Chương 31: Please do not contact

"Speaking of which, when did you become a magical girl?" she asked casually, but the unconscious stroking of her skirt revealed the turmoil in her heart.

"Eh, me?" Yin Xue pointed to herself, slightly surprised.

"It's been almost two months now, hasn't it?"

Xing Shuang's pupils suddenly contracted; this answer struck her heart like a heavy hammer.

Two months ago, wasn't that right at the beginning of summer vacation?

This is not right, this is completely wrong. According to her memory, they should have been in a car accident on the same night and reborn at the same time. Why did Su Yuqing become a magical girl at the beginning of summer vacation, while she only woke up in bed two days ago?

Another thought arises: if Yin Xue became a magical girl at the beginning of summer vacation, then... could Xiao Ye's improved condition during the summer vacation be related to this?

Her throat tightened, and she almost blurted out the question, but reason stopped her in time.

As Lin Che, he shouldn't know that "Yin Xue" is Su Yuqing, and as Xing Shuang, she shouldn't know that Yin Xue had a younger sister who was once critically ill.

Regardless of the perspective, asking such a direct question would seem extremely suspicious, almost like tattlering on someone for not doing eye exercises to a teacher—a self-incriminating statement.

So she quickly adjusted her expression and smiled casually, "I see. It seems you are more experienced than I thought."

Yin Xue lowered her head shyly, a faint blush rising on her cheeks: "Actually, it hasn't been that long..."

She suddenly remembered something and pointed to the floating fragments, saying, "By the way, please accept these; they should belong to you, senior."

"You guys can keep it." Xing Shuang waved her hand.

"I don't usually deal with the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs, and I was only providing support in the battle just now. You guys were the ones who delivered the final blow."

"How can there be a magical girl who doesn't deal with the Bureau of Extraordinary Events?" Ruri suddenly interjected, arms crossed, brows furrowed.

Her sharp gaze swept over Xing Shuang with obvious suspicion.

"Although I also find those people troublesome, without logistical support, many things simply cannot be done."

"Uh..." Xing Shuang was speechless for a moment.

Yin Xue quickly smoothed things over, gently tugging at Liu Li's sleeve: "Senior may be more independent and not rely too much on the support of the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs."

Liuli clicked her tongue, but still compromised, saying, "Then at least take half. I don't want to owe anyone a favor."

In the end, Xingshuang accepted half of the Queen Ant Beast Core and all the fragments, temporarily storing them in her "Tears of Stars" gem. Having seen Yinxue do this before, she understood the principle and method almost instantly.

"Correspondingly, these should belong to you." Xing Shuang gathered the energy cores left behind by the juvenile-level Void Beasts and handed them to Liu Li and Yin Xue.

Just then, Liuli suddenly thought of an important question: "Speaking of which, when you rescued them just now, did you check for the energy cores hidden on their bodies?"

"Check... the energy core?" Starfrost was taken aback.

"As expected, they didn't check!" Liuli scratched her hair in frustration.

"Now I have to clean up this mess again."

Yin Xue explained softly, "In situations like today, we might not have time to retrieve the energy cores after rescuing people, and some people might secretly take them away..."

"Although this situation only occurs in the energy cores of juvenile-level Void Beasts due to their size, it can still be a bit of a headache if there are too many of them."

Xing Shuang immediately remembered the energy core that Yin Xue had left beside her when she was rescued before her transformation. He had subconsciously put it into his pocket at the time, but it had temporarily disappeared from his body after the transformation.

"This is one of the functions of the Bureau of Extraterrestrial Intelligence. Their staff will set up cordons around the areas where virtual infiltration occurs and search for any hidden items left by people leaving the area."

"Of course, this method isn't foolproof. Occasionally, a few clever individuals will bring the energy core back and then be affected by the energy it contains..."

Liuli seemed to accept Yinxue's explanation that she "didn't rely much on the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs for support," thus explaining the reason to Xingshuang.

But Xing Shuang's thoughts had already drifted far away: the energy core of the Void Beast... what impact would it have on humanity?

If it only means that it will increase the workload of the people in the Special Affairs Bureau or cause health problems for those affected, then Ruri shouldn't be considered "troublesome".

Something that would be troublesome for a magical girl... an energy core that could cause humans to turn into beasts?!

The possibility sent a chill down Xing Shuang's spine, but she didn't show it. She just forced a calm smile and said, "Sorry, I'll be more careful next time."

Liuli snorted, seemingly quite dissatisfied with this "careless senior." She turned to Yinxue and said, "Now that the matter has been resolved, I'll head back first."

Yin Xue nodded, but Liu Li suddenly leaned closer to her and whispered, "Don't get too close to her, or she might take advantage of you."

Yin Xue's face instantly turned crimson: "They're all girls, there's no way I'd take advantage of them..."

"Who knows..." Liuli glanced at Xingshuang, then suddenly changed the subject, "Also, about your brother who suddenly appeared, I'm waiting for your explanation."

These words reached Xing Shuang's ears without missing a single one, but she pretended not to hear them and simply smiled and waved goodbye to Liu Li.

Liuli picked up Ruby and prepared to leave. Before turning into a blue streak of light, she didn't forget to pout at Xingshuang: "Goodbye, dwarf senior."

Only Xing Shuang and Yin Xue remained in the mall.

Yin Xue hesitated for a moment, her fingers lightly gripping the hem of her skirt, before finally speaking, "Um... senior, about the phone call we agreed on earlier..."

Xing Shuang's heart skipped a beat: "Oh no, I haven't applied for a new card yet!"

She was about to brush it off with the excuse that "my phone was damaged in the battle," but Yin Xue lowered her head first, her voice filled with apology: "I'm sorry, senior... could you please not call me today?"

Xing Shuang paused slightly, then asked, "... Hmm?"

Yin Xue's cheeks flushed slightly, her voice soft yet unusually firm: "If you had called today, I would have been unable to resist chatting with you for a long time... But tonight, I want to stay with someone."

"He was just in the mall, and he almost got attacked by a Void Beast... My hands are still shaking when I think about it now."

Xing Shuang's breath hitched slightly; she knew, of course, who "that person" Yin Xue was referring to.

"She's worried about 'me'..." This realization warmed her heart.

She gazed at Yin Xue, her eyes holding a soft yet firm light, completely different from her usual mischievous self.

"Is he your brother?" she said gently, while reaching out to tidy up Yin Xue's slightly messy bangs.

"He must be very important to you."

"Yes." Yin Xue nodded gently.

"So today... I want to dedicate all my time to him."

"Of course," Xing Shuang smiled.

"You should spend the day with him."

Yin Xue's eyes lit up immediately: "Thank you, senior!" She then lowered her voice, "Also... if you have the chance, please exchange contact information with Liu Li as well."

"Yes, I will." Xing Shuang nodded slightly; this was already part of her plan.

"Then I'll head back now. See you next time, senior." Yin Xue waved and turned to leave.

"Okay, see you next time. Remember not to overexert yourself," Xing Shuang said softly.

"No matter where the Void Realm infiltrates, I'll be there to help you as soon as possible."

Yin Xue turned around, gave her a bright smile, and then transformed into a stream of emerald light and disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Xing Shuang stood alone in the center of the booth on the first floor of the mall, sunlight shining through the transparent dome onto her.

She looked down at her palm, where the cool touch of the energy core still lingered. Too many questions swirled in her mind—the misalignment of the timeline, the secret of the energy core, the truth about the Bureau of Extraordinary Events...

In this shopping mall ravaged by the Void Beasts, Xing Shuang realized for the first time that she was stepping into a mystery far more complex than she had imagined.

She clenched her fists, her gaze becoming unusually firm. No matter what, she would protect these two girls, not only because they were comrades-in-arms, but also because one of them was the most important member of her family in her life.