Chapter 29: A Twisted Bargain

“Ling Xing… then, it seems we’ve already…”

Chao Wu was utterly taken aback. How could someone possibly implant a bomb into their own body? While the thought seemed absurd, if it concerned that particular young lady who casually ordered her own execution as atonement, it felt eerily plausible. She truly seemed capable of such a thing.

Then, hadn’t that recent phone call already tipped off the other party? Couldn’t it explode at any moment now!?

Chao Wu quickly grabbed Ling Xing’s shoulders, frantic to pull her away and flee. However, her hand was swatted away by Ling Xing with a sharp *smack*.

“Idiot, don’t get swept up in others’ schemes… Never mind, don’t make a fool of yourself here. Go take Dal back to tidy up the base.”

“Eh, but, but I feel—”

“No buts! Go catch Dal under the window!”

*Patta—*

Pushing the panicking fool out the door, Ling Xing closed the dilapidated wooden door with a decisive *patta*.

‘Sigh…’

‘Sure enough, a fool remains a fool. She was clearly ill-suited for combat; a magical girl suits her far better. Having her around always made my own formidable aura seem to diminish.’

As Chao Wu departed, Ling Xing once again turned to face the tightly bound girl, their gazes locking in a silent, icy exchange.

“Are you not afraid to die? Do you think I’m lying?”

“No, that’s real, isn’t it? For a former combatant like you not to have something like that on her, I’d say the magical girl organization was truly misguided.”

With her usual light chuckle, Ling Xing twirled her pen, pacing inside the room.

Having dispatched the foolish Chao Wu, now was the time to utter words an idiot should never hear.

“You speak as if you know so much… I loathe your revolting smile, that repulsive pretense of knowing everything, when in truth, you know nothing, Ling Xing.”

Even though she was tightly bound and confined, the tape and ropes had already left angry red welts on her delicate skin, making even breathing a struggle. Yet, the girl’s voice remained eerily calm, delivering aggressive words with chilling composure.

In her current predicament, unable to even twitch, let alone resist, the outcome of speaking such words would likely be far from pleasant, especially if she had been captured by a stereotypical dark organization from a work of literature.

“Is that so? I quite like it, actually. I always thought I looked rather dashing when I smiled—and, I think I know quite a bit, wouldn’t you agree?”

Unfortunately, Ling Xing was clearly no member of a clichéd dark organization. Even if she were, she currently lacked the necessary implements, truly unable to harbor such mundane desires.

She leisurely pushed open the broken window, watching Dal frantically leap from the window, only to be caught by the foolish magical girl below. Now, only Ling Xing and the captive girl remained in the room.

“For instance… you’re actually hoping, aren’t you? Hoping that the connection between you and your young lady will transcend the organization’s regulations, hoping she’ll cast aside her family status and the organization’s retribution to conceal your failure, so you can return to her side alive?”

“————! Nonsense! How could I—”

Her composure shattered in an instant. It was such an effortlessly simple deduction.

Ling Xing propped her chin, finding the revelation so easy that she felt no particular joy from it. ‘If she were truly a suicide operative, fully aware of her inevitable demise, why would she inform her enemy of an impending explosion, thereby allowing them to take precautions?’

‘Unwilling to confront the betrayal of her most cherished emotions, she subconsciously felt it would be preferable to be killed by Ling Xing, an adversary, rather than be obliterated by her trusted young lady. If slain, she could at least preserve the memory of that affection before death, sparing her young lady the trouble of a painful struggle.’

‘Such transparent awkwardness; the magical girls of this island nation are truly twisted, aren’t they?’

“Then, let’s make another wager, even though you never seem to have won against me.”

****

About ten minutes later, a luxurious car pulled up before the desolate ruins. High heels clicked softly on the ground as a girl in a lavish gown, holding up her skirt, approached with a furious, rhythmic stride.

Upon closer inspection, the paired crystal accessories on her skirt hem were somehow asymmetrical, the pantyhose beneath her skirt had several small rips, and even the decorative ties on her clothes were simply fashioned into the most basic bow… Perhaps this contributed to her palpable anger.

“This young lady has arrived! Ling Xing! Get out here!”

Completely unfitting her opulent attire, the young lady furiously kicked open the wooden door. The already dilapidated wooden door, barely repaired and haphazardly hung, met its final end, flying off its hinges and smashing into the room.

Within the door frame, Ling Xing leaned against a cardboard box, silently mourning the door she’d used for several years for a single second, before meeting the gaze of the fiery young lady.

“Yo, oh no, I should say… hmm, oh, my goodness, my beautiful lady, good afternoon?”

Closing one eye, Ling Xing grinned, putting on airs and adopting a posture of exaggerated country noble etiquette. This clearly disgusted the young lady, whose already displeased expression soured further as she entered the room, eyebrows raised.

“Shut up. Release the person for this young lady now, and I might consider leaving you a complete corpse.”

Kuonji Mashiro, the young lady of the Kuonji family, was known to be arrogant, haughty, conceited, and short-tempered. Both her demeanor and all accounts unequivocally confirmed this assessment. But today…

“Eh, but I was just greeting you properly. Is this really the attitude for a negotiation, young lady? Or are you here to collect the corpse of your cute attendant? I don’t mind either way.”

“……Tch.”

Rarely, Ling Xing witnessed her forcibly swallow her arrogant words, glaring at Ling Xing with eyes full of resentment, yet refraining from further rebuttal. Though not a good person, if her intelligence was normal, she would at least know that she was the one with a request.

‘How cute. This sight of her, clearly wanting to kill me, and truly possessing the strength to do so, yet utterly unable to act; forcibly restraining the resentment in her heart and suppressing her anger, having to pretend to communicate normally in front of Ling Xing, whom she could easily elbow to death… So thrilling!’

“Name your terms. How much money do you want? How many resources? I can get you however much you want, just give me the person.”

She even forcibly reined in her tone, biting her lip tightly, squeezing out a seemingly normal sentence through gritted teeth. Perhaps not entirely normal, but still an improvement. For that girl, this haughty young lady could endure such humiliation… ‘The magical girls of Neon are truly twisted.’

“No, I think negotiations should proceed step by step, don’t you, young lady? If we finish everything at once, won’t we just go back to trying to kill each other again?”

Ling Xing clapped her hands with a smile, deliberately leaning her small face closer to the young lady. In her line of sight, the young lady was visibly suppressing the urge to slap her, her temples throbbing, her fair skin flushing faintly with rising emotion, looking as if she might scream and pounce on Ling Xing at any moment—

Unfortunately, she didn’t. The young lady merely had a bad temper; her intelligence remained intact. Despite the immense struggle to endure, she still managed a relatively normal… conversation.

“Hmph… You… What do you want, speak! And, *gulp*, I also need to confirm Hane’s condition.”

“It’s simple. We have a truce during school hours and in public places. Any issues, we’ll agree on a time and place to fight after school—that way, I can guarantee her safety.”

Ling Xing lightly dismounted from the box, tapping her cheek with a finger as if in thought. Then, after a brief moment of contemplation, a mischievous grin spread across her lips.

“And for a confirmation, there must be some sincerity exchanged, right? How about… you kiss me?”