succeeded, he had already harmed many innocent people.

Though he claimed his test subjects were already beyond saving and would die soon even without his experiments, this still violated the fundamental human bottom line.

The Saintess might become someone like Teacher Lin, but Ox Mask could not.

In Ink Crystal’s view, Teacher Lin’s idea of befriending them might be somewhat naive. Given the deep bond between the Saintess and Ox Mask, their positions were inherently adversarial.

If she could think of this, Teacher Lin surely could too.

Yet, he still intended to proceed.

It had to be said, this was precisely Teacher Lin’s charm.

Befriending a villain seemed like a story from a novel, but Teacher Lin clearly didn’t lack the drive to make it a reality.

Therefore, as Teacher Lin’s student, or rather, Teacher Lin’s woman, she certainly had reason and obligation to act alongside him.

****

The two then contacted Zhang Xiao and quickly received a reply.

Today was Friday, and Zhang Xiao was, of course, at school.

However, Ink Crystal’s high school was currently undergoing repairs, inspections, and investigations, so classes had been suspended for several days.

They could only arrange to meet after school. The two stated they would pick Zhang Xiao up from school.

Zhang Xiao said she would invite Huo Qingqing to go shopping and eat dessert with her.

Lin Han then suggested they go visit Teacher Liu.

“Ah… I almost forgot, Teacher Lin. Teacher Liu was stabbed straight through—though Emerald provided medical treatment at the time, so she should be fine… but it seems she’s recuperating in the hospital.”

“Can you change back?”

Ink Crystal shook her head.

But it didn’t matter. Ink Crystal had already appeared alongside Lin Han in front of Teacher Liu, so it was perfectly normal for them to visit Liu Yun together.

After buying some fruit and carrying it in a special fruit basket, the two arrived at the hospital where Liu Yun was staying.

Seeing them, Liu Yun was clearly surprised, especially with Ink Crystal accompanying Lin Han.

She felt a bit flustered.

“I’m so sorry… for you to see me in such a state.”

She hadn’t expected to be defeated so easily.

Lin Han placed the fruit basket on the cabinet beside Liu Yun’s bed. “No one expected Rat Mask to be so powerful—you can’t be blamed for this.”

In fact, that monster had escaped from the encirclement of numerous magical girls.

Liu Yun, naturally, couldn’t fully accept such comfort. She was inherently a very strong woman; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been considered the “Queen” by her students.

If she hadn’t been so easily defeated, she was certain she could have detained Rat Mask. She had been overly confident and arrogant about her Amethyst Storm.

She had underestimated the Masked Ones.

These Rat Masked Ones, who had managed to escape from a magical girl encirclement before, indeed possessed some skill.

Thinking this, her gaze fell upon Ink Crystal.

“I’ve thought about it for a long time. Your true identity seems to boil down to only one possibility and an impossibility. Eliminating the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how absurd, must be the truth.”

The sudden words plunged the entire hospital room into silence.

“When Teacher Lin comes, the person I’m supposed to bring is only you. It’s impossible for you to be a magical girl.” She stared at Ink Crystal. “Of course, my deduction isn’t baseless. It’s your joint appearance that confirmed it for me. If you want to verify, I’ll call your master right now. Do you want to deal with your phone?”

Ink Crystal glanced at Lin Han.

Then, she helplessly spread her hands. “Indeed, we can’t treat everyone as fools, Teacher Lin.”

“I didn’t mean to treat Teacher Liu as a fool.”

In fact, Lin Han had initially found Ink Crystal’s plan of impersonating his admirer to be quite unreliable and a bad idea.

But Ink Crystal was endlessly enthusiastic about it, and he couldn’t do anything.

Ink Crystal then looked at Teacher Liu. “Hmph hmph~ Teacher Liu, do you think if I wanted you, you’d have a chance?”

“Huh?”

Ink Crystal boldly wrapped her arms around Lin Han’s arm, her ample, rounded chest slightly deforming from the pressure. “Teacher Lin and I! We are truly, truly, truly in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship~”

“Then what about you and Liu Xingyue?”

“I am his boyfriend, and I am Teacher Lin’s girlfriend. What does that have to do with anything?” she said, utterly self-righteous.

Liu Yun laughed.

She laughed, exasperated.

It proved that people really do laugh when they’re speechless.

“Alright, He Yao, you’re putting on quite a show, aren’t you? Change back right now! Don’t think that just because you’re wearing a magical girl’s face and acting cute in front of me, you can get away with this!”

Ink Crystal was silent for a moment, then said, “I can’t change back.”

“Huh?”

“I said—I can’t change back! I suddenly found I couldn’t that morning! I wanted to ask a magical girl about it earlier. Teacher Liu, do you know why I can’t change back? I haven’t dared to meet Liu Xingyue these past two days.”

Liu Yun wasn’t entirely convinced. She looked at Lin Han.

Lin Han nodded.

Liu Yun thought for a moment, then took out her phone and made a call, explaining the situation.

Not long after, a nun appeared in the hospital.

“Hello, Miss Nun.”

“It’s been a few days, Nun.”

The nun observed the situation in the hospital room and nodded. “You’re truly a sly fox… I told you your Amethyst Storm might not be perfect…”

“Long time no see, Mr. Lin Han. Nice to meet you formally, Miss Ink Crystal. I believe we haven’t officially met before.”

Ink Crystal was somewhat puzzled.

“This is Ethereal Gem.”

Liu Yun introduced her.

Ink Crystal then snapped back to reality.

“You are Ethereal Gem? I certainly haven’t formally interacted with you yet.”

This magical girl was the official representative of the Clear Sky organization, typically appearing to interact with other magical girls.

However, Ink Crystal had never interacted with her.

The other party most likely knew her true identity.

Liu Yun lay in her hospital bed. “So, as I mentioned briefly on the phone, she turned into a magical girl but can’t change back. Do you have any ideas?”

“Hmm… Miss Ink Crystal, could you step out with me for a moment? And Mr. Lin Han, please come along as well. I have some specific questions to ask. As for Miss Liu Yun—you should rest first! Although Emerald healed your injuries, it depleted your vitality, so you must recover properly.”

Though her tone was gentle, she was clearly not asking for their opinion.

Ink Crystal and Lin Han followed the nun out of the hospital room.

Truth be told, the nun’s long robe made her very conspicuous.

She then made another phone call and led them to an empty office within the hospital.

It was clearly an office that had just been vacated.

As the official spokesperson, this nun clearly held considerable authority in Clear Sky City.

The nun then looked at the two. “Back in front of Liu Yun, there were some things I couldn’t say directly. Miss Ink Crystal can’t change back—I do know the reason.”

She sighed, looking at Lin Han. “Mr. Lin, when we last met, I pretended not to know anything and didn’t tell Miss Liu Yun about your Observer status. But I never expected you to treat Miss Liu Yun so unfairly.”

“Carnelian knows Lin Han’s identity, so how could Ethereal Gem, as an official representative, not know Lin Han’s identity? She just hasn’t truly interacted with Lin Han.”

“You, as a very special monster, possess a terrifying negative energy within your body. When you, in this form, combine and merge with a positive energy convergence and manifestation like Miss Ink Crystal, the ultimate result is…”

“…to resist your negative energy, Ink Crystal will be forcibly maintained in a positive energy state, meaning she transforms into a magical girl and cannot change back. In other words, the positive energy within Ink Crystal’s body is currently in a hyperactive state.”

Lin Han’s expression changed slightly. “This isn’t good for Ink Crystal, is it?!”

“You’re not an irresponsible person, but if we’re talking about impact, it’s not really a negative one. Rather, if positive energy were finite, it would be extremely harmful to Ink Crystal, as this situation would constantly deplete her positive energy. Once it was exhausted, she might no longer be able to transform into a magical girl.”

Ethereal Gem stated honestly, “But as the world knows, positive energy and negative energy are inherently infinite. In this situation, it actually benefits Miss Ink Crystal… Miss Ink Crystal, you must have felt it yourself, haven’t you? That you’ve become stronger.”

She gazed at Ink Crystal. “Aside from anything else, you’ve gained one or two skills, and a new awakening, right?”

Lin Han looked at Ink Crystal in surprise.

Ink Crystal scratched her head. “Hahaha, I… I was planning to make a sudden move next time and shock everyone~ I didn’t expect Miss Nun to point it out directly.”

‘This person isn’t old either…’

Ethereal Gem seemed worried about Liu Yun. “In any case, I didn’t say it in front of Liu Yun because Liu Yun likes you, Teacher Lin. But if you and Miss Ink Crystal are in this kind of relationship, honestly, I’m very disappointed.”

“I had thought Liu Yun could truly find her happiness, but you are not the one who can bring her happiness.”

“Of course, I know that just because she likes you, you don’t have to reciprocate. You have the freedom to choose whom you love. But even so, is it not a bit excessive for the object of your affection to be your own student? I don’t think this is a choice you should make.”

Her words were very reasonable, and Lin Han felt deeply guilty.

Ink Crystal was not very satisfied with this statement, but she had no intention of refuting Ethereal Gem.

“Regardless, the situation between you two is roughly as I’ve described. If you maintain your current distance, Ink Crystal will have difficulty changing back. But I’m not so old-fashioned as to force you not to meet. As an Observer, Teacher Lin hasn’t violated any rules, so I won’t interfere.”

She stated her position. “But as Liu Yun’s friend, I still hope that since you’ve already formed this kind of relationship, you will explain it clearly to Liu Yun. She shouldn’t be kept in the dark—I hope you can handle this matter properly. I will also provide some assistance.”

“I understand.”

Lin Han gave an affirmative answer.

Seeing Lin Han’s attitude, the nun said nothing more. “However, Lin’s visit today isn’t just about this; it also concerns the Masked Ones. Emerald submitted a report clarifying Kamen Rider Aum’s reason for letting Ox Mask go, and that they were sent to search for related items. I’d like to ask your thoughts on this matter.”

“You seem to have some history with Ox Mask.”

“He was once responsible for the project that modified me, but due to ideological conflicts with that mad scientist, he left that organization and began his own research. He considers the Saintess his ultimate masterpiece, just as he did for that mad scientist.”

The nun suddenly understood. “In other words, that Saintess, like you, is a monster who can completely control herself and not be manipulated by negative energy, possessing the potential to become an Observer?”

“I think so. That’s why I plan to contact the Saintess. If we can win her over, it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.”

“I see, I understand.” The nun fell into thought.

“I will personally contact Carnelian and her faction. I’ll leave this matter to you two.”

Ink Crystal was somewhat puzzled. “Is an Observer truly that important to the higher-ups?”

The nun looked at Ink Crystal. “Miss Ink Crystal, why do you ask?”

“Although they are Observers, they are still monsters. Leaving aside my personal attitude towards Teacher Lin, from the perspective of the higher-ups or all magical girls, the treatment and power given to Observers are greater than I imagined. I… I suspect you have some special intentions for Observers.”

The nun’s expression became momentarily complex, but she quickly calmed down. “The high intelligence you displayed in your file—I didn’t expect you could make such a judgment from just a few words.”

“We do indeed have certain needs for Observers.”

The nun did not deny this point. “However, explaining it directly with words might not be easily understood. In about a week, I will come to find you. There is something I hope to entrust to you.

Before then, it would be best for you to focus on the two matters at hand.”

“Ah…” ‘A cryptic person I dislike.’

Ink Crystal drew a conclusion about Magical Girl Ethereal Gem. She felt that this matter would likely be quite dangerous.

But speaking of which, this nun looked much better after transforming.

She looked at Ethereal Gem. After transforming into a magical girl, Ethereal Gem’s silver-white long hair, her sacred and noble aura, and her long gown that resembled pure white gauze were all things Ink Crystal greatly admired.

They were completely different types.

She was black, the other was white…

‘Could it be that I, and Ethereal Gem, are destined rivals?’

Regardless, it was not appropriate to discuss this matter with Liu Yun today.

The nun returned to Liu Yun’s hospital room, and then Ink Crystal and Lin Han left the hospital.

“Speaking of which, Teacher Lin, how have Si Kou Ting and Ye Liuyun been doing recently? Have you been keeping up?”

Lin Han shook his head. “Haven’t I been with you these past two days? How would I know their situation?”

‘Ah… that’s right. They’ve both been doing *that* for the past two days—’

The two sat in Clear Sky Plaza.

To be honest, it was a bit boring.

Ink Crystal then suggested, “Hey, Teacher Lin, let’s get a room!”

“Can’t you have something proper in your head?”

“But, to be fair, wandering around the streets like this isn’t particularly interesting! If we’re talking about playing games, the internet cafe’s equipment isn’t as good as mine at home, and my ID card probably can’t get me into an internet cafe, either~”

‘Troublesome.’

“As for watching movies or shopping, I’m not really interested.”

Magical Girl Ink Crystal was not an outgoing person by nature. She disliked activities that required her to be out in public.

She preferred to stay home and enjoy her own world.

Lin Han wasn’t entirely clear on Ink Crystal’s personality either.

“If only something interesting would happen.”

Just as she said this, they saw the very same young man they had been discussing earlier, Ye Liuyun, appear before them.

He wasn’t there for them, of course. Instead, he looked somewhat furtive, glancing left and right as if terrified someone was following him, winding his way strangely through the street.

The two exchanged a glance.

Then, they quietly followed him.

Ye Liuyun was an excellent student, capable of doing everything perfectly, and very popular in class. Such a character belonged to the core type that most people couldn’t easily attain.

But why was he appearing furtively on the street like this?

The two were genuinely curious.

Before they had fully caught up, they spotted another person.

“Carnelian?”

It was Magical Girl Carnelian, following closely behind Ye Liuyun. She was well-hidden. If the two hadn’t been intently focused on following Ye Liuyun, they wouldn’t have noticed Carnelian.

‘Isn’t Ye Liuyun Carnelian’s son?’

‘What did this mean?’

Suddenly, Carnelian turned around and saw Ink Crystal and Lin Han.

She paused, then a smile appeared on her face as she placed a finger on her lips.

She made a “shush” gesture, clearly indicating for them to stay quiet.

This made it difficult to follow any further.

Clearly, this was a private matter between a mother and son, and following them wouldn’t be appropriate. Carnelian understood, and she didn’t want others to interfere.

But this didn’t stop Ink Crystal and Lin Han from speculating.

“Could it be that Ye Liuyun was beaten badly by a monster in the arena, causing some internal issues and leading to some bad thoughts?”

Ink Crystal’s guess wasn’t particularly good.

But unexpectedly, Lin Han nodded in agreement. “Your guess is probably correct.”

“Why?”

“Because negative energy is gathering within his body.”

Lin Han, who was particularly afraid of monsters, clearly felt something. “If his internal problems cannot be resolved, he might give birth to a monstrous demon.”

‘No wonder Carnelian was secretly following him. Clearly, she also knew that something was wrong with her child internally… So, should we take action? Since Carnelian is following him, it seems we shouldn’t interfere. As a senior magical girl with many years of experience, Carnelian should be able to handle it properly, right?’

Ink Crystal wasn’t very keen on getting involved. After all, though Carnelian had only made a slight move that day, she had protected the principal and deputy mayor with a ring of fire. Rat Mask hadn’t dared to rashly touch them, even though those two were the highest-ranking people present.

This was enough to demonstrate Carnelian’s strength.

One should remember that Rat Mask had used a vibrating blade to put Liu Yun in a hospital bed.

Though she wasn’t in any serious danger.

Rat Mask’s strength was not weak.

So, if anything were to happen, Carnelian should be able to resolve it—the only question was, that was her child.

If Ye Liuyun really gave birth to a monstrous demon… could she act against him?

Not every human who gives birth to a monstrous demon can emerge unscathed after its subjugation; there are classifications.

The giant infant Zhang Xiao gave birth to seemed to be a type that wouldn’t greatly affect the host. However, some monstrous demons, even at the moment of birth, become completely free entities, truly negative energy monsters.

If it were that kind of situation, it would be extremely bad.

“In this situation, psychological intervention should ideally be performed—Ye Liuyun’s furtive behavior probably means he wants to avoid his mother’s gaze.”

Lin Han said seriously, “Carnelian’s method of secretly following him isn’t a bad plan. She probably also wants to resolve Ye Liuyun’s inner turmoil, so she isn’t forcefully interfering or stopping him, but rather letting him try to solve it himself.

This is the correct method of intervention.”

‘Magical girls are never idle.’

To be honest, the magical girls’ duties were far busier than she had imagined.

‘The news that her classmate might become a monstrous demon was a cause for concern.’

“If Ye Liuyun is like this, what about Si Kou Ting? Will she also be affected? After all, she was directly defeated by Rat Mask and taken hostage, even stepped on. That must have been quite a blow.”

“We don’t have a way to contact her… Ah, you know her?”

Ink Crystal spread her hands. “But I can’t change back now, so how can I contact her? Besides, she’s the deputy mayor’s daughter; she’ll definitely have psychological experts intervening.”

She didn’t know Si Kou Ting very well. Although they were acquainted, she couldn’t meet her in Ink Crystal’s form. Moreover, that woman didn’t seem like someone who would have psychological problems.

But just then, Lin Han’s phone rang.

Lin Han answered the call, his expression changing slightly.

After she hung up, Ink Crystal asked him.

“Rat Mask is truly an object that must be swiftly captured and brought to justice!”

Lin Han’s expression was grim.

“What happened?”

“A family was killed by Rat Mask, leaving only one elementary school student alive. They say Rat Mask killed his family in front of this student, telling him he must live forever in fear and hatred.”

His expression was serious. “Now this student urgently needs psychological intervention—didn’t I mention earlier that a junior was taking over my work? But this is a serious matter. Although she can’t handle it, I must intervene.”

‘Rat Mask looks like an elementary school student, what kind of nonsense is that?’

‘To project his resentment towards the world onto others, and then make a boy his own age bear such pain?’

This matter was clearly very urgent.

Ink Crystal then said, “Then Teacher Lin, you go handle that matter first. I’ll go see Zhang Xiao by myself this afternoon.”

“That’s very dangerous.”

“Relax, Teacher Lin, as you know, I’m quite resilient, and I’ve also learned two or three new skills. It’s not so easy to pin me down.”

Ink Crystal said very reassuringly, “Besides, I can call for backup. Currently, Clear Sky City is quite peaceful, aside from the Masked Ones. If I get into a fight with them, other magical girls will also come to assist. It’s quite safe.”

Lin Han gazed at Ink Crystal.

Ink Crystal also gazed at Lin Han.

“Then I’ll leave it to you, Ink Crystal!”

“Mm, leave it to me!”

Watching Lin Han leave, Ink Crystal actually had a rough idea why Lin Han had to go for psychological intervention.

If she wasn’t mistaken, Teacher Lin most likely possessed the ability to extract “negative energy” from people. Although Teacher Lin was unwilling to elaborate on his past, from the scattered bits of information she had gathered, she vaguely knew that the person who had modified Teacher Lin in the past had called him the strongest monster.

If she were a mad private scholar, what kind of monster would be considered the strongest? Many novels had already provided the answer.

The strongest villain is one who can grow from their own back.

Generally, monsters and monstrous demons possess a certain ability to gather negative energy, but this ability is similar to the principle of universal gravitation.

As a collection of negative energy, they inherently possess a certain attraction to negative energy.

And if one were to create the strongest monster, they would need to ensure that no other monster could be its match. So, how could one make even the strongest monsters no match?

The answer was the “Star Absorbing Great Art.”

No matter how powerful you are, I’ll just absorb it directly. Your power becomes my power. When the absorbed negative energy reaches a certain value, for example, close to the total energy of other monsters, it can be called “invincible.”

And Teacher Lin being able to serve as a psychological counselor and reportedly solve all problems—it was most likely related to this ability.

Perhaps she herself had been like that once.

‘So, did her feelings for Teacher Lin finally blossom because of this power of his?’

She shook her head.

It wasn’t like that.

She knew clearly that people like herself, though rare, were not one or two, and many had been counseled and healed by Teacher Lin. But to have reached this level of closeness with Teacher Lin…

Only she had.

Her relationship with Teacher Lin was different.

Teacher Lin’s healing was a catalyst for their acquaintance, but what truly fostered their growing relationship was Teacher Lin’s character.

She was attracted by Teacher Lin’s integrity and stayed by his side.

Just like now, he would trust her and go to the student’s location to provide psychological intervention to that elementary schooler.

Mutual trust.

She really liked that feeling.

But speaking of which, that elementary school student’s fate was truly tragic!

This world was not so peaceful. Monsters, monstrous demons—

And the remaining Masked Ones still at large, plus one unknown mask.

That entity had yet to show itself, its exact state unknown, which made Ink Crystal feel a little uneasy. From the current situation, these guys were not easy to deal with.

They might suddenly cause a huge commotion.

But finding them was truly difficult.

At least, it would be hard before Ox Mask was dealt with.

He was a top scientist. A top scientist might not be a hacker in the true sense, but he certainly wasn’t weak in computer skills.

Because many research projects required him to program and perform special processing himself—only then could the computations be completed.

And in information processing, Ox Mask was clearly a master. He could even create his own artificial robots… It could be said that his level in mechanical processing was not necessarily weaker than Teacher Lin’s.

With such a person handling the information of these Masked Ones, even if the higher-ups had equally skilled computer experts, it wouldn’t be easy to solve the problem.

Moreover, these modified humans might not rely solely on networks and computers to change their bodies.

They might also directly control their physical bodies to alter their appearance and achieve disguises.

So, even if you found them, you might not truly be able to apprehend them.

They were not the same person.

Of course, for Ink Crystal, it wasn’t something she needed to consider.

She returned home, then went out again, heading to Zhang Xiao’s middle school.

At dismissal time, she stood at the entrance, waiting for Zhang Xiao and the girl beside her to appear.

Gentle and serene.

This was Ink Crystal’s first thought.

The girl named Huo Qingqing gave the impression of a maiden stepped out of a painting; one could call her a “picture beauty.” She looked somewhat delicate and frail, which evoked a sense of pity.

A complete beautiful girl!

No wonder she was called the Saintess. If you called her a monster, no one would believe it!

Zhang Xiao, meanwhile, spotted Ink Crystal immediately.

Today, Ink Crystal hadn’t gone out in her ceremonial attire.

Instead, she wore a dark, elegant long dress, looking graceful and composed.

It didn’t quite fit Magical Girl Ink Crystal’s persona.

But as an elder, appearing before Zhang Xiao and her friend, she naturally had to maintain an adult’s composure and maturity—as for whether she truly counted as an adult.

She thought she did.

“Sister Mo!”

Zhang Xiao excitedly walked over with Huo Qingqing.

“Sister Mo, this is my good friend, Huo Qingqing. She’s very cute! Huo Qingqing, this is my adult friend, Sister Ink Crystal.”

Huo Qingqing gazed at Ink Crystal.

She recognized this person.

Although the other party wasn’t wearing her ceremonial attire, the aura of a magical girl was completely undisguised. Did Zhang Xiao actually have a magical girl as a friend?

She offered a faint smile. “Hello, Sister Mo~”

She had the air of a slightly shy beautiful girl.

Ink Crystal felt it would be hard to imitate her—’Would speaking like her make Teacher Lin even more excited?’

Truth be told, whether it was Liu Xingyue or Liu Yun, while both were beauties, they were the type of girls with strong personalities.

Girls like Huo Qingqing, with her gentle demeanor, were truly a rare find in this era.

“Mm~ You two are so cute~”

Ink Crystal exclaimed from the bottom of her heart. “Let’s go! Today, Sister Mo is treating you to delicious food! Sister Mo is paying for everything!”

Zhang Xiao cheered, “Yay~ By the way, Sister Mo, isn’t Teacher Lin coming?”

“Teacher Lin has to work!” Ink Crystal said honestly. “He said a child needed psychological counseling. He was originally supposed to come with me, but he had to go to work instead. So it’s just me accompanying you two.”

“Mm.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I just feel like your aura, Sister Mo, is a bit different from a while ago~ How do I put it? Your expression seems softer.

And you seem very easy to talk to.”

Ink Crystal froze for a moment, her face flushing. “This… little children shouldn’t pry.”

Zhang Xiao’s eyes widened instantly. “Sister Mo! You’re! You’re making the face of someone who’s eaten the forbidden fruit!”

“Little girl, what are you talking about in broad daylight!”

Ink Crystal pinched Zhang Xiao’s cheek. “A student’s duty is to study! What inappropriate things have you been looking at online all day!”

However, girls usually mature earlier than boys. Middle school girls generally understood everything. Boys of that age, however, still had many who didn’t quite grasp the situation, constantly thinking about how to sneak online.

She didn’t hide her magical girl aura—trying to conceal her identity would only make more people suspicious.

Moreover, she didn’t come with any malicious intent.

So, she still very much wanted to get along well with the two girls.

Of course, getting along with girls wasn’t her strong suit, but now, wearing the mask of a magical girl, she felt relatively at ease.

Huo Qingqing showed no sign of wariness towards Ink Crystal’s invitation, nor did she fear Ink Crystal suddenly making a move.

This clearly indicated a considerable level of confidence in her own abilities.

“Speaking of which, Sister Mo, was there any concrete outcome after the university campus was attacked?”

Ink Crystal shook her head. “Not only did they not catch the perpetrator from that day, but that Rat Mask also killed someone—his threats that day clearly weren’t empty words. He is an extremely dangerous existence. If you encounter him, you must be careful. Whether you beg for mercy or play dead, the prerequisite is that you must survive, understood? If you can’t survive, nothing else matters.”

Her warning was quite serious.

Zhang Xiao also nodded earnestly. She looked at Huo Qingqing. “Qingqing, you must be careful too.”

Huo Qingqing replied gently, “Mm, I understand. Thank you, Xiao Xiao.”

It was as if the conversation between Ink Crystal and Zhang Xiao had nothing to do with her.

“What do you two want to eat?”

Ink Crystal avoided the topic, putting an end to her probing of Huo Qingqing for now.

“Hmm~ I heard there’s an ice cream shop with really good flavors. Shall we try it? Can Qingqing eat cold things?”

“Yes…”