Time stop had vanished, replaced by air that seemed to congeal.
Including Jin Yulu, elite special attack forces, news reporters and onlooking crowds all witnessed the event's progression. Under the watchful eyes and heavy encirclement, they let a bold masked customer escape—like a resounding slap echoing in the sky. No matter how battle-hardened and elite you were, she came and went as if in an uninhabited realm.
Looking carefully, one of the mission targets—Disaster Beast remains—had vanished without a trace. That guy didn't forget to take the spoils when leaving, showing how at ease she was.
The field commander captain darkly announced lifting the alert. The urgent matter was cleaning up the battlefield.
However, the next moment questions bombarded like artillery: "How do you view the suspect's escape just now?" "Does your side still have the ability to continue shouldering Ningfeng Harbor's peaceful responsibility?" "What person caused the bar incident?" "Shouldn't we establish a completely new combat unit to deal with Disaster Beast-related cases?" The barrage continued, while discussions from ordinary citizens were even more grating.
The special attack force had to form human walls plus warning lines to block reporters and crowds, but the scene remained noisy and chaotic.
Every sentence seemed to stab into Jin Yulu's heart.
"Sorry, Captain..."
"It's fine. The enemy was very cunning. Being able to escape in this situation proves considerable skill. Not causing us personnel losses counts as good news. The urgent matter is cleaning up the mess."
Jin Yulu felt even more dejected watching everyone's busy figures, feeling she contributed nothing this time. Before she could sigh, teammates gathered around showing concern.
"Sorry, I don't know why I was mentally dazed back then."
"I can't swallow this anger. When have we ever suffered such defeat? Must capture that man."
"She's a woman."
This confident statement made everyone look disbelieving. Seeing this, Jin Yulu said embarrassedly: "I should have realized—for instance, if you guys hugged each other from behind, which man has a soft chest?"
"Captain, I can become soft."
"Damn, went to the gym to train chest muscles for nothing."
Hearing this bunch of jokesters' improper remarks, Jin Yulu couldn't help laughing until she swayed, the accumulated pressure in her heart swept away. Failure is the mother of success.
Don't underestimate police investigative ability. Surely the Storm Gang stronghold left many clues. As interrogations proceeded, the incident's true face would be restored.
On the other side.
Hibiscus rushed all the way hugging Disaster Beast remains. Even though her body had long reached its limit, she didn't dare stop at all, hurrying back while dawn was breaking. Fortunately everything went smoothly—indeed without interference from Jin Ruochu types, it was peaceful. After a day of battle, the girl casually threw her spoils on the ground and embedded herself in the sofa. Sleepy but couldn't close her eyes, whole body excited, blood boiling.
The aftereffects of consecutively taking three potions still lingered in her body—couldn't sleep at all. She felt continuously activating magic made her attributes grow further.
"Speaking of which, why did I take this hot potato away?"
The girl stared at the bucket-sized blood vessel sitting quietly and peacefully in the living room, troubled. Probably her heart calculated a straightforward transaction, and special attack forces couldn't stop it either. Result was getting excited and taking super contraband.
Strange—it emitted evil ominous aura at the Storm Gang's place, but at home it was well-behaved without any abnormal signs. Perhaps she could collect it.
Hibiscus rolled the Disaster Beast remains under the bed and called it done. Since contacting you has a chance to trigger awakening, sleeping daily means daily awakening, right? Anyway, something supposedly worth a million on the black market, she couldn't abandon it. Same with her privately stored series of guns and ammunition.
More debt doesn't weigh you down.
Not long ago she was still a "good child" who felt uneasy about the Dock Gang battle—now she was numb.
Though I've engaged in gunfights with gangs, dealt contraband, and openly opposed special attack forces... I know I'm a warm-hearted good citizen of Ningfeng Harbor.
Calming down, Hibiscus made herself a delicious breakfast. This operation was profitable—no financial worries short-term. Just from Li Tian alone there was a 500,000 yuan check. Though with her identity, cashing it would easily attract attention so she set it aside, but it was still a huge sum.
Besides that, bank cards, credit cards and other items with strong personal information markers were crushed to powder and scattered.
The rest depended on whether system rewards were profitable enough.
100,000 cash in thick stacks placed steadily on the table—no problem. This was the first time in her life seeing so much money, far more impactful than a mere check. And no worry about unnecessary attention—system products were always top quality.
Free attribute points distributed evenly as usual... no, all to magic power. Adding her previous training improvements, her magic power now reached a high 150 points.
Sands of Time made Hibiscus understand magic truly deserved to be called miraculous. Just two activations—once to defeat enemies, once to escape—at least guaranteed the ability to run if she couldn't win.
If time stop lasted longer, perhaps she could have searched the entire bar and returned fully loaded.
The vision was too small.
Black Fiend's vast wealth and luxuriously decorated office left a strong impression on her. Just petty theft didn't make money. Who was richest? Everyone in Ningfeng Harbor knew Changfeng Financial Group was wealthiest—their little princess offered a million without hesitation. Even using magic to infiltrate bank vaults, how much could two sacks hold compared to a giant corporation's one hour of stock fluctuation? This operation's true meaning was opening another path for a poor girl—new possibilities, future blue ocean markets.
How to convert to wealth? Honestly she had no clue, but possessing power gave unparalleled security. The gentleman hides his talents and waits for the right moment.
A clear future time point was October, when the first batch of magical girls would successively awaken.
According to netizens, normal awakening processes were actually quite lengthy. Early stages were very weak—just sharp hearing and vision level. At least for a year, society wouldn't have much turbulence about it. The magical girl era was still far off.
After using lottery draws: Small Health Recovery Potion, Small Mana Recovery Potion ×2, 50 Exchange Points, Small Piece of Evil-Repelling Incense.
Regrettably no enhancement potion—indeed that stuff was quite rare. But accumulated exchange points would be useful later. The remaining Evil-Repelling Incense made the room's air fresher, completely dispersing the Disaster Beast remains' lingering aura without trace.
Perfect.
She immediately placed the Evil-Repelling Incense in the bedroom. You two compete—cancel each other out. Now she could safely collect the hot potato.
Another reward: Regalia Advancement Stone Fragment.
Hibiscus already knew Regalia was "one of the three elements of magical girl combat power" but hadn't awakened to this step yet, and didn't know how to use advancement stones. She summoned all the Origin, Magic, and Regalia Advancement Stones and spread them in her palm. The next moment, all three resonated and emitted soft light, giving an indescribable warmth.
Perhaps now they were truly complete. She hadn't expected putting them together would trigger wonderful phenomena. She clearly felt her body rapidly recovering, but then sleepiness struck.
The girl collapsed onto the sofa and fell asleep immediately, no longer caring about the world's changes.