Chương 52: Doubts and Decisions

Xing Shuang took the phone with slight surprise. When she saw the number displayed on the screen, her eyes softened. This was the first door that Liu Li had opened for her.

"I... I will try my best to do it," Liuli said softly, her voice firm. This was the first time she had made such a promise to a "senior," a promise to try to change those deeply ingrained habits and defensiveness.

Xing Shuang smiled with relief, knowing that deep down, the child was willing to try to open his heart to her a little. Although this first step was difficult, at least he had taken it.

"Don't push yourself, take your time." Xing Shuang nodded gently.

"It's getting late, let's finish up here as soon as possible and go back to rest."

She walked towards the energy core that had fallen to the ground, bent down and picked it up. The deep purple crystal emitted a cold light in her palm, and felt icy to the touch, as if it contained some unknown secret.

"What should we do with this thing?" Xing Shuang's gaze fell on the energy core, her brows furrowing slightly. She recalled the unknown situation when the magic wand absorbed the energy core, and also remembered what Liu Li had mentioned about the trouble that ordinary people might cause by hoarding energy cores.

She turned to look at Liuli and Yinxue, her eyes questioning, "According to the rules, this should be handed over to the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs in exchange for a reward, right?" She shook the energy core in her hand, trying to hand it over.

"No! This is of course yours, senior!" Yin Xue immediately waved his hand.

"You not only saved us, but also defeated that Void Beast. This is your spoils of war."

"That's right." Liuli nodded as well. Although her tone was not as excited as Yinxue's, her eyes were equally firm.

"We were just assisting. The main credit goes to you, senior."

"But..." Starfrost tried to decline, "You also put in a lot of effort, and you need these rewards more than I do, right?" She thought of the alarm system and magical girl system of the Bureau of Extraordinary Events and felt that these rewards might be of practical help to the lives of the new magical girls.

"We have enough cores from those nascent-level Void Beasts," Yin Xue firmly refused.

"This one... please accept it, senior."

"This is what you deserve." Liuli's voice was filled with an undeniable stubbornness.

"Well... alright." Starfrost reluctantly withdrew her hand and temporarily stored the energy core in her "Tear of the Star" gem.

"By the way," she looked at Liuli and Yinxue, wanting to verify her idea, "can your wands... absorb the energy cores of Void Beasts?"

This question startled both Liuli and Yinxue. They exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with confusion.

"Absorb? What do you mean?" Liuli asked, frowning.

"If you don't inject magic power, the energy core won't react at all. Injecting magic power will only destroy the energy core, and the magic power will be wasted."

"That's right," Yin Xue nodded in agreement.

"Magic is used to defeat void beasts and destroy energy cores, how could it be used for absorption?"

"I see..." Xing Shuang nodded thoughtfully, their reactions confirming their special status.

Her wand didn't "destroy" the energy cores, but rather truly "absorbed" them. Moreover, the absorption seemed to bring a smooth flow of magic. She had no clue about the secrets behind this.

"Sorry for asking a strange question. You two go back and rest first. Leave the cleanup to me." Xing Shuang smiled and said to the two girls beside her.

"If there's nothing else, we'll be going now," Yin Xue replied softly, glancing at Liu Li to make sure she didn't object.

"Mm." Liuli Chongxingshuang nodded. Although she didn't bid farewell as warmly as Yinxue, the defensiveness in her eyes had diminished considerably, replaced by a complex and elusive emotion.

"Be careful on the road," Xing Shuang said softly, her gaze fixed on them.

Yin Xue and Liu Li flew into the night sky together, the two different colored streaks of light gradually fading into the distance. Xing Shuang stood alone in the same spot, watching the direction in which they disappeared. The night wind blew, carrying the unique metallic coldness of the storage area.

Once she confirmed that the two had gone far away, Xing Shuang immediately took out the deep purple erosion-grade energy core from the "Tears of the Stars". She stared at it, recalling the scene when the magic wand absorbed the energy core fragments and half of the core.

The idea of a "completely unknown situation" and the notion that "magic and ethereal energy are in opposition" made her increasingly suspicious.

Taking a deep breath, Starfrost took out her wand and gently touched the tip to the surface of the energy core.

As before, there was no rejection or destruction as expected. The deep purple energy core began to transform into streams of light the moment it came into contact with the wand, and like melting ice and snow, it quickly merged into the wand.

"What is this..." Starfrost murmured to herself. She could feel a pure energy flowing into her wand and then back into her body through the wand. The magic seemed to become more active and flow more smoothly. This feeling... was strange, but also dangerous.

This unusual ability made her realize that she might not just be an ordinary magical girl chosen by the system, and that the magic, virtual beasts, energy cores, etc. of this world might be far more complex than she had imagined.

"At least for now, this change doesn't seem to have any negative effects, and I can't be 100% sure that this situation is unique to me." Starfrost thought to herself as she manipulated her magic to slowly float into the air.

She did not choose to go home immediately and de-transform. Although returning to her original form would allow her to temporarily escape that awkward state of punishment, the appearance of the stealthy Void Beast today gave her a great sense of crisis.

Even low-level Void Beasts possess far more than just physical attacks and corrosive liquid abilities; they may have special abilities that make them troublesome. Her understanding of the Void Beasts in this world is far from sufficient.

She knew that relying solely on instinctive magic manipulation wouldn't be enough to handle the situation. She needed a deeper understanding of the nature of magic and a more refined grasp of its usage. Therefore, she decided to stay here and continue practicing her magic manipulation skills.

She tried to mentally replay the battle, considering what she should do if she were alone with Crescent Moon level strength against that previous void beast, how to utilize the environment, how to accurately track its movements, and how to inflict effective damage even while dispersing her magical power...

Time passed by, and Xing Shuang was immersed in her practice and contemplation.

After some time, she noticed lights and voices in the distance, indicating that the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs had arrived.

She hid in the shadows of the shelves, watching the uniformed staff move quickly and methodically, like a group of professional cleaners erasing all traces of the anomalies from the virtual world.

They set up a cordon to prevent ordinary people from getting close, and then used special instruments to scan the ground and air to detect any residual Void Realm energy. They also collected the energy cores of the juvenile Void Beasts scattered on the ground and placed them in a special sealed container.

Her gaze unconsciously drifted to the dark night sky. Xing Shuang recalled what Yin Xue had said when she last asked about it: that other magical girls had arrived shortly after she left, which was only three days ago.

However, even now, no other magical girls have appeared, as if there is no fourth magical girl in this city besides her, Yin Xue, and Liu Li.

This discovery brought her doubts to a fever pitch—could a mere handful of magical girls really handle infiltrations of all sizes from the Void? Was the Bureau of Extraterrestrial Affairs merely responsible for logistics and cleanup? Did those vanished magical girls, those belated support missions, all point to the same hidden secret?

Her own investigation and speculation were far from enough; she needed more information and a deeper understanding of the magical girl system and the workings of the Bureau of Extraordinary Events.

Xing Shuang's gaze fell on the staff of the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs, and her eyes became unusually firm. It seemed that she needed to find a different way to obtain information.

She made a decision—a bold decision that could potentially drag her into an even bigger mess.

She needs to find time to go to the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs to find out what's going on.