Something's off about this magical girl.

Chapter 41 Immortal Protection

Rumble—!!!

Time returned to normal, and the shockwave from the deafening explosion instantly swallowed up the afterimages of the three fleeing figures.

Although they were moving as fast as possible away from the epicenter of the explosion, the shockwave from the bomb still caught up with them.

Flames tore through the night sky, and at the same moment, Gu Bai managed to throw the two people in his arms away just before the explosion's core spread.

"teacher!!!"

Accompanied by Tao Zhuo's shrill, almost piercing scream, she and Dong Chun were slammed onto the edge of the ruins by the violent shockwave, like kites with broken strings.

The ensuing secondary shockwave easily shattered the automatic magical barrier on their bodies, throwing the two high into the air before crashing heavily to the ground along with the building debris that had been melted and destroyed by the high temperature!

Smoke filled the air, dust swirled, and the entire neighborhood seemed to transform into a scorching hell in an instant.

After an unknown amount of time, Tao Zhuo finally managed to push away the cement block that was pressing down on her. She was panting heavily, and her head was buzzing.

"Ugh, vomit—"

She was in so much pain, she couldn't think straight, couldn't see clearly, and couldn't stand up...

Someone reached out and pulled her up, dragging her to a slightly flatter spot on the ruins where she sat down.

After struggling to focus, Tao Zhuo realized that the person standing in front of her was Dong Chun. At this moment, those clear, cold red eyes were filled with bright red tears, and she seemed to be tightly clutching something in her arms.

"Little Winter, what about Teacher?"

Before she could finish speaking, Tao Zhuo's voice abruptly stopped; she had already found the "person".

If that can still be considered a human being.

The remains being held tightly by Dong Chun might just be Gu Bai.

His body was completely blasted apart by the terrifying blast wave. Most of his flesh and blood were evaporated, and only a thin layer of charred skin remained of his mangled body, hanging tragically on the white shattered bones. His internal organs were also scattered, and his breathing had long since stopped.

"No..."

Tao Zhuo's brain went blank. She scrambled over, tears mixed with dust smearing her face.

Amidst this despair, Gu Bai—made a move.

It was extremely faint, like the last instinctive twitch of some dying creature, but then the twitch began to accelerate and spread.

Tao Zhu stared blankly.

Gu Bai's tattered flesh and blood began to expand wildly in a way that completely defied the laws of biology. The charred muscles and broken blood vessels were regenerating and reconnecting, the shattered white bones were rapidly wrapped by the new flesh and blood, and the skin was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

He fully recovered in just a few minutes.

Tao Zhu stared in disbelief at the face in front of her that had returned to normal, feeling her worldview shattering silently.

Dong Chun froze on the spot. From the moment she first met Gu Bai, she had already judged that he was no ordinary person because he could keep up with her accelerated state. But what she saw before her was nothing short of a miracle. Even the best medical skills in Qi Xin could not bring him back from the dead.

Of course, Gu Bai had no way of knowing what the two of them were thinking at that moment.

In the instant his consciousness was pulled back from the darkness, he remembered and saw many things along the way.

Gu Bai knew that in the eyes of outsiders, his decision to give up so many precious things in order to find a missing magical girl was foolish, stubborn, and incomprehensible.

But only he himself understood what Mo Xin meant.

On his first journey to find Mo Xin, he found himself in a deadly predicament, torn apart by a strange beast and on the verge of death, his consciousness fading away when a gentle and familiar voice drifted from somewhere inexplicable—

Still looking for me? Seriously, that was too dangerous... Here's a blessing of immortality for you!

It was done casually, as if giving a worthless little gift, as if doing something insignificant.

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"……teacher?"

Gu Bai was pulled back to reality by a call so faint it was barely audible. He raised his eyelids and met Tao Zhuo's eyes, which were already red from crying.

This guy had somehow climbed up to him and was stroking his face with both hands, as if confirming that the face was real. His expression twitched between grievance and lingering fear, and after trembling for a while, he finally uttered a complaint:

"You're so mean, teacher! Couldn't you have told me beforehand that you were invincible?! My soul almost flew away three times just now!!!"

"Where did this invincibility come from?"

Gu Baikong swallowed, rubbing his temples. A prolonged wave of dizziness briefly disoriented him, but that was all. He looked around at the chaotic ruins and gave a bitter laugh: "It's just that my recovery ability is slightly stronger, that's all."

But how come they didn't die?

Suddenly, I thought of her again.

Why am I so convinced that she is not dead? Why do I believe that her departure must have had some kind of hardship, or even a greater ideal?

The answer lies here: if she could bestow upon herself such a miracle that transcends life and death, how could she possibly...?

"a little?!"

Tao Zhuo interrupted Gu Bai's thoughts with her words. Gu Bai's eyes widened, and she emphasized the two words with a sense of grievance.

He swallowed the rest of his words halfway through, lowered his head, and vigorously rubbed the corner of his eye with his sleeve.

Dong Chun stood a step away, not saying a word, but simply looking at Gu Bai. She watched quietly as something in those bloodshot red eyes slowly calmed down, but it wasn't completely calm. It was like a lake that had just stopped trembling; the ripples were still there, but they no longer spread.

"drop--"

The sound of the flying carpet cutting through the air interrupted the three's brief respite.

Four figures landed from the air. The one in the lead was a woman with a neat high ponytail. Holding a walkie-talkie, she briefly confirmed into the microphone: "Received. We have arrived at the destination. The target is present."

She then put away the walkie-talkie, her gaze falling on Tao Zhuo, her tone businesslike:

"Qixin Inspectorate, based on the on-site analysis, Tao Zhuo, you are suspected of being involved in this explosion. Please come with us immediately."

"What?" Tao Zhuo was stunned for a moment, then waved her hand: "You've got it wrong, I—"

boom!

A beam of light landed silently at her feet—a warning, not an accidental injury.

The squad leader stepped forward, already holding the magic restraint ring in his hand, his voice completely flat:

"If they do not comply, we have obtained emergency enforcement authorization and may forcibly kill them in accordance with regulations."

Tao Zhuo glanced in Gu Bai's direction; the teacher had already stood up.

He stepped forward, and without wasting words, his tone carried an undeniable weight: "You all go back, I'm taking her away."

"Impossible." The squad leader took a half step back: "She's a high-risk individual."

"Gu Bai".

This time, Gu Bai did not add the prefix "Qi Xin" to the introduction.

He paused for a moment, then spoke slowly and clearly: "I'll only say this once: if Xia Zhi can handle it, call her over; if Xia Zhi can't, call that Vice Principal Zhang over here. We just finished a fight, and I don't want to beat up a bunch of tactless bastards here right now."

"Your body camera is on. Your every word and action is being recorded. Please be aware—"

"—Okay." Gu Bai interrupted her, "Then write it down clearly, record everything I just said, and take it to your leader to see."

The walkie-talkie suddenly rang.

The squad leader listened intently for a moment, her expression subtly changing. When she looked up again, her eyes were no longer the same. She pressed the intercom, glanced at the team members beside her, and finally slowly lowered her head, her voice a full tone lower than before: "...I'm sorry to bother you."

Gu Bai didn't look at them again. He took Tao Zhuo's arm and led her and Dong Chun away.

The ruins gradually receded behind them, and the last words of the voice on the walkie-talkie were carried away by the wind: "Team one, stay and collect evidence; Team two, go help the medical team."

Tao Zhuo took a few steps, turned her head to glance at the squad leader's back, then turned back and whispered in Gu Bai's ear, "Teacher, how can you be so sure..."

Gu Bai raised his hand and gently patted her head: "Attitude itself is an answer. Do you think I don't know whether you're the murderer or not?"

Tao Zhu stared at him for two seconds, but in the end she didn't reply. She lowered her head, hiding her reddened eyes in the night, and quietly followed him away.