Chapter 18: Strategic Maneuvers and Hidden Powers

Friday morning.

Liu Yun was teaching her class. Her phone, resting beneath the podium, suddenly flashed.

At this moment, class was in session.

However, she had long since prepared for this.

“An exam, two hours. Ye Liuyun, please come to the podium and proctor in my stead,” she announced abruptly. From her backpack, she produced a stack of test papers.

A murmur rippled through the students. “Teacher, we haven’t heard anything about this!” they exclaimed.

“When you enter society, when your superiors give you tasks at work, will you also claim you hadn’t heard about them that day?”

Liu Yun’s resolve was clearly unshaken. “Ye Liuyun will proctor from the front, while I, your teacher, will monitor through surveillance. This will allow you to adapt to the college entrance exam environment in advance. I’ll be watching to see whose hands aren’t clean!”

With that, she exited the classroom.

****

He Yao had just received her test paper and completed two multiple-choice questions when Liu Xingyue suddenly stood up.

Ye Liuyun inquired, “Liu Xingyue, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t feel well. I need to go to the infirmary, so I won’t be taking the exam.”

“This…”

He Yao immediately rose. “I’ll take her to the infirmary! I won’t be taking the exam either.”

Ye Liuyun froze on the spot.

“Wait…”

But He Yao was already assisting Liu Xingyue out of the classroom.

No—

Ye Liuyun remained stunned. Yet, remembering that Teacher Liu was still watching through surveillance, he decided to let it go.

As they left the classroom together, He Yao lowered her voice. “You have some magical girl mission to attend to, don’t you?”

“…Yes.” Since the other person already knew her identity, Liu Xingyue didn’t bother to conceal it. “While I appreciate you covering for me, this might lead to some rumors.”

“It’ll just be rumors about me liking you or being your simp. What’s the big deal?”

He Yao shrugged, unfazed. “Plenty of people in our class like you. What difference does one more make?”

“You…” Liu Xingyue’s cheeks flushed slightly. “Well, thank you then.”

“Don’t thank me. I didn’t want to take the exam anyway. You’re a convenient excuse, and it’s mutually beneficial. I was planning to go mess around in the physics lab; Teacher Lin is in class right now anyway.”

Liu Xingyue nodded, and the two made their way to the rooftop.

“Magical Girl, Emerald! Transform!”

“Then I’m off!”

“Stay safe!”

After watching her fly into the distance, He Yao silently uttered in her mind, ‘See you later.’

“Magical Girl, Ink Crystal! Transform!”

As always, she took a slightly longer route. The notices from above didn’t seem to be simultaneous, which offered a certain convenience. Moreover, this timing was perfect! It allowed her to completely avoid the exam!

She took a deep breath, then adjusted her state of mind.

What was likely to be Clear Sky City’s largest operation in recent years was about to unfold here.

****

After the magical girl departed, Lin Han emerged from behind the rooftop door.

“What?! Two magical girls in one class!” Lin Han was utterly astonished. “Liu Xingyue is a magical girl too! So that’s it! No wonder He Yao intervened.”

It wasn’t that he doubted He Yao’s righteous heart. Rather, this course of action was perfectly consistent with He Yao’s usual methods.

Had it not been someone she knew, He Yao’s first thought would have been ‘don’t cause trouble for the magical girl,’ followed by a swift departure from the scene.

Only when she was certain the magical girl was an acquaintance would she hide to observe more closely, realize the magical girl was in a tough fight, and then have a reason to act.

This wasn’t a question of He Yao being hypocritical, but rather how her initial decision led to subsequent actions.

Lin Han still had an impression of Liu Xingyue; she was a brilliant, diligent student, unlike the naturally gifted He Yao.

He Yao’s father had built a multinational company from scratch, and her mother was a high-ranking official in a rival corporation. They met through business dealings, developed mutual admiration, and eventually married, giving birth to He Yao.

While it might sound unreasonable, from a genetic standpoint, both of He Yao’s parents possessed exceptionally high intellect. Their daughter, He Yao, had seemingly inherited all their outstanding qualities perfectly.

To put it simply, with He Yao’s intelligence, if she were to undergo proper training, participating in a show like ‘The Ultimate Brain’ would be no problem at all.

However, she had no interest in such things, as her family certainly didn’t lack money. Instead, she was deeply engrossed in ‘two-dimensional’ culture.

Thus, even with a student as hardworking as Liu Xingyue, if she couldn’t surpass He Yao, she simply couldn’t.

Even the class’s top student, Ye Liuyun, could be surpassed by He Yao instantly if she put her mind to it.

Two minutes had already passed since He Yao’s departure.

He knew it was time for him to set off.

Lin Han leapt onto the rooftop, then plunged from the sixth floor.

Executing a full 360-degree spin in mid-air, he landed steadily on the ground, his knees barely bending.

He landed directly outside the school’s perimeter wall.

Then, he raised his hand.

“Summon! Assault Iron Cavalry: Thousand-Legged Onslaught!”

A roar echoed from the distance.

A motorcycle, designed with a centipede-like head, arrived on its own from afar.

He leaped!

Landing firmly on the motorcycle.

“Old friend! Let’s go!”

The moment he twisted the throttle, sparks flew, and fierce flames erupted from the motorcycle’s tailpipe.

The motorcycle abruptly reared up, transforming into a streak of light as it sped down the street.

****

When Ink Crystal arrived at the location specified by the higher-ups, she knew the operation was already poised to begin.

The magical girls had not gathered together; instead, they had established a cordon around a certain hospital in Clear Sky City as their core objective.

It should have been anticipated earlier—since ‘Regenerators,’ these lifeforms, relied on the power of ‘Grotesque Demons’ to induce cancer cells, the most logical place for them to operate would be a hospital.

However… this was far too brazen!

Ink Crystal had initially hoped to witness the splendor of the other magical girls. Yet, given that a blockade was being set up, it was unlikely she would get to see their status.

She understood why she had been assigned this task—it was likely because the strength she displayed in her previous two battles wasn’t enough to confront a ‘Grotesque’ of this caliber head-on.

The magical girls like Rainbow Jade should be on the front lines. From an efficiency standpoint, perhaps Magical Girl Amethyst could simply unleash an ‘Amethyst Storm’ across the entire hospital…

But no, that wouldn’t work, would it?

Such an action would be far too drastic.

Moreover, the damage to the entire hospital would be immense, especially to the medical equipment. Her own father’s company had business in that industry, so she had some understanding.

Presumably, the higher-ups intended to force the Grotesques out.

There was no need to worry too much about the Grotesques destroying equipment; after all, they needed instruments for their own research. Therefore, the strategy from above was likely ‘encircle three sides, leave one open.’

This would prevent the Grotesques and their organization from feeling desperate, providing them with an escape route, only to be annihilated at a crucial point.

She was part of that encirclement.

She understood her role.

In truth, the ‘encircle three, leave one open’ tactic was typically employed when one held an absolute advantage.

After all—if you encircle three sides and leave one open, what if they perceive your encirclement as a weakness? What if they don’t fall into your trap but instead break through your defenses directly?

If you couldn’t stop them, there would be nothing to be done.

Thus, the mission for these magical girls was…

Deterrence.

A sufficiently powerful deterrence!

They needed to make the Grotesque organization realize, the moment they met, that this was an absolutely insurmountable opponent.

To obediently walk into the trap.

The Ink Sword was already in her hand.

While she didn’t harbor much expectation or confidence in her own combat abilities, through her discussions with Teacher Lin, she had developed a practical tactic specifically designed to counter Regenerators or that previous goat-headed mask.

Speaking of which, she had noticed that magical girls seemed to have classifications.

For instance, herself and Amethyst.

Crystal types like Ink Crystal and Amethyst appeared to lean towards offensive abilities. Meanwhile, those like Emerald, and perhaps others like Sapphire or Ruby, were likely more inclined towards support abilities.

Rainbow Jade, of course, was an exception. Given the inherent richness of its colors, one could say she was exceptionally gifted as a magical girl.

Nevertheless, as Ink Crystal, her combat capabilities were theoretically not weak, but her control over her own power remained too low.

After all, she possessed only one skill.

Logically, magical girls should have at least three skills.

For example, Emerald had her domain, her seals, and those leaves.

Currently, she only had ‘Bee Sting,’ which was quite rudimentary.

Considering the nature of magical girls, her power should gradually strengthen, and other skills would unlock, only after her magical girl activities increased, she genuinely protected the populace, and earned their affection and adoration.

If she could encounter Carnelian, she might be able to inquire about it.

For now…

A wall of jet-black Ink Crystal materialized behind her.

Blocking the street entirely.

While she knew that Grotesques, when fleeing or breaking through, wouldn’t necessarily use conventional routes, living beings often possessed habitual thinking.

Before becoming Grotesques, they were human. If a path appeared passable, their subconscious inclination would be to take the proper road.

She glanced back at her Ink Crystal wall.

Black objects often evoked a sense of mystery. Though the Ink Crystal wall’s actual strength wasn’t particularly high, the Grotesques might not wish to assault this spot because its color, to a personal perception, felt difficult to breach.

Standing there, as long as she didn’t betray any fear, the sheer psychological pressure alone would convey to the Grotesques that ‘this path is impassable.’

Thus, she might be able to complete her ‘encirclement’ mission without even engaging in combat.

This was the optimal outcome. As long as she funneled the Grotesques into the ‘pocket,’ her mission would be accomplished.

At that very moment, a massive sound erupted from the direction of the hospital.

She tightened her grip on her sword. She knew—it was coming.