Chapter 13: A Trip to the Police Station

The moment the two magical girls pulled four people out of the singularity, Hoshino Erika—seated in the command vehicle—finally let out a sigh of relief as she saw their figures appear on the surveillance screen. She quickly cut off her mana supply, letting the barrier dissipate on its own.

“Good work,” said Inspector Guan as she came over and placed a hand on Erika’s shoulder.

“This is what I should do anyway,” Erika replied. “By the way, since the incident’s resolved, I should be heading back.” She brushed aside a strand of chestnut-colored hair that had fallen over her forehead and stood up, walking toward the hidden door at the back of the vehicle.

“In such a hurry to leave? You could at least stay a bit—our new recruits will be here soon…” Guan Mengyao tried to keep her a little longer, though she knew full well it wouldn’t work.

Erika shook her head. “That’s part of our agreement, isn’t it? I only do what I’m supposed to do.”

Despite the softness of her voice, there was a firmness in her tone that left no room for argument.

This was something Guan Mengyao had already heard about from her predecessor when she first took up the post. In Mutsuzhou City, a metropolis of twenty million people, the registered number of magical girls per capita was relatively low compared to other regions.

However, the number of strange-entity attacks here was also unusually small—and one of the main reasons was the girl standing before her.

Erika could accurately and swiftly detect signs of abnormal activity throughout the city. As long as a nearby magical girl responded in time, the damage caused by such attacks could be kept to a minimum.

The Special Investigation Bureau had long wanted to collaborate more closely with her—and ideally, to establish a similar early-warning network nationwide. Otherwise, relying solely on magical girls to patrol on foot was simply too inefficient.

“Well then, take care. Need us to send a car to drive you back?”

Erika waved her hand lightly, and in the blink of an eye, she vanished from the inspector’s sight.

Magical girls really were a group of highly individualistic people.

—

Meanwhile, Xia Kexin was inside a sealed space with only a single light above her providing a faint glow. To the naked eye, the place was extremely dim—especially when one had just come from a relatively bright environment.

Luckily, she was already used to this place. The moment she arrived, she actually felt a sense of reassurance.

The four other girls, however, looked around warily. Their eyes hadn’t yet adjusted to the gloom, and they couldn’t even make out what was beside them.

This setup was designed specifically for situations like today’s—when ordinary civilians accidentally got caught inside a barrier. Part of the purpose was, of course, secrecy. After all, if several people suddenly popped out of a mystical barrier and someone’s camera happened to catch it, it’d be a serious problem. If those photos spread, it would be a disaster for the Bureau’s relevant departments.

The other reason was convenience—it was a vehicle, after all. Once they’d gathered the civilians, they could just drive straight to the Special Investigation Bureau.

Before Ruolin and the others could even process what had happened, the floor beneath them trembled, and their bodies tilted backward. They quickly grabbed the metal handrails along the wall to steady themselves.

“Are we… in a car?” Ruolin was the first to ask.

Kexin and Qisi didn’t bother to hide the truth—they simply nodded.

It was a specially modified minibus. The windows had been covered with metal panels, and only a few seats remained inside.

Qisi added, in a tone carrying a hint of threat, “Yes. Since you’ve seen things you weren’t supposed to, the higher-ups will have a nice long talk with you. Don’t even think about trying anything funny.”

“Hey, don’t scare them,” Kexin said as she sat down near the front-facing seat. “There are empty seats there, and a fridge over there. If you’re thirsty, help yourselves to a drink.”

Even so, the four of them stayed frozen, too nervous to even move, let alone drink anything, not knowing what awaited them next.

Then Yumeng broke from the group, and once she could see clearly, she walked straight to the fridge. She opened it and rummaged around for a while but didn’t take anything.

“Miss Magical Girl, is this all the drinks you have?”

“Huh?” Kexin blinked.

“I wanted lemon tea. But there isn’t any.” Yumeng turned slightly, showing her the contents—various brands of bottled water, soda, and iced black tea, but no lemon tea.

It was the first time Kexin had met someone picky in a situation like this. Yesterday at school, when she’d first seen this girl sitting a row ahead of her, her first impression was that this one probably wasn’t very… observant.

She hadn’t expected this though. Everyone else was tense, yet this girl wasn’t cooperating with the mood at all.

“I’ll… mention it to the logistics team next time,” Kexin said, not even sure why she bothered to reply. Next time? There shouldn’t even be a next time.

Even if there were lemon tea, it’d be for post-mission refreshments—not for Yumeng.

But Yumeng didn’t seem to notice anything odd in her words. She grabbed a bottle of iced black tea and returned to the others.

Hopefully, there won’t be a next time.

The vehicle fell silent again. Apart from the sound of the engine and the road noise, no one spoke. Even Qisi just kept drinking water.

As a regular athlete, she always carried a large water bottle with her—so a standard 500ml one would be gone in just two gulps.

With the windows sealed, there was no view outside, and everyone quickly noticed that their phones had no signal—the area was being jammed. Even Kexin’s own phone couldn’t get through.

So, no one knew where they were now.

“Um—” Ruolin finally broke the eerie silence. “I just want to ask… this isn’t a dream, right?”

Since she was looking directly at her, Kexin had no choice but to reply. “What do you think? She should’ve already explained it to you.”

“I still can’t quite believe it. I always thought that monsters and other weird things might be real, and I’ve been looking for proof—but to see it all right before my eyes like that… it just feels unreal.”

“Do you want me to pinch your cheek?” Violet popped her head out from the back seat, only to be pushed away by Ruolin immediately.

Kexin chose to ignore the scene. She still didn’t know how the Bureau planned to handle this, so it was safest to reveal as little as possible.

“Maybe it is just a dream,” she said lightly.

“No, that’s not right. A dream couldn’t feel this real, and also…”

Ruolin’s mind replayed the moment she was held in the arms of that pink magical girl—the warmth and the touch on her skin had felt far too real.

But there was no way she could say that out loud.

“And also what?”

Not just Kexin, but everyone else turned to look at her, waiting for her to finish. Ruolin’s face instantly turned crimson. “N-Nothing!”

Her cheeks burned. She quickly covered them with her hands—then suddenly realized something.

“Huh? Where are my glasses?”

“Where are my glasses?”

Ruolin started patting her clothes and the seat around her anxiously. Without them, her world turned into a blur of colors and shapes.

“They probably fell off when you were pulled out of the singularity,” Kexin said, glancing at her. “Don’t worry, the Bureau will retrieve them for you later.”

“I… I can’t see anything like this,” Ruolin muttered, half embarrassed.

“Then you’ll just have to make do for now.”

Next to her, Yumeng quietly twisted open her bottle of iced black tea and took a sip. “At least you’re all safe, right?”

Her tone sounded casual, but the others could hear the unease beneath it.

None of them had yet come to terms with what had happened—a battle that seemed like something out of a movie, flashes of magic, monsters, and a barrier that defied all logic.

Even now, sitting in this sealed vehicle, it all felt distant and unreal, like they were still trapped in a dream.

“How long until we get there?” Kexin asked Qisi.

“Five minutes,” Qisi replied, glancing at the digital screen on her wrist device.

The drive continued in silence, the faint vibration of the tires on the road the only sound in the confined space.

Then, without warning, the vehicle slowed down, took a sharp turn, and finally stopped.

The lights in the ceiling brightened slightly.

“We’re here,” Kexin said, standing up first. She gestured to the others. “Stay close and don’t wander off. Someone will debrief you soon.”

The automatic door hissed open, and a rush of cool, sterile air came in. Outside, they could see a corridor lined with white walls and security doors—clearly some kind of government facility.

As the four girls stepped out, two uniformed officers approached.

“Team 3, civilian intake?” one of them asked.

“Yeah,” Kexin replied, handing over a digital tablet. “These four were caught inside the barrier during the incident.”

“Got it. We’ll take it from here.”

The officers motioned for the girls to follow.

Ruolin, still half-blind without her glasses, reached out to grab Yumeng’s sleeve so she wouldn’t lose her way.

Yumeng didn’t shake her off, just sighed softly. “Feels like we’re being arrested.”

Kexin almost laughed. “Not quite. Just some questions and a confidentiality agreement. You’ll be free to go after that.”

She didn’t add that “after that” might take several hours—or that the Bureau’s psychological division would almost certainly interview them again in the future.

After all, once a civilian had seen something like this, it wasn’t so easy to go back to normal life.

As the group walked farther down the hall, Kexin turned and met Qisi’s eyes.

“What do you think they’ll do?”

“The usual,” Qisi replied. “Memory stabilization, confidentiality review… maybe light adjustment if someone’s too shaken. Nothing major.”

“Good. Last thing we need is another incident like last time.”

Qisi gave a short laugh. “You mean the girl who kept chasing magical girls online afterward? Yeah, that was a pain.”

Kexin couldn’t help smiling wryly.

They watched the four civilians disappear around the corner with the officers, then finally allowed themselves to relax a little.

It had been a long day.

“I’ll go write the report,” Qisi said, cracking open another bottle of water.

“Mm. I’ll check on the containment records.”

When Kexin turned back toward the corridor, she noticed a flicker of pink light at the end of the hallway—faint, fleeting, but unmistakable.

Erika?

No… that wasn’t possible. She’d already left.

Still, for a moment, Kexin could have sworn she saw the outline of a figure standing under the emergency light, her tea-colored hair glowing faintly in the dimness before vanishing again.

A gentle, familiar voice echoed faintly in her mind—

“I only do what I should do.”

Kexin exhaled quietly.

“Yeah,” she murmured to herself. “Me too.”