Chapter 55: Nuonuo’s Tentacled Predicament

As the old adage states, appearances can be deceiving. Just as one cannot draw conclusions about things based solely on their superficial presentation, the same holds true for people.

Ling Xing held this belief close to her heart. Thus, even though Nuonuo appeared utterly miserable and spoke with such an air of self-sacrifice, Ling Xing refrained from rashly extending any kindness.

For, based on Ling Xing’s intimate understanding of Nuonuo…

“Just out of curiosity,” Ling Xing began, “what exactly did you do to end up in such a state?”

[It’s nothing too major, probably just…]

‘She’s undoubtedly done something significant,’ Ling Xing thought, certain of it.

Ling Xing, absolutely certain of her suspicions, halted her steps, her gaze fixed on Nuonuo as she pushed open the laboratory door.

[…misappropriated research funds to cultivate thirteen generations of tentacles, perhaps, or iterated three generations of mind-control glasses? Something along those lines?]

The moment Nuonuo pushed the door ajar, a thick, sticky, and distinctly fishy odor immediately permeated the air.

Peering through the doorway, Ling Xing saw that what should have been a sterile laboratory had seemingly transformed into a nightmarish playground for some monstrous, alien lifeform.

Every surface that should have held experimental equipment was now overrun by vast, undulating masses of tentacles, their soft tendrils dangling from the ceiling, having unequivocally claimed the entire space as their nest.

A pungent, sticky fluid, reeking of brine, nearly dripped onto Ling Xing’s face, prompting her to recoil several steps, pushing the wheelchair back with an expression of profound disgust.

‘Just as she’d suspected.’

No matter how drastically her outward appearance might transform, how different her current image was from her past self, or how saccharine her words might be, her fundamental nature remained utterly immutable!

Even after joining the Magical Girl organization, Nuonuo simply couldn’t shake off her obsession with these outlandish contraptions!

Ling Xing silently retreated two more steps, positioning Nuonuo protectively in front of her.

As if sensing Ling Xing’s subtle retreat, Nuonuo’s frail, pale face unexpectedly bloomed with a strangely confident smile.

[It’s quite alright, Xing,” Nuonuo communicated, a faint tremor in her voice. “These children are all improved, docile models; they absolutely won’t attack you.]

With these assurances, Nuonuo lowered her delicate hands, laboriously propelling her wheelchair forward into the room—

Then, before the last syllable had even left her lips, she abruptly vanished from Ling Xing’s field of vision with a whoosh.

“W-whoa—”

Amidst a pained shriek, Nuonuo’s diminutive form was instantly ensnared by a supple tentacle that descended from the ceiling, coiling around her and hoisting her suspended into the air.

Only her overturned wheelchair remained where she had been, now submerged amidst the undulating, viscous masses of flesh.

[Ugh! Why, why are they attacking *me*? I’m going to be eaten alive—]

The frail girl wailed pitifully through their mental link.

Already prone to illness, she lost most of her strength after merely a few desperate flails in the air, quickly becoming suspended like a helpless, common fish, utterly unable to move.

All she could do was gaze tearfully at Ling Xing with her single remaining, pale grey eye, silently pleading for rescue.

“……”

‘No, she wasn’t particularly inclined to help.’

Ling Xing’s lips twitched. With a face etched in profound disgust, she stared at Nuonuo, who hung suspended like a dead fish, thoroughly drenched and coated in viscous, sticky fluid.

‘Now it was abundantly clear how Nuonuo had sustained all those injuries.’

‘Wasn’t this entirely due to being elbowed by the tentacles? To be precise, elbowed into this sorry state by her very own experimental subjects!’

‘It was a blessing she had never once been swayed by emotion, otherwise, she truly would have been deceived by this woman!’

[W-wahhhhhh—!]

“You’re deafening!” Ling Xing snapped, her patience worn thin. “Don’t you dare take advantage of our mental link to unilaterally bombard me with your incessant wailing, you sickly, masochistic researcher!”

It was utterly unbearable. Even during her time in the Dark Organization, despite her perpetually fragile health, she would consistently disregard all warnings, using herself as a test subject to validate her own creations.

The inevitable consequence was that she would frequently be rendered unconscious or utterly drained by a myriad of bizarre objects and their byproducts. Each time, Ling Xing had to grudgingly intervene, holding her nose as she rescued Nuonuo and frantically administered emergency first aid.

Outwardly, she presented as an aloof, cool-headed maiden with an impassive expression. Yet, in Ling Xing’s presence, she was nothing more than a sickly girl, utterly consumed by her research and peculiar hobbies, perpetually incapable of managing herself, and always in need of Ling Xing’s intervention.

Without Ling Xing’s constant oversight, it seemed she couldn’t even maintain her carefully constructed façade.

[No more noise, never again, help me, save me, I don’t want to die, I’m going to die, I’m dying, I’m dying, oh god—]

“Sigh…”

Ultimately, Ling Xing could no longer tolerate the animalistic wails of the girl assaulting her through their mental link. With a decisive *snap*, she once again took action, using the lollipop stick she had previously discarded as a makeshift throwing knife, launching it towards the primary arm of the inverted tentacle.

As the tentacle recoiled reflexively from the sting, Ling Xing smoothly caught the plummeting Nuonuo, then deftly pivoted and stepped back in one fluid motion.

Her movements were executed flawlessly, a single, practiced motion. The poor tentacle, having suffered a needless jab from a candy stick and losing its prey right at its grasp, furiously flailed its tendrils, haphazardly striking the air where Nuonuo had just been, a clear display of its profound dissatisfaction.

The furious whistling as it cut through the air, coupled with the sheer force of the wind pressure it generated, left Ling Xing with no doubt that this monstrous appendage could easily flay a Magical Girl, leaving them bruised and battered beyond recognition…

‘Fortunately, she hadn’t stepped inside.’

Ling Xing was profoundly grateful for her deep understanding of Nuonuo. Had she, like some archetypal benevolent male protagonist, rushed in to offer comfort, hugs, and head pats, unthinkingly following Nuonuo inside, wouldn’t she be the one now hanging like a helpless, flailing fish?

Such a fate was absolutely unthinkable! To be defeated by mere tentacles and be forced to await rescue, especially within the hallowed halls of the Magical Girl organization, right in front of all those other Magical Girls!

“Listen,” Ling Xing began, her voice carefully measured. “This is just a theory, and it might not even be correct, so feel free to disregard it if it’s wrong…”

“You didn’t, by any chance, misappropriate research funds midway through your studies to revert to your old, chaotic research habits, did you? And then, it exploded again, causing tentacles to proliferate throughout the entire laboratory, forcing you to send away other personnel to cover up the incident, all while you yourself couldn’t even enter the lab to continue the experiment. Then, as time ran out and you were forced to resolve it, you charged in to battle the tentacles, only to be elbowed into your current sorry state, correct?”

[Ugh, don’t be so fierce with me,” Nuonuo whimpered. “That’s roughly the gist of it, anyway… Come on, Xing, I have absolute faith you can do it!]

Nuonuo, her entire body slick with viscous fluid, her flimsy short dress clinging tightly to her skin, her slippers having long since flown off to reveal a pair of fair, delicate feet wrapped in bandages, with only her tiny toes peeking out from beneath the bindings, averted her gaze under Ling Xing’s intensely suspicious and scornful stare.

This reaction, or rather, lack thereof, indicated only one thing.

It meant that every single word Ling Xing had uttered was unequivocally true, and Nuonuo couldn’t refute a single accusation!

It seemed she had caused a monumental mess she couldn’t possibly resolve on her own, and had only just ‘discovered’ Ling Xing—the very person who used to constantly clean up her problems—which was why she had gone to such lengths to contact her.

Ling Xing, without a shred of ceremony, extended a middle finger towards the sickly girl, who was still twitching faintly on the ground.

“So,” Ling Xing articulated slowly, “you called me here merely to have me delay the allied forces’ arrival, giving you enough time to help dispose of these runaway experimental subjects, reclaim the laboratory, and somehow finalize your research results before they get here?”

[Ugh, don’t be so fierce with me,” Nuonuo whimpered. “That’s roughly the gist of it, anyway… Come on, Xing, I have absolute faith you can do it!]

“……”

Ling Xing silently cast another glance towards the interior of the room.

The laboratory, which had once exuded an aura of serious, rigorous technological sophistication, was now entirely crammed with all manner of grotesque tentacles, each of varying shapes and forms.

‘Could she… could she possibly win?’

‘She, as a Magical Girl, was practically a prime target for these things, wasn’t she?!’