Chapter 18: Unexpected Encounters at Star River Plaza

After two days of training, Su Xinxin’s understanding of magical girls finally became clearer. It was, indeed, quite different from the knowledge she had crammed from anime.

A new week dawned on Monday. Mentor Jasmine informed her that she had pressing matters in the real world, and their next training session would be postponed until the weekend. She instructed Su Xinxin to engage in self-study during this interim.

However, the young mentor always seemed to desire to do a little more. After some deliberation, Jasmine exchanged contact information with Su Xinxin, adding each other on the widely used messaging app, Green Bubble.

****

Inside the university library, Lin Mo was feverishly cramming from a textbook. Yet, her thoughts incessantly drifted.

She had just finished answering a question sent by Jasmin, and her fingers instinctively tapped open Jasmin’s social media feed.

It was still completely blank.

‘Not a single post?’ she murmured softly, as if to herself, or perhaps to the chibi Xiao Li displayed on her phone screen. ‘Did she… block me?’

“If Master is so concerned, why not just ask directly?” Xiao Li’s voice chimed in from within her consciousness.

‘Th-that would make it seem like I care about her too much! No, no, absolutely not!’

Lin Mo shook her head, then tapped open a few acquaintances’ feeds for comparison. Some were brimming with posts, others set to ‘visible for three days,’ and a few were almost entirely empty.

But someone like Jasmin, who had no status updates, no background picture, and not even a personalized signature—a feed so utterly clean it seemed to have never existed—this was truly a first.

Had she never posted, or had she specifically blocked Lin Mo? Yet, if she had never posted, it shouldn’t be possible to even open her feed. Had she posted and then deleted everything?

Unable to find an answer, she forced herself back to her book. However, she hadn’t read for long before drowsiness began to creep in again.

Just then, Xiao Li’s voice suddenly became urgent: “Master! Master! An ‘Erosion’ has been detected at Star River Plaza! Several mid-tier R-level Formations, and a newly formed high-tier R-level Spectre!”

“Again?” Lin Mo scratched her head, then rubbed her temples, a weary helplessness in her tone. “Why does it feel like ‘Erosions’ are becoming more frequent lately? Summer break is almost here; where are all these negative emotions coming from? Get ready; we’re heading out.”

“W-wait! Master, if you go now, I’m afraid—”

“We can’t just ignore it, can we?” Lin Mo said, already moving to stand.

“Hold on! Master, calm down!” Xiao Li urgently interjected. “One mid-tier R-level is manageable, but so many, plus a high-tier R-level… it’s too dangerous for you to go alone!”

Xiao Li paused, seemingly receiving more detailed information.

“…Excellent! The latest information from the ‘Discernment’ department just came in! Someone has already rushed over. Two newly promoted Second-tier Bloom Weavers! And one of them is Master’s teacher, Cornflower!”

“Teacher Cornflower?” Lin Mo let out a breath, her tensed shoulders visibly relaxing. “With her there, it certainly puts one’s mind at ease… Still, I think I could be of some help—”

“Master!” Xiao Li cut her off. “If a Spectre targets you, Teacher Cornflower would have to divert her attention to protect you! Two Bloom Weavers working together should be able to control the situation. What you should be doing right now is studying!”

“Oh…” Lin Mo was momentarily stunned by the rebuke, then pouted. “Then why did you interrupt my studying just now?”

“Um…” Xiao Li’s voice softened. “Because Master… you seemed to be falling asleep just now…”

Lin Mo was speechless. Upon reflection, it seemed Xiao Li was indeed correct.

She picked up her phone again, her fingertip gently poking and then rubbing the chibi Xiao Li’s belly on the screen.

“Ow! Master, stop rubbing! It tickles…”

Amidst their playful banter, a familiar, calm, and steady thought directly entered her mind—it was Cornflower.

[Jasmine, if convenient, please come to Star River Plaza for support. Your primary responsibility will be the evacuation of the outer crowd. Our main forces have been dispatched to Huanzhou City, so we may be short-handed here. Acknowledge and reply.]

The message was brief, yet it sent a chill down Lin Mo’s spine.

Their main forces were drawn to Huanzhou City? Had an even more serious situation erupted there? And Jiang City? Was it just being left unattended?

…But then she reconsidered. There must be other high-tier combatants secretly stationed here, right? Were they disdainful of dealing with such R-level ‘Erosions’? Lately… it had indeed been relatively peaceful. So, was this another test or small trial? A way to assess the problem-solving abilities of the two newly promoted Bloom Weavers?

After a brief moment of thought, she composed herself and quickly replied: [Received. I’m available, departing immediately!]

Time to work again.

She closed her book, let out a soft sigh, and quickly rose to leave the library.

****

Star River Plaza commercial district.

Chaos had already begun to manifest. Several distorted “Formations,” emanating murky energy, rampaged through the streets, overturning vehicles, shattering storefronts, and eliciting terrified screams.

Further away, an even larger, chillingly shadowy mass—a nascent “Spectre”—greedily absorbed the pervasive fear in the air, its form slowly and steadily expanding.

“Help!”

“Monsters! It’s monsters!”

Panic spread like a plague.

At this moment, Su Xinxin had just emerged from the nearby Emerald Lake Park. She had been taking a leisurely stroll, as was her habit, when Xiao Ming’s urgent alert interrupted her.

“Master! Over here! There are too many people; we need to find a place to transform!”

“What about a public restroom?”

“No time! There’s a small alley ahead!”

Su Xinxin followed the guidance, sprinting into a quiet, deserted narrow alley. The alley ended in a dead-end wall, making it perfectly concealed.

“No one here, right?”

“Confirmed. Temporarily safe. But hurry, this is a dead end.”

“Got it.”

She took a deep breath, preparing to focus her intent. Xiao Ming, perched on her shoulder, continued to hurriedly caution her:

“Master, listen well! Later, absolutely do not directly confront those ‘Erosions’! Your task is merely to guide the crowds away. If you have time, you can incidentally clear out the newly spawned N-level ‘Motes’ born from panic.

“Never think about fighting above your level! You are not the protagonist; you don’t have a protagonist’s halo!”

“…Understood.”

“And also! Be sure to conserve your stamina! Evacuation and purifying Motes are also very draining! Once the battle ends, people from the ‘Gardener’ department will handle public perception, so you don’t need to worry about the aftermath!”

“…Alright,” Su Xinxin responded, suddenly feeling that something was amiss. “Wait, if public perception can be handled, then why do I need to specifically hide here to transform? Isn’t that an unnecessary step?”

“Oh, goodness! That’s just to be safe!” Xiao Ming’s ears twitched anxiously. “Besides avoiding being seen by ordinary people, you also need to guard against other potential magical girls! What if some ‘passerby’ is actually a fellow practitioner? It’s always best to be cautious!”

Su Xinxin felt a little dizzy from this barrage of “caution.” Fine, overthinking was pointless.

She closed her eyes, gathering her thoughts.

Gossamer ribbons of goose-yellow and ivory white gently emerged, winding around her. A familiar sensation of lightness and power permeated her entire being. The magical girl “Jasmin” had appeared.

She clenched her fists, feeling the peaceful magical energy flowing within her. Composing herself, she turned and walked towards the alley’s entrance.

Sunlight streamed into the alley mouth, somewhat dazzling. And there, precisely at the boundary of light and shadow, stood a person.

Long, silvery-white hair shimmered with a pearlescent luster in the sun, and a pure white lace battle dress remained spotless. Those emerald-green eyes looked over, first widening slightly, then quickly curving into a bright, almost blinding smile.

It was Jasmine.

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