Chương 47: Emergency Call

The two froze simultaneously. Su Yuqing frantically pulled her phone out of her pajama pocket, and the words "Xiao Li" on the screen instantly changed her expression. The blush and smile that had just appeared due to their intimate interaction were completely washed away by the sudden surge of tension and worry.

Lin Che naturally turned his gaze away, got up and walked to the window, looking at the night view outside, but his ears still caught the conversation behind him:

"Xiao Li?"

"Yes, at home."

"... What happened?" Her voice became serious.

"Okay, I understand."

The call ended quickly. Su Yuqing held the phone, her expression not good. The warmth from before vanished instantly, replaced by an obvious tension and worry.

Her fingertips, gripping the phone, turned slightly white, and her breathing became more rapid, as if she were suppressing some kind of emotion.

Lin Che's eyes narrowed slightly, a faint unease rising in his heart. Luo Bingli wasn't the type to call late at night over trivial matters. The only possibility was that it was a magical girl mission, and the situation had become so urgent that she had no choice but to ask Su Yuqing for help.

He suppressed his suspicions and concern, returned to her, and asked casually, "What's wrong? Who called? You don't look well."

Su Yuqing suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with panic, like a startled fawn. She quickly put away her phone and forced a smile, even though it looked worse than a grimace.

"Ah, it's nothing, it's just... Xiao Li called. She was telling me about some things at school. There might have been a small problem, but it's been resolved."

"About school?" Lin Che raised an eyebrow slightly, his voice carrying a hint of doubt, but his tone remained gentle. He knew she didn't want to say more, but at least he wanted to give her a reason to lie, so that his concern wouldn't seem so abrupt.

"What school-related thing could make you so nervous? It's been so long since school ended."

"It's just... some... girls talking about things!" Su Yuqing's cheeks flushed an unnatural red. She quickly got up from the bed and tried to change the subject.

"It's getting late, I'm so sleepy, I'm going back to my room to sleep. Ah Che, you should get some rest too, you have school tomorrow!" She practically ran away to her room, her steps clearly hurried.

"Good night." Lin Che looked at her slightly disheveled back and said softly, his tone carrying a hint of understanding and helplessness. He didn't press her for details, knowing that she didn't want him to worry, and that asking now would be pointless.

Upon hearing the door close, Lin Che's gentle expression vanished instantly, replaced by a calm and serious demeanor.

"System," he murmured to himself, his tone no longer teasing but tinged with urgency, "Check if any virtual realm infiltration has occurred within the city limits."

[A medium-scale virtual boundary infiltration has been detected in the southern part of the city] The system's response remains cold and efficient.

"South District..." Lin Che's pupils contracted slightly. Sure enough, Luo Bingli's phone call was related to the infiltration of the Void Realm, and the system report stated "medium scale," which meant that the situation was not as simple as "a few scattered juvenile Void Beasts."

A medium-scale infiltration means that a large number of juvenile-level Void Beasts or even stronger erosion-level Void Beasts have appeared—such as the ant queen encountered last time. Considering Liuli's personality, she probably wouldn't ask Su Yuqing for help unless it was truly a difficult situation.

She may have wanted to handle it alone, but found the difficulty exceeded her expectations, which forced her to contact her only friend.

A faint sound and fluctuations of magic came from the next room—Su Yuqing was transforming, and that aura seemed to be transmitted through the wall to this room.

"Why didn't she notice when I transformed in the room?" Sensing that fluctuation, Lin Che almost immediately thought of this. Could it be that his (Xing Shuang's) magical fluctuations were imperceptible?

This is what makes the host different from other magical girls.

The system responded.

"Isn't this the same as not answering anything at all...?" Lin Che shook his head, but he knew that now was not the time to dwell on such questions; the situation was urgent.

The next moment, his phone, which was under his pillow, vibrated. Yin Xue had sent him a message:

"A medium-scale infiltration has occurred at the warehouse area of No. xx, xx Road, South District. The Bureau of Extraordinary Events has been notified. Liuli has already gone there, and I will arrive shortly. Senior Xingshuang, are you... available to provide support?"

"It's convenient. Take care of yourself. I'll get there as soon as possible." Lin Che picked up his phone and replied quickly. He could imagine the tension and concerns Yin Xue had when she sent this message. She must have been worried about whether he (Xing Shuang) was willing to act in the middle of the night.

Yin Xue did not reply. Perhaps she hadn't checked her phone since sending that message. A moment later, a streak of emerald green light appeared in the night sky, indicating that the other party had suddenly increased its speed after flying into the air.

Gazing at the streak of light, Lin Che took out the transformation device and pressed the button without hesitation. The pinkish-gold light enveloped his body once again, and a familiar sense of unease washed over him. Xing Shuang reappeared in the room.

She glanced down at the hem of her skirt to make sure she was in good condition, then swiftly leaped to the window, silently pushed it aside, and transformed into a streak of pink-gold light that shot into the night sky.

Considering the potentially urgent situation on Liuli's side, she did not deliberately take detours or slow down her speed. Instead, she flew at full speed towards the location where the void infiltration had occurred. Her speed was extremely fast, and she caught up with Yinxue, who had set off first, in the blink of an eye.

"Yinxue!" Xingshuang called out from behind, her voice piercing the night sky, tinged with anxiety.

The emerald green light ahead paused noticeably, then slowed down. Yin Xue's figure solidified in mid-air as she turned to look at Xing Shuang behind her.

"Senior Xingshuang?" A hint of surprise flashed across Yin Xue's face. She clearly did not expect Xingshuang to arrive so quickly and catch up with her so fast.

"How is it?" Xing Shuang came to her side, and the two flew side by side. She could feel the tense aura emanating from Yin Xue.

"It's a medium-scale infiltration, with many Void Beasts. Liuli has already gone there, but I'm worried about her alone..." Yinxue's voice was filled with worry and urgency.

"Don't worry, we'll go together." Xing Shuang replied simply, without any unnecessary pleasantries. She used her powerful magic to envelop Yin Xue, and the two of them instantly increased their speed significantly, quickly reaching the outside of the Void Bubble.

This was the first time Xing Shuang had carefully observed a complete, medium-sized dimensional bubble from the outside. In her perception, it was a huge, distorted, semi-transparent sphere, like a giant, constantly pulsating dark bubble, enveloping a storage area in the southern district.

The scene inside the bubble was vaguely visible, with an unsettling sense of distortion and an eerie glow, contrasting sharply with the normal night scene around it. Its edges rippled slightly in the air, and the energy fluctuations it emitted seemed much stronger than those I had sensed in the park last time.

The moment it rushed into the void bubble, the surrounding scenery twisted and distorted again, and the air was filled with a faint fishy stench and the oppressive feeling unique to the void.

This was an abandoned warehouse area. The huge metal shelves and piles of goods provided excellent hiding places for the virtual beasts. Starfrost could clearly sense that the bubble had not affected the humans in the real world, which was fortunate.

She quickly located Liuli's position—deep within the warehouse, where a deep blue light was flashing, accompanied by the roars and crashes of the Void Beasts.

She rushed over at lightning speed and saw Liuli struggling to cope with the siege of dozens of Void Beasts. These Void Beasts resembled giant mantises, with hard, greenish-brown carapaces, scythe-shaped forelimbs that gleamed with a cold light, and huge compound eyes that reflected a cruel light.

They were extremely fast, with dozens of them attacking simultaneously with their forelimbs, leaving Liuli overwhelmed. Her blue and white combat suit was torn in several places, indicating that she had been injured.

The ground was littered with the remains of many Void Beasts, clearly indicating that Liuli had been fighting alone for some time and was greatly exhausted, but more Void Beasts were continuously emerging from the shadows of the shelves.

"Shorty senior, you came pretty fast." During a break in the battle, Liuli caught a glimpse of Xingshuang flying in and Yinxue following closely behind. Her tone was provocative, but deep in her eyes, a look of relief appeared. She knew she was about to collapse.

"Because I care about you." Xing Shuang ignored Liu Li's provocation, her tone gentle and earnest.

She swiftly reached the other side, her wand flashing through the air, several beams of pinkish-gold light precisely striking the surrounding mantis beasts, instantly clearing an area.

Xing Shuang's direct concern made Liu Li's earlobes turn slightly red. She turned her head away, her tone unconsciously carrying a hint of hesitation and awkwardness: "Why are you saying such boring things during a battle..."

"Liuli, are you alright?!" Yin Xue rushed over and saw the new wounds on Liuli's body. Her eyes were full of worry. She quickly came to Liuli's side, and her magic wand emitted an emerald green light as she began to heal her.

"It's just a minor injury, don't worry about me, let's deal with these annoying things first..." Liuli said through gritted teeth, but her voice softened as she felt the warmth from the treatment.

Starfrost didn't disturb them, but focused on clearing out the grunts who dared to approach. Faced with the sudden appearance of the enemies, the beast horde roared and swarmed forward, but they were all turned into dust by Starfrost's magic beams and could not get close to the three of them at all.

When the last Void Beast in sight fell to Starfrost's wand, Starfrost frowned. Her magical perception told her that there were no more juvenile Void Beasts around, but the distorted bubble still enveloped the area, showing no signs of disappearing.

What happened? Based on experience, when the virtual realm penetration process is interrupted, the bubbles should dissipate.

She was just about to ask the system a question when the system's notification sound suddenly rang out: [Task has been released] [Slay the stealthy, erosion-level Void Beast] The mission will be considered a failure if any magical girl dies.

"What?!"

Xing Shuang suddenly turned her gaze to Liu Li and Yin Xue not far away, and was immediately horrified. Behind them, the air was being distorted in a barely perceptible way.