Something's off about this magical girl.

Chapter 40 Calamity

When they emerged from underground, Guanlan was gone.

The two stepped outside, where a bright crescent moon was already hanging quietly in the night sky.

A gentle evening breeze caressed her face, and Tao Zhuo stretched contentedly, her head bobbing like a rattle drum.

"Teacher, if you're free, I'll invite Dong-mei over for a late-night snack and we can chat about going to the Ximing Cult. Hehe, I stayed up all night watching the first season of 'Hidden in Qixin' yesterday, and I feel like I've mastered the essence of undercover work—I've achieved ultimate skill!"

Gu Bai glanced at her speechlessly.

Just by hearing the cheesy title, you can tell how outrageous the plot is.

Whether it was serious business or not, he also planned to talk to Dongchun about Ximing's matter. However, when Taozhuo dialed the number, the speakerphone rang with a message that the call had not been connected.

"That's strange," Tao Zhu muttered, casually opening the Qi Xin APP to check Dong Chun's real-time status.

A red status icon popped up on the screen: [Heading to support Area 051]

"Area 051?" Gu Bai frowned slightly.

"Yeah, what's wrong? It just sounds familiar..." Tao Zhuo stroked her chin, then suddenly realized, her voice rising eight octaves: "Wait, didn't we just finish the battle in Area 051?!"

Beep beep—!

Before she could finish speaking, Tao Zhuo's phone suddenly emitted a piercing alarm sound, and the screen was instantly covered by a blinding red light:

[Urgent Notice: Magical Girl Tomoyuki is requested to provide support to Area 051! This is a major anomaly; based on current magic wave analysis, it is estimated to be a Gold-level Calamity difficulty! Please prepare to assist the magical girls entering this area!]

"Damn it, are they all predicted to be Gold level...?" Tao Zhu stared at the screen, her face turning pale instantly.

She smiled awkwardly and waved goodbye to Gu Bai in a casual manner: "Oh dear, teacher, it seems we'll have to wait until next time for the midnight snack. I'm sorry."

"Let's go, together."

Gu Bai spoke up to calm Tao Zhuo down; he didn't intend to stay out of it.

If it were the woman I was pursuing, I would definitely make the same decision at this time.

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When the two passed through the activated magic barrier and entered Sector 051, the situation was much worse than expected.

In the past, the cycle of disaster zones usually involved the appearance of strange beasts, the evacuation of the masses, the defeat of the beasts by magical girls, the return of the masses to their lives, and even the receipt of a substantial subsidy through insurance.

But this time, things went awry.

Rifts were torn open in mid-air, and with each eerie beam of light that pierced through, several more ferocious beasts appeared in the ruins. The people had just returned home and hadn't even caught their breath before this even more terrifying arrival came.

Even more despairing is that beneath the regular magical barrier used by the Qixin official to prevent the escape of the alien beasts, a dark barrier that churns like boiling water has appeared out of nowhere. Any civilians who try to escape get close, not only are they violently pushed back, but they also attract the hatred of the surrounding alien beasts as if they were marked as bait.

In an instant, cries for help and the roar of collapsing buildings mingled together, and a sense of despair rapidly spread throughout the disaster area.

The entire neighborhood has become a slaughterhouse ravaged by monstrous beasts.

In response to this situation, the magical girl from Qixin immediately set up a refuge according to the textbook instructions.

The magical girls, whose combat abilities were relatively weak, scattered to search for isolated residents, while others focused on fighting the monsters. However, everyone understood that prolonging the situation would only increase casualties, and that the best among them needed to find a way to resolve this anomaly.

Dongchun is the best candidate to take on this task.

Originally, her plan for tonight was to use a moment of white as a starting point to explore whether the red spider lily or evergreen leaf could achieve a similar effect at a roadside shop.

But now, all the magical girls have entrusted her with the task of finding the core of the mutation.

"..."

Dong Chun's red eyes shone brightly; she knew she should remain calm, yet anxiety had already begun to creep into her heart.

Where exactly is the problem? In the sky? On the ground? Underground?

Or is it simply that a witch on the other side of the world is constantly sending out strange beasts? If so, what is she trying to do?

"Dong!" Tao Zhuo called out. After dealing with the strange beasts along the way with Gu Bai, she finally saw Dong Chun.

"...Taozhuo, teacher, you've arrived."

Dongchun responded quickly and then continued to observe the unusual phenomena in the sky.

Tao Zhuo immediately explained the situation: "We just dealt with the monsters and strange people, how could things have turned out like this in just a few hours?"

"A little more time..."

Dong Chun murmured to herself, she was a little tired, but she knew she couldn't afford to be tired.

He controlled the flow of magic within his body, then took out a red enhancement agent from his storage bag, unscrewed the needle, and injected it directly into his neck.

"Waaah."

Tao Zhuo recognized it as a prototype from An Yu Pharmaceuticals. She felt sorry for it, not because of the money, but because of its extremely negative effects.

Many potions used in cultivation only have a backlash effect on magical girls, but they can usually be restored after the exorcism ritual. Only this red one indicates that it will definitely shorten a person's real lifespan.

Winter cypress doesn't care about those things.

Where exactly is it?

She couldn't find it, but eventually, the person next to her gave the "answer".

"Dongchun, follow Taozhuo."

Gu Bai spoke up, then explained to Tao Zhuo, "The problem lies in the row of shops where Guan Lan dealt with the strange man."

Although it was mentioned in the course arranged by Qi Xin that it is a serious crime to let an "outsider" who cannot operate magic give instructions.

But he was different.

"Understood." Tao Zhuo replied immediately, pulling Dong Chun along as they began to move.

As they passed, the strange beasts became increasingly ferocious and violent. Gu Bai led the way, and with his black sword flashing, no beast could hinder their progress.

But suddenly, there was nothing left.

"We've arrived," Gu Bai said. Now it was time to see what the two magical girls were capable of.

Upon arriving near the spot where the strange man had died, the eerie silence made Dongchun and Taozhu feel instinctively uneasy.

The teacher can handle any overtly visible monsters.

But what about the hidden dangers?

The two instinctively used their perception magic to gather any clues that might exist on the scene.

Something was amiss; a strange magical fluctuation emanated from the nearby shop, calm and deathly still.

Dongchun and Taozhu decided almost simultaneously to use their perception magic to penetrate that round object—

--rumble!

First came a slight vibration, as if to give some kind of reminder.

But soon, a cataclysmic earthquake erupted from that round core.

A terrifyingly powerful magic bomb, deliberately planted here, was detonated by a perception magic attack!

This was merely a decoy; the true purpose of this bomb was to ruthlessly destroy the first group of magical girls who discovered its existence!

A devastating energy shockwave rose up like a tsunami, shattering buildings like scraps of paper in its wake, and even the space itself seemed to groan under its strain, determined to devour everything around it in an instant!

At the critical moment, Dongchun, who was already on the battlefield, suddenly narrowed her red eyes. Without hesitation, she pushed her magic to the limit and activated her own acceleration.

In Dongchun's view, the world was instantly put on extremely slow playback.

The flow of time in the outside world was stretched infinitely, and the flames and shockwaves of the explosion seemed to be crawling forward at a snail's pace, while her own flow of time was much faster than that of the outside world.

She transformed into a blur, rushing towards Gu Bai and Tao Zhuo with all her might, and caught them in her arms. But as she tried to turn and escape, a deep despair gripped her heart.

not enough.

The physical distance was too great, and the blast radius was too wide. Faced with such an absolute destructive radius, she simply couldn't escape with two people!

Time... I don't have any time left...

Just as Dongchun's heart sank to the bottom, a pair of strong arms suddenly took the initiative and tightly embraced her waist.

Dongchun stared wide-eyed in astonishment.

In this world stretched out by her magical abilities, the teacher was actually moving at a normal pace.

"pay close attention."

Gu Bai suddenly pulled Dong Chun and Tao Zhuo into his arms, his legs bursting with a speed even more terrifying than Dong Chun's before, smashing through the resistance of space and time, and rushing wildly toward the edge of the explosion!

Rumble!!!