Chapter 32: Golden Island’s Ghosts

Seven days later.

Early morning, a certain apartment in Linhai City.

The sun had barely peeked over the horizon, casting a hazy, grey pallor across the sky.

“Wake up! All of you, wake up!” Hua Mu’ai shouted from the center of the living room. “Gu Qianqian! Lin Xiaolu! Are you two pigs? If you don’t get up now, the ship will leave without us!”

‘Ugh…just five more minutes…’

From Gu Qianqian’s bedroom, a muffled grumble could be heard.

‘Senior…Qianqian was too excited last night, she kept me up talking until midnight…’

From Lin Xiaolu’s room next door, a faint voice also emerged.

Two days prior, Gu Qianqian, citing the excuse of “convenience for missions,” had forcibly moved out of her school dormitory to live in the apartment with Hua Mu’ai and Lin Xiaolu.

Consequently, Hua Mu’ai’s peaceful days were irrevocably gone.

****

Unable to bear it any longer, Hua Mu’ai kicked open Gu Qianqian’s bedroom door.

“I’ll give you one more minute! If you’re not up, you can swim to Golden Island yourselves!”

On the bed, Gu Qianqian resembled a caterpillar, cocooned in her duvet, only a messy tangle of black hair visible.

Hearing Hua Mu’ai’s ultimatum, she reluctantly poked her head out, yawning, her eyes still heavy with sleep.

‘Alright, alright, Captain, you’re such a nag…’

A vein pulsed on Hua Mu’ai’s forehead, and she clenched her fists tightly, barely restraining herself from dragging the stubborn girl out of bed.

Since transforming into this pink-haired form, she had noticed these two young girls had become increasingly disrespectful towards her.

Moreover, to go to this wretched island, both of them had actually taken leave from school!

It was simply outrageous!

Had it not been for Gu Qianqian’s pitiful ‘I’ll cry if you don’t agree’ look, she would never have consented to such an absurd thing.

“Get your butts up and get ready now! Meet me downstairs in ten minutes!”

Hua Mu’ai roared, then turned to knock on Lin Xiaolu’s door.

In comparison, Lin Xiaolu was much more obedient; Hua Mu’ai had barely knocked twice when she already stood fully dressed, dutifully opening the door.

“Good morning, Senior.”

“What’s good about it? Hurry up, we need to leave.”

Hua Mu’ai urged impatiently, then turned back to her own room to change.

****

Ten minutes later.

Three girls, each with a distinct style, appeared downstairs from the apartment building.

Hua Mu’ai wore a black jacket paired with shorts, her long pink hair tied into a high ponytail, creating a look that was both cool and striking.

Gu Qianqian, in a white T-shirt and jeans, exuded youthful vibrancy, though her face still carried a hint of sleepiness.

Lin Xiaolu, on the other hand, wore a pure white dress, with a pair of clean canvas shoes peeking out from beneath the knee-length hem, appearing gentle yet sweet.

“Here, eat these on the way.”

Hua Mu’ai shoved two warm steamed meat buns into their hands, while she herself chewed on a fried dough stick.

“Thank you, Senior,” Lin Xiaolu happily accepted.

Gu Qianqian took a large bite of her bun, speaking indistinctly.

“Captain, you’re so nice, even making us breakfast.”

“Just eat your food, you talk too much!”

A blush crept up Hua Mu’ai’s face as she strode forward.

****

The trio joked and squabbled along the way, finally, in the last minute before the yacht was set to depart, panting, they dashed onto the deck.

“We…we made it…”

Lin Xiaolu leaned on the railing, breathing heavily.

“It’s all thanks to a certain someone who insisted on oversleeping!” Hua Mu’ai glared at the culprit.

Gu Qianqian stuck out her tongue, completely unbothered, and ran to the ship’s rail, spreading her arms wide.

“Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve been to the seaside!”

The sea breeze ruffled her long hair, and her face glowed with unbridled joy.

Sunlight poured onto the sea, sparkling with a myriad of shimmering reflections, while several seagulls circled above, their clear cries echoing between the sea and the sky.

The beauty of the scene made one feel as though they had stepped into a painting.

Hua Mu’ai looked at her daughter’s rare smile, and the irritation she felt melted away.

‘It’s quite nice to come out and play once in a while, after all.’

The cruise ship cut through the waves, leaving a long white line across the azure sea.

****

After sailing for some time.

Gu Qianqian and Lin Xiaolu excitedly leaned over the ship’s rail, chattering about what fun things there would be on the island, their clear laughter carried far by the sea breeze.

Hua Mu’ai leaned against the railing on the other side, a lollipop dangling from her lips, her long pink hair ruffled into a slight disarray by the sea wind.

She squinted, gazing at the distant island whose outline was now visible, a discomfort stirring within her.

Golden Island.

‘Heh, what an utter travesty.’

Twenty years ago, this place wasn’t saddled with such a wretched name.

Back then, she and Su Wanning were the GSA’s most brilliant ace duo, ‘Tian Lanxing’ and ‘Lie Yangxing,’ hailed by the world as the ‘Unfading Gemini.’

In those days, magical girls were just beginning to be systematized and organized, and their emergence propelled humanity’s counter-attack against the Abyssal Void to its zenith.

The Golden Age began with them.

This island, once, had seen a terrifying Level 5 Abyssal Beast that had almost rendered the entire island a desolate wasteland.

At that time, she hadn’t yet reached the Star God rank; it was by joining forces with Su Wanning that they had purified it.

To commemorate that brutal victory, the island’s residents spontaneously renamed it ‘Twin Stars Island.’

‘What a wonderful name.’

But then Wanning died in battle.

Those haughty GSA bureaucrats, in a bid to shirk responsibility, even slandered a fallen hero with accusations of ‘dereliction of duty and delaying crucial military operations.’

With one of the Gemini fallen, Tian Lanxing vanished.

The Golden Age, too, drew to a close.

Later, some scoundrel, whose identity was mercifully forgotten, proposed abandoning the name ‘Twin Stars Island,’ claiming that Lie Yangxing was unworthy of a hero’s title. As a result, it was changed to the current ‘Golden Island,’ euphemistically rebranded to ‘commemorate that glorious bygone era.’

‘Commemorate my ass!’

‘This was clearly a blatant insult, spitting directly upon Wanning’s legacy!’

What truly drove Hua Mu’ai insane was that, in an effort to develop tourism, this island had been completely transformed into a ‘Tian Lanxing’ theme park. The Tian Lanxing merchandise—including exquisite figurines, a themed roller coaster, and limited-edition ice cream—had long gone viral online, becoming must-buy souvenirs for tourists.

Her current pink-haired form was prone to intense feelings of shame; the mere thought of her image emblazoned on all sorts of merchandise, bought and sold by countless people, made her toes curl in mortification; she yearned to leap into the sea and swim back right then and there!

This was precisely why she had been so vehemently opposed to visiting Golden Island.

Had it not been for these two girls, she would never have wanted to set foot here again in her life.

****

Concurrently.

A black helicopter hovered above Golden Island, its massive propellers stirring up powerful currents of air.

Inside the cabin, Xia Xingyan gazed down through the porthole at the island, which lay nestled in the sea like a precious jewel.

The phone in her pocket vibrated.

She answered the call, and Uncle Chen’s respectful voice came through the receiver.

–Miss, the three targets have boarded the ‘Dolphin’ cruise ship. Our miniature audio receiver, installed in their tour vouchers, is functioning normally. They are indeed heading to Golden Island.

–Excellent. Xia Xingyan’s voice betrayed no emotion. –The next phase of the plan can now commence.